(Xie: The protagonist has indeed disappeared for many chapters, but that man will be back soon.)
On the top of the city, Lu Zhongtian and others witnessed with their own eyes the collapse of the northwest army, and also witnessed the unreasonable strength of the Jurchen Tiefutu cavalry. There was a dead silence on the top of the city, and everyone was stunned and speechless.
Lu Zhongtian sighed and said: "Now you understand why I am unwilling to send troops out of the city to fight. I can't take this risk. Even if I am willing to send troops to attack with Yuan Zhengqian, the result may not be much better. Yuan Zhengqian wants to make contributions. Privy Councilor, he has lost his head, but I will not lose my head. With the combat power of our army, fighting the Jurchens head-on is tantamount to self-destruction. Yuan Zhengqian does not understand, the emperor does not understand, and many of you do not understand. On the contrary, I thought that I was just ignoring death, so what can I say? But it doesn’t matter, I have been wronged and misunderstood by so many people over the years, I have long been used to it.”
Everyone hurriedly agreed: "What Prime Minister Lu said is absolutely true. Defending the city is the best policy. Prime Minister Lu doesn't need to be as knowledgeable as those who don't understand."
Lu Zhongtian pondered and stroked his beard without saying a word.
Seeing the scene of the Jurchens wantonly chasing and killing the northwest soldiers and horses below the city, all the generals at the top of the city couldn't bear it. Chen Bin said: "Prime Minister Lu, should we open the city gate to respond? Letting the Jurchens pursue them like this is not an option."
Lu Zhongtian nodded and said: "Of course we must respond, send out a signal, and summon the remaining soldiers from the northwest to go to the south city. But be careful. Once there are Jurchen soldiers and horses following behind, the city gate will be closed immediately. The safety of the city comes first."
Chen Bin bowed and said: "Yes. I will order someone to do it."
Lu Zhongtian nodded and said: "Remember, the defeated soldiers entering the city must first collect their horses, armor and weapons, and gather them in one place for custody."
Chen Bin was puzzled: "Why...why? Why aren't they all integrated into the army?"
Lu Zhongtian glanced at him sideways and said: "That's the Northwest Army. The army is full of people from Yang Jun and Yuan Zhengqian. Yang Jun is still evil, how can he be incorporated into the army indiscriminately? Wouldn't it have serious consequences? The situation is like this now. , if there is chaos in the city, can we still control the situation?"
Chen Bin and others suddenly realized it and secretly praised Lu Xiang for his thoughtfulness.
Chen Bin ordered his generals to handle the matter. Lu Zhongtian stood up and stretched his waist. Everyone thought he was going down to the city, so they got up one after another. However, Lu Zhongtian did not go down to the city. He walked slowly outside the umbrella and stood with his hands behind his back. On the bare city wall, looking at the setting sun in the west, he fell into deep thought. Everyone stood quietly behind him, looking at his gray hair, beard fluttering in the cold wind, and his thin back. This is an old man who is over seventy years old, but his back is still strong and straight, and he exudes a majestic air. No one dares to underestimate this seventy-year-old man. This man has stood firm since he entered the Great Zhou Dynasty. , decades have passed, and he is still the leader. All his opponents are almost dead, and now he is the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The only one who means what he says.
Many people still cannot see through what he is doing. For example, today, although the Jurchens are powerful in frontal combat, every general knows that if the Forbidden Army is dispatched and attacks from both sides, the chances of winning are quite high. But Lu Zhongtian chose to stand still and sit back and watch the Northwest Army A great defeat, which actually did not benefit the situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty at all. After defeating the Northwest Army, the Jurchens would still launch an attack on Bianliang. Didn’t Lu Zhongtian understand this? But why did he do this? Many people wondered Can't figure it out.
…
The battle lasted a whole day and finally ended as night fell. In addition to more than 20,000 people of the 150,000 northwest army who were transported from Nancheng into Bianliang, more than 30,000 people fled westward. Another two More than ten thousand cavalrymen fled in panic into the cold wilderness.
The Jurchens did not pursue the defeated enemies too recklessly. On the one hand, it was already dark, with dark nights, cold nights, ice and snow wilderness, and the unfamiliar terrain was not suitable for hunting. Secondly, these defeated troops in the northwest were still a threat even after they were defeated. Thirdly, Wan fled to the west, and the cavalry was obviously going to join up with their more than 40,000 infantry. After the northwest army captured Taiyuan Prefecture, more than 200,000 troops came to the capital to rescue them. Their food, grass, baggage and other supplies were all provided by follow-up The infantry escort rushed into the city. Yuan Zhengqian was just eager to save the enemies in the capital, so he led 150,000 cavalry to come first. Once the defeated troops and infantry met, the number was really large and they had the power to counterattack, so it was better to accept it as soon as possible. Okay. The third reason is that the Jurchen soldiers and horses themselves suffered a lot of casualties. Before the heavy cavalry of Tiefutu broke the formation, the Jurchens suffered a loss in the battle on the frontal battlefield, and the Jurchen cavalry casualties exceeded 30,000. Pagoda also lost nearly 300 riders, and its own losses were also very heavy. If they continued to pursue them unscrupulously, if the Forbidden Army in the city stole the camp, the gains would outweigh the losses.
In view of this, Wanyan Agu ordered the pursuit to be stopped and all troops to return to camp to rest.
This great victory completely reversed the difficult situation. Originally, the Jurchen army was ready to flee east, but now, the opponent's 200,000 reinforcements have been beaten to pieces, and more than half of them have been wiped out. Then the situation is completely different. .This battle not only reversed the balance of military power, but also greatly boosted the morale of the Jurchen army. The entire army fell into a kind of fanaticism that they believed they were invincible.
At the celebration banquet that night, many generals clamored for a proposal to attack Bianliang immediately, and received the support of the vast majority of generals. They believed that they should seize the power of a great victory and attack Bianliang fiercely. The soldiers and horses in the Great Zhou city were probably I have been frightened by yesterday's battle. If I attack now, I will get twice the result with half the effort.
Faced with such a proposal, Wanyan Aguda did not express his position. He didn't want to capture Bianliang, and he didn't want to take advantage of the high morale to complete the goal of capturing Bianliang that he had set before. However, the current situation has great consequences. Difficulties. After the siege battle and today's battle, the army's combat strength has been less than 200,000, including more than 100,000
Cavalry and iron pagoda cavalry. The actual infantry force that can attack a city is only 100,000. Unless all cavalry are used as infantry, this is obviously a waste of resources. What a precious unit the cavalry is, and their role on horseback is far greater. Much larger than on the ground.
When they were forced to give up the siege the day before yesterday, they had no time to return the more than 30 cylindrical vehicles that had attacked the city. They were all trapped under the city wall. That night, they were all burned down by the imperial troops guarding the city. More than a dozen rams were also destroyed. All were destroyed. In other words, if you want to attack the city now, you can only use the most primitive method of using ladders to attack the city. Even though the defense system of Bianliang North City has been completely destroyed, it is obvious that if you attack the city in this way, There will be a higher price to pay and more soldiers and horses to be killed and injured.
Although the Forbidden Army in Bianliang City suffered losses, there are still at least 150,000 people. If these Forbidden Army escape the protection of the city, they will be vulnerable in a frontal battle. But the problem is that if they stick to the city wall, it will be different. It will definitely cause great trouble. Not to mention that many defeated troops of the Northwest Army were recruited into Bianliang City, which is equivalent to an increase in the opponent's defense force. After one night, thousands of people may escape into Bianliang City. Liang, their military strength will further increase.
Considering all these factors, attacking the city at this moment does not seem to be a good choice, at least it will definitely not be as simple as the generals said. To capture Bianliang, I am afraid it will take a lot of effort and more people will die. Complete Yan Agu didn't want to waste all his money just for Bianliang City. All his troops only had these hundreds of thousands of troops, and he still counted on these hundreds of thousands of troops to fight all over the Zhou Dynasty and conquer. What about this land? Will it all be buried under Bianliang City? That is absolutely not possible. But this Bianliang City must also be captured, otherwise the victory in today's battle will seem meaningless. Therefore, Wanyan Aguda is also very I had a headache and was in a dilemma.
After the banquet, Wanyan Aguda stayed with military advisor Li Guochou to discuss countermeasures with him. Li Guochou was slightly injured when he led the battle at Tiefutu today. Someone slashed his face through his mask, but he was not injured. But the fine iron mask scratched his nose, causing the entire nose to lose its skin and become completely red, like a red-nosed clown, which looked ridiculous. He had been borrowed by the Jurchen generals at a banquet before. We drank and made fun for a long time.
At this moment, Wanyan Agu couldn't face Li Guoqiu's face directly, because he was afraid that he couldn't help laughing. But Li Guoqiu's serious look was even more funny, and it was actually a bit funny. The topic started with Li Guoqiu's nose. .
"Commander, the wound on your nose is okay. Do you need a witch doctor to apply some herbs?"
"Don't worry, Chief. It's just a flesh wound. Let's discuss the matter of siege."
Li Guoqiu brought the topic back with one sentence. He didn't like nonsense or rambling chatter. He paid attention to efficiency and speed in his actions. He didn't want to waste any of his life on meaningless politeness and gossip.
