To the north of the capital, after three days of marching, the Luoyan Army of the Great Zhou Dynasty passed through Changheng County and headed north to reach Huazhou. Huazhou is actually no longer under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture. There are three counties in its territory: Huaxian, Xucheng, and Weicheng.
They are all small counties, and both belong to the North Beijing Road. But the importance of their geographical location is self-evident. Huazhou is where the world-famous Baima Ferry is located, and the best crossing point to cross the Yellow River northward is here.
.This used to be a place heavily guarded by the Great Zhou Dynasty, but now, after the Jurchens retreated, there are less than 3,000 soldiers and horses stationed in the three counties in the entire Huazhou. Those are the manpower dispatched by the Luoyan Army to maintain public order and restore the control of the imperial court.
According to the plan, the army will arrive at Huaxian County in the evening, which is the seat of Huazhou near the Yellow River ferry. Lin Jue's brows have not relaxed since entering Huazhou. In fact, after dispatching troops from the capital, Lin Jue's
My mood was very low, because all the way to the north, what I saw along the way was miserable.
It is summer now, when all things are flourishing and prosperous. The land north of Beijing was originally a vast flat land, and the large fertile fields irrigated by the Yellow River canals should have been a time when the seedlings were growing strong and prosperous. But now, along the way, I can only understand the heaven and the earth.
Abandoned, overgrown with weeds, sparsely populated, and dilapidated villages. When the Jurchens went south, the people in the north of Beijing fled to death. Only the old and weak people who could not run or walk were left behind. Many people died in the addiction.
Killed by the Jurchens.
When the army passed by these dilapidated villages, even places like Changheng County and Fengqiu County that had been almost completely destroyed, they saw those thin, inhuman figures, standing numbly in front of the dilapidated houses with crutches.
Seeing the sight of the common people passing by the army really made Lin Jue's heart feel like a knife. Although Lin Jue could not achieve the lofty state of 'I am old and I am as old as others, and I am young and I am as young as others', but everyone is the same.
There is empathy for this, there is sympathy for the suffering of the people of the Zhou Dynasty, and as time goes by, the identity changes and the thoughts change, the sense of responsibility I have for myself is increasing.
The more serious it is. Therefore, seeing such a scene makes me feel even more uncomfortable.
Especially entering Huazhou, which was once one of the areas hardest hit by the Qingjiao rebellion. When the Jurchen army went south, they crossed the river and fought a fierce decisive battle with the Zhou Dynasty's 150,000 troops in Huazhou. They encountered the resisting Jurchens
The three counties in Huazhou were bloodbathed and destroyed, and the situation here became even more horrifying. The fields were overgrown with weeds, and there were ruins everywhere, and after entering Hua County, rusty and broken weapons could be seen everywhere.
Damaged vehicles, and corpses everywhere that had rotten to the point of leaving only their skeletons. After the Jurchens crossed the White Horse Crossing, more than 100,000 Xiang soldiers and horses led by Bai Qi were killed here. There was no one to clean up these corpses, so they all
The corpses of other people killed by the Jurchens were scattered within the city walls in a radius of more than ten miles.
The county town of Huaxian is like a ghost town at the moment. There is not a single intact house in the entire city. Not only was it destroyed six months ago, but it was also destroyed again nearly a month ago after the Jurchens withdrew from here north.
Once again. Originally there were still some houses left, but now they were all reduced to rubble, the city walls and houses had been torn down, and there were traces of the spread of fire. In the setting sun, the evening wind blew through these ruins, making a whimpering sound.
It looks like the ghosts of dead people and soldiers are crying and howling here.
"Go down with the order and set up camp on the spot, waiting for the baggage convoy to arrive. Brother Liang, send some people to collect the corpses from more than ten miles around, bury them nearby and erect monuments. Although these are not our officers and men of the Luoyan Army, they are also our soldiers and civilians of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
They also died for the Great Zhou Dynasty. We cannot let their corpses be exposed in the wilderness, they must be buried in peace and have a place to pay tribute." Lin Jue dismounted in front of the collapsed city gate and ordered.
"Yes!" Liang Qi dismounted and walked away. Suddenly he stopped and asked, "Commander, what is written on the monument? I don't know their names."
"Let's write about the tomb of the unknown martyrs of the Great Zhou Dynasty. They died fighting the enemy and deserve the name of martyrs." Lin Jue said.
Liang Qi went to do his own thing, and Lin Jue slowly walked into the city, and the generals followed slowly. After walking for a while on the dilapidated streets, Lin Jue climbed up to a half-collapsed tower. This is a temple in Huaxian City.
The pagoda was half burned by fire and half collapsed, but it is still standing.
Everyone climbed to the heights of the broken tower and had a clear view of the surrounding scenery. As the sun set, the fields were desolate, with ruins, broken walls, and overgrown weeds. Everyone who saw this scene felt extremely heavy.
"The Jurchen dog thieves have really done a lot of evil. I am afraid that our Northern Zhou Dynasty will be completely destroyed by them. This is the epitome of it." Ma Qingshan gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice.
Lin Jue sneered and said: "They have always been like this. They have always been proud of destruction and destruction. When I stayed in Wanyan Agu's army for a while, I experienced how they massacred the city. They vented their anger by massacring the city to intimidate their opponents.
But as everyone knows, this method is the lowest form of intimidation. It doesn't matter, the city can be rebuilt if it is destroyed, and the fields that are barren can be reclaimed and cultivated. In a few years, there will be a new city here, and it will be a prosperous scene. Die
The land watered by the blood of the people will be more prosperous. What we really need to consider is how to prevent all this from being destroyed again. That is to deal with this group of ferocious barbarians so that they can no longer do evil."
Ma Qingshan nodded and said: "The commander is right, everything will be fine. What we have to do now is to annihilate the Jurchens and completely defeat them."
Lin Jue nodded and looked to the distance to the north. There, a wide river flowed from the undulating cliffs in the distance, winding across and flowing straight to the east. That was the Yellow River located a few miles north of Huazhou City.
The wide stretch of river is the White Horse Ferry.
"The pontoon bridge will be built overnight tonight, and it must be completed before noon tomorrow so that the army can cross the river. Brother Ruan Ping, do you have enough manpower? If not, I will send you manpower." Lin Jue said solemnly.
Ruan Ping cupped his hands at the side and said: "Commander, we have enough manpower, but I am worried that there will be enemy forces on the other side to obstruct us. That will affect the progress of our pontoon bridge construction."
Lin Jue shook his head and said: "Don't worry, there is no one on the other side. There are no enemy troops stationed in Liyang County on the other side. The main force of the Jurchens should be all concentrated in Puyang City, Kaide Prefecture. The previous withdrawal of the enemy troops from Xingren Prefecture northward is proof. I
I believe Wanyan Agu is going to fight us decisively in Puyang, so all his troops will be gathered in Kaide Mansion."
Ruan Ping hesitated and said: "Since the commander-in-chief said this, I feel relieved. As long as there are no enemies
The army is harassing us. The pontoon bridge will be built tomorrow morning so that the army can cross the river as scheduled."
Lin Jue nodded. Ma Qingshan couldn't help but asked: "Marshal Lin, I'm sorry for my stupidity. Ever since we sent out troops, Lord Lin has always thought that the Jurchens would fight us decisively in Puyang. I don't know the reason. Originally, I
It was suggested to attack the 30,000 Jurchen troops in Xingren Prefecture first and clear out the enemies on the east and west routes of Beijing. But just as the commander expected, they actually evacuated on their own initiative. We really can’t understand why the Jurchens didn’t gather in Xingren.
How about a decisive battle with us? After all, Xingren Mansion still has a strong city to defend, and Puyang... what kind of city is it? It's not as good as Xingren Mansion's in case of emergency."
Lin Jue turned to look at Ma Qingshan and the generals. The generals all looked expectant, as if they all had this question in their hearts. Lin Jue smiled and said: "Hey, I thought you all understood, but who would have thought that you all have this question in your mind?"
Doubtful. It’s my fault that I didn’t explain it clearly to you. It’s very simple. Although the city of Xingrenfu is strong, how does it compare to the capital city? Doesn’t the Wanyan Agu Assembly know our means of attacking Bianliang? The capital city is so strong that it can’t withstand it.
Can the city of Xingren Prefecture be able to stop us if we attack for half a day? If the Jurchens understand this, they will take advantage of it and escape early."
Ma Qingshan suddenly said: "Oh, I am really confused. I forgot about this. Oh, I am very stupid."
Lin Jue smiled and said nothing. Ma Qingshan added: "But what can they do if they gather in Puyang? Logically speaking, they should station troops on the other side and use the Yellow River ferry as a basis. Those who refuse to defend here are the ones."
Lin Jue said: "The Liyang County area opposite the ferry is where the remaining veins of the Tiantai Mountains are located. The terrain is complex and undulating. Again, our Luoyan weapons are powerful. If the Jurchens want to fight us, they must figure out how to defeat my weapons. There is no danger to the ferry across the way.
Defending, in the face of firearms attacks, they can only be beaten passively. The terrain in Liyang is constricted, which is not conducive to the deployment of superior troops and cavalry. They have fought against my Luoyan Army several times and have already suffered a lot. How can they not learn a lesson? Their only
Their chance of winning is to find a flat and open place with superior force to encircle and attack us. Other than that, they have no other way to win."
Ma Qingshan laughed and said: "It turns out that Puyang is a plain. They are not going to defend Puyang City, but they want to use the Pingchou wilderness in Puyang to fight us. The commander is really thinking carefully. This speculation is reasonable and reasonable. It must be
in this way."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Bold speculations and reasonable decisions are what a general should keep in mind."
Everyone nodded with admiration in their hearts. A general suddenly said: "But... the commander knew that they were gathering in Puyang and wanted to use the flat terrain to fight us, but he went there on his own initiative. Couldn't it be that... he was playing right into their trap?
plan?"
Lin Jue laughed and said: "What can we do? Aren't our army just looking for a decisive battle with the Jurchens? It's rare for the Jurchens to gather in one place, we can't ask for it. If they are scattered everywhere, don't we have to chase them everywhere and exhaust ourselves? If they are
Scattered and scattered, the poison is even worse. Only if their wishes are followed, they will gather in one place, and our army can fight decisively and win, and catch them all in one go. To avoid endless troubles and chasing here and there. As for whether they fell into the trap, hahaha, who
