On the 22nd day of the first lunar month, Han Shizhong led 25,000 imperial camp left troops to arrive in Chang'an.
The reason why it was slightly later than expected was not that Han Shizhong only bullied Xin Xingzong in Wuguan, nor was it due to the rain...it didn't rain on the road to Wuguan...but because the recognized number one general of the Song Army left Wuguan.
After that, the early warnings from sentries, local officials and Yu Wenxuzhong soon discovered something wrong with the Jin army:
A total of 20,000 elite cavalry, led by the eldest son and daughter of Wanyan Lou's family, were motionless in Huazhou, located between Shaanzhou and Jingzhao Prefecture (Chang'an), as if they were waiting for him.
Therefore, Han Shizhong responded immediately.
On the one hand, he ordered to divide his troops and let some troops seize the cities along the way to serve as strategic pivots. On the other hand, he asked the main force to slow down and move forward carefully to ensure that the army was not exposed to the direct threat of the Jin Army's cavalry.
When the troops marched to Lantian, a key point that connected Wuguan Road and Luoshui Trail at the same time, the Jin Army in Huazhou still had no intention of blocking them head-on. Only then did he make up his mind to leave the Black Dragon King Sheng with 5,000 troops to assist the Yu Wenxuzhong faction.
The garrison arrived to defend Lantian, and then he and the main force of more than 20,000 troops suddenly accelerated and rushed to Chang'an.
Then he arrived at Chang'an City safely.
In other words, Chang'an City in the Song Dynasty was definitely not the Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty with an area of nearly 100 square kilometers in the past, but it was still a giant city in the world. Therefore, Han Shizhong calmly led the crowd into the city and immediately ordered small camps to be set up in front of each gate for cover.
But that was all. As Han Shizhong's army entered Chang'an, the Jin army, which had been as quiet as a virgin, suddenly moved out. The power of the cavalry was undoubtedly demonstrated on the plains. The connections between the cities were instantly severed, villages were set on fire, and bridges and strongholds were burned.
Occupied, once a small group of troops is exposed, it will be a disaster.
Twenty thousand cavalry could be said to have swept across both sides of the Wei River, and the vanguard rushed into Chang'an City like a violent storm.
Many cities along the way were photographed because of the strength of the Jin army and the reputation of Wanyan Lou and his son. Out of fear, they directly opened the city to surrender. Those who did not surrender, even though it was a spring day, were trembling like dead leaves after autumn.
Almost as if it was accomplished overnight, Wanyan Huonv's army advanced directly to Baqiao and set up camp accordingly.
To be honest, if Han Shizhong hadn't come, the city of Chang'an would have been panicked by this kind of momentum, especially the huge capital of Jingzhao, a thousand-year-old ancient capital. Part of it collapsed due to the earthquake that year. Although it was supplemented later
But they don't seem to know each other that well... It's hard to say whether the city can be saved.
But isn't it true that he is known as a brave official and dares to be the first in the world to invade the Han Dynasty and return to Guanxi five times? Isn't it that 25,000 imperial army left troops came to Chang'an City?
Han Shizhong, who had just established a stronghold under the city, took advantage of the fact that most of the Jin army had not completely gathered in front of the city. After understanding the city defense structure a little, he actually took the initiative to go out of the city to fight by taking advantage of the advantages of the city's camp and its military strength:
On this day, he first asked Cheng Min, who was promoted to the commander, to lead only 3,000 Beiwei cavalry out of the city to attack. The so-called backing of the city and the support of the small camps in front of the city gates kept coming and going with the Jin army's cavalry; then, taking advantage of the opportunity, he
When the Jin army's attention was distracted, they suddenly asked Jie Yuan to lead the enemy troops to attack...
Four thousand troops to destroy the side forces poured out from the small camps in front of multiple city gates, and some even hung from a certain city wall. They were trying to assemble them all in formations at specific locations in the shortest possible time to form a large scale.
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When the Jin army woke up and came to deal with it, the crossbow array had already successfully retreated from the city. The Jin army was afraid of casualties and hesitated for a while.
At this time, the commander Wang Quan led thousands of people to pour out of the city, each carrying a bag of soil, until they dropped it in front of the strong crossbow formation of the destroying army and left... At this time, several Jin soldiers were marching in front of the formation.
If they dared to hesitate, the result of the military discussion was immediately reached, and then the five thousand cavalry began to actively mount their horses to attack, but it was already a little too late.
The Song Army's crossbowmen manned simple fortifications and fought calmly with the Jin Army. Han Shizhong suddenly led his troops to stand out and come to the rescue from the flanks. Nearly ten thousand troops from both sides fought fiercely in a narrow range of one to three miles in front of the city. In just two quarters of an hour, the troops were defeated.
Hundreds of corpses were thrown away, but no matter what, the Jin army was still unable to drive away the elite crossbow troops arrayed in front of the city. They watched as the fortifications in this area became more and more complex and the cavalry became more and more powerless.
Finally, due to the lack of generals to protect them, several meng'an who could not withstand the casualties gathered together again and simply withdrew, and the Song army successfully established a stronghold here.
On the second day, the Jin Army suddenly realized that the real purpose of Han Shizhong's attack was to destroy the city wall behind the Xinzhai of the PLA. It was the part of Chang'an City that had been rebuilt due to collapse due to the earthquake before it was breached by Wanyan Loushi.
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In other words, as soon as Han Shizhong arrived, he took the initiative to remedy the biggest hidden danger in city defense.
That afternoon, Wanyan, who had just returned to the Baqiao camp from Weibei, rushed to Chang'an again without stopping. He circled the city and saw that the walls of Chang'an were tall, and the Song army had high morale, well-equipped, and
The marching troops were as fierce as the others, one big and two big. In desperation, the commander of the Jin army simply ordered all the frontline troops to follow him back to the Baqiao camp, and then wrote a letter to his father to complain.
Of course, it may be inaccurate to say that she is complaining, because living women are not afraid of hard work.
But the problem is that in the current situation, it is obviously unwise to attack the city, especially when there are tens of thousands of cavalry. Instead of seeking a field battle, they divide their troops to attack the city from two sides. This is a tactical decision that only fools would make... Don't you think so?
It's easier to deal with Li Yanxian.
However, the only problem is that this idiot is a world-famous general who has defeated all the invincible opponents in East Asia. He is the biological father whom living girls admire and respect the most, so this person cannot be so stupid!
Therefore, Huonv gradually realized that his father had other plans, and he wanted to ask his father what exactly was his plan?
It's okay to fight tooth and nail, throw the army into a fortified city regardless of casualties, or even kill his daughter, but he needs his father to tell him clearly.
As long as he speaks out, he is willing to go through fire and water for his father, and he can guarantee that hundreds of thousands of people in the West Route Army will also be willing to go through fire and water!
At the end of the first month of the first month, just after Wanyan Huonv sent a handwritten letter and made some decisive psychological preparations, Wanyan Lou Shi rushed to Baqiao in person in just two days... After all, for her son, especially this one
As the eldest son who has already achieved the title of Tutong, there is no need for Wanyan Lou to be too mysterious.
"Where are the soldiers and horses on Jingyuan Road and Yanxiao Road that I asked you to go to Weibei to investigate before, that is, where are Hu Yin and Wu Jie now? How many soldiers and horses are there?"
The weather was fine, and Wanyan Loushi, who had regained his usual vigor, galloped to Baqiao. He saw the willow trees sprouting along the river, and they were green.
He stood under a willow tree by the Bashui River, called his son out of the camp, and then listened to the news for a while.
"Reply to daddy." The living girl hurried out of the camp. Seeing her father relaxed and happy, she simply dismounted, stepped forward and hugged one of his legs, and answered directly by the river. "Hu Yin's kid has already checked it out personally.
... After we went south to Tongguan, they immediately divided their forces. Wu Lin, the younger brother of the Wu brothers and the military supervisor of Yanyi Road, was still stationed in Luojiao to guard against Yan'an, while Hu Yin personally took Wu Jie and led the Jingyuan Road
Thousands of people went south and arrived in the Fuping area about four or five days ago. It may be that Han Shizhong had already entered the customs at that time and was summoned by Chang'an City, so he stopped."
"It's about what I thought. After Qu Duan was replaced, at least no one in the Western Army dared to hold his own troops anymore... The last time I came here, I didn't see such a beautiful scenery here." Lou Shi looked around, nodded repeatedly, and spoke casually. "
What about the reinforcements from Bashu and the rest of the Western Army?"
"It's true that Bashu didn't know much about it, but Qin Feng Road's soldiers and horses had already gathered at Wugong seven or eight days ago. There were tens of thousands of people in Xi County. It should be that Yu Wenxuzhong knew that Han Shizhong's army was coming, so he asked them to stay behind to provide reinforcements.
...But the boy guessed that he might also want to wait for Zhang Jun to lead Bashu and Xihe Road reinforcements to gather together and act as a general backup. However, there is no specific information at the moment, so it is difficult to judge." Huo Nu suppressed her doubts and still patiently replied.
In any case, this is his basic responsibility as a subordinate.
"In other words." Lou Shi heard the words and thought thoughtfully on the horse. "We went south, Jingyuan Road, Yanxiao Road, Qinfeng Road without any delay. Just like the east side, we did it in the shortest time.
Come to help?”
"That's right." The living girl answered seriously. "After one year of training, Song Jun has become somewhat energetic."
"Not counting Xihe Road, just these three roads and the Western Army in Jingzhao. How many people are there? What is their combat strength?"
"The number is not clear, about thirty or forty thousand is less than that." The living girl gave the answer affirmatively. "In terms of combat power, except for Jingyuan Road, which is Quduan that day, the 10,000 people led by Brother Wu Jie are considered elite.
In addition, the rest of the troops and horses are far inferior to the elite soldiers and horses of the imperial camp, and the ordnance is far inferior to..."
"I have also asked the local surrendered officials in detail in the past few days." Lou Shi nodded repeatedly. "The Western Army used Bashu's money and food, but it has only been rebuilt for half a year, so it seems unbearable... However, if the money and food have been supplied all the time,
Come up, with the resistance of the Song people in Shaanxi and the care of the Song emperor in Tokyo, this group of troops will become more elite sooner or later. I estimate that the number can be as many as 50,000... Do you think that's right?"
"Yes." The living girl responded simply, but in her heart she was planning to confess to her father.
"Then just wait." Lou Shi thought for a while and then spoke again. "I want to see if Zhang Jun comes and how many people can he bring?"
The living girl wanted to speak but stopped.
"I know." Lou Shi glanced at his son on the horse and calmly ordered. "Within this month, we will withdraw our troops as soon as Zhang Jun comes. If Zhang Jun doesn't come, we will also withdraw our troops!"
However, when she heard the words "withdraw troops", she was already dumbfounded.
Lou Shi laughed when he saw this: "You wrote to me to ask for an explanation. I came here specifically to explain it to you today. Why are you surprised?"
The living girl's mind was in a mess, and it took her half a day to sort out the beginning and end of this battle - the New Year's Eve raid, and then the whole army was delayed in Tongguan for more than ten days, waiting for the reinforcements of the Song Army to arrive, and then attacked from both sides, but the attack failed, and now they have to wait again
The Song army was about to withdraw as soon as all reinforcements arrived.
From the situation point of view, this is correct... Since Chang'an and Shaanzhou cannot be defeated, then we can simply withdraw our troops. But the question is, if this is the case, why are the 50,000 or 60,000 elite soldiers coming south this time?
If I had known this, why did I do it in the first place?
"Dad." The living girl tried her best to calm down and continued to hold her father's thigh and asked. "If we go back like this, won't we be pulled away from Su Jiao?"
"How dare he try to laugh in front of me?" Lou Shi couldn't help but laugh immediately. "I asked him to wait for reinforcements to arrive before attacking Shaanxi Province, but he didn't even have the courage to talk to me in person, so he could only let the second child do the talking.
Is it available now?”
The living girl became more and more confused.
"They are all good land." Lou Shi suddenly turned his head and pointed his horsewhip at the surrounding wilderness. "Tell the Han people in the surrounding villages not to delay the farming season and sow when it's time to go out... You must also restrain yourself in the last few days.
All members of the tribe are not allowed to loot privately, kill people indiscriminately, or trample fertile farmland."
"Why?"
The living girl didn't hear the last words at all, but he still asked this question with a mentality of being confused about the withdrawal of troops and the attack.
"Because the farmland is so fertile, it will be ours in autumn!" Lou Shi threw his head back and laughed, shaking his helmet back and forth to spread the willow branches. "As for you, if you feel that you have lost face in this battle, just do it when you retreat.
Let's cut off the rear and see if we can attack the Western Army all at once and make them suffer."
Having said this, Lou Shi directly stretched out his legs and kicked his son lightly, then held the reins and walked along the Bahe River to watch the willows, ignoring military affairs again.
At the end of the first month, there was still no news from Zhang Jun. Wanyan Loushi no longer hesitated and ordered the entire army to turn back from the original route. Tens of thousands of elite cavalry, like arms and fingers, instantly gathered at Tongguan and Huayin, and then headed north in an orderly manner.
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Seeing this situation, Li Yanxian immediately sent troops to carefully regain the lost territory and divided his troops to cross the river to Pinglu. Han Shizhong did not hesitate and immediately supervised tens of thousands of troops to advance in an orderly manner. Seeing this, Wu Jie also persuaded Hu Yin to
As the capital commander, he personally led 5,000 Jingyuan troops and 5,000 reinforcements from Qinfeng Road, totaling tens of thousands of people to pursue eastward.
However, after Wu Jie, the eager commander of Jingyuan Road, led his troops across Beiluoshui from Changle Town, Huazhou, they encountered Wanyan Huonv and his 10,000 cavalry head-on.
The two sides were ten thousand against ten thousand, but it was infantry against cavalry, unprepared against prepared. After a battle, the Western Army was defeated and the rout could not be stopped. When Wu Jie fled back to the west bank of Beiluoshui, he checked the troops
, the entire army actually lost nearly half.
Of course, there is good news. When Wanyan Saba from the direction of Shaanzhou tried to withdraw, he was pursued by Li Qiong and blocked by Zhao Cheng, who was ambushing in Zhongtiao Mountain. The mountain was severely defeated, and thousands of Jin soldiers simply escaped with their lives.
But no matter what
The spring breeze in February was like scissors. The spring breeze not only brought greenery to the Guanzhong Plain, but also sent away tens of thousands of cavalry of the Jin Army's West Route Army... In full view of the public, and it cannot be faked, the main force of the Jin Army passed directly across the Pujin Floating Bridge.
Entering the boundary of Hezhong Prefecture, the core area ruled by the Jin Kingdom.
At this time, due to the muddy spring rain, Zhang Jun and his reinforcements from Xingyuan Mansion (Hanzhong) and Xihe Road arrived at Fengxiang.
All kinds of news were collected in a chaotic manner in Luoyang and then spread to Tokyo.
Among them, there was naturally jubilation all over Tokyo... because no matter how many details were discussed, no matter how many specific victories or defeats there were, the result was that the main force of the Jin army returned without success, and this meant that the Henan region was impregnable, and that the Song Dynasty court
increasingly stable in the Yellow River Basin.
So, of course, it is no problem for Tokyo, an increasingly lively city, to be excited about this.
But in Luoyang, perhaps because this city was a dead city a year ago, it didn't cause too many waves.
On the contrary, when it comes to Zhao Guan's family, who has been in this city for nearly a month, at this moment, he feels an unprecedented sense of confusion and fear.
It must be known that before the start of this 'battle', the Zhao Guan family had judged that there would be a battle between the Song and Jin Dynasties that would determine the fate of both parties. For the Song Dynasty, the success or failure of this battle was related to whether it could establish a complete foothold in the Yellow River Basin, so after Wanyan Loushi went south
, he felt quite relieved.
Moreover, I have made up my mind to sell the pot and sell the iron, and throw everything at it to win this battle.
However, as the battle progressed, Wanyan Lou's procrastination and inaction made everyone, including Zhao Jiu, look suspicious. However, as reinforcements from all walks of life were in place, and Zhao Jiu moved forward to Luoyang, he saw with his own eyes
After judging one's own side's absolute strategic advantage, he gradually gained confidence and a sense of security.
However, this sense of solidity came to an abrupt end after Wanyan Loushi suddenly withdrew his troops.
Zhao Jiu was not the only one who felt this was ridiculous, everyone felt unbelievable... To put it crudely, even if you took off your pants, you, the most dignified general of the Jin Kingdom, would do this to the Song Dynasty?
However, as the withdrawal of troops from Wanyan Lou's chamber became clear, the accompanying Privy Council officials and military officers at all levels had to take the initiative to find reasons for each other.
Some people think that there is a big turmoil within the Kingdom of Jin, and Lou wants to go back to fight for power; others think that Wanyan Lou is old and frail, and is no longer as brave as before, and even his physical condition has seriously affected his commanding ability; some think
It is believed that this move south was just a show of force by the Jin army and had no real strategic intention. Therefore, once the Song army was fully assembled, they would naturally withdraw.
Of course, as a time traveler, as someone who was used to seeing world maps, and who firmly believed that there would be a war, Zhao Guanjia also had his own unique conjecture... He sometimes thought, Wanyan Lou's house is here
Does the inexplicable and fruitless 'Grand Invasion' seem like a large-scale strategic reconnaissance for a real grand invasion?
And if it is, suppose it is.
So does a military plan that requires the use of 50,000 to 60,000 cavalry for a month to conduct reconnaissance exist? If it exists, how large is it? When will it be launched?
Moreover, what exactly did Wanyan Lou’s office detect?
But in the end, with the abundant rational spirit of the engineering dog and a hint of panic from the bottom of his heart, Zhao Jiu suppressed this idea... After hesitating for half an afternoon, he finally gave the order to let Han Shizhong approach with the army and destroy it.
The Thousand-Year Floating Bridge in Pujin, and then came directly to catch up with him, and followed him and Li Yanxian in their 'triumph' to Tokyo.
Zhao Jiu returned to Tokyo on February 13th, and on the same day, Wanyan Loushi also arrived in Taiyuan City.
On this day, Zhao Jiu, who had "returned triumphantly", temporarily forgot the doubts and fears in his heart. With the help of his two confidants Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan, he wore a full set of fine steel armor and rode on Qu Duan's temporarily loaned horse.
The Iron Elephant, under Jin Wu's banner, together with the heroes Han Shizhong and Li Yanxian, carried their bows and swords, detoured to the south of the city, and led more than ten thousand elite soldiers and horses from the imperial camp into the city from the imperial road.
Hundreds of thousands of people lined the road to welcome him.
On this day, Wanyan Loushi, the actual commander of the Jin Kingdom's West Route Army who "returned without success", disbanded all the troops along the way and asked them to return to their respective places. When they entered Taiyuan City, there were only more than a hundred cavalry guards and two sons beside him.
Accompany.
On this day, Zhao Jiu held a banquet in honor of the hero. In the evening, he returned to the harem drunk. Mrs. Wu spent a lot of effort to help him remove his armor.
It was also the same day. Wanyan Loushi just had a light meal in the city at noon, and then summoned his second son Mouyan and his bodyguards again. He continued to complete his armor and went directly out of the city to the east.
After walking for another six or seven days, in late February, Wanyan Loushi arrived at the foot of Yanjing City.
This person did not visit his old comrade-in-arms Wanyan Yinshuke who had just been promoted from staying behind in Taiyuan to staying behind in Yanjing, nor did he visit his old leader Wanyan Nianhan who was now in power, nor did he visit several
The prince...he just rested for the night and had a meal of beef in a large house outside the city where he knew thousands of people. The next day, he revealed his identity and went directly to the Shangshu Province of the former Liao Kingdom in Yanjing City.
The Lou family inquired very clearly that since the crown prince's brother Wan Yanxi also died of illness last year, which caused many chaos in the central government, this place and the palace in Huining Mansion have actually become the places where the nobles of the central government compete for power.
When it's hot, they stay in Huining Mansion, and when it's cold, they come to Yanjing City... However, most of the time they stay in Yanjing City because it's so prosperous.
At this moment, because the weather has not completely turned warm, the country's leader Wu Qimai, the country's prime minister Wanyan Nianhan, and the flesh and blood of several Taizu emperors, that is, the princes, are all here.
If they arrive a few days later, they will be heading north again.
In the Shangshu Province, several central nobles heard that Lou Shi had arrived alone, including Nianhan. They were all shocked, but they quickly opened the doors to welcome this famous general who was supposed to have just withdrawn his troops and was stationed in Shanxi.
Mr. Lou was fully armored and went directly to the hall. He worshiped in the hall first and met with the king of the country, Wu, to beg for purchases.
Wu Qimai, who was dressed in a thin brocade jacket and had wrinkles on his forehead, hurriedly went down and helped Lou Shi up personally. Then he held his hands in the hall and said to each other sincerely: "Oliyan (Lou Shi's original name, nickname), you are in Shanxi
Your hard work has paid off, and if you have anything to do, just send someone to tell you, and we will never fail to do so. Even if you go south this time and return without success, no one will blame us, so why do you have to come here in person?"
Lou Shi's hands were held by Wu Qimai. He first glanced at the central nobles in the hall, and after trying to recognize everyone clearly, he sighed and raised his voice to the leader of the Jin Kingdom in front of him:
"Oliyan heard that the king was dead, so he came all the way from Shanxi to see the king for the last time... I came late, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to see him again in this life."
Wu Qimai didn't know how to reply for a moment, because he didn't even know that he was about to die.
ps: I didn’t mention it in this chapter, I was about to die...I wanted to take a leave of absence at one point.