Kingdom of Heaven and Han

Chapter 910 Fear of despair

The next day, Wang Xiaolie left Jiexiu and headed for Pingyao.After sending Wang Xiaolie across the pavilion, Zhao Ding had a complicated mood as he watched the departing figure.On the surface, Wang Xiaolie and Zhao Ding were not at odds with each other, and their interactions were normal official interactions.However, in fact, Wang Xiaolie cut off the connection between his army and the Governor's Mansion, and Zhao Ding knew nothing about military deployment.Zhao Ding mobilized the Shaanxi army to strengthen his own momentum, but the battle in Pingyao proved that it was of no use.

After sending Wang Xiaolie away, Zhao Ding looked at the rising sun and sighed.In the Battle of Taiyuan, his role was very limited.

Pingyao is 150 miles away from Jiexiu, and Wang Xiaolie walked this distance in two days.Most of Cao Zhiyan's troops have been transferred, and the first division led by Wang Xiaolie took over the city defense.However, Cao Zhi received the order and rushed back from dozens of miles away in advance.

After arriving in Pingyao, we rested for an hour and held a meeting at the headquarters.

In the county government office, Wang Xiaolie looked at everyone and said: "Because the war has been going well these days, many people have had their minds wandering and asked to speed up the progress of the war. Not only Fenzhou, but also the army is required to go north and occupy Taiyuan as soon as possible. Today I Once again, the purpose of the Taiyuan Battle is to attract the full reinforcements of the Jin Army. In the Taiyuan area, we can achieve the purpose of closing the door and annihilating all the Jin West Route Army. Every military operation in the campaign cannot violate this purpose. So currently, We just want to firmly occupy Pingyao, occupy Xihe as soon as possible, and wait for the arrival of Jin army reinforcements."

Wang Ruohai said: "To conduct a battle like Taiyuan, a lot of resources are used and cannot be wasted. Now that the purpose of the campaign has been set, all levels must implement it from bottom to bottom. We cannot think like this at the top and have ulterior motives at the bottom. .”

Seeing Wang Xiaolie's serious attitude, everyone nodded in agreement.

Wang Xiaolie said: "Next, Niu Gao will go to Xihe to unified command the war in Xihe. Xihe and Pingyao are a hundred miles apart, so they can take care of each other."

Niu Gao crossed his hands and said yes.

Wang Xiaolie said: "In a few days, Li Kuan will come here from Hezhong Mansion. After he comes, he will be in charge of the left front line of Xihe, with Niu Gao assisting. Our strategy is very clear, with Li Kuan as the west route. , focusing on the Wenshui, Jiaocheng, and Qingyuan front lines. The rest of the headquarters and I formed the east route, focusing on the Qixian, Taigu, and Yuci front lines. Finally, we used the Qingyuan and Yuci lines to attack Taiyuan from both sides!"

Ma Kuo said: "Between the two roads is the Fen River. They are not far apart and the Fen River is not difficult to cross."

Wang Xiaolie nodded: "Yes, the Fen River is not wide and it is not difficult to cross the river. Although the two roads are called two roads, most of the time they are still one road."

Wang Shu said: "With the current situation and Taiyuan's important position to Hedong, the Jin army will definitely come south. Cao Zhiyan cleanly defeated Wanyan Yuying, which should have shocked the Jin people. They sent reinforcements. I don't know how many people there will be. ?”

Ma Kuang said: "Cao Zhiyan has 2 people, Wanyan Yuying is estimated to have 9000 people, plus Wanyan Benjian's 2 people, we are 6 to [-]. If we add Ali Xi who is accompanying the army, then it will be Twenty thousand versus fifty or sixty thousand.”

Wang Ruohai said: "It's 6 against 20, and Nianhan dare not underestimate it if it is defeated in the First World War! Originally, it was estimated that the West Route Army could mobilize [-] or [-] people, but if Nianhan is really desperate, he can More than [-] people have been mobilized.”

Ma Kuang said: "With so many soldiers and horses, the Jin army will definitely come in separate ways. Which roads do you think the Jin army will take?"

Wang Xiaolie said: "Are there many roads? From Datong Mansion, there is only one way to go, Yanmenguan."

Ma Kuo shook his head: "Now that the Jin Dynasty is weak, Nianhan dominates the Jin Kingdom. In addition to the soldiers and horses of Datong Prefecture, he can also mobilize troops and horses from the Yanjing area to come to the rescue. It is still possible to enter the plains via Jingxing Road."

"Jingxing——" Wang Xiaolie thought for a moment and nodded. "We have really neglected this road. But Jingxing Road cannot carry a large army, and even if it comes to help, it will only be 5 to 5 people. In Longde Mansion, we still have [-] people, so we will not be at a disadvantage in terms of strength. In short, this battle , is to attract the reinforcements of the Jin army to Taiyuan, let us gather together and annihilate them! The most ideal thing is for Jiang Min to defeat Datong Mansion in the west, and we attack from both front and rear!"

After listening to Wang Xiaolie's words, everyone nodded in agreement.

Wang Xiaolie said: "In order to strengthen the determination of the Jin people to rescue Taiyuan, we cannot go north quickly and have to wait for them to arrive in Taiyuan. Due to the arrival of the Shaanxi army, the Taiyuan battle was launched in advance. We were a little in a hurry, and the Jin people were even more nervous. They were caught off guard. This season is the time for them to harvest corn, and most of the corn is not yet mature. In terms of food and grass alone, it is very difficult for the Jin people."

Wang Ruohai said: "We are also in trouble. Although the wheat is harvested, it is too late to grind it into flour. The front line only eats wheat rice." Wang Xiaolie said: "After all, there is still something to eat, so don't complain. No matter what you say , This battle started ahead of time, so many variables will be added. I estimate that the reinforcements of the Jin army will arrive sooner or later in two months. You all know it well and prepare early."

After everyone discussed some miscellaneous matters, Cao Zhiyan was asked to come to the venue.

Wang Xiaolie said: "Currently, there is only one division of Cao Zhiyan in the army in Taiyuan Basin. I just have a chance today to listen to what he has to say. Especially about the battle with Wanyan Benjian a few days ago, the headquarters staff still need to listen more. .”

Cao Zhiyan crossed his hands and said: "Outside Jiexiu City, we passed Queshu Valley and entered Taiyuan Basin, and happened to encounter the Jin army attacking Jiexiu——"

Wang Xiaolie waved and said, "Sit down and talk."

The soldier added a stool, and Cao Zhiyan sat down, saying he was offended.

After sitting down, Cao Zhiyan continued: "The next day we fought against Wanyan Benjian. The two sides lined up and approached each other. When we were about [-] paces away, we suddenly fired, and the Jin army was caught off guard. As a result, we fired five or six rounds of artillery , the Jin army was completely defeated."

Wang Ruohai asked: "During the field battle, didn't the Jin army have cannons?"

Cao Zhiyan shook his head: "No. I also asked, and the Jin people said that the gun mount was too heavy and couldn't be moved at all. Maybe they will have a way in the future, but not now."

Wang Ruohai said: "The Jin people did not have cannons in the field. This matter must be recorded. In the field, it is a big difference whether there are cannons or not."

The others nodded together.Indeed, the Jin Army had no artillery during field battles, and its combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

Cao Zhiyan said: "After the Jin people were defeated, they returned to the military camp. Our army chased them and with one round of artillery, the wall collapsed. In other words, when they were defending the camp, the Jin army had no cannons. Facing us, there was nothing we could do No."

Everyone nodded together.Whether it is because the time is too short or the technical strength is insufficient, this is a great benefit to the Song Army.

Cao Zhiyan continued: "Wanyan Benjian led 7000 people to fight. Later I found out that he was to cover the escape of the rest of the army. However, the Jin army was cavalry and we could not catch up, so we had to give up. Against the 7000 people who went out to fight, we They all stayed.”

"To be honest, the Jin Army's fighting will is quite tenacious. Those who came before them fell, and those who came after them kept up, without stopping at all. Until the close encounter with our army, nearly half of the Jin Army died, but the formation was still neat. To do this It’s really not easy at all.”

After hearing this, several people in the headquarters whispered.Being able to survive nearly half of the damage without collapsing, in this era, it is definitely a first-class powerful army.If you encounter an ordinary enemy, this alone can scare the enemy to pieces.

Of course, Cao Zhiyan's troops are not ordinary enemies and cannot be intimidated.

Cao Zhiyan said: "I have summarized a few points about the battle with Wanyan Benjian for your reference. First, the veterans and strong soldiers in the Jin Army have a very tenacious fighting will, which is not comparable to that of ordinary armies. Second, their fighting spirit The method is quite clumsy. Although it is tenacious, it cannot be flexible. Third, what really caused the Jin Army to collapse was not how many people died, but our strong will and well-trained training when fighting in close combat. As mentioned before, although the Jin Army More than half of them were damaged, but their formation was still neat and orderly, with no sign of panic. However, not long after the close encounter, the entire army collapsed."

Ma Kuo said: "This is very interesting. In other words, the Jin Army is not afraid of death, but it is also afraid of - how should I put it, afraid of despair."

Cao Zhiyan nodded: "That's exactly it!"

(End of this chapter)