The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

The battle on the frontal battlefield is becoming increasingly fierce. Yelu Chongyuan's left army is the most aggressive, and his left army has the largest number of troops. Nearly 40 troops are lined up on the front line from Bohaikou to Bazhou Xiongzhou. Once, the focus of the attack was concentrated on the area near Xiongzhou and Bazhou in the west. Its purpose is self-evident. It was to be closer to Xiao Hui's right army, to facilitate coordination, and at the same time, the distance from Bianliang after the breakthrough Closer, more threatening.

Facing the enemy was Fan Zhongyan, who was known for his steady defense. Fan Zhongyan expected that the focus of the attack would be on Bazhou and Xiongzhou, so he only allocated [-] troops to follow Xia Song to garrison the northern part of Bohaikou, Ganning, and almost all the remaining main forces stood firm. There are more than ten cities and fortresses in the Bazhou area of ​​Xiongzhou.

This is more like a collision of a spear against a strong shield.

After a little testing, Yelu Chongyuan ordered a fierce attack from the beginning of May, and the Song Dynasty also operated the three checkpoints Waqiao Pass, Yijin Pass and Yukou Pass in the Bazhou area of ​​Xiongzhou for a long time. The loss of sixteen prefectures, Xiongzhou and Bazhou area was originally a flat and dangerous situation, but the Song Dynasty adapted measures to local conditions, taking advantage of the local characteristics of many lakes and rivers and loose soil, and adopted the method of "because of the land of the lake, the retention of water is the fortress". The policy of blocking the Xu, Bao, Sha, Tang and other rivers in the Nine Rivers formed many water ponds, and the rivers and lakes were connected to form a unique north-south line of defense, which effectively curbed the advance of the Liao cavalry. The defense of Tangluo.

But this time, the Liao people obviously came prepared, and they don't know who came up with the idea. They brought a lot of wooden boards connected together and called it a "moving bridge". The ancient bamboo slips and books of times, followed the army by ox carts. When there were quagmire and swamps, they spread them out and connected them in difficult places to form floating bridges. People and horses stepped on them. Effect. [

But even so, the mobility is still greatly reduced. Small muddy ponds and ditches can be crossed, and large lakes such as Baiyangdian can be crossed. The three passes of Waqiaoguan, Yijinguan and Yukouguan are all guarded. The road is built, and the final battle still comes down to capturing the checkpoints going south.

The Liao army's siege equipment is also well prepared. There are five-storey new-type rush cars, which are more than three feet high when assembled, even higher than the defender's city wall. The wheels are pressed underneath, and they can move forward or use The oxen and horses run in parallel, and they are also very mobile; soldiers hide in the car and shoot arrows directly into the city from the car, which can also be used to approach the city wall, destroy the stacked wall, or directly attack the defenders on the city wall.

In addition to being equipped with various long weapons, the chariot is often loaded with heavy weapons such as crossbows and stone cannons.This first siege equipment is similar to the building car developed by Song Dynasty. The only shortcoming is that it is made of wood, and there is only a small amount of armor protection on the front, which seems not strong enough.

Others, such as lifting ladders, crossings to deal with moats and ditches, and long-range bed crossbows and catapults, are all powerful siege tools.

When Fan Zhongyan fought against the Xia Kingdom, the Xia people only relied on the cavalry's sharp blades to fight in the field. When they attacked the city, they could only catch them blind, because they didn't have these siege equipment at all, and they didn't pay attention to them; In the battle, so many powerful weapons emerged, which made Fan Zhongyan a little at a loss.

In the first few days of fighting, the casualties of the soldiers guarding the three gates skyrocketed, and some even broke through the city walls. The casualties of those defending the city were heavier than those who attacked the city. , and soon he found the enemy's loopholes, and the kerosene from the northwest came in handy. Throw it into the mouth, and then throw a torch on it, and you can stand by and watch the soldiers of the Liao Kingdom crying and crying for their mothers in the burning car; the burning car several feet high burns into the sky, and the soldiers trapped in it are like It is a sweet potato roasted in the fire. If you jump off it, you will fall to your death. If you don’t jump off, you will be burned into braised pork.

After losing hundreds of vehicles, Yelu Chongyuan did not dare to use this tactic again. The enemy army seemed to have enough kerosene. It is really puzzling for the Song people to use such expensive supplies without frowning; It was not these soldiers that Yelu Zhongyuan felt sorry for, but the damaged Chongche, which took a lot of time and money to manufacture, and his army on the left had only 500 Chongche, and it was enough to attack the three passes. After losing more than [-] planes, how can we attack a bigger city later?

As for the casualties of thousands of soldiers in the car, it is not a big deal. Those are all retinues, and they were originally used as cannon fodder. Those who survived a battle may not be lucky, because they will be sent to die next time.

Yelu Zhongyuan adjusted his strategy, adopting the traditional strategy of throwing stones first to suppress them, and then attacking with ladder vehicles. In this way, Fan Zhongyan heaved a sigh of relief. Although this traditional style of play is powerful, it is easy to deal with , it’s not just shopping; and if Yelu Chongyuan continues to use the car-rushing tactics, he really has no choice. Su Jin transferred [-] barrels of kerosene from the northwest, and the battle of the pass has consumed [-] barrels. What are you going to get to burn?

……

At the same time as the fierce confrontation on the frontal battlefield, Su Jin led an army to attack the small city of Yunnei overnight. The city is actually a gathering place for herdsmen, with simple adobe sand walls and low earth houses. The streets are only one main street and two side streets. over the instep.

In the early hours of the morning, the residents of Yunnei City were awakened by the shaking of the ground. The leader of the local herdsmen tribe was the custodian of Yunnei, and there were only a few hundred soldiers under him. The cavalry, wearing armor on their horses, resisted at all.

After daybreak, Su Jin ordered people to gather more than 3000 residents in Yunnei on the soil field in front of the main hall of the city, to show his identity, and to warn them not to resist, or they would be killed.

What is surprising is that these residents didn't even know that Song and Liao were at war. If Su Jin didn't tell them, they wouldn't have known about it. Mountains and rivers, the small tribes here gather on a small pasture to graze, and live a self-sufficient life of hardship. In recent years, the wind and sand have invaded and the pasture has shrunk. Many people have left here to find their own way of life. The remaining residents are some The old, the weak, the sick and the disabled can't take care of themselves, so who will take care of the war between the two countries?

But even so, Su Jin did not dare to take it lightly. He decided to leave five hundred soldiers to occupy Yunnei City, disarm the guards in the city, and take away all the strong men in the city as strong men and guides to pull carts and unload goods. All the horses were taken away.

As soon as the residents of Yunnei City saw that the army began to collect their livestock and horses, they immediately cried out and made a fuss. The Chinese people conveyed the patriarch's words to Su Jin, to the effect that all the residents here lived on these animals and horses. If the animals were taken away, it would be better to kill all the people.

Su Jin thought for a while and said: "I must take the horses away, but I can give you some compensation. I will leave food and money. After the war is over, you can buy more animals."

Pan Jiang said: "Commander, why bother to be polite to them, they are all Liao people, and their horses may become Liao people's war horses to help Liao people kill the enemy, even these residents may become soldiers who attack our Song Dynasty. "

Su Jin smiled and said, "Do I have some benevolence for women?" [

Pan Jiang said: "How dare a humble official say that."

Su Jin waved his hand and said: "Stop talking, execute the military order, take the horses, leave five hundred soldiers to guard, and leave five thousand shi of grain, enough to feed these thousands of people for more than half a year. Each household will be compensated with five pennies."

Pan Jiangyu had to do it. The city lord of Yunnei and the people stopped making trouble when they saw this situation. They also knew that this was the best result; after searching the whole city, the army had another [-] horses And [-] cows, plus the [-] horses that were plundered in front, the number is already quite impressive. Su Jin ordered to rest in Yunnei City until the afternoon, because the road to the edge of the desert will be taken next, and the sun in May It doesn't matter if it is taken elsewhere, but it is quite different when it is taken in the desert. Although the journey is urgent, it must not wear down the physical strength.

During this half day, the army cut down the shrubs and trees inside and outside the city, and made many simple sand sleds. More than 3 animals that could not ride were just used to put on the sand sleds, and soldiers could sit on them without walking. , more labor-saving and faster.

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