In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 536: God’s wrath

That night, deputy general Zhang Hui came to Liu Zheng's camp.

The two made an appointment with several deputy commanders to have a meal together, but they did not dare to drink. Zhao and Rui strictly prohibited drinking during the battle, and the generals did not dare to disobey, not to mention that there were people from the Intelligence Department and Jin Yiwei in the army. Some people's identities are unknown to them.

Among them, Luo Lei, the Jin Yiwei, was very familiar with Liu Zheng and the others. They also knew that he had made meritorious service when he went to see Batu alone and was promoted to a thousand households. However, they did not know that some of Luo Lei's subordinates were hiding in the army.

"Who is leading the army over there at Guyu? How many people are coming to attack Lai City?" Zhang Hui asked while eating.

"It seems that Tasi has some northern Han generals, about fifty thousand in number."

"What's the point of conquering Lai City?" Commander Lu Wenxin said with a smile: "Should we immediately backfire and attack Guyou again?"

The Song Army did this back then, first fighting Jin with a torpedo, and then hitting Jin with a backhand.

Zhang Hui suddenly became embarrassed. He had been defeated and surrendered in this battle.

Liu Zheng laughed and scolded: "You are not talking about martial ethics. How could your Majesty let us do such a thing?"

"But shipbuilding is not an easy task. With the current navy of our Song Dynasty, they would not be able to catch up even if we stopped for ten years." After Liu Zheng finished speaking, the scene burst into laughter again.

"Bang" Liu Zheng slammed the table: "What are you doing? Is it your turn to discuss important matters in His Majesty's family?"

"With Rai City as the boundary, the south of Rai City belongs to our Song Dynasty, and the north including Tabriz and the entire Caspian Sea belongs to their Mongol Eastern Khan."

Moreover, there were many dynasties to the west of the Persian Gulf at this time. After the Mongols entered, they had to fight for a while. Zhao Yurui planned to conquer the east first, that is, the Delhi Sultanate, Annan, Champa, Chenla and other places close to the Song Dynasty. Then you can connect with Persia.

At this time, some generals suggested that there were not enough men and horses.

After the Mongols conquered the west, Zhao and Rui continued to fight west.

"When the time comes, we will tear them apart and reorganize a new army."

"So before we kill Batu and Brother Meng, try not to fall out with Guyu. But we must also prevent them from biting us back."

"No matter who they are, they are all from the Song Dynasty. Your Majesty will treat them equally. Don't forget His Majesty's grace."

"Don't worry, the King of Han will support us soon. Two armies from Srivijaya will come over." Liu Zheng said.

"That's that." All the generals responded in unison.

The conditions agreed upon by Zhao Yurui and Guyu were to cede Persia to the Song Dynasty, but the area north of Persia and above the Caspian Sea, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Tur, would all belong to Mongolia.

Liu Zheng's intention was to separate and reorganize the Sanfoqi people and match them with other Boni people and Feilu people, with Han people as the main officers.

The Song army had never used this trick before, so the Persians would definitely not take precautions. Zhang Hui believed that in this case, it would be better to do the opposite.

All the generals laughed after hearing this. With the Mongols looking like this, they still want to build ships? It's so whimsical.

"The King of Han has made great achievements, won't he be the crown prince in the future?"

"The choice of the crown prince has not been decided, and it may not be the King of Han."

Everyone complained. Now, like the Mongolian army, they have become a multinational army. Each army has various people, including Dajuan indigenous people, the former Khitans, Dangxiang people, Jurchens, and even Mongolians.

Liu Zheng continued: "Two armies came over from Srivijaya. One of them is from Srivijaya and can only be used to manage and defend the city."

"Say." Liu Zheng.

"First fight Batu and Meng Ge. They have troops and territory in the Jiyali, Bolan, and Damascus areas. It will be difficult to fight and it will take time."

But the important Caspian Sea will be handed over to the Mongols. Guyu also plans to build a navy in the Caspian Sea and Volga River area, because he knows that the Song Army's navy is powerful and will pose a threat to them in the future.

"We have made an agreement with them. After the city of Rai is captured, the surrendered troops in the city will belong to them, and the property will belong to us."

The Song Dynasty now fights by attacking one city, occupying one city, and defending one city.

Of course, Zhao Yurui didn't want this, but before killing Meng Ge and Batu, he and Guyu agreed on such a division.

But this is fine. In many difficult battles, those who charge ahead can let the servant army go first. The casualties of the Song army will become smaller and smaller.

The areas west of the Persian Gulf, such as Keweite, Katal, and the west of Yilaq, belonged to Mongolia, and the rest belonged to the Song Dynasty.

The generals reacted immediately and fell silent.

The Jurchen Jin people, Khitan people, Dangxiang people, and Tubo people who were the first to surrender and follow the Song army are now considered authentic Han people.

Liu ordered six armies to come out, but now he only has five in hand.

"Kublai Khan and Meng Ge have laid the foundation in Rai City in the past few years, hired many shipbuilders, and built a large shipyard on the Caspian Sea. Guyu wants the surrendered troops and prisoners in it just to get these people. "

It is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the north and the Persian Gulf to the west.

"We always attack from the front in wars, and the Persians are used to it, so they defend inside. Why don't we secretly dig tunnels and blow up the city wall?"

Now the army is like the Eight-Power Allied Forces, with Persians and Srivijaya people added in, it is getting more and more fun.

After the banquet, Liu Zheng and Zhang Hui went out alone and took a walk in the moonlight.

Guyou also has a good idea. With the Caspian Sea, as long as he has navy, he can go south to attack Rai City at any time.

"Has the King of Han defeated the Three Buddhas?"

All the generals laughed.

Liu Zheng could only smile bitterly when he heard this. Among the dozen or so deputy governors present today, there were several ethnic groups among them.

"I have an idea." Zhang Hui said suddenly.

Of course no one here knows about such a grand strategy. Everyone only knows that after the Mongols captured Lai City this time, Lai City returned to the Song Army, which was a good condition.

"Digging tunnels is also our strength." Zhang Hui said with a smile.

The Song Army had engineering shovels and Luoyang shovels. They dug holes everywhere during the battle with Jinmeng in the Central Plains. This was all taught by Zhao Yurui.

Isfa Khan has no moat, so tunnels can be dug. Zhang Hui's suggestion is a good one.

Liu Zheng was overjoyed: "You can do this."

Immediately, they organized the Boni people and other servants to start digging tunnels.

A few days ago, in order to reduce the casualties of the Song army, these servants were sent to attack the city. The servants were not strong enough. Even with the help of the Song army's incendiary bombs, artillery, and flintlock guns, they were unable to attack some of them. He climbed to the top of the city and was beaten down.

Liu Zheng changed his tactics this time and started digging tunnels.

During the day they continued to attack, pretending not to attack violently, while they dug tunnels in the back, and continued digging at night, changing shifts.

The Song army's offensive was not fierce, and the lords in the city and the Mongolian generals quickly noticed this.

Some people even suspect that the Song Army wants to dig tunnels, but Isfahan is so big, you don’t know where the Song Army is digging? After thinking about it for a while, the hundreds of households with Mongolian troops in the city realized that the Song army had never done this before in battles. They always attacked and breached the city by force.

In the past, the Song army most often used incendiary bombs to force the city to be deserted, and then ants invaded it.

Isfa Khan was fully prepared this time. Everyone wore soaked cotton-padded clothes and went down after the Song army burned the city. When the Song army ants arrived, it proved that the fire above was not bad. They also went up wearing cotton-padded clothes, and then went up with them. The Song army fought hand to hand and drove the Song army from the city.

The Song army in front of them were all servants, and they were not strong enough, so they couldn't defeat them for several days.

At this time, they could only use the old method, sticking to the wall and listening to the Song army dig tunnels there, so that they could pour water in.

But the tunnels of the Song Army were not intended to be used by the army, but were intended to contain explosives, so the project was not that big.

The Song army worked in shifts and dug for about half a month. In early July, they finally dug under a section of the city wall.

In fact, a lot of food was eaten in the city at this time. More than 500,000 people in Persia were concentrated in this ancient city, and they couldn't bear it. The army had begun to seize the surplus food from the homes of noble officials.

Even if Liu Zheng doesn't blow up the city wall, if he continues to besiege the city for half a month or a month, the city will probably run out of food.

But it would be better to break the city early.

On the ninth day of July, the Song army appeared in large numbers in the south of the city early in the morning and gathered heavy troops.

It was just dawn, and many people on the Persian side had not yet reached the city. Seeing the Song army gathering heavy troops, the city suddenly felt that the Song army was about to attack again.

"Quick, blow the horn and gather the troops." People and horses are also gathering in the city.

Seeing that there are more and more people in the city.

Sudden.

Boom, an earth-shaking loud noise, a real feeling of landslides and earth-shattering, the whole earth was shaking.

Isfahan, an ancient city that existed for several centuries BC, was shattered in a huge explosion. The city wall, which was hundreds of steps wide, collapsed. The scene was extremely spectacular. Not to mention the Persians in the city, the people in the distance were Song Jun was almost stunned when he saw it. Many Song Jun didn't know about digging tunnels. It was the first time for everyone to see such a huge explosion.

Some tribes even thought that the gods were angry and helping the Song army to win. A thunder fell from the sky and directly shattered the city wall of Isfa Khan.

After the huge explosion, neither the Song army nor the Persians at the scene recovered for a long time.

"What are you waiting for? Come on." Following Liu Zheng's order, the horn of the Song Army's all-out attack sounded.

The cannon fodder in the front row, such as Bo Ni, Feilu soldiers and natives, took the lead in running forward. The city wall in front collapsed, rubble rolled, and a huge gap and slope were perfectly presented in front of everyone's eyes. Everyone rushed forward like crazy.

The first wave of people who rushed to the city were immediately shocked. The scene was quite tragic, with broken mud and rocks and corpses everywhere. The Persians who were standing on the top of the city were all blown to pieces, and some were crushed under the mud and rocks. Below, there were screams and cries mixed with death.

"Why are you in a daze? Come on," an officer shouted when he saw many people in a daze.

"Charge." "Kill!" The shouts of killing were loud. The Song Army's gun and shield soldiers and archers were at the front, rushing in along the slope and gap.

Persian soldiers were actually gathering inside, but many Persians were shaken by the earth-shattering explosion just now. Many people have not come back to their senses until now. Some people are kneeling on the ground, praying in the direction of the so-called Holy Water Temple, thinking it is the god of heaven. In anger.

Before the Persians had fully recovered, the leading troops of the Song Army had already rushed in.

The other side suddenly woke up and saw a large number of soldiers and horses rushing forward. The two sides immediately started fighting at the gap.

Crack, crackle, crackle, the archers in the back row of the Song army shot first, and the people on the opposite side turned on their backs, and they continued to shoot. The Song army had shields, raised their shields, and resisted without shields. Some fell down, and then the two sides came into contact. , boom, the front was massacred.

Whether it is the Bo Ni people of the Song Army or the natives of Feilubing, the longest one has followed the Song Army for ten years, and the shortest one has been two or three years. Half of the time is spent training every year. Except for the authentic Song Army, they are definitely considered The elite military force in today's world.

As soon as the two sides started fighting, the Persian soldiers retreated steadily.

But the Persian army was superior because of its large number of people, and they kept pushing forward from the city.

There are between 500,000 and 600,000 people in the city of Isfahan. Anyone who can handle weapons can be recruited, and even a hundred thousand troops will be enough.

Of course, in fact, there were about 80,000 garrison troops in the city, less than 10,000 regular troops, and the rest were improvised and miscellaneous troops, as well as a Mongolian army of several hundred people.

The Mongolian army usually stationed about one hundred households in each city in Persia. Because Isfa Khan was relatively important and large, he stationed three hundred households.

Now these Mongolian troops also knew that they could not surrender, so they fought forward with the Persians in front.

The two sides fought for a long time at the collapsed city gate. The Song army's progress was relatively slow. The main reason was that there were too many Persians, who kept coming out of it, and there were piles of corpses on the ground. People on both sides were dead and wounded on the ground, which became an obstacle. It was not good. attack.

At this moment, the Song army formations behind them dispersed to both sides.

A large group of elite Song troops wearing heavy armor appeared.

This wave was all real Song troops. They carried flintlock guns on their backs and held incendiary bombs and grenades in their hands.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way."

"Squat down."

"Get down."

The clay figures in front heard the order and responded one after another.

The Persians who were fighting with the Boni people on the opposite side were surprised when they suddenly saw the enemy retreating and squatting down.

The Bo Ni people in the front row squatted down and put their shields on their heads, with their heads as close to the ground as possible. The shields were mainly used to prevent arrows from being thrown from the opposite side.

Then before they could react, dozens of black and red dots flew over in the air.

Boom, boom, bang, grenades and incendiary bombs kept exploding in the Persian army.

This is much stronger than the rain of arrows from bows and arrows. Especially in this dense formation confrontation, the power of incendiary bombs is even stronger than grenades.

An incendiary bomb explodes and can set a large area on fire.

Incendiary bombs and grenades are almost unsolvable in street fighting in this era, and the Mongolian army and Persians cannot stop them.

After the Song army's back row threw dozens of them to the front, the Persian army in front suddenly dispersed and fled in all directions, and those behind did not dare to attack.

The explosions came one after another, and every time they went off, more than a dozen people were knocked out of the scene.

In fact, grenades are not powerful enough now. Most of the people who were knocked over were not seriously injured and could even stand up. But the scene was too scary, and dozens of them were thrown in succession from the opposite side.

At this time, the Persians were directly blown away, and the fire burning on the scene immediately blocked the continuous flow of Persians behind them.

"Kill." The Song Army took advantage of the situation to counterattack, approaching in large numbers and stabbing injured and uninjured people on the ground along the way.

The Mongolian army and the Persians resisted at the gap in the city gate for about half an hour before being defeated. The Song army rushed in from everywhere, some from the gap, and some climbed up from the slope. The entire city's defenders were losing Effective organization.

The Song Army's routine was the same as before. First, it sent 10,000 troops to fight in the streets, specifically to defeat the organized resistance of the defenders in the city. Later, it organized 6,000 troops into 60 squads, and began to search and clear out house to house.

Soon, before it got dark, cartloads of money and jewelry from the city began to be transported out of the city.

(End of this chapter)