The legend of the king of crossing

Chapter 541

When Meng Tianxiang led the Zhongshun army to chase the Yuan army to the city of Luoyang, the lieutenant general who defended the city had already ordered to put down the suspension bridge and close the city gate. The army blocked the city.

The blocked Yuan army cursed, but saw that the pursuers were approaching, so they dared not fight, so they had to flee to both sides.

Meng Tianxiang reined in his horse, looked at the fleeing Yuan army, and looked at the tall Luoyang City, and said with a sneer, "Retreat,"

Back at the place where the army was, the artillery battalion had already set up [-] artillery pieces.

Zhao Huai was highly skilled in martial arts and praised: "General Meng is worthy of being the successor of the Gao family's marksmanship. He killed the Luoyang defender with three moves. This is the first feat in entering Luoyang. General, rest for a while and watch our army bombard Luoyang City."

"Yes, General,"

Zhao Huai chuckled, and said loudly: "The Artillery Battalion obeys the order and bombards the gate of the city."

The commander of the artillery battalion who received the order immediately waved the flag and gave the order to fire.

Only the sound of "boom, boom" was heard, and twenty artillery pieces fired at the same time. After one round, the suspension bridge in front of Luoyang City Gate was destroyed. The Yuan army guarding Luoyang had never seen firearms. Sharp weapons, after the first round of shelling, everyone was dizzy, even the lieutenant general of the Yuan army standing at the top of the city was stunned by the sound of the shells.

Not long after, before the soldiers of the Yuan army could react, the second round of artillery was fired again. Half of the round of shells hit the city gate, while the other half landed on the tower. Coincidentally, Yes, the shell just hit the deputy general of the Yuan army on the tower and was killed instantly.

About two quarters of an hour later, a big hole was blasted out of the city gate. Seeing this, Zhao Huai immediately gave the order to attack the city. The officers and soldiers of the Yuan army could not organize an effective defense at all, and the sparse feather arrows shot down from the city wall could not stop the Song army from attacking at all. What's more, these defenders who were still shooting arrows were quickly blown away by the smoke of gunfire. Submerged, unable to see the situation ahead.

The soldiers who attacked the city were headed by the Zhongshun Army. Under the leadership of Meng Tianxiang, [-] warriors rushed straight to the city gate, followed by [-] Song Army infantry led by Fan Liangfu, and behind them were the first soldiers of the First Division of the Yulin Army. The [-] Musketeers led by Brigade Commander Zheng Xiangdong, the Zhongshun Army were all cavalry, and they were extremely fast. They had already attacked the city gate in a blink of an eye. Meng Tianxiang took the lead and rushed in through the damaged city gate first. Some of the Mongolian defenders in the city waved their weapons and seemed to want to resist, but they were killed by Meng Tianxiang with a big gun. When they recognized that the person in front of them was the general of the Song Army who beheaded his leader, how could they have the guts? Respond to the battle and flee in all directions.

After a while, hundreds of Zhongshun troops filed in and successfully occupied the east gate of Luoyang City.

"Those who descend will not be killed,"

"Those who descend will not be killed,"

The follow-up Song army, led by Fan Liangfu, entered the city one after another, and shouted loudly after entering the city.

An hour later, Luoyang City gradually returned to calm. Except for more than 1000 Mongolian soldiers who fled from the other city gates, most of the remaining Han and Jin soldiers chose to surrender.

Surrounded by the guards, Zhao Huai walked into the city gate with a happy face. Looking at the Luoyang City where the gunpowder smoke had not yet cleared, Zhao Huai couldn't help thinking, the Luoyang City of Xijing in the Song Dynasty was finally recovered in his own hands, my lord father , you may rest in peace.

"All will obey orders,"

"Please order the general,"

"Okay," Zhao Huai ordered, "General Meng, you lead the Zhongshun Army to maintain the order in Luoyang City, and put up safety notices to prevent the remnants of the Yuan army from harming ordinary people. , immediately arrest,"

"Yes, the order of the last general,"

"General Fan, Brigadier Commander Zheng, you two will lead the [-]-foot army and the Imperial Forest Army to take over the defense of the gates. There is no need to pursue the fleeing enemy."

"Yes, the order of the last general,"

"The rest of the generals will clean up the battlefield and take prisoners,"

"Yes, the general will obey the order,"

After the recovery of Luoyang, Jiang Wanzai and Yin Yinglei dispatched their own troops after discussion, and successively recovered the surrounding cities, large and small. In less than half a month, all the major cities in central and western Henan had planted the flag of the Song Dynasty. There were very few defenders in the army, and they surrendered without resistance. Among them, many Han soldiers, under the influence of Meng Huanshan and others, turned their backs, which also made the Song army almost useless when they attacked the city. When blocked, there were few casualties.

During this period of time, the Song army who went to the Stone Buddha Temple to build a camp was also quite smooth.

After the Battle of Xiangyang, there were about 10 people left in the Mongolian Central Army, of which 5000 were sent to Xuchang, where they were defeated by Yin Yinglei. In the Battle of Dengzhou, more than 2 people were lost. Of the [-] people transferred back, there are only more than [-] Yuan troops currently in the Nanyang camp. In addition, the Yuan army is becoming more and more afraid of the firearms of the Song army. Under the staggered attack of bombs and projectiles, the troops withdrew, and never went out of the city to attack again.

On February [-]th, the Shifo Temple camp was basically completed. On the same day, the Nanyang Yuan Army received an order from Kublai Khan to let Boyan and Ashu lead the army to retreat northward to Yingtianfu (now Shangqiu) in eastern Henan. Yingtianfu As the accompanying capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, it is also known as the Three Capitals together with Bianliang and Luoyang.

It was noon the next day when I got the news that the Yuan army was withdrawing to the north.

"Evacuate Nanyang," when Gongsun Xiaochen and Lu Wenhuan reported to me, I was stunned and said, "Why, Ah Shu is scared."

Fang Ling smiled and said: "Brother, of course I'm afraid. Think about it, most of Henan has been recovered by our army, and with the completion of the construction of the Shifo Temple camp, the Yuan army in Nanyang is likely to be surrounded by our army. Kublai Khan naturally I don’t want to see the Army of the Central Route being completely wiped out by our army, so it is a wise move to withdraw from Nanyang, but it is also a helpless move.”

Lu Wenhuan said: "Your Majesty, what the Concubine Ling said is very true. Just now the last general, General Gongsun and General Tian made a calculation, and they also think so."

I smiled and asked, "Where will Ah Shu retreat?"

"Back to the emperor," Gongsun Xiaochen pointed to the map and said, "There are two possible places, one is Yingtian Mansion in the east of Henan, and the other is Xiangzhou City (now Anyang) in the northeast. Please look at it, your majesty, there is Xuchang in the north of Nanyang." However, there are more than 1 of our army and [-] artillery pieces in Xuchang City. It is not easy for Ashu to take Xuchang. So, after an analysis by the Senate Office, it is believed that Ying Tianfu and Xiangzhou are the most likely. At present, General Lu Wenxin led the soldiers of the Heitan Regiment to follow, and there will be an answer soon."

I said "en", and while looking at the map, I said: "Yingtianfu is the place where Emperor Gaozong came to the throne. Ashu retreated to Yingtianfu to get close to the Yuan Army's East Route Army and take care of each other. Xiangzhou is also a famous historical city. , the walls of these two cities are still strong, it is very possible, "

Lu Wenhuan said: "Your Majesty, after Ashu withdrew, will our Dengzhou army move north?"

"Of course," I said without hesitation, "General Lu, order Lu Shikui's troops to station in Nanyang, and the rest of the armies are ready to go out. After confirming the whereabouts of Ashu's troops, we will decide where to station our troops."

"Yes, Your Majesty,"

Five days later, Lu Wenxin led the Heitan regiment back to Dengzhou, bringing news that the Mongolian Central Route Army had withdrawn to Yingtianfu.

When I got the news, I immediately asked Gongsun Xiaochen to call all the generals to come to the big tent to discuss matters.

"See Your Majesty,"

"Gentlemen, no courtesy,"

"Thank you, Your Majesty,"

Lu Wenhuan first said: "According to the latest news, the Mongolian Central Route Army has withdrawn to Yingtian Mansion, and our army recovered Nanyang without bloodshed. Since then, the central and western regions of Henan have been under the control of our army. Generals, Your Majesty announces that The first stage of our army's action plan,"

I looked at the generals and said with a smile: "Generals, everyone is aware of the current situation. It is no exaggeration to describe it as getting better and better. I won't repeat it here. A few days ago, General Lu had informed Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the expedition. Now is the time. Tomorrow morning, all armies will march towards Xuchang. In addition, General Lu Wenhuan ordered Lu Shikui's [-]th Chamber to leave an army to guard Nanyang, and the rest of the soldiers will also march towards Xuchang. go ahead,"

"Yes, Your Majesty,"

"Gongsun Xiaochen, order Xiangyang to guard General Tang Yongjian, and order him to lead the entire Xiangyang garrison to Nanyang,"

"Yes, Your Majesty,"

Lu Wenhuan then asked: "Your Majesty, in the past few months, our army has recruited [-] new troops in the Dengzhou area. Are these new troops going north with the army?"

After the recovery of Dengzhou, the local people enthusiastically joined the army. More than 2000 people signed up in the Dengzhou area alone. After review, 500 people were finally recruited. Although these new troops were incorporated into the Bianliang Military Region, they have been trained in Dengzhou .

"The basic training of the new army has not yet been completed. It is irresponsible to them to go to the battlefield." I thought for a while and said, "General Lu, let the new army stay in Nanyang for the time being. General Shun’s food transport team, after training for a while, let them go to the battlefield.”

"Yes, the general will obey the order,"

After bidding farewell to Dengzhou County Magistrate Fan Zhishang, I took a group of personal guards and followed the army all the way north. When I left, almost all the people in Dengzhou who knew the news were sent out to see me off in front of the camp. The little eggs and pancakes that were saved from living and frugal were sent to the guards, begging them to pass them on to the emperor.

Seeing this kind of scene, I couldn't help but think of the military and civilian life in the liberated areas in later generations.

On the evening of February 23, I arrived in Xuchang. When Yin Yinglei, who had been waiting at the south gate, saw me, he knelt down on the ground and said excitedly, "Your Majesty, I kowtow to you."

"Yin Aiqing, excuse me," I personally helped Yin Yinglei up and said, "Yin Aiqing, you and your subordinates have worked hard."

"Your Majesty,,,,,," Yin Yinglei stood up, tears welling up in his eyes,