I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 559: Winter Moon Besieges the City! The Countdown to the Fall of the Liao Kingdom Officially Enters

October 12th, four o'clock in the morning.

The dew is thick, the frost is heavy, the fog is pervasive, and the weather is very cold.

In Huanglongfu in Liao territory, in front of the city gate, tens of thousands of Song soldiers were preparing to attack the city with various siege weapons.

Five years ago, Huanglongfu was still a big city with a population of over 200,000.

People of different ethnic groups live together in the city in harmony.

There are Khitans, Jurchens, Han people, Bohai people, Turks, Dangxiang people, etc.

Business is prosperous and the people are harmonious and stable.

But after experiencing the tyranny of Yelu Hongji's increased taxes and the brutal rule of the current Jurchens.

No one was cultivating the surrounding fields, and almost all the villagers were killed. There was no law to restrain them, no moral bottom line, and all the rich people fled.

Huanglongfu has turned into a huge bandit den.

Most of the people living there now are Jurchens.

After these people came out of the mountains and forests, their animal nature had not yet been eliminated, and the dirty things they did in the city were simply unspeakable.

……

this moment.

Rigid, wearing a red dragon robe imitating the style of the Song Dynasty, shouted to the soldiers defending the city: "Brothers, the Khitans are no match for us, and the Song people are even less likely to be our opponents!"

"Today, as long as we can repel the Song army, in the near future, not only will the Liao Kingdom be ours, but the rich Song Dynasty in the south will also be ours. By then, brothers, you can have as much wealth as you want, and as many women as you want!"

The soldiers of Shengnuzhen became excited when they heard about wealth and women.

Everyone shouted in unison: "The Kingdom of Rigi will win! The Kingdom of Rigi will win! The Kingdom of Rigi will win!"

In their eyes, the law of this world is: either become a hunter who makes the rules, or become the prey to be hunted.

opposite.

When Su Liang heard Sheng Nuzhen's protesting shouts on the city wall, he turned to look at Xu Mang and Liu Sandao beside him.

"Have all the weapons been distributed?"

"It has been distributed!" Xu Mang bowed.

This time, the attackers not only had wind, fire and thunder weapons, but also five wind and fire cannons. The wind and fire cannons were more powerful than the wind, fire and thunder weapons thrown by catapults.

Su Liang specifically asked Cao Hu to disassemble and assemble them from warships.

Also.

The soldiers attacking the city were equipped with far more firearms, bows and crossbows, sleeve crossbows, and arrows than when they fought against the Jurchens.

Su Liang said sternly: "After the city is breached, we will mainly use long-range attacks and kill anyone we can. We don't want to take any prisoners during the battle. If there are women or children holding weapons, do not hesitate, shoot them immediately!"

"Yes." The generals behind all bowed.

Since the beginning of the war, Su Liang had never issued such a cruel order.

But how to deal with this group of Jurchens.

The cruelty was out of protection for the Song army.

After the war, if there are captives, Su Liang plans to force them to do at least five years of hard labor and learn the etiquette of the Song Dynasty. They can only be released after they pass the test.

……

A quarter of an hour later.

Su Liang waved his hand and shouted, "Attack the city!"

Suddenly.

The war drums thundered and the command flags flew.

Boom, boom, boom! Boom, boom, boom! Boom, boom, boom!
The first wave of Song army siege troops rushed forward first, mobilizing artillery and crossbows to attack the city gate directly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosion of wind, fire, and thunder was like thunder from the sky.

The explosion was deafening on the city walls and on the arrow tower outside the city gate.

Compared with the Liao army, the Shengnujur were not good at city defense battles.

They did not set up horse traps in front of the tower, nor did they pile up stones to prevent artillery attacks.

They could only shoot arrows randomly from the city wall and throw stones down.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
A series of shots from wind and fire guns and crossbows made it impossible for the Jurchen soldiers on the city gate to raise their heads.

Ridge looked gloomy.

He was not good at defending the city, and he felt deep down that the war would only begin when the enemy broke into the city and the two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

In close combat, he felt that his tribesmen had a great chance of winning.

In less than an hour, the vanguard of the Song army advanced to the city gate.

"Bomb the city gate!" Xu Mang shouted.

Wind, fire and thunder are indeed good weapons for breaking down city gates, not to mention that the Song army can throw them at the city gates without any sparing.

boom! boom! boom!
In less than a moment, a hole was blown in the city gate, and then some soldiers rushed in, eliminated the soldiers behind the gate with wind and fire guns, and then opened the city gate.

"The Longyu Army will enter the city first!" Xu Mang shouted.

The Longyu Army was most skilled in killing people. They first frightened the Jurchens so much that they dared not fight anymore.

tread!tread!tread!
Immediately, five hundred Dragon Feather soldiers, riding on war horses covered in full soft armor, holding long swords in their hands, with bows and crossbows hanging from their waists and crossbows hidden in their sleeves, took the lead in attacking the city.

Just last night.

When Xu Mang and Liu Sandao were mobilizing the soldiers of Longyu Army before the war, they told them about the ambush by Su Liang by a Jurchen boy.

The two believed that it was their shame, and that the Longyu Army had the responsibility to wash away this shame.

The current Longyu Army is very eager to fight.

In addition, Su Liang issued a military order of "kill whoever you can, and don't take prisoners", so they will do their best to eliminate these Jurchen soldiers who have not yet gotten rid of their bestial nature.

Soon, the two sides started fighting.

The Jurchen soldiers were indeed tough.

In addition to attacking with weapons, even if the stomach is pierced by a long knife, as long as they are not dead, they will still bite with their teeth. The neck and ears are places that are easily bitten by them.

Very difficult.

This also completely aroused the bloodiness of the Longyu Army soldiers.

If you can kill with one strike, you won't strike twice.

not far away.

Liu Sandao said to the cavalry and infantry behind the Longyu Army: "Group three and attack together!"

The Jurchen soldiers had a huge weakness: they were not good at group combat.

They did not value their lives and were as ferocious as wolves and tigers, but they were not good at coordinating, while the Song army was good at coordinating.

of course.

The Jurchen soldiers were indeed good at horseback archery and close combat.

An hour later.

The close combat between the two sides in the streets of the city has entered a fierce stage.

Relying on firearms and coordination, the Song army continued to attack forward, while the Jurchens continued to retreat.

The human body is like a piece of white paper in front of the wind, fire, thunder and wind, fire gun, and can be penetrated with just one poke.

And this time.

Rigid, who was at the corner of an alley, was a little panicked.

He didn't expect that the Song army's fighting power would be so strong, and he didn't expect that the Song army would use so many firearms against him.

At this point, thousands of Jurchen soldiers had been killed or wounded.

Winning or losing is decided.

Li Ji clenched his fists and murmured, "If I can be given another half a year to develop, when I grow to 50,000 people, the Song army will definitely not be my opponent!"

Rigid thought about it and quickly walked to the back.

……

In the blink of an eye, it was afternoon.

The battle to break the city has come to an end.

Because the Song army was well-armed and had the support of firearms, the casualties were less than 20% of those of the enemy.

At this time, Xu Mang rode his horse to Su Liang.

"Boss, there are only a thousand soldiers left, all gathered in the west of the city. We have surrounded them, but there are Jurchen families blocking them, including the elderly, children, and pregnant women. They are shouting that only by killing them can we kill the men of their tribe. Should we charge in?"

Su Liang frowned slightly.

"This Rigid is really shameless. He actually used the elderly, the weak, women and children as shields. Let's go to the front and take a look."

A moment later, Su Liang rode to the west of the city.

In front of a main street, someone completely blocked the street with carriages, wood, stones, etc.

Behind the street were the families of the Jurchens, young and old, including women.

among them.

There were several women with big bellies standing at the front, looking at the Song soldiers opposite with expressionless faces.

In the eyes of these people, they don’t know what they are doing.

Just following Rigid's orders.

Regis gave them food and drink, and a place to live. When Regis told them to die, they obeyed.

This kind of obedience is like the obedience of cows, horses, sheep and rabbits to tigers and bears, which is unconditional obedience from the bottom of their hearts.

To be precise, it should be fear.

Su Liang really couldn't bring himself to shoot all these people.

At this time, Rigid walked out from the crowd.

He was holding a rope in his hand, and more than ten people were tied to the rope, all women and children.

These people surrounded him, with only half of his head exposed.

He was afraid of being killed.

Rigid looked at Su Liang who was riding a horse in front of him.

"Su Liang, immediately withdraw all the Song soldiers from the west gate. Otherwise, if you want to kill us, you must kill these hundreds of old, weak, women and children first!"

"Think about it. If you kill them, you will be ruined and the history books of the Song Dynasty will definitely scold you. Don't you want to keep your reputation?"

"If you let us go, we will head north and live in the mountains and forests. We will never plunder cities again. We just want to survive!"

Rigid felt that he had grasped the nature of the Song people.

Su Liang turned his head and glanced at Liu Sandao, who immediately understood and turned around and walked to the back.

Su Liang snorted coldly.

"Riji, do you think this can threaten me? I don't want to use the lives of these old, weak, women and children to save you and your thousands of subordinates."

"Why don't we try another way? If you commit suicide now, I can let them all go!"

Hearing this, Li Ji shook his head and said, "Su Liang, I don't believe a word you say. Quickly withdraw the Song soldiers from the west gate."

After saying that, Reggie raised the dagger in his hand and suddenly stabbed the neck of a boy next to him.

Stab it!

The latter died instantly and fell to the ground.

This scene made Su Liang very angry. This man was simply a devil.

If he is left alive, more innocent people will die.

Su Liang suppressed his anger and said, "Li Ji, you are so bad. You actually killed your own people like this. You are not worthy of being their leader, let alone a human being."

Su Liang's words did not arouse the dissatisfaction of the Jurchen people nearby towards Liji.

In their eyes, Regis killed people for the sake of his tribe, and Regis was their belief.

Only when Reggie died could they feel fear.

Rigid looked at Su Liang and raised the bloody dagger.

"Su Liang, I won't kill them. If you have the guts, come and kill them. Kill them all. Today, even if I die, I will drag you down with me and make you a disgraced person forever!"

Rigid's tone was very arrogant.

Su Liang did not take action not for his own reputation, but because he did not care about the comments of later history books.

He just couldn't bear to see these elderly, weak, women and children being killed. If the Song army killed them, they would most likely suffer from heart disease.

And this time.

Several gunmen arranged by Liu Sandao had already climbed onto the roof not far away.

As long as Reggie can be shot dead, the situation can be resolved.

Su Liang continued to attract Li Ji's attention and said, "Li Ji, how do you think about this? I will order someone to open the west gate and let you escape alone. How do you think?"

"No! They all want to leave!" Rigid looked at the Jurchen soldiers around him.

These troops were the capital for his comeback, so naturally he was unwilling to give them up.

Seeing that Su Liang had compromised, he couldn't help but raise his chest and said, "Su Zhongcheng, it doesn't matter if we let one person go or a thousand people go. Letting us go won't affect your credit. If you don't agree, I will continue to kill them. These people all died because of you!"

Su Liang's face was gloomy, he clenched his fists, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I can promise you, but...but...but..."

Su Liang hesitated to speak, drawing all of Rigid's attention to himself.

Just then, a gunman aimed at Reggie's head and quickly fired.

Whoosh!
boom!
His head exploded and Reggie died instantly.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
At the same time, several Jurchen soldiers who drew their swords were all killed.

"Li Ji is dead. If you move, you will die. If you surrender, you can live! Those who surrender will immediately drop their weapons, squat on the ground, and hold their heads with their hands!" Xu Mang said loudly.

"Whoever moves will die!" Liu Sandao stood on the roof holding a wind and fire gun.

When these Jurchen soldiers saw Rigid fall to the ground, they suddenly lost their direction. Some of them squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands, and others followed suit.

Of course, there were also people running madly into the alley.

The Song army was divided into two teams, one part tied up the surrendering Shengnujurchens, and the other part chased after the fleeing Shengnujur soldiers.

Su Liang took a long breath.

Although today's battle was swift, there were many casualties, but fortunately the mission was successfully completed.

……

After a while.

The Song army began to clean up the battlefield, and Xu Mang also led 3,000 cavalry soldiers to Changchun Prefecture.

There are still remaining Jurchen soldiers in Changchun Prefecture that need to be dealt with.

After Su Liang finished dealing with some trivial matters, he immediately wrote a military intelligence report to Zhao Zhen.

at this time.

The siege plan of Fu Bi and Han Qi was also executed quite smoothly.

Except for Changchun Prefecture which Su Liang was about to occupy, the four important cities of Zhongjing Dading Prefecture, Dongjing Liaoyang Prefecture, Xingzhong Prefecture in Liaoxi Road, and Pingzhou in Pingzhou Road were all captured by the Song army.

Yelu Hongji brought 80,000 soldiers and the royal nobles of the Liao Dynasty to guard Shangjing Linhuang Prefecture.

When Su Liang led his troops south and formed a siege with Fu Han's troops, Yelu Hongji had nowhere to escape.

October 18th.

Su Liang led five hundred Longyu soldiers and five thousand Song light cavalry and rushed along the Huang River towards Linhuang Prefecture.

……

Yanyun area, inside Youzhou city.

Zhao Zhen was very pleased when he received the news that Su Liang had successively captured Lubin Prefecture, Huanglong Prefecture, Changchun Prefecture and wiped out the entire Jurchen tribe.

The toughest bone was gnawed off by Su Liang.

At this moment, Yelu Hongji has reached the end of his rope.

A large number of Liao people fled to the Hulunbuir Lake and Ergun River areas in the northwest.

It is relatively peaceful and stable there, with many tribes living there and leading a relatively primitive life.

……

October 27th.

Han Qi and Fu Bi led a large army to surround the entire Linhuang Prefecture.

at the same time.

The weather suddenly turned cold and a heavy snow fell.

The heavy snow in this area sometimes lasts for half a month.

At this moment, the Song army adopted the strategy of besieging the city.

There were 80,000 Liao soldiers and more than 100,000 civilians in Linhuang Prefecture. In the cold winter, food and charcoal were very important.

The other side has consumed a lot of resources and has no supplies. Over time, civil strife is bound to occur.

Even if Yelu Hongji could control the civil strife, the Song army would be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort if they waited until the Liao army was suffering from cold and hunger and their bodies had reached their limits before attacking them.

This is the most labor-saving tactic.

The current Song army also needs to make adjustments. In such a harsh world, if a war breaks out, even those with minor injuries may die from infection or frostbite.

At the same time, Han Fu and the others were waiting for Su Liang's arrival.

(End of this chapter)