Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Brothers Liu Xi and Liu Qi originally planned to divide their troops and follow the Bubazi, and attack them from front to back with Yang Zhi's army to annihilate them all.

But they soon gave up their plan because Brother Richard took the lead in dividing his troops and seemed to be attacking the Jingyuguan Pass guarded by the two men.

But it was Bubazi's surprise attack on Jingyuguan that failed, which made Brother Richard feel that the Ming army was already prepared, so he changed his style of play for the second time.

On the other side of Xiguan Fort, he built a fort to confront Zhongshidao.

Thousands of troops were sent back to guard the crossing of the Yellow River. They divided their forces and marched along the north bank of the Yellow River. After passing Hutou Cliff, there was an open area. Not only can a fort be built there, but it is also located next to the Yellow River ferry, making it possible to advance or retreat and remain in an invincible position.

Then, storm Jingyuguan!

Jingyuguan is the hub of the grain route that supplies Yang Zhi's army. The military rations shipped from Lanzhou are first accumulated and stored in Jingyuguan, and then transferred to the front line by small boats.

Even if we can't attack here, just siege the city with a large army, it will be equivalent to cutting off Yang Zhi's food route.

"Puff puff puff!!"

Three hundred cyclone cannons frantically dropped bombs at Jingyuguan, each stone bomb was the size of a fist. Moreover, the stone bullets are irregular and many of them were picked up nearby. (Poxi’s army has a total of three hundred catapults. I misremembered the two hundred units mentioned earlier.)

Due to its small size, this catapult can not only move quickly, but also flexibly change the throwing direction.

It has a single-shooting structure, and the gun shaft is also movable - large catapults cannot do this because the stone projectiles are too heavy and can only use a fixed shaft.

Each cyclone cannon is operated by four people, two are responsible for loading stone bullets, and two are responsible for pulling the rope to fire the cannon. Three to four rounds can be thrown per minute.

Three hundred cyclone cannons were mounted outside Jingyuguan, capable of firing nearly a thousand stone bombs a minute.

If fought in the wild, it can cause huge damage to the heavy infantry of the Song Army.

When used to attack a city, it cannot cross the city wall, but it will seriously affect the actions of the defenders. Stone bullets the size of fists fell like hailstones, and the defenders had to hold up shields or door panels.

Because of its short range, it is very dangerous to use it to attack cities.

However, there are mountains to the south of Jingyuguan. Bubazi and the Qisheng Army combined tens of thousands of people to capture those hills first, and then set up cyclone cannons on the top of the mountain to bombard the city.

"Damn it, the only bed crossbows and divine arm bows were taken by Yao Gu to shock Wucheng, otherwise it would not be the turn of Xixia's cyclone cannon to show its power!" Liu Xi hid behind the female wall and cursed in a low voice.

"The enemy is attacking the city!"

The first batch of people who came here were all young masters, and they were considered cannon fodder.

The defenders were suppressed by the cyclone cannon and could only dismantle the door panels for defense. One end was placed on the low wall of arrow stacks, and the other end was supported by soldiers. The archers hid under the door panels and shot arrows through the arrow bays outside the city.

The soldier holding up the door panel would have to be replaced after a few hits. It would only be a trivial matter to have his arm numb from the shock, and he might even be broken or fractured by the shock.

There were constant arrows falling down on the way. As they got closer and closer to the city wall, the Xixia people's cyclone cannon finally stopped.

The terrain outside Jingyuguan is rugged and complex, making it difficult to use large-scale regular siege equipment. Moreover, time was too short, and the Xixia people did not have the time to build it. At this moment, they all carried wooden ladders to attack the city.

"Save the rolling stones and logs. Pour the golden juice into it first, and then it will be boiled dry!"

"Putt!"

Pots of golden juice poured down, and Young Master Chuang, who was attacking the city, screamed and fell to the ground.

There were also siege ladders that were overturned, and the enemies on the ladder fell back.

The first wave of offensive was quickly repelled, and Brother Richard immediately organized a second wave, still letting the Han people attack the son as cannon fodder.

This was the case for two consecutive days, with over a thousand casualties to the Young Master's troops.

Zhongshi Dao, who was thirty miles away, did not send troops to rescue him because he did not have many soldiers in his hands. Once the troops are divided for rescue, the Xixia soldiers on the other side of the river will most likely take the opportunity to attack Xiguan Fort.

And here in Jingyuguan, brothers Liu Xi and Liu Qi have three thousand soldiers in their own army, as well as hundreds of original garrison troops from the old Song Dynasty.

Many people from nearby Guancheng also evacuated to the pass to save their lives, and they happened to be recruited to defend the city together. Women and children can carry supplies, and young adults can help drop wood, rocks, and boiling oil.

Brother Richard has gone crazy. On the third day of the siege, the intensity of the siege was even greater. More than 700 soldiers were killed or injured that day, and there were some soldiers who captured the city during the siege.

"Your Highness, there are a large number of Han cavalry in the river valley, and we can only rush through them by sending out iron kites!" The scout cavalry who was sent to the river valley to inquire about the news came back in despair to report the news.

While Brother Richard was attacking Jingyuguan, he sent Qingqi to inquire for information.

He now wants to know what happened to He Nanjun Sicheng. But Li Yanxian led the cavalry to cover the battlefield, and the passage ahead was the river valley, so it was difficult for the Xixia reconnaissance cavalry to approach.

After thinking carefully, Brother Richard said: "Send out a thousand iron kites and retreat immediately if there is danger!"

A thousand iron kites and three thousand Xixia Qingqi just plunged into the river valley.

Immediately, another messenger came, from the Gansu Military Division. They had already set off from Jisang (Gulang). Calculating the marching route and time, we are almost at the Henan Army Sicheng.

Brother Richard was overjoyed after reading the letter. The current situation is: Yang Zhi's army is in the middle of the valley, and Brother Richard leads more than 60,000 troops to block the southern entrance of the valley. And more than 60,000 soldiers from the Gansu Military Division were killing each other from the north of the river valley.

The two Xixia armies from the north and the south, with a combined total of nearly 130,000 people, have blocked Yang Zhi's army from both ends.

If the city of Nanjun Sicheng has not been lost, the center will bloom even more.

Even if you lose it, you can get it back!

Looking at Jingyuguan which was not damaged at all, Brother Richard didn't want to waste any more time and ordered the entire army to enter the river valley. Even the troops confronting Zhongshi Road were moved over.

Don’t want grain road?

No retreat?

Haha, the Kalachuan Valley is the food route and retreat route. With 130,000 people attacking from the north and south, how could the tens of thousands of Ming troops stop them? Killing those Ming troops will clear Brother Richard's retreat route.

To be cautious, Brother Richard even left 10,000 troops and set up a camp at the entrance of the valley to guard against Zhong Shidao, Liu Xi, and Liu Qi leading troops to kill him.

Upon learning that Brother Richard had led his troops into the valley, Zhong Shidao immediately led his troops to join them. He also transferred the garrison from Jinchengguan and Lanzhou. The total number of troops outside the valley exceeded 10,000.

Liu Qi said worriedly: "General Xixia dares to abandon this place. If the whole army goes in at once, I'm afraid there are Xixia soldiers in the north of the valley. General Yang is outnumbered and is also being attacked from the north and the south. What will happen?"

Zhong Shidao was very confident and said with a smile: "I have also studied firearms, and after my return to the army, I have observed them more. Based on the terrain of Sicheng City of the Southern Army, our army has more than a thousand Shenji battalions and dozens of artillery pieces of various types. , it is more than enough to defend the city and protect ourselves. We are not afraid of millions of enemy troops, not to mention one hundred thousand. No matter how many people there are, it is impossible to attack the city at the same time."

In terms of defending the city, Song General Zhongshi Dao, who was born in Song Dynasty, did not pay attention to the Xixia people at all.

But it was said that decades ago, during the civil strife in Xixia, Song Shenzong felt that the time had come and sent troops to conquer Xia in five directions. The results were fruitful and the territory was expanded over two thousand miles. He also ordered Xu Xi and Zhong E to deploy troops and generals, hoard food and grass, and wait until the next year to wipe out Xixia in one fell swoop.

The Song army built a city in Yongle, mobilized 200,000 civilians, and built Yongle New City in fourteen days.

This city put Xixia in a chokehold, and the Empress Dowager Liang mobilized all the troops in the country to fight back, claiming to the outside world that she had an army of 300,000.

Xu Xi was afraid that Zhong E and Shen Kuo would steal his credit, so he transferred them far away and led 30,000 people to defend the city. The spies reported that Xixia had 300,000 soldiers. Of course Xu Xi didn't believe it, but felt that he had an opportunity to make a contribution.

Regardless of whether there are 300,000 or not, Xixia soldiers are coming in overwhelming numbers anyway.

Xu Xi actually led 30,000 Song soldiers to go out of the city to fight, and did not choose to attack halfway across the river. He was beaten and fled into the city in embarrassment. Then the water village was taken away again, so they had to dig wells to quench their thirst.

Relying on the remaining soldiers from the defeated battle, Xu Xi, a civil servant, actually held on for twenty days, and there was no sign of the city being breached.

It can be imagined how powerful the Han people were in defending the city, and how weak the Xixia's siege ability was.

As for the outcome of this battle, Yongle New City, which was built in fourteen days, was a shoddy project. The soil was obviously not compacted when compacting it. After a heavy rain, the city wall was softened, and the Xixia soldiers actually knocked down the city wall with wood... Not only were the entire Song garrison annihilated, but the 200,000 nearby servants also died, escaped, or were kidnapped.

He Nanjun Sicheng is definitely not a waste of time!

Zhong Shidao said to the Liu brothers: "You two can divide your troops. One will stay at Jingyuguan, and the other will follow me to set up a camp outside the valley. Block them at all levels to prevent the Xixia soldiers from leaving the valley."

As a result, the battlefield situation became like this——

A long and narrow river valley, with more than 60,000 Xixia soldiers in the north, more than 20,000 Han soldiers in the middle, more than 60,000 Xixia soldiers in the south, and 10,000 Han soldiers blocking the southern valley.

It's really hard to tell who surrounded whom.

No matter what, in Brother Richard's eyes, the Han soldiers in the valley were already dead.

It's not that easy to take away Henan Army's Sicheng!

Otherwise, the Song army would have taken it away long ago, so how could it be the turn of the Ming army now?

The Gansu Military Division troops in the north marched extremely slowly, fearing that the Han Tibetan troops would set up ambushes in the valleys. Almost every time they encountered a valley, they would send cavalry in advance to check.

They are not afraid of small groups of troops, but once a large group of troops sets up an ambush, it will definitely leave traces in the ravine.

"There are people coming from both sides, and the enemies in the north are closer." Yang Zhi said.

Li Yanxian said: "The enemy generals are cautious and it is difficult to set up an ambush. They will stop advancing if there is any abnormality. Simply take advantage of the fact that the enemy from the south has not arrived, take the initiative to attack and defeat the enemy from the north, and kill them until they flee. Then turn around and annihilate them all. The enemy from the south!”

Li Jinyi said: "There must also be people stationed in the city."

Gong Xiu patted his chest and said with a smile: "I have gained enough military merit, so I will lead my troops to stay and defend the city. Each of you should go and earn some merit."

Yang Zhi said: "The heavy artillery is left for you, and it is all set up on the city wall to prevent the enemy from the south from rushing to kill. The gap between the mother and son cities has only been barely repaired, and the red soil has not been compacted at all. You must be careful The enemy troops hit the city wall. If the enemy comes quickly, they can hold on for a day or two at most, and the army will be able to come back. If the enemy comes slowly, they may not even arrive after the battle in the north."

Li Yanxian said: "I can separate the cavalry to slow down the enemy's march to the south. There is no need to confront them head-on, just harass them. No matter how many enemy cavalry they encounter in the valley, they will not be able to deploy."

"I'll leave it to General Li for the south," Yang Zhi said. "As for the north, five hundred cavalry can be assigned to follow the army, specifically to take advantage of the victory to chase down the defeated troops."