Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

In terms of appearance and structure, Uburg is equivalent to a smaller version of the city. City walls, towers, arrow towers, parapets, horse paths, houses... all kinds of facilities are available.

Therefore, ten years ago during the Liaonan Uprising, tens of thousands of rebels besieged Hu Sha's family's Wubao, and they did not break through until food was cut off and people were eaten.

But the Gaojia Wu Fort in front of us has a fatal flaw: its walls are not strong and thick enough when facing artillery!

The base of the city wall is 6.5 meters thick, and the top of the city wall is about 6 meters thick, which is barely equivalent to the specifications of a small remote county town. The ramming layer of the city wall is only 5-6 centimeters, and there is no ramming nest. The overall strength is similar to that of Wubao in the Han Dynasty.

For regular city walls in the Han Dynasty, the rammed layer was basically more than 10 centimeters, and some large cities could reach 15 centimeters.

For large city walls after the Tang Dynasty, the rammed layer can reach more than 30 centimeters.

The thickness of the ramming layer is not the most fatal, but it is the lack of ramming that really kills you. It will cause different ramming layers to be unable to be firmly embedded. Not to mention artillery bombardment, even large catapults can collapse it.

Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Warriors and Horses pits all have rammed nests, which is not a high-end technology.

Folks in Uburg don't do this stuff purely to save trouble. After all, they only had to guard against bandits, and how could the bandits bring large catapults and artillery?

After just a dozen rounds of shelling, cracks appeared in the walls of Uburg.

Most of these cracks are transverse, which is obviously a displacement of the ramming layer, and the shortcomings of not ramming the nest are exposed.

After another round of shelling, there were more and more vertical cracks, and severe displacement had caused the rammed layer to tear.

Zhao Li began to surround three but one, and continued to bombard Wu Bao.

Brother Gao Liu had woken up at this time, but the stroke became more serious. He couldn't speak clearly while lying in bed: "The Ming army, what did they use to attack the city? But what kind of artillery carriage?"

The words were soft and vague. Sun Tzu Gao Yan put his ear to it and listened to it two or three times before he understood it. He panicked and replied: "I don't know what it is. The sound is like a thunderbolt and shaking like an earthquake. The city wall has cracked!"

"Come down, come down quickly..." Brother Gao Liu said hurriedly.

Gao Yan asked: "But my uncle and half of the tribe were moved to Yanshan Mansion. What will happen to my uncle and the tribe if we surrender?"

"Don't worry about that," Brother Gao Liu said, "The Ming army has such a sharp weapon, and the dynasties have changed with stronger soldiers and horses. The Jin people will never be able to defeat them. Hurry... send someone out to ask for surrender!"

Just when the grandfather and grandson were discussing surrender, a domestic slave rushed over: "No, no, no, those militiamen have rebelled!"

The militia of the Jin Kingdom was also called the signature militia, and later it was simply called the signature army.

After receiving the order to assist in recruiting troops, the Gao family gathered nearby Dingkou and sent them to the military commander to sign them into the army. But now they had just been summoned, and before they had time to send them to Wanyan's hook room, when the Ming army crossed the sea, they were directly pulled to Wubao for defense.

Two-thirds of the Gao family's Wu Fort are militiamen who have not yet been issued certificates!

These people hate fighting so much that even if they go to the Central Plains and win, they won't be able to share the spoils. Because there were military commanders and Jurchen soldiers above, after those people had divided the meat, it was their turn to drink some soup.

After more than ten rounds of shelling, it seemed that the earth was about to collapse, and the militiamen in Wubao finally couldn't bear it any longer.

Led by several leaders, they began to attack the Gao family's private soldiers. Some people left the city wall and ran to set fire to the house to send a signal.

"There's fire and smoke in the fort!"

Zhao Li raised his telescope and saw that a corner of the city wall on the northeast side of Wubao had been occupied by hundreds of militiamen, waving flags indiscriminately to guide the Ming army to attack the city.

"Fight in!"

Of course, Zhao Li was not afraid that it was a trick to lure the enemy. If the city was on fire and the defenders were in chaos, even if the enemy pretended to be defeated, he could actually achieve defeat.

The Ming army from Shandong did not move. They formed formations to defend the north because reinforcements from Liaoyang were getting closer and closer.

However, the rebels of all ethnic groups rushed to Wubao with flying ladders and quickly boarded the city with the support of the militiamen in the city.

"I wish to surrender, you go out quickly and tell me that the Gao family is willing to surrender!" Gao Yan yelled at the slaves around him.

late!

Facing a militia twice as large as their own, the private soldiers of the Gao family were already being killed and retreating steadily, not to mention that there were rebels from various ethnic groups entering the city.

Private soldiers continued to be defeated and fled back to the vicinity of the mansion. The tribesmen and loyal slaves protected the grandfather and grandson. They fled from the back door in panic and fought towards the south gate of Wubao in an attempt to break out.

Before they reached the city gate, dozens of militiamen blocked the way, and soon more than a hundred people rushed from the side.

Gao Yan shouted in a hissing voice: "Get away quickly, my Gao family is willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty!"

No one paid attention at all. These forcibly recruited militiamen were usually oppressed by the Gao family, and now they would definitely kill and exterminate their clan if they found an opportunity.

The real elite private soldiers of the Gao family had long been transferred to Yanshan Mansion. They were attacked from two sides by the militia and quickly retreated to the Gao family mansion.

Until thousands of rebels from all ethnic groups arrived and climbed over the walls from all sides and rushed into the mansion.

Just like Jian'an City, they killed men when they saw them, robbed women and property when they saw them, and then set fire to various buildings.

Zhao Li selected two militia leaders and asked them to return to their hometowns to organize the transfer of their families. They would all move to the Great Wall at Zhenhaikou, and promised that Ming Dynasty would definitely provide food.

…

Northeast of Jian'an City.

Wanyan Pu's slave looked at the thick smoke in the city with an expressionless face and remained silent for a long time.

Behind him were more than 2,000 cavalry. Except for the few hundred cavalry that escaped from the Huosu Pavilion, the rest were brought from Shangjing by the Pu family slaves.

These cavalrymen are equipped with strong armor, but this armor only weighs thirty or forty pounds, which is far inferior to the armor of Tiefu Tu. Their horses also have cloth and leather armor on key parts, giving them certain defensive capabilities.

It can rush into formation, chase the enemy, and shoot from a distance. It can be placed on both wings to assist the iron pagoda during battles.

"Bo Jilie, the Ming army has artillery carriages, and the sound is like thunder." A Jurchen soldier from the Hosu branch who had a lucky escape knelt on the ground and told the story of the battle. "Of course our warriors are not afraid, but those militiamen are too scared to fight. . There are so many enemies, and the untouchables in the countryside have rebelled. They are climbing up from the four walls of the city. There are too many people to resist."

Pu Jianu asked: "How is the enemy's armor?"

The Jurchen soldier replied: "Most of the rebels are not wearing armor. They only have spears and hoes in their hands. But there are tens of thousands of enemy troops left (an exaggeration), and all of them are wearing strong armor."

The Pu family slave asked many more details, but the Jurchen soldier could not explain clearly.

Some of the scattered sentries he sent out fled back from the south, and several people were killed and injured: "The southern barbarians are besieging Gaojia Wu Fort, and we heard the sound of cannons!"

"Blow the trumpet!"

The trumpet sounded, and the Pu family slaves led more than two thousand cavalry in the direction of the Gao family's Wubao.

Since the Ming army frequently crossed the sea from Shandong to plunder, Pu Jianu was sent by Wanyan Xieye to take charge of southern Liaoning. This person's official position in the Jin court was Haobojilie, which could be understood as the second assistant to the prime minister or the second deputy prime minister.

Wanyan's mother wanted to send reinforcements, but Pu's slave actually stepped forward to serve as the vanguard general.

He led the cavalry to run for several miles and met Denglai cavalry.

These cavalrymen who came from Shandong horse bandits did not dare to charge and engage in battle because their reorganization time was too short and their habits were difficult to eradicate. As soon as he saw that Pu Jianu had more cavalry, he was so frightened that he ran away, blowing the horn frantically to convey the news.

Pu Jianu led his army to pursue quickly, and finally saw the Ming army's formation and the billowing smoke from Wubao.

The rebels of all ethnic groups were loading things onto the ship. Zhao Li and Song Jiang led more than 4,000 elites, as well as 2,000 infantrymen from Salmon Island, to form a defensive formation on the seaside.

"Boom boom boom!"

Before Pujianu could issue a combat order, the eight artillery pieces on the shore had already started firing. Several warships on the sea were also turning, slowly aiming their broadside artillery at the enemy cavalry.

Pu Jianu was shocked and quickly ordered the cavalry to disperse and retreat.

He had never fought with Ju Ming before, but he had heard that the Chinese artillery was powerful. Most of his knowledge of artillery came from his imagination.

Pu Jianu was already very careful, but he never expected that the Ming army would fire at a distance of two miles.

It's actually possible to hit him from such a distance!

"Boom boom boom!"

This time, it was the warship that was firing, as if welcoming Pu Jianu to join the battlefield.

The two sides were three miles apart. Pu Jianu observed the Ming army from a distance and could only see a small black shadow.

After hesitating for a moment, Pu Jianu did not choose to attack rashly. In the past, he would have rushed over directly, but facing the artillery for the first time, he felt really unsure.

Jian'an City and Gaojia Wubao have been burned to the ground, and a large number of people have been taken away by the Ming army.

If they want to rule this place again, the Jin Kingdom must first build houses and then garrison troops, and then move the people to farm. However, the Jin Kingdom was about to invade the south and did not have the manpower and material resources to do such a thing.

The confrontation lasted for about a quarter of an hour, and the Ming army continued to load the belongings onto the ship.

Pu Jianu sent a messenger to report back to Wanyan's mother's main reinforcements, while he himself led the troops and galloped towards the south.

"The cavalry goes to harass and contain them!" Zhao Li quickly ordered.

Further south, there are still a large number of militiamen who have just defected and are returning to the village to organize their families to evacuate. Pujianu's army cannot be allowed to cause harm.

Hundreds of Shandong cavalry were ordered to rush out, but the Pu family slaves ignored them and continued southward in complete disregard of them.

Encountering some common people along the way, they dragged their families to the beach. The Pu family slaves just killed them and then rushed to Fuzhou non-stop.

In the evening of the same day, Pu's slaves arrived outside Fuzhou City. Military commander Hu Sha recognized his identity and immediately led his troops out of the city to greet him.

Pu Jianu asked: "Apart from Hesuguan Road, where are the enemy troops appearing?"

"I haven't received any calls for help from other places," Hu Sha replied.

Pu Jianu said: "The militia and food you have here do not need to be transported to Yanshan Mansion. They are left to defend against the Ming army across the sea."

Hu Sha was overjoyed: "Bo Jilie is wise!"

"It's a good time to defend the city. I want to go to Huacheng (Jinzhou) immediately." Pu Jianu was afraid that somewhere would be captured and burned again. Since there was no problem in restoring the city, he wanted to go to Jinzhou again.

But when Pu Jianu left, Zhao Li said to Yelu Yujian, Hou Gai and Shi Huan: "You guys immediately lead the troops to attack the Great Wall. We can capture as many as we can. We must stand firm regardless of casualties. I stay here to prevent the enemy’s cavalry from counterattacking and to protect the people and property from getting on board.”

For a straight-line distance of more than 200 miles, taking a boat was much faster than riding a horse. Pujianu's cavalry had to take a detour through the mountains.

The Jin cavalry was still on the way, but Yelu Yujian and others had already landed at Lushunkou, using torches to attack the Great Wall crazily at night!