Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

When Zhang Guangdao abandoned his carriage and wooden cannon and marched all the way to catch up, Chen Ziyi's soldiers had already captured the ridge that was blocked by the Jin soldiers behind him.

"Alas, it's still a step too late." Zhang Guangdao sighed.

Chen Ziyi sat on the loess slope, not in a very high mood: "Wanyan Loushi retreated decisively in the valley. If I had known earlier that he would not dare to charge a second time, I would not have sent heavy cavalry to confront the Jin soldiers. The entire army retreated." Entering the camp will save many warriors from dying."

"This man is fierce and cunning. He sent people here to explore the escape terrain on his way to the valley. Otherwise, how could he have chosen this place to block our pursuit by guarding a mountain ridge? If it were other nearby mountains, It’s not as convenient as this place to escape,” Zhang Guangdao said, “There are still too few troops. If we have 10,000 more soldiers, we can keep Wanyan Lou’s room.”

Chen Ziyi asked: "Do we need to attack Yu County tonight?"

Zhang Guangdao shook his head and said: "All the troops are exhausted from today's battle. Let's rest for the night and slowly march towards Yu County tomorrow. Wanyan Zonghan's army is almost reaching Yu County."

Wanyan Zonghan withdrew his troops from Shouyang and headed for the battlefield where the wooden cannons were firing. The straight-line distance was only seventy miles.

However, the route has recently been blocked by the Ming army, that is, the valley where the Zhai brothers returned to Shouyang to aid. Not only is the Ming military camp at the western exit of the valley, but the Zhao Jianzi city camp at Zhang Guangdao is also at the eastern exit of the valley.

Wanyan Zonghan could only retreat north first, then cross the valley to Yu County, and then rush south from Yu County to the heavy cavalry to attack the valley.

The Zhai brothers were sent back to Shouyang to aid. They spent half a day traveling by boat, then rested for half a day, spent two and a half days detouring to the southern mountainous area, and then launched a night attack to defeat Yan Zonghan's Dongda camp.

Wanyan Zonghan withdrew from Shouyang on the second day after Dongda Camp was breached.

Back and forth, about three days and four nights passed.

Zhang Guangdao sent the Zhai brothers back to Shouyang to help Shouyang, and it happened to be three days and three nights before Wanyan Lou's room was discovered and killed. Up to now, it had gone through a total of four days and four nights.

In other words, Wanyan Zonghan's army just set off from Shouyang this morning.

There are many loess mountains along the route, as well as a mountainous area of ​​20 to 30 miles. It takes more than 100 miles to reach Yu County with seven twists and turns. The vanguard may have arrived, but Wanyan Zonghan's main force is definitely still on the way.

…

night.

Wanyan Zonghan's main force was still in the mountainous area. A fast horse came and was taken directly to the commander's tent.

The messenger knelt down and reported: "Marshal, the Privy Councilor has died of illness!"

"I know." Wanyan Zonghan felt heavy.

The highest military institution of the Jin Kingdom is the Du Marshal's Office. As the territory expands, local Privy Councils are being established.

The first Privy Council was located in Guangning, which is the area east of Jinzhou. The original purpose of its establishment was to prevent Zhang Jue's rebellion. The Privy Council of Guangning at that time was Liu Yanzong, who directly took orders from Wanyan Zonghan (there are also historical data showing that the Privy Council of Guangning was put on hold due to the resumption of war before it was formally established).

Now, Wanyan Zonghan is in Yunzhong (Datong) and Wanyan Zongwang is in Yanshan (Beijing), and they have established a Privy Council respectively.

The Privy Council envoy in Yunzhong is Wanyan Xishi, and the Privy Council envoy in Yanshan is Liu Yanzong. They are mainly responsible for recruiting and training local soldiers and horses, and are also responsible for collecting food and grass on the spot.

Wanyan's training room was specially located in the northern part of Shanxi Province to recruit troops and food for Wanyan Zonghan and sit in the rear. Now the war is not over but he suddenly died of illness.

This is enough to give Wanyan Zonghan a headache!

There are three parts of Wanyan Jurchen, one is Huosu Pavilion, the second is Pressing out the Tiger Water (Aguda), and the third is Yelan.

The Wanyan Department of the Huosu Pavilion was the one that Zhao Li and Yelu Yujian crushed across the sea. They are the weakest, and their origins are somewhat unclear, but Aguda admits that their surname is Wanyan (more like a given surname).

Yelan's Wanyan tribe was very powerful. When Aguda planned to rebel against the Liao Dynasty, he only made up his mind with the support of Yelan's Wanyan tribe.

The Wanyan Xishi who died of illness this time was the son of the previous head of the Yelan Wanyan tribe.

As for the current head of the Yelan Wanyan tribe, his name is Wanyan Zhong. When the Jin soldiers attacked the Song Dynasty last time, he fell under the command of Wanyan Zongwang. This time, he did not lead his army south. Wanyanzhong stayed in Harbin, swinging back and forth and not knowing which faction he belonged to.

The internal strife in Jin Dynasty was very serious. Wanyan Zhong was conserving his strength. Half of the troops of Yelan Wanyan Department were not moved. The excuse was that they were putting down the rebellion of the Bohai people.

"Call Pu Lidu."

"yes!"

Wanyan Pulidi was the grandson of Wugunai and the third son of Alihexi.

Pulidi's second brother is called Wanyan Orun (Wanyan Yan). He is currently serving as a courtier in Harbin and is a pawn of Wanyan Zonghanbu in the Jin Dynasty court.

"Marshal!" Pu Liduo rushed to the marshal's tent to pay his respects.

Wanyan Zonghan said: "The Privy Councilor has died of illness. You go back and take charge of Yunzhong. Don't cause any more trouble in the rear."

Pu Li was surprised and asked, "Why did he die suddenly?"

Wanyan Zonghan said: "He was already ill before sending troops this time, but he didn't tell anyone about it. Don't wait any longer and rush back overnight."

"good!"

Pu Liduo took dozens of Qingqi and rushed back to Datong Privy Council overnight.

He was not only a strong general, but also relatively proficient in internal affairs. He once wrote a memorial to cancel the custom of using war horses for burial in Jin Dynasty (at that time, he was not capable and the memorial was poorly written, but Wanyan Zonghan helped to revise it).

After Pu Litui left, Wanyan Zonghan hadn't slept long when several more fast horses came galloping towards him.

The soldiers walked into the commander's tent and whispered: "There was a huge defeat at the front, with tens of thousands of soldiers lost."

"What?" Wanyan Zonghan was so shocked that he lost all sleep and quickly called the messenger in.

The person sent to deliver the news was none other than Wen Du Sizhong.

Wanyan Zonghan said sternly: "Please tell me in detail how our army was defeated!"

Wen Du Sizhong has an amazing memory and strong language organization ability, and he can explain the process of several battles very clearly. During the heavy cavalry hedging battle, he was responsible for exploring the escape terrain, but after asking the Jurchen soldiers, he was able to tell the story in detail at this time.

After hearing this, Wanyan Zonghan was a little in disbelief: "When those artillery shots were fired, all the cavalry of our army fell down?"

"Only a few of those who were dozens of steps ahead were spared," Wen Du Sizhong said.

Wanyan Zonghan asked again: "When riding in an open place, how dare the Ming cavalry fight in close combat?"

Wen Du Sizhong nodded: "Yes."

Wanyan Zonghan asked again: "In the valley, do you use a heavy wall to charge forward?"

Wen Du Sizhong said: "According to what our soldiers said, the heavy cavalry of the Ming Army were also afraid, and everyone slowed down when they rushed close. But they did dare to enter the wall, and they were lined up more densely than us, and they were killed by running together. Rushed over."

Wanyan Zonghan was silent for a moment and asked, "How is the morale of our army?"

"Morale is low," Wen Du Sizhong said. "The Ming army's artillery fire made them frightened. Then the cavalry lost two more battles, and the troops broke up and fled in confusion. After all these experiences, the entire army lost their souls. , are currently retreating to Yu County to rest, and some tribal leaders are clamoring to return to their hometowns."

Wanyan Zonghan was furious: "It's just a defeat, but he wants to go home. It's so stupid and cowardly!"

Wen Du Sizhong said: "They were frightened by the Ming army's firearms and heavy cavalry. The Ming Dynasty had a large number of people and a vast territory. Most of us, Dajin, would not be able to win quickly this year. If it is delayed until next year or the year after, I don't know what the Ming army will produce." No matter how many artillery pieces there are, I don’t know how many heavy cavalry the Ming army can train. When the leaders of the various ministries think about these things, how can they be willing to fight with the Ming Dynasty again? "

"Because of this, we must fight hard next. We cannot give the Ming Dynasty more time to build firearms and train cavalry!" Wanyan Zonghan roared.

He handed over the army to his deputy general, took only a few hundred cavalry, and rushed to Yu County overnight.

At dawn, Wanyan Zonghan saw Wanyan Lou's room and immediately asked: "Can you still fight?"

Wanyan Loushi said: "I can fight!"

Then he added: "But Hezha suddenly lost his main battle horse. When he fights in armor again, I'm afraid he won't be able to fight for that long."

"You can't let Hezha Meng'an take off his armor before retreating?" Wanyan Zonghan said angrily.

Wanyan Loushi said: "The cavalry of the Ming army is chasing closely. Once Hezha Meng'an removes his armor, those Ming troops will chase him desperately and fight bloody battles. They will not give Hezha Meng'an time to put on his armor. The main force of their infantry is also there. If we are pursued and held back by the Ming cavalry, our army will most likely be wiped out."

"We can only let Hezha Meng'an march in armor. The Ming army is chasing closely, and then let Hezha Meng'an rush back to cover up the kill. This attack was repeated several times before the whole army reached the mountain safely. But Hezha Meng'an's war horse They are all exhausted, foaming at the mouth, and it is difficult to continue crossing the mountains. I must order those war horses to be killed, otherwise the Ming army will get them, and those war horses can recover by resting where they are!"

Wanyan Zonghan closed his eyes and thought about the situation at that time, and found that there was nothing he could do about it.

Wanyan Loushi had three opportunities to safely withdraw his troops, but they were interfered with by various reasons and missed.

The biggest reason is that there is a problem with the overall strategy of the Jin Kingdom. It must seize every opportunity to fight annihilation battles in the wild and cannot be turned into siege battles by the Ming army. This caused Wanyan Loushi to be vigilant, but he still had to gamble, and he always bit the Ming army's bait unconsciously.

Wanyan Zonghan asked: "You are familiar with the Ming army's tactics, how should we fight next?"

Wanyan Loushi said: "It is best to garrison Yu County and rest for a few days, otherwise it will be difficult for the soldiers I brought back to quickly recover their morale. The Ming army commander is like a smart hunter, setting a trap for me to get into. With this kind of People must be very careful when fighting. The Ming army's infantry and vehicle formations cannot be attacked by force. Those artillery pieces are really powerful. They must be lured to chase them out, break up the formation, and then wait for an opportunity to rush forward."

Wanyan Zonghan asked: "When the Ming army infantry pursued them, why didn't you fight back?"

Wanyan Loushi said: "The general of the Ming army was too cautious. I originally wanted to lure them out and attack with cavalry on all sides in the open terrain. But even if they pursued, they marched extremely slowly in formation. The whole army marched dozens Reorganize your team as soon as possible, and don't give me a chance to send troops to break the formation!"

Wanyan Zonghan was silent.

Wanyan Loushi suddenly remembered something and said with an ugly expression: "What we should be worried about now is not Yu County, but Taiyuan and Shouyang!"

Wanyan Zonghan was agitated when he heard this and immediately thought about the problem: "We cannot stay in Yu County to fight. The entire army must quickly withdraw to the north of Taiyuan!"

If the main force of the Jin army is dragged into Yu County by Zhang Guangdao, their retreat is likely to be blocked.

One is the northwest and northeast of Shouyang, where there is a mountain pass, which is the only place where the Jin soldiers must pass when they retreat to Taiyuan.

The second is the northeast of Taiyuan, where there is also a mountain pass, which is also the only place where the Jin soldiers must pass through to withdraw their troops.

If the Taiyuan garrison and Shouyang garrison of the Ming Dynasty received orders and ran to occupy the mountain pass. Zhang Guangdao then separated his elite troops and rushed from the river valley to Shouyang by boat to help these friendly troops defend the mountain pass. Then the Jin soldiers would not be able to return to Datong.

The military rations brought by Wanyan Lou's family, as well as the local military rations in Yu County, were all taken away by Chen Ziyi's troops.

As long as the Ming army blocked the mountain pass, there was no need to do anything else. The Jin army would be completely wiped out after they ran out of food and grass.

Before dawn, the Jin soldiers abandoned their extra baggage and marched with only food, horses and armor.

At the same time, a large number of brave knights were sent as vanguards, carrying only dry food and galloping wildly to occupy those mountain passes to ensure a smooth retreat.

Wanyan Zonghan must lead the entire army and retreat to the north of Taiyuan, so as not to be afraid of being blocked by the Ming army.

Three passages, one has been blocked!

The Ming army in Taiyuan is more than enough to defend the city. It is difficult to fight in the wild, and it is even more difficult for them to fight in a fortified battle.

In order to ensure smooth retreat and food routes, Wanyan Zonghan divided hundreds of troops to guard Sanjiaokou. Yang Weizhong led thousands of weak troops and repeatedly attacked for many days but could not capture it. Therefore, the mountain pass on the Taiyuan side was difficult to capture and had to wait for Zhang Guangdao's elite to pass.

There are two mountain passes in the north of Shouyang.

The northeast side was too close to Wanyan Zonghan's main force, and the Zhai brothers did not dare to capture it because they did not have enough troops, so they concentrated their forces and occupied the northwest side. They only need to drag on the bloody battle for a few days before Zhang Guangdao comes to support them and block the entire Jin army in a small basin between the mountains.

"Marshal, the mountain pass northwest of Shouyang is blocked!"

On the afternoon of the second day, the vanguard troops sent people back to tell them the news.

Wanyan Zonghan was about to increase his troops to attack. Wen Du Sizhong said: "There is a small valley nearby. I led the troops to explore it the year before last. It can be passed through there! But if you continue to the west, Ming troops will probably block the road, so you can only go along Follow the valley all the way north, then climb over the steep mountains to reach the upper reaches of the Hutuo River. From there, you can lead the troops back to Wutai County, and then southwest to Xinzhou."

After all, Zhang Guangdao still did not have enough troops to block all the passages.

There are so many valley passages in Shanxi that anyone can pass through them regardless of the consequences.

The main force of Shanxi's Jin soldiers first passed through a twenty-mile-long valley (later Cenfeng Village and Shijiao Village), then went north through a mountain basin (later Xiyan Town), and then followed the seventy-eighty-mile long valley. The long winding valley retreats northward.

As they crossed the river valley and began to climb the mountains, the first snow of the year fell.

During the march, some wounded soldiers died of infection. By the time they reached the upper reaches of the Hutuo River, they had lost hundreds of people due to non-combat losses. Many other soldiers were sick, the whole army was exhausted, and some of the horses died.

As for the civilian husbands, they gradually abandoned most or even part of the food and grass.

In the winter, Wanyan Zonghan stationed troops in Xinzhou and was seriously short of military rations.

Zhang Guangdao did not go to Taiyuan to confront Wanyan Zonghan from the north to the south. Instead, he sent troops to attack Chengtian Village, trying to get through Jingxing and kill Zhending Mansion, and cooperated with Hebei friendly forces to attack the puppet capital of the Song Dynasty.