Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

In the mountainous area in the north of Shouyang, there is a Yangxing Valley Village, which controls the access to Wutai County.

It was in the hands of Jin Bing before, but now he gave it up voluntarily.

This village is too far away from the Jin Kingdom's city, and there are mountain valleys along the way. The military supplies need to be transported all the way from Dingxiang or Wutai.

There are too many Jin soldiers stationed, and the transportation of military supplies is overwhelmed.

The Jin soldiers were stationed too few and could not withstand the Ming army's attack.

The rebels in Wutai and Dingxiang counties also played a huge role. Unable to bear the oppression of the Jin soldiers, they fled into the mountains to fight guerrillas and attacked the Jin soldiers' grain transport teams without warning.

Transporting grain to Yangxing Valley Village originally consumed a lot of money, and the rebels in the mountains often harassed them, so Wanyan Zonghan had to send troops to escort the grain and grass.

After doing this for several months, the Jin people couldn't bear the military rations, so they simply gave up this military stronghold and instead stationed troops at two valley entrances further north.

The rebels in Dingxiang and Wutai counties were overjoyed. The mountainous areas where they operated were finally connected to the territory of the Ming army.

Zhang Guangdao immediately sent soldiers, clothes and food to the rebels. The Shanxi rebels were replenished, causing Jin Bing an even greater headache. From time to time, they crossed mountains and ridges, bypassed the valley entrance where the Jin soldiers were stationed, attacked the wealthy households who took refuge with the Jin people (many wealthy households were really unjustly accused), and also intercepted and killed the puppet soldiers and officials who went to the countryside to collect grain.

If the Jin soldiers come to kill, the rebels can always get the news in advance and immediately flee into the mountains to hide.

Once the Jin soldiers left, the rebel army came out again.

The gentry in Dingxiang and Wutai counties were looted back and forth by Jin soldiers and rebels.

Many gentry were bankrupted. They felt that the Jin people did not have the upper hand, so they simply contacted the rebels secretly, or sent their children to join the rebels. At the same time, he also wrote to contact Zhang Guangdao, saying that he was willing to provide internal support to the Ming army, and only asked the Ming soldiers to kill them quickly and regain the lost territory.

After the wheat harvest in Shanxi this year, Zhang Guangdao quickly sent troops to attack Chitang Pass and Shiling Pass before the grain tax was handed over.

There are two throats leading from Taiyuan to Xinzhou. Yelu Yujian escaped from Chitang Pass. At that time, Chitang Pass was still in the hands of the Ming army. Last year, Wanyan Zonghan's army went south and captured Chitang Pass again.

There is no trick to attack Xiongguan, and there is no way to go around the mountain.

Anyway, the army was stationed outside the pass, dragging out the iron cannons every day and blasting them at the city.

Due to terrain reasons, there are not many places where artillery can be deployed, and each Guancheng can only use seven or eight cannons at the same time.

Not only did the artillery arrive for Zhang Guangdao, but Ju Ming also transferred all the musketeers to Shanxi.

Wanyan Zonghan organized troops to go out many times, hoping to destroy or steal the Ming army's artillery. But the hillsides on both sides are full of musketeers. If there is such a block of people in the middle, the golden soldiers will not be able to rush through them no matter how powerful they are.

"Boom boom boom!"

Wanyan Zonghan was numb to the sound of cannon fire one after another, because the bombardment lasted for more than forty days.

These two passes were built during the Zhao Guangyi period and reinforced again during the Qingli period. They were bombarded continuously for more than a month and still did not collapse.

Chitang Pass was taken away by the Jin soldiers last year because Zhang Guangdao took the initiative to shrink the defense line. Otherwise, if we station thousands of people and store enough food, no matter how powerful the Jin soldiers are, they will only be able to catch them blind.

"Mr. Zhang, another three hundred barrels of gunpowder have been shipped to Kaifeng, and the iron bullets from Cizhou have also been shipped to Shouyang!"

"Very good, the bombardment will continue tomorrow."

The main battlefield in Shanxi requires breaking through Xiongguan before it can be launched. By breaking any one point, the Ming army could march northward to Xinzhou, and also send partial troops to attack Dingxiang and Wutai.

Zhang Guangdao didn't panic at all. He had plenty of food and grass. It was the Ministry of Husbandry who kept complaining that there was not enough food.

Today's bombardment finally ended. Watching the Ming army change defenses in an orderly manner, Wanyan Zonghan felt restless.

Wanyan Zonghan could not do anything else except defend Guancheng.

No matter how elite the Jin cavalry and infantry were, they were useless at this time.

Chitang Pass is located on the flat land of the valley, and Shiling Pass is located on a stone ridge between the valleys. The mountain road outside the pass has been blocked by the Ming army. Not only are muskets and artillery mounted, but a large number of crossbowmen are also deployed, waiting for the Jin soldiers to come from the narrow valley to die.

Under normal circumstances, this kind of terrain is greatly advantageous for the Jin people as the defender.

But the Ming army has artillery!

"Marshal, there is another crack in the wall." The soldiers came over to report the information.

Wanyan Zonghan went to check it in person. He suspended the basket in mid-air against the wall and stretched out his hand to find the new crack. This time, it was two fingers wide.

It could last for more than forty days without collapsing under bombardment. The Guancheng built by the Song Dynasty was already very qualified.

What more could you ask for?

Wanyan Zonghan was also on the city wall, setting up some small and medium-sized returning artillery pieces and throwing stone projectiles at the Ming army's artillery positions.

But the effect was little. When the Ming army deployed artillery, they built rammed earth fortifications. So far, only two artillery pieces and more than a dozen gunners have been hit by stones.

"boom!"

On the fifty-sixth day of the bombardment, with a loud noise, a large area of ​​the city wall on the east side of Chitang Pass collapsed.

However, the Ming army's bombardment had not stopped. The frequently used artillery was replaced, and several more artillery that had completed maintenance were brought up.

Want to come again?

Wanyan Zonghan was completely speechless. You guys rushed to attack the city. You didn't attack any place you crossed. Do you want to burn Chitang Pass to the ground?

On the fifty-ninth day of the bombardment, there was another loud noise, and another section of the city wall fell down next to the gap that had been destroyed before.

"Continue the bombardment and attack the city tomorrow." Zhang Guangdao finally ordered.

The next day, the parapets one after another were pushed out from the Ming army camp. The siege soldiers hid behind the parapets and advanced slowly.

The artillery of the Ming army continued to blast, covering the friendly troops approaching Guancheng.

After the parapet wall, there are six Linchong Lu buses.

Each Lugong chariot has four floors, and six musketeers stand on each floor, who can fire cold shots at the golden soldiers at the gap.

More musketeers followed the female wall.

The small and medium-sized returning artillery on Guancheng began to throw stones against the Ming army's artillery, hitting the slowly advancing parapet wall.

"boom!"

A stone hit the wall, causing sawdust to fly out. Three Ming soldiers were killed on the spot, and several others were injured by the splattered sawdust.

The main attacker at the front was, of course, Wang De's Yaksha camp.

The Yaksha camp has been expanded to 1,000 men, with Wang De as the chief general and Cao Wu and Xu Qing as deputy generals.

Cao Wu was a subordinate of Wu Jie. Historically, the Jin soldiers attacked Monk Yuan, and his victory in a duel in front of the battle greatly boosted the morale of the Song army.

Xu Qing was a subordinate of Liu Qi, and was also nicknamed "Yaksha" in history.

These three people are all warriors of the Western Army, and all of them are capable of playing one-on-one.

And these Qianyaksha camp soldiers are also selected from the best, and they are enough to serve as Ju Ming's heavy-armored bodyguards.

They all wore new-style armor. Since they were entering from a gap, they did not have to use their hands to climb stairs, so everyone held a shield in their left hand and a hammer in their right hand.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The musketeers in Lu Gong's car took the lead in shooting at the gap. Because the distance was too far, they only hit a few people.

However, there were several artillery pieces that kept firing at the gap.

One of the artillery shells fell into the Jin soldiers' formation, instantly killing and injuring several people.

As the Xingnu Wall gradually approached, the golden soldiers on the city also began to shoot arrows, hitting the cowhide on the outer layer of the Xingnu Wall, making a muffled sound of chopping.

After two rounds of arrow rain, and with a few whistles, hundreds of Ming Army musketeers stood up from behind the parapet wall and fired at the Jin soldiers in the gap dozens of steps away.

"boom!"

Linchong Lu Gongcha was too tall and was hit by a stone thrown at him. A big hole was made in the upper two floors. Although it did not collapse and was destroyed, two musketeers were killed and three musketeers were injured.

"shoot!"

The Ming army archers behind the female wall, after getting closer, fired crossbows at the gap and the golden soldiers on the city wall.

The first few rows of parapets were getting closer and closer to Guancheng, and they had already entered the blind spot of the return cannon.

When they were twenty or thirty steps away, more than three hundred musketeers fired freely at the golden soldiers at the gap.

After a burst of gunfire, Wang De shouted: "Go!"

Taking advantage of the gap in defense, the Jin soldiers were beaten by muskets and their formations were thrown into chaos. Wang De led the Yaksha camp away from the female wall and rushed up carrying more than ten short wooden ladders.

The gap is not flat ground, but a rugged obstacle terrain formed by the collapse of the city wall.

Wang De still charged forward, waiting for the warriors in the front row to set up the short ladder. He raised his shield with his left hand to resist the spear, and quickly climbed up the short ladder with his right hand. In a few steps, he rushed up to a high ground, pulled out his mace and struck hard.

These golden soldiers were first shelled and then shot by muskets. They were in panic at this time. Moreover, the high platform formed by the collapse of the city wall was too rugged and scattered, making it impossible to form an orderly array.

The two deputy generals, Cao Wu and Xu Qing, immediately led their troops and rushed forward.

Three tall and brave men, like three arrows, inserted into the enemy's formation with their soldiers.

In just a few minutes, the golden soldiers who were defending the gap began to flee.

Wanyan Zonghan shouted: "Hezha Meng'an, go up and fill the gap!"

More than a thousand iron cans wearing heavy armor, holding iron rods, hammers, and maces in their hands, marched slowly forward to the gap, calmly taking over and filling their positions despite their broken troops.

These are Hezha Meng'an who lost their main war horses last year. Although the spare war horses can also be used, they are not as convenient as before. Now they are just suitable as heavy armored infantry.

The two sides collided quickly. Since they were all blunt force attacks, the slight difference in armor was negligible.

Even in terms of equipment, the Yasha battalion has an advantage because they have shields in their hands.

The spearmen from both sides also came forward and drew their guns from the gap between the two soldiers, aiming at the local soldiers and stabbing them repeatedly.

At the gap, the battlefield was in chaos.

Many Yaksha camp warriors collided with Hezha'an, hitting each other's bones with blunt objects, and then they fell to the ground and rolled and smashed each other.

The Wutai Lugong chariot successfully approached Guancheng. The musketeers on the top floor were slightly higher than the city wall. They fired cold guns at the city wall that had not yet collapsed, attacking the Jin soldiers who were shooting arrows at the Ming army in the rear row. The musketeers on the third-to-last floor fired their bullets across the battlefield at the gap, shooting at the gold reserve troops that had not yet entered the battle.

The gap has completely turned into a meat grinder, and the most elite warriors from the two countries have become one and the same.

Due to the rugged and broken terrain, it was impossible to form effective formations, so they relied entirely on individual martial arts to fight, fighting and hugging each other. He even lost his weapon and rolled over, then took off the opponent's helmet and smashed it with his fists. When the opponent was hit hard, he even opened his mouth and bit him.