"I am forcing the troops to go against the will of the times..."

In late April, it is undoubtedly a serious summer. The weather is getting hotter and the heat is unstoppable. In Fangzhou, where the Jushui flows into the Beiluoshui estuary, Wanyan Loushi, soaked in sweat, is sitting not far from the river bank. Under the shade of the trees, looking at the soldiers huddled in the shade around me, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart.

Let's say that this time when they left northern Shaanxi, Lou Shi gathered most of the Meng'an Mooke from the West Route Army, but did not bring a full complement of Han'er reinforcements. This not only significantly improved the combat effectiveness, but also made some things too much. It became obvious:

First of all, as the weather gets hotter and hotter, it becomes increasingly difficult for Yanyun’s elites who were born in Liaodong to adapt to the heat. Not to mention that many of the Jurchen elites of the West Route Army simply came from Hushui (today’s Harbin area). Lou Shi I simply couldn’t imagine that the battle would last until the end of summer and the continuous rain in early autumn would be a disaster not only for the cavalry at hand, but also for my own body.

Secondly, the northern Shaanxi area is a typical hilly plateau on the plateau. This special terrain allows the cavalry to engage in battle on local battlefields, but it is difficult to exert strategic mobility advantages. This makes logistics difficult and large-scale mobile warfare almost becomes A kind of extravagant wish.

Therefore, in Lou Shi's view, this battle may indeed be necessary in terms of national strategy and personal needs, but when it comes to the current battle level, it is a battle without the right time and location...the only hope is It was the people who made peace, relying on this group of elite cavalry from the core of the Jin Army from Liaodong, Yanyun, and even the banks of the Hu River, and relying on their own determination to fight to the death.

The sun was setting in the west, and the main force of the Jin generals who had marched hard to this point rested for a long time. As the crowd gradually became calmer, the Jin army got up and went to Beiluoshui and Jushui to cool down, while the Han'er army was in the deputy capital, Wanyan Bali. With a quick scolding, he began to set up camp by the river under the scorching sun.

At this time, the army commander Lou Shi was still leaning under the original big tree, closing his eyes and concentrating. No one around him dared to disturb him easily... Of course, Lou Shi was no longer thinking about anything at this time, but Concentrate your energy on the current battle situation.

By the way, Wanyan Loushi led the elite of the West Route Army south this time. The actual strength of the troops was about fifty to sixty thousand, among which the pure Meng'an, the elite soldiers under the Mouke system were barely less than forty thousand, and there was another Twenty thousand Han'er supplementary troops can be regarded as archers and auxiliary troops... The reason for this is that under the Meng'an plan to suppress the system, ten meng'an for ten thousand households is correct, but there are often only five or six men's security in each meng'an. One or even four or five moukers, and if a household wanted to actually get ten thousand soldiers, it would usually be four or five thousand cavalry under the mouker system, plus four or five thousand Han'er supplementary troops.

But this time, in order to ensure the rapid dispatch of troops and to ensure combat strength under limited logistical conditions, Lou Shi did not mobilize too many Han'er auxiliary troops... Those troops and horses were handed over to the nominal commander, and they should be almost ready at this time. The third prince Wan Yan and Liduo arrived at Hezhong Mansion.

As for the 50,000 to 60,000 people, at present, there are only 30,000 to 40,000 left... This is not to say how much Lou Shi has lost, but the natural division of troops and consumption.

First of all, it is naturally a necessary defense and left-behind troops. Under such terrain conditions and supply conditions, no one dares to slight this aspect. However, there are too many ravines and ravines along the way. It seems that we should build a stronghold and leave some behind wherever we go. There are just as many soldiers... not to mention Yan'an Prefecture, Luojiao City, etc. are about to attack.

Secondly, Wanyan Huonv led a partial force of about ten thousand people along the way. He divided his troops from Yanhe early and went south along the Yellow River to capture Danzhou and peek at Tongzhou.

Needless to say, Huonv performed very well along the way, and Danzhou was easily captured. As for being blocked by Tongzhou a few days ago... To put it bluntly, it should have been like this, because the person stationed in Tongzhou was the number one general of the Southern Dynasty.

Han Shizhong and his imperial camp had 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers from the left, and there was a serious Liangshan Mountain range between Danzhou and Tongzhou. Coupled with the weather, if 10,000 people could really pierce Tongzhou, what living women would it be?

Then he can really take his father's place.

Therefore, after arriving at the intersection of Jushui and Beiluoshui, although Wanyan Lou's family theoretically still had 70,000 households, he only had about 30,000 to 40,000 troops.

Of course, most of them are the real core combat force that is "invincible". There were only ten thousand soldiers and horses of this kind that day, and Lou Shi could rely on them to defeat the Western Army of 200,000, so there was no mistake.

After taking stock of his troops in his mind, Lou Shifu began to think about the path for his main force to advance.

This main force basically marched along the Beiluoshui River, and the two most important defensive nodes on the Beiluoshui River were both upstream... One was the Diaoyin Pass that Quduan had been operating for a long time, but it was on the flank.

Danzhou lost its strategic role after being captured by Wanyan Huonv's partial division. The defender Wu Lin chose to give up and retreat; the other was Luojiao City next to the main road of Beiluoshui, but it was calmly captured by Lou Shi and his army.

, the two brothers Wu Jie and Wu Lin, the guards, were divided into two, one headed west and the other south, and walked away in embarrassment.

Therefore, at present, the Jin army has captured all Yanzhou and Danzhou, and has officially pressed into Fangzhou to take a peek at Tongzhou.

From here, not to mention the Danzhou partial division, the road faced by the main force here is divided into three.

One of the roads naturally follows the Beiluoshui River and continues to the southeast from the east bank of the Beiluoshui River. The front of this road is nowhere else but Tongzhou where Han Shizhong is stationed... This is a relatively royal road.

'The army will follow this road southward, with Danzhou's live female army on its flanks as reinforcements, and the important town of Facheng on the east bank of Luoshui River is in hand, which can ensure a worry-free way back, and can calmly deal with Danzhou's Wanyan activities.

The female flanker attacked Han Shizhong, and at the same time, it could attract the attention of another major force such as Wanyan Yinliduo and Wanyan Wushu, the third prince on the Hedong side, so that they could cross the river.

In fact, this is also the place where most people guess the decisive battle.

The other route also goes south along the Bei Luoshui River, but it has to go from the west bank of the Bei Luoshui River, take Huazhou, and then go to Fuping, Sanyuan and other places on the border of Huazhou and Yaozhou, and then officially transfer to the Weibei Plain, and the troops will approach Jingzhao.

... Once this happens, Han Shizhong will most likely be forced to abandon Tongzhou and turn around to protect Chang'an, and the Hedong army will naturally be able to cross the river smoothly.

The third road is also to attack the capital, but it goes to the southwest from here. It is to conquer Fangzhou City, and then turns to Yaozhou in the southwest. It only needs to conquer Tongguan (later Tongchuan), Huayuan (later)

Yaoxian), Fuping, Sanyuan and other Weibei gateways are right in front of you.

There are three roads, from west to east, Yaozhou, Huazhou and Tongzhou. You can take any of them, but you have to choose one. It would be ridiculous to divide the troops into three roads... Among them, Lou Shi has already rejected most people's guesses in his heart.

Tongzhou.

This is not to say that Lou Shi is really afraid of Han Shizhong, but that he is worried that he will waste too much time in Tongzhou... The road in northern Shaanxi is too difficult to walk, and a lot of time has been wasted...

Not mentioning the possibility that Tongzhou would be exhausted if he delayed any longer, only that it would be unbearable for Lou Shi after more than a month of tossing.

Moreover, the current situation is no better than before. Lou Shi vaguely feels that even if he defeats Han Shizhong, he may not have won the decisive battle. On the contrary, if he is entangled with Han Shizhong in Tongzhou, will it leave more time for the Song people to assemble?

At that time, more troops will continue to gather in the Weihe River area to defend Jingzhao, regardless of Han Shizhong's defeat at the front? Will the army in Hedong be unable to supply food and grass?

The land is right and people are different, and with such a determined Zhao official family behind them, it is impossible to analyze and look at the Song people with the eyes of the past.

In the past, the idea that if the front was victorious in a single battle, the Song army at the rear would be routed thousands of miles away was absolutely unacceptable.

But if we take the other two paths, that is, directly abandon Tongzhou and invade the Weishui River, forcing Han Shizhong to withdraw his troops, we must ensure that there is sufficient backup on the west bank of the Luoshui River. In other words, whether it is Huazhou or Yaozhou, Fangzhou City

They should all be taken first.

"Isn't Wulibu back yet?"

After thinking about this, Lou Shi slowly opened his eyes, first looked at the already yellow sun, and then asked his second son Wanyan Mouyan, who was holding a knife and serving as a waiter not far away from him, and asked.

Wulibu means accumulation in the Jurchen language. Not too many Jurchen officers are called this name, just like it is common for Han Chinese to call someone named Zhang Facai or Fu.

However, the Wulibu that Lou Shi asked about could only be Jiagu Wulibu, which was one of the two fully integrated Meng'an that Lou Shi brought during this expedition...

One more thing must be said here.

The so-called Hezha Meng'an means bodyguard and pro-army. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, only a few people such as Aguda, Wu Qimai, and Nianhan were eligible. There were only six in total. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many nobles raised them, and they were probably Tiehe.

The real origin of the pagoda, but no matter what, these six are still the most elite, and Nianhan is also really impressive. Two of his Hezhan Meng'an brought all of them to Lou Shi this time... and one was Jiagu Wuli.

To make up for the loss, one was led by Pucha Huzhan.

As for Lou Shi now asking Wu Libu, it is because according to the Jin people's marching tradition, once a battle is won, in order to ensure that the victory is expanded at the minimum cost, an extremely elite cavalry will often be sent to follow forward, trying to scare the city, or

The defeated army expanded its results, and this time the one following Wu Jie was Jiagu Wulibu, who led a force to join forces in Meng'an.

"I'm back...I gave orders to Balisu. I saw my father closing his eyes to rest, so he didn't dare to disturb him." After hearing this, Mouyan quickly stepped forward to answer. "But according to him, Wu Jie fled into the workshop.

The people behind Zhouzhou City did not panic to the point of losing their minds, and the city defenses were still tight, so they did not succeed. Instead, they suffered a small loss and simply withdrew directly."

Lou Shi's expression remained unchanged, but he just nodded: "The Wu brothers are both rare generals. You can tell from the fact that they have been able to gather their troops and establish a proper foothold after several defeats. It won't be a problem for me to make up for the losses..."

Wanyan Mouyan also nodded: "Indeed, the Wu brothers are actually quite effective in fighting. Not to mention the time when they were ambushed by the elder brother by this river at the beginning of the year. In the field, they were attacked by cavalry back and forth so many times on the river, and no one could do anything about it...

But in Luojiao a few days ago, their brothers really didn't lose many soldiers. Wu Jie took away four to five thousand, and Wu Lin also took away two to three thousand."

"Your brothers are not as good as their brothers." Lou Shi nodded again, with no expression on his thin, yellowish face.

Mouyan originally just said a few words casually following his father's words. When he heard the other party's conclusion, he was naturally dissatisfied, but he didn't dare to say more.

"Go find Bali and come here." Lou Shi didn't care about his second son's thoughts at all, and just gave the order casually. "There are tens of thousands of households in the army, including Deli Meng'an. I want to give a military order."

Mouyan did not dare to neglect, but left in a hurry.

After a moment, I heard the commander's move. Wanhu and deputy commander Wanyan, who was accompanying him on the expedition, pulled away from the speed. Wanhu Wanyan suddenly joined the speed. Wanhu's Yelu Ma was five. Wanhu Wanyan's salli shouted. Wanhu's Wanyan

Yan Zhehe, plus two Hezha Meng'an, Jiagu Wulibu and Pucha Huzhan, a total of about ten people, came to the riverside one after another.

As for the dozen or so people, almost all of them were accompanied by several personal guards, they made the area around the tree noisy for a while.

However, when Lou Shi, who was sitting cross-legged under the tree, raised his head and looked around, the noise immediately disappeared. He had inherited his brother Yin Shuke's position in the West Route Army. During this expedition, there were many deputies who handled daily military affairs.

The commander-in-chief, Wanyan Balisu, immediately stood upright with his arms folded, as obedient as a mouse after seeing a cat. He did not look like the majestic figure he used to have in the Wanyan Wushu Army who fought against the fourth prince every day.

"Wulibu." Lou Shi didn't say any more nonsense and glanced directly at one of them. "How is the city of Fangzhou? How many troops and horses are needed to prepare for it?"

"Report to the capital." Jiagu Wulibu also handed over his hands solemnly. "The city is not big, but the surrounding terrain is troublesome. There are ravines everywhere. If you want to attack the city, you can only cross the river from the north. However, the Song people had no choice but to lead this way.

Outside the moat of Jushui Raocheng, there is a mountain stretching to the river on the north side of the city. The nearest mountain is dozens of feet high. The mountain is still full of stones and pits. The Song Dynasty people also prepared a stockade on top of it.

, controlling the road and open space in the north of the city. The open space was not big, and even two or three thousand people could spread out... It was there that I was hit by arrows. I was bored, so I just peeked at the rocks on the mountain.

Came back."

"In other words, the troops and horses cannot be deployed, and Wu Jie has already prepared for the city. He must first break out the stronghold and then attack the city?" Lou Shi frowned slightly.

"That's what I mean." Wu Libu handed over his hand again.

"Can we go around to the south of the city?"

"Perhaps, but we don't know the terrain. We might get dizzy in the ravines, and the villages on the road are all deserted... It will take time."

"Who is going?" Lou Shi nodded, no longer worrying about it, but looked directly at the extremely quiet group of households.

"I'll go!"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. At this moment, Wanyan Tu Hesu, who was already a little impatient, suddenly took a step forward, raised his chest and belly, and supported his waist. "I, Tu Hesu, are the best at fighting on foot!"

As soon as he said this, there was a burst of laughter under the shade of the trees, and the surrounding attendants also laughed.

Moreover, Tu Hesu, as a famous general of the West Route Army, definitely had many classic battles. He was the one who killed the Seed Master in Taiyuan that day. However, the infantry battle he mentioned this time was referring to another battle.

Specifically, after breaking through Taiyuan that day, the Jin army swept through Hedong and finally reached Shizhou (today's Lishi area in Shanxi Province). The Song army successfully resisted the Jin army several times by relying on the mountain road. The Jin army lost three generals in a row and had no choice but to attack.

Ask for reinforcements from Tuhesu in Taiyuan. Tuhesu arrives at Shizhou, observes the terrain, and thinks that he should dismount and fight on foot.

As a result, the general of the Jin Army who was in charge of the battle at that time did not know whether he was already timid or was looking for reasons for his failure in the battle, so he told Tu Hesu that the Song people knew magic and had talismans tied to their feet like magical Taibo, and they started running.

They were faster than horses. It would have been even more difficult for the Jin army to abandon their horses and fight the Song people.

As a result, Tu Hesu sneered on the spot, and then ordered the entire army to dismount and start a mountain foot battle with the Song army, strangulating all the Song army in Shizhou... The history books called it "the ultimate annihilation".

Lou Shi was actually dissatisfied with Tu Hesu's arrogance and frivolity, but firstly, Tu Hesu was indeed a man with unparalleled bravery in combat. Secondly, as the weather got hotter and the soldiers gradually became exhausted, he was about to use the opponent's momentum;

Thirdly, he really didn't want to drag it on the road any longer.

As a result, Lou Shi smiled at each other under the tree: "In this way, Fangzhou City will be handed over to Tu Hesu. Your troops will have ten strong soldiers and forty-seven soldiers, which should be enough. Han'er's army will also be at your disposal."
To be continued...