The soldiers on the south gate of Juyong Pass were nervous. One thousand soldiers escaped before the Western Army cavalry came and ran out of Nancheng Pass. At this time, the gate was closed tightly. There were hundreds of Khitan Jin soldiers standing on top with nervous expressions. Their hands were
Holding a crossbow, he looked at the Western cavalry hundreds of steps below the city with trepidation.
Nanguan City is much lower than Beiguan City, only two feet high, and the ground is flat with no condescending slope. Such a city can be easily broken.
The Western Army has rich experience in attacking cities, and they have different strategies for different city gates.
To deal with such a low city wall, there is no need for iron fire thunder, Liu Qiong gave the order.
Three hundred soldiers walked out of the team, each holding a kerosene bag. This is a special leather bag with a copper pipe and a spout on the front. When the soldiers squeeze the bag, the kerosene can spray out for more than ten feet.
outside.
At this time, six thousand crossbowmen stepped forward and fired arrows at the top of the city in three shots. The soldiers on the top of the city squatted down one after another. The arrows came one after another, so dense that they could not lift them.
beginning.
Suddenly, streams of black liquid sprayed onto the city, and many soldiers were splashed all over. Before they could react, dozens of torches were thrown up, and 'Boom!' The city top started to burn.
As the black liquid continued to spray onto the city, the fire at the city's head became more and more intense. Hundreds of soldiers were on fire as they rolled and crawled toward the bottom of the city. After a while, the city's head turned into a sea of flames.
Hundreds of soldiers appeared holding huge battering rams. They shouted and ran forward. The battering ram hit the city gate hard, and the city door shook violently and could no longer hold up.
Hundreds of soldiers stepped back dozens of steps, then ran forward. "Boom!" The city gate was knocked open.
There is no Wengcheng in Nanguan City. Outside is the valley entrance. It is still dark. Although the fire is blazing on the top of the city, the situation at the valley entrance is still unclear.
Liu Qiong immediately ordered, "Open the way with arrows!"
Six thousand soldiers rushed forward, fired 6,000 arrows at the mouth of the valley, and plowed the ground three times. Only then did the main force of the cavalry rush through Guancheng. There was no soldier left outside Guancheng and at the mouth of the valley. All the soldiers fled.
Thirty thousand people passed through Nanguan City and entered the land of Yanshan Mansion.
In the northwest of the Bohai Sea, close to the Liaoxi Corridor, there is an island called Juehua Island. It is about 20 miles away from the shore of the Liaoxi Corridor. The island covers an area of 200 hectares, with beautiful mountains and rocks and dense woods. There were originally dozens of people on the island.
This temple was enshrined by the royal family of the Liao Kingdom who believed deeply in Buddhism. With the demise of the Liao Kingdom, they lost their source of livelihood. It was difficult for the monks on the island to survive and they gradually dispersed. Currently, there are only a few temples left, relying on a few hectares of land for their own farming.
Food and vegetables, a hard life.
But starting last autumn, the Western navy occupied the island. The navy continued to arrive on the island, reaching up to 20,000 people. Hundreds of large ships with tens of thousands of stones were anchored near the island.
A large amount of food and supplies were moved to the island, which made the monks on the island both happy and distressed. They were happy because a large amount of food and supplies came to the island, and they could also get food and daily necessities. But they were distressed because they lost their freedom and all the monks were not allowed to leave the temple.
, several of their boats were also confiscated to prevent them from going ashore to report the news.
The temporary governor's palace of the Navy was located in the Dalonggong Temple on the island. At dawn, several scout speedboats passed through the thick fog on the sea and anchored on the shore of the island. Several scouts jumped ashore and ran towards the Dalonggong Temple.
At this time, Tang Huai, the commander of the Navy, was drinking tea and chatting with the abbot Master Huiming in the Dalonggong Temple. Coincidentally, Master Huiming and Tang Huai were from the same hometown, both from Tangyin County, Xiangzhou. Master Huiming came to the island to become a monk at the age of twenty.
Forty years passed in a flash, and he gradually forgot about the scenery and scenery of his hometown. To his joy, he recalled it bit by bit while chatting with Tang Huai.
At this time, the soldiers reported in the hall, "Captain, the scouts are here and have brought the order from His Highness King Yong!"
Tang Huai said quickly: "Let him come in!"
Not long after, the scout soldier who reported the news came to the hall, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "See you, Governor Tang!"
"Excuse me, where is King Yong's order?"
The scout took out the warrant and presented it. Tang Huai took it, opened it, read it, nodded, "I understand, you go down and rest!"
After the messenger went down, Tang Huai asked Master Huiming again: "Does Master know about Yuguan?"
Huiming smiled and nodded, "When the poor monk was young, he studied at Fahua Temple in Pingzhou for several years. Yuguan is in Pingzhou, the junction of Pingzhou and Runzhou. The Yanshan Mountains directly enter the sea, forming a fault not far from the sea.
The canyon, Yuguan is located in this canyon. It is tall, majestic and magnificent. If Yuguan is guarded, the Jin soldiers from Liaodong will never be able to enter Yanshan Mansion from the Liaoxi Corridor."
"Is there a landing place over there?"
"For large ship landings, you can land in Haiyang County, Runzhou. For small-scale landings, just use small boats to land near Yuguan."
Tang Huai was overjoyed, clasped his hands and said, "Thank you so much, Master Huiming!"
"Where! Where! The poor monk would like to thank Governor Tang for the gift of grain, oil and cloth, so that the poor temple finally has a little reserve to cope with the disaster years."
After a pause, Master Huiming continued: "I have a disciple whose home is near Yuguan. He is very familiar with the terrain there. I asked him to lead the way for the Western Army."
"Thank you so much!"
Chen Qing's order was to let Tang Huai seize Yuguan, cut off the Jin Kingdom's way to support Yanshan Prefecture, and also cut off the retreat route of the Jin soldiers in Yanshan Prefecture.
Yanshan Prefecture is not Hebei. Hebei and the Central Plains belong to the peripheral territory of the Jin Kingdom, but Yanshan Prefecture belongs to the core territory. Five years ago, Yanshan Prefecture was named the central capital by the Jin Kingdom. The Emperor of the Jin Kingdom was ready to move the capital to Daxing City, the central capital, but
Because the Jin soldiers were retreating steadily on the battlefield in the Central Plains, the Jin Kingdom had concerns about moving the capital. Until the Western Army captured Hebei, the Jin Emperor had to temporarily give up the idea of moving the capital.
But no matter what, the status of Yanshan Mansion in the Jin Kingdom is still very important. Once Yanshan Mansion is attacked by the Western Army, the Jin Kingdom will send troops to fully support it.
Pingzhou is not under the jurisdiction of Yanshan Prefecture. The governor of Pingzhou, Wanyan Shenshiyi, is a subordinate of Wanyan Wushu and the brother of Wanyan Digunai. He commands 30,000 Yan troops, which is actually a mixed army, except for Jurchen soldiers.
In addition, there are armies composed of other various races, including Khitans, Xi people, Han people, Bohai people, Koreans, etc.
He originally refused to submit to the jurisdiction of Wanyan Helisa, but under the emperor's forced order, he had to yield and obey Wanyanhelisa. He assigned 10,000 Yan troops to Wanyanhelisa and stationed them at various passes.
, he commanded 20,000 Yan troops in Pingzhou.
Just two days ago, he received an urgent order from Wanyan Lingsa, ordering him to immediately lead 20,000 troops to Daxing City for support. A Western army broke through Juyong Pass, and Daxing City was in danger.
Wanyan Shenshiyi also knew that Daxing City was the central capital of the Jin Kingdom and could not be lost. He ordered General Xiao Hongwei to lead 2,000 soldiers to guard Yuguan, while he led 20,000 troops to rush back to Daxing City for support.
Yuguan was the later Shanhaiguan. It was built during the Sui Dynasty and was the only way from Yanshan Prefecture to Liaodong. Once Yuguan was lost, not only the Liaodong reinforcements would not be able to enter Yanshan Prefecture, but also the Jurchen army of Yanshan Prefecture would not be able to retreat to Liaodong. Therefore,
The strategic position of Yuguan is extremely important.
Wanyan Shenshiyi led 20,000 troops to defend Pingzhou, and he was actually guarding Yuguan. Unexpectedly, Juyongguan was attacked by the Western Army, and Wanyan was killed. Helisa was caught off guard. Daxing City only had 20,000 troops. In desperation, Wanyan was killed.
Yan Helisha no longer cares about Yuguan, it is more important to save Daxing City first.
As Pingzhou's 20,000 troops were urgently transferred away, a flaw in the Jin soldiers' defense appeared. Only 2,000 troops were stationed at Yuguan. This opportunity was fleeting. Once the reinforcements from Liaodong arrived, or Wan Yanhe Lisha came to his senses,
Come here, it will be difficult to capture Yuguan.
Therefore, Chen Qing placed Tang Huai's rare waterway troops on Juehua Island in order to seize Yuguan at the critical moment and cut off the connection between Liaodong and Yanshan Prefecture.
Under night, more than twenty medium-sized ships quietly docked in a bay, and 500 soldiers disembarked under the leadership of a monk.