On the Yangtze River north of Wuhu County, ten 3,000-stone ships slowly approached the south bank under the cover of night. Wuhu County was originally Yue Fei's defense area. After Yue Fei transferred to Jingxiang, it became Zhang Jun's defense area.
But in fact, there are not many troops stationed here, only 2,000. The focus of the Song army's garrison is east of Kangkang, with nearly 300,000 Song troops stationed on a defense line hundreds of miles long.
On the other side of the Yangtze River were Wanyan Nianhan's 100,000 Jurchen cavalry, with Yangzhou as the center.
It can be said that Wuhu County was a weak link in the Song Army's garrison.
Ten large ships slowly approached the Wuhu County Pier. The first large ship was about to dock when a dozen dockside workers ran up to them, waving lanterns and shouting, demanding that the ships leave and not dock.
At this moment, a dense rain of arrows was fired from the ship, and seven or eight of the dozen or so foot soldiers were killed instantly. The other foot soldiers were so frightened that they rolled and crawled away.
‘Dang! Dang! Dang!’ A rapid alarm bell sounded on the pier...
The Song Army's barracks was near the pier. The general's name was Li Huan. He was awakened by the alarm and quickly sent people to the pier to check the situation.
After only a moment, the soldier who went to check stumbled back and reported, "General, something bad is going on. It's the Jurchen cavalry. The dock is full of black Jurchen cavalry."
Li Huan was stunned. He suddenly remembered the two thousand taels of silver he had received a few days ago. He felt very happy at the time, but now he realized that this money was very hot!
Helpless, he had no choice but to shout: "Order the entire army to return to the city immediately!"
When the Song army heard that the Jurchen cavalry was coming, they all fled in panic, each running faster than the other. They rushed into the city like a gust of wind and closed the city gate.
Ten large ships were transported back and forth again and again, and it was not until dawn the next day that all three thousand Jurchen cavalry were transported across the river. The leader of the Jin army was Ba Lisu, the commander of ten thousand men, who was Wanyan Nianhan's right-hand man.
This operation was personally planned by Wanyanchang and deployed by Wanyan Nianhan. Three thousand of Wanyan Nianhan's most elite black-armored cavalry troops were dispatched.
This was actually a defensive loophole for the Song Army. The main force of the army was deployed along the Yangtze River, but the rear was relatively weak. The Jin soldiers found a shortcut to go around to the rear of the Song Army.
This shortcut is to Wuhu. Wanyanchang has sent people to bribe the general with a lot of money in advance. He will not prevent the Jurchen cavalry from landing. If the two thousand Song troops use their bows and crossbows to block it, the Jin soldiers will pay even if they can successfully land in the end.
An extremely heavy price.
The purpose of Jin State's sending troops this time was still to shock the Song Dynasty court and prepare for the next armistice agreement.
Pulling off the horse's head, he shouted loudly, "Let's go!"
Three thousand cavalry were like sharp swords and they were killing each other towards the south.
Li Huan led two thousand soldiers of the Song army to stand on the top of the city, watching the black Jurchen cavalry galloping past the city. Many soldiers were so frightened that they trembled and did not dare to take a breath.
Li Huan touched a heavy piece of silver in his pocket, and he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.
He immediately ordered the news to be blocked and no one was allowed to report it to the superiors.
The Jurchen cavalry went all the way south along the Lishui River, burning, killing, looting, and fighting to support the war. Countless people of the Song Dynasty were killed, their houses were burned, and their women were raped. The entire west bank of Taihu Lake was in panic, and the people fled.
Three days later, three thousand cavalry arrived in Huzhou, which was still more than two hundred miles away from Lin'an. The court was shaken, and Lin'an city was in chaos. Emperor Zhao Gou urgently ordered the commander of the capital, Tian Shizhong, and the commander of the capital, Liu Qi, to each lead 10,000 troops to fight.
Golden soldiers and cavalry.
Tian Shizhong's army encountered Jurchen cavalry on the outskirts of Deqing County. Ten thousand Song troops were attacked head-on. They could only hold out for less than a quarter of an hour before the entire army was defeated. The Jurchens pursued and killed them all the way, leaving no one alive.
Across the wild.
With a feint from the commander Ba Lisu, Captain Ten Thousands ambushed Liu Qi's army who came to rescue him halfway. Liu Qi's army was defeated and suffered heavy casualties.
After winning two consecutive battles, the Jurchen cavalry defeated 20,000 Song troops and wiped out more than 10,000 Song troops with less than 300 casualties.
When the news reached Lin'an, Zhao Gou was so panicked that despite the dissuasion of General Yang Yizhong, he once again took the Queen Mother and hundreds of officials and fled to the sea by boat.
Yang Yizhong led 20,000 dragon warriors to defend Lin'an City. The Jurchen cavalry rushed to Lin'an City in the early morning. However, they did not have siege weapons. They just swept around the perimeter, burned, killed and looted, and then withdrew along the way they came.
Five days later, more than 2,700 Jurchen cavalry returned with full loads, took a boat in Wuhu and headed north, returning to the north bank.
This sneak attack-like action undoubtedly exposed the defensive loopholes of the Song army. The 300,000-strong army did not even see the enemy's shadow, and the capital almost fell. The emperor Zhao Gou was also completely frightened by the Jurchen cavalry.
At this time, the envoy from the State of Jin in Lin'an proposed another peace negotiation to the Song court, and Emperor Zhao Gou agreed without hesitation.
The special envoy of the Jin Dynasty peace talks was still Wan Yanchang. This was his third visit to Lin'an, while the Song Dynasty's prime ministers Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei were on the side.
Wan Yanchang's condition was very simple. Chen Qing and Wu Jie were dismissed from their posts. The reason was that they killed too many Jurchens and affected the national destiny of the Jin Kingdom. They were not tolerated by the Jin Kingdom's court.
If the Song Dynasty agrees to this condition, the Eastern Front Armistice Agreement can be signed for three years, and the Jin soldiers guarantee that they will not cross the Yangtze River within three years.
Wan Yanchang's request caused an uproar in the court. Even a fool could see the opponent's intention. The opponent's target was Sichuan and Shaanxi. After the Battle of Fuping, the Jin soldiers launched attacks on Sichuan and Shaanxi again and again, but each time they failed.
They failed and returned with extremely heavy casualties.
In the imperial study room, the ministers quarreled. Zhang Jun and Xu Xiantu firmly opposed it, while Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei urged the official Zhao Gou to agree to Jin Bing's conditions.
Zhu Shengfei burst into tears and said: "Your Majesty, our strength is not as good as the Jin soldiers. This is a fact. Three thousand cavalry will kill us like dogs. When the emperor and his ministers go to sea, you must know that there are one hundred thousand Jurchen cavalry over there in Yangzhou. Once they are swept down, they will be defeated."
Song Sheji will be defeated, and since Jin Bing has taken the initiative to propose peace talks, we must seize this opportunity. We can do a lot in three years of peace, and we will be more prepared for war."
Xu Xiantu hated Zhu Shengfei's coward appearance the most, and he immediately said angrily: "It's okay to want peace, but there is no need to break your waist to beg for peace. If the Jin people had a trace of compassion, they would not have the shame of Jingkang."
."
Qin Hui said coldly: "Everyone is here! Mr. Xu had better not say something nonsense."
Qin Hui then said to the official Zhao Gou: "Your Majesty, the Jin people's request is not very excessive. They did not ask us to cede land and give up land. It was just a change of generals. Is it possible that no one in the Song Dynasty could reach this level? We can only rely on these two
A famous general will defend Sichuan and Shaanxi?"
Zhang Jun shook his head, "Xiangong Qin, you underestimate the Jin people when you say this. Are the Jin people that stupid? Obviously one hundred thousand cavalry can sweep across the southeast, but they proposed peace on the condition that they only exchange two generals. Do you think the world
Is there such a good thing?"
Qin Hui said dissatisfied: "The fact I told you is that this is not the first time that the Jin people have negotiated with us. They have kept their promises during the two previous armistice peace talks. Besides, if the Jin soldiers wanted to attack Jiangnan, they would have done so long ago, so why wait until
Now, use negotiation as an excuse."
Zhang Jun sneered and said: "Qin Xianggong is right to the point. They obviously have 100,000 cavalry, why did they only send 3,000 people to harass us? Why don't we just send 100,000 troops across the river to destroy our country? So
Good things, why don’t they do them?”
Zhao Gou was also a little confused. He asked: "Xiangong Zhang, what do you think is the reason?"
Zhang Jun bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the other party does not want to do it, but it cannot do it. They have only ten large ships of 3,000 stone in total. They can transport up to 1,000 men and horses across the river at a time. How many times will a 100,000-strong army have to be transported? Our navy
If they come here, ten large ships can be destroyed in one battle. What should we do with the Jurchen cavalry left on the south bank? Our 300,000-strong army cannot deal with them?
Your Majesty, they asked for a three-year armistice agreement because they wanted to use these three years to build warships. We watched them build warships, but they could not attack us. They actually wanted to use this agreement to tie our hands and feet.
"
Xu Xiantu added: "Your Majesty, Xianggong Zhang has seen it very clearly. This time they have seized on the loopholes in our defense. Wei Chen believes that the key is that the Wuhu garrison seriously neglected its duty. In fact, a large ship can put down hundreds of Jurchen cavalry.
And there were two thousand defenders over there. Could it be that two thousand couldn't deal with one hundred? They could kill them all with bows and crossbows. It was obviously the defender who didn't resist and ran away after hearing the news, so he allowed the opponent to disembark calmly.
Chance."
Zhao Gou took a few steps with his hands behind his back and said to Qin Hui: "The agreement can be signed for one year, but their conditions are too harsh. They require appropriate concessions, preferably in the form of financial compensation."