Nie Zhongyou heard the sound of the trumpet and knew that Pu Zezhi was going to march to Chengdu, so he hurriedly ordered more than 1,200 men under his command to wait for the military order.
Not long after, I saw Li Xia coming on horseback.
When Nie Zhongyou saw that he was coming from the Chinese Army, he quickly stepped forward and asked, "I wonder where Commander Pu has arranged for Wu Xin's army to follow?"
Li Xia did not dismount, took out the military order, and said: "According to Commander Pu's order, Wu Xin's army is temporarily under my command to reinforce Yunding City."
Nie Zhongyou was slightly surprised, but because it was Li Xia who was coming, he didn't ask any more questions and accepted the order with cupped fists.
Li Xia also had more than 80 Yang Ben's cavalry on his side. They gathered together on both sides, forming a total of 1,300 people. They went straight to Yunding City in two directions with Pu Zezhi's army.
Walking all the way to the mountains to the east, Li Xia first ordered Yang Ben to climb up to visit, and then started discussions with Nie Zhongyou.
"I can't understand the current situation," Nie Zhongyou said.
"It involves not only the war situation, but also the political situation. You will inevitably have some doubts." Li Xia said, "Let's talk about the war situation first. As soon as Jianmen Pass was lost, Pu Shuai's army was trapped in western Sichuan. Do you understand this?"
"clear."
"Western Sichuan is difficult to defend. Only the ruined city of Chengdu and Yundingshan City can stop the Mongolian attack based on their terrain."
"I also understand this." Nie Zhongyou said, "What I don't understand is, why did Pu Shuai pass the top of the clouds but not enter?"
"The food and grass in Yunding City is not enough to hold on for a long time. There is still some food and grass in Chengdu. This is one of the reasons why Pu Shuai does not want to abandon Chengdu." Li Xia said: "The other is that Yao Shi'an is not willing to welcome Pu Shuai into the city."
Nie Zhongyou was a little surprised.
"Yao Shi'an kept Wu Xin's army out of the city. If he said he was worried that there might be some trickery involved, that would be fair to say. But how dare he refuse the dignified Shu commander to enter the city?"
Li Xia raised his hand and pressed it softly, and said: "Keep your voice down, don't make this matter public at all. If word gets out, it will be a serious blow to Pu Shuai's prestige."
"Why is Yao Shi'an like this?"
"The Mongolian army occupied Chengdu for nearly three years, and Yunding City has always held firm. Only then did the Song Dynasty have hope of regaining Chengdu. If 30,000 troops were stationed and food and grass were exhausted, once Yunding City was collapsed, there would be no possibility of regaining western Sichuan in the future.
.It’s better to guard Chengdu as each other’s horns.”
Nie Zhongyou said: "Only if you can hold it! Would you rather sacrifice the army to protect Yunding City? I think it is clear that Yao Shi'an has selfish motives! How can he support Pu Shuai with his behavior?"
"Five years ago, Yao Shi'an dared to refuse Commander Yu to enter the city. What's more, as soon as Commander Pu enters the city, Yunding City will definitely become the target of Niulin's attack. Yao Shi'an has been guarding Shu for a long time and has extensive experience. The war is imminent, and Commander Pu is in charge of the overall situation.
Think about it and don’t dare to touch him.”
"But I'm waiting to go to Yunding City again this time..."
Li Xia said: "I told Pu Shuai that with Niulin's steady and steady fighting style, I am afraid that he will not easily fight a decisive battle with the army. It is very likely that he will attack Yunding first and cut off the army's return route, so he has to defend."
"That's exactly it." Nie Zhongyou said, "Once Yunding City is defeated first, the army will be really doomed."
Li Xia lowered his voice and said, "But in my private heart, I think it would be better for a strong man to have his wrist cut off than to cause endless misfortunes."
Nie Zhongyou was stunned and asked: "You mean?"
Li Xia did not answer clearly, but looked up at the towering mountains and said casually.
"Unlike Pushuai, I don't have so many scruples in my actions."
~~
At the foot of the east mountain of Yunding Mountain, Niulin has been stationed here.
"Marshal Du, why don't you attack the city?" Tuolin said: "Quickly pull out this broken city, don't let the Song army escape."
Niulin was not in a hurry and said: "The Song army cannot leave. I have sent Qingqi to look around. If Pu Zezhi dares to lead his troops to escape, we can stop him at any time."
"Then this mountain city is always under attack. How can it be defeated just by staring at it?"
"How can it be so easy to fight? This is Yunding City. We have been fighting for many years and we haven't defeated it yet." Niulin said.
Tuolin was very curious and asked: "What does Marshal Du mean?"
Nulin took a big sip of wine and said with a smile, "Just watch."
Not long after, a Mongolian soldier brought in a Han man.
"The villain Yao Yiming has met Marshal Du."
Yao Yiming didn't speak Mongolian, so he had his own translator, Niulin.
Niu Lin raised her chin and asked Meng Zu to help Yao Yiming up.
"You have seen Han Yong's head. This is the fate of those who dare to resist the Great Mongolia."
"Yes, yes, Marshal Du is right. The villain's uncle has been ostracized by the Song Dynasty. He has long wanted to join the Great Mongolia. This time he is willing to surrender the city."
Nulin turned to look at Tuo Dailin, the smile on her face getting stronger.
I heard Yao Yiming say again: "But the other Song generals in Yunding City, such as Kong Xian, Xiao Shixian and others, are stubborn and refuse to surrender. My uncle plans to hold a banquet tomorrow night, kill these two people, and welcome the marshal of the capital into Yunding City...
…”
~~
Yunding City.
Yunding City is one of the "Eight Pillars in Sichuan".
It faces the Tuojiang River to the east and is surrounded by cliffs; to the west and south are fish-ridge-like mountains as a barrier. Only to the north is a mountain road uphill, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
The North City Gate was built on the cliff of Qixingyan, and an urn was built, which was made of huge stones and was unbreakable.
A line of small characters is engraved on the large stone in the urn city.
"In the auspicious day of Emperor Chunji of the Song Dynasty, the commander-in-chief Yao Shian rebuilt it."
Yao Shian was standing here, staring blankly at this line of writing.
This was the honor of his life. He and Yunding Mountain City had made great contributions to the Song Dynasty.
Six years ago, the Mongolian general Hulagu led 40,000 cavalry to Yunding and sent people up the mountain to recruit surrender. Yao Shi'an, Kong Xian, and Xiao Shixian killed their envoys as a sign of a deadly battle. The Mongolian army attacked the city with poisonous arrows and fierce fire. The Song army
He resisted desperately and fought until rivers of blood flowed, and finally defeated Hulagu's army;
Three years ago, the Mongolian army attacked Chengdu. Lu Da, one of Yunding's generals, led 5,000 troops and 20,000 rebels to support Chengdu. All 25,000 people died in the battle, and no one surrendered...
In the fourteen years since the city was built, there have been countless battles, large and small, but Yunding City still stands tall on the mountain. Nearly 30,000 Mongolian troops died in the battle here, expressing the emotion of "defending without fighting".
These were all things that Yao Shian was proud of.
But now, he just feels too tired. After guarding for so many years, the Mongolian army is still coming in an endless stream. And the commander-in-chief of Shu has been replaced by Pu Zezhi from Yu Jie and Yu Hui, but the situation in Shuchuan has become worse day by day.
Pu Zezhi's recapture of Chengdu once brought ecstasy to Yao Shi'an. However, in an instant, the situation collapsed again. Pu Zezhi must be defeated. This is an indisputable fact before his eyes.
From ecstasy to despair, Yao Shian suddenly felt that he had had enough of it all.
What will happen if we continue to defend? Like Han Yong, whose head was hung on the flagpole by the Mongolian army? Even if we can defend for a while, Uncle Xie Fang has already resigned. No matter how great his contribution is, can he still be promoted?
That's all, let's live a peaceful life from now on.
Once this thought came together, I could no longer suppress it...
Once this thought came together, I could no longer suppress it.
Yao Shian stared at the carvings on the stone door and said goodbye to the first half of his life in his heart...
"City guard! Soldiers and horses are coming!" On the observation deck, a soldier suddenly shouted, "Look at the flag, Wu Xin's army is coming again."
Yao Shian frowned, a little unhappy.
He strode towards the observation deck and saw a troop of soldiers and horses meandering towards the mountain road like a sword.
~~
In Yunding City, Kong Xian was staring at the map and thinking about the battle situation.
He is the commander of the right army in front of the imperial court, and also the envoy of Tongchuan Prefecture Road, the city repair and promotion officer.
This official position is not small, but he, like Xiao Shixian, is a general in Lizhou.
After the fall of Lizhou, they retreated to Sichuan and were transferred to Yunding by Yu Jie to garrison.
Among them, Yu Jie is naturally worried about Yao Shi'an. But Yu Jie is dead, and wars have been going on in the past few years. Kong Xian and Xiao Shixian tried their best not to conflict with Yao Shi'an, but worked together to defend Yunding City...
"General, Wu Xin's army has arrived outside the city again and is confronting Yao Cheng at the north gate." A soldier came to report.
"Confrontation?" Kong Xian was stunned and said, "Didn't Yao Chengshou ask them to go to Chengdu to look for food?"
"This time, I said that I was ordered by Commander Pu to enter the city for reinforcements."
"Yes. But the city guard said that Yunding City has enough troops and asked them to go to Chengdu to reinforce Pu Shuai. Wu Xin's army refused to leave and had a conflict with the city guard. They even threatened... that they would attack the city."
Kong Xian couldn't help frowning and said, "I'll go take a look."
He got up and walked outside...
Two days ago, Pu Zezhi led his army to reach Yunding. Yao Shi'an believed that the food stored in the mountain city was not enough to supply an army of 30,000 troops, so he proposed to defend each other on an arm's length basis with Chengdu. Pu Zezhi agreed.
Kong Xian also believes that this is considering the overall situation.
As for Wu Xin's army coming to surrender, Yao Shi'an refused to accept it, saying that he wanted them to go to Chengdu to look for food. This is also reasonable.
But there is obviously something fishy about what happened today.
Kong Xian went all the way to the North City Gate, only to see Yao Shi'an leading his troops standing at the top of the city, holding a long bow, as if he was defending the city.
"You guys really couldn't have done it carefully because of the Mongolian army?!"
Someone from the city shouted: "Yao Shi'an, you don't even obey Pu Shuai's orders, are you rebelling?!"
"An Zhier and others are true and false..."
Kong Xian's frown deepened and he hurried to the top of the city.
Yao Shi'an quickly stopped him and said: "Don't believe him at all. Just after Pu Shuai left, Wu Xin's army left and came back. I know he was not sent by the Mongolian army."
Before Kong Xian could answer, he suddenly heard another shout from the city.
"But Generals Kong and Xiao have arrived? I am Li Xia, the magistrate of Qingfu County. I once defeated Uncle Xie Fang. I am afraid that because of this, the governor of Yao City is unwilling to let me enter the city. But the war is imminent. Please ask Generals Kong and Xiao to take the overall situation into account."
Heavy!"
With one sentence, Yao Shi'an became furious and turned around and shouted: "You are so slanderous! I don't even know that you are Li Xia!"
Kong Xian stood at the battlement and saw a tall figure standing at the foot of the city...