After Liu Heima led his troops to arrive, Xu Kui guarded Shuangtianding for ten days.
This kind of mountain warfare is essentially a war of attrition in the early stages. Liu Heima naturally cannot and has no intention of breaking through the mountain in a short period of time.
Ten days later, Xu Kui saw that the weapons and supplies were almost exhausted, so he prepared to lead his troops to evacuate.
He knew that the most important task of his troops was to make the enemy think that Hanzhong was empty. They had already accomplished it when they appeared.
They spread out all the remaining thunderbolts and lit the fuses.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
The mountain collapsed and the ground collapsed, and rubble rolled down from the top of the mountain.
On the plain, hundreds of cavalry from Song He's army came to meet them, and they encouraged Xu Kui's remaining nearly 3,000 Song soldiers to turn south.
After marching in a hurry for a whole day, Xu Kui returned to Dashanguan Pass.
At this time, there were only 200 garrison troops in Guancheng. Seeing the return of the garrison, they finally felt at ease.
Half a day later, Lin Zi led another 3,000 people back to Dashan Pass.
They did not continue to retreat to Hanzhong along Chencang Road, but set up a position in Guancheng to defend against the Mongolian army's sneak attack on Hanzhong along Chencang Road.
…
"What's going on? Liu Heima has returned to Fengxiang Mansion?"
Xu Kui nodded in a muffled voice.
Lin Zi frowned, glanced around, pulled him over, and asked in a low voice: "Didn't he think about going around Qishan Road to attack Hanzhong in the past ten days?"
"No." Xu Kui said: "Just keep driving the prisoners to attack the mountain and eat my cannons."
"How many of his people are left?"
Xu Kui took out a pile of crumpled paper from his arms and handed it over, saying: "I use a telescope to look at his military formation every day and write down the numbers."
"Your handwriting is really ugly."
Lin Zi grunted, squatted on the ground, counted, and finally let out a "hiss" sound.
"Liu Heima's casualties this time are too tragic, right? With 40,000 troops, there are only 15,000 left who can fight, right?"
He didn't mean that 25,000 people were killed in the battle, and that the casualty ratio would collapse again.
After a series of big battles, small battles, and encounters, some of the soldiers who were lightly or seriously injured survived, and some did not... In short, Lin Zi estimated that the fighting strength of Liu Heima's men would not exceed 10,000.
The number of five thousand.
Xu Kui said: "I captured several prisoners and interrogated them. I recorded them here. Take a look... The biggest loss was in the Battle of Longyuan. Liu Yuanzhen's 20,000 people were ambushed by Alan Dal'er with 40,000 people. If it weren't for Alan Dal'er,
First, he had to seize the Jieting Pass, and with the narrow mountain road, he was about to be wiped out. Liu Heima personally led 20,000 people to the Lintao battlefield, and suffered heavy casualties."
"Xu Guidou, you can do it now and you can analyze it." Lin Zi muttered and started writing information.
He is now in charge of military intelligence and writes secret documents that only Li Xia can understand.
"I just...hehe." Xu Kui smiled, then became nervous and asked in a low voice, "Did I hit Liu Heima hard enough to force him to take a detour to Qishan?"
"It's none of your business, we just need to block it. Who the hell can say the rest?"
Having said that, Lin Zi was disappointed after all.
The whole plan seems to have failed at this point.
"Where are you?"
"We didn't fight much, but five thousand people came, led by General Wang Qingchen." Lin Zi said: "I fired two rounds of thunder, and he retreated. The remaining firearms blew up the entire road."
He spat and cursed again.
"In this way, even if the plan fails, the Mongolian army in Longxi will not be able to easily support us when we attack the pass."
Xu Kui turned his head and looked north again.
If the plan failed and he really wanted to attack Guanzhong by force, it would be difficult for him to imagine that he would be able to face the cavalry offensive from Longxi, Shanxi, and Henan in the plains.
"What is Liu Heima thinking? Why not take a detour?"
"Who knows, old man."
Lin Zi cursed, took out a seal from his pocket, stamped the secret letter, sealed it with a wax pill, and summoned four confidants.
"It's an emergency. We'll change horses but not people. We'll send them to Qishan Road..."
~~
Qishan Road.
Li Xia read the secret letter, frowned, and walked to the top of the mountain.
"Handsome."
"Commander..."
Li Xia walked past the ambushed soldiers one by one and walked to a small mountain pass, staring blankly at the big thing placed there.
What I was thinking was - if this had to be moved to Dashanguan, it would be very troublesome.
In front of me is a cannon weighing tens of thousands of kilograms.
It was built at the end of last year. As soon as Li Xia arrived in Hanzhong, this was what he and Hao Xiuyang went to the ordnance field to see.
Afterwards, they went to the Bashan Mountains to test cannons.
Therefore, when Li Xia came down the mountain, he said that this was already his strong point.
Compared with firecrackers, artillery craftsmanship is much simpler. The shell is pushed out through the chamber pressure generated by the burning of gunpowder, and the wall thickness can be increased to avoid chamber explosion... but it is too bulky.
The cost is also too high.
The gun body is cast with an iron core and is nine feet long. The gun body alone cost more than 100,000 copper coins.
It's copper coins, not huizi.
It does not include mining, building workshops, and transportation.
Counting the cannonballs, Li Xia combined all the remaining efforts of Hanzhong and only built four cannons in total.
Therefore, Hao Xiuyang said at the time, "With Mongolia's national power, once it is imitated, we will be the ones who suffer. We will not dare to show it to others easily unless we have to do it."
Don't dare to show it to others.
Li Xia even hoped to inflict a few rounds on the enemy on Qishan Road.
It’s hard to say what will happen if you transport heavy artillery to the plains...
Just as I was thinking of this, someone called from behind me.
"Come on."
Li Xia turned around and saw that it was Lu Xiufu, and said: "Obviously, Liu Heima will not come."
Lu Xiufu was stunned and stood there blankly.
In his peripheral vision, he could still see that everything was arranged properly.
Soldiers lurking in the mountains and forests.
Artillery, cannon stones, igniting materials, caltrops, and horses... stationed in this mountainous place for more than a month, the soldiers of the Song Dynasty spent countless efforts to lay these ambushes on the Qishan Road.
"Not coming? But... Hanzhong is empty." Lu Xiufu murmured, "Maybe he hasn't considered..."
"He's definitely not coming."
Li Xia shook his head and said: "My information has been sent. Counting the time, Liu Heima has probably arrived in Chang'an City and is trying to find out Yang Ben's strength. He will soon be able to see through my plan."
"Why?"
"I don't know... I can't guess what Liu Heima is thinking." Li Xia said, "People's hearts are unpredictable."
Lu Xiufu was sitting slumped on the ground.
He knew that the battle between Guanlong and Liupanshan was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Everything Li Xia did was to seize this opportunity.
If this opportunity is lost, once the enemy recovers its strength, I am afraid that it will never be possible to return to the north again.
"If the plan fails at this time, maybe... I will never have the opportunity... to see the beauty of Guanlong with my own eyes, right?" Lu Xiufu murmured and asked.
"Yeah." Li Xia nodded and laughed at himself: "Then let's look at the sea."
Lu Xiufu didn't understand and didn't care.
He just sat there blankly, looking at the cannon in front of him, thinking about how he moved it up the mountain little by little.
There were insects crawling up his feet and onto his knees.
A tear fell, frightening it away.
"What? Are you discouraged?" Li Xia asked.
"After all... I'm so disappointed."
Li Xia patted Lu Xiufu on the shoulder.
"stand up."
"Jie Shuai, I...I just...I do feel frustrated."
"You're not allowed to feel discouraged, but it's enough to adjust for so long. Get up and don't let me say it a third time."
Lu Xiufu was stunned and stood up.
Li Xia looked at his expression for a while and said: "If you want to do something that cannot be done by human beings, don't treat yourself like a human being. Throw out all your discouragement, disappointment, and frustration. This kind of bad emotion is a quagmire and will only make you miserable."
You sink deeper and deeper into it.”
Lu Xiufu took a deep breath.
For his current state of mind, Li Xia was really a bit harsh.
Li Xia was also looking at Lu Xiufu, just to see if he could bear the severity.
Finally, Lu Xiufu asked: "Next, shall we... attack the key point by force?"
"Okay... I'm complimenting you." Li Xia said: "If we can't annihilate the enemy's main force in the mountains first, there is almost no chance of victory for the infantry on the Guanzhong plain. Of course, in the Battle of Longxi, the Wang family's casualties are not yet high.
Be clear, wait until you find out more before making a decision."
"Yes. Then send out the detective horses now..."
"No, wait a minute." Li Xia remained calm and said, "Wait and see..."
"Handsome."
Huhu half-bent his body and hurried over.
Li Xia's eyes changed just by looking at his actions.
He pressed Lu Xiufu's shoulders, squatted down, and then asked: "Coming?"
"Here we come!" Houhu was very excited.
"how many people?"
"I don't know yet, but the vanguard of two thousand-man troops is at the forefront."
"Give the order, everyone should be silent, hang the cakes around their necks, and move quickly... I will go to the top of the mountain to have a look."
"Commander, here you go, lookout tube..."
~~
A big flag with the word "Wang" slowly appeared on the mountain road.
Wang Liangchen was riding his horse and was taking a nap on the horse with his eyes closed.
He had just defeated the Mongol elite in Liupan Mountain, and was a powerful figure in the north. There was a certain arrogance in his behavior.
This is not deliberate arrogance, but the majesty given to him by a great victory.
I have a lot on my mind.
In the past, the Wang family was not trusted by His Majesty, and the second brother was the favorite general of Mongke Khan.
This battle established the Wang family's position in the new dynasty.
This is practical benefit.
Only when you have practical benefits can you want a good reputation...and so on.
Defeating the enemy in Lintao reminds me of the song that is often sung near my hometown.
"The Seven Stars of the Big Dipper are high, and Ge Shu carries a knife at night. Even now, when I spy on the horses, I dare not cross Lintao."
Geshuhan is from Anxi and Western Turks; the ancestors of the Wang family are from Shatuo.
The same thing is that they all quelled the Hu bandits for the Central Plains Dynasty.
It can be said that he became famous overnight.
If there is any shame in my life, it is because I have lost Hanzhong.
Others may have forgotten that Hanzhong was lost in Wang Liangchen's hands, but he himself could not forget it.
At that time, Meng Ge Khan died, Li Xia restrained the main Mongolian forces in Lizhou, and Zhang Jue raided Hanzhong... After that, he returned to Longxi in shame.
Now that we have defeated the enemy in one battle, it is time to wash away our shame!
Go straight to Hanzhong, kill Li Xia in sacrifice of his second brother, and achieve unparalleled achievements...
~~
"Look at the flag...is it the Wang family?"
Lu Xiufu was lying on the top of the mountain, put down the telescope in his hand, leaned close to Li Xia's ear, and asked in a suppressed voice.
"Um."
"Why is it the Wang family?"
Li Xia didn't answer. He lay there and saw a flag through the lookout tube.
"Wang Liangchen."
After reviewing Lin Zi's information, I was able to trace the general context of the incident.
Wang Qingchen led five thousand cavalry from the Wei River Valley to support Chang'an City, but the road was blocked, so he reported back to Wang Liangchen.
Wang Liangchen deduced that Hanzhong's troops were insufficient, so he sent troops to Qishan Road for a surprise attack.
It is difficult to grasp the timing of luring the enemy.
For example, if Li Xia gave Liu Heima a reason why he had to take Qishan Road to fight Hanzhong, Liu Heima, who had suffered losses before, might murmur in his heart.
And sometimes, it is precisely because there is no necessary reason that the other party feels that this is a sudden opportunity.
Therefore, Li Xia showed all the tricks to the Liu family and never contacted the Wang family. Therefore, in the eyes of Wang Liangchen, he thought he was a "clear bystander" and could decisively attack.
This is also a gamble.
It is difficult to grasp the human heart, but it always has its own characteristics.
Not everyone is greedy, but there are always greedy people in the world.
Even if Liu Heima, Wang Liangchen and Wang Liangchen are not greedy for Hanzhong, Wang Zhongchen, Wang Zhichen, Wang Hanchen, Wang Zuochen, Wang Qingchen... the bet is that someone will always come.
"Jie Shuai..."
"Stop talking. You are a logistics officer. Stay away."
"yes."
No longer daring to raise the order flag, Li Xia carefully raised his hand to wave over the order soldiers.
"Give the order and let the enemy forward pass."
"yes."
"Gao Nianfeng, get ready to blow the whistle."
"yes."
Gao Nianfeng quickly put down the whistle and carefully wiped the sweat from his hands, fearing that it would be blown by accident.
Li Xia picked up the telescope again and looked at the mountain road in the distance of the canyon.
Looking at it, it actually took a long, long time.
"How many people are here..."
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
There are two more alliance leaders, more updates today and tomorrow~~