Brothers Liu Xi and Liu Qi originally planned to divide their forces and follow the Bubazi, and attack them in front and back with Yang Zhi's army to annihilate them all.
But they soon gave up the plan, because Brother Richard took the lead in dividing his troops and seemed to be attacking the Jingyuguan Pass guarded by the two men.
However, Bu Bazi's surprise attack on Jingyuguan failed, which made Brother Richard feel that the Ming army was already prepared, so he changed his style of play for the second time.
On the other side of Xiguan Fort, he built a fort to confront Zhongshidao.
He also sent thousands of troops back to guard the Yellow River ferry. He divided his troops and marched along the north bank of the Yellow River. After passing the Hutou Cliff, there was an open area. There was an open area where a fort could be built. It was also next to the Yellow River ferry. You could advance or retreat and remain invincible. place.
Then, storm Jingyuguan!
Jingyuguan is the hub of the grain route that supplies Yang Zhi's army. The military rations shipped from Lanzhou are first accumulated and stored in Jingyuguan, and then transferred to the front line by small boats.
Even if we can't capture this place, just siege the city with a large army, it will be equivalent to cutting off Yang Zhi's food route.
"Puff puff puff!!"
Three hundred cyclone cannons frantically dropped bombs at Jingyuguan. Each stone bullet was the size of a fist. Moreover, the stone bullets were irregular, and many of them were picked up nearby. (The Poxi Army was fully equipped with three hundred catapults, as mentioned earlier. I misremembered the number of two hundred.)
Due to its small size, this catapult can not only move quickly, but also flexibly change the throwing direction.
It has a single-shooting structure, and the gun shaft is also movable - large catapults cannot do this because the stone projectiles are too heavy, so they can only use fixed shafts.
Each cyclone cannon is operated by four people, two are responsible for loading the stone bullets, and two are responsible for pulling the rope to fire the cannon. Three to four rounds can be thrown per minute.
Three hundred cyclone cannons were mounted outside Jingyuguan, capable of firing nearly a thousand stone bombs a minute.
If fought in the wild, it can cause huge damage to the heavy infantry of the Song Army.
When used to attack a city, it cannot cross the city wall, but it seriously affects the movement of the defenders. Stone bullets the size of fists fall like hailstones, and the defenders must hold up shields or door panels.
Because the range is relatively short, it is very dangerous to use it to attack a city.
However, there are mountains to the south of Jingyuguan. Bubazi and the Qisheng Army, totaling tens of thousands of people, first went to capture those mountain tops, and then set up cyclone cannons on the top of the mountain to bombard the city.
"Damn it, the only bed crossbows and divine arm bows were taken by Yao Gu to shock Wucheng, otherwise it wouldn't be Xixia's whirlwind cannon's turn to show off!" Liu Xi hid behind the female wall and cursed in a low voice.
"The enemy is attacking the city!"
The first batch of people who came here were all young masters, and they were considered cannon fodder.
The defenders were suppressed by the cyclone cannon and could only dismantle the door panel for defense. One end was placed on the low wall of the arrow stack, and the other end was supported by soldiers. The archers hid under the door panel and shot arrows out of the city through the arrow stack.
The soldier holding up the door panel would have to be replaced after a few hits. It would be a trivial matter for his arm to become numb from the shock, and he might even suffer fractures or cracks from the shock.
Arrows kept falling down while hitting the enemy. As they got closer and closer to the city wall, the Xixia people's whirlwind cannon finally stopped.
The terrain outside Jingyuguan is rugged and complex, making it difficult to use large-scale regular siege equipment. Moreover, time is too short, and the Xixia people do not have the time to build them. At this moment, they all carry wooden ladders to attack the city.
"Save the use of rolling stones and rolling logs. Pour the golden juice into it first, and then it will be boiled dry!"
"Putt!"
Pots of golden juice poured down, and Young Master Chuang, who was attacking the city, screamed and fell to the ground rolling around.
There were also siege ladders that were overturned, and the enemies on the ladder fell back.
The first wave of offensives was quickly repulsed, and Brother Richard immediately organized a second wave, still letting the Han people attack the son as cannon fodder.
This continued for two consecutive days, with over a thousand casualties among the troops who collided with him.
Zhong Shidao, who was thirty miles away, did not send troops to rescue him because he did not have many troops at hand. Once he divided his troops for rescue, the Xixia soldiers on the other side of the river would most likely take the opportunity to attack Xiguan Fort.
And here at Jingyuguan, brothers Liu Xi and Liu Qi have three thousand soldiers in their own army, as well as hundreds of original garrison troops from the old Song Dynasty.
Many people from nearby Guancheng also evacuated to the pass to save their lives, and they happened to be recruited to defend the city together. Women and children could carry supplies, and young men and women could help drop wood, rocks and boiling oil.
Brother Richard has gone crazy. On the third day of the siege, the intensity of the siege was even greater. More than 700 soldiers were killed or injured that day, and there were also some soldiers who captured the city during the siege.
"Your Highness, there are a large number of Han cavalry in the valley, and we can only rush through them by sending out iron kites!" The scout cavalry who was sent to the valley to inquire about the news came back in despair to report the news.
While Brother Richard was attacking Jingyuguan, he sent Qingqi to inquire for information.
He now wanted to know what was going on with Sicheng of the Southern Army. However, Li Yanxian led the cavalry to cover the battlefield, and the path ahead was a river valley, so it was really difficult for the Xixia reconnaissance cavalry to approach.
After thinking carefully, Brother Richard said: "Send out a thousand iron kites and retreat immediately if there is danger!"
A thousand iron kites and three thousand Xixia light cavalry plunged into the river valley.
Immediately, another messenger came, which was from the Gansu Military Division. They had already set off from Jisang (Gulang). Calculating the marching route and time, they were almost at the Henan Army Division City.
Brother Richard was overjoyed after reading the letter. The current situation is: Yang Zhi's army is in the middle of the river valley. Brother Richard leads more than 60,000 soldiers to block the southern entrance of the river valley. And the more than 60,000 soldiers of the Gansu Military Division come from the valley.
The north is killing them.
The two Xixia armies from the north and the south, with a combined total of nearly 130,000 people, had blocked Yang Zhi's army at both ends.
If the city of Nanjun Sicheng has not been lost, the center will bloom even more.
Even if you lose it, you can get it back!
Looking at the Jingyuguan that was not damaged at all, Brother Richard didn't want to waste any more time and ordered the entire army to enter the river valley, and even the troops confronting Zhongshi Road were moved over.
Don’t want grain road?
No retreat?
Haha, the Kalochuan Valley is the food route and retreat route. With 130,000 people attacking from the north and south, how can tens of thousands of Ming troops stop them? Kill those Ming troops, and Brother Richard's retreat route will be opened.
To be cautious, Brother Richard even left 10,000 soldiers and set up a camp at the entrance of the valley to guard against Zhongshi Road. Liu Xi and Liu Qi led the troops to kill him.
Upon learning that Brother Richard had led his troops into the valley, Zhong Shidao immediately led his troops to join them and also transferred the garrison from Jinchengguan and Lanzhou. The total number of troops outside the valley exceeded 10,000.
Liu Qi worriedly said: "General Xixia dares to abandon this place. If the whole army goes in at once, I'm afraid there are Xixia soldiers in the north of the valley. General Yang is outnumbered and is also being attacked from the north and south. What will happen?"
Zhong Shidao was very confident and said with a smile: "I have also studied firearms, and after I returned to my profession, I have observed them even more. Based on the terrain of Sicheng City of the Southern Army, our army has more than a thousand Shenji battalions and dozens of artillery pieces of various types.
, it is more than enough to defend the city and protect ourselves. We are not afraid of millions of enemy troops, not to mention one hundred thousand. No matter how many people there are, it is impossible to attack the city at the same time."
In terms of defending the city, General Zhong Shidao, who was born in Song Dynasty, did not pay attention to the Xixia people at all.
But it was said that decades ago, during the civil strife in Xixia, Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty felt that the time had come and sent out troops to attack Xia in five directions. The results were fruitful and the territory was expanded for two thousand miles. He also ordered Xu Xi and Zhong E to mobilize their troops and generals, hoard food and grass, etc.
The next year, Xixia was wiped out in one fell swoop.
The Song army built a city in Yongle, mobilized 200,000 civilians, and built Yongle New City in fourteen days.
This city was like a thorn in Xixia's throat, and the Empress Dowager Liang mobilized all the troops in the country to fight back, claiming to the outside world that she had an army of 300,000.
Xu Xi was afraid of planting E, so Shen Kuo took the credit from him, transferred the two men far away, and led 30,000 soldiers to defend the city. The spies reported that Xixia had 300,000 soldiers. Of course, Xu Xi did not believe it, but felt that he had a chance to make a contribution.
coming.
Regardless of whether there are 300,000 or not, Xixia troops are coming in overwhelming numbers anyway.
Xu Xi unexpectedly led 30,000 Song soldiers to go out of the city to fight, and did not choose to cross the border to attack. He was beaten and fled into the city in embarrassment. Then the water stronghold was captured again, and he could only dig wells to quench his thirst.
Relying on the remaining soldiers from the defeated battle, Xu Xi, a civil servant, actually held on for twenty days, and there was no sign of the city being breached.
One can imagine how powerful the Han people were in defending the city, but how weak the Xixia's siege ability was.
As for the result of this battle, Yongle New City, which was built in fourteen days, was a piece of shitty work. The soil was obviously not compacted when the soil was compacted. After a heavy rain, the city wall was softened, and the Xixia soldiers actually used ash wood to destroy the city wall.
Knocked down... Not only was the entire Song Dynasty garrison wiped out, but the two hundred thousand servants nearby also died, fled, or were kidnapped.
He Nanjun Sicheng is definitely not a waste of time!
Zhong Shidao said to the Liu brothers: "You two can divide your troops, one will stay at Jingyuguan, and the other will follow me to set up a camp outside the valley. Block them at every level to prevent the Xixia soldiers from leaving the valley."
As a result, the battlefield situation became like this——
In a long and narrow river valley, there are more than 60,000 Xixia soldiers in the north, more than 20,000 Han soldiers in the middle, more than 60,000 Xixia soldiers in the south, and 10,000 Han soldiers blocking the southern valley.
It's really hard to tell who surrounded whom.
No matter what, in Brother Richard's eyes, the Han soldiers in the valley are dead.
It's not that easy to take away the Sicheng of Henan Army!
Otherwise, the Song army would have taken it away long ago, so how could it be the turn of the Ming army now?
The Gansu Military Division troops in the north marched extremely slowly, fearing that the Han Tibetan troops would set up ambushes in the valleys. Almost every time they encountered a valley, they would send cavalry in advance to check.
They are not afraid of small groups of troops, but once a large group of troops sets up an ambush, it will definitely leave traces in the ravine.
"There are people coming from both sides, and the enemies in the north are closer," Yang Zhi said.
Li Yanxian said: "The enemy generals are cautious and it is difficult to set up an ambush. They will stop advancing if there is any abnormality. Simply take advantage of the fact that the enemies from the south have not arrived yet, take the initiative to attack and defeat the enemies from the north, and kill them until they flee. Then turn around and annihilate them all."
The enemy from the south!"
Li Jinyi said: "There must also be people stationed in the city."
Gong Xiu patted his chest and said with a smile: "I have gained enough military merit, so I will lead my troops to stay and defend the city. Each of you should go and earn some merit."
Yang Zhi said: "The heavy artillery is left for you, and it is all erected on the city wall to prevent the enemy from the south from rushing to kill. The gap between the mother and son cities has only been barely repaired, and the red soil has not been compacted at all. You must be careful
The enemy troops hit the city wall. If the enemy comes quickly, they can hold on for a day or two at most, and the army will be able to come back. If the enemy comes slowly, they may not even arrive after the attack on the north."
Li Yanxian said: "I can separate the cavalry to slow down the enemy's march to the south. There is no need to confront them head-on, just harass them. No matter how many enemy cavalry they encounter in the valley, they will not be able to deploy."
"I'll leave it to General Li for the south," Yang Zhi said. "As for the north, we can detach 500 cavalry to follow the army, specifically to take advantage of the victory to chase down the defeated troops."