When Zhang Guangdao abandoned his carriage and wooden cannon and marched all the way to catch up, Chen Ziyi's soldiers had already captured the mountain ridge that was blocked by the Jin soldiers.
"Alas, it's still a step too late." Zhang Guangdao sighed.
Chen Ziyi was sitting on the loess slope, not in a very high mood: "Wanyan Loushi retreated decisively in the valley. If I had known earlier that he would not dare to charge a second time, I would not have sent heavy cavalry to confront the Jin soldiers. The entire army retreated.
Entering the camp will save many warriors from dying."
"This man is fierce and cunning. He decided to send people here to explore the escape terrain on his way to the valley. Otherwise, how could he have chosen this place to block our pursuit by guarding a mountain ridge? If it were other nearby mountains,
It is not as convenient as this place to escape," Zhang Guangdao said. "The troops are still too small. If we have 10,000 more soldiers, we can keep Wanyan Lou's room."
Chen Ziyi asked: "Do we need to attack Yu County tonight?"
Zhang Guangdao shook his head and said: "All the troops are exhausted from today's battle. Let's rest for the night and slowly march towards Yu County tomorrow. Wanyan Zonghan's army is almost reaching Yu County."
Wanyan Zonghan withdrew his troops from Shouyang and headed for the battlefield where the wooden cannons were fired. The straight-line distance was only seventy miles.
However, the route has recently been blocked by the Ming army, that is, the valley where the Zhai brothers returned to aid Shouyang. Not only was there a Ming army camp at the western exit of the valley, but there was also a Zhao Jianzi city camp on Zhang Guangdao at the eastern exit of the valley.
Wanyan Zonghan could only retreat north first, then cross the valley to Yu County, and then rush south from Yu County to charge the heavy cavalry into the valley.
The Zhai brothers were sent back to support Shouyang. They spent half a day traveling by boat, then rested for half a day, spent two and a half days detouring to the southern mountainous area, and then launched a night attack to defeat Yan Zonghan's Dongda camp.
Wanyan Zonghan withdrew from Shouyang on the second day after Dongda Camp was breached.
Back and forth, about three days and four nights passed.
Zhang Guangdao sent the Zhai brothers back to Shouyang to help Shouyang, and it happened to be three days and three nights before Wanyan Lou's room was discovered and killed. So far, it has gone through a total of four days and four nights.
In other words, Wanyan Zonghan's army just set off from Shouyang this morning.
There are many loess mountains along the route, as well as 20 to 30 miles of mountainous areas. It takes more than a hundred miles to reach Yu County with seven twists and turns. The vanguard may have arrived, but Wanyan Zonghan's main force is definitely still on the way.
…
night.
Wanyan Zonghan's main force was still in the mountainous area. A fast horse came and was taken directly to the commander's tent.
The messenger knelt down and reported: "Marshal, the Privy Councilor has died of illness!"
"I know." Wanyan Zonghan felt heavy.
The highest military institution of the Jin Kingdom was the Capital Marshal's Office. As the territory expanded, local Privy Councils were planned to be established.
The first Privy Council was located in Guangning, which is the area east of Jinzhou. The original intention of its establishment was to prevent Zhang Jue's rebellion. The Privy Council of Guangning at that time was Liu Yanzong, who directly obeyed Wanyan Zonghan (there are also historical data showing that the Guangning Privy Council had not yet officially
was established, but was put on hold due to the recurrence of war).
Now, Wanyan Zonghan is in Yunzhong (Datong) and Wanyan Zongwang is in Yanshan (Beijing), and they have established a Privy Council respectively.
The Privy Council envoy in Yunzhong is Wanyan Xishi, and the Privy Council envoy in Yanshan is Liu Yanzong. They are mainly responsible for recruiting and training local soldiers and horses, and are also responsible for collecting food and grass on the spot.
Wanyan's studio was specially located in the northern area of Shanxi to recruit troops and supplies for Wanyan Zonghan, and he was stationed in the rear. Now the war was not over but he suddenly died of illness.
This is enough to give Wanyan Zonghan a headache!
There are three parts of Wanyan Jurchen, one is Huosu Pavilion, the second is Pressing Out the Tiger Water (Agu Da), and the third is Yelan.
The Wanyan tribe of the Huesu Hall was the one that was defeated by Zhao Li and Yelu Yujian across the sea. It was the weakest, and its origins were somewhat unclear, but Aguda admitted that their surname was Wanyan (more like a given surname).
Yelan's Wanyan tribe was very powerful. When Aguda planned to rebel against the Liao Dynasty, he only made up his mind with the support of Yelan's Wanyan tribe.
The Wanyan Xishi who died of illness this time was the son of the previous head of the Yelan Wanyan tribe.
As for the current head of the Yelan Wanyan tribe, his name is Wanyan Zhong. When the Jin soldiers attacked the Song Dynasty last time, he came under the command of Wanyan Zongwang. This time, he did not lead his army southward. Wanyanzhong stayed in Harbin, swinging from side to side.
Which faction does it belong to.
The internal strife of the Jin Dynasty was very serious. Wanyanzhong was conserving his strength, and half of the troops of Wanyan tribe were not moved. The excuse was that they were putting down the rebellion of the Bohai people.
"Call Pu Liduo."
"yes!"
Wanyan Pulidi was the grandson of Wugunai and the third son of Ali Heshen.
Pu Liduo's second brother is called Wanyan Onun (Wanyan Yan). He is currently serving as a courtier in Harbin and is a pawn of Wanyan Zonghanbu in the Jin Dynasty court.
"Marshal!" Pu Liduo rushed to the marshal's tent to pay his respects.
Wanyan Zonghan said: "The Privy Councilor has died of illness. You go back and take charge of Yunzhong. Don't cause any trouble in the rear."
Pu Litiao was surprised and asked: "Why did he die suddenly?"
Wanyan Zonghan said: "He was already ill before sending troops this time, but he didn't tell anyone about it. Don't wait any longer and rush back overnight."
"good!"
Pu Liduo took dozens of Qingqi and rushed back to Datong Privy Council overnight.
He was not only a strong general, but also relatively proficient in internal affairs. He once wrote a memorial to abolish the custom of using war horses for burial in Jin Dynasty (at that time, he was not capable and the memorial was poorly written, but Wanyan Zonghan helped to revise it).
After Pu Litui left, Wanyan Zonghan hadn't slept long when several more fast horses came galloping towards him.
The soldiers walked into the commander's tent and whispered: "There was a huge defeat at the front, with tens of thousands of soldiers lost."
"What?" Wanyan Zonghan was so shocked that he lost all sleep and quickly called the person who brought the news in.
The person sent to deliver the news was none other than Wen Du Sizhong.
Wanyan Zonghan said sternly: "How our army was defeated, please tell me carefully!"
Wen Du Sizhong has an amazing memory and strong language organization skills, and he explained the process of several battles very clearly. During the heavy cavalry hedging battle, he was responsible for exploring the escape terrain, but after asking the Jurchen soldiers, he was able to proceed in detail at this time.
tell.
After hearing this, Wanyan Zonghan was a little in disbelief: "When those artillery fires were fired, all the cavalry of our army fell down?"
"Only a few of those who were dozens of steps ahead were spared," said Wen Du Sizhong.
Wanyan Zonghan asked again: "When riding in an open place, how dare the Ming cavalry fight in close combat?"
Wen Du Sizhong nodded: "Yes."
Wanyan Zonghan asked again: "In the valley, do you use a heavy wall to charge forward?"
Wen Du Sizhong said: "According to what our soldiers said, the heavy cavalry of the Ming army were also afraid, and everyone slowed down when they rushed close. But they did dare to enter the wall, and they were lined up much denser than us, and they were killed by running together.
Rushed over."
Wanyan Zonghan was silent for a moment and asked: "How is the morale of our army?"
"The morale is low," Wen Du Sizhong said. "The Ming army's artillery fire made them terrified. Then the cavalry lost two more battles, and the troops broke up and fled in confusion. After all this, the whole army lost their souls.
, are currently retreating to Yu County to rest, and some tribal leaders are clamoring to return to their hometowns."
Wanyan Zonghan was furious: "It's just a defeat, but you want to go home. It's so stupid and cowardly!"
Wen Du Sizhong said: "They were frightened by the Ming army's firearms and heavy cavalry. The Ming Dynasty had a large population and a vast territory. Most of us, Dajin, would not be able to win quickly this year. If it is delayed until next year or the year after, I don't know what the Ming army will produce."
No matter how many artillery pieces there are, I don’t know how many heavy cavalry the Ming army can train. When the leaders of the various ministries think about these things, how can they be willing to fight with the Ming Dynasty again? "
"It is precisely because of this that we must fight hard next. We cannot give the Ming Dynasty more time to build firearms and train cavalry!" Wanyan Zonghan roared.
He handed over the army to his deputy general, took only a few hundred cavalry, and rushed to Yu County overnight.
At dawn, Wanyan Zonghan saw Wanyan Lou's room and immediately asked: "Can you still fight?"
Wanyan Loushi said: "I can fight!"
Then he added: "But Hezha Meng'an lost his main battle horse. When he fights in armor again, I'm afraid he won't be able to fight for that long."
"You can't let Hezha Meng'an take off his armor before retreating?" Wanyan Zonghan said angrily.
Wanyan Loushi said: "The cavalry of the Ming army is chasing closely. Once Hezha Meng'an removes his armor, those Ming troops will definitely pursue him desperately and fight bloody battles. They will not give Hezha Meng'an time to put on his armor. The main force of their infantry is also there.
If we are pursued and held back by the Ming cavalry, our army will most likely be wiped out."
"We could only let Hezha Meng'an march in armor. The Ming army was chasing closely, and then let Hezha Meng'an rush back to cover up the kill. After repeated attacks several times, the whole army finally reached the mountain crossing safely. But Hezha Meng'an's war horse
They are all exhausted, foaming at the mouth, and it is difficult to continue crossing the mountains. I must order those war horses to be killed, otherwise the Ming army will get them, and those war horses can recover by resting where they are!"
Wanyan Zonghan closed his eyes and thought about the situation at that time, and found that there was nothing he could do.
Wanyan Loushi had three opportunities to safely withdraw his troops, but they were interfered with for various reasons and missed.
The biggest reason is that there is a problem with the overall strategy of the Jin Kingdom. They must seize every opportunity to fight annihilation battles in the wild and cannot be turned into siege battles by the Ming army. This caused Wanyan Loushi to be vigilant, but he had to gamble his money.
He bit the Ming army's bait unconsciously.
Wanyan Zonghan asked: "You are familiar with the Ming army's tactics, how should we fight next?"
Wanyan Loushi said: "It is best to garrison Yu County and rest for a few days, otherwise it will be difficult for the soldiers I brought back to quickly restore their morale. The Ming army commander is like a smart hunter, setting a trap for me to get into. With this kind of
People must be very careful when fighting. The Ming army's infantry and vehicle formations cannot be attacked by force. Those artillery are really powerful. They must be lured to chase them out, break up the formation, and then wait for an opportunity to rush forward."
Wanyan Zonghan asked: "When the Ming army infantry pursued them, why didn't you fight back?"
Wanyan Loushi said: "The general of the Ming army was too cautious. I originally wanted to lure them out and attack them with cavalry on all sides in the open terrain. But even if they pursued, they marched very slowly in formation. The whole army marched dozens
I will reorganize my team as soon as I step forward, without giving me a chance to send troops to break the formation!"
Wanyan Zonghan was silent.
Wanyan Loushi suddenly remembered something and said with an ugly expression: "What we should be worried about now is not Yu County, but Taiyuan and Shouyang!"
Wanyan Zonghan was agitated when he heard this and immediately thought about the problem: "We cannot stay in Yu County to fight. The entire army must quickly withdraw to the north of Taiyuan!"
If the main force of the Jin army is dragged into Yu County by Zhang Guangdao, their retreat is likely to be blocked.
One is to the northwest and northeast of Shouyang. There is a mountain pass there, which is the only place where the Jin soldiers must pass when they retreat to Taiyuan.
The second is in the northeast of Taiyuan, where there is also a mountain pass, which is also a must-pass for the Jin soldiers to withdraw.
If the Taiyuan garrison and the Shouyang garrison of the Ming Dynasty were ordered to occupy the mountain pass, and Zhang Guangdao separated his elite troops and rushed from the river valley to Shouyang by boat to help these friendly troops defend the mountain pass, then the Jin soldiers would not be able to return.
Datong.
The military rations brought by Wanyan Lou's family, as well as the local military rations in Yu County, were all seized by Chen Ziyi's troops.
As long as the Ming army blocked the mountain pass, there was no need to do anything else. The Jin army would be completely wiped out after they ran out of food and grass.
Before dawn, the Jin soldiers abandoned their extra baggage and marched with only food, horses and armor.
At the same time, a large number of brave knights were sent as the vanguard, carrying only dry food and galloping wildly to occupy those mountain passes to ensure a smooth retreat.
Wanyan Zonghan must lead the entire army and retreat to the north of Taiyuan, so as not to be afraid of being blocked by the Ming army.
Three passages, one has been blocked!
The Ming army in Taiyuan is more than enough to defend the city, but fighting in the open field is difficult enough, and it is even more difficult for them to fight fortified battles.
In order to ensure smooth retreat and food routes, Wanyan Zonghan divided hundreds of troops to guard Sanjiakou. Yang Weizhong led thousands of weak troops and repeatedly attacked for many days but could not capture it. Therefore, the mountain pass on the Taiyuan side was difficult to capture and had to wait for the elite Zhang Guangdao faction to pass.
There are two mountain passes in the north of Shouyang.
The northeast side was too close to Wanyan Zonghan's main force, and the Zhai brothers did not dare to capture it because they did not have enough troops, so they concentrated their forces and occupied the northwest side. They only needed to drag out the bloody battle for a few days before Zhang Guangdao came to support them and overthrew the entire Jin army.
A small basin blocked between rolling mountains.
"Marshal, the mountain pass northwest of Shouyang is blocked!"
On the afternoon of the second day, the vanguard troops sent people back to tell them the news.
When Wanyan Zonghan was about to increase his troops to attack, Wen Du Sizhong said: "There is a small valley nearby. I led the troops to explore it the year before last. It can be passed through there! However, if we continue to the west, Ming troops will probably block the road, so we can only go along
Follow the river valley all the way north, then climb over the steep mountains to reach the upper reaches of the Hutuo River. From there, you can lead your troops back to Wutai County, and then go southwest to Xinzhou."
After all, Zhang Guangdao still did not have enough troops to block all the passages.
There are so many valley passages in Shanxi that anyone can pass through them regardless of the consequences.
The main force of the Jin soldiers in Shanxi first passed through a twenty-mile long valley (later known as Cenfeng Village and Shijiao Village), then went north through a mountain basin (later known as Xiyan Town), and then followed the seventy-eight-mile long valley.
The long winding river valley retreats northward.
As they crossed the river valley and began to climb the mountains, the first snow of the year fell.
During the march, some wounded soldiers died of infection. By the time they reached the upper reaches of the Hutuo River, they had lost hundreds of people due to non-combat conditions. Many other soldiers were sick, the whole army was exhausted, and some of the horses had died.
As for the civilians, they gradually abandoned most or even part of the food and grass.
In winter, Wanyan Zonghan stationed his troops in Xinzhou and was seriously short of military rations.
Zhang Guangdao did not go to Taiyuan to confront Wanyan Zonghan from the north to the south. Instead, he sent troops to attack Chengtian Village, trying to get through Jingxing and kill Zhending Mansion, and cooperated with Hebei friendly forces to attack the puppet capital of the Song Dynasty.
