Chapter 148: The Fuhu Army Breaks the Wolf and Rescues Tokyo
Chapter 148: The Fuhu Army defeats the Wolf Cavalry and saves Tokyo
The sixth day of the siege of Tokyo.
Since the Liao people and rebels launched a formal siege three days ago, a wave of fierce attacks has been organized almost every day, which will last about two or three hours.
The battle was very tragic.
As of today, the Tokyo Forbidden Army's reserves of bows, arrows and city defense equipment, as heavy as rolling logs and rocks, have basically been exhausted. From now on, they can only demolish the houses of the people in the city.
The actual reserve army has begun to dismantle!
Li Gang and Uncle Zhang stood guard on the city gate tower day and night. They had not slept for several days, and their eyes were full of bloodshot eyes.
The 30,000 Forbidden Army has been reduced by nearly 30%. Currently, less than 20,000 people can continue to fight and resist. And these 20,000 people are scattered to the surrounding city gates and city wall defenses. You can imagine the weakness of the defense strength of each section of the front.
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The city of Tokyo is under heavy clouds, and more and more people are not confident in defending Tokyo.
The only thing that could boost the morale of the Imperial Guards was that the Crown Prince Zhao Huan led several other princes and hundreds of Imperial Guard servants to the tower to fight with the Imperial Guards.
Although their battles were mostly formal, they still lifted the spirits of Tokyoites.
Zhang Shuye's face was gloomy. He had been keeping a close eye on the movements of the Liao camp, especially the movements of the Tielin army under Yelu Ao and Lu Wei.
Fortunately, the heavy cavalry did not play a big role in siege warfare, and they were temporarily out of use.
Li Gang hurriedly climbed up the tower and saw the crown prince Zhao Huanye, the ninth son of the emperor Zhao Gou, and the third son of the emperor Zhao Kai coming up. He cupped his hands and said, "I have met your three highnesses!"
Zhao Huan hurriedly waved his hand and said: "Prime Minister Li, there is no need to be polite."
The performance of Zhao Ji's sons in the past two days was remarkable, which impressed Li Gang, Zhang Shuye and everyone else.
Many people who were originally disappointed with the royal family of Zhao and Song could not help but feel a glimmer of hope in their hearts.
Not to mention anything else, it is commendable to have the courage to go up to the tower and share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers and fight side by side.
In the Jin camp, the tunnels leading to the city are still being excavated, and the stacking of the three earth mountains has been basically completed.
Zhang Shuye said to Li Gang in a deep voice: "Prime Minister Li, maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, the Liao people will use a large trebuchet. If this happens, there will be heavy casualties in the city. We must order the people in the city who have caves to evacuate into the caves."
, if there is no crypt, try to stay in the open area outdoors.”
Li Gang looked solemn and nodded slowly: "Prime Minister Lu has already made arrangements. It's a pity that the troops in the city are limited. Otherwise, at this time, troops should be sent out of the city to harass the Liao people from time to time, burn their catapult machinery, and at least delay their construction projects."
Zhao Gou, the ninth son of the emperor, suddenly interjected: "Captain Zhang, Xianggong Li, I wonder if my master will be here soon to bring in the reinforcements?"
Li Gang was stunned: "Your Highness said you are master?"
Zhao Kai, the third son of the emperor, said in a low voice: "The ninth brother is talking about Master Wang! Master Wang was ordered by the emperor to teach the ninth brother archery, horseback riding, and archery, so the ninth brother is called a master."
Li Gang was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then sighed: "It's about 800 miles from Dongping, Jingdong, to Tokyo, and 1,600 miles round trip. Master Wang has been walking for six or seven days, and he should have reached Dongping by walking day and night.
Right, but mobilizing troops and marching is no small matter. Even if Master Wang has brought tens of thousands of troops to help Tokyo, it will take at least ten days to arrive!"
Traveling eighty miles a day was considered the maximum limit by Li Gang.
After all, most of the tens of thousands of troops are infantry, and they have baggage. Even if they march in a hurry, they can only cover seventy or eighty miles a day. No matter how much they march, they will not be able to bear it.
Everyone's faces looked ugly.
Given the current situation in Tokyo, it is unlikely that the city will be defeated even if it persists for another ten days.
If the Liao people had used heavy trebuchets, the casualties in the city, especially the damage to the city walls, would have been huge, and it would have accelerated the process of destroying the city of Tokyo.
The atmosphere on the city gate tower was extremely solemn.
Everyone and the soldiers were silent. At this time, only Zhang Shuye said with emotion: "Fight to the death and die for the country!"
Li Gang burst into tears and raised his arms and shouted: "Fight to the death, never retreat!"
Immediately, many soldiers on the city tower gradually began to raise their arms and cry out sadly that they would not retreat until the end. Soon, this sad and determined mood spread to the entire city wall.
In the Liao camp opposite, Yelu Yujian sneered on his horse: "If you only survive, in two days at most, I will take Tokyo, massacre the Zhao and Song royal family, and defend Your Majesty and proclaim himself emperor in Tokyo!"
Yelu Ao and Lu Wo laughed loudly: "Marshal, I have been waiting for this day for a long time!"
The two immediately exchanged a knowing look.
They failed in their struggle for power in Khitan and had no choice but to retreat into the Song Dynasty. Just when Liang Shijie rebelled, they used Liang Shijie to first capture the Hebei states and then rush to Tokyo. As long as the Song Dynasty was destroyed, they would be able to make contributions to the Central Plains.
, to fight against the Liao branch.
And given time, they will definitely lead their troops to fight back to Khitan and take back what is rightfully theirs!
Behind the two of them, Liang Shijie had a sneer on his face.
He quietly winked at Lu Bin, the young man in white beside him.
Lu Bin calmly urged his horse to leave the Liao camp and disappeared in a blink of an eye.
The seventh day.
The Liao people finally used trebuchets.
In the cold weapon age, the main function of trebuchets was to siege cities.
Compared with ladders, rams and siege towers, the stones thrown by trebuchets can easily collapse the yellow mud city walls. Even the thick and hard green brick city walls like Tokyo cannot withstand hundreds of kilograms of stone bullets for a long time.
Continuous blows.
In ancient sieges, once the city wall collapsed, it meant that the attacking side won a decisive victory.
The cavalry and heavy infantry that poured into the city through the gap could quickly advance towards the center of the city, while the defenders without the protection of the city walls could only fight to the death with the siege troops.
Since the siege troops generally have a numerical advantage, once the city wall is breached, it means that the defense of the city has failed.
Huge boulders roared in the sky, and almost all the Song soldiers looked up in fear, looking up and preparing to escape.
Many pieces fell into the outer city, and earth-shaking vibrations resounded throughout the city. Smoke and dust filled the air. It was unknown how many houses were damaged and how many people were crushed to death.
Most of the stone bullets came towards Tokyo's city walls.
Boom boom boom!
Loud noises were heard one after another, and the smoke and dust cleared. The section of the main city wall where Li Gang and Zhang Shuye led the troops was smashed into a gap of more than ten feet!
At this time, horn horns wailed in the Liao camp, and a group of Tielin troops finally launched!
Thousands of heavily armored wolf cavalry rushed over like a torrent of steel.
Those ordinary bows and arrows can't hurt them at all. If the Tielin army is allowed to rush into Tokyo through the gap and open a bloody path, and the overwhelming Liao army will cover them up and kill them, Tokyo will not be protected!
Zhang Shuye shouted: "Hurry and block the gap!"
However, at this moment, the Liao people simultaneously launched a fierce attack on the four walls, and there were not many manpower left to seal the gap.
Moreover, the ordinary Imperial Guards are no match for the elite Khitan Wolf Cavalry. If they go there, they will die!
Zhao Huan looked pale.
He gritted his teeth, waved his hand, and led Zhao Gou, Zhao Kai, and the few remaining guards down to the city gate tower, and rode straight to the imperial city.
Seeing that the outer city could no longer be saved, they could only retreat into the imperial city to see if there was any last chance of survival.
For a civil servant like Li Gang, who was very old, he led the guards to fight against the Liao people on the city wall. It can be imagined that he was physically exhausted.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the figures of Zhao Huan and others escaping on horseback, and sighed in his heart: "Well, actually being able to do this is already considered extremely precious. But Your Highness, if the outer city is destroyed, the imperial city will also be destroyed.
If we can’t keep it, I’m afraid it’s the end of the Song Dynasty now!”
Li Gang looked up at the clear blue sky, which was cloudless.
The dark Liao rebels were still attacking crazily, shouting and killing with earth-shattering cries. But right under his feet, he could already feel the roar and trembling of the earth!
The Tielin Army has arrived!
Li Gang closed his eyes in sorrow, but then he opened his eyes angrily and shouted: "All armies, follow me and fight to the death, never retreat!"
To be honest, as the prime ministers and captains of the dynasty, Li Gang and Zhang Shuye personally commanded and commanded the battles these days, and lived and ate with the soldiers. They did not hesitate to sacrifice themselves for the country, and ordinary soldiers were also infected.
In order to protect Li Gang, some soldiers spontaneously gathered around him!
Li Gang, Zhang Shuye and the imperial guards were all determined to die.
At this moment, there were suddenly two shrill and angry tiger roars!
Then I heard someone yelling: "The Fuhu Army obeys the order, all of them are here, follow my general to fight against the Liao people!"
The city gate was opened, and Yan Qing took the lead and rushed out. Then the sound of horse hooves roared like thunder, and two thousand Fuhu Army cavalry, with cold expressions and holding hook-link spears, shields and crossbows, lined up and rushed out!
The cyan military flag was flying fiercely, and the three embroidered gold characters on the military flag fluttered in the wind.
Two thousand Fuhu Army cavalry faced off against one thousand Khitan Wolf Cavalry Tielin Army!
Although the Tielin Army is the elite cavalry of the Khitan world-famous, Wang Lin's cavalry is also very powerful, especially the two thousand people who came to Beijing with him. They are all carefully selected and tough soldiers.
All of them can shoot hard bows, and all of them have extraordinary skills. Wang Lin has also invested a lot of money and is well-equipped. It can be said that they are armed to the teeth.
The key is to follow Wang Lin for a long time and develop the morale to look down on the world!
Two colorful tigers rushed at the front. The murderous aura and power of the king of the forest could not be overshadowed. The two tigers let out earth-shaking tiger roars one after another. The horses under the leading Tielin soldiers were trembling with fear, and some even
They didn't dare to move. As a result, the Tielin Army's formation began to become chaotic!
Two ferocious tigers rushed into the enemy formation and killed more than ten people in succession. No matter how tough the Khitan wolf cavalry was, they were still human beings. The fear and feeling of invincibility when faced with ferocious beasts is almost natural. The Tielin Army cavalry evaded the tiger attacks one after another.
, the formation becomes even more chaotic!
Yan Qing roared and charged into the formation first with a gun, and then two thousand Fuhu troops cut open the Tielin army's charging formation with sharp knife-shaped battle formations. They charged back and forth and killed everyone in the Tielin army!
Yelu Aolu's expression suddenly changed: "Why do these Song army cavalry raise tigers? Whose army horses are these?"
Yeluyu looked gloomy when he saw it: "Your Majesty, this is the Fuhu Army. I heard that a Fuhu God General has recently emerged in the Song Dynasty. It is said that this man is invincible. It is the Fuhu Army under his command!"
Liang Shijie, who was behind the two men, caught a glimpse of the Fuhu Army gradually gaining the upper hand in the battle with the Tielin Army. Fierce shouts of men and horses neighing could be heard faintly on the battlefield, and he felt a bit cold in his heart.
Wang Lin!
If Wang Lin hadn't killed Cai Jing, he would still be occupying a high position in Daming Mansion and enjoying the glory and wealth. Why did he start a rebellion like this and be trapped here by the Liao people!
So Liang Shijie hated Wang Lin to death.
On the city gate, the Imperial Guards of the Song Dynasty saw that the Fuhu Army was so brave and could defeat the Khitan Wolf Cavalry Tielin Army, and their morale was greatly boosted.
But when the sound of Ming Jin's retreat came from the Liao camp, the remaining two hundred Tielin troops were defeated, leaving their bodies on the ground and fleeing back to the camp.
Yan Qing ordered his troops to bring back the corpses of three hundred brothers who were damaged on the battlefield, and captured hundreds of Khitan war horses.
Yan Qing's heart ached.
These two thousand cavalrymen were Wang Lin's darlings. In one battle, more than 300 of them were killed, and one of the two tigers was also stabbed. How can it not be heartbreaking!
Fortunately, the results of the battle were outstanding. He killed 800 enemy Tielin troops and shocked the Liao people!
This time the reputation of the Fuhu Army was truly revealed!
"The Fuhu Army! Invincible in a hundred battles!"
When bursts of cheers from the Forbidden Army soldiers came from the city gate tower, Yan Qing's mouth twitched. He didn't know how he would explain to the envoy when he met Wang Lin in the future.
But the situation was very critical at that time. If he hadn't been prepared in advance, led the Fuhu Army to ambush here, rushed out at the right time, and resisted the attack of the Tielin Army, Tokyo would have been destroyed at this moment!
…
Although Tielin's army had thousands of men, it had lost 800 men, and the losses to the Liao people were also heavy. This was an important fundamental force that Yelu Aolu relied on to gain a foothold. Without knowing the situation in the city clearly, the Liao people
People dare not send out the Tielin Army to attack the city wall easily.
And relying solely on infantry to attack gave the Song army a chance to buffer.
Yan Qing led the Fuhu Army to repair it, but some young officials in the court spontaneously organized themselves and led the people in the city to help the Song army defend the city. It is said that when everyone adds firewood, the flames will rise. After all, the people in the city have 15.6 million registered households, and
In fact, there are quite a few criminals. At this moment of life and death, in order to save their lives, the whole city mobilized.
The damaged city wall was quickly repaired.
The young and strong among the common people were temporarily assigned weapons and organized into the reserve army.
Hearing that the Fuhu Army actually defeated the Khitan's world-famous Wolf Cavalry Tielin Army, even the official Zhao Ji became more confident and felt that things were turning around.
At Zhao Huan's suggestion, Zhao Ji issued a death order. All private soldiers maintained by major families and powerful families must be sent to the battlefield. Anyone who resists and disobeys the order will be killed without mercy.
In this way, another four to five thousand people were gathered.
The combat effectiveness of these noble servants was obviously much stronger than that of ordinary people. With their help in defending the city wall, the Song army's defensive strength surged unprecedentedly. The fierce attacks of the Liao people in the following two days basically failed.
Later, the officials also issued a commendation order for the Fuhu Army. Yan Qing gave him a hundred taels of gold, five times the pension for the dead soldiers, and a reward of 10,000 yuan for the remaining soldiers. He promised to promote him based on his merits after this battle.
Yan Qing distributed the hundred gold gifted by the emperor to the families of the dead brothers, and of course recorded it in the accounts first. Upon seeing this, the other soldiers also took half of the reward and gave it to the families of the dead brothers.
Unexpectedly, it has become a routine of the Fuhu Army since then.