When Meng Tianxiang led the Zhongshun Army to chase the Yuan Army to the gates of Luoyang City, the deputy general who defended the city had already ordered the suspension bridge to be closed and the city gates to be closed tightly. This not only temporarily stopped the advance of the Zhongshun Army, but also killed two thousand Yuan soldiers. The army stood outside the city.
The blocked Yuan army cursed loudly, but when they saw that the pursuers were approaching, they did not dare to fight, so they had to flee to both sides.
Meng Tianxiang reined in his horse, looked at the fleeing Yuan army, then looked at the tall Luoyang City, and sneered: "Retreat the troops."
Back at the location of the army, the artillery battalion had already set up twenty artillery pieces.
Zhao Huai was highly skilled in martial arts and praised: "General Meng is worthy of being the heir to the Gao family's marksmanship. He killed the Luoyang guard in three moves. This was the first achievement of entering Luoyang. The general took a rest and watched our army bombard the city of Luoyang."
"Yes, General,"
Zhao Huai laughed and said loudly: "The artillery battalion obeyed the order and bombarded the city gate."
After receiving the order, the artillery battalion commander immediately waved the flag and issued the order to fire.
Just listen to the sound of "boom, boom", and twenty artillery fires at the same time. After one round, the suspension bridge in front of Luoyang City Gate has been destroyed. The Yuan army guarding Luoyang has never seen firearms. How could they know that there is such a thing in the world? Sharp weapons, after the first round of bombardment, everyone was stunned. Even the deputy general of the Yuan army standing at the top of the city was stunned by the sound of the cannon.
Not long after, before the soldiers of the Yuan army could react, a second round of artillery was fired. Half of this round of artillery shells hit the city gate, while the other half fell on the city tower. Coincidentally, , the cannonball hit the deputy general of the Yuan army on the tower, killing him instantly.
About two-quarters of an hour later, a big hole was blasted out of the city gate. Seeing this, Zhao Huai immediately issued an order to attack the city. At the same time, ten artillery pieces adjusted their direction and fired around the city gate. Two generals were lost in succession. The soldiers of the Yuan army could not organize an effective defense at all. The sparse arrows shot down from the city wall could not stop the Song army's attack. What's more, the defenders who were still firing arrows were quickly destroyed by the smoke of artillery fire. He was overwhelmed and unable to see clearly what was ahead.
The soldiers who attacked the city were led by the Zhongshun Army. Six hundred warriors, led by Meng Tianxiang, rushed straight to the city gate, followed closely by five thousand Song Army infantry led by Fan Liangfu, and behind them were the First Division of the Imperial Forest Army. The three thousand musketeers led by the brigade commander Zheng Xiangdong and the loyal and shun army were all cavalry. They were extremely fast and had reached the city gate in a blink of an eye. Meng Tianxiang took the lead and was the first to rush in through the damaged city gate. Some of the Mongolian defenders in the city were waving their weapons and seemed to want to resist, but they were shot dead by Meng Tianxiang. When they recognized that the person in front of them was the Song general who had killed his leader, how could they still have the courage? Responding to the fight, they scattered and fled.
After a while, hundreds of loyal and shun troops filed in and successfully occupied the east gate of Luoyang City.
"Those who surrender will not be killed,"
"Those who surrender will not be killed,"
Subsequent Song troops, led by Fan Liangfu, entered the city one after another. After entering the city, they shouted loudly everywhere.
An hour later, Luoyang City gradually returned to calm. Except for more than a thousand Mongolian soldiers who fled from the other city gates, most of the remaining Han and Jin soldiers chose to surrender.
With a face full of joy, Zhao Huai walked into the city gate surrounded by guards. Looking at the city of Luoyang where the smoke had not yet cleared, Zhao Huai couldn't help but think that the city of Luoyang, Xijing of the Song Dynasty, was finally recovered in his own hands. My father. , you can rest in peace.
"Everyone will obey the order,"
"Please give the general's orders,"
"Okay," Zhao Huai ordered, "General Meng, you lead the Loyal and Shun Army to maintain order in Luoyang City, post notices to protect the people, strictly prevent the remnants of the Yuan Army from harming ordinary people, strictly prohibit the city from taking advantage of the night to cause trouble, and prohibit our soldiers from oppressing the people. Once discovered , arrested immediately,”
"Yes, the final general honors your order,"
"General Fan and Brigadier Zheng, you two will lead the five thousand infantry and imperial guards to take over the defense of each city gate. There is no need to pursue the enemy who escapes."
"Yes, the final general honors your order,"
"The rest of the troops will sweep the battlefield and take prisoners into custody,"
"Yes, I will obey the order,"
After Luoyang was recaptured, Jiang Wanzai and Yi Yinglei discussed and dispatched their own troops, and successively recaptured surrounding cities. In less than half a month, all the major cities in central and western Henan had planted the flag of the Song Dynasty. These cities There were very few defenders in the city and there was basically no resistance, so they surrendered. Among them, many Han soldiers, under the influence of Meng Huanshan and others, defected before the battle, which also caused the Song army to have almost no soldiers when they attacked the city. When encountering obstruction, there are few casualties.
During this period of time, the Song army that went to Shifo Temple to build a camp was also quite successful.
After the Xiangyang battle, there were about 100,000 Mongolian middle army troops left, of which 15,000 were sent to Xuchang, where they were later defeated by Yinyinglei. In the battle of Dengzhou, more than 20,000 people were lost, plus they were defeated by Kubi. Of the 10,000 that Lie had transferred back, the Yuan army still in the Nanyang camp was only about 50,000. In addition, the Yuan army was increasingly afraid of the Song army's firearms, so they only tried a little, and the Song army Under repeated attacks from muskets and grenades, the troops withdrew and never left the city to attack again.
On February 14, the Shifo Temple camp was basically completed. On the same day, the Nanyang Yuan Army received Kublai Khan's order and asked Boyan and A Shu to lead their troops to retreat north to Yingtianfu (today's Shangqiu) in eastern Henan. Yingtianfu As the companion capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was called the Three Capitals together with Bianliang and Luoyang.
It was already noon the next day when I got the news that the Yuan army was withdrawing to the north.
"Evacuate Nanyang," when Gongsun Xiaochen and Lu Wenhuan reported to me, I was stunned for a moment and said, "Why, Ah Shu is afraid,"
Fang Ling smiled and said: "Brother, of course I'm scared. Think about it, most of Henan has been recovered by our army, and with the construction of the Shifo Temple camp completed, the Nanyang Yuan army is likely to fall into the siege of our army. Kublai Khan will naturally We don’t want to see the route army among them being completely wiped out by our army, so evacuating Nanyang is a wise move but also a helpless one.”
Lu Wenhuan said: "Your Majesty, what Concubine Ling said is absolutely true. General Mo, General Gongsun, and General Tian just thought about it together, and they think so too."
I smiled and asked, "Where will A Shu retreat?"
"Back to the emperor," Gongsun Xiaochen pointed to the map and said, "There are two possible places, one is Yingtianfu in the east of Henan, and the other is Xiangzhou City in the northeast (today's Anyang). Your Majesty, please see, there is Xuchang Prime Minister in the north of Nanyang. However, there are more than 10,000 troops and 20 artillery pieces in Xuchang City. It will not be easy for A-Shu to capture Xuchang. Once he is held back by the Yin General’s troops at the foot of Xuchang City, and our Dengzhou Army attacks again, they will lose their troops and generals. So, after analysis, the Council Office believes that Yingtian Mansion and Xiangzhou are the most likely. At present, General Lu Wenxin is leading the soldiers of the Black Carbon Regiment to follow, and there will be an answer soon,"
I said "yes" and looked at the map while saying: "Yingtian Mansion is the place where Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne. When A Shu retreats to Ying Tian Mansion, he can be close to the Yuan Army's East Route Army and take care of each other. Xiangzhou is also a famous historical city. , the walls of these two cities are quite strong, but it is very possible,"
Lu Wenhuan said: "Your Majesty, after Ashu withdraws his troops, will our Dengzhou army move north?"
"Of course," I said without hesitation, "General Lu, order Lu Shikui's troops to station in Nanyang, and the other armies to prepare for the expedition. After confirming the whereabouts of A Shu's troops, we will decide where to station our army."
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
Five days later, Lu Wenxin led the Black Carbon Regiment back to Dengzhou, bringing news that the Mongolian Middle Route Army had withdrawn to Yingtian Mansion.
After receiving the news, I immediately asked Gongsun Xiaochen to summon all the generals to come to the big tent to discuss matters.
"See the Emperor,"
"Generals, no courtesy,"
"Thank you, Your Majesty,"
Lu Wenhuan first said: "According to the latest news, the Mongolian Middle Route Army has withdrawn to Yingtian Mansion. Our army has recaptured Nanyang without any bloodshed. Since then, the central and western areas of Henan have been under the control of our army. Generals, your Majesty will make the following announcement: The first phase of our army’s action plan,”
I looked at the generals and said with a smile: "Generals, everyone is aware of the current situation. It is no exaggeration to say that it is getting better and better. I will not repeat it here. A few days ago, General Lu has informed Everyone, get ready for the expedition. Now is the time. Early tomorrow morning, all armies will set off towards Xuchang. In addition, General Lu Wenhuan ordered the 19th Wing under Lu Shikui to leave one army to guard Nanyang, and the rest of the soldiers also headed towards Xuchang. March on,"
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
"Gongsun Xiaochen sent an order to Xiangyang to guard General Tang Yongjian, and ordered him to lead the entire Xiangyang garrison to Nanyang."
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
Lu Wenhuan then asked: "Your Majesty, in recent months, our army has recruited 1,500 new troops in the Dengzhou area. Are these new troops going north with the army?"
After Dengzhou was recaptured, the local people enthusiastically joined the army. More than 2,000 people signed up in Dengzhou alone. After review, 1,500 people were finally admitted. Although these new troops were incorporated into the Bianliang Military Region, they have been in Dengzhou. State training.
"It would be irresponsible for the new army to go to the battlefield rashly before they have completed their basic training." I thought for a while and said, "General Lu, let the new army stay in Nanyang for the time being. After the training is completed, it will be integrated into Zhangjiakou." General Shun's grain transport team will be trained for a while before being sent to the battlefield."
"Yes, the general will obey the order,"
After bidding farewell to Fan Zhishang, the magistrate of Dengzhou County, I led a group of personal guards and followed the army all the way north. When I left, almost all the people of Dengzhou who knew the news came out to see me off in front of the camp. These people took their The few eggs that were saved through frugality were sent to the guards one by one, and they begged them to pass them on to the emperor.
Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but think of the situation between the military and civilians in the liberated areas in later generations.
In the evening of February 23rd, I arrived in Xuchang. When Yin Yinglei, who had been waiting at the south gate for a long time, saw me, he knelt down and said excitedly: "Your Majesty, I kowtow to you."
"Your Majesty Yin Ai, please excuse me," I personally helped Yin Yinglei up and said, "Your Majesty Yin Ai, you and your men have worked hard."
"Your Majesty,,,,,,," Yi Yinglei stood up with tears in his eyes.