Liu Ran subconsciously pushed back half a step and stood in the shadow of the trees.
He had seen such a scene in Liaodong before; but he never thought that such a tragic situation would occur in the borders of Dazhou.
The entire southern border of the Great Zhou Dynasty faced only the Song people, and the Zhou army stationed here had only the Song army as its imaginary enemy. As the most important assistant to the commander of the army, Guo Zhongyuan, Liu Ran's intelligence efforts were also aimed at
The Song army, for example, the adjustments made by Song Zhao Fang's troops on the Jinghu route could not be concealed from Liu Ran and others.
Zhao Fang was quite talented in poetry. Liu Ran would know every poem he wrote in the shortest possible time. Zhao Fang was over seventy and became increasingly sick. Liu Ran also knew what medicine the doctor who treated him prescribed. There was a doctor named Chen Ziming.
It was basically Zhou's inside line. Even Zhao Fang's troop mobilization and general Zhi's punishment could not be concealed from Liu Ran.
This is not to say that Zhou Dynasty’s infiltration into Song State was unilateral to this extent. On the border between the two countries, merchants traveled so frequently that there was nothing that could be hidden. Earlier, Zhao Fang and a few followers came in leisurely.
Kaifeng, it proves that the people of Song Dynasty also have this ability.
The military of the Great Zhou Dynasty extremely strengthened its control over information, which actually happened after Yin Chang resigned.
Yin Chang was a powerful figure in the Shandong Red Coat Army. He was also the first Red Coat Army leader to defect to Guo Ning and the first to be entrusted with an important task. Before that, the number of soldiers from Northern Xinjiang that Guo Ning relied on was limited.
Lack of muscle, it was only after Yin Chang joined Ding Haijun that hundreds of thousands of red-coated troops joined him, filling Guo Ning's military strength.
The soldiers who came from the Red Coat Army laughed at themselves privately, saying that the Red Coat Army bled and sweated about the rebellion, while Guo Ning's Dinghai Navy picked peaches. To a certain extent, this cannot be wrong.
Since then, Guo Ning has been promoted step by step from a general to a powerful minister, and from a powerful minister to an emperor. The old Red Coat Army has also grown rapidly, occupying many middle-level and grass-roots positions in the Zhou army. Yin Chang is in Kaifeng, but he dares to influence the imperial government. His confidence lies in
this.
Yin Chang was unlucky because of this. At that time, there was a rumor in the court that a group of ministers, including Xu Ding, believed that Yin Chang had made such a big mistake and if he did not impose severe punishment, it would set a bad precedent.
In the future, if there are still ministers who act wantonly, should they be let off lightly?
It was Guo Ning who eliminated these noises and only dismissed Yin Chang from his official position. He then sent him to Goryeo to become a master, and he also brought all his close subordinates with him. But other people must face purges. Especially those who are related to Yin Chang.
They are not that close, but the identity of the former members of the Red Coat Army is too obvious. Anyone who has concealed his identity as a warrior of the Great Zhou Dynasty has no chance of escaping this trend.
Guo Ning was not harsh in his treatment of others, and the purge process was not violent. However, in just six months, officers were promoted and demoted, some were ordered to retire and return to the countryside, and some were transferred to other places with their families.
.There are no fewer than forty or fifty generals under their command, and more than 20,000 troops have been mobilized. Half of them have gone to the north, and some have filled Li Ting's troops.
After these people left in large numbers, the space was left to students who had graduated from military academies from various places and had served in front of the palace.
Military school students are the most loyal to Guo Ning. Most of them are just ordinary soldiers in troubled times. They have neither family wealth nor family connections. Without Guo Ning, there will be no future for them. So they must never
They will not be pushed by any group to do their own thing. The only one who can keep them in mind is Guo Ning.
However, these students' starting point is too low, and their reputation and experience are far inferior to those of the old Red Coat Army. Therefore, even if they are sent to the army, it is not easy to gain real power. They have to prove that they are as talented as the Red Coat Army generals who rose up in troubled times.
Old pawns also need a process of washing away the sand.
At the same time, in preparation for the war with the Song Dynasty, Yin Chang and others had excessive stockpiles of weapons and supplies in many places on Nanjing Road. During this period, they were gradually transferred to the north, just to support the war in northern Xinjiang. The transported supplies
The huge number once caused the Caohe River to be blocked.
This kind of operation is necessary. Otherwise, it is not enough to ensure the loyalty of the army. However, this operation will inevitably affect the combat effectiveness of the army. Therefore, people who control secret spies such as Li Yun and Xu Wei, as well as generals like Guo Zhongyuan, all work extra hard.
Several times the number of spies and intelligence personnel were dispatched to ensure that the Song army on the opposite side was targeted, and they would not be allowed to take advantage of the situation.
The more they understand the Song State and the Song Army, the more relieved the generals will be. The Song State does have elite soldiers, but this country from top to bottom is not born for war at all. Their troops can only be used for defense, but
It is absolutely impossible to organize an attack on a big country; their scholars, farmers, industry and commerce are also like a ball of scattered sand at all levels, unable to support a war.
Therefore, even if the troops and armaments of the Nanjing Road Tongjun Division are greatly weakened, they are still enough to ensure security. There are three to five thousand people in each of the several important towns, and there are hundreds of troops to control the passes, making it easy to stabilize the place.
But who knew that the Mongolian army was coming? Where did they come from? How did they come? Why didn’t the eyes and ears of the Nanjing Road Tongjun Division play any role?
Liu Ran was puzzled by this for a while, and gnashed his teeth and hated it for a while. Then he fled madly, chased by Mongolian cavalry all over the mountains and plains, and could no longer vent his emotions.
He only knows that the Mongolian army and the Song army are not opponents of the same level at all. The Mongolian army's combat effectiveness is ten times better than that of the Song army, its marching and plundering speed is a hundred times better than that of the Song army, and its destructive power to destroy wherever it goes exceeds
The Song army was a thousand times stronger!
When faced with the Mongolian cavalry raid, the garrison garrisons on Nanjing Road were busy with internal adjustments, and the lack of war preparation was fully exposed.
In all parts of the great periphery, no village could hold out for more than half a day, no settlement could not be immediately destroyed, no pass could block the movement of the enemy's cavalry, and no garrison could fight the enemy fiercely without being annihilated.
Liu Ran's martial arts skills were outstanding. Most of his companions were from Liaodong. They had been tested on the battlefield and were all good men. However, his personal bravery and skill in fighting had no effect in the overall overturning situation.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! In the past few years, Liu Ran has also read the military books and strategies carefully. As a young officer who was favored by Emperor Guo Ning of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he felt that his future would be more than just recruiting military affairs.
He is a judge, and his talents can lead a party's military, protect the country and the people, and then expand the territory. However, the military tactics and strategies he has learned have no room to be used in the continuous chaos.
After all, he is now an auxiliary officer, with only a few direct subordinates.
He fled from the border all the way to Zhongmou. During this period, he reunited with the garrison troops several times, but without exception they were dispersed by the Mongols. At the moment the war broke out, the Zhou army was completely dispersed, which directly doomed their defeat.
Any troops in the wild or in a small camp cannot respond to their companions. They will either be dispersed on the spot, or they will have to withstand the Mongolian army's seemingly unlimited offensive in waves.
If you persist in fighting for a little longer, you have to witness the massacre of the people within your jurisdiction. Those are common people who are familiar with the soldiers. They are old women selling vegetables, old men carrying water, and women who occasionally flirt with each other.
The children who were playing around and clamoring for sweets while the soldiers were on duty!
They screamed in batches and died in front of the soldiers. Their corpses were tied with ropes and torn apart by horses. Their bloody heads with several vertebrae were used as weapons by the Mongolian knights and thrown into the defensive position.
If you examine the heads a little, you will even find that one of them belongs to a garrison general from a nearby military camp, or a local official from a nearby village or town.
It is impossible for those who are not mentally prepared to withstand such an impact. The despair spreads immediately, which will rapidly consume the physical strength, energy, and fighting will of the defenders. No matter how hard they persist, there will always be someone who cannot hold on, and then the whole line collapses, and the troops collapse.
Defeat is like a mountain falling.
Now, even Zhongmou has been lost.
Then there is only one way to go, which is to move closer to Kaifeng.
Liu Ran frowned and thought as he quickly walked through the forest and caught up with the group intending to cross the forest.
When a soldier saw him, he slightly raised his voice and said, "Judge, Lieutenant Sun is awake."
Sun Xiaowei refers to Sun Huzi. After Zhang Pingliang went to Northern Xinjiang, he took away half of Liu Ran's old troops, but Sun Huzi still served as Liu Ran's personal captain. Now he also has the rank of Zhongwu Xiaowei.
If you go higher up, you have to be called a general.
Because he was seriously injured during the attack on Kaifeng in his early years, Sun Beard has always been in poor health. He spent half of the year in bed. I don't know how lucky he was to escape this time. But in a battle yesterday evening, Sun Beard injured his left arm.
The ribs remained unconscious after being bandaged.
"Are you awake?" Liu Ran rushed to Sun Huzi's side in three steps at a time.
Sun Huzi nodded weakly: "Old Liu, where are we?"
"West of Kaifeng. I wanted to go to Zhongmou, but just now the Zhongmou garrison was directly dispersed by the Mongols... I'm afraid it's over now." Liu Ran introduced the situation in a low voice, and at the same time checked the wounds on Sun Huzi's body. All of this
It is a necessary skill for an officer. He has been trained many times, and Liu Ran's movements are very skillful.
"It's a small injury, not serious. You can rest up and be active for a few days."
Sun Huzi smiled bitterly: "Don't talk about jumping around. Even if I didn't get this injury, I wouldn't be able to jump around. In the past few years, just standing still makes my bones hurt. I can't hold a knife for a long time. I'm a waste."
Liu Ran patted his shoulder: "Don't talk nonsense, don't think too much."
Sun Huzi looked around and found that there were many unfamiliar faces in the advancing team around him. He asked in a low voice: "Are you gathering the people again?"
"After the battle last night, some people gathered along the way, plus a group of defeated soldiers I met. They are counting on me, and I can't leave them behind... I plan to take them to Kaifeng. They will be safe there...
…With Marshal Guo in charge of Kaifeng, we will be able to persevere.”
Liu Ran tried his best to speak in a more relaxed tone.
His heart was heavy, and he still could not believe that he had suffered such a shameful betrayal and such an unimaginable defeat. But he had to cheer up, otherwise he would not be able to inspire his subordinates.
Sun Huzi slowly stretched out his hand and held Liu Ran's arm.
Liu Ran thought he wanted to get up, so he helped him with a little force. Sun Huzi was panting and didn't move, but he pulled Liu Ran closer: "We can't go to Kaifeng."
"What?"
"You have seen the Mongolian army's routine so many times in the past few days, don't you understand? There must be the largest number of Mongolian cavalry wandering outside Kaifeng City. They wait for the defeated troops to retreat to Kaifeng, and then easily intercept and eat them.
Fall! Let’s go to Kaifeng, like moths to a flame!”
"Then take everyone and continue to escape? Fight while escaping until everyone dies on the road?" Liu Ran couldn't help but ask a question.
Of course Kaifeng is not the only important military town on Nanjing Road. But at this time, the borders have failed one after another and roads have been cut off everywhere. Even if other important towns and cities are stable, it is useless to go there. What's more, we have already arrived in Kaifeng. What will happen if we don't try to get there?
This time, the Mongolian army was eager to take advantage of the chaos and invade Zhongmou without carefully searching the surrounding areas. The group of people on our side managed to escape with their lives. What about next time? Going to Kaifeng or not going, which option has a greater chance of survival? Who can guarantee it?
?
"can not go."
Sun Huzi sneered twice: "Is there anyone in this team who doesn't know you? Doesn't anyone know that you are the military judge of the Nanjing Military Command of the Great Zhou Dynasty?"
"Beard, what do you mean?"
"When everyone arrives near Kaifeng City, there is at most a 20% chance of entering the city. After entering the city, it will only add dozens of fighting soldiers to the city, which is better than nothing. But there is an 80% chance that the team will be annihilated by the Mongolian army. Someone
Identify you. Then the Mongols will push you or your body to the gate of the city and loudly show off, saying that another important general of the Nanjing Military Command has died!"
Sun Huzi took a few rapid breaths and continued: "Do you think the ordinary people in Kaifeng City will be panicked? Will the merchants in Kaifeng City who take their own safety as a big deal, will be panicked? The garrison has been transferred continuously.
After leaving, Kaifeng is now like thin-skinned and large-stuffed wontons... With three thousand soldiers guarding such a large city, how much power is left to suppress the chaos? If the chaos in the city cannot be suppressed, what will the Mongolian army outside the city do?
?”
Liu Ran was silent for a while.
And Sun Huzi sneered: "Our commander must be in a state of distress right now, please save yourself and don't cause more trouble!"