Guo Zhongyuan was even more anxious than Sun Huzi had guessed.
The Mongols did not attack Kaifeng, perhaps because they drove with light cavalry and were not sure of attacking the solid city. Guo Zhongyuan's general Wen Sengda and others took the time to make some defensive preparations.
Just in the early hours of this morning, there was a commotion outside the city, and a group of people came to kill them. However, they were immediately followed and chased by the Mongolian army below the city. The officers and soldiers in the city did not get the order from the general and failed to leave the city in time for rescue. Hundreds of people just watched.
The cold light of armor flashed occasionally in the thick fog, and the sounds of fighting were heard rising from low to high, and then from high to low.
When the battle finally fell silent, it was almost dawn.
A Mongolian knight laughed wildly as he galloped closer and threw a bloody head on top of the city.
After a while, the thick fog lifted slightly, and many more corpses and broken arms and limbs were seen outside the city.
After a while, the head was delivered to Guo Zhongyuan.
On the back of the head, there was a big hole made by the horse's hoof, and the brains had drained out. The face was angry and bulging, and it was extremely terrifying. Guo Zhongyuan recognized that this head belonged to Wulin Zhahai, the general stationed in Yuetou Town, Yingzhou.
Wulin Nhahai is Hu Shahu's old tribe, and he defected to Dinghai navy when Guo Zhongyuan was ordered to recruit troops from Zhongdu. Although he was a Jurchen, he was deeply Chinese. He worked hard for the king for seven or eight years and accumulated merits from an ordinary soldier, so he was able to join the army.
He became an overage student in the military academy and was sent to serve under Guo Zhongyuan in the middle of the year.
Although Guo Ning did not reveal that batch of transfers, everyone knew that in order to replace the overly strong influence of the old Red Coat Army, the dozens of people selected to go south were mostly Northern Xinjiang soldiers, including several Khitan and Jurchens.
Inside.
In the past few days, Guo Zhongyuan saw at least twenty heads belonging to this group of officers. This also means that at least twenty Zhou army strongholds were defeated and the soldiers and civilians they belonged to were slaughtered. This was specially passed on by the Mongols to the defenders.
Guo Zhongyuan actually received the news.
Yuetou Town is not close to Kaifeng. After the Mongolian army suddenly appeared, Wulin Zhahai probably led his men to retreat to Yingzhou, and then was ordered to come to Kaifeng for help. Since he is here, it means that Yingzhou is probably in danger, but because he rushed to Kaifeng
All of them were robbed and killed by Mongolian cavalry. Guo Zhongyuan was not sure what the current situation was.
Not only Yingzhou, he also didn't know the situation in important towns such as Guide Prefecture, Zhengzhou, and Henan Prefecture. The Mongolian army relied on the mobility advantage of the cavalry to completely block the internal and external traffic in Kaifeng City, forming an unbreakable battlefield over a large area.
Misty. Apart from bad news, Guo Zhongyuan could not get any news.
This made him feel heavier and heavier. He had been unable to close his eyes for several nights, his eyes were bloodshot and the scar on his cheek was red.
He was promoted by Guo Ning from a veteran soldier in the Dading Prefecture of Zhongdu to a field post. His strength lies in his calm and perseverance. Whether in combat or in running the army, he is rigorous and steady, with almost no oversights. Ever since he took charge of Kaifeng Prefecture in Nanjing,
He supported both Zhongdu and Shanxi Tongjun in terms of military supplies, and quickly guarded the border with the Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, showing his outstanding talents.
After Yin Chang's accident, he used both hard and soft tactics to appease the hearts of the old Red Coat Army troops and stabilize the order of the army.
Faced with the continuous adjustment of troops and horses in the headquarters and the obvious weakening of troops, he first ensured that the manpower at the military forts and passes on the border would not be reduced, and then strengthened the construction of military stores along the roads, and even went so far as to organize and train elite troops for travel.
, and the main deputy Liu Ran personally supervised local soldiers and soldiers from all over the country to hold several border reviews in succession to deter friends and neighbors.
But all the arrangements were in vain.
All the arrangements were for the Song army and could not deal with the Mongolian army. This situation of being completely calculated by others made Guo Zhongyuan's heart burn with fire. The huge sense of shame and guilt was like a huge stone pressing down on him, making him feel
He couldn't breathe. Only when he coughed would his lungs be released, but the rapid coughing brought waves of nausea and dizziness, as if his lungs were about to be ejected with the cough.
A disciple slapped Guo Zhongyuan on the back with a worried look on his face. Guo Zhongyuan lifted up his military robe, covered his mouth, and asked in a deep voice: "Have all those who made the noise about leaving the city been dealt with?"
The Mongolian army intercepted and killed defeated troops under the city many times, and repeatedly approached the city to provoke them. Guo Zhongyuan ordered his troops not to attack, and no one dared to disobey his orders.
With Kaifeng's wealth, there are more than tens of thousands of residents and craftsmen in surrounding towns, markets, and factories who have not had time to escape into the city! In the past few days, the Mongolian army has killed so many people outside the city that it is impossible to count. In the city
The people, who were struggling to defend themselves, saw their relatives and neighbors dying one after another, and some people collapsed immediately.
Since yesterday, the frequency of interceptions and killings by the Mongolian army in the surrounding areas has increased. Many of the heads that were thrown into the city before belonged to the guards from various places. This news could not be concealed, and it finally gradually spread among the army.
Early this morning, when Wulin Zhahai's troops were killed outside the city, a group of soldiers suddenly shouted and shouted that they were going out of the city for rescue. As a result, they rushed to the city gate and were forcibly stopped. Guo Zhongyuan was very strict in his military management.
How can we tolerate such undisciplined behavior? We immediately ordered that several of the leaders beheaded as punishment.
At this time, hearing Guo Zhongyuan's question, the staff member Yu Yingshou replied: "We have already inquired. Several of the leaders have been captured, but..."
Guo Zhongyuan gasped again: "But what? Just tell me."
"The one who made the first fuss was Team Leader Wei Deng."
"...bring it up."
At that time, Guo Zhongyuan was working in the Weijie Army in Zhongdu. He had six soldiers under his command, one of whom was Wei Deng. Wei Deng was a native of Zhongdu and was very good at socializing. When Guo Zhongyuan was living in Zhongdu, he was quite popular.
He took care of him. When Guo Zhongyuan was ordered to recruit soldiers from the central capital, Wei Deng relied on his connections in the army to help him a lot, and he has been working under Guo Zhongyuan ever since.
Because he has an impatient temper and loves to eat and drink, he has always been a team leader and cannot be promoted. But everyone knows that he has a deep friendship with Guo Zhongyuan, and he can be called a confidant among cronies. In daily life, he seems to be wandering around, eating and drinking, but in fact he has the ability to appease the military morale.
, the duty of inquiring into the movements of the army.
Now that Wei Deng had violated military law, his subordinates were at a loss as to what to do. Presumably, it was because Wei Deng and Wulin Zhahai were old friends, and he couldn't help it when he saw his old friends and colleagues being slaughtered like this.
Sure enough, when several servants dragged Wei Deng up, he kept shouting.
"Commander! Marshal! Brother Guo! We can't watch our brothers die outside! We have to save them! Let me go, I'll go! Even if I throw away my life, we can't watch our brothers die.
Die!"
"Watching my brothers die?"
Guo Zhongyuan raised his eyes and glanced at Wei Deng: "Wei Deng, if I allow you to lead an attack and cover the retreat of the brothers into Kaifeng...how many people do you need?"
"Five hundred... no, counting the more than a hundred people who came to the city with me just now, if you give me two hundred armored regular soldiers from Northern Xinjiang, I will dare to charge!"
"That means you want three hundred people, including two hundred old soldiers." Guo Zhongyuan's eyes were cold: "Then tell me, how many armored soldiers are there in Kaifeng City now?"
Wei Deng hesitated for a moment and murmured: "There must be three thousand, right?"
"Now I want to use three thousand people to stabilize the city wall of more than 20 miles, and to stabilize the more than 200,000 people in the city! But you want 300 people to leave the city? If 300 people are killed in battle, the available power in the city will be reduced.
Without three hundred people, there will be oversights in places that were originally controllable! If there are Mongolian spies making trouble in the city, who will suppress them?"
Guo Zhongyuan coughed violently and cursed: "Now, the only people standing guarding the city are the ones holding flags and those standing at the forefront. The rest, 30% are local policemen who catch theft and prevent fires, and 30% are postal and post office personnel."
Baojia, 30% are craftsmen from the ordnance station, and 10% are newly organized caravan guards! It will take at least five days for these people to form an army, and only three days have passed now!"
He looked around and said sternly: "In order to ensure that they did not panic or run away, my soldiers killed more than 20 people in two days! Only by killing the rebels can we ensure that the city is not in chaos and Mongolia is safe.
No one can see our flaws! But as soon as Wei Deng got more energetic, he led hundreds of people to disrupt the city defense! If the Mongols thought they had an opportunity...how many lives would I have to sacrifice to resist?"
At this point, Guo Zhongyuan leaned over and stared at Wei Deng with a stern voice: "We have known each other for more than ten years in Zhongdu. In the past, I was not willing to restrain my old brother easily. But in this situation, don't blame me!"
"Commander, I..."
Wei Deng shouted for half his voice, and Guo Zhongyuan waved his hand vigorously.
The sword flashed, Wei Deng's skull rolled down, and blood spilled all over the ground.
The pungent smell made Guo Zhongyuan dizzy. He took a long breath and said loudly: "Hang this head out and tell the soldiers guarding each section of the city wall and the city gates that they must not leave without receiving subsequent military orders."