In the early hours of the morning, in the fortress called Suiyang City located outside Guidefu City on the lower reaches of the Suishui River, the soldiers preparing their armor and weapons behind a staggered wall were agitated.
The sounds of killing outside the city surged from all directions, one after another, as if a huge wave was rolling down from the sky and crushing the fortress into powder. In the past few days, the soldiers had been almost numb to hearing such killing sounds. But this After a while, apart from the roar of the enemy troops, the soldiers vaguely heard some other sound. The sound was fleeting, but very familiar. It seemed to be the troops running, and it seemed to be the sound of a fierce battle breaking out. .
The guard Zheng Rui suddenly stood up and listened again, but could no longer hear. He tried his best to look upstream of Suishui River. Because the sky in the east was already bright, the sky in the west became increasingly dark and he could not see anything clearly.
Guide Prefecture is one of the few important towns in Henan. Economically, it is called the place where boats and cars meet. It is one of the three prefectures along with Kaifeng and Luoyang. Militarily, it is one of the three towns on Nanjing Road, called Xuanwu. Army. When Emperor Guo Ning of the Great Zhou Dynasty attacked Kaifeng, he took Guide Mansion as his first target.
Kaifeng Prefecture is a Tongdu city known for its prosperous industry and commerce. In terms of military strength, the Xuanwu Army is more abundant than Kaifeng Prefecture, with more experienced soldiers. The capital of Guide Prefecture is also a famous strong city. , in the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Xunxu Yuan guarded Suiyang, and he was famous.
However, Guide Mansion itself is located in a flat area. Although there are many rivers around it, the water volume is not abundant, so in the event of a big battle, there is actually no danger to defend it. After Guo Alin became the governor of the Xuanwu Army, he focused on managing the areas outside the city. Suiyang Ancient City, two miles away, strives to form a horn with Fucheng.
This ancient city of Suiyang has also had achievements since the Han Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Jing, Liu Wu, king of Liang, defended this place and continuously repelled the Wu-Chu coalition. By the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Liang general Chen Qingzhi sent Beihai king Hao to return to the north, and Wei general Qiu Daqian was also here. Nine cities were built to resist the attack, but Qiu Daqian was no match for Chen Qingzhi, and he was defeated and surrendered before he could win.
The ancient city of Suiyang has been abandoned for a long time, but the foundation of the city is still there. There is a high platform between the hills and ruins, called Litai, so named because the return road resembles a snail. According to legend, Murong Chui was the general of the Yan Kingdom in the southern expedition, and when he was the governor of Jingzhou, he This is where the army is run.
When the Mongolian army suddenly attacked, the defenders of Guide Mansion shrank rapidly, but Zheng Rui's troops still occupied this high-pitched fortress.
The scale of the fortress is small, with only five hundred people stationed daily. Due to the use of ruins and masonry, the materials used to build the fort are half wood and half masonry, making it very strong.
As the terrain of the high platform undulates, the outer walls of the fortress are also uneven and irregular. The roads inside the fortress are the same as the outer walls, with a zigzag shape. This structure allows the fortress to rely on it even if it is breached by the enemy. The terrain resisted step by step, and even roads were used to intercept the enemy in sections.
There is a group of yellow-headed Jurchens under Zheng Rui, who are generally good at setting traps. They dig holes wildly on the winding roads, bury animal traps, tripping ropes and other things, turning the seemingly good roads into surprises every step of the way. Heart.
In the past few days, although the Mongolian army did not attack Guide Mansion on a large scale, they did think of many ways to remove the nails outside the city. The Suiyang Old City fortress was the first to bear the brunt. The Mongols once dispatched two or three thousand-man troops to attack the fortress, and also temporarily attacked the fortress. They gathered prisoners and strong men to harass them in turns, but their attempts to attack the fortress were thwarted by these arrangements, and they were eventually driven back by the defenders.
However, continuous fighting will inevitably bring fatigue, and fatigue will lead to negligence. Just half a moment ago, a group of enemies took advantage of the darkness and used dead bodies as cover to approach the camp. Suddenly they set up wooden ladders and climbed over the wall to enter.
Zheng Rui arranged his garrison with the emphasis on the direction facing the city. From time to time, he would make short counterattacks to respond to the city. Although there were dozens of people defending on the other side, there were not many elites. Moreover, the slope here was slightly gentle.
The enemy troops approach and even climb over the wall very quickly, so the defense is very difficult.
In just a short moment, after the outer wall, two consecutive roads were also breached, and more than half of the guards on this side were killed. Zheng Rui felt that maybe when the sky was completely bright, that was when they were completely killed.
It is also when strongholds are broken down.
Of course he couldn't watch this happen, so he immediately ordered fifty of his men and rushed over to support him. When the general arrived, the front antlers had been flattened, and Zheng Rui was behind another wall twenty steps away.
Allocate manpower, wait for the enemy to arrive, and then rush out.
Although they heard some strange noises while waiting, everyone was slightly distracted, and then focused on the enemy in front.
Only one member of the team couldn't help but said: "That noise just now, could it be that Commander Jie brought his people back? If Commander Commander hadn't led his elite troops to Kaifeng, we wouldn't have been fighting so hard these past few days."
"Most of the new soldiers in Kaifeng City are newly recruited. They can be used to suppress the local area, but they are also barely enough for defense. If they really fight, they will be vulnerable. They are no match for the Mongol army's experienced soldiers. If the commander does not go to support,
I'm afraid that Kaifeng will be difficult to maintain. And if something happens to Kaifeng, the Mongols will get ten times the resources. How can we, Guide Mansion, stop it?"
Zheng Rui spoke slowly, and then added that if the Mongols were to attack suddenly, it would be impossible to have the manpower and materials to attack the city immediately. The only real dangerous city is the Kaifeng Prefecture in Nanjing, which is thin and big. So hold on tight.
The situation in Kaifeng is equivalent to stabilizing the situation in many cities below Guide Mansion. As time goes by, and the potential of so many city strongholds is realized, there will always be an opportunity for counterattack, so that they will not remain passive.
In fact, everyone knows these truths. Zheng Rui has preached them to his subordinates before. But he said them again to encourage the morale of the soldiers.
The one who needs to be encouraged is Zheng Rui himself.
After participating in the ambush battle against Jebe in Liaodong, Zheng Rui was seriously injured and it took him more than half a year to recover. He was actually here to take care of himself in Guide Mansion, and he did not expect that one day he would face the Mongolian army again.
Soldiers fight with fierce strength. As long as they don't let go, they can roar forward no matter how difficult the environment is. But Zheng Rui's breath has been released for a long time.
When he was young, he fought bravely, fighting to die early, save trouble, and strive for the idea of a good birth in the next life. But now his life is really good, he has fields, property, wife and children, and he begins to be afraid of death. His height
He is still tall, but his inner courage and tenacity have declined.
The hard battles in the past few days have exhausted his temporary energy. Almost every time he fought, he felt that his physical strength and will were about to collapse. The wounds on his body were becoming more and more painful, perhaps because of his physical strength.
Not as strong as he used to be, or maybe it's because he's mentally depressed and can't bear the pain?
Zheng Rui kept telling himself that he could not collapse. He had to grit his teeth and keep fighting.
Guo Alin insisted on leaving Guide Mansion, which indeed left the soldiers without a backbone. But there is a shortage of experienced officers these days, so there is no way around it. Thinking about it from another angle, Guo Alin is a decisive person. Since he led his troops out to look for fighters
, maybe a reversal of the situation is just around the corner.
It is true that the troops stationed on Nanjing Road are loose and unprepared, but it is also true that there are many civilian warriors, guards and organized strong men. As long as everyone reacts, they can still fight the Mongols. If you are lucky enough, say
Maybe he can survive.
I thought about this randomly, and heard the sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the corridor.
Zheng Rui made several gestures, asking his subordinates to hold still. It wasn't until the figure in front shook and the light reflected from the tip of the knife was close at hand that he roared, signaling to release arrows and charge.
More than twenty arrows flew out, knocking down the enemies at the front of the narrow corridor. Zheng Rui and his soldiers rushed out immediately. He still wielded his sword and slashed left and right, just like a huge rock smashed into the water.
, not only stemmed the flow, but also stirred up the waves to retreat.
The person guarding him was still the skinny yellow-headed Jurchen boy from Liaodong, but now he should be called a young man.
According to the military system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, generals and commanders were mobilized frequently, and only a certain number of subordinates, determined by their positions, would always follow the generals. Therefore, the yellow-headed Jurchen officers and soldiers under Zheng Rui were either killed, wounded or transferred. They had been changed several times, and only
That boy has always been there.
Since the two of them met, they often fought together. When faced with danger, sometimes you would block the edge for me, and sometimes I would rush forward for you. The two of them have joined hands to this day, and are called master and slave. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are brothers.
.
Zheng Rui regarded him as his younger brother, gave him a Chinese name, and asked his husband to teach him how to read and write. Not long ago, he also contacted colleagues who did not dislike the yellow-haired race and arranged a marriage for him.
It's a pity that the marriage cannot be done.
Zheng Rui rushed to where the enemy's queue was densely packed. He didn't notice that a stray arrow penetrated the early morning sky and shot diagonally. The yellow-headed Jurchen young man shouted at the side and flew in front of Zheng Rui to cover it, but the arrow was
It hit him squarely in the eye, the arrow pierced through the eye, and blood came out from the back of the head.
The yellow-headed Jurchen young man fell on his back and raised his hand with all his strength, probably toward Zheng Rui. After lifting his hand for a few inches, it fell down powerlessly.
Zheng Rui stopped briefly and looked at his fallen comrade. He saw that the tail feathers swaying in his eye sockets were very familiar, and he couldn't help but curse.
He noticed that almost all the people who rushed into the fortress this time had Han faces, and even the weapons they used were the standard of the Zhou army. Obviously, the Mongols had not wasted these few days, and had gathered an army of servants through various soft and hard means.
Yes, and the source of the servant army is the Han people from all over Nanjing Road!
On the huge Nanjing Road, among the hundreds of thousands and millions of people, it was only a matter of time before there were so many traitors who lost their minds. Zheng Rui suddenly thought that maybe the Mongols didn’t need to take down the big city at all, but just everywhere
What the villages and towns have gained is enough to swell their army?
If this continues, it will become increasingly difficult to hold on to one place. We have to engage in a fight with the Mongolian army headquarters regardless of losses!
But I don’t know, has Guo Alin faced off against the Mongols? Can his battle disrupt the Mongolian rhythm, can he cause enough losses to the Mongols, and prevent the Mongols from further expanding the scope of the war?
Zheng Rui shook his head violently to get rid of distracting thoughts and continued to fight.
The battle became more and more fierce, and the sounds of killing were all around him, completely covering up the sounds in the distance. So he didn't notice that the fleeting sounds in the distance were getting closer and closer, like rolling thunder in the clouds.
Keep getting closer.
The clouds rolled, the earth shook, and thousands of cavalry galloped.
Such a large-scale cavalry force cannot be assembled by the troops stationed in various places in Henan. After the Mongolian army is dispersed, it will be difficult to gather such a powerful fist.
At the front of the cavalry, the handsome leader was dusty. She looked at the battlefield from a distance and sneered repeatedly: "No wonder Guo Ning wanted to disband the old Red Coat Army... Is it still a good man to surrender when the Mongols come? Do you still want to be shameless?"
Hey... Guo Ning is also stupid. He wants to weaken his own strength and seek death!"
Behind the leader, more than a dozen generals from the Red Coat Army were all embarrassed, but no one dared to refute. At this time, no one is more qualified to evaluate the Red Coat Army than her. Because of some rumors, it seems that she has a negative opinion of Guo Guo.
