Yan Ming, a subordinate of Li Yun from the Group Animal Husbandry Station and the local supervisor, was walking under the tall stockade wall.
As he walked, he heard the rumble of cavalry galloping in the distance and the shouts of enemy sentries one after another.
After all, Zhigu Village is just a lonely fortress, and the number of Dinghai navy fighting here is also limited. After more than ten days of fighting between the enemy and ourselves, the sentries of the Bohai and Khitan people became more active day by day, and they had already entered the watchtower and could see it with the naked eye.
See the distance.
Fortunately, after the beginning of spring, the amount of water in Lushui increased a lot, and the area of wetlands around Zhigu Village was expanding every day, which formed an obstacle to the enemy's approach. The navy used small boats to transport capable manpower and repeatedly counterattacked.
Yesterday, I almost killed and wounded the leader of the Khitan people, Yelu Kechou Baer.
At this time, a group of Khitan sentries were galloping around in the wetlands, and the Dinghai navy elite cavalry in Zhigu village also rushed out from time to time to drive them away.
Both sides were not as skilled in cavalry and archery as the Mongols, so they often fought at close range. Even standing under the wall of the village, you could hear the crashing sound of the cavalry bow being fired gradually replaced by the clang of a straight knife slashing and colliding.
.
Hearing this voice, Yan Ming was a little nervous, as if his whole body was numb, and his hands were trembling a little.
He turned slightly sideways and looked at a merchant next to him who had been stationed in Zhiguzhai for a long time, making sure that he had the same feeling... It might be difficult for others to understand their feelings, but merchants can understand each other.
They have been among the high-ranking families in Zhongdu since childhood. For decades or even hundreds of years, their family has become accustomed to groveling, accustomed to being insulted, and is content to get a little bit of gossip from the fingers of the nobles.
Fallen food.
The so-called nobles include Jurchens, Khitans, and Bohai people. In short, everyone is better than Han'er. Even if Yan Ming works for Ding Haijun, he still has to be polite to him most of the time here in Zhigu Village.
The fear, respect and obedience to the nobles are the instincts engraved in the bones of him and many merchants.
But the officers and soldiers of the Ding Navy had no such sentiments at all. The officers and soldiers only had eyes for themselves and the enemy, and they could only kill the enemy and win the victory.
Yan Ming subconsciously raised his head and saw many people gathered on the dark wall of the village. Almost all the soldiers on guard were already in place. It was obvious that they were not nervous, but were cheering or complaining loudly.
"Okay! Cut down another one!"
"Be careful! Be careful! Oops!"
"Hurry up! Chase the armored one! Hurry!"
Yan Ming could tell that those shouting loudly were mostly auxiliary soldiers with Shandong accents. The auxiliary soldiers may have had military experience before, but they had rarely fought in serious battles, so they were particularly excited every time they saw fighting.
The regular soldiers are all veterans of the battlefield, so they need to be much calmer. In addition, Chen Ran has recently recruited a small number of broken soldiers from Beijing Road, and the broken soldiers are also very experienced.
Just as he was thinking of this, the sound of hoofbeats sounded in the distance in the street. Liu Ran, who was a soldier in the Beijing Road defeat, rode his horse and rushed to the bottom of the village wall in one breath. Then he got off his horse and hurried up.
What happened?
Yan Ming was stunned in his heart. He kept a relaxed expression on his face and said to the merchants beside him: "Our army's morale is high and the city is strong. How can we accomplish anything with the mob outside!"
It is Yan Ming's responsibility to stabilize the mood of the merchants so that they can continue business after the war. The warriors generally stay away from the things he is busy with all day long, and so does Liu Ran. At this moment, he is three
He climbed up to the top of the city in two steps and found Chen Ran, who was wrapped in a cloak and huddled in a corner with his eyes closed to meditate.
When Liu Ran approached, Chen Ran immediately opened his eyes, patted his cloak and stood up.
"What should I say? Is everyone okay? Where is your little friend...that Zhang Pingliang?"
"Two of them died, and the one who was seriously injured may not be able to be saved. Zhang Pingliang was lucky. The arrow did not damage the muscles, bones, and blood vessels, and only the flesh and blood suffered."
Last night, Liu Ran and a team of experts sneaked out from the east of Zhigu Village and met the envoy sent by the main force of the Ding Navy near Liukou. The envoy passed through the Khitan army's defense line in a small boat at night, but met Liu
However, when the others retreated, they were discovered by the Khitan army sentries stationed at Liukou. The group fought and retreated, resulting in many casualties.
This time, the Ding navy cavalry was trying to expel the Khitans who were chasing Liu Ran and his party.
"Qianjia..." Liu Ran stood next to Chen Ran and suddenly showed a bit of hesitation: "When I went to Liukou last night, I bumped into a Khitan man. He was from the army of Linhuangfu Road and served in the army.
His place is also close to me, and I know his people."
"What a coincidence."
"He secretly told me something."
"What's up?"
"Envoy Guo Xuan was defeated in Liangxiang. It was a big defeat!"
Before Chen Ran could answer, Liu Ran lowered his voice and continued: "I heard that Guo Xuan's envoy raised tens of thousands of troops and joined forces with Hebei's Xuanfu envoy Pusan Anzhen to go north. As a result, they were cowardly led by the Tatar Khan in Liangxiang.
Xue's army attacked. Hebei Meng'an's army collapsed, and Anzhen himself was captured by the Mongols! Guo Xuanshi... Guo Xuanshi's side is even more troublesome. I heard, I heard...
"
Chen Ran nodded: "The reason why the envoy urgently sent the envoy is for this reason."
"How's it going over there in Liangxiang? Are we really at a disadvantage?"
Chen Ran said calmly: "Hebei's Meng'an Mouke Army is useless. They were defeated by the Mongols in one battle. It's true. Our navy did not suffer a loss and even killed many people in the Qixue Army. However, Mr.
Without the cover of the Hebei Army, the battle was ultimately at a disadvantage. Based on various considerations, Ambassador Guo Xuan had indeed led his troops to retreat. By now, the Tatar Khan should have led his troops to catch up."
Liu Ran gasped.
Ever since he saw the ferocity of the Mongols in Linhuang Mansion, Liu Ran didn't think anyone in the court could turn the tide. He met the Dinghai navy in Zhigu village and witnessed the army's vitality and performance several times before he returned to the army.
He regained his expectation of victory and even cheered up to actively serve the Dinghai Navy.
Now it is suddenly said that the navy is sure to lose?
Chen Ran said that Ding Haijun had killed many people in Qiuxue's army, but Liu Ran was not too concerned about this. The Mongols were now powerful, with tens of thousands of cavalry coming in overwhelming numbers. Even if they killed hundreds or even thousands, it would not matter to the overall situation.
The key is that the Ding navy retreated, and they retreated in front of the Mongols!
Liu Ran has been in the army for many years and has experienced a lot. He knows that since ancient times, it is easy to attack but difficult to retreat. When losing the battle and being forced to retreat, it is even more difficult to preserve strength and avoid the annihilation of the entire army.
Even when the Jin Kingdom was founded, several famous generals of the Wanyan family had tragic records of losing troops and generals when they retreated several times. Those generals who were famous enough to go down in history were like this. How could Guo Ning, who had suddenly risen, be defeated without causing chaos?
In an orderly manner? Just gathering the morale of the army is more difficult than climbing to the sky!
What's more, the Mongolian army relies on the strength of its cavalry and is the most terrifying enemy since ancient times. At this time, it was Genghis Khan himself who led the army to pursue Ding Haijun!
Liu Ran only felt his heart pounding rapidly. He had been in Zhigu Village for some time, and felt that he had been taken care of by Ding Haijun. He also got along with the generals and soldiers of Ding Haijun, and he knew more deeply how well Ding Haijun treated the soldiers and civilians.
He was generous and generous, just like the legendary master Wang. At this time, seeing that Ding Haijun was going to suffer a big loss, he couldn't feel at ease.
"If the Ding navy wants to retreat, it must march along the west side of the Lugou River. If we mobilize the fleet to break through Liukou, we can go for reinforcements! Qianji, even if he goes slowly, he can still gather the soldiers, but it is not always possible
Let the Black Tartars kill people freely! Let's..."
He suddenly stretched out his hand to grab Chen Ran's robe and talked a lot.
"Don't worry." Chen Ran rarely saw this calm young man so impatient.
He patted the back of Liu Ran's hand with some emotion: "I have followed Guo Xuanshi for a long time, and I know that he will never suffer losses on the battlefield. When you think he is going to suffer losses, it will be someone else who suffers!"
Liu Ran couldn't help but be stunned.
"However, you are right about one thing. The soldiers and fleet must be prepared to attack at any time. But it is not to meet the defeated troops."
Chen Ran pressed the handle of the knife with his other hand and said with full confidence: "The Great Khan of the Tatars is seeking death! The envoy has issued an order. After he wins all the way, we will immediately capture Liukou and control the Caohe River!"
I feel good today, my breathing and heartbeat are completely fine, and I even went out for a walk. Everything is back to normal :-)