The defenders of Kaifeng actually set fire to the city. Moreover, it was a specially planned operation to ensure casualties, and it was definitely not a temporary act.
The power of water and fire comes from nature and cannot be resisted by human beings. Under the rising and rolling flames on both sides, no matter how fierce and well-trained the Ding Navy officers are, they cannot remain calm.
The road from Nanxunmen to Fengyimen was called Yujie during the Song Dynasty and was as wide as 200 paces. But now both sides of the road are occupied by abandoned houses and piled with mountains of earth, stone, bamboo and trees.
, the space left for the army to march is inevitably narrow.
What's more, Li Ting followed Guo Ning's order to seize the city quickly, racing against time along the way. Their queue was stretched due to the rapid march. It meant that most of the team was deeply plunged into the sea of fire!
Zhao Fang and others could not clearly see what was going on at the front. However, the troops and horses behind them were in chaos. Some people screamed, some ran away, and some were at a loss. Even though the officer leading the team shouted repeatedly,
It cannot prevent the originally orderly military appearance from turning into scattered sand.
Not far in front of the Song Army officers and soldiers, many Ding Navy officers and soldiers rushed back and dispersed the Song Army officers and soldiers who had barely gathered together. More Ding Navy officers and soldiers failed to get out of the fire immediately and were lost immediately.
Chance.
Their figures were difficult to distinguish clearly under the dazzling firelight and sunlight. It could only be barely felt that they were running quickly and scattered in all directions, trying to find a way out under the attack of two seas of fire.
But in the scorching temperatures at the turn of summer and autumn, the flames soon brought high heat. The high heat distorted the air and blocked the line of sight. What's more, following the flames, there was also terrifying black smoke. Only a few people could stand there.
Obscured by black smoke, I could see where the retreat was.
Just at the rear and outside of the fire scene, there were still some people who were panicking and rushing towards a gap somewhere, but that was not a place to escape, but a gap created by the stacking of wood and firewood beside the road!
The tongue of fire trembled slightly, like a monster in the flames licking its tongue, and instantly engulfed the running figure. When the figure reappeared, it had turned into a roaring fireball.
More flames were leaping, and the wall of fire was moving towards the middle of the road. The distortion of the air became more and more intense, and the black smoke became more and more intense. It exuded a terrible burning smell to the surroundings, and then turned to the center of the fire due to the rising heat.
The gathering brought a terrible, whining wind sound over a huge area.
At this time, the sight of the soldiers of the Song Army was blocked and they could not see anything. Those who were close to the fire scene already felt high heat on their skin, because the messy sparks were carried by the hot air and flew around. They did not even dare to open their eyes and could only keep
Back up.
While retreating, they only heard the roars of people, the crackling of firewood, and the whining of war horses. This aroused their panic even more, so that dozens of people in the queue collided with each other, tripped, and fell to the ground.
gourd.
Zhao Fang was bumped into by several soldiers who were running backwards. He staggered several steps before he managed to stand still.
He stared blankly at the sight in front of him that was more terrifying than hell. The gray beard on his chin could not bear the approaching high temperature and began to curl up.
His son Zhao Fan grabbed him from behind and pulled him by the sleeves of his robe to retreat quickly.
Zhao Fang took two steps back, then pointed in the direction of Xuan Zhen and shouted to his son. Zhao Fan quickly led a few more guards forward to snatch Xuan Zhen back, who was staring at the fire.
Xuan Zhen allowed Zhao Fan and his guards to push and pull him, and even carried him on his back to run, without any reaction. There were so many thoughts running through his mind that from the outside, he seemed to be frightened by the fire and stunned.
Since ancient times, fire attacks have been common in wars, but setting fire to cities is uncommon.
This is all because the more complete the preparations before arson are, the harder it will be to control the fire once it ignites, easily leading to a situation where eight thousand enemies are killed and ten thousand are lost. The prerequisite for defending the city is that there is a city. If a big fire destroys the city,
Even if they are burned, no matter how many enemies are killed, why are they here?
But what the Kaifeng defenders did was obviously the result of careful consideration.
The accumulation of so many flammable materials and the fire that spread in such an instant must have been due to repeated planning beforehand. Even the person who lit the fire had to be a death soldier who had undergone rigorous training, otherwise it would never be possible.
As for the entire imperial street that was burned down at this moment, it was a terrible trap that the Kaifeng imperial court planned specifically for this purpose and used tremendous force to set it up!
As far as Xuan Zhen could see, those struggling in this trap were at least five to six thousand or more elite troops under Li Ting of the Ding Navy.
This army rushed from the north of Kaifeng City. Not only did it march very fast, but the team also gathered together and never dispersed. It was obviously to seize the opportunity of the Kaifeng court to open the door and let in the Song army. It quickly broke into the inner city of Kaifeng and controlled all the key points.
They did not have time to distribute sentinel troops to guard the surrounding areas, and they could not waste their troops in the sparsely populated outer city of Kaifeng.
As a result, they fell completely into the Jin people's plan, and almost the entire army was lost in the sea of fire!
What would happen to this army? Xuan Zhen's heart trembled when he thought about it for a moment. He didn't dare to think about it in detail, but he was very sure that once such a number of elite soldiers were wiped out, it would be a great blow to any regime.
It is said that these are extremely painful losses.
If we were to personify a certain regime, ordinary losses would be like trauma caused by a knife or a spear. At least it would not be fatal on the spot. It would take time to heal and it would always recover. But this kind of systemic, large-scale battle damage is detrimental to the entire regime.
It is comparable to the huge injuries and unusual trauma suffered by the military.
Moreover, Li Ting is one of the few people in Ding Haijun whose status is second only to Guo Ning. He is a pillar of Ding Hai Hai's fortune. His troops are the main force used by Ding Hai Hai to control Hebei.
Such an army dying in the fire scene of Kaifeng City is like a person's arm being cut off at the shoulder level, which cannot be recovered at all!
In fact, Xuan Zhen didn't care about the losses of the navy, he just sighed twice. More troublesome things were yet to come.
The alliance between the Zhongdu court of the Jin State and the Song State was promoted by several spies sent by the Jin State when Kaifeng took the initiative to send troops south to plunder, while Zhongdu reaped the profits. The alliance between the two parties was not stable at the beginning.
.
As Ding Haijun approached Kaifeng, the two armies gathered together, which was the beginning of their calculations and competition with each other.
Under such circumstances, the main force of the Ding navy and the main force of the Jin army launched a large-scale field battle, but Kaifeng suddenly opened the city gate and welcomed the Song army nearby. What did this mean in the eyes of Zhou Guogong Guo Ning?
There is no doubt that this means that the Song Army is ready to turn against them and seize benefits.
Guo Ning is a heroic figure and will not be unprepared for this, so he has left an elite force outside the battlefield. Once the Song army is discovered, this elite force will immediately drive in and compete with the Song army.
But……
When Ding Haijun rushed to the outside of Kaifeng City, intending to seize the key passes of the city, a fire suddenly broke out along the road, causing thousands of people in Ding Haijun to be almost destroyed, but the Song army remained intact...
What does this mean in the eyes of Zhou Guogong Guo Ning? How will the evil tiger react to this? How will the relationship between Jin and Song develop?
It is one thing for the Song Dynasty to control or influence the Kaifeng court of the Jin Kingdom for its own use. It is another thing for the Kaifeng court of the Jin Kingdom to coerce the Song Dynasty and force the Song Dynasty to become enemies with its powerful neighbor in the north.
Got it!
Xuan Zhen was alert and shouted: "Put me down! Put me down!"
The soldiers who were running behind him did not dare to disobey and stopped in a hurry. Xuanzhen fell to the ground, jumped up and shouted: "Where is Hou Zhi? Find him and capture him! This man is very important!"
We can’t let him escape!”
A sharp-eyed soldier shouted: "The official of the Jin Kingdom is still in front! He has been standing still!"
The soldier was right. After the fire started, Hou Zhi did not retreat at all.
He was too close to the fire, and sparks fell on him from time to time, burning holes in his clothes, or burning his face, causing blisters immediately. But he was unaware of this.
He stood there stubbornly, watching the trap he had painstakingly prepared come into effect. At most, when the flames approached, he raised his hands and covered his brows.
Zhao Fan led a few people through the smoke and rushed to the nearby area. They saw the prime minister of the Kaifeng court of the Kingdom of Jin with a smile on his lips, and he was very happy.
