Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The 8,000 cavalrymen from the Heishui Zhenyan Army Division rushed to the Ming army's castle.

Yan refers to the Liao Kingdom, and Zhenyan means Zhen Liao.

The original intention of setting up the Heishui Zhenyan Army Division was to prevent the Liao army from setting out from Mobei and attacking Ganzhou (Zhangye) along the Heishui River. At the same time, it was also a node of the Grassland Silk Road, with a "Ganzhou-Heishui City-Mobei" trade route.

Heishui, namely Ruoshui and Ejina River.

It originates from the Qilian Mountains and flows northward to converge into the Juyan Lake.

In ancient times, the area of ​​the Juyan Lake was as high as 2,600 square kilometers.

During the Han Dynasty, the area of ​​the Juyan Lake was reduced to more than 700 square kilometers, and the riverside and lakeside areas were fertile fields for thousands of miles. The Han Dynasty cultivated 2.8 million acres of land here, in addition to horse farms and nomadic areas, and sent 180,000 people to build cities and guard the border!

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Five Dynasties, and the Western Xia Dynasty, the area of ​​the Juyan Lake continued to shrink, but there were still three or four hundred square kilometers left, which were arable and grazing, and had a large population. In history, after the Mongols broke through the Black Water City, they massacred tens of thousands of people.

Yes, it was the Black Water City in "Ghost Blowing the Light: Dragon Ridge Mystery Cave".

Fei Congjuli was from the eight tribes of the Dangxiang. His great-grandfather was transferred to Black Water City, and part of the Fei Cong tribe was moved there to reproduce.

Life has always been pretty good, there are abundant water and grass, fertile fields for thousands of miles, and it is a trade node where taxes can be collected.

After the fall of the Liao Dynasty, the northern desert was in disarray, and the Zhenyan Army Division no longer had a military threat.

Their duties also changed accordingly, that is, they were ready to support the Wei Fu Army Division at any time, and immediately come to help thousands of miles away when they received a pigeon or a beacon.

It was really a thousand miles away!

There were many desert belts and oases along the way, and beacon towers were built based on oases and rivers.

Fei Congjuli dispatched troops very quickly this time, because the Weifu Army had sent dozens of pigeons and the beacon fires were continuous. He did not have time to recruit more soldiers and horses, so he only recruited more than 10,000 people from the area around the East Juyan Sea, and rushed to Wulahai City with two horses.

When Richard fought the decisive battle, Fei Congjuli led 8,000 cavalry to go around, and brought a large number of simple wooden ladders for attacking the city.

It was a barrier city, and it was also the largest material transfer station and military warehouse between Wulahai City and Tiande Military City.

The artillery and food of the Ming army were hidden in the city!

There was no moat.

Moreover, the east wall of the castle was blasted out by the Ming army. At this moment, the gap was only simply repaired, and it was barely blocked with soil and wood, and it was only blocked more than three meters high.

The Ming army infantry and gunners guarding the city only had a few hundred people, and there were also a few hundred grassland civilians.

There were many grain transport ships on the Yellow River outside the city, and the boatmen and some civilians lived on the ships.

Seeing the enemy coming, all the grain transport ships moved to the south bank. Two of the small boats quickly sailed westward to the main battlefield to report to Han Shizhong.

Fei Congjuli led his troops to attack here, and after a brief observation, he immediately joined the battle.

Some cavalrymen dismounted and carried wooden ladders, rushing towards the gap, while the rest of the cavalry took turns shooting arrows to cover.

The Ming army defending the city was smashing iron pots with a clang.

The smashed rammed earth blocks and iron pot pieces were used as shotgun shells to plug the gun barrels.

These are siege artillery with large caliber and long range, and they are temporarily placed here.

If siege iron bullets are used, the effect against light cavalry is too poor, but it will be different if they are replaced with shotgun shells.

"Boom boom boom!"

The six artillery pieces on both sides of the gap took turns firing at the rushing enemy. Countless rammed earth blocks and iron pot pieces flew out, and Xixia soldiers fell from time to time.

It was troublesome to clean the barrel. The rammed earth blocks came from the collapsed city walls, and a lot of dust was left in the barrel when the cannon was fired. There was no other way. It was difficult to find stones nearby, so the rammed earth blocks could only be smashed to replace them.

Hundreds of grassland peasants were also shooting with their bows and arrows.

The soldiers under Fei Congjuli were repelled in four consecutive attacks, and their morale was worn down bit by bit.

He simply divided his troops to attack from all sides, no longer just attacking the gap.

The number of the Ming army's remaining troops was too small to defend every place, and they were soon rushed to the city by a team of Xixia soldiers.

Those Xixia soldiers were setting up ladders, but saw a round ball falling from their heads.

"Boom!"

The thunder exploded, and the Xixia soldiers suffered heavy casualties. All those who were not dead fled in fear.

Fei Congjuli still did not believe in evil and continued to organize the attack, but the Xixia soldiers became timid, and they advanced or stood far away from each other.

"Boom!"

Another thunder bomb exploded, and all the nearby Xixia soldiers fled. Those who were 20 to 30 meters away were fleeing, as if they would be the ones to be bombed if they didn't flee.

"General, we can't attack anymore. The Ming army's firearms are powerful!" The chieftains of the tribes under his command begged one after another.

In fact, up to now, only more than 300 Xixia soldiers were killed or injured, and the casualty rate was less than 4%. Many Xixia soldiers who were hit by small rammed earth blocks only had fractures, and they would not be in danger of life if they retreated.

But they were all frightened by firearms, especially thunder bombs, which made the Xixia soldiers dare not approach the city wall.

They came thousands of miles from the Zhenyan Army Division, so there was no need to fight for the Weifu Army Division.

These Xixia soldiers were mainly Huihu people who had been assimilated by the Tanguts.

No matter how assimilated they were, they were not real Tanguts after all. Their language contained a lot of Huihu words, and many Huihu customs remained in their daily lives. They were not of the same mind as the Tanguts of the Weifu Army Division.

Seeing that the chieftains were unwilling to fight again, Fei Congjuli could only bite the bullet and say: "Attack again, send more people!"

"Boom boom boom..."

Soon, more than a dozen thunder bombs exploded one after another, and groups of Xixia soldiers fled back.

The chiefs looked at Fei Congjuli without saying a word and faced each other in silence.

Fei Congjuli looked at the small barrier city and the gap that was only two or three meters high. He swallowed hard and said, "Let's go to the decisive battlefield and help His Highness the King of Jin."

The chiefs finally smiled. They would rather face tens of thousands of Ming troops on the grassland than attack the castle defended by firearms.

Who knows how many exploding iron balls there are. As long as the Xixia soldiers rush to the city wall, a group of them will be knocked over when they explode. No matter how many Xixia soldiers there are, how many times can they withstand it?

Fei Congjuli took away the wounded soldiers and corpses, and led more than 7,000 horses to the main battlefield.

He felt that the battle, with a total strength of more than 100,000 troops on both sides, would not be completed in a while. As long as he maintains his horse's strength all the way, he can definitely achieve extraordinary feats by suddenly bursting out from behind the Ming army at the critical moment of the battle.

To be on the safe side, Fei Congjuli also sent hundreds of light cavalry far ahead to find out the news.

Until mid-afternoon, those Qingqi rushed back in panic: "Du Tong, King Jin has been defeated!"

Fei Congjuli asked in shock: "How did you lose?"

"I don't know," said the Qingqi officer. "We didn't encounter any Ming Qingqi interception along the way. As we approached the battlefield, we saw prisoners and corpses everywhere. Before we had time to take a closer look, a group of Qingqi rushed towards us. We were frightened. You have to run back quickly."

That cavalry was Han Shizhong's personal soldier.

The rest of the Ming Dynasty cavalry all went to chase and defeat the enemy, leaving only Han Shizhong commanding the prairie cavalry to clean up the battlefield.

Han Shizhong had already received the news from the Clippers. He deliberately let the Xixia Qingqi who was exploring the path approach to let the enemy troops attacking the castle know that Brother Richard had been defeated.

Inexplicable panic quickly spread among Fei Congjuli's army.

They didn't know how the decisive battle was lost, nor did they know how many friendly troops had escaped.

"Go back to Wu La Haicheng first!" Fei Congjuli gave the order.

These more than 7,000 horsemen immediately galloped north, swam across the Ujia River, and then headed west along the north bank, bypassing the battlefield and escaping back to Wu Lahai City.

Running until dark, Fei Congjuli suddenly stopped.

In front of them, on both sides of the Uga River, the Ming army was already waiting there.

There were still many Ming cavalry who had not returned from chasing the enemy. Han Shizhong personally led more than a thousand Ming cavalry and nearly ten thousand grassland light cavalry to guard both sides of the Uga River to block the enemy's return.

More than ten miles behind Han Shizhong is the Langshan Pass where Wulahai City is located.

A chief of the Dangxiang tribe who surrendered in Tiande Army City rode over and shouted: "Don't shoot arrows, I'm a Dangxiang! Don't shoot arrows, I'm a Khitan..."

Fei Congjuli ordered not to fire arrows, and waited until the man rushed in before asking: "Since you are a party member, why do you want to defect to the enemy country?"

The chief of the Dangxiang tribe said: "My name is Brother Mi Qinxin, and I am the head of a branch of the Mi Qin clan. I was stationed in Tiande Army City before, and I surrendered only after the city was broken. The Ming army did not kill prisoners indiscriminately, and even ordered firefighting. There was one The Ming Protector named Yue also suppressed and executed two enemy chiefs who killed prisoners indiscriminately. If you surrender, you will definitely survive. "

All the chiefs under Fei Congjuli were moved by what he heard.

Especially the Uighur chiefs. Their hometown is thousands of miles away from here, and they are not from the same clan as the Dangxiang people. Why not surrender if you can survive?

What's more, Brother Richard was defeated.

Fei Congjuli asked: "How did King Jin lose?"

Brother Mi Qinxin said: "Including Tie Yaozi, all our Daxia...Xixia cavalry were routed. The Ming army's cavalry broke into the infantry formation, and the entire Jin army was defeated. The Ming army captured tens of thousands of people. , King Jin fled with the remaining soldiers, and I don’t know where he fled, but it was definitely not Wu Lahai City, and he did not dare to escape back to the city. "

Fei Congjuli was silent.

Brother Mi Qinxin continued: "Han Duhu asked me to send a message. After the spring of the Ming Dynasty, half a million troops will be sent to Shaanxi. The Yellow-headed Uighurs will also send troops to destroy Xixia in three groups. Even if you escape back to Zhenyan Military Secretary, when the Ming army conquers the capital of Xixia, they will also send troops to kill Blackwater City. Can you win by then?"

Who can escape, the escape route is blocked!

To the north is Langshan Mountain, to the south is the Uga River, and the grassland in between is only a dozen miles wide.

Even if they can fight desperately and escape into Wu Lahai City, if the Ming army blocks the entrance to Langshan, they will all become turtles in the urn.

At that time, the only way to survive is to cross the Langshan Pass and detour more than a thousand miles from the northern foot of Yinshan Mountain back to Heishui City. There are Gobi, deserts and mountains all along the way, and I am afraid that I will starve to death on the way.

Another party cavalryman rushed over and shouted: "Han Duhu said whether to fight or flee, let you decide quickly, he will go back to distribute the spoils!"

The Uighur chiefs stepped forward one after another and surrounded Fei Congjuli.

Even the chief of the Dangxiang tribe did not stop this behavior and chose to stand on horseback and watch.

Fei Congjuli looked at the chiefs holding their hands on the hilts of their swords. If he dared to say "no", he would probably be hacked to death on the spot.

The descendants of these people defended Blackwater City more than eighty years later, purely because of the brutality of the Mongols.

At this moment, they have a chance to survive.

Fei Congjuli sighed, threw down his weapon and said, "I wish the Ming Dynasty would be conquered."

Han Shizhong called Fei Congjuli over and pointed at Wu Lahaicheng, which was more than ten miles to the northwest: "None of the cavalry under your command are wearing armor. They went to shout outside the city to persuade them to surrender. Just say that the Zhenyan Army Division has surrendered and let us surrender. The defenders in the city should surrender as soon as possible. If they dare to defend, artillery and arrows will not be wise."

Fei Congjuli had no other choice but to hand over his weapons and armor. Under the "escort" of the Ming Dynasty's knights, more than 7,000 knights rushed to the outside of Wu Lahai City to persuade them to surrender.

Looking at the unarmed 7,000 friendly troops, the defenders in the city began to quarrel.

Most people wanted to surrender. Brother Richard did not flee to the city, which obviously meant that he had given up the city. So why did they continue to defend it?

Cao Yu, the military supervisor of the Wei Fu Army, ordered the killing of several officers who were clamoring to defend the city to the death, and then led the entire army to open the city gate.

Cao Yu ran to Han Shizhong's front, and knelt down several meters away: "Cao Yu, the military supervisor of the lower country, pays homage to the general of the upper country! I am the cousin of the Queen Mother of Xixia. I also have a cousin named Cao Tuan, who has been an envoy in Luoyang for a long time and knows many civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty. I... I am willing to serve the Ming Dynasty and go with the army to Keyi Gate to persuade the garrison commander to surrender. The Cao family is also willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty. I can also persuade my cousin, the Queen Mother Cao, to order the king of Xixia to surrender."

Han Shizhong laughed: "You are very sensible."

Cao Yu turned around and said to the city gate: "General, please enter the city, I will lead your horse."