On the 23rd of the fifth month, forty miles west of Xuzhou, at the foothills north of Xiao County.
The sky was clear and the air was quiet and oppressive. Eagles were flying in the sky.
The rugged mountain path spread out and disappeared into the dense forest at the foothills. On the slope in front of the mountain path, the sound of people breathing gathered.
The smell of gunpowder wafted through the crowd. Lead bullets were pressed into the gun barrels.
Black flags spread out in a straight line. Nearly a thousand people were lined up on the slope.
Luo Ye stood on a rock and looked at the eagles in the sky. There was a faint tremor on the ground. The enemy was coming.
This was a corner of the entire battle situation of the Xuzhou retreat.
In the ninth year of Jianshuo, the Jurchen launched an attack to the south. In the first half of the tenth year of Jianshuo, as the Jurchen's eastern and western armies invaded the south, several large-scale battles broke out in the Central Plains. The entire land of Jin turned into a sea of fire. The resistance of the Daimyo's Guangwu Army was the most tragic. During this period, the resistance in Xuzhou was relatively stable. Other than being besieged by nearly a million hungry ghosts in the winter, in the first half of the tenth year of Jianshuo, after Wanyan Zongfu and Zong Bi launched their attack, Xuzhou was defended for less than three months. In the middle of the fifth month, they began to evacuate.
Compared to the fifty thousand soldiers of the Daimyo's Guangwu Army who resisted for half a year and finally broke out of the encirclement and lost more than ten thousand Huaxia soldiers who came to rescue, only a few thousand people survived. In the eyes of many nitpickers, the battle in Xuzhou was not spectacular enough. At least for Li Anmao, the magistrate of Xuzhou who had originally invited the Huaxia army to defend the city, the ten thousand Huaxia reinforcements plus the tens of thousands of troops he had gathered in Xuzhou should have at least defended this place for half a year or even a year. If he could die for a noble cause, he would have fulfilled his loyalty to the Wu dynasty.
However, Liu Chengzong and the others did not have such a plan from the beginning.
Ever since this ten thousand Huaxia army arrived in Xuzhou, they had been working on the evacuation of the residents near Xuzhou to the south. Li Anmao had already decided to die. He did not have much opinion on the evacuation of the people. Instead, he did his best to cooperate. Later, the hungry ghosts outside the city of Xuzhou dispersed and the Female Zhenren attacked. The remaining residents of the city took advantage of the beginning of spring and headed south. Liu Chengzong and the nearly fifty thousand soldiers in the city defended tenaciously.
The Jurchen Eastern Army had more than three hundred thousand soldiers, and they had been preparing to attack Xuzhou since last winter. Tens of thousands of soldiers had defended Xuzhou for more than two months. Afterward, Liu Chengzong and the others knocked Li Anmao unconscious during a meeting, seized his military authority, and announced the evacuation of Xuzhou.
There were more than 50,000 soldiers under Li Anmao's command, but the composition was complicated. A portion of them were Liu Yu's troops from before, and the other portion were just vagabonds who joined the army to eat rations. Li Anmao had gathered more than 50,000 people to boost their morale, wanting to stall the Chinese army here. However, these 50,000 people did not have any fighting strength to begin with. After the Chinese army arrived, they trained with these people and had a heart-to-heart talk. Only then did their fighting strength increase. Now that the Huaxia army said they wanted to leave, there was no longer anyone in the Xuzhou garrison who was willing to listen to Li Anmao's orders to defend to the death. The absorption of these tens of thousands of people who had experienced two months of war became a reality. At the very least, during the retreat, no one dared to disobey the Huaxia army's orders.
Xuzhou had been a place of war since ancient times. The city was located in a basin, surrounded by complicated mountain ridges and rivers. The rugged terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack. In order to achieve a quick victory, Zong Fu and Zong Bi's Eastern Army also chose to attack the city fiercely rather than surround it. The Jurchen encircled three to one, and it wasn't difficult for the tens of thousands of soldiers to break out. It was only during the retreat that they were fiercely pursued by the Jurchen army.
However, the Huaxia army had been exploring and deducing the entire retreat plan since last year. When the army left the city, Liu Chengzong divided the backbone of the Huaxia army into several groups, choosing the rugged terrain to methodically block and retreat. The tens of thousands of Jurchen pursuers came from different directions, but they were instead beaten into a sorry state. On the 23rd of the fifth month, Xiao County became the fulcrum of the entire retreat.
More than 10,000 Liaodong soldiers were charging over from nearby, led by the Han general of Liaodong, Liu Guangji. On the Huaxia side was a special regiment of nearly 1,200 soldiers led by Luo Ye. They were formed as an experimental unit of the Huaxia Fifth Army, and none of them had experienced actual combat. However, the entire special regiment was made up of veterans of the Huaxia army.
This special regiment's performance in the previous defense of Xuzhou was average, and they didn't use the new weapons they were equipped with — because the effect of defending a city wasn't necessarily good. At this time, they chose to defend Chaoxian Ridge because the terrain was the most ideal, and because this mountain pass was located at the protruding point of the front line after the nearby allies retreated, so the pressure on defense would be the greatest. There was also a third point that Luo Ye didn't tell too many people: according to the previous tactical deductions, this place was most likely to be visited by the enemy's vanguard general.
And the most powerful vanguard general of the Jurchen army was none other than the "Fourth Prince" of the Jurchen people, Jin Wu Shu, who almost led the entire offensive of the Eastern Army.
In Luo Ye's view, this was the most suitable place for the new weapons to shine.
If there was anything he could do, he wanted to take a head.
Unfortunately, the situation on the battlefield changed rapidly, and it wasn't Wu Shu who attacked.
It had been more than ten years since the first Jurchen expedition to the south, and the Eastern and Western Armies had mobilized nearly 600,000 soldiers. Although they had been cultivating for several years, it was impossible for the Jurchen soldiers, who had once made a name for themselves as "invincible against ten thousand men", to expand to this number. In fact, it was difficult for the new Jurchen children who joined the army to recreate their valiance from the White Mountains and Black Waters.
Therefore, the entire army was joined by many other races, such as the Bohai people, the Khitans, the Xi people, the Han people, and so on. Although in later generations, the Han people of Liaodong looked down on the southerners, and in their eyes, the valiant Jurchen Zhenren was naturally more worthy of following. It was only natural for them to follow the Jurchen Zhenren and make a name for themselves in the process of the expedition to the south.
At this time, the Han people of Liaodong did not have a high status in the Jin Kingdom, so in order to improve their status, they had to work hard. Liu Guangji was a fierce general under Zong Bi's command. He had a violent temperament, and was known for his harsh military management and ferocious tactics. In his barracks, he first had to flog a Han slave to death every day to remind the Liaodong soldiers of the fate of cowardice. "If you don't dare to shed blood, you can be a slave!" Later, Taizong decreed that no Han slaves were to be killed at will, so Liu Guangji chopped off the hands and feet of a Han slave every day. If the slave was seriously injured and died, with his status, he could only pay the fine. In fact, with Zong Bi's protection, Liu Guangji basically didn't need to pay the fine.
Before the two sides met, Hai Dongqing and the scouts sent a message that about a thousand soldiers of the Huaxia army were blocking the road ahead. As the terrain in front began to narrow, the attacking side was at a disadvantage. Moreover, the Huaxia army had arrived first, so they must have set up cannons on higher ground. In the first wave of attack, they would inevitably suffer heavy losses.
As soon as he saw the enemy's formation, Liu Guangji also noticed the strange formation of the enemy in the Monocular. At this time, the infantry formation was mainly square formation. Even if the appearance of cannons posed a great threat to the square formation, they still had to maintain the square formation. Otherwise, the battlefield would be easily chaotic, and they would not be able to withstand the enemy's charge. But there were only two or three rows of people in front of them, and they were holding flashy but useless muskets.
This kind of fireworks weapon had been around for decades in the Wu Dynasty, but it was not very useful. It had a short range and was weak, and it was easy to blow up one's eyes. Since the rise of the Huaxia army, all the forces had attached great importance to gunpowder, but at least the muskets had not yet shown their brilliance in any major battle.
Liu Guangji knew the reputation of the Huaxia army. At this time, seeing the scene he could not quite understand, he frowned. But there was not much room for him to turn back. According to Zong Bi's order, he must quickly break through Chaoxian Ridge and cut into the middle of the retreating Huaxia army.
Even if they had cannons, they would still have to fight …
Looking at the enemy's entire defense line, Liu Guangji gritted his teeth. If he wanted to attack in this kind of shrinking terrain, the enemy's cannons were the most terrifying weapon. But there was no other way. Based on past experience, the more powerful the cannons, the more intense the attack. Only by breaking through the enemy's formation in one go could he break the enemy's defense strategy. Fortunately, he had enough manpower on his side.
"Damn it! Liu Guangji spat two mouthfuls of saliva on his palm, then waved his long blade. "Blow the horn! Boys, get ready for me — "
The mournful sound of the horn rang out in the mountain pass. All the troops got into formation. Liu Guangji spurred his horse forward and loudly boosted the morale of his own troops. On the other side, Luo Ye's gaze was calm. He walked down from the large rock he was observing and came to the side of the formation. He took the drumsticks and began to beat the big drum in front of him.
The sound of the drum rumbled and moved along with the breathing. The soldiers in the formation raised their muzzles like a forest. Fighting on the battlefield, the morale of both sides, who were eager to decide the battle quickly, was boosted to the highest level at this moment.
At a quarter past noon, Liu Guangji's army launched a charge. The surrounding terrain was complicated. It was too far to outflank them. He could not wait any longer. Driven by the military order, the vanguard of the army, led by a team of light cavalry, fanned into the slope of the mountain pass. The sound of cannons rang out, and the military formation surged forward like a tide. The Liaodong army shouted hysterically and shot the first wave of arrows.
On the side of the Huaxia army, facing the arrows, the long formation stood motionless with their guns raised. Because the formation was narrow and long, the hasty projectile did not cause many casualties. Only a few people were hit by the arrows. The charge in front was surging, and the light cavalry and the soldiers behind opened up a distance. The formation began to converge as the terrain shrank. Some people's hands were raised high in the air.
"Steady —"
"Steady —"
…
"…"
…
"Fire!"
…
At the fan-shaped mountain pass, the cavalry had already surged forward, and a long row of muskets was fired. The formation of more than sixty zhang did not seem long. Three hundred gunshots, three hundred wisps of smoke, and three hundred lead bullets flew across the ground, extending forward at the same time. Flowers of blood blossomed ahead.
After the muskets were fired, the soldiers quickly crouched down. With the sound of changing drums, the three hundred muskets of the second team were raised.
"Second team, get ready —"
"— Fire!"
Smoke rose amidst countless booms.
"Steady!"
"Third team, get ready —"
"— Fire!"
The shrinking slope turned into a giant mouth that swallowed all life.
This was a corner of the Xuzhou retreat. It did not stop the Jurchen army from moving south, and at the time, it did not attract too much attention.
During the entire Xuzhou retreat, Liu Chengzong had taken advantage of the complex terrain to launch a counterattack, defeating tens of thousands of Jurchen pursuers who had tried to seize credit and harvesting thousands of heads from the Jurchen Eastern Army. And on the 23rd of May, in the battle of the Pioneer Ridge, Luo Ye dispersed Liu Guangji's crazy attack and launched a counterattack. He killed Liu Guangji, who had led his team to charge because of the loss of the battle, and then dispersed the entire attack team.
In the series of battles between the Jurchen and the Huaxia army, the Jurchen side gradually became accustomed to the bravery of the Huaxia army.
*****
Lightning flashed in an instant, and the roar of thunder shook the sky.
Chengdu, a thunderstorm.
In a room in a teahouse, Cheng Zhouhai stood by the window with a gloomy expression, listening to the boiling voices coming from the streets and the square below. A public trial assembly had already come to an end, and the curses of the crowd almost covered the thunder in the sky. "Kill that old thing —"
"His family is not good —"
"Kill! Kill, kill, kill — "
This public trial was the trial of Great Scholar Chen Song's henchmen who had prepared to breach the Min River. These people were arrested on the 27th of April. Originally, they were going to be tried in about ten days, but in order to complete the whole thing and build the reputation and reputation of the Huaxia military court, the whole process was very detailed. All the evidence, testimonies, and the arrest process were also publicized through newspapers and books. On this day, Chen Song was sentenced to death, and the punishment decisions of his henchmen were announced one after another. Although it suddenly rained heavily, the road in Chengdu was still blocked by the crowd who came to watch.
During the whole process of the trial, Cheng Zhouhai, who came to this side, had been negotiating with Ning Yi, hoping to exchange the old scholar with some compromise or exchange of interests, but Ning Yi had never relented. At this time, the whole matter had been settled, and Cheng Zhouhai's expression was obviously not happy. He was a shrewd person, but on Ning Yi's side, he did not care about showing such emotions.
"How is Chen Song compared to Qian Xiwen? When the Female Zhenren attacked Bianliang, you and my teacher both considered breaching the Yellow River. You even made early preparations in Xia Village! Why, he is the bad guy, and you are the good guy!? "
He knocked on the window with his hand and looked at Ning Yi, who was sitting in the room drinking tea. At this time, in addition to him and Ning Yi, Qin Shaoyu and Song Yongping were also in the room. Song Yongping was brought by Cheng Zhouhai to discuss the "business" with the Huaxia military. He brought Song Yongping, and Ning Yi found Qin Shaoyu, who was in a wheelchair after his leg was broken by Lin E 'chan, to negotiate complicated matters to balance the human relationship in the business. At this time, Ning Yi put down the teacup and raised his eyes.
"When Qian Lao died for a just cause, he only implicated himself. He is definitely not as good as him. In the disaster of Bianliang, we faced the Female Zhenren. If we really can't beat them, we can only die together. If you regard the Huaxia military as a foreign race like the Female Zhenren, then Old Qin and I are indeed no different from Chen Song. But at least I don't do a massacre, which is a little better than the Female Zhenren. "
"How big is the difference between destroying the orthodoxy and destroying the country?"
"If you want to argue, it's not much. But if I want to destroy the orthodoxy, it's also after I know that there is a problem with your orthodoxy, and you and I can't find a way to improve it. It's not because I'm a child. If you accept my view and persuade me, I will change. If you don't want to argue, you and I both know that Chen Song is a bastard. Whether from the perspective of the human heart or from the perspective of interests, I have the right to kill him. If you were in my position, would you let a person who is ready to fight against me live?! "
In the past few days, it was not the first time that the two of them had a heated argument. Qin Shaoyu and Song Yongping could only stay out of it. In fact, Cheng Zhouhai came to cooperate with Ning Yi on behalf of the Princess's Mansion. Ning Yi didn't hide anything. These days, he took Cheng Zhouhai to visit many places. He even revealed some advanced concepts based on the development of physics to Cheng Zhouhai.
Ning Yi didn't care that Cheng Zhouhai learned things from the Huaxia military. It was more like he was actively "polluting" Cheng Zhouhai's thinking. That morning, they had originally visited a newly built gun workshop in Chengdu. They hadn't seen it thoroughly, so they came here to watch the public trial. Cheng Zhouhai and Ning Yi argued for a while. The matter had been settled, so he didn't force it.
After a moment of silence, Cheng Zhouhai said, "I know you have always been very keen on firearms, but the Wu dynasty originally had things like assault rifles. Are you really going to use them on the battlefield? I know it's complicated to use, and it's easy to blow yourself up. Its range is not as good as a bow and arrow. Have you solved these problems? "
"Of course not." Ning Yi held the teacup. "But things will be solved slowly. The potential of the bow and arrow has reached its limit. A good bow can be made in two to three years, and the training of a marksman can take more than ten years. Firearms did have a lot of problems in the beginning, and now it's only slowly catching up to the shooting range. But with the improvement of assembly line technology, it will slowly be made much faster than the bow and arrow. The training of marksmen is also very simple. In the future, even a woman with a gun can kill you. Human strength is limited, but material resources are endless. The study of physics is still far from reaching its limit. "
"Then … can you sell this to me?"
"Sure." Ning Yi said with a smile.
Cheng Zhouhai frowned. Beside him, Song Yongping and Qin Shaoyu also frowned. Qin Shaoyu's gaze was relaxed, while Song Yongping's was more or less vigilant.
— — There's a conspiracy.
Ning Yi sighed and stood up, but he didn't avoid it. "I can sell you firearms, and I can even sell you the entire concept of physics. If you can really learn it and defeat Female Zhenrens, that would be the best. But they couldn't learn it. When their enemies came, they wanted something good. But the Dao of Understanding was endless, and there would always be something better. How could they ensure that they would always see something better? Everyone had to open up their own minds and not be tied down by things that were only natural. The people want to know, but do you dare? Today, Jun Wu can promote physics, but it's because there's a war today. After the war, it's better for the people to let it be. “
I'm not afraid of you imitating it. If you imitate it, I'll have a better firearm. And imitating it might not be practical. You don't have much time. " Ning Yi smiled and tapped his fingers on the tea table. "There's an urgent message this morning …"
He said, "The Western Army … Xi Yin has led the vanguard to cross the river."
It was still raining outside the window. Not long after, the news of a pipe gushing near Dujiangyan came. Ning Yi rushed back to the front line with his men — there were problems everywhere. On the Jurchens' side, in order to deal with the problems that could arise at any time, the Eastern and Western Armies had to speed up their march south. At the end of May, Xi Yin led the vanguard of the Western Army across the Yellow River, trying to reach the front line of Xiangyang as quickly as possible, and cooperate with the strategic intention of the Eastern Army to attack Zhenjiang.
Not long after crossing the river, Xi Yin received news from the battlefield in Xuzhou. The appearance of Chaoxianling firearms made him even more vigilant. In fact, after the potential of firearms was discovered, the Huaxia Army, the Wu dynasty, and the Jin Kingdom were all studying its application. In the Grand Institute that Xi Yin was in charge of, they had also studied the firearms, but there was no decisive breakthrough.
On the day he received the news, the mighty army was gathering at the port on the south bank of the Yellow River, and the flags were spread like a forest. Xi Yin stood on the city wall outside the port, and suddenly seemed to see the figure of the Huaxia Army in the southwest, the Han army that had been constantly resisting for more than ten years. Now the Jurchens' army still had the upper hand, and if it continued, the Jurchens would still have the upper hand, but …
They had to take advantage of this battle to settle the world.
He didn't think any more, but in his heart, he once again confirmed the idea of going south.
If he was still young, he might not be willing to cooperate with the offensive of Zong Fu and Zong Bi's Western Army, but would prefer to sweep the entire Wu dynasty on his own. It would be best if Zong Fu and Zong Bi could have more trouble like Huang Tiandang.
But at this moment, Xi Yin put away such thoughts.
Lin 'an, June.
The weather was so hot that only the sound of cicadas could be heard.
In the study of the Princess's Mansion, the iced lotus seed soup was placed on the table. It was no longer cool, and there was no wind in the room. Information from all over the world was gathered on this table. Zhou Pei raised her head from the table. There were beads of sweat on her forehead, but her face was slightly pale. She felt the air was oppressive, and she placed a hand on the left side of her chest. Bang, bang, bang, bang. There was a drumming sound coming from there.
In front of her, there was news from the southwest, and there was news from the north. Before things had come, people could imagine all kinds of turning points or solutions, but at this moment, the situation was becoming clearer and more stable. They had already reached the limit of their abilities to be able to continuously push forward from their daily work.
In the frontlines north of the Yangtze River, the war preparations had already been pushed to the limit. The transportation and distribution of military rations and armaments, the elimination of spies, and the consolidation of the defensive line had all been used to the limit. Every day, people were killed, and occasionally there were roving bandits who were forced to rebel, but this was also necessary to maintain the entire war situation. As for the news from the southwest, every few days, Cheng Zhouhai would write all kinds of news and ironclad news in letters. What Zhou Pei could see was the smoke of gunpowder and the taut heartstrings in all kinds of news.
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