On a night when heavy snow fell from the sky, a small fire broke out in an uninhabited courtyard at one end of Zizhou City.
The cause of the fire was that the wind and snow had blown away a lantern hanging in the corridor of the house. The lantern had slowly ignited the debris that had accumulated on one side of the corridor for a long time. The husband and wife, who were at the top of the Huaxia Army, were a little flustered at first, but then they began to put out the fire in the cold winter night. The small fire was soon put out as heavy snow fell from the sky.
Many years later, during the most tense period of the southwest campaign, this mysterious fire in a corner of Zizhou City might be dug up by some scholar or third-rate writer from a pile of old papers and become the fuse for some unofficial history or some conspiracy story. But at that time, not many people paid attention to this small incident. When the husband and wife walked along the road back to the headquarters in the middle of the night, the world was already filled with falling snow. Both of them had indescribable but relaxed smiles on their faces.
They had left behind memories.
This was what happened on the night of the 27th day of the twelfth month in the eleventh year of Wu Jianshuo. By the next morning, the snow had not stopped and the mountains in the southwest were all wrapped in silver.
The end of the year was approaching. From the boundary between Huangming County and Yu Shuixi to Zizhou, the captives were still being escorted. The Huaxia army was still digesting the results of the battle at Yu Shuixi. Because of the heavy snow, a portion of the Jurchen captives took the risk and chose to escape into the mountains, causing some chaos. But overall, it was no longer able to affect the overall situation.
The mountain road that extended from the frontline of the battlefield to Jiange was gradually covered in snow. The Jurchen army was filled with an oppressive, austere, and crazy atmosphere.
As the heavy snow spread, small movements caused by fighting could be heard in the mountains. In the wind and snow, some pieces of paper flew along with the heavy snow toward the Jurchen army's camp.
Even in the gap after the initial victory, the Huaxia army's attacks did not stop. Scouts brought leaflets to the Jurchens' camp or the mountain paths that they had to pass through, and from time to time, they would release the leaflets.
The flyers retold the course of the battle at Yu Shuixi: the Huaxia army defeated the Jurchen army head-on, killed Xie Lili, and besieged the Yu Shuixi army camp. A large number of Han soldiers died on the battlefield. Based on their performance on the battlefield, the Jurchen people did not regard the Han troops as human beings … After the flyers, there was a reward for Zong Han's two sons.
Even without these flyers, the wariness and hatred of the Han troops had already occurred in the Jin army camp.
In the past few days, Yu Yu had executed dozens of Han scouts who "disobeyed orders": Many of them died because they were associated with Ren Hengchong.
In the previous battle, in order to ensure the combat power of these Han scouts, the Jin side had offered a reward to motivate the Han scouts. This could have been considered a correct strategy, but when Ren Hengchong found a path to the rear of the Huaxia army, he was unwilling to report it to his superiors. He stubbornly led his men to snatch this "credit." In essence, he had killed off a "possibility" that the Jin soldiers could have found.
What if it wasn't 20 scouts who went to the enemy's camp, but 200 or even 2,000 Jurchen experts? Perhaps the enemy's camp was already in chaos, and Ning Yi's sons might have been captured or killed. Through the chaos in the wounded soldiers' camp, they might have rushed to the frontline at Yu Shuixi. The battle on December 19th might have had a completely different outcome.
In the process of Yu Yu executing dozens of scouts, Dalai, who was in charge of the army, kept a close eye on the various camps of the Han army. A large number of Han soldiers who had picked up the Huaxia army's flyers were dragged out and sentenced to death. An austere atmosphere suppressed the living space of the Han soldiers.
"… If it weren't for the defection of these dogs from the south, we wouldn't have lost the battle at Yu Shuixi!"
On the 28th, the main camp of Ten Mile Village was covered in snow. When he entered the main gate of the camp, Dalai pulled down his cloak and shook off the snow on his head. He was still criticizing the "black sheep" of this great battle with the generals he met.
To a certain extent, his words could be considered one of the main thoughts of the Jin army. The general who passed by looked at the Han camp in the distance and waved his hand forcefully.
"… The southerners are extremely incompetent. I've already said that they are very difficult to use! Hmph, now that the situation at Yu Shuixi is slightly at a disadvantage, I think they can't be trusted anymore! "
"… In a war, the most terrible thing is to be held back. The roads at Yu Shuixi are complicated, and the dogs from the south are incompetent. They were defeated and fled at the slightest charge. They also occupied the roads at the back, so they couldn't send reinforcements in time on the battlefield. In my opinion, it's best to send all of them to Huang Ming County. The terrain there is more open, and we can waste the Black Flag Army's artillery shells … "
"… Huang Ming County can only fit a few people at most. If we send fifty thousand dogs from the south, and the Black Flag Army rushes back, who knows how many people will switch sides. When they come back, will you open the camp gate?"
"… In my opinion, if we don't open it, we can't take down the city wall. Those who dare to come back will all die!"
"… It's just a gift to the Black Flag Army. If the Black Flag Army doesn't take them in, and fifty thousand people block the battlefield, we don't have to advance anymore. "
"… A bunch of scoundrels! The dogs from the south are bad! "
"… They keep dozens of Han slaves at home, and when they do things, they only know how to slack off …"
A few generals stepped on the snow and walked towards the higher ground of the camp, exchanging such thoughts. At the other end of the camp, Yu Yu met with the serious-looking Wanyan Xibao. He looked at the encampment that spread out, and listened to the "King of Baoshan" say in a low voice, "… Xie Lili is brave and resolute, but not meticulous enough. He was greedy and rash. If he hadn't died at Eagle Beak Rock, he would have to bear the greatest blame for this failure!"
"After all, he's dead. Don't say such things." Hearing Wanyan Xibao's words, his brother Wanyan Xi also rode over from the side.
In the wind and snow, many generals of this southern expedition were gathering towards Shili Town.
The sudden defeat at Yu Yu Creek eight days ago had shocked the entire southern expedition army of the Jin people. Apart from Da Lai and Yu Yu, who had rushed to Yu Yu Creek to clean up the mess, almost all the high-ranking generals were shocked and in disbelief at the sudden news from Yu Yu Creek.
Xie Lili had led a thousand personal guards to be beheaded at Eagle Beak Rock in Yu Yu Creek. The Hua Xia army, with less than twenty thousand people, had suddenly attacked and defeated the entire attacking force at Yu Yu Creek. Their own side was defeated like a landslide, and in the end, only a few thousand people were able to protect half of the camp at Yu Yu Creek …
For more than two months, among the generals of the Jurchen, other than Xie Lili and Ba Li Su who were in charge of the attack at the frontlines, and Yu Yu who was in charge of the scouts for support, the rest of the generals, although in the middle or the rear, had also pulled themselves together and participated in the maintenance and preparation work of the entire battlefield.
From Jiange to Huang Ming County and Yu Yu Creek, it was a narrow and long mountain road of nearly fifty miles. The terrain was rugged and dangerous. There were many places where the roads were simple and crude. Every time after the horses and carriages passed by, they would have to undergo arduous maintenance. However, with Xi Yin's prior planning and Han Qixian's logistical operation, hundreds of thousands of troops had opened up roads in two months. Not only had they widened the original roads by two times, but they had even built new plank roads in places that were originally impassable but could be excavated.
The Jurchen people were originally barbaric when they first rose to power thirty years ago. Aguda, Zong Han, and the rest of the generation were quick-witted and good at learning from the strengths of others. It was through repeated battles that they constantly learned new tactics. In the first ten years of their rise, they relied on the invincible bravery of meeting enemies on a narrow road. In the middle ten years, they gradually gathered craftsmen from all over the world and learned the combination of machinery and tactics. It was only now, thirty years later, that Zong Han, Xi Yin, Han Qixian, and the rest finally managed to organize hundreds of thousands of people in an orderly joint operation.
Most of the people responsible for opening up roads were the Han soldiers who had been driven in and the skilled craftsmen who had been captured after crossing the river. However, the ones who managed and supervised these people were ultimately the Jurchen generals at the rear. For more than two months, the frontline had been constantly attacking fiercely. Under such circumstances, the rear had been able to solve the most troublesome problem of roads. In fact, all the generals could vaguely feel the magnificent power of "man can conquer nature."
Now, this was the power of Big Jin when it was fully mobilized!
Over the past two months, in the discussions of some of the generals, if this war really dragged on, they might even have the lofty aspiration of mobilizing the Han slaves to "flatten the mountains in the southwest".
The Black Flag Army on the opposite side had been able to persist in Huang Ming County, Yu Yu Creek, and other places for two months. Their defense was as strong as an iron bucket and watertight, which was indeed worthy of admiration. It was no wonder that they had defeated Lou Shi and Ci Busu back then. However, the entire Gold Man army still had enough confidence in the direction of the general trend.
The sudden defeat of Yu Yu Creek was a heavy slap to the face when everyone's confidence was at its strongest!
At the same time, the situation at Yu Yu Creek's frontline was collapsing rapidly. In the afternoon, the front was forcibly defeated. Xie Lili was killed by the Hua Xia army at Eagle Beak Rock, and many troops failed to break out of the encirclement. The urgent intelligence sent to the rear was that they hoped for reinforcements to arrive quickly. It was not kept secret. In the wee hours of the morning and the next day, urgent intelligence was sent back in succession. Not only did the Hua Xia army defeat the main force of the front, they even besieged the Yu Yu Creek barracks. Before midnight, they had defeated the periphery of the Yu Yu Creek barracks and slaughtered their way in.
There were nearly fifty thousand people in Yu Yu Creek, and the barracks had the geographical advantage. However, in less than a day, they were attacked head-on by the Black Flag Army, which was rumored to have less than twenty thousand people. For them to be in such a tragic state, how powerful must the Black Flag Army be?
As veterans who had spent their entire lives on the battlefield, many of the Jin generals at the rear paled when they heard the news. It was only when they finally had a second thought that they began to wonder if it was a mistake, or if they had encountered a superb and coincidentally effective tactic from the Black Flag.
The hot-tempered Wanyan Xibao even chopped down a tree at the side of the barracks. He shouted, "This is impossible!" He immediately rushed to the frontline to kill this batch of scouts who lied about military intelligence and disturbed the army's morale. He really could not believe this result.
The relatively calm and steady Wanyan Xibao could only confidently say, "There must be something fishy about this."
No one could believe such a result. In the past thirty years, regardless of whether it was fair or unfair, this was something the Lady Zhenren had never tasted before.
Nearly ten years ago, Lou Shi had once forced the Black Flag Army in the northwest into a disadvantageous position. Of course, in the records of the Hua Xia army, it was an evenly matched battle. Later on, due to a small coincidence, he was accidentally beheaded by a Black Flag Army unit on the battlefield, causing the Lady Zhenren to taste her first defeat at the hands of the Black Flag Army.
Although Ci Buxie fell into a trap in Yanzhou, the tens of thousands of troops under his command still smashed open the gates of Little Cang River, forcing the Black Flag Army to flee to the south. On the battlefield, the Lady Zhenren could not be considered to have experienced a crushing defeat.
Today, several years later, when Big Jin had mobilized its strongest force on the southern expedition, and many of the veteran generals had yet to leave the stage, the opposing Black Flag Army had revealed such shocking fangs. Had an army crazier than the Lady Zhenren thirty years ago really been born in the southwest?
Fortunately, a further explanation came in the following days.
At noon on the 19th of December, Xie Lili, who was used to taking risks, finally could not hold back his restlessness for two months. He personally led the guards to attack the Eagle Beak Rock. He fell into the Black Flag Army's trap, and his troops were cut in half by the falling boulders. Xie Lili was ambushed and died.
Secondly, the ever-changing terrain of Yu Yu Creek made the attack complicated. The Hua Xia army sent out their elites, but the Jin had no choice but to accept the fact that there were Han troops in their ranks. These originally surrendered troops all became a burden when facing the enemy's attack. When some of the Lady Zhenren elites were retreating or rescuing, their path was blocked by these Han troops. As a result, the battlefield could not be operated in time, and the opportunity to fight was delayed.
In addition, some of the Han troops quickly surrendered to the Black Flag Army on the battlefield. On that night, they suddenly launched an attack in the camp, causing the outer perimeter of Yu Yu Creek's camp to be broken, and causing even more damage to the main force of the Jin army on the frontline. Because Xie Lili had long died in battle, although there were a few middle-ranking generals who fought to the death and defended a small part of the inner camp, it did not help the situation of the battle.
With this information, there was finally a reasonable explanation for the defeat of Yu Yu Creek.
Xie Lili was already dead. When he was alive, he was the head of an army. The low-ranking generals in the Jin army could not criticize him, and when he died on the battlefield, they could only comfort him with honor. So the biggest scapegoat could only be carried by the Han army. Several days after the battle, the various troops from the Sword Garret to the frontline still needed to calm the morale of the troops and suppress the restlessness. The various troops on the front line of Yu Yu Creek were transferred forward one after another, and the generals in other positions were reorganizing their troops. On the 28th day, when the snow was swirling, several generals who received the order were summoned back to Shiliji by Wanyan Zonghan's order.
The weather was cold. The huge military camp was against the mountain, winding between the rolling foothills as far as the eye could see. The heat and noise of people's activities were immersed in the fluttering snowflakes. Some generals arrived in the morning, and some arrived in the afternoon. When it was almost evening, Wanyan Zonghan lit a blazing bonfire in the open space outside the big tent. It was a gathering place, and he prepared to do it in the open air in the heavy snow.
Wanyan Zonghan threw wood into the bonfire and watched as sparks flew out and the snow was forced away by the fire.
Amidst the white snow, generals arrived one after another: Saba arrived, Yu Yu arrived, Dalai arrived, Han Qixian arrived, Gao Qingyi arrived, Wanyan Shesha arrived, Wanyan Xiebao arrived … There were also figures who had experienced many years of war. They saw the blazing flame and gathered here amidst the dancing snow.
Zonghan's tall figure was silent. He threw in another wood, and the flame flew up with a loud bang. Countless flames rose into the sky.
Soon, there was a familiar battle song of the shaman in the crowd.
"… My White Tiger Mountain God, roar!
I am the one who has defeated ten thousand people and is favored by heaven!
…
Mighty God, tell me!
…
My companion!
Listen attentively.
…
My Hai Dongqing spreads its wings —
Fly free! "
Around the blazing bonfire, there seemed to be countless figures following and echoing …
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