Over ten li from Zizhou, Shiling lay in front of the mountains like a crouching lion.
The sun was setting in the west and the black smoke had already stopped spreading. For the first time in six days, the sounds of battle had stopped. The charred trees near the mountain were reflected in the light of the setting sun, creating a strangely quiet atmosphere.
There were still people running from one defensive position to the next. The soldiers were still reinforcing the defensive line and inspecting the cannons. The people looked at the Jin positions in front of them and only spoke in low voices.
"Do you guys think the Jin dogs will come today?"
"Don't think about this. If they come, let's f * ck them up!"
"I heard they won at Yan Qiao and killed Wanyan Xibao."
"Do you remember the people led by Mister Ning? The ones that the Second Company withdrew … Xibao thought he had thirty thousand men and it wasn't enough for him to show off, so he charged at Mister Ning … "
"How did they fight …"
"It's not clear yet …"
Amidst the whispers, the golden sun streaked across the valley in front. The Female Enlightened Master's restraint and silence had already lasted for more than two hours.
There was a camp for wounded soldiers at the back of the mountain. After the battlefield had been unusually quiet for a long time, wounded soldiers with crutches and bandages came out of their tents and gazed at the back of Shiling in front of them.
"What's wrong?"
The people asked each other.
In the hot air balloon, someone was rapidly waving flag signals downwards, reporting every movement in the Female Enlightened Master's camp. A senior officer of the General Staff Department was waiting below to ensure that no important clues were missed.
The battle at Shiling and Xiukou lasted for nearly six days. In the records of later generations, it was often overshadowed by the significance and brilliance of the victory at Yan Qiao. In the entire southwest campaign that lasted for five months, these battles often seemed unimportant. But in reality, they were an important fulcrum for the victory at Yan Qiao.
During these six days, Qu Zhengyan and Yu Zhongdao attacked Xiukou, while Han Jing and Pang Liu 'an fought at Shiling. Although the Female Zhenren was counting on the Oblique Protectorate Troops crossing the mountains to play some tricks in front of Ning Yi, they did not slack off or relax at Shiling and Xiukou. The repeated attacks made the Huaxia army, which was already small in number, extremely tense. A slight carelessness could lead to a complete collapse.
Although they could rely on the terrain and cannons to gain some defensive advantages, after six days, the Huaxia army had lost over seven thousand men. In some ways, this rate of attrition was even worse than the defensive situation in Huang Ming County and Yu Yu Creek.
Especially in the direction of the Shiling, the Jin army's morale was greatly boosted after the appearance of Zong Han's flag. Zong Han, Ba Li Su and the others also exerted their many years of experience in battlefield command and troop deployment. They used their elite soldiers to constantly shake up the defense of the entire mountain, concentrating the breakthrough on one point. Sometimes, even the Huaxia soldiers who participated in the defense found it difficult to sense where they had lost the most men and were under the most pressure. It was only when a certain position was breached that they realized Zong Han's true intentions in terms of tactics. At this time, they could only make adjustments and take back the position from the Jin soldiers.
This was the tactical gap between the Huaxia generals and the Female Enlightened Master of Zong Han's level. But in terms of individual quality and small-scale tactical cooperation, the Huaxia army was far superior to the Female Enlightened Master.
Among them, the Second Division led by Pang Liu 'an, who had once lost Huang Ming County City, fought bravely. Facing Ba Lisu, the "old enemy", the soldiers of the Second Division, who had the desire to avenge their humiliation, even changed their style of fighting steadily and being the best at defense. In the repeated battles for positions, they showed the most determined fighting spirit.
Of course, this fighting spirit was partly due to the political work, but it was also because Division Commander Pang Liu 'an had to personally lead the troops several times, regardless of life or death. In order to protect the division commander, the brigade commanders and regimental commanders of the Second Division were always the first to take the lead.
On the Female Enlightened Master's side, Ba Li Su once personally went to break the formation. But after occupying a position, he was crazily counterattacked by the soldiers of the Second Division. A group of soldiers even tried to block Ba Li Su's way and ordered the artillery to bombard the position indiscriminately. Although the artillery did not do so, the attitude of the Second Division forced Ba Li Su to retreat.
In fact, in the hearts of the soldiers of the Second Division, it was not only the blood feud of the soldiers who died in Huangming County, but also the fact that some of the soldiers did not break out of the encirclement and fell into the hands of the Female Enlightened Master. This was perhaps the biggest obstacle in the hearts of the soldiers.
The Lion Ridge was engaged in fierce battles. Later, He Zhicheng, the commander of the army, mobilized the lightly wounded soldiers, the militia, and the available forces in the mountains to the frontline of the Lion Ridge. Finally, the rather tense defense line was maintained. If not for this, on the 28th day, Han Jing would not have been able to mobilize his troop of over a thousand horses. After the battle at the Yan Bridge, it would have been difficult to quickly sweep and end the battle.
The armistice and cowardice of the Jin soldiers in the afternoon was obviously a response to the report of the battle at the Yan Bridge. But the generals of the Huaxia army did not let down their guard. He Zhicheng and Pang Liu 'an kept reminding the frontline soldiers to strengthen the line of defense. They did not make an official announcement about the battle at the Yan Bridge to prevent the soldiers from underestimating the enemy and suffering losses in the final counterattack of the Female Enlightened Master.
Around a quarter to five in the evening, He Zhicheng, Pang Liu 'an, and the others were on the road at the back of the Shiling Mountain. They saw a large carriage coming from the Yan Bridge and a team of about a hundred horses in front of it. Ning Yi was in the team. He approached and got off his horse. He Zhicheng smiled and said, "With Mister Ning's participation, this battle is settled … It was not easy."
There was smoke on his face. When he said this, there were actually tears in his eyes. Pang Liu 'an, who was next to him, was already covered in wounds and blood. Due to the defeat at Huang Ming County, he was now the acting commander of the Second Division. He saluted Ning Yi and said, "The Second Division of the Huaxia Fifth Army was ordered to defend the frontline at the Lion's Mouth. Fortunately, I did not disappoint you."
"It's all thanks to you."
Usually, with Ning Yi's character, he might say something witty. But this time, he did not. He saluted the two and walked forward. Pang Liu 'an looked at the large carriage behind him and said, "Is this' Dijiang '?"
Ning Yi nodded and said, "Actually, the whole idea was already in place when we were at Little Canghe. It was completed by hand in the last year. It only started slowly when we arrived at the southwest. In the past few years, no less than two hundred people from the First Military Corps died or were disabled because of it. They tightened their belts and slowly whittled away these things. We were originally worried that it was not enough. Fortunately, the oblique protection came and played a role. "
Perhaps it was because he recalled the course of these years, his tone was serious but not nervous. It was serious with a sense of relaxation. After walking forward for a while, he said,
"The others are still at Huanqiao. More than twenty thousand people have been captured, and it is not easy to keep them in custody. It will be difficult to clean them up in a short time. We were worried that the Female Enlightened Master would go crazy here, so we dragged these over first. Originally, there were more than six hundred rounds. Before the war, we were worried whether it was enough and whether we could give the Female Enlightened Master the most painful blow in the first battle. But in the end, we used less than three hundred. How did Zong Han react? "
"Their reaction speed is very fast. The older, the wiser." He Zhicheng smiled. The mountain road was in front of them. He raised his hand and looked behind him. "These carriages …"
"Drag them up slowly. Some may be carried by horses. There is no hurry. Find a good place." Ning Yi smiled and said, "The measured shooting range is usually more than four thousand feet. Before we find a way to deal with it, it will be enough for Zong Han to suffer."
"However, Zong Han is prepared."
"… So fast?"
"It started less than an hour ago. Their troops are retreating." He Zhicheng said, "At the beginning, it was just a simple retreat. It was probably to deal with the situation of losing at Huanqiao. It seemed a little hasty. But a quarter of an hour ago, there were a lot of adjustments. The movements were not big, but very methodical. "
They walked all the way up the hill and crossed the high line on the ridge. In the sunset, they saw the situation of the entire Shiling battlefield. The positions were dyed red with blood and the pits were blackened by the cannonballs. In the camp of the Jin soldiers in front, the big tent and the marshal's flag were still fluttering. The Jin had built a simple wooden wall with interwoven wooden spikes outside the wall. The retreat of the troops at the front made the whole arrangement of the Jin appear to be defensive. It seemed that the troops in the camp were still being redeployed.
Ning Yi looked over with a telescope. He Zhicheng and the others explained, "… From what we saw an hour ago, some people are retreating to the mountain pass at the back. The retreat at the front is the most obvious. The tents behind the wooden wall have not moved. It seems that there are still people there. But according to the information from various observation points, the Jin are moving the soldiers in the tents at the front on a large scale. In addition, look at the mountain pass at the back. Earlier, someone moved the iron cannon up. It seems to be to block the road when they retreat. "
"Zong Han and the others are indeed outstanding men of the age." Ning Yi sighed and murmured.
Chief Engineer Lin Jingwei was also looking at the situation over there curiously. At this time, she said, "It's indeed a veteran general who has dominated the world for 30 years. If I were in another place, I'm afraid I wouldn't believe in the existence of such a strange thing as a rocket within an hour."
"Even if they believed it, it would be hard for them to accept it." Someone said.
"Facing reality is the basic quality of a famous general. In any case, there are indeed firearms that can reach four to five thousand feet on the battlefield at Huanqiao. He must respond to this. Otherwise, will he wait for Dijiang to land on his head to confirm it again?" Ning Yi held the binoculars and said while thinking. Then he smiled, "But you guys can praise him a little more and write it in your books. That way, we will be more powerful."
Everyone laughed. Someone said, "If Zong Han is prepared, I'm afraid our fire arrows won't be as effective as before. Right now, the Jurchen camp is mobilizing. Should we take this opportunity to crash into the fire arrows and blow up their camp?"
He Zhicheng and the others looked at each other and began to think. Ning Yi lowered his head. Obviously, he was also thinking about this. Just now, he said that facing reality was the basic quality of a famous general. But in fact, he admired Zong Han's speed in making decisions and facing reality. If it was him, if he was still the Zong Han of the past, would he be able to accept reality in such a short period of time when he was facing a severe setback in the business world? Especially when his son had met with misfortune? He didn't have any confidence.
And how useful would these rockets be if they were thrown out now?
Ning Yi licked his lips. "Fake is real, real is fake. Set up the rockets to prevent them from pretending to be weak and then counterattacking. Don't use them for now. Apart from killing some people and scaring them, I'm afraid it will be difficult to make the final decision. "
The people around him nodded.
"From today on, the era when the Jurchen camp was invincible is completely over."
Ning Yi said, "Wanyan Zong Han must be feeling very complicated right now. I'll write a letter and throw it over. His son is in my hands. Let's see if he is interested in talking to me. "
The sun was setting. As February approached, all living things were growing. Even if they were old creatures, they would not stop resisting this world. The succession and reincarnation of the world always went on like this.
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