Chapter 105 The God of War is helpless
Zhao Yulin was coordinating and directing the rescue and road construction in Yangzhou. Thinking of the importance of Dasan Pass, he told Cao Youliang that too many people would be useless, because the old road would definitely be damaged and transportation would be extremely difficult. If too many people went, it would only waste food and grass. The front of the pass was so wide, it might be more meaningful to mobilize a few of his new catapults from Xianren Pass.
Cao Youliang knew that his catapult was powerful, so he quickly thanked him.
Zhao Yulin asked him to go to Fengzhou and wait, and he sent a pigeon to Xianren Pass to set off immediately.
Both sides were racing against time. Ogedei gave instructions to Kuoduan, telling him that they only needed to occupy Tianshui and Xihe and there was no need to go deep into Han territory.
His current work focus is on the rich Central Plains, which is a land of fish and rice and excellent pastures. As for revenge, it is just a token of his intention.
Kuoduan was still organizing his troops at the main camp when the battle at Dasan Pass had already begun. This was also a strategy. His father wanted the fight to start on his younger brother's side first so as to attract Song army forces for his son.
Cao Youwen had already arrived at Dasan Pass. There was indeed a landslide along the way, blocking the road and two plank roads were damaged. He quickly made arrangements.
Toure attacked, and was met with rows of brand new, oversized Huihui cannons, apparently in revenge for last year's failure. The oversized stone bullets slammed into the pass with great force, and the two sides quickly opened fire on each other.
But the damage to the pass was not great. Toure was frustrated. His backhand cannon was even bigger than last year's and was absolutely powerful, so why couldn't it be broken open?
It turned out that it was Zhao Yulin who supported Cao Youwen with the earth and cement. When he and Lao Cao talked about repairing the pass, he took the initiative to offer Lao Cao good things to ensure that Dasan Pass would be as solid as a rock.
Later, he sent craftsmen to provide special guidance on its use, and the newly repaired Dasan Pass was naturally not so difficult to break open.
However, the Song army also suffered heavy losses in personnel and equipment at the pass. The catapults and crossbows that had been deployed there earlier were almost all smashed, and half of the soldiers guarding the pass were also replaced.
This was a war of attrition that tested strength and will. Both sides had no choice. The Division of Military Affairs fought hard this time, sending three battalions of troops to reinforce, and Zhao Yanna quickly sent out logistical support.
A secret report was sent to Zhao Yulin from Fengfu that Kuoduan was gathering troops with the intention of attacking Tianshui. He asked him to pass it to Miao Gui and actively prepare for war.
Hey, this battle was fought so hard that the New Year is almost here. Ma Ling'er asked, don't the northern barbarians celebrate the New Year on the same day as us?
Zhao Yulin nodded and said that a storm was about to come, and asked her if she was afraid.
The woman stamped his face and said, "My husband is here, don't be afraid, let's continue the fight."
Dasan Pass became a meat grinder. Both sides deployed troops intensively on the narrow front. The thrown stones and fire bombs hit a large area. The battlements on the pass were smashed away, and the city wall in front of the pass had been smashed beyond recognition by the Mongolian army.
Zhao Yan wanted the Shenwei Army to come to his rescue.
He bid farewell to Ma Ling and headed for Qingyeyuan. When he arrived at Xianren Pass, Miao Gui had already moved his command post to Xihezhou. Zhao Yulin came to Qingyeyuan to report to the head of the Zhizhisi: The Mongolian army had gathered and was about to attack Tianshui and Xihe.
How could Zhao Yan believe it? He said that he was just making excuses and avoiding the fight passively.
Zhao Yulin was speechless, and patiently explained that Dasan Pass would be safe because General Cao was guarding it. However, Tianshui would be surrounded by the Mongolian army soon, and how to rescue it was the top priority at the moment.
Zhao Yan asked him how to solve it?
The fierce battle at Dasan Pass was in full swing, and he had not yet received the military report from Tianshui.
At this time, the lieutenant colonel delivered a military report from Dasan Pass: Wang Hancheng of the Shenwei Army personally led three catapults up. Because the new catapults had a long range, they chose the high ground behind the pass as an artillery position, completely avoiding the Mongolian army's Huihui cannons. Half a day's bombardment made the Mongolian army too much to bear.
The artillery shells of the Shenwei Army were not stone shells but splitting shells filled with gunpowder and scrap iron slag. They were light in weight and assisted by springs, so their range far exceeded the Huihui cannons of the Mongolian Army. It meant that if I hit you, you couldn't escape, and if you wanted to hit me, you couldn't reach me.
The Mongolian army’s cannons were huge and bulky below. How could they compete with Zhao Yulin’s catapults?
Wang Hancheng used a telescope to observe and command, first attacking the enemy's rear and then the enemies in front. The Mongolian army's Huihui artillery could not be withdrawn from the battlefield, and Toure watched helplessly as his Huihui artillery was blown to pieces.
From then on, the initiative on the Dasan Pass battlefield was in the hands of the Song army.
Zhao Yanna was overjoyed after reading the military report.
Zhao Yulin proposed to go to Xihe to support Tianshui, but he had few soldiers left. The garrison generals Yang Daquan and Liu Hu were his last reserve troops. He asked the two to lead the troops to follow Zhao Yulin westward to support Tianshui.
The two commanders of the Qingyeyuan camp were about the same age as Zhao Yulin, and they spoke and acted decisively. After Zhao Yulin gave them some instructions, they headed straight for Xihe under the protection of the guards.
In Liangzhou, Kuoduan gathered his troops and headed for Tianshui. As soon as he entered Tianshui, he received unfavorable news. The Nanman Zhao Qier's troops had recently purchased grain and grass at a high price, and even the grain merchants who specialized in doing business with them sold their grain to the Tianshui Army controlled by the Song people.
Kuoduan was furious.
What is going on?
We, the Great Mongol Empire, paid a lot of silver, so why did we sell our grain to the little southern barbarians?
Haha, the price was really too low. Zhao Yulin ordered that the grain could be purchased at three times the price. Hao Xiaoming calculated carefully and raised the asking price by 50%, and then increased the price by 10% for the first 30,000 kilograms that arrived.
The border residents immediately drove their carts and pushed chicken buses to the Tianshui army to sell grain.
After receiving the news, grain merchants and wealthy households were even more reluctant to lose the opportunity to make money, so they quickly organized themselves and rushed to transport grain.
You must be kidding, food prices are ridiculously high.
These people also received news that there was an earthquake in the south and Xihe and Tianshui were storing military rations. If people stored enough for emergency use, the price would definitely be gone.
Therefore, the surrounding grain merchants hurriedly hired carts, repaired their own broken carts that had to be used as firewood, and borrowed oxen and horses to pull the carts to transport grain.
After this amazing operation, there would definitely be no food when Kuoduan came back. Not only that, Hao Xiaoming even took away the grass in the Tianshui River Valley.
Zhao Yulin rushed to Xihe, and after Miao Gui reported the situation to him, he said that Hao Xiaoming was originally asked to retreat, lure the enemy deep into their territory and then look for an opportunity to annihilate them.
Hao Zong was determined not to withdraw, as he wanted to hold on and protect the people of Tianshui City.
Miao Gui said that in this case, the purpose of the battle must be adjusted: the Mongolian army is currently estimated to be around 50,000, while Hao Xiaoming's Sixth Column has only 10,000 troops, distributed in three large strongholds from Tianshui to Xihe.
He ordered the Sixth Column to leave 5,000 men to defend the city, and the rest to retreat and set up defenses. Kuoduan had already bitten up and seized Tianshui City in one bite, and the vanguard was approaching the rear defense line of the Sixth Column.
Miao Gui reported to him: there were unusual movements in the Jizhou and Wenzhou tribes. He left Gao Jin alone and focused on guarding against unexpected events. Feng Guiqi was on his way with 10,000 elite troops from the 4th column.
In this way, the Shenwei Army has 40,000 troops from the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th columns to fight against Kuoduan. It is a little less, but we have the confidence and determination to fight Kuoduan.
Haha, what are you talking about?
Why does Zhao Yulin feel like he is expressing his determination before the battle?
How long have you been following him?
Is this the standard of learning?
He smiled and said, "Don't underestimate them because they only have 50,000 soldiers. But what about the animals? The Mongolian army has two horses per person, and the main force has three horses per person. Each of them is equipped with miscellaneous soldiers."
If you count both the men and the horses, at least 100,000 of them went out, and that's not even taking into account the assault advantage of the enemy's cavalry formation.
Lu Huacai said that in order to take over Kuoduan, he had to sacrifice the Sixth Column, let them hold on for a few days, and then retreat the defense line. If the enemy followed up...
Zhao Yulin understood what he meant. He wanted to make dumplings for others.
There is absolutely no problem for Hao Xiaoming to defend Tianshui City.
The question is, will the expansion follow?
He said everyone wanted to take him down, so let's do it. But they were fighting on horseback, and we were walking on two legs. If we ran, we would definitely not be able to outrun them, and if we chased, we would definitely not be able to catch up. Everyone must be clear about this, and don't think about annihilating the enemy.
How to manufacture fighter planes and seize them to destroy the enemy requires careful consideration.
Here, he asked Lu Youpeng to immediately send out his soldiers to find horse manure infected with horse plague and mix it with feed, and then distribute it widely to the Mongolian army's livestock camp to slow down their pace.
The horse plague at this time is actually malaria. This horse disease spreads quickly. Once the horse is infected, its physical strength will immediately weaken and it will lose its fighting ability.
Liu Hu and Yang Daquan both wanted to join the battle, but Zhao Yulin said that their weapons were easy to find, so they should just go and carry out the mission of luring the enemy, no matter how inconsiderate they might be.
The two commanders happily accepted the mission when they saw that they could take part in the war.
He asked his brothers to rack their brains to study the battle plan, while he went to have some tea.
Due to the obstruction of Xingyuan Prefecture, the Shenwei Army naturally formed two major war zones, which required independent commanders to be responsible for one side. Therefore, Zhao Yulin intended to train their independent command capabilities and gradually release the battle command rights.
Zhao Yulin came to the courtyard at the back hall of the provincial government to count the stars. It was deep winter and the weather was very cold. He thought that half of the Shenwei Army came from the south, and most of them were not used to the cold climate in the north. The problem could not be solved by willpower alone, so it would be better to end this war quickly.
Lu Youpeng came out and told him that the Jiezhou tribe had risen up in rebellion, and Gao Jin had launched a thunderous campaign to suppress the rebellion in accordance with his request.
They were just local soldiers, a mob. They certainly didn't expect that the Divine Might Army would leave cavalry there to wait for them.
Zhao Yulin asked Master Lu to pass on a message to Jiangzhou, warning people to be careful of the Mongolian spies who were skilled in riding and shooting and were mixed in with the army to hunt down our officers. If they were caught, they should be beaten to death.
The territory is so large that it is impossible for him to be present at everything in person, so it depends on them to do what they want.
Lu Huacai came over and asked him to go back, and the brothers came up with a solution after discussion.
Miao Gui pointed to the map and explained: The enemy has penetrated dozens of miles into Tianshui. Taking into account their purchase of food and grass from the Jin people's territory, it is definitely an external battle, and they have consumed a lot in five days.
Intelligence from the spies ahead showed that they were collecting food and fodder everywhere, and that they had almost used up all the food and fodder they had brought.
Miao Gui believed that Hao Xiaoming had been holding on alone for several days, and that it was not good for the army and civilians to be trapped in the city for too long, so he planned to launch an attack. He would have the friendly forces from Qingyeyuan lure the enemy to Fenghuangzui, ambush part of them, and then take advantage of the victory to counterattack.
When Zhao Yulin heard him mention the phoenix mouth, he immediately stared at him with wide eyes.
Miao Gui suddenly came to his senses and said with a smile, "How come he just happened to have the same name as Sister-in-law Fire Phoenix?"
He waved his hand and told him to continue.
