Chapter 124: Direct Attack on Yan'an Prefecture
Zhao Yulin grabbed a handful of snow, wiped his cheeks, and followed the others without paying attention. He stepped on the thick snow and went out of the mountain, approaching Guitou Slope, 20 miles away from Lantian Camp. The search team reported that a team of 10,000 people had emerged from the camp.
Lai Chuanfang judged that they were Jin troops going to support Baoji, so he decided to set up an ambush and destroy them on the spot.
Zhao Yulin agreed and ordered Li Dagui to lead his troops to continue advancing and directly attack the Lantian camp. The rest of the troops set up an ambush. When the charge sounded, the entire army pressed forward to destroy the Mongolian troops that had left the camp.
The team quickly deployed as planned. The brothers lay down on the snow on the ground. Zhao Yulin felt his temperature dropping rapidly.
Fortunately, this Mongolian army that had just left the camp was led by the main general Aranda, and moved quickly under the supervision of two thousand Mongolian regular troops. They had no idea that they had entered the ambush circle of the Shenwei Army only twenty miles away. Lai Chuanfang used only the iron barrel cannon to blast them away in panic. After the charge sounded, all of them pressed forward, like a tiger descending from the mountain, immediately dividing and surrounding the enemy, and annihilating them one by one.
Zhao Yulin picked up an iron loudspeaker and shouted, asking the teachers to spread the word: Those who surrender will not be killed, and the Jin and Song people are all equal. The Jin soldiers who signed the contract quickly surrendered.
Lai Chuanfang concentrated his firepower on the two thousand Mongolian troops, shouting that those who surrendered would not be killed, and threw the explosive pack over, directly killing Aranda, but the Mongolian army still resisted and the battle ended after an hour.
Lai Chuanfang listened to the explosions coming from the direction of the Lantian camp and said with a laugh that he was afraid that the whole Chang'an city knew that we were coming.
Zhao Yulin asked: What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and get going.
A group of people were left in the team to clean up the battlefield, while the rest continued to move forward. The vanguard directly got on the captured horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts and moved forward at high speed.
The reconnaissance troops seized the Mongolian army's horses and immediately upgraded their muskets to cannons. Their efficiency increased a lot without having to throw away the ham. Lai Chuanfang separated a team to pretend to be the defeated Mongolian army to trick the Lantian county into leaving.
Zhao Yulin felt that there should be no problem in such a chaotic situation, so he ordered that after taking the county town, ox carts and horse carts be requisitioned immediately to transport the team to Tongguan quickly.
The guards brought him a horse, but he refused it and told them to leave it for the scouts, and they all walked. In fact, walking was more comfortable than riding a horse. It was freezing cold, and his underwear was already wet, so he would rather walk to get warmer and more comfortable.
By the time they arrived at the camp, Li Dagui had already dealt with the Mongolian troops inside.
It turned out that there were still a thousand cavalrymen left behind here. After receiving the order that they were attacked at Guitoupo and needed support, all of them gathered together, got ready and mounted their horses. While these soldiers were still dressing and fastening their saddles, Da Kui opened fire.
With five thousand men fighting against three thousand Mongolian infantry and cavalry, and with mortar support, the Mongolian army had no choice but to lose.
Lai Chuanfang was happy. Now that he had captured the Lantian camp, he had everything. He immediately ordered his brothers on horseback to take all the mortars and set off to attack Tongguan.
Zhao Yulin did not forget to remind everyone: We must fight a good psychological battle.
Li Dagui and his men had already disappeared.
Cao had been attacking Baoji in front of Dasan Pass for three days. The catapults of both sides were firing at each other. The Song army had blown up most of the Mongolian targets they found, but they still failed to take the city.
Baoji is the Chencang of the ancient Three Kingdoms period. The reason why it is difficult to attack is that it is both a city and an important mountain pass. After expansion through dynasties, it has become a strategic fortress.
At this time, Wang Hancheng arrived with the 7th Column, bringing with him a large number of new catapults from the Shenwei Army. These spring-assisted catapults could fire thunder bombs with a power that was more than ten times greater.
At night, Lao Cao heard explosions coming from the direction of Fengxiang and realized that the Western Group of the Shenwei Army had arrived. He ordered a fierce attack the next day to capture the Baoji City Pass.
At dawn the next day, Cao changed his traditional tactics. After suppressing the enemies in the city with catapults, he ordered the Shenwei Army's iron barrel cannons to approach and fire directly at the city gates, and also used the largest explosive packs.
How could the meat of Baoji chicken withstand this mode of blowing people into pieces? Under the pincer attack, the Mongolian army collapsed after resisting for an hour. The defending general Hun Duhai knew that he could not escape the blame and the Song army would not let him go, so he directly stabbed the sword into his own stomach in the command post, and died after a while of fighting .
The Song army 's occupation of Baoji meant that the door to Guanzhong was opened, and the Song army could come and go freely, and the army could advance forward continuously.
Miao Gui saw that Baoji had been captured, and he was worried about Zhao Yulin's safety, so he wanted to lead the cavalry to march to Chang'an. He was suppressed by Lao Cao, who said that his brother had given instructions, so he should follow the previous plan and march north to Xiaoguan to ensure that Guanzhong could withstand the attack.
Miao Gui woke up and told Feng Guiqi to return to Jiezhou immediately to prevent a sneak attack by Wang's army, and he led Gao Jin and others to set off.
Upon hearing this, Cao You jumped on his horse, shouted "Go!" and headed straight for Zhouzhi.
As for Zhao Yulin, he rested in Lantian for a night. The captain of the guard asked him to move to Lantian County, which had been occupied by the Shenwei Army.
The Song army dressed up as Mongolian soldiers and easily captured Lantian County. When Zhao Yulin entered the city, the city had already returned to normal life. Since the Shenwei Army did not engage in looting and smashing, there was naturally no chaos in the city, and the people soon settled down.
At noon, the Fire Phoenix came and held the woman tightly in his arms for a long time before letting her go.
Fenghuang told him that after hearing the battle in front of them, the Mongolian army in front of her immediately panicked. Fenghuang could not wait for reinforcements to arrive, and immediately attacked with 3,000 soldiers in her hands, firing ten mortars at will, making all the Huihui cannons of the Mongolian army misfire. Then the brothers charged forward with iron barrel cannons and took the pass in one breath. The mortars played a great role.
Now, the Third Column has come up, and the official road from Ziwu Valley to Lantian is under her control.
The Third Column marched in the heavy snow. The snow under their feet was trampled into ice. Some narrow ridges were impossible to climb. The soldiers took off their clothes to pave the way. The difficulty can be imagined. But they overcame the difficulties and walked out across the mountains and ridges.
Zhao Yulin pulled Fenghuang to look at the map and said that time was running out, so they should collect all the carts and organize troops to capture Wuguan. Note that they should not fight to the end, as capturing Wuguan would mean victory.
The Fire Phoenix immediately led his troops away.
Zhao Yulin rested for a night and began to arrange psychological warfare against the city of Chang'an. He ordered the printing of a large number of leaflets to be sent in, promoting the idea that everyone in the Shenwei Army is equal, that China is one family, and that only the culprits will be killed and no innocent people will be harmed. He also tried to persuade the Mongolian army to turn against their own side on the battlefield and revolt to gain merit.
Lai Chuanfang asked him if this trick would work.
You still have to break in.
He said that they should not move until heavy firearms arrived. Guanzhong was a territory that had been recently occupied by the Mongolian army and the people were unstable, so it might be useful.
The next day, military news came that Li Dagui entered Tongguan without bloodshed.
Haha, Zhao Yulin laughed loudly, and a big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
Da Kui was indeed a good student, he rushed to the front of the pass in a hurry, even though he had forty mortars, he did not force an attack, but just deployed his troops in front of the pass and fired three rounds of volleys before withdrawing his troops, setting up camp far away and forming a propaganda team to distribute leaflets, shout messages, and do propaganda work in a down-to-earth manner.
The deputy general asked him worriedly: The boss asked us to take over the pass, why don’t we move when we’re here?
Da Kui said that with only a few thousand soldiers, it would be impossible to capture the city in a short time, so it would be better to prepare while trying the psychological warfare taught by the Third Young Master.
By the time the two rear brigades had joined forces and were about to launch a strong attack, a white flag was raised from inside the pass and the gate was opened wide to welcome the Song army in.
It turned out that the wife of Wanyan Chengmin, the commander who was guarding Tongguan, was raped to death by Hubili's men, and his mother was also insulted. How could he endure such a great humiliation?
He was forced to surrender to the Jin army and was under surveillance by two Mongolian commanders. He kept silent and endured the pain. The Shenwei Army suddenly rushed to the front of the pass, and three cannon shots woke up everyone in the pass, and they all started to talk.
The Song army's firearms were so powerful that even from a distance, before they could see clearly, the bombs fell down like a swan laying eggs, shutting down the Huihui cannons and crossbows in an instant. The soldiers who were nearby were either cut into pieces or thrown over and turned into meat patties. It was so horrifying.
These news were exaggerated infinitely by word of mouth , becoming more and more magical as they spread.
After Wanyan Chengmin returned, he went to see his mother with a heavy heart, saying that the pass might be lost, and asked his mother to prepare to go east to Luoyang.
His mother said, "Son, since the Song army is coming, open the gate and welcome them in. We are originally Song people, but we became Jin people when the country was invaded and we changed our surnames. Now that the army is here, it's a good time for us to go home."
Wanyan Chengmin was still a little hesitant and said, "We followed the Jin people and then the Mongolian leader, and now we have surrendered to the Song Dynasty. What will they think of this?"
His mother said that the Shenwei Army of the Song Dynasty advocates equality for all, which is better than working like a slave here.
When Wanyan Chengmin heard this, he immediately thought of the atrocities committed by the Mongolian army and the humiliation he had suffered. His expression became firm. After bidding farewell to his mother, he immediately summoned his confidants to discuss the matter. He then divided his troops into three groups to kill the Mongolian thousand households and control the gates.
Therefore, Zhao Yulin should indeed thank Hubili for sending Wanyan Chengmin to him, allowing the Song army to easily capture Tongguan.
Zhao Yulin was very happy. Lai Chuanfang said that now we have strong soldiers and horses, as well as endless military equipment in the Lantian camp, so we should be able to capture Chang'an City immediately.
Zhao Yulin raised his hand and poked his head, asking him what was inside.
Why don't you have a sense of the overall situation?
Immediately organize a group of elite soldiers and let Wanyan Chengmin lead the way to rob Yan'an Prefecture. The northern gate has not been closed yet. If the Mongolian army organizes forces to counterattack from Yan'an Prefecture, how will we end it?
Did we sleep well in our bed in Chang'an City?
Lai Chuanfang slapped his head and said that he was really born a beggar. He only looked at the magnificent city in front of him and forgot the important things. He believed that Wanyan Chengmin's men were definitely not as good as the Shenwei Army who had learned the new tactics in positional warfare. He should leave some people to guard the pass, and those who could ride horses should go to rob Yan'an Prefecture.
Zhao Yulin waved his hand and said it was his business to decide what to do. He only had one word: "Quick."
