Chapter 425: Massacre in the City
Hu Lan immediately stopped what he was doing, stood up quickly, straightened his clothes and shouted: Come in.
Zhao Yulin happily took the military report and read it. There was a letter from Yu Jie saying that the army had cleared out the remaining enemies in Suzhou and had headed north to Yingtian, and asked him to go to Suzhou to dispatch the three armies.
He handed the letter to Hu Lan, hugged the little woman and said, "We have stayed here for a long time and it's time to leave."
Hu Lan immediately said to Ke Zhenxie, "Did you hear that? The young master wants me to go to Suzhou. Get ready to go."
In Kaifeng Prefecture, Mengge received an urgent report from Hubili. Subutai lamented that the war situation was developing too fast. The Shenwei Army had new formations and new firearms to overcome cavalry, and they were no longer afraid of cavalry and dared to confront them.
Meng Ge said angrily: It's not that we dare to fight, the little Nanman is planning to eat up our cavalry.
Liu Yuzhou, who suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Zhongmu, cried to him: The Shenwei Army was powerful, and they launched a large-scale charge of 10,000 troops at the beginning, and their firearms were too powerful. Most of his 50,000 troops were lost, and they were simply unable to win.
The cavalryman Wanhu Takumi also cried bitterly. The charging cavalrymen were directly covered by the artillery fire of the Shenwei Army. They were blown to pieces one by one, and only a few of them broke through the blockade.
Su Butai told them to leave quickly because the Shenwei Army's propaganda bombs had already hit the west of the city and it would be too late if they didn't leave.
The Shenwei Army regards propaganda work as a must for doing everything well. Before attacking a city, they would send out a large number of leaflets into the city, emphasizing the Shenwei Army's belief that everyone is equal and that China is one family. This is called psychological breakthrough and is the best weapon to soften the opponent.
Mengge nodded and ordered the troops to withdraw. He no longer wanted Kaifeng or Yingtian.
When Subutai heard Mengge's words, his heart skipped a beat. Damn, Mengge is implementing the Three Alls Policy, which means he wants to rob everything, kill everyone, and burn down the city.
He immediately said that the massacre in the city should be stopped because these people were obedient.
This veteran general of the Mongol Empire probably realized the generosity and compassion of Buddhism as he grew older and became a Buddhist. When he was young, he had committed many crimes such as burning, killing, looting and slaughtering cities.
Meng Ge snorted coldly and asked casually: What's the use of being a submissive citizen?
Leave it to Zhao Qier of the New Song Dynasty?
Su Butai remained silent.
After the city changed hands, it was no wonder that these obedient people would line the streets to welcome the return of their king's army. Because in the minds of the Han people, the Central Plains dynasty was the orthodox one, and they naturally had to be loyal to the new Song Dynasty.
Less than an hour after Subutai summoned his civil and military officials to arrange the great evacuation of Kaifeng, someone sent the information out of the city using bows and arrows and carrier pigeons. The people in the city and the Shenwei Army outside the city all knew that the Mongolian army was going to massacre the city and retreat.
Lai Chuanfang was furious and ordered an immediate attack on the city to rescue the people of Song Dynasty.
This is what Meng Ge did wrong. If he wanted to run away, he should have run away quietly. Why would he do such a thing that would cut off his lineage and exterminate his descendants?
Not all Mongolian generals had fangs and green faces. Among them, there were a large number of Han generals who did not want to see their family members die in vain. After the meeting, someone exposed the retreat plan, and soon, the people in the city knew about it.
Before the Mongolian army moved, the people in the city started to move. Some of them persuaded the guards to flee and swarmed the city gates. Some simply planned Anyway, the army of the New Song Dynasty was outside, so they revolted to welcome the return of the royal army.
Mengge heard the fierce artillery fire from the Shenwei Army at the city gate, and looked at the chaotic situation in the city. He asked Su Butai and his advisers with an angry face: Why is this happening?
Su Butai was in a bad mood. He spread his hands and said that it was inevitable that the news would leak out if the army abandoned the city and set out, as most of the people here had their families in Kaifeng.
Let’s go, what are you waiting for?
Mengge knew that the situation was hopeless, so he reluctantly gave up Kaifeng City and crossed the river to the north.
Zhao Yulin was extremely happy. Just two days after he arrived in Suzhou, he received the news that Yingtian had been recovered.
The Mongolian army was defeated in Zhongmu and Suzhou successively, and their morale was low. After the Shenwei Army surrounded Kaifeng and Yingtian, they all planned for their own benefit.
Yan Luming, the general who signed the Xuzhou Uprising, volunteered to secretly sneak into Yingtian Prefecture to instigate the Mongolian garrison commander Yan Shilu to rebel. Yan Shilu was also a descendant of the Yan family and was Yan Luming's uncle.
Yan Shilu was skilled in calligraphy and was the largest army leader of the Yan family in this area. He enjoyed a very high prestige in the Han army.
Yan Luming told him the mythical stories of the Shenwei Army that he had seen and heard with his own ears. This Confucian general, who had a sense of the orthodox dynasty of the Central Plains in his heart and had long been immersed in the sea of books and learning, seemed to have found a guiding light in the darkness. He immediately discussed with Yang Xingyun about rebellion.
Although two lieutenant generals took away part of the troops after Mengge's order to retreat north arrived, Yan Shilu still basically controlled the troops in the city and there was no unrest, and Yang Xingyun's troops entered Yingtian without bloodshed.
The next day, Kaifeng was recovered, and Yingtian and Kaifeng returned to the embrace of the new Song Dynasty. Zhao Yulin was overjoyed when he received Lai Chuanfang's military report, and ordered the army to stop the attack and switch to defense along the old course of the Yellow River.
The Shenwei Army recaptured Kaifeng and wiped out a century of humiliation. This was of great significance and the whole country was jubilant.
The Shenwei Army recaptured Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Yingtian and Suzhou, and drew a blockade line along the river to the south. In this way, with the Yellow River in hand in the north and the canal in the east as a fast transportation to connect with the big rivers in the south, it greatly accelerated the mobilization of troops and the transportation of supplies, connecting the south and north of the Yangtze River, the Central Plains and Guanzhong together, and greatly increased the strength of the Shenwei Army.
In Jiankang Prefecture, Meng Gong and Fan Zhong were overjoyed to learn that the Shenwei Army had won victory after victory and had occupied Kaifeng, Yingtian and Suzhou . However, Meng Gong felt that he was injured at the wrong time and had missed a good opportunity to fight in the Central Plains.
Fan Zhong thought that the administration had been almost cleaned up, and he wanted to go to Suzhou to discuss the administration of the recovered area with Zhao Yulin. The old man was so happy that he was dizzy, and he kept muttering that the river was getting smaller and smaller, and he had to set off immediately.
Seeing that he was so excited, Meng Gong hurriedly said that the battle was still going on by sea, so they should go by land. The old man was so happy that he forgot the current situation, and nodded with a smile, saying: Go by land, let's go by land.
These officials who once worked in the Lin'an court had seen too many cities and territories lost, and mountains and rivers shattered. Now that they heard that Yingtian and Kaifeng had been recovered, they were so overjoyed that they felt like young men again.
Kaifeng was the capital of the Song Dynasty for a hundred years. It was once occupied by the Jin people and then trampled by the Mongolian army. The place that had been longed for by generations had finally returned to the arms of the Song people. How could they not be ecstatic?
In Chengdu, King Cao Youwen received military reports from the front line that the Shenwei Army had recaptured Kaifeng and Yingtian and was overjoyed. He immediately convened the Central Council and invited the officials from the Taijian Hall and Caotang Academy to have a drink and discuss matters together, and held a banquet in Jinguan City to celebrate the victory.
This news was what the officials of the New Song Dynasty were most concerned about, most excited about, and most eager to hear. The Shenwei Army recaptured the old capital of Kaifeng, and the people all over the world celebrated the victory with joy and excitement.
Those officials from the previous dynasty were in high spirits after eating and drinking well. Three or five of them sang Yue Fei's Man Jiang Hong. The mood in the court was very excited, and they were ready to take advantage of the victory to march north to capture Zhending Prefecture in Hebei and attack Huanglong directly.
The dean of Caotang Academy, Mr. Wuyong, asked Cao Youwen with a flushed face, "The Shenwei Army is unstoppable. Why doesn't the king order his troops to march north to attack Huanglong and rescue the emperor?"
Qiao Xingjian, the only top professor in the country, immediately waved his hand cheerfully to stop him. He thought it was inappropriate. The Shenwei Army had been fighting for half a year, and looking ahead it would be fighting for years to come. They needed to stop and recuperate.
Lao Cao also told them happily: The Shenwei Army has already switched to defense along the canal line. The major cities have been recently recovered. There are also some small states and counties around that need to clean up small groups of enemies and rebels.
The gentlemen laughed and happily drank the wine in their glasses.
At night, Chengdu was decorated with lanterns and lights, and the brothels were crowded with guests. The people celebrated the victory in the front and the recovery of the old capital Kaifeng in various ways. Even pickpockets and thieves agreed to take a three-day break so as not to ruin this great and festive day.
The streets and alleys were crowded and bustling, and fireworks continued in the sky above Jinguan City for a long time.
In Lin'an Prefecture in Liangzhe, Jiangnan, Shi's son heard the noisy celebrations outside and invited people to drink and have fun. His die-hard supporter Yang Daquan and loyal lackey Zeng Wudao sat on both sides.
Haha, Shi's son happened to see Zeng Wudao begging on the street, and muttered about how hard this argumentative guy worked for him in Chengdu, so he rewarded him with a position as a guest of honor and asked him to accompany him in planning. He actually became powerful overnight.
Yang Daquan saw that Shi's son was calm and had no interest in the Shenwei Army's recovery of Kaifeng, and knew that he was not happy that Zhao Yulin had made such a great contribution. He said disdainfully that the people of Lin'an only knew about Zhao Yulin's contribution, and they were shouting so loudly that it seemed that Zhao Yulin alone could recover Kaifeng, and that it was the Shenwei Army's contribution, the New Song Army's contribution, and the contribution of the whole world.
This guy stands high, sees far, analyzes problems with a holistic and overall perspective. The recovery of Kaifeng is indeed the credit of the whole world.
Zeng Wudao had experienced many ups and downs in life, but once he became a guest of Shi's son, he became much more cautious. He said cautiously, "What do ordinary people know?"
Only our historian can see it clearly.
This flattery was just right. Prime Minister Shi was delighted. He smiled and called for "drinking, drinking", and then he took the wine and drank it.
The next day, Shi's son sent Yang Daquan across the river to find Meng Gong to congratulate the Shenwei Army on its great victory and the recapture of Kaifeng.
In Suzhou, Zhao Yulin had a good time drinking with the military officers and officials who stayed in the government office last night. When he returned to the house, he and Hu Lan groped for the warm kang below. When he woke up, the little woman was still on top of him.
The two of them subdued the heated kang again before getting out of bed to bathe and change clothes. When they left the house, the warm winter sun had already spread all over the earth. Hulan asked him to go out for a walk with her. They hadn't seen the canal water street properly in all these days.
The two men went out and boarded a small official boat and went upstream along the river.
Originally, the shops and houses on both sides of the canal were lined up and prosperous, but due to years of war, many of them were destroyed and the place became very desolate, and ragged people were everywhere on the streets.
