Volume 2 Chapter 45: Four Feet
War destroys humanity, but it is also the ultimate weapon to test everything.
Although Wanyan Wushu's strategy since he went south did not attract any real opposition, he had always treated everyone with a distant attitude during this process, and had also been questioned by the entire army about his motives for the march. All of this was because of the defeat eight or nine months ago.
In contrast, Emperor Zhao in Nanyang City was in a worse situation. These days, as the supreme commander of the weaker side, he had to receive and digest countless bad front-line military reports every day... This battle was different from what he had expected. The fall of Nanjing, the far lower-than-expected blocking efficiency of the Tokyo Resident Office, and the previous defeat of Han Shizhong were all worse than the last.
In the end, it became a question whether or not to stick to the established strategy of defending Nanyang.
In fact, in the past few days, Emperor Zhao himself was once shaken.
However, Zhao Jiu was relatively good, because except for the momentary recklessness on the Double Ninth Festival, he was able to keep his doubts hidden in his heart and not show them to avoid losing his composure. The others were not so "calm"... Ever since Mrs. Liang Hongyu personally rode to Nanyang to report Han Shizhong's defeat and her determination to defend Changsha to the death, Nanyang City began to waver on a large scale.
Not to mention the inevitable trend of civilians fleeing southward, nor the hundreds of deserters who were killed in the Yushan camp, just talking about Emperor Zhao, the central government gradually began to favor letting Zhao Jiu go to Xiangyang first unconditionally.
It cannot be said that there is anything wrong with going to Xiangyang first, this was one of the original strategies.
But the problem is that the front line is already so critical. If Emperor Zhao takes the initiative to go to Xiangyang at this time, the Tokyo Garrison troops in front, which are already showing signs of complete disorder, and the isolated cities between the Five Rivers will probably disappear in an instant... The former will surrender and go south to become military bandits; the latter will basically have no way to survive.
More importantly, Zhao Jiu couldn't imagine what he could do in the future if he lost Han Shizhong after Yue Fei's failure and didn't even know where to go!
Therefore, Emperor Zhao chose to stay in Nanyang with the toughest attitude, which caused panic throughout the central government. The incidents that occurred in the process were enough to write a separate book "Nanyang Travel Notes in the Second Year of Jianyan".
At this time, we must mention another person, that is, the new Deputy Privy Councilor Lu Yihao. This new Prime Minister is the most direct and rude among the seven or eight prime ministers that Emperor Zhao has met in the past year or so, but he is also the only one who actively recognizes Emperor Zhao's adventurous style in such matters.
Thanks to the existence of this person, and the combination of absolute power between the emperor and the prime minister, the "Xiangyang forces" within the capital province, the Privy Council, and the Yushan camp ultimately failed.
Of course, Emperor Zhao did not allow Lu Yihao to impose additional punishment on such matters... At this point in the situation, all differences and disputes should not cause additional losses to their side.
However, as Wanyan Wushu led his army to the city of Nanyang, things ended in a "the other shoe finally dropped" way, and everything was settled.
At this point, not only did Emperor Zhao and Wanyan Wushu have no way to escape, they were also determined to continue their feud with each other in Nanyang. In fact, both sides also placed the final outcome of the fourth large-scale offensive and defense between the Song and Jin dynasties as a bet on the city of Nanyang.
On November 11, the second day after the Jin army arrived at the city of Nanyang, a battle broke out between the two sides, but the process and results were unremarkable.
The Jin people did not have complete equipment, so how could they attack the city? They simply drove away the people in the west of Beijing, forced the city to fill up the river, and used this to intimidate the people in the city and create an atmosphere of terror.
The Song-Jin War had entered its fourth year, and was about to enter its fifth year. The people on the city walls had long since become hardened into hearts of stone, with no human reflections or struggles at all. They just kept attacking, and would stop at nothing to stop the river from being filled.
As for Wanyan Wushu and Zhao Guanjia, neither of them went to the front line. The former was supervising the construction of the camp, and the latter was patrolling the city to calm the people's hearts.
This went on for three days in a row.
In fact, it was not until the fourth day that the Jin army's camp, which included 35,000 main forces, 6,000 to 7,000 newly surrendered Han troops, 20,000 to 30,000 civilians and craftsmen, totaling 50,000 to 60,000 people, was fully completed. And it was not until the early morning of the fifth day that Emperor Zhao appeared on the city wall for the first time.
"Look, Your Majesty, we have been looking down from a high position these days and have observed clearly... The Jin army has three banners of 10,000 households this time, and including the rebel general Zhang Yu's troops, there are 40,000 combat troops, including 20,000 cavalry." On the morning of the 15th, on , Liu Ziyu pointed from afar and explained to Zhao Jiu and the two Lu Xianggongs who accompanied him (Wang Boyan was sent to Xiangyang by Emperor Zhao because he supported the retreat to Xiangyang). "And they could have relied on the advantage of cavalry to surround three sides and lack one, but they still forced to surround the four sides. It is no doubt that they are determined to take this city by force!"
"Where are Zhang Yu's troops?" Without waiting for Zhao Jiu to speak, Lu Yihao frowned and asked.
"On the east side, the craftsmen and captured laborers are also on the east side, and they are under the unified control of Zhang Yu." Liu Ziyu immediately raised his hand and pointed.
"So, the east is the weakest?" Lu Hao asked, twirling his beard, as if he was aware of Lu Yihao's intention.
"It's not just that." Liu Ziyu paused for a moment and continued. "I'll let you two know that the Ministry of Personnel discussed that since the Yushan camp on the east bank of the Baihe River was vacant, the Jin people would never abandon such a good base. It is possible that they set up a logistics camp there. Moreover, Minister Chen also said before that although the water in the moat comes from many sources, it is mainly from the Baihe River. The water level of the moat has dropped significantly in the past few days, but it is not due to filling the river. It is most likely that the Jin army has cut off the water from the east. But in this case..."
"This is too obvious." Zhao Jiu was also a veteran of military battles, so he couldn't help but sigh. "It's like they were trying to lure us into an attack."
"That's right." Liu Ziyu frowned. "There's the Baihe River blocking the east. Even if we can get out of the city and launch a surprise attack, we'll be surrounded by the Jin cavalry in an instant."
Hearing this, Lu Yihao clasped his hands together and sighed, and gave up all the extra thoughts, but he was still a little unwilling: "But what about the moat?"
"Don't worry about the moat." Because of the line of sight, Zhao Jiu looked far to the side and found a section of the moat in his field of vision. He saw that it was filled with corpses, debris, and ice ridges, and the color looked particularly strange. It was slightly reflecting in the morning sun, but he paused before responding. "The ice in the water tanks in the palace has become thicker and thicker in the past few days. It can't hold out for a few days. Wanyan Wushu's attitude is simply fierce. Who knows, we can see a serious offensive in two days..."
Liu Ziyu seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.
"What?" Lu Yihao frowned in the white mist. "If you have something to say, just say it."
"We should be able to see real siege equipment today." Liu Ziyu said solemnly. "To the east of the city, yesterday we saw countless ladders and several goose carts sent to the north of Wanyan Wushu's camp, and today the moat is already frozen over..."
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly.
"And more." Liu Ziyu continued. "Minister Chen requested that the last few watchtowers be demolished after today..."
"What kind of ridiculous talk is this?" Lu Yihao was confused and couldn't help but look unhappy.
"It's to defend against artillery fire." Without waiting for Liu Ziyu to speak, Zhao Jiu responded calmly. "In a few days, when the Jin army's artillery fires, the high walls and buildings will become targets in vain. Once they are smashed, it will be easy to cause casualties."
"That's exactly what Minister Chen said." Liu Yanxiu nodded in response.
"Your Majesty," Lu Yihao finally couldn't help himself. "I have only been here for a few months, and I have been mostly in Yushan before, so I haven't taken a close look at this city. Today, I feel uneasy... Please forgive me for speaking frankly, but the method of defending the city that Chen Gui is following is unheard of, and the rules of this city are also..."
"What you said is unheard of. Most of it was decided by me and him." Zhao Jiu interrupted him directly. "His method and approach are absolutely fine. And now that things have come to this, even if Mr. Lu has something to say, please hold off... Don't delay the defense of the city."
Lu Yihao suddenly felt depressed.
A moment later, as the sun shone brightly, the smoke from cooking inside and outside the city dissipated, and Zhao Guanjia and others, who were sitting side by side with the two ministers and some important officials on the watchtower of the city wall, saw the Jin army's siege force for the first time.
Correspondingly, it was also the first time that the Jin army had close contact with this strangely shaped city.
There must be artillery positions in the city, so the Jin army built a tall earthen platform three hundred steps away from the city wall. Wanyan Wushu came out to see it for the first time today, and he also led three Wanhu and dozens of Meng'an to sit here and watch calmly.
Logically speaking, no one should expect to capture a country's secondary capital that had been built for more than half a year before large-scale artillery fire. In fact, the Jin army's siege this time was still mainly based on Zhang Yu's troops driving away civilians, but only two core armored soldiers of Meng'an were deployed, and the target was only a place in the north of the city... It was obviously a tentative move.
But the problem is that, for some reason, from the perspective of the Song officials and the Jin army generals, this city still gives people the feeling that it can be taken down in one go...
"The walls of Nanyang City seem a little short, don't they?" Wanyan Bali moved back and forth behind the stage, jumping up and down, and gestured with his hands for a long time before he came on stage. As soon as he opened his mouth, he expressed his doubts. "Our stage is 15 feet high. By this comparison, how come the walls of the secondary capital of Song State look less than 40 feet? Not to mention Taiyuan and Dongjing, even the ordinary border cities of Song State can't compare to them, right?"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding Jin generals all pointed out their fingers to measure, except for Wanyan Wushu, who was sitting there with a frown on his face, as if he was looking at someone with a bad face again... There was nothing he could do. He was not good at geometry. Not to mention comparing himself with Emperor Zhao and Chen Gui opposite him, there was also some gap between him and his own subordinates. He really didn't know how to measure.
