Volume 2 Chapter 50 is coming
It was late November, the weather was freezing, and the city of Nanyang had been under siege for more than half a month.
On the evening of that day, Wanqi Xie and Wanqi Yuanzhong, who were serving as military advisers of the Privy Council, came down from the city wall. They just returned to the military quarters directly under the Privy Council next to the temporary palace and washed their faces with cold water. They were planning to take a rest for a while before going to the palace cafeteria for dinner, but his neighbor, the Palace Attendant Censor Li Guang, suddenly came to their door and took the initiative to invite them to go with them.
Wanqi Yuanzhong, who had always been kind to others, naturally had nothing to say about this, so he forced himself to be strong and followed him.
As the war progressed, Nanyang City, which had been preparing for a long time before the war, had already completely turned into a large military camp. All urban areas were divided into military quarters, with walls between each quarter. All of them were under military control, and non-military officers had to have badges to enter and exit.
Not only did each district have its own responsibilities and do its best to defend the city, but it also had a unified allocation of supplies, unified housing, and even unified meals for the personnel, making it truly just like a military camp.
In the past, some people would have found it hard to accept.
But at the moment, on the one hand, the elderly, the weak, women and children, as well as some idle bureaucrats who had been somewhat resistant to the decisive battle in Nanyang from the beginning, were driven to Xiangyang early, and there were relatively few unstable factors.
Secondly, Emperor Zhao was a bit particular. Even the temporary palace was divided into a block. The left hall was a canteen, the right hall a warehouse, and the Privy Council and the provincial government were all concentrated near the palace. Not to mention that the emperor himself had the same expenses as everyone in the block, even Madam Wu, who was only seventeen or eighteen years old, had to work with Grand Official Lan, Second Official Feng and others, along with the eunuchs and palace maids, to do laundry and cook for the people in the temporary palace block all day long.
Not only that, after the war broke out, the seriously wounded were also placed here in the harem. She had to lead people to spread lime, boil water, and check medicine every day... From morning to night, she was so tired that she didn't even have the strength to speak. Her job was not as easy as that of Madam Liang, who took over the duties of guarding the palace!
They are basically being treated like livestock by the government!
Since the Emperor and Mrs. Wu have set such an example themselves, what can others do?
Gentlemen are polite, and although they were already used to it, when they met Mrs. Wu and the guard Feng Yi, Wanqi Xie and Li Guang still bowed and greeted them first, then took their plates and sat down in the corner of the cafeteria. After sitting down, the two of them did not say much. They wolfed down two mouthfuls of food and took a few sips of hot water. Only then did they feel like they were alive again.
I have to say that there are special treatments here in Xinggongfang. The meals are all treated according to the treatment for wounded soldiers, with an extra portion of pickles compared to outside. What's even better is that there is unlimited hot water. It's just that the fresh meat jelly with ginger and fermented black beans in winter is not as much as the rewards on the city wall!
Back to the present, after the two of them recovered from their fatigue with the help of hot water, under the dim candlelight, Wanqi Xie was the first to smile bitterly and shook his head: "It's a pity that alcohol is now restricted, and I can't drink a glass with Brother Li to help cheer myself up..."
"What a bitter Xing." Li Guang couldn't help laughing when he heard that, but then he stopped talking and said seriously. "Brother Wanqi, you are coming up from the city. I wonder how the battle situation is on the city?"
Wanqi Xie's heart moved, but he picked up the bowl of water and took a sip slowly.
Originally, he just thought that he was becoming more and more useful and attracted the attention of this powerful neighbor, so he casually invited him today. However, he did not expect that the other party seemed to have other intentions, so he had to be careful this time.
After all, in Wanqi Xie's opinion, Li Guang was a close follower of Li Gang and Li Boji of Yangzhou, and in the current situation, Li Gang once again proved his magical ability that as long as there was no war, he was the most reliable minister, but as long as there was a war, the whole thing would be a mess... Before the siege of the city, Nanyang did not wait for Zhong Xiang to rebel, but received new information saying that the troops sent by Li Gang to lead the suppression of the rebellion had internal strife, and the military turmoil not only did not subside, but expanded?
So after this battle, it is still unknown what will be the fate of Li Boji, who has missed the big event?
It is unlikely that it will break down directly, but after the war, Prime Minister Lu Yihao will surely rise greatly, and both Lu and Li have such fierce temperaments, so I'm afraid there will inevitably be a fierce fight between dragons and tigers... Speaking of which, Wanqi Xie is still a member of the Privy Council, and theoretically he is a direct subordinate of Prime Minister Lu?
Of course, when he thought of this, Wanqi Xie found it funny, because he should have been the confidant of Wang Boyan, but who made Wang Xianggong go against the emperor's wishes and be expelled to Xiangyang? However, Wang Xianggong was a dual elder of Hebei and Bagongshan after all... It seemed that he would not necessarily lose power because of this, and the capital he left in Nanyang would be regarded differently by Wang Xianggong in the future.
In short, he could not think of anything after thinking about it, and it would be nothing more than a few sips of water if he put it outside, so he put down the bowl and smiled: "Brother Li has a question, how dare I not answer it? But Brother Li is the Imperial Censor in the Palace, and he has the power of supervision. He can check the situation on the city himself, why do you ask me?"
Let's say, Li Guang, a former member of the Tang royal family, a so-called well-dressed man, a literary official known for his uprightness, didn't know that in the blink of an eye, the other party's stomach was already spinning dozens of times? But he held the case and spoke frankly:
"To be honest, I am still worried about the war situation..."
Wanqi Xie laughed in his heart. Who in this city had not worried about the war situation? But now that they had already followed the government into the gamble, what was the point of worrying?
It's just a matter of getting through it or not getting through it.
If you can survive with the government, it will be a solid asset in the future. If you drink one more bowl of hot water here today, you will have endless wealth in the future. But if you can't survive, you can only take it one step at a time.
However, thinking this in his heart did not stop Wanqi Xie from looking serious: "Let Brother Li know that the city seems to be safe."
"oh?"
"Brother Li, please listen to me and I will tell you slowly." Wan Qixie continued to answer seriously. "You should know a little about the attack and defense on the city wall these days, right?"
"Of course." Li Guang did not go to eat, but sat at the table with his sleeves folded, looking at the treasures, as if he had already inquired about it. "In the first four days of the siege, the Jin army only filled the outer moat. On the fifth day, they thought that the outer moat was useless after the ice formed, so they attacked the city with ladders, but they were defeated miserably under the sheep and horse wall and in the inner moat. On the sixth day, the Jin army suddenly came up with a strange strategy and built seven corridors to attack the city. After being blocked by General Fu, they simply used the five corridors in front as troop transport routes and fought hand-to-hand with our army under the city. They withdrew in the evening. On the seventh day of the siege, they still harassed the city with corridors, but were easily broken by the battering poles and pulleys on the city. On the eighth day, they built a large hole cart. The cart was three feet long, ten feet high, and ten feet wide. It was made of solid wood, wrapped with leather ropes, covered with wet felt cloth, and coated with mud. It was difficult to break with hooks and arrows, so that two of the carts reached the city gate directly. It was really thrilling..."
"Yes." Wanqi Xie also couldn't help but sigh. "That day, Minister Chen had already advised the emperor to use cannons, but the emperor just didn't agree. Fortunately, there were mechanisms on the city gates, double-layer city gates, and an exit at the top of the city gate. They poured oil and dropped rocks, and finally stuffed gunpowder bags into the big hole cart, and finally stopped it."
"However, the flying bridge, tower car, and wheel ladder in the next few days will not be so dangerous." Li Guang said, but he didn't know who was worried about the city defense and who was not. "Most things are between the sheep and horse wall and the city wall. It's just that after so many days, the sheep and horse wall is full of holes, and the inner and outer moats are all lost..."
"That was before today." Wan Qi Xie laughed at him. "Today there was another big danger, but it wasn't that dangerous."
"oh?"
"Brother Li, do you still remember the big hole car you just mentioned?"
"Of course I remember. Did the Jin army use the big-hole cart again today?" Li Guang was curious for a moment.
"It's not a big hole cart, but a giant hole cart!" Wanqi Xie shook his head and laughed. "I think it must have been built since that day, but it was hidden behind the opponent's platform and covered with curtains... The cart is 40 feet high, 10 feet long, and 20 feet wide, with a total of five seats. It was pushed along the five old corridors of that day and towed by armored oxen and horses. It is just as spectacular as the 'Yunliang Cart' recorded in history books."
Li Guang was stunned for a moment, but he tried to ask: "Brother, with your attitude, I think you can still break through the 'Yunliang' calmly?"
"It is broken, but it is broken in a ridiculous way." Wanqi Xie simply slapped the table and laughed. "When the cart was pushed halfway, even the emperor was shaken and was ready to fire... But the 'cloud beam' was too heavy. Before it reached the outer trench, the armored cattle and horses used to pull it were shot by the enemy-killing bows and rockets on the city walls. They panicked and scattered. As they were dragged from all sides, several cloud beams became top-heavy and tilted. Most of them were directly disabled and could not move. One of them even flipped over. There were countless Jin soldiers hiding in the cart, and they were all crushed into meat patties... Today we won without fighting."
Li Guang was more and more stunned, but he didn't know what to say. He paused for a moment before asking, "Is it because the war has been going smoothly these days that you think Nanyang City is safe?"
Of course!
Wan Qi Xie cried out in his heart, but his face remained stern: "No! I think the reason why Nanyang can be defended is not because of these city defense battles, but because the emperor has been patient and has not fired a cannon until now! How patient is this? And how calm is this? The emperor is so determined, and everyone is united in following him. The national fortune of the Song Dynasty will surely rise again! And no matter how powerful the Jin army is, how can it touch Nanyang at all?"
These words were spoken in a very loud voice, and although they were spoken in a corner of the cafeteria and the light was dim, they still attracted the attention of many officials who were eating and the eunuchs who were on duty in the cafeteria.
Li Guang was stunned for a moment, and when the people around him stopped looking, he twirled his beard and whispered, "To be honest, I'll be honest with you. I came to you today not because I'm worried about the city defense, but because the emperor is forbearing this time... You said that things like tunnels, large hole carts, flying bridges, etc. could have been made with flying cannons. The new cannon carts in the city are of different sizes and in great numbers, which can be said to be complete. But the emperor would rather send the city's elite troops to fight hand-to-hand under the city than do this. What's the purpose?"
"He must have a purpose, but I really don't know what it is." Wanqi Xie shook his head proudly.
"I don't really care what the emperor and Minister Chen think." Li Guang sighed and finally said what he was really worried about. "I'm just worried about the emperor..."
Wan Qi Xie understood in his heart, but his face showed confusion: "Brother Li, what exactly do you mean?"
"It was discussed in the palace before that we should first use the strong city of Nanyang to tire out the Jin army, and when the Jin army is exhausted and the surrounding areas are relaxed, we will send Zhang Jing to send reinforcements across the Baihe River to support and divide the enemy forces. Then the emperor will take the opportunity to march south to Xiangyang, leaving the Jin army in a dilemma and forcing them to retreat. Is that right?" Li Guang continued to lower his voice and face the emperor seriously. "But if the emperor leaves room for maneuver, will he get angry and refuse to leave, and just say that he will fight Wanyan Wushu to the end in the city?"
Wanqi Xie also had such worries in his heart, because Emperor Zhao's performance on the city wall in the past few days really made people think so.
However, Wanqi Yuanzhong is Wanqi Yuanzhong after all. When he thought of this, he shook his head firmly: "If Brother Li is looking for me because I am suspicious of this matter, then I will tell you directly. I am accompanying the emperor in the city and I can see clearly that the emperor's recent actions are not in vain to anger the commander of the Jin army. There is also a complete consideration and decision there. If it really comes to the critical moment, I think the emperor will never act on his own!"
When Li Guang heard this, he felt relieved for a moment and thanked the other party, and Wanqi Xie was unable to refuse.
In this way, the two of them talked about this. The food had already gone cold, but they took hot water to make it directly. They had dinner together and then said goodbye to each other.
Let's not talk about Wanqi Xie, who said something different to different people, and then went back to rest. On the other side, Li Guang and Li Taifa, the imperial censors in the palace, were slightly refreshed after hearing the other party's words, and they brought their own hot water kettles back to their residence, soaked their feet first, and then went to bed early, but after going to bed, they tossed and turned and had difficulty falling asleep. In the middle, they took out a book to read, but they felt confused.
After all, Wanqi Xie's attitude just now seemed to be strict, but it was just empty talk and perfunctory. Therefore, although Li Guang was comforted for a while, his doubts in his heart were never dispelled. In fact, now this Li Yushi's mind is still full of thoughts that Nanyang is safe, while Emperor Zhao made mistakes and caused the overall situation to collapse.
This was not an idea that had just emerged recently, but one that he had discussed with friends such as Lin Qi before the siege, and which arose after he received a letter from Li Gang, the benefactor who was far away in the southeast, reminding him. However, Lin Qi and others were now driven to Xiangyang by the angry Emperor Zhao and Lu Yihao, and then the city was besieged, and the correspondence had stopped. There was only Li Guang, an important official from the Li Gang faction, in the city. Seeing that Emperor Zhao had been in a bad mood recently, he was really worried, so he had to discuss it with others.
However, Li Yushi lay on the couch, thinking over and over again, worried and at the same time unable to figure it out... Although he said to Wanqi Xie today that he was worried that the emperor would not go to Xiangyang, in fact, if the emperor really did not go to Xiangyang and really stayed in Nanyang, in his opinion, it was not impossible.
After all, as a Palace Censor with supervisory power, Li Guang was very clear about the current situation in Nanyang. There were sufficient supplies and room for city defense. Emperor Zhao and the Minister of War Chen Gui had made preparations for things that everyone had expected or not… For example, Li Guang was considered an old minister who had participated in the siege of Tokyo during the Jing Kang period, but he really didn't expect that Emperor Zhao would be so thoughtful as to dig a reservoir in the city in advance to store coal?
Not to mention the practice of sending away the extra residents early and turning the city into a large military camp.
In the past few days, seeing that the Jin army's various siege tactics were repeatedly restrained, he, the censor, sometimes felt that even if the city walls were gone, Nanyang could still fight the Jin army with the military camps in the city! And the Song Dynasty would never repeat the shame of Jingkang and fall into the danger of national destruction again!
That's right. Even Li Guang now feels that as long as they continue like this, even if Tokyo and Changsha are completely lost and the Jin army sends tens of thousands of reinforcements, they will sooner or later be exhausted by the scorching heat and casualties, and finally flee in embarrassment.
In other words, when facing Wanqi Xie just now, Li Guang certainly had to express himself according to his political stance, but deep down, he had already been secretly convinced of the young official in front of him these days, and was not so pessimistic about the situation... It's just that, as an old minister, and a typical Confucian official at that, he had some instinctive fear of the fact that Official Zhao acted so detached from the bureaucracy.
It was precisely because of this contradictory psychology that he was easily fooled by Wanqi Xie.
In fact, it was not just Li Guang who had conflicting thoughts. Just opposite Li Guang's residence, in a room where the lights had been turned off long ago, Wanqi Xie, looking at the dark ceiling, actually agreed with Li Guang after a series of wild thoughts - he now felt that compared with Tokyo, Nanyang was definitely defensible; and compared with the two saints, Emperor Zhao was definitely an official who could be relied on.
Otherwise, given his character, he would not have followed the official to stay in Nanyang and take this gamble.
Moreover, unlike Li Guang, who had an obvious Confucian attitude and a distinct faction, Wanqi Xie's ideas were more open-minded. In the eyes of this man who dared to think about anything, the two saints were actually heavily involved in the loss of Tokyo and the Jingkang Incident.
Among them, Emperor Taishang Daojun (Emperor Huizong of Song) was cowardly and incompetent. He fled when he encountered the enemy. He first lost his army in Hebei, and then passed the throne to the south to shake the morale of the army. However, Emperor Yuansheng (Emperor Qinzong of Song) was a typical follower of the wind. He listened to this today and that tomorrow. When the Jin army arrived at the city, he was weak. When the Jin army left, he was still optimistic and took risks... In the end, the situation became very bad!
Regardless, although the official in Nanyang City today was a little flustered at first because he had just ascended the throne, he made a quick decision after the Jin invaded the south last year and effectively learned the lesson of the two saints:
First, he set an example by firmly resisting the Jin army and never mentioned any talk of peace;
Secondly, he had a firm stance, and he was consistent in both employing people and doing things. Li Gang and Li Boji, who looked down on him, Zong Ze and Zong Rulin, who obviously did not trust him, the somewhat incompetent Lu Haowen, and Han Shizhong, who had many problems, were basically able to put aside their past grudges and serve his term to the end!
As for the previous turmoil between the old and new parties caused by Xu Jingheng, although he had not yet entered the officialdom at that time, after Wanqi Xie heard the whole story from others, he actually felt that this official actually had some demeanor of a sage monarch.
Even now, it seems that this emperor has not let down these ministers, and these ministers, if taken individually, have absolutely no intention of letting down Emperor Zhao. But judging from the results, it seems that these people have let down Emperor Zhao, and no one knows what is going on.
Was it luck? Was it the aftermath of the actual demise of the country and the displacement of the court after the Jingkang Incident? Or was it simply because the Jin Kingdom was so powerful at that time?
Speaking of which, Zhong Xiang from Dongting Lake in the south was a recognized traitor. Everyone knew that he was going to rebel, but he did not do so at this time. It seemed that he had not let down Emperor Zhao, which was incredible.
Just like this, Wanqi Xie had a treacherous mind and no stance. After drawing some strange conclusions from the perspective of human selfishness, his thoughts kept wandering and he didn't know when he fell asleep.
But on the morning of the next day, he was suddenly awakened by a whistling sound. He quickly got up, dressed hastily, and went out to investigate the situation.
When they went out of the door, they ran into Li Guang who was equally panicked. They just realized that it was already noon and there was no one else in the alley. They were the only two who had not yet gotten up, and both had bloodshot eyes, as if the other had been daydreaming like them last night.
The two men smiled awkwardly, bowed hurriedly, and then went together to look for their respective donkeys - this was the standard equipment for civil servants in the city, horses were to be used by the army, mules were to be used to transport supplies, and only donkeys were available for civil servants to ride around.
The two men rode their donkeys out of the town, and before they had taken a few steps, they realized what was happening, because along the way, hundreds of new artillery vehicles that had been prepared in the city began to start up and adjust their positions.
Obviously, this was the Jin army's artillery formation outside the city, and what happened just now should have been the Jin army testing their artillery.
At this point in the battle, the most difficult and also the most critical stage of defending the city, namely the artillery battle stage, finally arrived.
"Are you ready?" Still on the north city wall, through the ground in front that had long been flattened by the war, Emperor Zhao squinted at the general platform opposite, then suddenly turned around and asked.
"We have already adjusted the direction and force according to the observations from the top of the city wall." Chen Gui was sweating profusely in the winter. "Your Majesty, please go to the temporary palace to take shelter. I will take care of it on the top of the city wall..."
"No problem." Zhao Jiu shook his head and laughed. "Didn't you say that? Your city wall defenses are the most powerful. I can just go down to the city and hide there."
"Your Majesty, please go down now!" Chen Gui tried to persuade him again. "The enemy has set up its positions overnight. Two hundred artillery vehicles are divided into four battalions facing each other. The test of the artillery has been completed and they can fire at any time..."
"No need to wait for them!" Zhao Jiu continued to laugh, pointing at the general platform in the north. "I'm on the city wall, waiting for you to fire the first round of cannonballs, and then go down!"
Chen Gui understood what the other party meant, so he stopped trying to persuade him, and simply turned back to pass on the order. In a moment, flags were waving on the top of the city walls, signaling the various artillery vehicles in the city that had already been prepared to fire in volleys according to the already prepared trajectory, taking the initiative!
"I just don't believe it!" On the Jin army's platform, Wanyan Wushu finally smiled again. "In today's situation, can he still hold back from ejaculating?"
"That's right!" Chi Zhanhui echoed, twirling his beard. "I also want to see what kind of strange things are hidden in the artillery vehicles in Nanyang City? How could they have been able to hold back until today!"
“Fire!”
Just as Wanyan Wushu and others were eagerly waiting, Emperor Zhao on the city wall heard Chen Gui's words, but he used an incredible word to give the final military order.
However, everyone can understand it below the old rules.
"Fire!" Chen Gui raised his voice and ordered the messenger beside him.
The herald officer said nothing, but waved a flag that had not been moved for half a month. Countless flags on the top of the city walls waved at the same time after seeing the flag waved here. When the civilians in the artillery bases of the Song army saw the flag, they did not mobilize dozens of people to pull it like the ones outside the city. Instead, they just sent a strong civilian to carry a big wooden hammer and hit the strange "crotch" of the artillery they were responsible for!
With just one blow, the mechanism on the crotch of the artillery carriage opened, and a large basket filled with counterweight stones fell straight down, and then the projection module at the rear loaded with different "ammunition" was raised high.
Next, hundreds of bullets flew out of Nanyang City together. Some were big, some were small, some were made of polished stones, and some were even made of mud. It was truly spectacular... When Li Guang and Wanqi Xie saw this, they simply stopped their donkeys and watched.
However, the two of them only felt it was spectacular, but they didn't know that after the projectiles flew out of the city... the former, that is, stone projectiles, most of them went straight to the corresponding Jin army artillery positions, while the latter, that is, mud projectiles the size of a human head, there were only about dozens of them, all fired from the high platform close to the city wall, but they flew high over the city wall, and with an incredible range, directly hit the Jin army general platform to the north.
Over there, under the warm winter sunshine, the words of the veteran general of the Jin army, Wanhu Chizhanhui, had just fallen, and were being echoed by countless Meng'ans and Moukes.
