After the Jin army crossed the Majia River, Wanyan Xiebao discovered a very annoying thing, that is, the distance between the river and the city wall was about less than two miles, in this case, it was difficult for the soldiers to cross the Majia River to launch an effective attack, unless the river was filled. Because the upper reaches of the Majia River are blocked, it is not difficult to fill in the river, but once the enemy sneaks up the upper reaches of the Majia River, then the river will wash down.

On October 15th, the sky was cloudy, lightning and thunder, strong winds, and torrential rain. Obviously, the weather was not suitable for the attack, but the attack still began on this day. Of course, the first ones are still those who surrendered to the Song army, these guys are destined to be cannon fodder, and this fate is already doomed on the day of surrender.

Wanyan Xianbao made a bloody investment this time, he sent a thousand warlords to monopolize the back, as long as these surrendered Song troops did not work hard to attack the city, they would be killed from behind.

The first batch of 3,000 Song troops who surrendered rushed over, this was the first day of the official siege, there was no siege vehicle at all, no trebuchets were used, it was obvious that this time it was only a tentative attack. Despite the lack of trebuchets as cover, the soldiers still attacked the city, constantly using ladders to attack the walls.

In the second and third groups, the soldiers rushed to the bottom of the city wall, countless people climbed the city wall, and the Song army defending the city began to struggle to resist and the two sides started a fierce battle in the city.

How could this be, how could it be so easy to storm the city? Wanyan Xianbao felt that this battle was too easy, but he had always been arrogant and arrogant, but he still ordered the whole army to attack, and strive to take the city of Lanzhou in one day.

An army of 30,000 troops was put into the attack, attacking from the three gates of the east gate, the west gate, and the north gate. The huge battering ram slowly pushed towards the battlefield, and the nest cars were also pushed to the battlefield one by one.

The balance of war has always been tilted in favor of the Jin army, as if the overall situation had been decided.

Just when more and more Jin troops attacked the city wall and the battering ram was about to reach the city gate, the number of Song troops defending the city suddenly increased dramatically, and they continued to kill those Jin troops who rushed to the city.

At this time, the sky was clear, the war really entered the white heat, the Jin army that rushed to the city wall became the target of killing, and the larger and larger Song army appeared in Buchengtou. One by one, the ladders were pushed away, and the Jin army on the head of the city became fewer and fewer, and they were gradually slaughtered cleanly.

Numerous rockets were fired from the city, which soon burned the battering ram.

The Jin army continued to attack, but the Song army defending the city was abnormal, and its combat effectiveness skyrocketed, and no matter how the Jin army rushed to kill, it never climbed to the top of the city again.

Looking at the corpses all over the ground, Wanyan Xianbao ordered the withdrawal of the army, and it was obvious that the first day was a bad plan, and the price of 5,000 casualties was paid by underestimating the combat effectiveness of the Song army defending the city.

Obviously, the defender of this Lanzhou is very strategic, and he can't be opportunistic if he wants to take this city. Wanyan Xianbao learned from the pain and prepared to attack the city the next day, according to the most conventional way.

The next day, hundreds of catapults slowly descended into the battlefield, and this time, the Jin army did not plan to attack very blindly, but prepared to use trebuchets to destroy the Song army's defenses first, and then attack.

Yue Fei had long been fully prepared for this battle, and the reason why he chose to let Wang Jing stick to the bank of the moat for two or three days was for only one purpose, that is, to make the Jin army unclear about his routine of defending the city, so that the Jin army could only choose to attack tentatively on the first day.

Anyway, the attack of the Jin army on the first day should be tentative, as long as it is fully weak, it will definitely make the Jin army unable to figure out the true strength of the city. This will make the Jin generals angry on the first day, and take violent revenge the next day.

Retaliation, what Yue Fei wanted was the revenge of the Jin army the next day, he sent 10,000 soldiers to the city, 4,000 soldiers were deployed in the north of the key area, and 2,000 were stationed on the other three sides. This time, half of the only hundred trebuchets in the city were placed on the back, and the bed crossbows were arranged.

The reason why the focus is on defending the north of the city is as long as it is related to the specificity of Lanzhou City. There are only three gates in this city, which are the east gate, the west gate, and the north gate. The reason why there is no south gate is because the south wall is built on the mountain, and this mountain is very strange, there is no road to go up at all, although it is not high, but it is particularly steep, it is very difficult for soldiers to climb the mountain, the key is that there are defenders on it, and the crossbow arrows are used to cover all directions, and the Jin army can almost climb to the top of the mountain.

However, the Song army could continuously send soldiers to the top of the mountain through the city wall, and the transportation of materials was very convenient. That's why there are no gates on the north and south sides, and there are still 2,000 soldiers, on the one hand, to defend the foot of the wall, on the other hand, to support the top of the mountain, and of course to support the east and west sides.

As for the east side of the city, the gate is the water gate, even if the city gate is opened, the casualties will be very large after entering the city, it can be said that the inside is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there is no need to defend the water gate with all your strength.

The inside of the west gate is the urn city, and the trap has long been laid, even if the Jin army attacks the west gate, it will face huge casualties, and it is impossible to break through, the impregnable urn city.

This is the second day of defending the city, and Yue Fei wants to fight to the death with the Jin army on this day, letting them know that the city of Lanzhou is impregnable, and if they want to break through this city, it will be more difficult than climbing to the sky.

With the sound of a low horn, the 6,000-gold army attacked from the east, west, and north, and at the same time, the trebuchet began to wield, and huge stones flew in a parabola towards the city.

After the first day of panic, the soldiers defending the city were quite stable today, hiding behind the battlements under the command of the generals. Huge stones hit the city wall hard, and on the top of the city, the shattered city wall splashed countless small stones, small bricks, and many soldiers were hit by small stones, bleeding and wounded.

The biggest role of the trebuchet is to destroy the defense of the city, and the actual lethality is not great.

After the first round of the Jin army's catapult attack, two bed crossbows were hit and lost their combat effectiveness, while dozens of soldiers were injured to varying degrees, and three trebuchets were also hit and scrapped.

Counterattack, the most effective weapon for counterattack is a bed crossbow, not a trebuchet, after all, the city head is limited, and it is difficult to arrange a large trebuchet. The range of the bed crossbow was 500 paces away, and it could pose a great threat to the trebuchets of the Jin army.

The three-bow bed crossbow, also known as the eight-ox crossbow, is known as one shot and three arrows, and each launch will bring great lethality to the Jin army, and the trebuchet that is hit will soon lose its combat effectiveness.

This is just a microcosm of the war, more Jin troops charged forward with cloud ladders, and countless Jin troops used bows and arrows to shoot at 45 degrees in the back to suppress the archers of the Song army on the city wall, so as to cover the Jin army's siege.

Rows and rows of Jin troops were shot with bows and arrows, and rows and rows of soldiers fell. On this day, it was dark, but until dark, no soldiers were able to storm the city wall, which was in stark contrast to the first day when hundreds of soldiers attacked the city wall.

The city of Lanzhou was not conquered until the end of the month, and at the beginning of November, Wanyan Xiebao led 10,000 cavalry of the Jin Kingdom to the south. And the task of besieging the city of Lanzhou was entrusted to Xiao Zhiji, the general of the Xi tribe. For the Jin army, it doesn't matter whether the city is conquered or not, as long as it is trapped in the city and the Song army inside is not allowed to cut off the grain route of the Jin army, it is a success.

In November, Liu Zhenglong had been injured for a long time and showed no signs of healing, and at this time, Weisheng Mansion was still firmly controlled by Tian Hu, the king of Jin. It's just that the area that the Jin king can control is only Weisheng Prefecture, and other state capitals have been conquered by the official army one after another, of course, some have surrendered in Kaesong.

In November, 100,000 Jin cavalry came to the periphery of Kaifeng City, but they did not immediately attack the city, but swept the Song army around the capital to lay the foundation for the final siege.

The Jin army was constantly clearing out the Song army around Bianliang City, and it can be said that the siege was only a matter of time, and the battle for the defense of Tokyo was about to break out. At this time, the capital had become a nest of porridge, and Zhao Huan of Song Qinzong couldn't wait to grow wings and fly out of Bianliang City. The struggle between the main battle faction and the capitulation faction has reached a fever pitch and could get out of control at any time.

Go, how to go, where to go, this is the biggest problem in front of Song Qinzong, he wants to go, but the main battle faction headed by Li Gang does not agree to live or die, His Majesty the emperor, who is cowardly in his bones, suddenly found that this emperor's throne is not good at this time, it is like sitting on pins and needles.

Song Qinzong Zhao Huan has a habit of going to Queen Zhu Lian when he encounters something that he can't choose, and this time is of course no exception.

Zhu Lian was packing up his things, and when he saw Song Qinzong coming, he said with a smile: "Your Majesty, didn't you go to Concubine Zheng's side, why did you come to the palace of the concubine?" ”

Since having Concubine Zheng Guifei, Song Qinzong Zhao Huan was really fascinated by that charming woman, and never stayed in the queen's bedroom again, every time he came to ask about something during the day, as if this beautiful and fragrant queen was not his wife, but his own military advisor.

Zhao Huan smiled awkwardly and said, "Where are you going to go this time, Hangzhou, Yingtianfu, or Xijing?" ”

"Let's go to Jingzhao Mansion, after all, my brother is staying there."

If Empress Zhu Lian said that she would go to Jingzhao Mansion on weekdays, Song Qinzong Zhao Huan would be very dissatisfied, but he was in the mood to think about those messy things when he was so anxious by the war. Zhao Huan pondered for a moment and said, "Are you saying that Qin Guogong's injury is true or false?" ”

"Your Majesty, do you think the Emperor Taishang's abdication is sincere, or is it forced by the situation?" Queen Zhu Lian didn't answer the question directly, but she said with a smile: "In this world, who can tell whether it's true or false?" ”

"Of course, it's a dump, it goes without saying." Song Qinzong Zhao Huan was annoyed when he heard that the Emperor Taishang, if it wasn't for his father to throw the pot to himself, how could he be in trouble now. He said angrily: "The army is pressing, and my father actually dumped the pot and went to Jiangnan and handed over this mess to me, hey, if there is a way, I am not willing to take the throne." ”

Zhu Lian had long known that Zhao Huan was this kind of virtue, and she said lightly: "Even the Imperial Shuangbi Lin Lingsu and Wang Yin can't defeat Qin Guogong, and an inconspicuous Qiu Qiongying injured Qin Guogong, whoever believes it, it's just a trick." ”

"Then why does he pretend to be injured, that kind of damage to his reputation, the gain outweighs the loss, I don't think Qin Guogong will be so stupid and play with fire himself."

Zhu Lian shook her head, she said with a smile: "Qin Guogong needs an excuse to raise his value, otherwise how can he not come to the rescue of the capital?" So this injury is very knowledgeable, for him, if you don't open enough, his injury won't be good. If you are satisfied with the price, the injury will naturally be healed. ”

"Bastard, you dare to blackmail the court, I want to kill him." Song Qinzong Zhao Huan didn't like Liu Zhenglong from beginning to end, and now this guy is not only a master, but even has to coerce the imperial court, which makes him even more angry.

Zhu Lian looked down on Zhao Huan the most, and she said coldly: "Can you still kill him now?" It's only a matter of time before the Jin army besieges the capital, it's hard for your holy decree to leave the capital, and you can count on that one to kill the Duke of Qin for you? ”

"Are you mocking me?"

"Don't dare, the concubine just wants to ask, do you think you can, without the help of Qin Guogong, can the capital be able to hold it?" Zhu Lian's face was full of sarcasm, and she said unhurriedly: "Now there are countless teams that come to King Qin's rescue, but under the Jin Guotie cavalry, that team can withstand it, and the Great Song Dynasty can only resist the Jin army under the command of Qin Guogong." However, in his own absence, those troops who have been dragging their feet have no intention of coming to King Qin's rescue at all. Besides, if you come, you can't defeat the Jin army without unified command. Your Majesty, who do you think can suppress this group of arrogant soldiers, and who can win the battle to defend the capital? ”

Song Qinzong Zhao Huan was like a deflated ball, he sat down and said weakly: "A group of rice buckets, no one can command the defense of the capital, the team that came to Qinwang to rescue the driver outside has been wiped out by the Jin army by more than 100,000, if there is no rescue team, the Jin army is destined to besiege the city." Once the Jin army besieges the city, the consequences will be unimaginable, otherwise my father would not have thrown the mess to me and ran to the south by himself. ”

"Isn't there Li Gang? Isn't he confident that he can hold the capital? ”

"That nerd can't be trusted, he relies on strategy to fight, he relies on the lives of the three armed forces, he is a powerful army, and he is a first-class commander. It's not a nerd who can just be hot-blooded. "Song Qinzong and Zhao Huan still don't think that Li Gang, a person who has never led soldiers, can win this battle to defend the capital. He said in a sarcastic tone: "That nerd doesn't even know how many troops there are in the capital, how many people eat empty salaries, how many crossbowmen, how many spearmen, and how many axemen in a team, how can he win this war?" ”

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" Queen Zhu Lian cares about the current situation more than anyone else, her son is the crown prince, the future emperor, if the Great Song Dynasty is gone, then what should she be as the queen, what should her son do? Although she looks down on Zhao Huan, she will never allow the country to be left behind, and now that the capital is in crisis, how can she stand idly by?

Song Qinzong Zhao Huan said helplessly: "I hope that Qin Guogong will serve as the envoy of Jingdong Road to defeat the Jin army. ”

"It's useless, this Jingdong Jingjing strategy can't satisfy his appetite, Qin Guogong won't come."

"Then what does he want, the emperor has recruited him to be a concubine, isn't it enough for the emperor's grace. After the defense of the capital was over, I made him a Privy Councillor. In the eyes of Zhao Huan of Song Qinzong, he is already an emperor, and the Duke of Qin should be content.

Empress Zhu Lian said in a firm tone: "If you invite the Duke of Qin to go on the expedition, it is best to crown him as the king of Qin, and serve as a privy envoy to be responsible for the defense of the capital." ”

"No, I will never crown him as the King of Qin." Song Qinzong Zhao Huan said in an unquestionable tone: "If you are not a prince, you can't be crowned a king, this is an ancestral training, and how can Liu Zhenglong be the king of Qin, I will never agree." ”

"Whatever, the concubine will take the prince to Jingzhao Mansion, and then come back after the crisis in the capital is resolved. As for how to fight the defense of the capital, that is your majesty's business, and the concubines can't control it. ”

Song Qinzong had no confidence in the defense of the capital, so the queen Zhu Lian went out of the city with the prince, and he had no intention of blocking it at all. If he hadn't been stopped by Li Gang's old horsemen, he would have left, how could he stay in the capital and be afraid?

Song Qinzong Zhao Huan said weakly: "You first go to Hedong Road to announce the decree, and let the Duke of Qin come to King Qin's rescue." ”

"If you don't go, it's useless to go. If this allows Qin Guogong to come to King Qin's rescue, he will not be injured. I don't want to humiliate myself. ”

"Okay, you don't need to go to Jingzhao Mansion, in fact, you can go to Xijing Luoyang, maybe I will also go to Xijing after a while."

Song Qinzong Zhao Huan had no confidence in the defense of the capital, as long as there was a little sign of being unable to bear it, he would definitely leave, so he asked Empress Zhu Lian to go to Luoyang, Xijing, instead of going to Jingzhao Mansion.

"Okay!"

Emperor Taishang, the princesses are gone, the queen is gone, the crown prince is also gone, at this time, Song Qinzong Zhao Huan is somewhat relieved, what he has to think about now is how to hold the capital.

How could things be as simple as Song Qinzong and Zhao Huan thought, and things were a hundred times more complicated than imagined. Prices are soaring, and the capital has become a mess. Those wealthy and powerful people have already sent their families away, and they are not in a hurry now, but the common people are different, and they want to get out of the city one by one, which is not a problem. Ordinary people from outside the city flock to the capital in large numbers every day. Of course, the spies of the Jin State also took the opportunity to sneak into the city and create chaos in the capital.

The surrender faction and the main battle faction argued all day long, and Song Qinzong died of a headache, which was not a headache for him, the most outrageous thing was that by November 15, the team rescued by King Qin was wiped out by the Jin army of nearly 200,000. The Jin army had already begun to set up camp outside the capital, and it was only a matter of time before the city was besieged.

On the morning of November 16 in the seventh year of Xuanhe.

Sun Fu Qi, the secretary of the Ministry of War, said: "Your Majesty, now that the Jin army has taken Tangyin and Junzhou, to the current position, the Jin army has all crossed the Yellow River, and is about to encircle the capital. ”

Sun Fu can't talk about being the main battle faction, nor can he be talking about the main peace faction. It's just out of consideration for the safety of the country, and I don't want the official family to be trapped in the capital. In his opinion, Li Gang's responsibility for the defense of the capital is unreliable, and no matter what, he cannot put the official family in a dangerous situation, and the top priority is to send the official family away.

Sun Fu's point of view is that as long as the official family leaves the capital, it doesn't matter if the jade is burned. He is not greedy for life and afraid of death, at most he is incompetent, and he is incapable of presiding over defense work.

As soon as Song Qinzong heard that the Jin army had completed the crossing of the river, it was only a matter of time before he besieged the capital, and he immediately had the intention of escaping, and now that Sun Fu had brought it up, he said casually: "The war in the northwest is also very tight, and the Duke of Qin is also injured, and I should also tour Xijing west." ”

"Nope." Li Gang was an anxious man, and as soon as he heard that the official family was leaving, he hurriedly came out and said: "Your Majesty, now that the whole capital is united and has the same hatred for the enemy, we will definitely be able to defeat the Jin army." At this time, Sun Fu, a traitor who brought disaster to the country and the people, actually asked His Majesty to tour the west, which would dampen the confidence of the army and the people in the War of Resistance, and the minister asked for the order to kill this traitor. ”

Your uncle, Sun Fu didn't expect this Li Gang to let the official family cut off his head with one mouth, and he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the body of a daughter is not in court, Your Majesty, you are in danger of the world, how can you risk your life?" You must know that once the capital is trapped, how can the holy decree go out of the city, and how can it call on the soldiers and horses from all over the world to come to the rescue of King Qin? ”

After all, Sun Fu still has the brain to know that it is inappropriate to directly refute Li Gang at this time, he just blindly emphasizes the safety of the official family, but it does not mean that he will not fight back, this guy said coldly: "Master Li, you can say a lot of things, but how to defend the capital, do you have a mature plan?" ”

That's right, how to defend the capital is the key. The official family also wanted to know this question, and he hurriedly asked: "Li Qing's family, how to defend the city, do you have a plan?" ”

plan, when it comes to the plan, Li Gang has a headache, and now almost everyone in the entire capital is singing the opposite, big and small officials are doing it, and there is not even a single person who makes suggestions.

It is no wonder that Li Gang encountered such a predicament, the army of the capital itself was divided into two parts, one part was controlled by Zhao Ji of Song Huizong, and it had long been taken to the south by this fleeing emperor. And the other part has been in the meritorious family led by the four major families, and this group of guys is the most aware and knows the Great Song Forbidden Army best. They all expected Liu Zhenglong to come to be the savior, how could they give this opportunity to Li Gang? Of course, these people don't think that Li Gang, a nerd, can hold the capital, so they do everything they can to restrain them.

Li Gang stubbornly said: "Now the mood of the military and the people in the city is high, and many young people are enthusiastically signing up to join the army, and now there are nearly 150,000 troops in the capital, and they will definitely be able to win the defense war." It's just that the weapons and armor are insufficient, and the soldiers lack military salaries, and I hope that the Privy Council and the Ministry of War will coordinate to solve this problem. ”

Gao Chen was about to speak, but now that Li Gang has burned the flames of war to the Privy Council, how can he, a fellow privy councilor, pretend not to hear? Gao Chen said coldly: "Lord Li casually reported a list, that is, the weapons, armor, and salaries of 100,000 soldiers, what do you think of the Privy Council, what do you think of the Ministry of War?" It seems that Master Li doesn't understand the operation of military affairs, do you want this official to give you a special lesson? As long as the official approves the weapons, weapons, and armor, Lord Sun and I can prepare them for you. As for military salaries, the forbidden army has not been paid for three months. ”

Money, as soon as money is mentioned, the official family has a big head, and the emperor emptied the treasury during his southern tour, and now there is no money in the inner treasury, not to mention the military salary, and even the official silver of the officials is the money paid by the officials themselves.

Just now, what Gao Chen said deeply stimulated the official family, this guy was already suspicious, and now Li Gang recruited 100,000 troops without authorization, which made him very jealous.

A Liu Zhenglong's self-respect for the army is enough for the official family to have a headache, and now Li Gang does not ask for the holy decree, does not pass through the Privy Council, does not go through the military department, and recruits 100,000 elite soldiers without authorization. These 100,000 elite soldiers are in the capital, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, if there is a little wind and grass, then there will be no 'Chen Qiaoyi Change' and a yellow robe will appear.

Zheng Juzhong knew that the treasury was empty, and he also knew that the official family was in trouble, so he got up and said: "Your Majesty, the Jin army is going south and besieging the capital, the top priority should be to take the initiative to negotiate peace with the Jin army. ”

"The minister seconded the proposal." Sun Fu wanted this result, he didn't believe that Li Gang could hold the capital, and he still had to rely on Qin Guogong at the critical moment.

Whether it is a civilian official or a military general, whether it is the main battle faction or the surrender faction, they all believe that it is the most reliable for Qin Guogong to come to the capital to preside over the defense war.

The surrender faction is afraid of war, but it does not mean unconditional surrender, they also want to keep their position and keep the Great Song Dynasty. The main reason why he chose to surrender and negotiate peace talks instead of choosing the main battle was that he felt that Li Gang was unreliable in presiding over the overall situation. Although these capitulation factions hate Liu Zhenglong in their bones, everyone still admires Liu Zhenglong's military talent, and also believes that if they want to win the war, they can only rely on Liu Zhenglong. Of course, if the peace talks can solve the problem best, and if the peace talks are ineffective if they take 10,000 steps back, then they can only rely on Liu Zhenglong, not on Li Gang.

The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty seconded the proposal, except for Li Gang, of course, in the heart of this upright official, Liu Zhenglong was a greedy and lustful courtier.

Crisis, the sense of crisis in the hearts of the officials was not so serious, but when they heard that Li Gang did not have a mature plan, the officials had no courage in their hearts, and he knew that he would not be able to leave. If you talk about patrolling, not to mention Li Gang and other main battle factions who oppose it, even Zheng Juzhong, Wu Minzhong, and Bai Shizhong's surrender faction are also opposed. After all, once the official family leaves the capital, the military and civilians in the capital will indeed be affected, after all, the Duke of Qin has not yet arrived in the capital. Once the capital falls, the consequences are unimaginable.

Originally, Bai Shi and the others still thought that peace talks could solve the problem, of course, the premise was that they could hold the capital, and once the Jin army conquered the capital, it would be a fart to talk about peace. The idea of these capitulators is very simple, it is best if the negotiation can be resolved, but if the negotiation fails, then it is still necessary to defend the city, after all, negotiation is not 100% able to solve the problem. After all, they are all high-ranking officials, and they still have their own ways to play strategy. The Jin army is already besieging the city, and if you want to negotiate, you still need Qin Guogong to relieve the siege, and as for Li Gang, it is just a temporary number.