In the mountains northeast of Xiongzhou, 50,000 soldiers and horses of the Baoding Army are advancing along the south bank of the Baigou River to Xiongzhou in the southwest. The location where the Baoding army was stationed was actually in Wenzhou, south of Bazhou, less than 150 miles away from Bazhou in a straight line. However, there is a large river called Baigou River and a continuous mountain range called Yantou Mountain between Wenzhou and Bazhou, so you need to cross the Baigou River and detour Yantou Mountain to reach Bazhou.

When Bazhou was attacked by the Jurchen army, the Baoding army was actually the fastest to get the news. The lookout post they set up on the top of Yantou Mountain and the post stations set up on both sides of the Baigou River had already delivered the news to Wenzhou when the Jurchen army was attacking the city like tigers and wolves, so that Liu Jiayao, the commander of the Baoding army stationed in Wenzhou, was so shocked that he almost choked to death on a piece of mutton.

After receiving the news, Qin Zhiyuan, the Taishou of Wenzhou, immediately discussed with Liu Jiayao whether he should send troops to Bazhou for reinforcements, but Liu Jiayao refused. Liu Jiayao gave two reasons, one was that the Baoding Army's duty was to guard Wenzhou and the border towns west of Wenzhou, and he could not send troops at will until he received an order. Second, although the Baoding Army is very close to Bazhou, it needs to travel far to rescue, and it is not as timely as the Xiongzhou soldiers and horses and the Ansu Army and the Guangxin Army in the west. If they want to be saved, they will also be saved.

Wenzhou is too guarded by Qin Zhiyuan, although as a local state capital, it is possible to mobilize local garrisons in case of emergency, but the rules of the border towns are different. Since Yang Jun became a privy envoy, the transfer of soldiers and horses in border towns has all been attributed to the Privy Council. Of course, this is also for the sake of the linkage and command considerations of the defense of the border towns to avoid chaos. But in fact, this is also part of Yang Jun's tightening control over the military. Deprive the local governors of all powers that would have had the power to transfer troops urgently, and bring all command of the army to the Privy Council. Qin Zhiyuan wanted to rescue, but he only had 1,500 people in the city's official regiment in hand, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Liu Jiayao is a greedy person who is afraid of death, he is just replacing the position of Ma Yu, the former commander of the Baoding Army. Ma Yu was Yang Jun's former general, and after Yang Jun was killed, Ma Yu was summoned to the capital, and as a result, he never returned. The post of commander of the Baoding Army was vacant. Liu Jiayao was originally a deputy general, and he thought that this was an opportunity, so he asked someone to find the way of the third envoy Lu Tianci and sent 10,000 taels of silver to Lu Tianci. Subsequently, he got his wish and was appointed as the commander of the Baoding Army. In fact, Liu Jiayao's reputation in the Baoding army is extremely bad, and this person is flattering and despised by others. The original commander Ma Yu and the main generals in the army did not want to see him. However, it was this person who became the commander of the Baoding army.

When he learned the news of the Jurchen invasion, Liu Jiayao scolded in his heart. He didn't want to spend the 10,000 taels of silver in vain, since he took over as the commander, he made a lot of fun by eating empty salaries and deducting soldiers' salaries, but the time was too short, it was only less than a year, and he had not yet returned to his capital. At this time, the Jurchens came to attack, wouldn't it be that they couldn't get the money back, but they had to fight hard with the Jurchens? He didn't want to fight the Jurchens.

After Bazhou was conquered, one of the things he was most worried about was that the Jurchens would attack Wenzhou in the south, so he would have to fight the Jurchens. However, the good news was that the other party was disdainful of Wenzhou at all, and the Jurchens went directly to Xiongzhou after resting for two days after capturing Bazhou, which made Liu Jiayao breathe a long sigh of relief. He had already prepared that once the Jurchens attacked Wenzhou, he would immediately lead his army to retreat south and abandon Wenzhou. Now it seems that the Jurchens are more interested in Xiongzhou, and with Xiongzhou in front, they can relax a little. Of course, he did not have the slightest intention to reinforce Xiongzhou. Bai Qi, the deputy privy envoy, was stationed in Xiongzhou, but this person was not treated by Lu Zhongtian, otherwise he would not have been sent to the border town from the post of commander of the palace. If he had ordered him to rescue Xiongzhou, he would never have go. Liu Jiayao had already thought of a reason, that is, he was one of the commanders of several major garrisons in the border towns, and the transfer of troops and horses required the orders of the privy envoy Lu Zhongtian, a mere deputy envoy, but he had no right to mobilize his Baoding army.

However, only a few days later, carrier pigeons from the capital sent Lu Zhongtian's handwritten order, asking him to lead the Baoding army to reinforce Xiongzhou within three days. After Liu Jiayao received the order, he scolded Lu Zhongtian's ancestors for eight generations, blowing his beard angrily and glaring. The father and son of the Lu family got so much silver from themselves, but they had to send them to death by themselves, which was simply inferior to beasts. But annoyance is annoyance, and the order does not dare to disobey. Liu Jiayao had no choice but to lead the army to set off and rush to Xiongzhou, more than 100 miles to the west.

The official road from Wenzhou to Xiongzhou was built along the south bank of the Baigou River. The soldiers and horses led by Liu Jiayao could only march to Xiongzhou from the official road. The team of people and horses slowly marched on the official road, Liu Jiayao rode on the horse with a miserable face like a mournful woman, he felt that he was going to die, and he might not have a chance to return to Wenzhou alive. He regretted that he didn't say goodbye to the concubines of the few Qinglou he had raised in Wenzhou when he left. I'm afraid that this time I will be more auspicious, I will never see them again, I will never taste their sweet little mouths again, and I will not be able to hug their soft waists. Thinking of this, he scolded the father and son of the Lu family and the eight generations of the Jurchen ancestors together dozens of times in his heart.

The weather is unusually cold, the official road on the bank of the Baigou River is higher, although there is the barrier of Yantou Mountain on the north bank, but the cold wind is still drilling into the armor. The roads were muddy and difficult to walk, and the snow-covered official roads were trampled by the hooves and footsteps of the horses, and from time to time some chariots and horses fell and fell into it, and the soldiers and horses were simply suffering when they walked.

Finally, the official road ahead turned and entered the lower part of the hillside on higher ground. This is a small hill, and the official road passes through the hill, so the official road under your feet is full of gravel, and it is drier to walk on. What's more, the gentle slopes between the hills make it a great place to set up camp. The sun is setting in the west, although it can still walk for an hour before it gets dark, but Liu Jiayao doesn't want to leave a step, he can't rub it for a while, he doesn't want to die so quickly. It's best that before you arrive, Xiongzhou will be occupied by the Jurchens, so you can go home justifiably.

"The men and horses are tired, and it is getting late, so we should set up camp and rest. Give the order to go down, camp on the spot, and do it again tomorrow. Liu Jiayao passed down the order, and the soldiers and horses drove into both sides of the hillside, swept away the snow, cut grass and cut trees to clear the open space, and the soldiers and horses of each battalion set up camp on the spot one after another.

Liu Jiayao sat on the stone on the side of the road to rest, his body became colder and colder, and his heart was extremely irritable. But soon, the big tent was erected, the firewood was lit, the copper kettle began to heat on the fire, the guards around him had begun to bake the dry food on the fire, and the dough cake also emitted an attractive fragrance, and Liu Jiayao's mood was much better. So he took off his armor, changed his cotton, took off his boots, sat down by the fire and began to roast and eat, and his mood gradually relaxed.

Around the big tent, a simple camp was formed. Thousands of tents spread across the hillsides on both sides, and countless bonfires were lit. The soldiers boiled hot water and baked their food, preparing to eat and warm up after a good night's rest. As a soldier who has not fought for a long time, his training on weekdays is also very lax, and many soldiers are probably exercising the most in the past year, so they are also very tired. The whole barracks was filled with the pleasant sighs of resting after exhaustion.

The sun goes down and the weather gets even colder. The soldiers hid in their tents and slept, except for a small number of vigilant soldiers on the hills on both sides, hunkering around with their heads and blades in their hands.

The sky had darkened, and the sound in the camp had become quiet, and snoring could already be heard in many of the tents. At this moment, several soldiers who were cowering behind rocks on the western hillside to take shelter from the wind suddenly heard an unusual sound. They hurriedly stretched out their heads and looked around, and several feathered arrows were fired in succession, and the three soldiers were each hit by arrows in their foreheads, and they fell to the ground without humming. The other soldiers cried out in horror, only to realize that in the dim twilight below the hillside, countless black shadows were rushing up the hillside. Those dark shadows stand out against the snow.

"There are enemies! Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Several soldiers shouted at the top of their throats. At the same time, the shouts of another group of vigilant soldiers could be heard on the eastern hillside.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! ”

The silent dusk was broken by the shrill shouts, and the soldiers in the camp who were not asleep rushed out of the tent to check in panic when they heard the news, first they saw dozens of soldiers on guard running down the hillside in panic, and the next moment, they saw countless black dots appear above the hillside. The sky light reflected in the gray sky, and those black dots were densely packed with many people, and all of them were cavalry.

"Enemy attack!" The soldiers in the camp screamed, and someone quickly blew their trumpets, but soon the cavalry on the hillside poured down the hillside like a flood. After a cup of tea, they had already rushed to the edge of the camp and began to slash wildly.

Liu Jiayao had fallen asleep before, he was lying in the soft quilt and dreaming back to the flower bed of the Qinglou, laughing and drinking with the new brand of Xiuchun Lou, when he was suddenly awakened by the noise and noise, and got up and asked loudly what was going on.

The guards rushed in and reported in a panic that the enemy had attacked the camp, and Liu Jiayao was almost stupid.

"Where's my armor? Where is my sword? Do I boot you? Prepare the horses. Let Adjutant Li set them up camp at once. Fuck, fuck, how could this be. Liu Jiayao hurriedly commanded in panic, and the guards also hurriedly found the boots roasted by the campfire, the armor and matching knives thrown at random in the corner of the tent, and helped Liu Jiayao put on the armor, the east and west battalions had been broken through by the enemy cavalry.

Liu Jiayao got out of the tent and got on the horse, and saw the chaos in the camps on both sides, and the other party had broken through the tents on both sides and went straight to his location. The soldiers and horses who rushed to meet the battle couldn't resist it at all.

"Who is the other party? How many soldiers and horses are there? Liu Jiayao shouted.

"It's the Jurchen cavalry, I'm afraid there are tens of thousands of people. You see, the hillsides on both sides of the black press are all there. "Someone reported it.

Liu Jiayao's mind was buzzing, and he made a decision quickly.

"Ordered Deputy General Li and Deputy General Zhang to lead the eastern and western battalions to meet the attack. It is not allowed to take a step back. ”

"Yes!" Several guards gave the order to leave.

"General Liu, what about us? Where to kill? The general of his personal guard battalion asked.

"it! Protect General Ben and run! Liu Jiayao turned his horse's head and galloped towards the entrance of the valley by the Baigou River. The general of the guard battalion was stunned for a moment, and finally waved his hand, and thousands of cavalry followed Liu Jiayao and fled.

The battle ended quickly, and the cavalry raid and the main general fled as soon as possible, so that the Baoding army, which was already a scum in combat effectiveness, collapsed in an instant. The Jurchen cavalry pursued and killed as much as they could, annihilating most of the scattered and fleeing Baoding army. If it weren't for the darkness of the sky and the difficulty of galloping in the snowy wilderness, the Jurchens would not have given up easily. But even so, the battle ended at the beginning of the shift, 50,000 Baoding troops were annihilated, 20,000 were captured, and the rest all lost their armor and fled, which was almost equivalent to the annihilation of the entire army. Of course, the commander of the Baoding Army made Liu Jiayao retreat with more than 1,000 cavalry soldiers and horses of the personal guard battalion. They ran so fast that the Jurchens didn't even meet them. However, what Liu Jiayao didn't know was that the Jurchen cavalry that attacked them was actually only 12,000 people, and he had four times as many soldiers and horses as the other party. If it weren't for his greed for life and fear of death, he would have eaten his opponent and made a great achievement. Without the courage to fight to the death, no matter how many soldiers and horses are just lambs to the slaughter.

……

On the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Guangxin Army in the northwest of Xiongzhou was also ambushed on the way to reinforce Xiongzhou. Yuan Fei, the commander of the Guangxin Army, was actually an extremely cautious person, and he was actually very cautious during the march. When passing through some complicated terrain, he always sent troops and horses to find out the situation before ordering the main force of his 60,000 army to pass through. As a veteran of many battles with enemies in the border towns and north, he did all the elaborate arrangements he could think of.

However, what he didn't expect was that his soldiers and horses were ambushed in the middle of an open snowfield. It was a snowfield on both sides of an artificial river called Heilu Causeway, which was less than a day's journey from Xiongzhou, and it was a place with a wide view. His horses had already walked through the complicated terrain of hills and woods, and when he came to this snowy field, he thought there would be no danger. However, when his army of 60,000 arrived in the center of the snowfield, countless enemy troops suddenly emerged from the snow in all directions. The Jurchen cavalry, numbering as many as four or five people, was actually hiding in this snowfield. Dressed in white camouflage, they were all lying in the snow, and they ambushed their opponents in the most unlikely places.

The Guangxin army had less than 5,000 cavalry, and the rest were all infantry. Under the charge and strangulation of tens of thousands of Jurchen cavalry, after more than four hours of fighting, Yuan Fei was finally killed by the commander of the Guangxin Army, and most of the 60,000 troops were killed and wounded, and the rest fled. The Jurchen cavalry also suffered considerable losses, with nearly 4,000 Jurchen cavalry killed and more than 3,000 war horses. If it weren't for Yuan Fei being beaten to death by a Jurchen general with a mace, which led to the collapse of the morale of the Guangxin army, I am afraid that in the face of the Guangxin army that fought bravely to the death, the Jurchen soldiers and horses would have lost even more.

The Yongning Army south of Xiongzhou reinforced Xiongzhou from south to north, and it stands to reason that the Yongning Army was in the south of Xiongzhou, and although the reinforcement route was not close, the march should be very safe. However, they were attacked by the 50,000 Liao cavalry of Yalu Buhua and Hulu, who had returned from Xinle County. This time it wasn't an ambush, but a righteous and bright attack, and the two sides faced each other face-to-face in the wilderness around the town of Shimbashi. The strength of the two sides is actually similar, and the Yongning Army also has 20,000 cavalry and more than 30,000 infantry, and its commander Wang Peng is also a fierce general. The two sides engaged in a gut-wrenching battle to test the combat effectiveness of both sides.

But it's not like I don't know, although the main general is brave, but the combat power of the soldiers is too different. A lot of elite soldiers were transferred as early as when Yang Jun attacked Liao, and the battle lasted all day, and the Yongning army was finally defeated. The commander of the Yongning Army made Wang Peng die in battle, and the 20,000 cavalry were wiped out. The infantry suffered tens of thousands of casualties, and the rest fled soon after the battle began. Wang Peng actually led 20,000 cavalry that was still fighting and some infantry and 50,000 cavalry of the Jurchens. Rao is like this, and the Jurchens have also suffered more than 10,000 casualties. This battle was already the most tragic battle of casualties after the Jurchens went south to attack the Great Zhou.

In just half a month, the Jurchens' plan to besiege the city and send reinforcements was a great success, and the three reinforcement armies were attacked by the Jurchens separately and suffered heavy losses. The 150,000 reinforcements that could have been reinforced were eaten by the Jurchens in this way, and the rest had no combat effectiveness after being defeated and fled. Although the Jurchen army also paid the price, more than 20,000 soldiers and horses were killed and wounded. But compared to the results, it was already a huge success.

The Ansu and Shun'an armies were originally going to reinforce Xiongzhou, but after the brothers' soldiers and horses were ambushed and attacked by the Jurchen army one after another, they no longer dared to send reinforcements easily. Wanyan Agu wants this effect, these two armies have nearly 80,000 soldiers and horses, and if their reinforcements arrive, the situation will still be difficult. Since the other party is frightened, then the goal has been achieved. Next, you can go to attack Xiongzhou with peace of mind.

On the nineteenth day of the lunar month, the siege of Xiongzhou began. The 220,000 Jurchen army began its onslaught on the city of Xiongzhou, which was trapped in the realm of solitude. With the assistance of hundreds of catapults and dozens of cloud siege vehicles, the siege battle was vigorously launched.

Bai Qi sat in command of the city, his men had 100,000 horses, and had the will to defend Xiongzhou, he himself thought that even if no reinforcements arrived, the other party wanted to break through Xiongzhou It was wishful thinking. The opponent was endlessly attacking the city, and Bai Qi commanded and dispatched an orderly defense, and in the first three days of the siege, he did not let the Jurchens succeed. However, in the case of being alone against the enemy and having no way out, the hearts of the generals and soldiers under Bai Qi were not as resolute as Bai Qi. Under the threat of death, the morale of the army began to waver.

After three days, the city began to run out of supplies. The garrison also ran out of supplies. More than half of the 100,000 soldiers and horses have been killed or wounded. All of them were weary and dying under the attacks of the Jurchens day and night. People began to despair.

On the seventh day, the Jurchens stormed the city walls. At the moment when the other party climbed the city wall, the tense nerves were broken. The defenders of the Great Zhou suddenly collapsed and collapsed, and they fell for thousands of miles. The Jurchens deliberately left the southern city gate without arranging soldiers and horses to besiege them, and this method of encircling three ques and one was a kind of psychological warfare that allowed the defenders to hover between fighting and escaping, and they chose to flee.

On the 26th day of the lunar month, the Jurchen army led by Wanyan Agu finally gnawed the hard bone of Xiongzhou after paying nearly 60,000 casualties of soldiers and horses. It completely cut off the supply and transit hub of other soldiers and horses in the northeast border town of Dazhou. Although it was an unimaginable and almost unacceptable price, after the victory of this battle, the nearly 400,000 troops of the defenders of the Northeast Great Zhou had been annihilated. There are no more decent Great Zhou soldiers and horses on the road to the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty to block them.