Qingyun Castle, in the Qingyun Hall.

More than 100 leaders of the eighteen villages in Xishan gathered here, but none of them spoke, and the atmosphere at the scene was suffocating.

Meng De crouched in the center of the hall, and there was a stretcher beside him, on which lay Ma Kuo, who was covered in blood and dying.

"Second Brother Ma, what happened? Why did you ride 10,000 steps to attack, and only one rider came back with serious injuries? Meng Deqiang endured the anger in his heart and asked in a low voice.

Ma Kuan, who was lying on the stretcher, struggled to open his mouth, and finally raised a hand.

Meng De hurriedly reached out and took his hand.

Ma Kuo desperately opened his mouth but still couldn't speak, his face kept twitching, but two lines of tears rolled out of the corners of his eyes on both sides.

"Brother, don't be excited, don't worry, we don't blame you, you just tell the truth slowly." Meng De hurriedly comforted him softly, "Quickly ask the doctor to come to the rescue!" ”

The doctor came to the emergency rescue, and after a long time, Ma Kuo finally stabilized his mind, and was finally able to speak, so he told Sù Mengde and others-

According to the initial military deployment, Xishan was responsible for making a detour to the north to cut off the Jurchen army's grain route and return route. Among all the leaders of the Eighteen Villages Rebel Army in Xishan, only Ma Kuo was the best at the Long March, so Meng De asked him to personally select 10,000 elite infantry to carry out this important surprise attack.

Unexpectedly, the Jurchen army, which attacked all the way south, arranged strict defenses at all major important passes, as if it had long been expected that someone would rob the grain route and cut off its way back. Ma Kuo saw that the other party had already prepared the checkpoint and it was extremely difficult to attack, and he was worried that the emptiness of Xishan would be taken advantage of by the Jurchens after leading the army far away, so he planned to temporarily retreat to Xishan. Another day, it is not too late to wait for an opportunity to cut off the return of the Jurchens.

On the way back to defend the West Mountain, Ma Kuan met with a Jurchen Iron Cavalry unit that was advancing towards the West Mountain!

A fierce battle broke out between the two sides, and Ma Kuo was completely defeated!

……

Ma Kuo did not directly describe the course of this battle, but summed it up in two words: "complete defeat".

When these two words were spoken, the look on Ma Kuo's face could be said to be the real "despair"!

10,000 elite foot riders in Xishan, facing 3,000 Jurchen iron cavalry, Ma Kuo is not a wine bag and rice bag, he actually lost so completely, and only escaped back with a serious injury on a single horse to report the news!

Meng De and more than 100 big and small leaders present felt a chill in their hearts!

"So, this cavalry is about to reach Qingyun Castle?"

"Right now...... It's coming soon! Ma Kuo closed his eyes and muttered helplessly and desperately, "The Jurchens are completely aware of our military deployments; Either there are internal demons in our alliance; Either the other party's coach is like a god and uses soldiers like a ghost! Big brother, you must report the news to Wang Yu and Chu Tianya in Taiyuan City as soon as possible, so that they can be prepared! …… Qingyun Castle must also strengthen its defense and defend it with all its might! Otherwise, the fort will be ruined, and the chickens and dogs will not be left! ”

There was a panicked whisper and the sound of inhaling cool air.

"Panic what!" Meng De stood up and shouted, "The soldiers will come and the water will come to cover the earth, there are still 10,000 or 20,000 strong troops in my fort, plus more than 10,000 families working together, why be afraid?" The Jurchen iron cavalry is strong in the field, but it is not good at attacking cities. Qingyun Castle is strong, as long as you resist it with all your might, you will be able to defend it! ”

Everyone was a little relieved, but fortunately, there was a backbone, so as not to mess up the morale of the army at this time.

"Dumbo!" Meng De called.

"The villain is here!"

"I don't care what method you use, you must sneak into Taiyuan City today! Tell my brother the news here in its original and detailed details! ”

"Yes!!" Xiao Fei took the promise and ran away without saying a word.

At this time, Meng De's heart was also worried. First, the Jurchens unexpectedly came to attack Qingyun Fort first, although he had already taken precautions and left half of his men and horses to sit here in person, but the fierceness of the Jurchen cavalry, which he had never been in contact with, still shocked him; Second, the military plan of going north to cut off the supply of the Jurchen army and the back route was actually broken by the other party in this way. It can be seen that the other party's coach is an extraordinary character!

As soon as this plan failed, Taiyuan's overall military deployment was disrupted; How to deal with it next, the three parties can no longer cooperate with each other, and can only fight separately. In case this is broken by the Jurchens...... That's going to be a complete rout!

"Listen, brothers!" Thinking of this, Meng De was anxious and angry, "If you want to live, give me the courage to fight - even if there is one person left, you must defend Qingyun Castle!" ”

In the city of Taiyuan, the capital of Tongfu.

Chu Tianya and Xiao Linglong came together. In the hall of the Metropolitan Mansion, there are also Zhang Xiaochun and several important members of the army and the government.

Wang Yu briefly told everyone that he had just received an urgent military report from outside the city, saying that the Jurchen army was extremely fierce, and after the division came out of Yunzhong, the troops immediately divided into two routes, marched in unison, and opened the bow on the left and right first, and first laid down the two outpost bridgeheads in Taiyuan -- Daizhou and Suzhou, which were adjacent to Yunzhong. Then, they quickly went south, and once again divided into three routes, all the way the main army led by Wanyan Zonghan himself, and came straight to Taiyuan Fucheng; The second route was led by Wanyan Xiyin, the right supervisor and vanguard envoy, to block the passage between the Taihang Zhuzhai Righteous Army and Taiyuan; The third road of people and horses, led by the fierce general Yinshuke under the command of Wanyan Zonghan, made a special trip to kill Qingyun Castle!

"Wanyan Zonghan made a timely response to the three major tactics formulated by our army earlier, which were 'cutting off its grain routes, fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness, and attacking with defense'." Wang Yu's expression was very solemn, and he said to everyone, "Obviously, Wanyan Zonghan didn't come in a hurry, and Yelu Yu's death didn't completely disrupt his military plan. He investigated the movements of our Taiyuan and made adjustments and changes according to local conditions in light of our army's tactics. Now, his troops are divided into three routes, and the main force is directly attacking Taiyuan, which is actually a feint, aiming to besiege the city and send reinforcements to contain the main force of our Shengjie army; The other two roads of men and horses, one way to block the Taihang Zhuzhai rebels, the other way is to do their best to destroy Xishan - they want to break through each point and annihilate it, and finally achieve the goal of isolating Taiyuan City! ”

"Sure enough, it's impermanence and impermanence!" Zhang Xiaochun couldn't help but sigh, "Wanyan Zonghan is worthy of the title of the first founding general of the Jin Kingdom, this person's meticulous thinking, the old and spicy use of soldiers, and the decisiveness of the response are really breathtaking." The various tactics we had formulated before were dissolved by him with a slight wave of his hand, and the initiative fell into his hands again. The government estimates that if we do not send troops to rescue in Taiyuan, after the eighteen villages of Xishan are flattened, it will be the turn of the rebels of Taihang Jiushan next. ”

"If we go out of the city to save it, it is very likely that the Taiyuan Void will be attacked by Wanyan Zonghan; Moreover, when it came to the impact of the Jin Guotie cavalry outside the field, the Shengjie army basically had little chance of winning. Wang Yu's brows twisted into a big pimple, and said, "Our only advantage is to use the strong city to defend instead of attacking, and use the word 'consumption' to drag Yan Zonghan to death." ”

"Then, let's just sit back and watch the rebels of Xishan and Taihang be eaten by the Jurchens one by one?" Zhang Xiaochun asked in astonishment.

Wang Yu's cheeks twitched and his teeth itched with hatred, and he didn't answer Zhang Xiaochun's stupid question as a military layman, and scolded him in his heart - what a pot can't be opened!

Everyone unconsciously turned their eyes to Chu Tianya and Xiao Linglong.

Chu Tianya's eyebrows were slightly twisted in his thoughts, but he didn't care much about everyone's eyes.

Xiao Linglong, who was dressed in military uniform, stood up, walked to the hall, hugged her fists and bowed: "Most of the cottages of the Taihang Righteous Army are located in the strange mountains and dangerous mountains, and the troops are not bad, they are not so easy to be attacked, at most, the soldiers and horses are blocked, and they can't send troops to help the battle for a while; And Xishan faced the strong attack of the Jurchen army alone, and it was indeed overwhelming. Originally, our three parties each formed horns to echo each other, if the West Mountain is broken, then Taiyuan, Taihang lose an arm and barrier, all are dead lips and cold teeth. Therefore, Xishan must be saved-if the king of the capital wants to select troops to go out of the city to fight, it is better to let me go! ”