Yue Fei's vanguard was the first to travel. In addition to probing the enemy's situation from afar, they have to do a good job of battlefield protection for the army. There is a more important work to open roads in the mountains and build bridges in the water. Open up passages for follow-up troops, and also set up barracks along the way for the army to rest.

Judging from the information sent back, Yue Fei did a good job. At least the barracks along the way are well built. Relieved of the toil of the soldiers of the brigade.

There are too many troops that Gao Yang brought out this time. He brought out almost all the armies that could be used.

It was impossible for an army of hundreds of thousands to be dispatched in a short period of time, and the only way was to go one by one. Gao Yang personally led the Chinese army, and the number of them was also very large. To avoid trouble. The Chinese army alone was divided into three waves to set off, and it would take at least three days to get out.

While Gao Yang was slowly moving forward with a large army, the front army led by Yue Fei had already begun to approach the first important target of the Northern Expedition, Songting Pass.

Songting Pass is located at the confluence of the Great Wall and the Luan River. It belongs to the Zhongjing Road set up by Qianliao, and is on the only way from Yanjing to Zhongjing.

The strategic location of Songting Pass is extremely important. This pass is located on the Gululongsai Road, surrounded by mountains on both sides, and the terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is the gateway and acropolis of the former Liaozhong Beijing, and it is also the northeast fence of Yanjing City. It's not an exaggeration to say that it's stuck in the throat.

Originally, according to the previous arrangement of Song and Jin's peace negotiations, this place was also to be returned to the Great Song Dynasty. However, some far-sighted Jurchens such as Wanyan Zonghan were very aware of the important role of this precipitous Xiongguan for the entire Jin Kingdom. Once this place is lost, the Zhongjing Daning in the rear, as well as the entire hinterland of the Jin Kingdom, will be directly exposed to the eyes of the Great Song Dynasty. This is something that no military commander in his right mind can tolerate.

The Jurchens refused to return Songting Pass, and even threatened to terminate the peace talks. Gao Yang was busy recovering many lost territories at that time, and he didn't care too much about this small place, so he agreed to temporarily occupy this place by the Jurchens. Gao Yang's plan is to wait until he sorts out the strength in his hands. It is the same if the army is recaptured during the Northern Expedition.

When the army of the victorious army left Bianliang City and went north, the trend of the Northern Expedition to attack gold was revealed. The Jurchens began to frantically strengthen this extremely important pass.

In charge of the defense of Songting Pass was Wanyan Xiyin, a famous wise general among the Jurchens. This smart man saw early on that Gao Yang had no intention of peace talks at all, and sooner or later he would have to wave his army north.

He was strongly recommended by Yan Zonghan to serve as the guard of Songting Pass. began to recruit people everywhere on a large scale, and strengthened the city day and night.

At that time, almost all the people around Songting Pass were all collected by Wanyan Xiyin. Thousands of coolies were forced by the Jurchens to repair the pass. Dig rocks, cut down trees and dig ditches. After dozens of days and nights of hard work, there is not one survivor left!

Of course, Wanyan Xiyin doesn't care about the lives or deaths of these animals. All he cared about was whether Songting Pass could be stronger! Thousands of lives were not lost in vain. At least in Wanyan Xiyin's opinion, this majestic pass is already extremely strong!

The terrain of this pass built between the two mountain passes is very steep, and it can be said that it is impossible to open a pass. When Gao Yang attacked here, he only attacked the military camp at the foot of the mountain, and did not attack the pass inside.

Both sides of the pass are majestic and steep mountains. Not to mention rushing to fight, it's not easy to climb when it's okay. If you want to get through here, the only way is to directly detain the level with heavy troops. The city gate was opened with the blood of countless soldiers and the pass was broken before passing through this dangerous place.

Wanyan Xiyin raised the pass, dug a deep trench, thickened the thickness of the city wall, and prepared a large number of various materials. Wanyan Zonghan, who knew the importance of this place, also sent him a large number of elite sergeants to garrison.

Wanyan Xiyin completely abandoned the camp in front of the pass, and burned the camp in front of the pass to ashes with a fire.

He concentrated all his forces in the Kannai and in the rear. Songting Pass is not big, and it can't put many people in at one time. Most of the elites of the Jin Kingdom are behind the pass as reserves, ready to rush in at any time to fill their lives.

When Yue Fei arrived here with the vanguard army, the entire Songting Pass had become a majestic fortress as solid as a rock at this moment.

Yue Fei has a calm personality and will not do frivolous things that are quick for quick success. After carefully observing the Songting Pass. He understood that this was a strong fortress that could not be taken in one fell swoop by means of a rapid march.

Yue Fei immediately ordered the whole army to be stationed on the spot and began to build a camp on a large scale. Dispatch a large number of expeditions to the surrounding areas to cover the battlefield. Waiting for the arrival of the main force led by Gao Yang, he will attack in a big way.

In the following days, groups of troops arrived at Songting Pass. With the arrival of more and more military horses. The large open space in front of Songting Pass has completely turned into a sea of troops at this moment. Dense camps with no edge in sight are spread all over the land, and countless military horses are crisscrossing back and forth, like moving ant colonies.

Yue Fei has not been idle in the past few days. During the day and at night, they launched several tentative attacks on Songting Pass. In addition, a large number of elite sentinels were sent to reconnoiter closely in all directions, and the garrison situation in Songting Pass had basically been figured out.

Three days later, at dusk, Gao Yang personally led the army to the front of Songting Pass.

"Lord Wang." Yue Fei, who had just returned from the front of the pass, came to Gao Yang's side, and after bowing and saluting, his tanned face was deeply worried, and he said in a deep voice, "The mountains here are dangerous and dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The terrain in front of the pass is narrow. The number of troops that can be invested at one time is very limited, and attacking it is completely a tactic to add fuel to. We have the advantage in military strength, but we can't give full play to it. ”

"Hmm." Gao Yang, who was frowning slightly, raised his binoculars and observed the golden Songting Pass in the distance, which was reflected by the afterglow of the sunset in the west. Responded casually.

"Lord Wang." Yue Fei paused slightly, and a hint of hesitation flashed on his grim face. After a moment's deep groaning, he said in a loud voice, "It's difficult to storm here, and if you force an attack, there's a good chance of huge losses." Is it possible to leave a military horse in the middle of it, and the army will turn to seek a breakthrough elsewhere? ”

Although Yue Fei loves soldiers like sons, he also knows the truth that mercy is not in charge of soldiers. He had been observing for a few days and knew that this pass was very difficult to fight. Even if it is filled with the lives of the sergeants, it will inevitably be another mountain of stones, and it can be said that the gains outweigh the losses. After thinking about it for a long time, when he saw Gao Yang, he adjusted the direction of his attack.

You know, this is a very taboo thing. The route of the march was set by Gao Yang himself, and Gao Yang was the commander of the army. When Yue Fei said this, he was questioning that there was something wrong with Gao Yang's plan. Any other commander would be dissatisfied.

That is, Gaoyang. He knew that Yue Fei was not dissatisfied with himself, but cared about the lives of the sergeants, and was unwilling to let these sergeants be needlessly damaged in this place. If you change someone, you will definitely be very unhappy and think that you have been swept away.

"It's okay." Gao Yang put down the binoculars, turned his head to look at Yue Fei and smiled, and said, "There has never been an impenetrable fortress in this world. Besides, even if you change directions, you will also encounter dangers and obstacles, so you can't always change places, right? ”

"Yes. What the prince said is extremely true. Yue Fei nodded slightly and saluted. Just say the thing once, if you keep mentioning it, it will really be a slap in the face. Yue Fei believed that since Gao Yang insisted on choosing here, he must have his own considerations.

Before the Gaoyang people arrived, they had already sent a high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance plane to carefully reconnoiter the entire Songting Pass. Completely detailed information has long been in hand. Looking at the almost impeccable defensive layout, Gao Yang had to sigh that Wanyan Xiyin was indeed very capable.

The front of Songting Pass is not large, and Wanyan Xiyin did not place many soldiers on the front line. He put the main forces all in the back. Once the victorious army launched an offensive and engaged, it was dispatched in waves.

This will not only maintain the morale and combat endurance of the troops, but will also be able to deplete the vital strength of the victorious army to the greatest extent possible. You know, the main force of the Jin army is not here!

Wanyan Xiyin knew very well in his heart that in the face of hundreds of thousands of enemy troops, it was inevitable that this fortress would be captured. His idea was to consume as much of the victorious army as possible here. Contribute to the decisive battle of the Great Army in the future.

If the Chang Shengjun consumed too much strength under the Songting Pass, then when they broke through the Songting Pass and continued to go north to fight with the main force of the Jin army, then Yan Zonghan's chances of victory would increase!

Wanyan Xiyin never thought that he would be able to defend this pass under the strong attack of hundreds of thousands of troops. Everything he did here was to add victory to the decisive battle between Yan Zonghan and Chang Shengjun.

Gao Yang had already known that if he wanted to capture this pass by normal means, he would have to pay a heavy price, which Gao Yang was unwilling to do. In fact, on the way here, he already had a way to take this pass in his heart.

Songting Pass seems to be invulnerable, but its biggest weakness is the commander of the Jin army here, Wanyan Xiyin.

A good commander is too important for an army. Even if Gao Yang has thousands of tactics and strategies in his heart, it is useless if Wanyan Xiyin is not fooled.

He was going to use the discord to kick out the clever commander and replace him with a brainless fool. After that, as long as you put on an attractive flaw and seduce the Jin army in the pass to rush out of the scheme, it will be much easier to take down this pass.

If it were someone else, it would not be easy to succeed in using a discord meter. But Wanyan Xiyin is different.

First of all, he was born in a Jurchen small aristocracy, and his status was not high, but he made great achievements. While holding a high position with his later military exploits, it will also cause jealousy and dissatisfaction among many people.

There is also the fact that he is Wanyan Zonghan's confidant general, and he is very difficult to deal with the Jurchen royal families who are in charge of power in Shangjing City at this moment. Because he and Wanyan Zonghan represent a group of Jurchens from ordinary backgrounds but very talented.

Contradictions at different levels are everywhere. (To be continued)