Chapter 312: Return to the Horse Gun
Zhao Yong, as a veteran of the battlefield, did not know the difficulties of the withdrawal process, and a careless mistake would lead to failure and the annihilation of the whole army, so he has always been vigilant in the process of returning to the army. When he left Liaoyang City, he learned that there were two Jin armies, so when he withdrew, he ordered that all the young and strong people in the city, regardless of their origin, and nearly 100,000 Han Chinese who had been captured to surrender here, be taken away, the old and weak were expelled from the city, and those Jurchen aristocratic officials who refused to surrender when the city was broken were all slaughtered.
Another Liaoyang city has become an important town in Liaodong after hundreds of years of operation by the rulers of previous dynasties, not only with a large population and developed economy, but also a secular cultural center, those monks, scholars, intellectuals, and even merchants, craftsmen, and craftsmen of all kinds have become the city and nearby states and counties of civilization disseminators and elites of various industries. A country can lose many officials, but even if it can be rebuilt after losing these elites, it will be a dead city, and the economy and culture will be set back for decades, even a hundred years, which is equivalent to taking away the soul of the city.
This method has led to the destruction of countless families and the separation of flesh and blood, which seems to be unfriendly and even very cruel, but it can greatly reduce the pressure on the remaining troops, so that they do not have to worry about civil strife in the city and concentrate on the enemy. On the other hand, this is also to govern the body of others in the way of others, following the example of the Jin army in Yanjing City, taking away all the population, making it an empty city, and the city that has lost its popularity will inevitably decline in a few years.
Driving such a large number of people to move thousands of miles through enemy countries is a problem for anyone, but fortunately, Zhao Yong had a similar experience in the northwest and Datong. He divided the captured population into two main parts. The Han people were guarded by the Song army, and the Jurchens and the Bohai, Khitan, and Xi tribes were escorted by the troops of the Five Kingdoms, using their sense of ethnic identity to reduce hostility towards the Song army, while also facilitating communication and reducing trouble on the way.
During the retreat, Zhao Yong soon found that there was a tail hanging behind him, and he couldn't shake it off silently like a wolf, so he used the method of retreating in separate teams and alternating cover to march and strictly defend to prevent the enemy from raiding. But after a few days, the enemy did not make any movement except to follow. Although Zhao Yong didn't know what the Dao Wushu had given to Yan Yanying and what they thought. But as a veteran of battle, he knew very well that so many people and wealth were a piece of fat in the eyes of any army, and he would not give it up easily.
As the Jin army began to attack frequently, Zhao Yong had a sense of urgency that 'the big war was coming'. Now the marching speed has been repeatedly reduced. If it continues, they only have two results. One is to be dragged to death in the Jin country, and the other is to get rid of the burden and break through to survive. Neither result was what Zhao Yong hoped for, and he had to find a way to teach the enemy army behind him a profound lesson. so that they will not dare to brush the tiger's whiskers again. Zhao Yong began to look for fighters while preparing for this battle.
The first is to show the enemy weakness, so that the Jin army will produce that the Song army has been exhausted by the attack, demoralized, and discouraged. Therefore, Zhao Yong asked the guards to deliberately show war-weariness, and at the same time selected a specific group of people among the captives, spread rumors among them, reduce the supply of food, and then deliberately relaxed the guards to let them escape from the Song camp, but they happened to be rediscovered and captured by the Jin army, and the false news was transmitted to the ears of the Jin army through their mouths.
In addition, the way of camping was changed, and the avant-garde that the Jin army saw marching away from the brigade was actually another camp to camp. First, it can divide the huge captive population into two parts, reducing the possibility of riots; The second is that the two camps are horns of each other, and when they are attacked by the Jin army, they can support each other, and at the same time prepare for the next battle, so that the captured people are accustomed to changing camps at night without chaos.
The most important thing is to choose the time and place of the battle, Zhao Yong mastered the rhythm before the battle, and guessed the psychology of the Jin army, that is, to arouse their enthusiasm, hang their appetite, and make them dare not eat easily. And he began to disguise himself as a scout to choose the battlefield, and finally he fell in love with this open land thirty miles outside the city of Kaizhou, where the river valley can hide soldiers, the mountains and forests are convenient for concealment and get rid of the pursuers, and the open terrain can give full play to the stone wall charge that the dragoons are good at, defeat the pursuing troops of the Jin army, and kill them 'back to the horse gun'!
Zhao Yong immediately began to deploy, he first used a few nights to coax the captive population to move the camp in the middle of the night under the pretext that the Jin army might launch a night attack, but in fact, he marched overnight to bring them and supplies to Kaizhou City in batches. However, the scale of the camp built every day has not decreased, and the number of vehicles is still a lot, but the camp is much rougher, and there are many fewer people in it, which makes the Jin army think that the situation is still the same, but the Song army's morale is more disheartened, and they have no intention of even engaging in fortifications.
After everything was ready, Zhao Yong threw out the last bait in his hand, luring the Jin army, who had already been scratching their ears and cheeks, to take the bait, making them think that the time was ripe for an assault, and they couldn't wait to launch a long-planned attack, ready to salvage a sum and annihilate the retreating Song army. And the Song army, which had been prepared for a long time, introduced the Jin army into the preset battlefield step by step according to the script given by the marshal......
Wan Yan Yanying's leading army rushed three times in a row and was beaten back by the Song army's counterattack, and Wan Yan Yong and Wan Yan Liang's two groups of men and horses were also unable to break through the iron wall laid by the Song army, let alone break the formation, they had to retreat and regroup together. The artillery fire of the Song army on the hill has not stopped, and the grim smile of death has sown death in the Jin army's array, and the failure of the successive assaults has aggravated the chaos, and the people and horses have a commotion.
"Du Shuai, let me lead the army to rush again, I don't believe they can still block our Dajin's iron horse!" Wan Yanliang said unconvinced, there were a few more scorched holes in his robe, but he was not injured by relying on the heavy armor inside, and the war horse under the seat had already died under the indiscriminate guns of the Song army.
"We can't rush anymore, the enemy's firearms are sharp, our bows and arrows are not as far as theirs, and we have lost most of them before we have even engaged, and we can't give full play to our bows and horses!" Wanyan Yanying shook his head and said, he thought it was too simple, thinking that the Song army was already disheartened, and he couldn't organize resistance at all, so he could only let himself be killed, but he didn't expect that what he saw was all an illusion, and now the Song army's attack has not really begun, and his own soldiers and horses have been damaged three times, and it doesn't make much sense to fight.
"Du Shuai, even if we want to withdraw, I'm afraid it won't be easy, the Song army obviously still has room to take advantage of our retreat and then cover up, and the artillery of the Song army on the mountain is the biggest threat to us, blocking our retreat!" Wanyan Yongzhi said that it was impossible to retreat with his whole body, he looked at the situation and said, "Dushuai, you retreat first, and I will lead the army to the rear, otherwise we will all die here!" ”
'Boom ......' While the three of them were talking, a row of shells fell around them, shrapnel was shot everywhere, and the screams were repeated, and the frightened war horses rampaged, causing a big chaos, and the flag bearer was also cut off half of his head and shook his horse, and the handsome flag fell.
"Du Shuai, the enemy has discovered your position, I will lead the army to attack the artillery on the mountain, you take the opportunity to break through!" Wan Yanyong shot two arrows in a row and killed the startled horse, bent down to pick up the handsome flag and re-erected it, wanting to distract Song Jun's attention.
"No, the defeat in this battle is all due to my obedience to the Taishi's orders and the light enemy, you go first and I will break it later!" Wan Yan Yanying grabbed Wan Yan Yong's horse head and said, although the two of them instigated themselves this time, but as the coach, he should be held responsible for his failure to deal with it calmly, and the two did not flinch at the moment of crisis, but rushed forward, which made him very moved, if they hurt themselves, I am afraid that they will feel guilty for a lifetime.
"You don't have to fight anymore, or I'll break the back......" Wan Yanliang also stepped forward.
"Wait, the enemy artillery fire has weakened!" During the dispute, Wanyan Yanying suddenly found that the artillery fire of the Song army had stopped, and the sound of horns could be faintly heard on the other side of the mountain.
"Du Shuai, it is the horn sound of our army, it must be Li Cheng who came to meet us!" Wan Yan Liang listened carefully and said with great joy.
"Okay, let's break through immediately!" Wanyan Yanying was also overjoyed, he knew that the Song army would soon find out that the situation had changed and launch a general attack, and they could only take advantage of this short gap to break through.
'Woo woo ......' The Jin army remembered the continuous sound of horns, and the Jin army, which was on the verge of collapse, followed the handsome banner and ran wildly towards the way it came......
"The Jin army is defeated and retreats, and then covers up and kills, but don't be greedy for merit, and if you encounter obstacles, you will return!" Zhao Yong quickly figured out that the Jin army brigade appeared behind the mountain, and the five national armies and the leopard generals guarding there had to turn around to defend to prevent the two armies from meeting, and the Jin army in front of him had taken the opportunity to start breaking through, and he immediately issued the order for a general attack. However, he knew that although he had won, he was not completely out of danger, and besides, the goal of the battle had been achieved, and there was no need to take any more risks. As soon as the general order was issued, all the armies moved together, and then launched a pursuit.
After Yan Yanying's leading the army was broken, he fought and left, but in the end it was difficult to defeat the Song army, and gradually turned into a rout of the whole army. The Song army did not attack again, but retreated in formation, and the Jin army did not dare to pursue it again, and a battle came to an end.
But neither side of the war realized that their battle had disrupted the carefully planned chess game of the heads of the two countries and had to be rearranged. And Zhao Ta in Bianjing couldn't help but shout regret when he saw the war report, if he was in battle, he would definitely lose all the materials and population, even if he abandoned Liaoyang City, he would kill Yan Liang and Wan Yan Yong, others didn't know Lu Dao, but he as a descendant knew that Lu Dao These two people were the fourth and fifth emperors of the Jin Kingdom in history who had not been tampered with by him, but now the opportunity has been lost, so he can only sigh in vain...... (To be continued......)