When Zhang Guangdao abandoned the van and wooden cannon, and chased after him with a rapid march all the way, the soldiers under Chen Ziyi had already captured the mountain beam defended by the Jin soldiers after the break.

"Alas, it's still a step too late." Zhang Guangdao sighed.

Chen Ziyi sat on the loess slope, and his mood was not very high: "Wanyan Lou Room retreated very decisively in the valley, if I had known that he would not dare to rush a second time, I would not have sent heavy cavalry to hedge with the Jin soldiers, and the whole army would have died many fewer warriors by retreating into the camp." ”

"This man was fierce and cunning, and he sent men here to find out the terrain of escape on his way to the valley. Otherwise, how could they have chosen this place to block the pursuit of our army by guarding a mountain beam? If it were replaced by other nearby mountains, it would not be so convenient to escape after the break," Zhang Guangdao said, "There are still too few troops, and if there are 10,000 more soldiers, we can leave Wanyan Lou's room behind." ”

Chen Ziyi asked, "Do you need to attack Yuxian tonight?" ”

Zhang Guangdao shook his head and said: "All the departments are tired from today's battle, so they will rest for the night first, and slowly march towards Yuxian County tomorrow." After finishing Yan Zonghan's army, it was almost in Yuxian. ”

Wanyan Zonghan withdrew his troops from Shouyang and went to the battlefield where the wooden artillery salvo was fired, and the distance in a straight line was only seventy miles.

However, recently the route was blocked by the Ming army, that is, the Zhai brothers returned to the river valley of Shouyang. Not only the western exit of the river valley has a Ming military camp, but the eastern exit of the river valley is also the Zhao Jianzi city camp of Zhang Guangdao.

Wanyan Zonghan could only retreat north first, then cross the valley to Yu County, and then rush south from Yu County to the heavy cavalry to hedge the river valley.

The Zhai brothers were sent back to Shouyang, spent half a day by boat, then rested for half a day, spent two and a half days detouring to the southern mountains, and then launched a night attack to defeat Yan Zonghan's Dongda camp.

And Wanyan Zonghan withdrew from Shouyang on the second day when the Dongda camp was breached.

It took about three days and four nights.

Zhang Guangdao sent the Zhai brothers back to Shouyang, and then found that Yan Lou was killed, it was just three days and three nights, and now a total of four days and four nights have been experienced.

That is to say, Wanyan Zonghan's army only set off from Shouyang this morning.

There are many loess mountains along the route, as well as twenty or thirty miles of mountainous areas, and it takes more than 100 miles to reach Yuxian County with seven bends and eight rounds. The vanguard may have arrived, but Wanyan Zonghan's main force is definitely still on the way.

……

Night.

Wanyan Zonghan's main force was still in the mountains, and a fast horse galloped over and was taken straight to the handsome tent.

The messenger knelt down and reported: "Marshal, the privy envoy is sick and dead!" ”

"Got it." Wanyan Zonghan was in a heavy mood.

The highest military institution of the Jin State is the Marshal of the Capital, and with the expansion of the territory, it is preparing to set up a local privy council.

The first Privy Council was located in Quang Ninh, the area east of Jinzhou, and was originally set up to guard against Zhang Jue's rebellion. At that time, the privy envoy of Guangning was Liu Yanzong, who directly obeyed the orders of Wanyan Zonghan (there are also historical materials that show that the Guangning Privy Council was not formally established before it was shelved due to the resumption of war).

Now, Wanyan Zonghan is in Yunzhong (Datong) and Wanyan Zongwang is in Yanshan (Beijing), and a Privy Council has been set up respectively.

The privy envoy of Yunzhong is the Wanyan study room, and the envoy of the Yanshan privy council is Liu Yanzong, who is mainly responsible for recruiting and training local soldiers and horses, and is also responsible for collecting grain and grass on the spot.

Wanyan Xi's room was specially located in the northern region of Shanxi, recruiting troops and collecting food for Wanyan Zonghan, sitting in the rear, and now the war was not over but he suddenly died of illness.

This is enough to give Wanyan Zonghan a headache!

There are three Wanyan Jurchens, one is the Hosu Pavilion, the second is to press out the tiger water (A Guda), and the third is Ye lazy.

The Wanyan Department of the Susu Pavilion was the one that was leveled across the sea by Zhao Li and Yelu Yu. The weakest and of some unknown origin, Aguda admits that their surname is Wanyan (more like a given surname).

Ye Lazy's Wanyan Department is very strong, and Ah Guda planned to oppose Liao back then, but he made up his mind only when he got the support of Ye Lazy's Wanyan Department.

The Wanyan study room who died of illness this time was the son of the previous patriarch of the Yelazy Wanyan tribe.

As for the current patriarch of the Yelazy Wanyan tribe, it is called Wanyan Zhong, and when the Jin soldiers attacked the Song Dynasty last time, he was under the command of Wanyan Zongwang. This time, he did not lead the army south, Wan Yanzhong stayed in Harbin, swaying from side to side and not knowing which faction he belonged to.

Jin's domestic friction is very serious, Wanyan Zhong is preserving his strength, and half of the troops of Wanyan's army have not moved, under the pretext that they are quelling the rebellion of the Bohai people.

"Call Pulis."

"Yes!"

Wanyan Puli fell, is the grandson of Wugunai and the third son of Ah Clutch.

Pu Li's second brother is called Wan Yan (Wan Yan Yan), who is currently a courtier in Harbin, and is a pawn of Wan Yan Zonghan in the Jin State Court.

"Marshal!" Puri rushed to the tent to meet him.

Wanyan Zonghan said: "The privy envoy is sick and dead, you go back to sit in the clouds, and don't make any mess in the rear." ”

Puli was surprised: "Why did he die suddenly?" ”

Wanyan Zonghan said: "Before this time he sent troops, he was already sick, but he didn't tell outsiders. You don't have to wait any longer, rush back overnight. ”

"Good!"

Pu Lichuan took dozens of light horsemen and rushed back to the Privy Council of Datong overnight.

He is not only a fierce general, but also relatively proficient in internal affairs, and once canceled the custom of Jin Guo using war horses to be buried (at that time, his ability was insufficient, and the writing was very poor, and he was revised with the help of Wanyan Zonghan).

After Pu Li fell and left, Wan Yan Zonghan didn't sleep for long, and a few fast horses came rushing over.

The soldiers walked into the tent and whispered: "The front is defeated, and tens of thousands of soldiers are lost." ”

"What?" Wanyan Zonghan was so frightened that he couldn't sleep at all, and hurriedly called the person who reported the news in.

The one who was sent to deliver the news was none other than Wendu Sizhong.

Wanyan Zonghan said sharply: "How our army was defeated, you can tell me carefully!" ”

Wendu Sizhong has an amazing memory, strong language organization skills, and can explain the process of several battles very clearly. In the battle of the heavy cavalry, he was in charge of probing the fleeing terrain, but after questioning the Jurchen soldiers, he could also tell in detail at this time.

After hearing this, Yan Zonghan was a little incredulous: "When those artillery shots, all the cavalry of our army charging into battle fell?" ”

"Only a few of those who rushed to the front dozens of steps were spared." Wendu Sizhong said.

Wanyan Zonghan asked again: "In the open place, the cavalry of the Ming army also dares to fight in close combat?" ”

Wen Du Sizhong nodded: "Yes." ”

After Yan Zonghan asked again: "In the valley, use the heavy riding wall to rush hard?" ”

Wen Du Sizhong said: "According to the soldiers of our army, those Ming heavy cavalry were also afraid, and everyone slowed down when they rushed closer. But they did dare to enter the wall, and they lined up more densely than us, and they rushed over together to the death. ”

Wanyan Zonghan was silent for a moment and asked, "How is the morale of our army?" ”

"Morale is low," said Wendu Sizhong, "the Ming artillery volley made them frightened, and then the cavalry lost two more battles, and fled in confusion after the division of the army. After experiencing so much, the whole army has lost its soul, and is currently retreating to Yuxian to recuperate, and some tribal leaders are clamoring to return to their hometowns. ”

Wanyan Zonghan was furious: "It's just a defeat, and it's stupid and cowardly to go home!" ”

Wendu Sizhong said: "They were frightened by the firearms and heavy cavalry of the Ming army. There are many people in the Ming Kingdom, and most of my Dajin will not be able to win quickly this year. If it is delayed until next year or the year after, I don't know how many artillery pieces the Ming army will make, and I don't know how many heavy cavalry the Ming army can train. Thinking of these things, where are the leaders of the various departments willing to fight with the Ming Kingdom again? ”

"Because of this, we have to fight hard next, and we can't give Ming Guo more time to build firearms and train cavalry!" Wanyan Zonghan roared.

He handed over the army to the adjutant general, took only a few hundred cavalry, and rushed to Yuxian overnight.

At dawn, Wanyan Zonghan saw Wanyan Lou's room and immediately asked, "Can you still fight?" ”

Wan Yan Lou said: "You can fight!" ”

Then he added: "But Hezha Meng'an lost his main battle horse, and when he fights in armor again, I'm afraid he won't be able to fight for so long." ”

"Can't you let Ghaza Meng'an get off his armor and then retreat?" Wanyan Zonghan said angrily.

Wanyan Lou said: "The cavalry of the Ming army is chasing closely, once Hezha Meng'an removes the armor, those Ming troops will inevitably chase after the bloody battle, and they will not give Hezha Meng'an time to put on the armor." The main force of their infantry army is also chasing, and if it is dragged by the Ming cavalry, our army is very likely to be annihilated. ”

"I can only let Hezha Meng'an march in armor, the Ming army will chase closely, and then let Hezha Meng'an rush back to cover up. After repeated attacks like this several times, the whole army arrived safely at the mountain. But the horses of Hezha Meng'an were tired, and it was difficult for them to continue to climb the mountains with foaming at the mouth. I must order those war horses to be killed, otherwise let the Ming army get them, and those war horses can recover by resting in place! ”

Wanyan Zonghan closed his eyes and thought about the situation at that time, and found that there was no good way to replace himself.

Wanyan Lou had three chances to withdraw safely, but they were all interfered with for various reasons and missed.

The biggest reason is that there is a problem with the overall strategy of the Jin State, and it must seize every opportunity to fight a war of annihilation in the field, and it cannot be turned into a siege war by the Ming army. This led to the fact that although Wan Yan Lou was vigilant, he had to gamble with blood, and always unconsciously bit the bait of the Ming army.

Wanyan Zonghan asked: "You are familiar with the tactics of the Ming army, how should you fight next?" ”

Wan Yan Lou said: "It is best to garrison Yuxian for a few days, otherwise it will be difficult for the soldiers I brought back to recover their morale quickly." The commander of the Ming army is like a clever hunter, he sets a trap for me to get into, and I have to be very careful when fighting with this kind of person. The infantry of the Ming army could not attack, and those artillery pieces were so powerful that they had to be lured to chase them out, and then wait for the opportunity to rush after they broke up the formation. ”

Wanyan Zonghan asked, "When the Ming infantry pursued, why didn't you kill back?" ”

Wanyan Lou said: "The chief general of the Ming army is too cautious, I originally wanted to lure them out and use cavalry to attack on all sides in open terrain. But even if this person was pursuing, he marched extremely slowly, and the whole army regrouped after walking a few dozen steps, and did not give me a chance to send troops to break the formation at all! ”

Wanyan Zonghan was silent.

Wanyan Lou Room suddenly remembered something, and said with an ugly expression: "What should be worried now is not from Yuxian, but from the direction of Taiyuan and Shouyang!" ”

Wanyan Zonghan was thrilled when he heard this, and immediately figured out the problem: "You can't stay in Yuxian to fight, the whole army must quickly withdraw to the north of Taiyuan!" ”

The main force of the Jin soldiers, if they are dragged in Yuxian by Zhang Guangdao, then their retreat is very likely to be blocked.

One is the northwest and northeast of Shouyang, where there is a mountain pass, which is the necessary place for the Jin soldiers to withdraw to the direction of Taiyuan.

The second is the northeast of Taiyuan, where there is also a mountain pass, which is also a necessary place for the withdrawal of the Jin soldiers.

If the Taiyuan defenders of the Ming Dynasty and the defenders of Shouyang received orders to run to occupy the mountain pass. And Zhang Guangdao divided the elite and rushed from the river valley to Shouyang by boat to help these friendly troops defend the mountain pass, so the Jin soldiers didn't want to go back to Datong.

The military rations brought by Wanyan Lou's room, as well as the local military rations in Yuxian County, were all taken away by Chen Ziyi's troops.

As long as the Ming army blocked the mountain pass with all its might, there was no need to do anything else, and the Jin soldiers would have to be wiped out after consuming the grain and grass.

Before dawn, the Jin soldiers abandoned their excess baggage and marched all the way with only food, horses, and armor.

At the same time, a large number of horsemen were sent to be the vanguard, and they only took dry food to gallop wildly, to occupy those few mountain passes to ensure that the retreat was smooth.

Wanyan Zonghan must take the whole army and retreat to the north of Taiyuan, so as not to be afraid of being blocked by the Ming army.

Three passages, one has been blocked!

The Ming army on the Taiyuan side is more than enough to defend the city, and the field battle is enough, and it is even more difficult for them to fight a tough battle.

In order to ensure the smooth retreat and grain route, Wanyan Zonghan divided hundreds of troops to guard the three crossings. Yang Weizhong led thousands of weak soldiers, and he could not take it after repeated strong attacks for many days, so the mountain pass on the Taiyuan side was difficult to capture, and he had to wait for the elite of Zhang Guangdao to pass.

And the two mountain passes north of Shouyang.

The northeast side was too close to Wanyan Zonghan's main force, and the Zhai brothers did not have enough troops to attack it, so they concentrated their forces to occupy the northwest side. They only need to drag on the bloody battle for a few days, and they can wait for Zhang Guangdao's support to block the entire Jin army in the small basin between the mountains.

"Marshal, the mountain pass northwest of Shouyang has been blocked!"

On the afternoon of the second day, the troops, who were the vanguard, sent someone back to tell the news.

Wanyan Zonghan was about to increase his troops to attack, Wendu Sizhong said: "There is a small valley nearby, I led my troops to explore it the year before last, and you can pass through there!" However, further west, most of the Ming troops blocked the road, so they could only go north along the river valley, and then climb over the steep mountains to reach the upper reaches of the Hutuo River, from where they could lead their troops back to Wutai County, and then southwest to Xinzhou. ”

After all, Zhang Guangdao still lacked troops and could not block all the passages.

And there are too many valley passages in Shanxi, as long as you are reckless, you can pass through.

The main force of Shanxi Jin soldiers first crossed a 20-mile-long valley (Cen Feng Village and Shijiao Village in later generations), then passed through a mountain basin in the north (Xiyan Town in later generations), and then retreated north along a winding river valley 70 or 80 miles long.

The first snow of the year fell as they crossed the river valley and began to climb the mountains.

During the march, some of the wounded soldiers died of infection, and by the time they reached the upper reaches of the Hutuo River, they had lost several hundred of their troops. Many of the soldiers were sick, the whole army was exhausted, and some of the horses died.

As for the people, most of them were abandoned one after another, and even some of the grain and grass were gone.

In winter, after Yan Zonghan's troops in Xinzhou, the military food was seriously insufficient.

Zhang Guangdao did not go to Taiyuan and confronted Yan Zonghan from north to south, but sent troops to attack Chengtianzhai, trying to break through the well and kill Zhending Mansion, and cooperate with Hebei friendly forces to attack the puppet Song capital.

(End of chapter)