Chapter 99: Battle in Yangzhou

While Li Jun carried out drastic reforms to the Southern Song Dynasty, various armies made smooth progress according to his deployment, with frequent success and triumphant songs. Large areas of land were restored, achieving the first most glorious moment in the history of the Song Dynasty. It was also the first large-scale recovery of land in Chinese history in foreign wars. Tan Daoji's Northern Expedition can be ignored compared with this.

According to the "History of Yuan Dynasty", Zhang Hongfan was good at fighting and was highly appreciated by Kublai Khan. He once gave him great power to lead his army to sweep the remaining troops of the Southern Song Dynasty. He himself advised Kublai Khan, demanding that he be his deputy and send another Mongolian general to take charge of the overall situation. Kublai Khan did not agree and put his power above the Mongolians, which shows the position of this person in Kublai Khan's heart.

No one can deny that Zhang Hong was a first-class talent with outstanding military talents. His family started with military merits for three generations and was the most important minister in the Yuan Dynasty. Unfortunately, such talents could not be used by the Southern Song Dynasty, but served for foreign races, which was really heartbreaking.

Zhang Hongfan showed outstanding military talents when he was young, which was highly appreciated by Kublai Khan. Guo Kan, a god who has always rarely seen people, was also very fond of him. When Guo Kan led his army south to Jiangnan, he sent him to the Huaidong area and worked with Shi Tianze to clean up the chaos in Huaidong.

Zhang Shijie led his army to rescue Yangzhou. The light troops advanced rapidly and rushed thousands of miles to lift the siege of Yangzhou. After Li Tingzhi defeated Shi Tianze again in Gaoyou, he had the opportunity to completely drive Shi Tianze out of the Huaidong area. Because A Shu went to Yinghan and Han, Huaixi was in a tight situation, the two had to give up this opportunity and lead their troops westward to cross the Yangtze River and rush to the south of the Yangtze River. This gave Shi Tianze the opportunity to gather the remaining troops and stabilize the few places in the Mongols in Huaidong.

As soon as Zhang Hongfan arrived in the Huaidong area, he took over Shi Tianze's military command and actively planned a counterattack. He seized the favorable opportunity that the Song army had no time to fight against Guo Kan's army in Jiangnan. Huaidong's troops were empty, led his troops to advance rapidly, and captured many places in one fell swoop. Finally, he came to Yangzhou and surrounded Yangzhou again.

Since Yangzhou rescued Zhang Shijie last time, less than half a year, this historical city has been surrounded again. Zhang Hongfan naturally knew the importance of Yangzhou. This is the most important city in the Huaidong region and the most important strategic throat in the Huaidong region. As long as Yangzhou is taken, everything will change. Therefore, Zhang Hongfan commanded the Yuan army to launch a fierce attack on Yangzhou City. He did not want to make the mistake Shi Tianze made last time. When the victory was about to be won, he destroyed Zhang Shijie. Not only did he not take Yangzhou, he was defeated and almost lost his base in the Huaidong region.

When Li Tingzhi left Huaidong, he handed over the affairs of Huaidong to his assistant Jiang Cai. Jiang Cai was extremely loyal and brave, good at fighting, and judged the situation. He knew that Yangzhou had few soldiers and could not defend all places. With his existing troops, he could not launch a counterattack. He decided to give up those unimportant places, concentrate his troops to defend Yangzhou, and wait for reinforcements in the court. At that time, Li Jun led his army to fight Guo Kan in Jiangnan, and victory was in sight. As long as Jiangnan won, reinforcements would definitely arrive. At that time, it would be impossible to fight him with a big victory.

Jiang Cai's handling was very reasonable. The Song army in the Huaidong area gathered in Yangzhou, with a population of 50,000, and he was not at a disadvantage against Zhang Hongfan's 80,000 troops.

Unfortunately, Jiang Cai's deputy Zhu Huan shot a ravage arrow while patrolling the city and died. Zhu Huan in history was a traitor. It was him betrayed Yangzhou and his slander that caused the tragedy that Li Tingzhi and Jiang Cai killed the Mongols. Perhaps history has come back to kill traitors like him, so that he could die in the ravage arrow.

Shi Tianze hurriedly walked into Zhang Hongfan's tent and bowed: "Sir, summoning Mo to come, don't know what's important?"

Since the defeat of Yangzhou, Shi Tianze has been in trouble for the past year and has been defeated even in the battle. If he had not been dragged away by his subordinates in the battle of Gaoyou, he would have become a prisoner of Li Tingzhi and Zhang Shijie. This first-hand implementer who attacked Xiangyang no longer had the heroic spirit of the past and became a little depressed. It was not until Zhang Hongfan led his army that he cheered up and restored his former demeanor.

Zhang Hongfan handed him the information in his hand and said, "Look at it."

Shi Tianze took it and couldn't help but change his face and said, "Sir, I'm willing to stop them from coming to help." The intelligence report was that Zhao Liangchun had led an army of 150,000 to Yangzhou. If Zhao Liangchun's army of 150,000 arrived, plus the army in Yangzhou, the Song army would have 200,000, and Zhang Hongfan's army in Yangzhou was only 80,000. The disparity in force was too great, so he would naturally suffer a loss.

Shi Tianze is also a talented general of a generation. He would not be confused about Zhang Hongfan's meaning. His meaning was to lead a army to stop Zhao Liangchun. He would concentrate his troops to attack Yangzhou City and strive to capture Yangzhou City in one fell swoop before Zhao Liangchun arrived. Everything would change by then.

"Well, this matter is yours." Zhang Hongfan was very satisfied with Shi Tianze's understanding and said, "You have to be careful. The current Song army is not the Song army of the past. The combat effectiveness has been greatly improved, and it is no longer a army that is about to collapse at a touch. Zhonghe's defeat has added a lot of spirit to them. In a word: Do everything carefully."

When attacking Xiangyang, Shi Tianze was a one-hand implementer, and Zhang Hongfan was still his subordinate. Unexpectedly, the feng shui changed. Now Zhang Hongfan has become his boss, and he has to obey his command. When he thinks of this, Shi Tianze feels awkward and responds: "After the order."

After seeing Shi Tianze off, Zhang Hongfan immediately summoned the generals and said, "Listen, we don't have much time left. I'll give you three days to take Yangzhou. If you can't take it, I want your head. Go."

"Abide by the order." Zhang Hongfan was extremely strict in his army. Although the generals were dissatisfied with his high-pressure policy, they still had to accept the order.

Zhang Hongfan looked at the three armies with neat formations and was very satisfied with his achievements. He drew out the scimitar, held it high above his head, and spoke loudly, saying, "Genghis Khan's descendants: I now order you to take down Yangzhou City in three days. There are beauties, gold, silver, jewelry, and slaves in Yangzhou City. These are all your loves. They should all belong to the descendants of the great Genghis Khan! The eagles on the grassland, spread your wings and fly into the blue sky!" The scimitar pointed at Yangzhou City and shouted: "Genghis Khan!"

"Genghis Khan!" Tens of thousands of Mongolian soldiers called the name of the genius military commander, and rushed towards Yangzhou City like a wolf or a tiger, and it was so dark that it seemed like a surging tide.

For a moment, the sky above Yangzhou was shrouded by Genghis Khan's shouts, as if countless thunders were heard, the earth was shaking, and the wind and clouds were lost.

His speech was like a city massacre order. Zhang Hongfan had outstanding military talents and was extremely strict in governing the army. After he seized Wen Tianxiang, he treated him with courtesy and ordered his nephew to be his teacher. Unexpectedly, when history began again, his actions in Yangzhou were so surprising that he was going to massacre the city.

The Mongolian army rushed to the city, set up a ladder to attack the city. Under the command of Jiang Cai, the Song army calmly responded to the battle, and arrows were like rain, greeting the Mongolian army.

Although Yangzhou was surrounded, Yangzhou and Zhang Shijie were much better at this time. The war materials were much more reserved and various weapons were sufficient. The Song army had no need to consider saving. Just shoot hard. After a while, a thick layer of corpses were piled up under the city.

According to what Zhang Hongfan said just now, it is to enter Yangzhou City and do whatever you want, gold, silver, jewelry, beauties, slaves, and killing and setting fires. These are the favorites of the Mongolians. The Mongolian soldiers who have already aroused greed for Zhang Hongfan will not be afraid, as if their lives are not important, and the people behind are stepping on the bodies of the people in front of them and rush forward.

Historically, the evaluation of nomadic peoples is "profits advance, and if they are not favorable, they will collapse." The Mongolian army built by Genghis Khan is even more brave than the army of other nomadic peoples. As long as the order is issued, it will advance as well as the benefits, and if there is no profit, it will advance as well. Although the casualties are heavy, they cannot be deterred and move forward.

The firepower on the city was too strong, like a greedy meat grinder ruthlessly devouring the lives of the Mongols. The corpses were getting thicker and thicker, and the blood was getting more and more. Before they could immerse themselves in the soil, they flowed into the moat, dyeing the moat red. A thick layer of red liquid floated on the moat in the sun, which was particularly eye-catching and beautiful.

Shi Tianze rode on the horse, looked ahead uneasyly, asked the school beside him, and said, "Did you see clearly?"

"Sir, I can see clearly. It's really a team of cavalrymen in the South Man, with a long line of at least 20,000 people coming toward this place." The school answered confidently, saying, "Sir, I'll go to see it myself, not listen to other people's reports."

This school is right. A day ago, a Southern Song cavalry unit was heading towards Shi Tianze's location. After obtaining this information, Shi Tianze showed his military ability and decided to take the last ambush to kill the Southern Song Dynasty's marching cavalry unit.

Unexpectedly, the cavalry unit disappeared after a day. According to his calculations, it was long time to enter the ambush circle. After waiting for a while, he would naturally be anxious.

Shi Tianze believed that even if the school had ten courage, he would not dare to lie, and said, "Let's explore again, bring more people, and you must figure out the situation."

"Abide by the order!" The school took the order and left.

Jie Jin stood by the roadside, looking at the fast-moving cavalry troops, with people like dragons and horses like tigers, with extraordinary momentum. He was very satisfied with this achievement and laughed at the European Junxing beside him and said, "Shi Tianze is playing tricks on us. I bet he is waiting foolishly now."

European Army was also an excellent cavalry commander. He was able to talk to Jie Jin very well. The two people often had a coincidence. Jie Jin recommended him to Li Jun. Li Jun also thought that he had good talents and improved him and became Jie Jin's deputy. He smiled and said, "This is all the tricks of the adults. First, advance towards his army, and then turn around in the evening, move towards the northwest, bypass him, and then make a big turn, and then arrive in Yangzhou. Lord, I dare to bet that when we defeat Zhang Hongfan, Shi Tianze will not know where we are."

Jie Jin patted his shoulder and said, "Don't you have a share in this idea? It's not my own idea. It's not too late to get rid of Shi Tianze, go straight to Yangzhou, kill Zhang Hongfan, and then turn back to deal with him."

"It's just like using troops, so that the enemy can't get confused. This battle is easy to fight." Ou Junxing nodded and agreed: "When we look back, Shi Tianze can't escape!"

Zhang Hongfan clenched his fists tightly, with no expression on his face. He quietly watched the battle under Yangzhou city, and his eyes finally fell on the moat. At this time, there were no more than how many corpses or blood in the moat. He only knew that the entire moat was blood-red, and the entire Yangzhou was emitting a strong smell of blood. This was the retribution for Zhang Hongfan's barbaric attack.

Yangzhou was originally an important place, and it spent a lot of money on repairs throughout the dynasties. After Li Tingzhi left Yangzhou, he made great efforts to strengthen the city defense of Yangzhou. This fortification was naturally indestructible. Zhang Hongfan lacked a powerful weapon like Huihui cannon. He was forced by the situation and had to attack barbaricly, hoping to break the city with the courage of the Mongols.

Jiang Cai's military talent is also good. In addition, Li Tingzhi built the Yangzhou soldiers into an elite soldier, who can attack and defend well, so it is naturally unrealistic for Zhang Hongfan to take Yangzhou within three days. In fact, Zhang Hongfan had other plans in his mind. If he couldn't take Yangzhou within three days, he would retreat and wait for the opportunity to make a comeback.

His calculations were very precise, but he had no time anymore, because the 20,000 cavalry troops commanded by Jie Jin had arrived in Yangzhou.

Jie Jin admired Huo Qubing very much and believed that Huo Qubing was a rare military genius in Chinese history. However, his own combat style was also very similar to Huo Qubing. He used troops like a wild and unrestrained, untouched, intangible and unfinished, and always appeared in the most unexpected place at the most unexpected moments of the enemy.

This time, he used a beautiful trick to bypass Shi Tianze and go straight to Yangzhou. Shi Tianze is still looking for him everywhere like a naughty man.

Standing on the hill, Jie Jin looked at Yangzhou City, which was in full swing, and a cold smile appeared on his lips and said, "Zhang Hongfan, you traitor, your doomsday has arrived!" He pulled the reins of the horse, and rushed out like the wind, and spoke to the army, saying, "The warriors of the Song Dynasty: The time you have been waiting for for a long time! The opportunity to make contributions to the country has come! Use the sword in your hands to write the myth that has been passed down through the ages! This sacred moment will be passed down for future generations! Your descendants will be proud of your brave actions at this moment!" He suddenly turned his horse's head and shouted: "Long live the emperor! Long live the Song Dynasty!" The sword in his hand was raised high on his head, playing with a beautiful sword flower, roaring with a angrily "Kill!" He rushed out first.

The roar of "Long live the emperor! Long live the Song Dynasty!" came from the mouths of 20,000 people, forming a strong song on the battlefield, which went straight to the sky and stopped the floating clouds.

Whether to continue fighting or retreat immediately is really a bit difficult for Zhang Hongfan. If he retreats immediately, he may not have the chance to come to Yangzhou again in the future. If he continues fighting, there is no news from Shi Tianze, and I don’t know if he has stopped the arrival of the Song army as planned. He believes that Shi Tianze’s military talent is good and there will be no major problems. He can fight for a few more days.

Just as he was fighting against heaven and man, Jie Jin made him make up his mind, that is, escape immediately, otherwise he would not be able to escape. The roar of the Song army was shocking, awakening Zhang Hongfan. Looking back, he saw a smooth water line in the distance appearing in his vision. This water line is extremely beautiful, even the national player in the painting school may not be able to describe it.

When the waterline became thicker, the figure of Song Jun, who was like a wolf and a tiger, appeared clearly in his vision, holding up a sword, which emitted a dazzling cold light in the sunlight, making people feel cold from the bottom of his heart. In the roar, countless flags stretched like picturesque in the wind, which was particularly beautiful.

Zhang Hongfan immediately realized that something was wrong and ordered to retreat immediately. He was brave and knew that the situation was very critical. He decided to cut off the rear and organize the retreat. Zhang Hongfan had a good idea and was right to deal with it. Unfortunately, the opponent he met now was Xie Jin and the European Army Commander. This cavalry unit was the newly formed cavalry, an elite soldier created by both of them, who were brave and good at fighting.

When it comes to chopping skills, they are only smarter than the Mongolian cavalry famous for their scimitars. Not to mention equipment, the quality of the chain mail sword is much better than that of the Mongolian army. When the Mongolian arrows shot on the Song army, they will only leave a scratch, which will not hurt the Song army at all, unless they shoot into the eyes.

In order to protect the face and reduce the chance of the middle-flying arrow, Li Jun specially ordered a movable face armor to be installed on the helmet. Once the face armor was pulled down, only a pair of eyes were not protected, so there were even fewer people in the middle-flying arrow.

The consequences of the failure of the two magic weapons of the Mongolians' proud chopping skills and archery are very serious, that is, the one-sided massacre. The Song army rushed by like a strong wind. Wherever they passed, there must be flesh and blood on the ground, broken limbs and broken arms, blood splattered, and colorful intestines and belly everywhere. A war scene that was enough to shock anyone was drawn under their storm. As more and more Mongolian soldiers fell, this picture became more and more beautiful and shocking.
Chapter completed!