(Da Meng is really a strong man, and the rewards are getting more and more amazing. Thank you! It’s necessary.)

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On the eighth day of the fifth lunar month, Marshal of Xia's military and horse capital, Cha Ge, the king of Jin, assembled 5,000 elite troops of Xingqing Prefecture, 3,000 troops of Huaizhou, 2,000 troops of Jingzhou, 2,000 troops of Shunzhou, and 5,000 troops of Xiangqing Army of Lingzhou. Thousands, another 10,000 servants were recruited, and a total of more than 28,000 soldiers and horses marched towards Dingzhou in a mighty manner.

Although Cha Ge claims to be a famous contemporary general, he never dares to underestimate a ten-thousand-strong army that can repeatedly defeat the Jin army, cross uninhabited deserts, and implement thousands of miles of roundabouts. As the saying goes, attack in five and encircle ten. With 30,000 troops, how can they capture a fortified city guarded by tens of thousands of troops?

Therefore, after Cha Ge led the army to go out, he issued an urgent military order and urgently mobilized the southeastern border line. Each of the five military divisions sent 4,000 troops, totaling 20,000. Together, they could make up 50,000. In this way, There is a chance of winning.

Of course, the deployment of 20,000 troops and horses from the front line will inevitably lead to an empty defense line, but now there is no need to worry about that. The first priority at the moment is to pull out this thorn in the heart. If the border is lost, at most some territory will be lost. The country can still afford the village. But if the poisonous insect that has got into its belly cannot be eliminated as soon as possible, it will corrode the foundation of the country, seriously shake the foundation of the country, and even cause the morale of the soldiers at the front to be turbulent and collapse.

The lesser of two evils, no matter what, Chage must assemble as many troops as possible in the shortest possible time to eliminate this scourge in one fell swoop, even if the Chinese army occupies part of the border territory and loses tens of thousands of troops. No matter what!

The troops and horses on the front line are hundreds or hundreds of miles away from Xingqing Mansion. If we wait until the troops are gathered before going out to fight, I am afraid that all the Chinese troops in Dingzhou will reach Xingzhou City. Of course, Brother Cha cannot let this situation happen. , otherwise the people will be angry even if the king does not take action on him.

An army of 28,000 went out in advance, followed by reinforcements of 20,000, and no matter the cost, Dingzhou was recaptured within one month.

This was the promise that Cha Ge made to the country’s leader Li Qianshun before he went on the expedition. In Li Qianshun’s view, Cha Ge’s promise was already quite cautious and conservative. It did not say that the enemy troops would be completely annihilated, nor that they would take advantage of the victory to pursue and recapture Kejia. The Yimen may drive the enemy troops into the desert, only to seize the state. This shows that the first general of the Xia Kingdom pays great attention to and is careful about the current enemy, and does not dare to be careless in the slightest.

The distance between Xingqing Mansion and Dingzhou is only five or sixty miles. If the army moves in a hurry, it can arrive in the morning and evening. However, in order to prevent the enemy from ambush, Cha Ge did not dare to march too fast. The priority is to advance steadily. Apply for the license in the afternoon At that time, the vanguard came to report that they were twenty miles away from Dingzhou, and no large enemy ambush was found. However, there was an abandoned village a few miles away on the left side of the official road, and there seemed to be suspicious enemy figures.

This situation immediately attracted Cha Ge's attention, and he immediately decided to check it out personally. Under the heavy protection of three hundred iron kites, the iron hooves were like drums, roaring like thunder, rolling up clouds of smoke and dust, and rushed up the mountain ridge along the road.

To the west of the capital of the Xia Kingdom is the Helan Mountain, which runs north-south and reaches the sky. Affected by the terrain, the section from Xingqingfu to Dingzhou is covered with loess hills of different heights on the left (west) side of the road. These Huangtumao all have the same characteristics: sparse vegetation, loose soil, steep slopes, and rounded tops.

This area is different from other areas of the Xia Kingdom. Since the capital and Dingzhou are close at hand, except for herdsmen, few Xia Kingdom people have settled outside the city walls, so there are very few villages around. Of course, few does not mean there are none, and there are still many villages nearby. Some villagers, looking down from the top of the mountain where Brother Cha is, there is a medium-sized village two miles away.

There was a general who was familiar with the situation of this place beside Cha Ge and gave him guidance: "...This village is called 'Pojun' and has been built for a long time. It was first built in the second year of Yong'an (1099). At that time, there was a rebellious party (referring to the Empress Dowager Liang). The clan) were not angry with the new emperor and rushed into the Helan Mountains to cause trouble for the bandits, so they built this stronghold. Three years later, the rebels were wiped out and the stronghold was abandoned. It has been thirty years now."

Brother Cha looked down from a high position, but saw that the village was narrow, with broken walls and half-collapsed houses. There were more than a hundred people hiding behind the wall, and people could occasionally be seen in the dilapidated houses behind. But judging from the size of the village, , no matter what, it can't hold a battalion of troops.

Cha Ge thought for a moment and understood his opponent's intention: "This is a strategy to contain the enemy. The road on this mountain is steep and narrow. If our army is stagnant at the bottom of the mountain, even if there are tens of thousands of troops, we can only attack with a small number of troops." .In this way, we can delay the time and contain our army's progress. If our army ignores it and leaves, the enemy can also take advantage of the situation to attack our transportation lines."

At this time, a Xia general asked for instructions: "Marshal, why don't you let the last general lead the troops for a trial attack? There don't seem to be many enemy troops, and they may be able to attack them with one drum."

Brother Cha pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Yes."

This Xia general quickly ordered five hundred elite Bubazi who were good at mountain warfare. Wearing armor and carrying cards, they set up camp step by step and launched an attack to the southeast of Pojunzhai where the terrain was relatively gentle.

When they were approaching five or sixty paces from the stronghold, more than thirty musketeers suddenly appeared from behind the strong walls of the stronghold, and then there was a loud burst of gunfire. The Xia army fell to the ground one after another and rolled down the hillside. The musketeers finished their battle. He fired, and moved back. Another wave came from behind, and there was another burst of gunfire, knocking down a group of Bubazi. In the blink of an eye, three or forty people were knocked down by Bubazi, and the rest were all frustrated and retreated in a hurry.

The tens of thousands of Xia troops watching the battle made a commotion, and were immediately calmed down by generals at all levels yelling at them.

After a while, the Xia general just now was ashamed, knelt down in front of Brother Cha, bowed his head and said: "The last general has made a bad start, and has reduced the spirit of the army. Please punish the marshal."

Brother Cha did not even look at his generals. He stared at the small village and nodded slowly: "The Chinese army's firearms are really sharp. It is said that most of the gunpowder is sourced from our country. After this battle, we need to do some research and development." ." He turned around and said calmly, "Although this attack has revealed the strength and weakness of the enemy's army, it has dampened the spirit of our army. I will be punished with thirty sticks and two levels of demotion. You can go and receive the punishment yourself."

General Na Xia kowtowed repeatedly with gratitude on his face. This man was an old subordinate of Brother Cha, and he knew that the marshal was very strict in running the army. If he was defeated at the beginning like this, and the defeat was so ugly, he would usually be beheaded to enforce military law. This Once, it can be regarded as saving a life.

"The number of enemy troops in Pojunzhai is only three to four hundred. Their purpose is only to delay the progress of our army, or to attack the rear team's baggage... pass the order." Brother Cha did not want to entangle tens of thousands of troops with this small group of troops, "Xiang The Qing army sent out one battalion of 500 men, and the Shunzhou army sent out two battalions of 1,000 men. They set up camp and built a stronghold. Watch and block the enemy troops on the top of the mountain. Do not let the enemy troops come down the mountain to attack the army's baggage. Wait for Li Rong to lead the army. After 20,000 soldiers arrived, they were ordered to pull out the stronghold, confiscate weapons, and leave no humans or animals behind."

After a slight delay, the Xia army continued on the road. At the same time, the army was on high alert. It did not relax its vigilance at all because the enemy army only had a few hundred people. Cha Ge's caution was evident. The Chinese army who broke into the army camp did not make any unusual moves except for watching with eagerness. .

Although the current situation is somewhat similar to the blocking battle at Nerling that day, the terrain is completely different - at the foot of Nerling that day, the mountain road was only a few dozen feet wide. There was a big river in front and pursuers behind. The Jin army had no choice but to attack first. Only by climbing to the top of the mountain can one escape. And the road here is flat and wide. It is several miles wide, and it is impossible to intercept it, not to mention it is the home ground of the Xia army. If Cha Ge is not in a hurry and doesn't want to get too entangled, he only needs to adjust the siege equipment at the rear. Come up and destroy this tiny place, it only takes a day and a half.

…

At dusk on the eighth day of the lunar month, the Xia army rushed to the foot of Dingzhou City and set up camp. The response of the Chinese army in Dingzhou was as expected - the walls were clear, the four gates were closed, guns and ammunition were loaded, and the formation was ready.

Digging trenches, erecting fences, and piling earth into fortifications is not a day's work. When it came time to use real swords and guns, Brother Cha was not in a hurry to attack. He led the guards and repeatedly observed around Dingzhou City. He rejected the suggestions put forward by his subordinates one after another. Cut off the water, cut off the flow, dig tunnels to attack, and use ants to attack the city.

Dingzhou is fed by three rivers, one of which is the Yellow River. One month may not be enough to fill the river; tunnel attack is the strength of the Chinese army, so the defense must be tight, and the Dingzhou city foundation is extremely solid, making it difficult to operate; ant attack the city ?Based on the firearms of the Chinese army seen today, I am afraid the losses will be heavy. It is okay to capture Dingzhou, but if the loss of troops is too great and Dingzhou cannot be captured, things will be difficult.

In the end, Chage decided to give full play to the advantage of fighting at home, with a force several times that of the enemy, and adopted the "fortress method" to capture Dingzhou.

The so-called "city fortification method" is to pile earth into a city, the height of which is the same as the surrounding city wall, or even higher. First, select a distance from the city head that is difficult to reach with stone arrows to start piling earth. After reaching the ideal height, the earth can be transported. Pour the earth, push forward, and continuously reduce the distance between the two cities. Until under the moat, the space between the earth city and the city wall can no longer be an obstacle to the army's siege. In this way, the attacker can fight with the defender at the same height, and even Build a bridge to climb the city.

To implement this siege method, the following conditions must be met: there are hills and mountains nearby, and soil can be continuously collected; it is the summer and autumn season, the soil is soft and easy to dig, and there is no risk that continuous rain will turn the earth city into a quagmire; the military force accounts for Absolute advantage.

The weather is right (summer), the location is right (close to the mountains), the troops are there, and the conditions for fortification and fortification are met.

On the tenth day of the fifth lunar month, the Xia army piled up soil from three directions: east, south, and west. The starting distance was a hundred feet away. From such a long distance, neither the thunder cannon nor the missile could reach it, and they could only watch in silence. Following the Xia army's auxiliary troops and servants below the city, they shuttled back and forth like ants, taking mounds of earth from the nearby mountains for the city.

The Xia army also sent out a large number of cavalry to patrol near the six city gates of Dingzhou to prevent the Chinese army from suddenly leaving the city to attack.

On May 13th, after four days of unremitting efforts, three long Tuchengs, ten feet wide and half a foot taller than Dingzhou City, had been extended to thirty feet away from Dingzhou. And the Chinese troops in the city , also began to counterattack.

First, the missile launcher fired thunderbolts, and then the thunder cannon threw explosive packets. The initial effect was good, but it blew up the auxiliary soldiers of the Xia Army who were transporting earth. The servants fell down one by one and fled in all directions. The project was stalled for most of the day. After that, it exploded several times, causing many casualties to Xia's army. However, as time went by, the effects of these two weapons with poor accuracy gradually became unsatisfactory.

First of all, the 12th Division did not carry many long-range weapons in this long-range attack. In addition, due to the losses along the way through the Gobi Desert, only twenty missiles and eighteen thunder cannons were finally able to reach Dingzhou intact.

.Weapons with poor performance and accuracy such as thunder cannons rely on large numbers and intensive bombing to exert their terrifying lethality. If the number is too small, the power will be difficult to realize.

Secondly, the Xia army's auxiliary soldiers and servants were not regular troops. When they saw explosives falling from the sky, they immediately dispersed. After the explosion, they were driven back by the regular soldiers and gathered again. Due to the lack of ground troops to cooperate with the attack to expand the results, this

Monotonous and sporadic strikes, even if the enemy is frightened,

The morale dropped to zero, which was of little help to the battle. Moreover, most of the casualties were non-combat troops, which could only weaken the Xia army's combat power. Not only was it a waste of ammunition, but it also destroyed the Xia army's skin and made it vulnerable to bombs and shelling.

With certain psychological immunity and defense methods, the panic and fear are no longer the same as when they first met.

The guard general Wang Gui had no choice but to order the bombardment to stop. After all, the explosive packets could not withstand such waste. Thunderbolt bombs were thrown intermittently to maintain a certain deterrent effect and delay the Xia army's construction of the city.

On May 15th, the three-sided earthen city advanced to a distance of ten feet from the moat, and the spatial distance from Dingzhou City was less than twenty feet. Both sides were within the range of the muskets and crossbows of both sides. From this moment on, the Xia Army and the Hua Army

Official fight.

The Hua army's muskets are sharp and can break through armor within twenty feet. Not to mention the auxiliary soldiers who lack protection, even the regular soldiers of the Xia army, wearing armor and holding licenses, are difficult to defend. Those who are shot are either dead or injured, basically

Losing the ability to fight or move again. Xia soldiers’ fear of muskets,

Even worse than thunderbolts and explosive packets. After all, the latter fall from the sky and can be seen with the naked eye, and there is still some possibility of escaping. However, when you see musket pellets, you are already dead, or not far away from death... In this way

, which naturally greatly delayed the progress of city construction.

The lethality of the Xia army's crossbows cannot be underestimated. Let alone bows and arrows, powerful crossbows alone pose a considerable threat to the Chinese army. Cha Geben was an advocate of the Xia army's organized and large-scale use of powerful crossbows.

Under his vigorous promotion, the Xia army formally formed a "strong crossbow army" and achieved quite good results in the war against the Song Dynasty. Now that Cha Ge personally supervises the division's operations, how could he not have this powerful unit?

.

The strong crossbows used by the Xia army were similar in power to the horse-huang crossbows of the Song army, and they could penetrate armor at a hundred steps without any hindrance. If crossbows were not direct-shooting weapons, the Chinese army, as defenders of the city, had arrow stacks, pheasant discs, wooden standing signs, and even shields.

Even if they use tents to cover themselves, the casualties will not be less than those of the Xia army.

You must know that the biggest advantage of muskets compared with crossbows is their long-lasting combat effectiveness, and this advantage is based on the opponent's strength being similar to one's own, or twice as many. The Xia army's crossbow army came from Xing

Nearly half of Qingfu's 5,000-strong army consisted of 2,000 men - this was two-thirds of the strength of the capital's strong crossbow army. This shows that Cha Ge really spent a lot of money.

How many musketeers did the Dingzhou garrison have? Less than a thousand! They were stationed in four directions, most of which were concentrated in the east, south, and west directions to block the enemy. The troops were scattered and the firepower was insufficient, which gave the musketeers the advantage of concentrated shooting.

Not fully reflected.

Dingzhou Guard General Wang Gui was also trained as an officer at the Taiyuan Military Academy. It is not that he does not know how to use muskets intensively to maximize their power. It is really difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice - he only has this medium-range firepower at hand, but

It would be difficult to defend a city as big as Dingzhou!

On May 18th, the final moment came. The Xia army paid a heavy price of 3,000 casualties in seven days, and finally pushed the Tucheng to the moat, and could use siege equipment to attack.
Chapter completed!