Chapter 325: Sneak Attack on Shanzhou City
After making up their minds, Hubili and his men refocused their attention on Luzhou and Hefei. They wanted to capture this city to add another big bonus to their southward advance.
After meeting Yu Jie, Meng Gong said that he had a way to destroy the Mongolian navy in Xiaoyaojin. Yu Jie was very surprised and asked him what method he used.
Meng Gong said that the southeast wind was still blowing this morning, and asked Yu Jie to prepare twenty speedboats. He brought a large amount of sulfur kerosene, and they only needed to convert ten speedboats into suicidal fireboats and send out the death squads to rush towards the enemy ships as soon as the wind picked up, and the Northern Barbarians' navy would be wiped out.
Yu Jie was overjoyed and immediately sent someone to make arrangements.
The next day, it was not until dawn that the southeast wind started to blow. The Song army's death squad sailed out to attack, but the Han army's lookout discovered something strange through the telescope and immediately ordered their modified Huihui cannons to bombard the boats.
The Mongolian army's Huihui cannon was modeled after the Shenwei Army's catapult and was equipped with springs for power assistance.
Because the spring material of this Huihui cannon is too low, it can't reach the effect of the black iron and strong toughness that Zhao Yulin made in Dukou Town. The thing made is thick and heavy and difficult to use. But it is easy to install on the ship, which is convenient for water transportation, and they can adjust the angle of shooting at any time.
Therefore, the Huihui's bombardment of small fireboats was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. It was a piece of cake. A few shots set the fireboats on fire. Two fireboats still got as close to the Mongolian navy as possible and caught fire, but because the Mongolian army was prepared, they quickly put out the fire and did not cause them any decisive losses.
Now it was Meng Gong's turn to be depressed. He did not gain any advantage on the water, and on land he was attacked by Hubili's mixed infantry and cavalry.
Hubili's spring-assisted Huihui cannon led the way, and the powerful artillery team broke through Meng Gong's frontier position, making General Meng look at the Mongolian army's combat effectiveness with new eyes.
He fought desperately and refused to retreat, but he had too few soldiers and it was difficult to put out the fire from all directions.
Hubili concentrated his forces in three directions, left, middle and right, and launched a continuous attack, breaking through his army formation and forcing Meng Gong to retreat thirty miles before he could stabilize his position.
It was at this time that Meng Gong put into use the fifty precious new catapults that Zhao Yulin had given him.
After iterative modifications, the catapults of the Shenwei Army became more and more agile, basically able to hit whatever they were pointed at, and their range was not inferior to the Huihui cannons of the Mongolian Army.
After the artillery battle between the two sides, the Mongolian army's Huihui artillery suffered heavy losses because it was extremely heavy and difficult to carry, and its power was gradually suppressed.
At this time, the navy from Yujie, Jiangdong, rushed to join the battle.
The false emperor Zhao Bing of Lin'an discovered that Luzhou was in danger. If he allowed the Mongolian army to occupy Jiangbei, his territory would be reduced to an area the size of a bathtub around Lin'an. He had to support Yu Jie to win this battle.
Therefore, Zhao Bing no longer cared about his former submission and ordered troops from all over the country to march north to Luzhou to fight against the Mongolian army with all their strength...
In Chengdu, people are celebrating the great victory in Nanyang.
The editors and reporters of Chengdu Weekly followed closely the staff of the Ministry of War and promptly published the battle reports of the Shenwei Army's attack on the Mongolian Army in the newspapers. As the war progressed, the common people discussed the battle situation enthusiastically. The brothels and taverns in the streets and alleys of Chengdu were filled with people drinking and bragging.
Some people say that our Shenwei Army is powerful and has already started to counterattack the Northern Barbarians. Look, we will soon go straight to Huanglong and bring back the captured officials and blind dates.
Some say that the northern barbarians are not that powerful. Look at our Shenwei Army, they have recovered many places one after another.
Someone said after drinking a few more sips of wine, "It depends on who is leading the troops. Didn't Jiangdong lose cities and land and fail to defeat the northern barbarians?"
Someone at the next table said, "If one soldier is incompetent, the whole army will be incompetent too."
That was the official who was in charge of their family. That fake emperor was not powerful enough. He just wanted to hold a woman in bed and show off his power. How could he have ever thought of fighting the northern barbarians with real swords and guns? Such soldiers raised by the court would definitely not win a battle.
The onlookers in the tavern were delighted by what they heard and burst into laughter.
But Zhao Yulin didn't have the time to waste on such idle chatter.
Look, Tan Yousan is going to deliver the supplies to the front line personally, and comes to ask him if he has anything to say.
Zhao Yulin said that General Cao was in charge of the front line, so he would not explain how to fight. He asked Yousan to deliver the supplies to Jingzhou and then go to Lingqu to check. If the Logistics Department had any cash, they should bring some to General Cao Youliang and ask him to repair Lingqu.
He was worried that the war between Jiangdong and Xiangyang would cause great suffering to the people and lead to rising food prices. This was a perfect opportunity to use the Lingqu Canal to transport food from Lingnan and even Yue State to Jinghu for emergency relief.
Tan Yousan was absolutely impressed by Zhao Yulin. He agreed without hesitation and set off immediately.
This man was the head of the Logistics Department and didn't need to run away. However, his personality was the same as Cao Youwen's, he couldn't sit still, so he seized the opportunity and ran to the front line.
War is all about consumption.
Meng Gong of Luzhou only held out for ten days before the food and fodder he brought with him ran out.
Yu Jie hurried over and his situation was similar to Meng Gong's.
However, these two people were not as strict as Zhao Yulin's Shenwei Army, and they were not allowed to disturb the people. These Song troops directly sent small teams to the local government warehouse to get grain, and to the homes of local landlords and large grain growers to get grain.
It is impossible not to give it. Regardless of whether you are patriotic or not, soldiers have swords hanging on their waists and spears in their hands. If they don't give it, their lives will be in danger.
Meng Gong and his men were helpless. Soldiers were fighting for their lives and bleeding but still couldn't get enough food. Wouldn't that mean they were just going to die?
Hefei City in Luzhou has been besieged by Hubili for nearly half a month. If the siege is not relieved, the war may become a protracted war of attrition.
Yu Jie can't afford it, and Meng Gong can't afford it either.
If they hadn't received the news that Cao Youwen had sent troops and had already captured Nanyang, they would have been planning how to retreat to the defense line.
Meng Gong discussed with Yu Jie and decided to use the advantages of the Song navy's large ships and large numbers to defeat the Mongolian navy first.
His men scouted the terrain of Xiaoyaojin and believed that they could set up the catapults sent by the Shenwei Army on the East Mountain to bombard the ferry from a high vantage point. With the attack from Yujie's navy, they would surely be able to defeat the Beiman navy.
Both brothers knew they could not delay any longer. Once the food in the battle zone was used up, they would have to retreat even if the Mongolian army did not fight. So they took out their savings to reward the enemy, and both sides organized death squads to attack.
Meng Gong's men moved dozens of catapults to the top of East Mountain overnight. At daybreak, the navy of Yu Street went out to fight to attract the enemy's attention. When the two sides were fighting hard, the catapults on East Mountain were finally installed and fired.
As soon as the Song army's artillery fire sounded, the Mongolian fleet panicked. Their dense fleet was crowded in the river upstream and downstream of the dock. Some ships were hit and burned and came too close, causing a chain reaction and igniting a raging fire. Thick smoke quickly filled the sky above Xiaoyaojin.
Zhang Rou, the commander of the Mongolian navy, was so anxious that he didn't know what to do. Although his Huihui cannons were equipped with springs and had a sufficient shooting range, they were all on the dock and the ship, and could not hit the high East Mountain.
He urgently ordered the fleet to rush out of the port to engage in battle with the Song navy, and ordered the infantry to rush up Dongshan to destroy the Song artillery.
Hubili had already reached the front line of Hefei. He was anxious when he saw it through the telescope. He knew very well that if the navy was gone, one of his three armies would be missing, and his strength would be reduced by half. He quickly asked Tachaer to personally supervise the battle, seize Dongshan and rob Meng Gong of the catapult.
Both sides were desperate and fought fiercely in Xiaoyaojin...
At Hangu Pass on the ancient Xiaohan Road, Lai Chuanfang received the military order from Miao Gui to attack Luoyang.
After the Eastern Group took Nanyang first, they believed that they had achieved the mobilization of enemies around Luoyang, and ordered Lai Chuanfang to attack and implement the plan to retake Luoyang.
He immediately sent out troops, but found that the battle was difficult to fight.
Because Yang Xingyun deployed his red-coated cannons and air force when attacking Nanyang, a squadron of hot air balloons flew over the south gate of Nanyang and dropped thunder bombs densely, directly blocking the enemy's reinforcements and killing the guards on the city. The red-coated cannons fired at the city gate and immediately blew it down, and the Shenwei Army rushed in in a line.
The Mongolian garrison commander in Nanyang had never seen the Shenwei Air Force, nor had he seen such fierce red-coated cannons, so he immediately led his troops out of the north gate and fled. The Shenwei Air Force bombed all the way, and the Mongolian army immediately split up and fled to Luoyang.
The main commander of the Luoyang garrison was a Han soldier named Liu who defected to the Mongolian army in the early years. This guy was a typical Han Chinese expert and a die-hard traitor. When he entered Luoyang during the Duanping period, he had defeated Cao Youwen and had also experienced the power of the Shenwei Army.
Seeing that Nanyang would be lost in one day, he immediately became alert and revived all the means that the Song army had used to defend Luoyang. He also tried his best to block the east and south gates with sandbags so that the red cannons of the Shenwei Army could not blast them open.
Lai Chuanfang did not have a red cannon in his hand, and looking at the tall Luoyang City, he felt sorry for his soldiers climbing the wall. After a tentative attack at the west gate, he found that the enemy had blocked the city gate. His brothers had to climb up the city wall with ladders and suffered heavy losses. Thousands of people were killed and wounded in the first battle. He knew that it would be difficult to chew this tough bone for a while.
Gu Shan, the captain of the Third Column, reported to him: Luoyang's walls are strong, and it is difficult for us to break in without heavy artillery. Let's wait until General Cao and Commander-in-Chief Miao arrive before discussing countermeasures.
Liu Qiangguang was already the captain of the 21st Column assigned to him. Just now his team was blocked in attacking the city. He felt sad to see his brothers falling down like leeks being cut. He said with a little emotion that if the Third Young Master was here, he would definitely not fight like this.
The enemies in Shanzhou have come to reinforce Luoyang. Why don't we strike back and take down Shanzhou city? As long as we take down Shanzhou, our fleet in Guanzhong can come east unimpeded, and we will have the waterway guarantee to advance into Hedong.
Li Dagui has been promoted to the commander of the 20th Column. He slapped his thigh and said, "That's right. Didn't the third young master ask us to seize the opportunity to retake Shanzhou? Now is a good opportunity."
Why don't we strike back and kill him?
He was willing to lead hundreds of soldiers across the river to capture the city.
Lai Chuanfang glared at Da Kui and said, "You are already a column-level commander, but you still speak like a reckless man. However, it is true that the Third Young Master has always told us to be flexible in fighting."
