Thanks to the long winter nights, the Song army had ample time to complete its plan.
After Bei Yan sacrificed two of his only three hot air balloons, the Song army had roughly completed one of the two most critical tactical steps of the night... Dozens of large and small ships carrying small artillery carts and crossbows had successfully crossed this narrow piece of land and entered the east branch of the north branch of the Yellow River from the north branch of the east route of the Yellow River, and they were still coming in an endless stream.
Of course, the losses were still great. At least one-seventh to one-eighth of the ships were anchored on land for various strange reasons, and it was unknown when they could be repaired. In addition, a ship capsized directly at the entrance to the east side of the Yellow River, causing one of the four docks to stop operating.
But, that's enough.
In fact, as early as when the first balloon was lit and more than ten ships had successfully entered the eastern fork of the northern route of the Yellow River, the Song army had no way back, and the second key step of the Song army was also started by Tian Shizhong at that time - in the twilight and a layer of common winter mist, tens of thousands of the main forces of the Song army began to cross the river at the same time in the south and north of the city. The scale of the north of the city was particularly large, because along with the soldiers crossing the river, there were countless Song army civilians and building boards.
As soon as they crossed the river, except for a very small number of elite troops who were asked to rest and defend on the spot, all the others, both military and civilians, started to build fortifications on the spot.
The ground was a little hard in winter, but it was not frozen, and it was not so hard that it could not be touched. With one strong swing of the long iron chisel, he could dig a shallow pit; with twenty swings, he could dig a shallow pit long enough for three trees to stand side by side; and if he could swing it two or three hundred times and have someone help him clean out the soil in the pit, he could dig a deep pit that could successfully stand the plank that Master Tian had carried over.
But this is not enough. Almost every such board needs to be connected to other boards with cowhide ropes. There must be other shallow pits on both sides to insert single wood for auxiliary fixation. There must also be wooden boards nailed to the connected boards to form a whole. Only in this way can a board be completely fixed and successfully buried, becoming a part of the traditional camp fence.
Compared to this slightly complicated and experience-required task, digging trenches in front of the fence is simpler... Just dig a pit, anyone can do it, it doesn't need to be too deep, two and a half feet deep and three feet wide, dig along the fence, along a line from east to west. Then the excavated soil can be piled up in front of the fence, and at the same time, water must be taken from the river for irrigation... At this time, the river water will definitely have a miraculous effect.
Of course, there were difficulties. The most critical one was lighting. Considering the scale of the action here, for the sake of caution, the Song army had to strictly control the lighting source even when they were several miles away. On the predetermined defense line, there was only one torch every twenty steps, and wooden boards and other light-blocking materials were added on the south side. On the transportation road, there was only one torch every forty steps, and there were also light-blocking arrangements on the south side.
But even so, it still looks a little strange from a distance.
Moreover, as more and more soldiers and civilians crossed the river, the scale of the action became larger and larger. Not only the light but also the noise became increasingly uncontrollable. This situation became extremely obvious in the second half of the night, after the battle between the two cities on the river came to an end.
There's nothing we can do, there are too many people.
"What is this? Breath? Or sweat?"
After visiting Xiao En and a group of old brothers, Zhang Rong, casually putting on a coat, hurried to the north city of Daming to meet Yue Fei, but as soon as he entered the city, he noticed a strange visual phenomenon.
It turned out that when looking north from the brightly lit Daming City and Yuan City, there was clearly a strange mist dancing between the light and darkness, as if some living creature was baring its fangs and claws in the darkness towards the bright city.
“I think both.”
Yue Fei, who was fully armed, had a calm expression. The shock and panic he had when he unexpectedly appeared in the first half of the night had long since disappeared. "It should be the hot air... and the cold air that met, so it showed up... There were too many people."
"In other words, the heat is so obvious here, I'm afraid it can't be hidden from the people in the city?" Zhang Rong frowned tightly.
"Even if there is no such enthusiasm and such trouble, it can't be concealed now." Yue Fei replied with a sigh. "However, Gao Jingshan doesn't know that we have warships to control the river, nor does he know that we are setting up camps and fortifications. With Xiao Tongzhi's desperate delay, he should not take risks in the dark... Based on his personality, I'm afraid he still thinks we are setting an ambush in the north of the city to lure him."
"What if he insists on taking the risk?" Zhang Rong frowned. "Or are there other suspicious people in the city who can persuade him?"
"Then we will fight!" Yue Fei turned around. "If he dares to leave the city, we will take advantage of the situation and fight him! Push his troops back! If he goes around the city to ask for reinforcements overnight, we will wait for them to come and fight back! Anyway, the reinforcements will be back at dawn, and Commander Xiao has bought a lot of time. At this time, the fastest time is only about an hour earlier... At this point, there are already boats in the river, and the camp has been set up on the shore. The entire army has passed through. Is there anything to worry about?!"
"Too!"
Zhang Rong sighed. "At this moment, I don't have any worries in my heart! If an enemy comes, we will fight him with our troops, and if a flood comes, we will block it with earth!"
"We still have to make a decision." Yue Fei said seriously. "Brother Zhang, do you know how I came up with this plan?"
"this……"
"This is actually a common operation. It's like attacking a city... Setting up a stronghold to lock the city. It has been a common routine in the world since Nianhan locked Taiyuan. The only thing worth mentioning is that they prepared the planks in advance, ferrying the boat overnight, and setting up the stronghold overnight. It's like pulling teeth out of a tiger's mouth, but it's only to open its mouth to fight back." Yue Fei's tone softened a little, and the white mist he exhaled also floated in the night sky. "But it's just the old trick that Zhongli used in the battle against Wei Rui that day..."
"What's the story?"
"Gu Zhi, it can also be considered a story, it is something that people have done and it is recorded in the book."
"If there is such a story...why didn't Gao Jingshan think of it?"
"Because there are too many stories like this, this idea is actually not very impressive. The key is to be decisive and prepare early... I said before that I had this idea on the first day I arrived."
"Go on."
"As for my idea that day, it was after arriving at Daming City on the first day. I was worried that the Jin army might attack from the north. Our army was too large, and there were so many civilians coming and going. Daming and Gucheng could not accommodate them, and there would be loopholes. So we prepared a ten-mile-long fortress, connecting the east and west to the river, tightly fitting, to protect 40,000 to 50,000 front-line troops of the imperial camp, naval soldiers, 50,000 civilians, and even the boats in the river." Yue Fei continued. "It was also at that time that I realized that Daming Prefecture was well defended, and the Jin army might gather in winter, so I wanted to use this to survive the winter and survive the possible siege by the Jin army..."
"I understand!" Zhang Rong suddenly interrupted. "You must have been standing in the hot air balloon, looking at the terrain on both sides of the river, thinking about setting up a camp and attacking the city, and suddenly you thought, since you can set up a huge camp on this side of the river, why not set up a huge camp on the other side of the river? You can also isolate the Jin army and take advantage of the situation to attack the city?"
"Yes!" Yue Fei looked at the other party seriously , as if he had more to say.
"I know what decision you have to make." Zhang Rong unbuttoned his new coat, put it on, and shook his head. "I also know what you mean by asking me to tug the boat on land... But if we do this, will we have enough food and supplies?!"
"Brother Zhang, you are the most familiar with the Yellow River. Tell me, how long will the frozen period be, including the ice flood?" Yue Fei asked back.
"The earliest freezing will happen is early next month, and the latest thawing will be after the Lantern Festival next year, which will be no more than forty days...but in fact, it has not exceeded thirty days in recent years." Zhang Rong couldn't help feeling a little nervous again.
"Forty days!" Yue Fei continued in a serious tone. "The troops we have gathered here now are 70,000 soldiers, which is a little less than 50,000 civilians... We already have cotton clothes, food, weapons, fuel... Do you think we can collect enough before the freezing?"
"It's the middle of the month now, let me calculate it." Zhang Rong thought for a moment and gritted his teeth. "This place is only 300 miles away from Tokyo by water, and only 200 miles away from Wushan Camp by water, and most of it is downstream, but the river mouth itself is still inaccessible, and you have to go through Gucheng... Let's put it this way, there will definitely be enough food and weapons, but I'm really unsure about coal and firewood for heating in winter!"
"You don't have to go through the old city again." Yue Fei reminded. "And there may not be only these ships."
Zhang Rong was startled for a moment, then realized it, nodded heavily, and lowered his voice again: "First, it's not safe to say this now, we have to take it one step at a time, but I think it's feasible... But even so, the other thing is that I still need the cooperation of the husbands in Tokyo..."
Yue Fei was silent for a moment, then said seriously: "The ministers in Tokyo may be angry, and there will be quarrels in the secret cabinet, but Zhao, Zhang, Hu and Lin will never disobey the emperor, and the emperor gave me full authority for the war before he left... These four people plus Prime Minister Lu will never make mistakes."
"The other three are fine, but Zhang, I heard from my son-in-law in private, is a kind-hearted person with a bad temper, and is prone to making mistakes." Zhang Rong continued to remind. "I'm afraid he will interfere, trying to help but end up making mistakes..."
In the dark night, there was suddenly some commotion in Yuancheng, which was across the river. It was obvious that the movement in the north of the city still caused unrest in the city.
Yue Fei and Zhang Rong stopped talking at the same time and looked at each other. Then Yue Fei turned around and continued to discuss with Zhang Rong, holding the steel knife on his waist: "What do you mean, Brother Zhang?"
"Write a letter to your advisor, Minister Hu. Don't mention official business. Just put your attitude on the table and clearly say that you are worried about Zhang Jun. He is a ruthless person who can help you restrain Minister Zhang... If you ask Minister Zhao to come forward, it will be more likely to cause trouble."
Yue Fei thought for a moment, nodded heavily, then turned around and walked down the stairs.
Zhang Rong didn't care at first and just put on his cotton jacket again, but he immediately came to his senses and turned around and shouted to the other person: "Pengju, where are you going?"
"Since there is movement in Yuancheng, we should cross the river to supervise the battle just in case!" Yue Fei, who was walking down the stairs, did not turn his head. "We should also urge the entire army to speed up the construction of the fort, cross the Yongji Canal, and continue to build westward."
Zhang Rong wanted to persuade her, but he felt helpless after thinking about it. He felt frustrated and turned back to look at the hot air again. But he soon thought of something and asked again, "Where is Yue Yun?! Where is your husband?!"
"I crossed the river from the south of the city along with the Beiwei Army following Tang Huai. We should have reached the west side of the Yongji Canal now..." Yue Fei, who had already walked to the ground, still did not look back.
Zhang Rong was stunned for a moment before he realized that Yue Yun and the front army of the Imperial Camp were truly isolated and were the first to bear the brunt of the attack.
This is because the Yongji Canal runs from east to west and then from north to south on the land sandwiched between two rivers twelve or thirteen miles north of Yuancheng. It first passes through the west branch of the Yellow River North Road from the west, and when it arrives at Yuancheng, it takes advantage of the situation to go around the city wall to the north, parallel to the east and west branches of the Yellow River North Road, directly dividing the land sandwiched to the north of Yuancheng into two...With this kind of terrain, if the two Wanhu of the Jin State in Guantao had come together, the wall fortifications would have been built several miles east of the canal, and the flaw must be on the west side of the Yongji Canal.
Although Yue Fei did not say anything, he threw a troop of his own roots and his son to the most dangerous place on land, just like Zhang Rong threw his most trusted brother Xiao En into the river full of ship wreckage.
"Yes, there is a large army, but don't worry about it!"
On the top of the north wall of Yuancheng, Gao Jingshan, who had lost his composure because of the burning hot air balloon, finally came to the top of the wall wearing a fox fur coat, and then calmly made a judgment. "Since the Song army is preparing to sneak across the river, they must have prepared enough support in the back..."
"That's right." Gao Qingyi, who came with him, also agreed with a serious expression. "I just went to see the river. The Song navy was advancing without hesitation. All 20 ships were abandoned in the river. Although they were sneaking across the river, they definitely intended to force their way across the river at all costs if they were discovered... In this case, it is reasonable to concentrate the army on the north bank to set up an ambush to prevent reinforcements from Guantao and to provide support."
"General, interpreter, it's true..." The Jurchen Meng'an in charge of the North City pointed at the swirling mist in front of him and said earnestly, "But this commotion is too loud."
Gao Jingshan stared at the swirling fog in front of him and the strange light behind the fog. He listened to the strange, dense and suppressed noise that was faintly visible beneath the noise from the other side of the river and the south of the city, without saying a word.
Gao Qingyi shook his head when he saw this, and took the initiative to analyze the situation to the Jurchen Meng'an: "In fact, the commander-in-chief knows that something is wrong with this situation, but there are two things that need to be made clear to the general... First, the key to the Song army tonight is still the river crossing. It is so tragic that it cannot be faked; second, the Song army has other big plans at the same time. What can we do now?"
Meng'an was about to speak but stopped himself.
"If we go out to mop up the city..." Gao Qingyi pointed to the dark yet starlit twilight in the north and continued to explain. "If we send too few, it will be a waste. If we send too many, the Song army will ambush a large army here. If we are defeated in one battle, what will we do if the enemy rushes into the city with the defeated soldiers? Isn't this exactly what the Song army is planning?"
Meng'an smiled but didn't refute in the end.
"If we call for reinforcements from Guantao, the commander-in-chief has already agreed with Guantao that they will send troops to sweep the place at dawn tomorrow..." Gao Qingyi pretended not to notice the other party's contempt, and continued to explain for Gao Jingshan while sighing in his heart. "It's already the late night. Let them set off early. Not to mention whether there will be an ambush outside the city aimed at the north as the commander-in-chief guessed, and whether the cavalry will make mistakes in the dark, even if they get the news and come early, it will only be an hour faster. What can the Song army do? Shouldn't they wait until dawn?!"
Although this Jurchen Meng'an still looked down on the two Bohai people's caution in his heart, he was completely speechless on the surface. He just sneered: "Gao Tongshi is absolutely right... But don't we still have a big balloon left? We have always liked fire. If we can learn from the Song people to light one and send it north, can we see it? It would be great if we can see it."
"There's only one left. If the Song army really wants to attack, we have to release it to observe the military situation." Gao Qingyi was extremely helpless. "Besides, do you think it will take no time to pack up the balloon in the middle of the night? Why do you want to see it half an hour in advance? Even if we have to take a step back and burn it, why do we have to burn it? Are we in danger like the Song army did before? In my opinion, the noise under the city is probably because the Song army is worried that the ambush will be exposed after dawn, and the Guantao reinforcements will attack us from both inside and outside, so they are withdrawing their troops in large numbers, which is why there is noise... It's just that when they came in the first half of the night, the weather was not cold enough, so it was not so obvious."
When Nuzhen Meng'an heard some complaints, he also knew that this nagging Gao Tongshi had been successful before and was now valued by Gao Jingshan, so he quickly smiled and said, "It's just a joke, Gao Tongshi, don't take it seriously."
Gao Qingyi immediately shook his head.
In fact, to put it bluntly, Xiao En's desperate smuggling was too successful. It not only attracted Gao Jingshan's attention, allowing the Song army to successfully transport the fleet out of sight, but also, more importantly, they and the two hot air balloons delayed for a long time, making the attention of the entire Yuancheng focused on the river.
It was during this period that the Song army was able to cross the river and build a large-scale wall in the north of the city, which made the Jin army realize the strangeness and fall into a thinking trap:
That is, no matter what the noise is... anyway, the noise is so loud tonight... Why must the Jin army in Guantao give up the legitimate cavalry sweep in broad daylight, and instead fight for that mere hour or so to take the risk of going out at night?
Even the Jurchen generals who had been dissatisfied with Gao Jingshan's conservative strategy since the beginning of the war had nothing to say... Even if they were not afraid, why bother?
What can be decided in one hour? Besides, the great victory in the river tonight really shows that Gao Jingshan has made a good plan!
"Go back to bed!"
Gao Jingshan went over all his arrangements in his mind, thought about the great victory on the river and the two fireballs, and finally shook his head and went downstairs. "Come and call me tomorrow morning when Shaohe and Ali arrive!"
Unlike Gao Qingyi, the Jurchen Meng'an still maintained enough respect for Gao Jingshan and quickly bowed in greeting.
Just like that, the sky changed, the east was slightly brighter, and in the morning mist that is common in winter, the long night finally passed.
However, it was not the messenger sent by Meng'an from the north of the city that awakened Gao Jingshan, but the sudden artillery fire!
The sound of cannonballs breaking through the air came whistling and uniformly, and then there was a dull but heavy bombardment sound. Because the landing points were also very neat, it was as clear as thunder, so that General Gao, who was sleeping in the attic, was awakened instantly.
"What happened?" Gao Jingshan didn't even have time to put on his fox fur coat, and he just jumped off the bed and yelled. "Is this a cannon attack? Where did the cannon come from?!"
The servants inside and outside the building had just heard the noise. How could they explain it clearly?
Gao Jingshan came to his senses, hurriedly put on a fox fur coat, and walked downstairs in his boots. Just as he turned to the corridor on the second floor, where the terrain was wider and the view was clearer, he heard a burst of orderly whistling sounds, and then another sound like thunder.
This time he could hear clearly the movement of the city wall on the northeast side…and this made Gao Jingshan even more out of control, because the East City faces the Yellow River, and only the southeast corner has a water gate and a dock. In other words, whether it is the original city design or the later city defense arrangement, the east side is the weakest.
This is also the reason why Gao Jingshan was determined to defend the southeast water gate and set up artillery positions to block the river.
But, it was like that last night, why is it like this now?
Did the Song army build a cannon that could fire across the entire Yellow River? If so, what was the purpose of that troop on the river last night? And why didn't they just bombard the water gate in the southeast of the city?
No reason?
His mind was full of confusion, but Gao Jingshan had already recovered his composure. He then went downstairs and headed eastwards. He put on his boots and hat and slowed down his pace. Seeing the commander-in-chief like this, the guards around him calmed down, hurriedly packed up the ceremonial procession, took their horses and headed east. At the same time, the defenders in the city, who were startled for a moment, began to be stopped and restrained by the officers... Among them, the mobile troops in the center of the city discovered the existence of the commander-in-chief Gao Jingshan and his guards, and took the initiative to follow.
All this trouble was enough to show that Gao Jingshan's arrangements were well organized. In fact, by the time Gao Jingshan rode his horse and walked along the central avenue of Daming Prefecture to the east of the city to the third street intersection, the Song army had only fired seven rounds of volleys.
At this time, under the mist that gradually dissipated as the sun rose in the east, Gao Jingshan keenly noticed that there was a sudden commotion in the North City. Of course... he had to find out what was going on in the East City first!
However, soon a Han army officer came from the east city and informed him of the situation.
"There are small ships carrying crossbows and large ships equipped with artillery in the river?" Gao Jingshan finally became angry. "Did the Song people's ships fly here?! They pretended to repair the plank road last night but secretly crossed Chencang, but where is Chencang?!"
The Han army officer who came to report was helpless and could only bow his head in the street: "General, just go and see for yourself! The fog dissipated quickly in the morning, so it's impossible to be wrong from such a close distance!"
Although he was scolding, Gao Jingshan was actually panicked in his heart, otherwise he wouldn't have lost his composure. He just lashed out with a whip in the air in a rage and accelerated eastward.
It was just another round of salvos, and Gao Jingshan had already believed it in his heart. He just wanted to go to the city to see the situation with his own eyes and think about how these ships passed Chencang.
But at this moment, a rider came from the north along the east wall. It was none other than Gao Qingyi, who lived in Cuiyun Tower in the north of the city. He called out from a distance of dozens of steps: "General! Don't go to the East City. Follow me to the North City quickly! Something big has happened in the North City!"
Gao Jingshan's heart turned cold, but he quickly reined in his horse, then said, "Why panic now? Gao Tongshi, they said that there are dozens of Song army ships in the river, the kind equipped with crossbows... Let's go and take a look."
"No need to look. I don't know where the ship came from, but the east wall says so. So it must be so. Right now, the north is what you should look at." Gao Qingyi rushed to the front and continued to urge. "Let him destroy the east. The city of Yuan is so strong and the walls are so thick. How can it collapse without destroying it for ten days? Even if he destroys it, there may be a big war in the north!"
"What do you mean?" Gao Jingshan, dressed neatly in a fox fur coat, tried hard to suppress his doubts and shock about the artillery carriage and blurted out the answer immediately.
Gao Qingyi, who was disheveled, seemed to be hesitant to speak, and simply held the reins tightly, shaking his horse: "I don't know how to say it either... Just follow me and you'll know! Anyway, you must go to North City!"
Gao Jingshan followed Gao Qingyi northward in a state of panic and bewilderment. On the way, the fog finally dissipated quickly under the sunlight, and the sunlight from the east had cast the shadow of the city wall on the ground. The city gradually recovered from the panic when the bombardment began, and the army began to be deployed in a thorough and orderly manner.
But precisely because of this, people from the South City and the Main City came to report. One said that the Song army in the south of the city did not retreat, but instead began to set up camp outside the city on a large scale, as if they were going to lock the city. Another said that after the fog dissipated, they actually saw the outline of a cavalry unit across the Yongji Canal to the west of the city.
However, Gao Qingyi simply scolded these people to go back and guard the place, and urged Gao Jingshan to go north quickly. Perhaps in order to avoid the artillery boats on the river, they also turned to the north gate tower.
When we arrived at the north city gate tower, the usual winter mist had completely dissipated, and a red sun appeared on the horizon. Calculating the time, it was almost time for the two Wanhu from Guantao to set off.
However, Gao Jingshan, who climbed up the east-west stairs, had no intention of looking at the sun or thinking about Guantao. The first thing he noticed was the expression of the Jurchen Meng'an who looked down on the Song army last night... This man had a pale face and was waiting for him on the city wall with his eyes wide open. When he saw him arrive, he woodenly raised his hand to the north.
It has completely lost the agility it had a few hours ago.
On the north city wall of Yuancheng, Daming Prefecture, Gao Jingshan, who had just climbed the stairs, looked to the north the first time with a strong sense of uneasiness, and then stood in shock at the top of the stairs.
After more than ten breaths, he finally picked up his feet and slowly walked to the battlements, taking in the magnificent scene in front of him with a confused look.
It turned out that on the north side of Yuancheng, which was about ten miles wide and sandwiched between two rivers from east to west, there were countless flags, soldiers, civilians, and fortifications that completely covered the area.
These people, these flags, these objects, and even this land, were all covered with a layer of golden red light under the rising winter sun.
It is seamless and yet sparkling, and it seems like a living giant.
It turns out that the real body of the mist that bared its fangs and claws last night was actually so magnificent? !
After feeling dizzy for a while, Gao Jingshan's eyes were instinctively attracted by the four-character banner facing the city gate, about two miles away. After staring at the four characters on the banner for a few breaths, he followed the direction of the flow of people behind the banner and noticed the defense line at the northernmost end, which was still under construction... This defense line, which at least had a solid fence and a trench, was obviously a little crooked, but it had already covered the narrow area east of the Yongji Canal, and more than half of the area several miles to the west had been covered, leaving only a gap of two or three miles, and this gap was being filled at an exceptionally fast speed.
The sun continued to rise in the east, shining on the two channels of the Yellow River, and the glow became even brighter. Gao Jingshan continued to look forward, and saw that between the big banner and the city gate, a part of the Song army was obviously ready for battle. Small groups of patrolling cavalry continued, and several heavy infantry squares were simply lined up in front of the city gate. And behind this army, to the west of the Yongji Canal, from a distance, it seemed that there were fresh reserve troops hiding behind the flags, plus the cavalry reported by Ximen before...
Without having time to think, Gao Jingshan continued to look to the east, and saw that to the north and east of the big banner, behind these troops, another part of the army and civilians were still transporting supplies in an endless stream... The Yongji Canal, which was only a few dozen steps wide, was paved with simple wood that served as floating bridges, almost covering the entire canal, making it look like flat ground. On the east side of the Yellow River, there were also dozens of floating bridges, and even small steamers traveling back and forth to transport construction materials.
As he continued to watch, Gao Jingshan saw something that made him feel like he was struck by lightning, but also completely enlightened - it was a Song army ship, a very large ship, and it was actually capsized on the land on the other side of the river!
However, just when he saw this, someone appeared and interrupted Gao Jingshan's trance and observation.
A rider galloped from north to south, approached the city, and shouted from afar: "I have something to say! Yue Fei, the Marshal of Hebei Province of the Great Song Dynasty, sent an envoy to inform Gao Jingshan, the commander-in-chief of the Jin Dynasty's Damingfu Military Division... The Yuan City is now surrounded on all sides, and there is no chance of survival. Why doesn't Commander Gao surrender early? If you surrender, you must follow the decree of the Great Song Emperor. Although you are a war criminal, your crime can be reduced to one level! Or you can be pardoned!"
Gao Jingshan finally came to his senses, turned his head and stared at the Jurchen Meng'an: "Shoot!"
After receiving the order, the Jurchen Meng'an did not order the archers to gather in a hurry, but directly picked up the hard bow at his feet, bent the bow and shot arrows... The arrow missed, and the Song army cavalry under the city reined in their horses, dropped a stake, and rode back to the battle line.
At this time, the Song army in the east of the city was still bombarding. After another burst of dull thunder, countless Jin army officers on the north wall stared at Gao Jingshan.
Upon hearing this, Gao Jingshan tried to smile and raised a finger, but he seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he had to put it down, raise it again, and then stop again.
By the third time, Gao Jingshan knew that he could not put it down, otherwise the morale would be lost. However, his mind was already in a mess... After waiting for a while, the commander-in-chief of the Jin Dynasty's Damingfu Marching Division, a veteran of the founding of the Jin Dynasty, took the opportunity to point his finger to the north, raised his head and laughed.
However, the laughter did not last long at all, and gradually faded away, replaced by the sound of rapid breathing, and the finger that Gao Jingshan stretched out gradually began to tremble:
"Everyone, I originally wanted to laugh and say that this Yue Fei kid is putting himself in danger... But isn't that just deceiving yourself?!"
The generals were silent, and what responded to him was another round of artillery fire from the East City.
Gao Jingshan didn't care at all. When the sound of the artillery fire died down, he continued to point his finger at the big banner and shouted: "With three thousand soldiers and twenty small boats as bait, they openly repaired the plank road and secretly crossed Chencang. They made painstaking preparations and built a city overnight! What kind of determination is this?! What kind of courage is this?! Isn't it natural that we are played around by such people?! But Daming Prefecture is the gateway to Hebei. The country has entrusted us with such a vital place. Are we going to give up this city without saying a word or shooting an arrow just because they are so courageous?!"
"No..." The Jurchen Meng'an stationed in the north city tried to respond, but his voice was weak.
"Pass on my military order!" Gao Jingshan put away the finger and responded coldly with his hands behind his back. "What Gao Tongshi said is right. The most important thing today is the North City and the battle outside the North City. The scouts will go out from the west of the city and spread out to pass on the order. As many as can go, as long as there is one who can meet Ali and Shaohe, tell them the military situation here, tell them that today is the biggest opportunity to break the siege, and they must rush in with all their strength... rush through the unfinished gap in the northwest! Cross the Yongji Canal in advance, rush over there, rush over, and come to the west gate. We will attack from both inside and outside. As long as we can get through the connection between the reinforcements and the city, the Song army will lose its foothold and meaning!"
“Yes!”
The morale of the surrounding officers was slightly boosted.
"Secondly, we must go out from the west of the city and spread out to pass the message. Whoever can go should go to the riverside strongholds in the west of the Yellow River... Order the ships to be burned! All the ships in the riverside towns behind Xiaowusha must be burned one by one. Nothing should be left to the Song army!" Gao Jingshan continued to give orders.
But at this time, Gao Qingyi was a little puzzled: "General, why burn the ships? Let the ships go to the west bank and wait for the Fourth Prince's army..."
"You know nothing!" Gao Jingshan said. "If we sail once on land, there will be a second time. The Song army only needs to send ten more ships to the west to open up Xiaowusha, or simply send out land troops to seize Xiaowusha and lure the Song navy in from outside. With the strength of the Song navy, a mere section of the river will be a trap. After we rebuilt Xiaowusha and lost many battles, the few ships we saved with great effort will be used as food ships and obstacles by the Song army in vain!"
Gao Qingyi was so frightened that he dared not speak any more.
"And, it's just as I expected." Gao Jingshan turned back and looked at the banner outside the city with his hands behind his back. "I'm afraid Yue Pengju's intention is not just to lock up the city and attack it..."
The surrounding soldiers became more and more dignified.
"Finally!" Gao Jingshan suddenly shouted and waved his sleeves. "Tear down the houses and buildings, tear them down now, and fire the cannons! Fire the cannons on all sides! Fight the cannons with the cannons! Send a messenger to tell Yue Fei that as long as I, Gao Jingshan, am in this city, he will never be able to shake me!"
Seeing that Gao Jingshan responded effectively and with undiminished morale, the generals finally doubled their morale and were about to loudly express their approval… But just as they were about to speak, there was another whistling sound outside the east city wall, followed by another round of thunder, which drowned out the voices of everyone on the city wall.
Obviously, on the eastern river channel, the Song army launched another round of crossbow salvos, which hit the city wall... It's not over yet!