It is the middle of the twelfth lunar month, when the weather is freezing cold. It is the coldest time of the year. In the past, at this time of year, large-scale trade and long-distance travel had long been cut off, and everyone would stay in towns and villages to prepare for the New Year. Even the city of Tokyo was no exception.
But this year is different. Total war has changed everything. From east to west, from south to north, the atmosphere of war has covered everything.
As for Queshu Valley, which connects the Taiyuan Basin and the Linfen Basin, the situation changed further at the middle of the twelfth lunar month. For more than forty days before that, there had been constant fighting in Queshu Valley, with troops moving back and forth in succession. This was certainly understandable, because the Song and Jin dynasties were essentially engaged in a long and tedious offensive battle in the Queshu Valley. However, starting from the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, as the entire Queshu Valley was opened up, instead of calming down, the place suddenly became bustling with traffic.
Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians poured into the valley, far exceeding the previous battle's establishment of more than a thousand people.
Queshu Valley was formed because of the Fen River, which divided the valley into two parts. A large number of combat troops advanced rapidly along the wider eastern bank of the Fen River, and the frozen Fen River itself and the frozen riverbed unexpectedly became a natural marching road for the baggage troops... The laborers and livestock all wore non-slip straw sandals, the wheels of the vehicles were also wrapped with tough hay, and some vehicles and carrying poles were simply dragged directly on the ice.
Under such circumstances, the troops moved at an astonishing speed.
However, what really ensured the speed of the advance of Fenshui and the east bank of Fenshui was actually the slightly narrow valley on the west bank of Fenshui, as well as the cols and gentle slopes... In the west bank of Fenshui, as early as when the advance war was carried out before, Emperor Zhao personally issued an order to let the governor Ma Kuo come forward, requiring that a comprehensive military station be established on the west bank for every mile of advancement.
The military station was also designed by Emperor Zhao himself, with specific requirements for every personnel configuration.
First of all, there must be enough cooks and coal reserves in the military station to ensure uninterrupted hot water and help the troops cook and melt dry food at any time.
Secondly, there must be at least three military officers in the military station, one responsible for managing the daily operation of the military station, one responsible for mediating disputes and supervising military discipline, and the last one responsible for conveying and disseminating military orders that may be issued at any time.
Third, there should be several extra warm rooms in the military depot to provide a place for the wounded caused by sudden accidents to rest and treat their injuries.
Finally, all imperial edicts, military orders, and military officers' movements, no matter how big or small, had to go through the west side of the Fen River and were not allowed to go through the east side to obstruct the advance.
In addition to the military stations, there are seven or eight valleys and gentle slopes in Queshu Valley, where formed camps have been built. These are larger military stations. In addition to the basic functions of a small military station, they can also accommodate a large number of wounded soldiers, repair vehicles, store supplies and livestock, and serve as on-site defense points.
Besides, although these things were felt to be very convenient when advancing the battle before, everyone felt that Emperor Zhao had gone a bit too far... A few camps were acceptable, and they were very good things. The troops were divided into east and west, and the baggage was transported on the river. It was not a new thing for everyone to advance in an orderly manner... Tokyo City had long been shouting to keep to the right.
But setting up a military station like that every mile we advance would be a huge waste of manpower and resources.
There were even rumors that Emperor Zhao was deliberately finding a job for Ma Kuo, who held a high position but little power, in order to prevent Ma Zongguan from losing his status.
But now, when the imperial edict suddenly came down, requiring the entire army to advance to Taiyuan at a rapid speed, and the entire army, including soldiers and civilians, totaling hundreds of thousands, plus countless baggage, needed to pass through the Queshu Valley which was dozens of miles long, the officers and ministers at the front only regretted that there could not be a military station every three hundred steps, but they finally realized it.
Emperor Zhao had definitely been planning this for a long time. He was just waiting for the moment when Queshu Valley was opened. Then he would suddenly change from slow to fast, from small to large, mobilize all his troops, and attack Taiyuan City quickly, catching the Jin defenders in the Taiyuan Basin and the main force of the Jin in Hebei off guard.
Well, let's not talk about how great the effect of this surprise attack would be, but no matter what, everyone could feel Emperor Zhao's determination.
In fact, the troops advanced so quickly and in such an orderly manner, largely because Emperor Zhao's imperial carriage was right behind them.
The imperial edict was sent to all departments overnight on the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month.
On the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month, the elite troops of Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Wang De, Li Qiong and others stationed in Queshu Valley and outside the southern gate of Yangliang marched forward one after another... At the same time, Emperor Zhao's imperial carriage also started from Xiangling in the rear without hesitation. Under the escort of the imperial guards, he left behind the Japanese samurai who had just arrived at the imperial residence and headed directly north.
In the afternoon, Long Hu arrived at Hongdong County, which was fifty miles away from Xiangling. Then, without stopping for a moment, he marched for more than ten miles until dark, and finally stationed himself in an empty Song army camp south of Zhaocheng.
It was precisely under the threat of such speed and determination that Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Wang De and Li Qiong, none of them dared to say a word. The fifty or sixty thousand elite soldiers in front advanced in an orderly manner, without even one trying to cut in the way. It was truly astonishing.
At noon on the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the imperial carriage, continuing to maintain an astonishing speed, also entered the Queshu Valley.
In the afternoon, the sky began to darken and light snow fell.
In the evening, in the light snow, Long Hu arrived at the foot of Lingshi City, but once again passed by the city without entering. Instead, he continued to march until the sky could no longer support him. Only then did he stop and pause for a while in a camp in a col on the west side of the valley.
As soon as the imperial carriage stopped, the guards below were naturally happy to take a break. No matter what, no matter how orderly it was, this kind of march was a very arduous task. It was just that because Emperor Zhao was also in the marching column, they could not vent their complaints.
However, while the soldiers were getting hot water to soak their feet and rice, the ministers accompanying the emperor were busy again. A large number of memorials and intelligence were sent to the emperor, and Emperor Zhao did not have time to say much. After taking a cup of hot tea, he began to deal with the matter.
"Give Wang De a golden medal and tell him not to underestimate the enemy and rush forward. He must wait until the friendly forces take over the siege position in Jiexiu before going north to besiege Qixian." Zhao Jiu was speechless and even a little furious when he opened the first memorial. "Where did you get the story of going to Caizhou on a snowy night? Who told him that? Did he really think Yelu Ma Wu and Wanyan Zhehe were trash and that they couldn't be eaten? Didn't he just wait in Jiexiu for a while to see Han Shizhong and Li Qiong get ahead of him again? Follow the previous military orders!"
The chief scholar Fan Zongyin at the side did not dare to delay, and immediately took up his pen and ink and began to draft the decree.
Zhao Jiu had already opened the second memorial, but he was impatient again: "Send another golden medal and tell Han Shizhong that Qi County does not belong to the Imperial Camp Left Army. His mission is to attack Pingyao first, then Taigu, and then join Wang De in advancing! Can't be too slow, can't be too fast, and can't be chaotic!"
Mei Li, a scholar from Zhi, also hurriedly took out his pen and ink to draft his decree.
But before Fan Mei and the other two had written a few words, Emperor Zhao threw the third document on the table and pointed at Wang Yan: "Wang Qing, you go there in person on a fast horse, forty miles ahead, at the mouth of the Shengshui River where it flows into the Fenshui River, and find Li Yanxian, and explain it to him for me... The west bank of the Fenshui River, the line of Xiaoyi, Baibi, Guozha, Wenshui, Jiaocheng, and Qingyuan, is Wanyan Salihe's defense zone. I'm not giving it to him to attack, but to keep an eye on it, to ensure that Salihe's troops cannot cross the Fenshui River to harass us, and soon Li Shifu will arrive from the rear with cavalry to replace him to monitor Hexi, and Wu Jie will also cross the Yellow River from Shizhou and Lanzhou to take over the battle in Hexi... Let him keep his mind steady, don't waste troops, and don't be greedy for merit. The main task now is to quickly and steadily unite the army to the city of Taiyuan! Don't rush back to report after you're done, and go inspect Pingyao, Qixian, and Taigu by the way, and then wait for me in Taigu!"
Wang Yan, the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp who had been stationed in Linfen city with Lu Yihao before, did not dare to neglect him. He responded and, regardless of the darkness, rode out of the camp with several personal guards.
After Zhao Jiu gave the three instructions, he felt helpless. Even though Li Qiong did not propose any additional plans in the letter, he still asked people to draft an edict, emphasizing the importance of blocking Taihang Mountain and the passage between Shangdang and Hebei.
In this way, Yu Yunwen had no choice but to put down his pen and join the queue of drafting the edict.
Soon , the three of them finished drafting the edict and presented it to the emperor for his review. After Emperor Zhao nodded, the escort Shao Chengzhang took out the seal and added the big seal. Then Liu Yan took out the gold medal representing the highest military order and called in the members of the Red Heart Team, who hurried away in teams of ten.
However, after the decree was issued, although Emperor Zhao was so impatient that he was too lazy to even drink tea, he did not show it on his face. He just sat in the camp as still as a mountain, as if he was waiting for someone.
The answer to the mystery was soon revealed. After a while, when it was completely dark, dozens of riders holding torches walked along the passage on the west side of the Fen River and went straight to the camp where the dragon flag was located. It was none other than Qu Duan, the commander-in-chief of the imperial cavalry who had not been summoned to the north this time.
When he entered the camp, Yang Yizhong had already led him in. He passed many guards and went straight to the camp under the dragon flag. Then he bowed his head in the brightly lit camp and greeted the emperor: "I, the commander-in-chief of the cavalry of the imperial camp, Qu Duan, greets the emperor..."
"I've been waiting for you for a long time." Zhao Jiu responded coldly, not even letting the other person get up. "What do you have to say that you have to tell me in person?"
Qu Duan felt something was not good and immediately looked up and wanted to speak.
But before he could say anything else, Emperor Zhao, who was sitting there, asked again in a cold voice, "Do you think that since I allowed you to come to see me in person and explain to me in person, I have agreed to your wishes?"
Qu Duan felt a chill in his heart and became more and more panicked. All the rhetoric he had prepared before flew to Western Liao, and he could only nod.
In fact, it wasn't just Qu Duan. The atmosphere in the camp also dropped to the same temperature as outside... Let's say, it's not that no one thought that someone would suffer under Emperor Zhao's swift and decisive action this time, but when the time came, they couldn't help but feel panic.
This is the emperor who has been on the throne for nearly ten years and holds military power.
"Tell me, what do you want to say?" Zhao Jiu finally became impatient.
"Your Majesty..." Qu Duan was extremely helpless, but he could only speak carefully and tell the truth. "Your Majesty originally thought that the battle of Taiyuan was of great importance, and the Imperial Camp Cavalry might be able to participate in the battle."
"Cavalry attacking the city?" Zhao Jiu responded coldly. "Didn't I bring the Poxi Army with me? But the Poxi Army can't attack the city, right? They can only capture the stronghold."
"I'm not talking about attacking the city. In the Battle of Taiyuan, we also have to guard against the Jin army's garrisoned troops in various cities leaving the city to harass our logistics. If the imperial cavalry arrives, I will sweep the surrounding cities for you. Then you can rest assured and attack the city calmly." Qu Duan's voice became smaller and smaller.
"But didn't I ask Li Shifu to lead 10,000 Tangut light cavalry from the Imperial Camp Cavalry to do this?" As soon as the other party finished speaking, Zhao Jiu continued to ask, and he didn't stop for a moment. "Aren't Li Shifu and his troops part of the Imperial Camp Cavalry? Aren't light cavalry better at doing this?"
Qu Duan dared not say anything more.
"Isn't it because I keep you in the south to prevent the Jin army from attacking me?" Zhao Jiu kept asking. "Qu Qing, why did you have to lead your direct subordinates to the north..."
Qu Duan remained silent.
"Speak!" Zhao Jiu finally became completely impatient.
Qu Duan could no longer hold on, and finally looked up and told the truth: "Your Majesty... I am not trying to steal the credit. I just think that the battle of Taiyuan is of great importance. Once things go wrong, it will turn into a decisive battle. On your side, Prince Han is arrogant, Li Yanxian can defend but not attack, and Ma Kuo can only build walls and fortifications..."
"You are just a big shot!" Zhao Jiu interrupted him directly. "So, I have already notified Wu Jie to quickly cross the river from Shizhou and Lanzhou to lead the central army for me... Do you understand?"
Qu Duan was speechless for a moment, but he was obviously unwilling.
"Prince Yan'an is not here..." Zhao Jiu saw this and stopped hesitating. He turned his head and looked at someone, speaking coldly. "Yang Yizhong, go and give him a whip on my behalf! Get him out!"
No one said a word in the semi-permanent Tumu camp, and since the emperor had given the order, no one dared to refute it. The soldiers on both sides rushed forward, dragged Qu Duan out, and directly dragged him to the gate. Yang Yi Zhong picked up his horse whip and followed, and lashed him with the whip in public inside the gate, then dropped the whip and stood in silence.
Qu Duan was extremely embarrassed, ashamed and angry, but he knew that asking for a fight this time was a huge taboo for Emperor Zhao, so he could only awkwardly pull his horse back and prepare to leave.
"General Qu, stop." Yang Yizhong threw away his whip, but took the initiative to stop the other party.
"What does Commander Yang mean?" Qu Duan just wanted to leave quickly.
"When the emperor heard that General Qu was coming, he issued an order saying that he had heard that his horse, Tiexiang, had died of old age in Jiezhou and could no longer accompany him on the battlefield, so he was asked to bring this horse back as his mount." As he spoke, Yang Yizhong stepped aside, and a guard had already brought a majestic horse. "This is the tribute horse sent by the Western Liao ruler Yelu Dashi last year..."
When Qu Duan saw the horse, he recognized it as the mount that Emperor Zhao had been riding for the past few months. After taking the reins from the horseman, he sighed awkwardly: "Is Emperor Zhao still worried that I will surrender to the Jin people because of what happened today? Even if I really surrender, the commanders in the army will chop off my head..."
Yang Yizhong said nothing.
Seeing this, Qu Duan could only smile and shake his head, then he changed to the imperial horse and rode back south in the snow with a bit of embarrassment.
After Qu Duan left, there was no word that night. Early in the morning of the next day, the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, the light snow stopped early and Emperor Zhao set out again, with the dragon flag pointing north, urging the army in the front and leading the troops in the rear. The main forces of Hedong also continued to advance northward at a high speed.
At noon that day, we left the Yangliang North Gate and entered the open terrain of the Taiyuan Basin.
At this time, Zhao Jiu looked back at Queshu Valley again, and couldn't help but sigh that it was a matter of time and fate... Because according to the explanation of the local military officer, the truly dangerous time in Queshu Valley is in summer. In summer, the Fen River often floods, and mudslides often wash away the roads. Not to mention that the surging river water will also cause the passable places in the valley to become extremely narrow, and the army needs to cross the river repeatedly to move forward.
If that were the case, and the Jin army still had layers of defense, the Song army would have to either rely on Wu Jie to fight, or turn around and attack Shangdang... How could it be possible for the ice to form a road as it is now, which in turn would speed up the army's passage?
But regardless of this little emotion, let's just say that after Emperor Zhao's dragon flag came out of Queshu Valley, it paused for a while and then headed north again. That evening, it arrived at the city of Jiexiu, which had been surrounded by Niu Gao of Li Yanxian's army.
Here, Zhao Jiu summoned Niu Gao, comforted him a little, and gave him a small reward for his previous contribution in breaking through the northern gate of Yangliang. He then stationed his troops behind Niu Gao's camp that day.
The next day, the 19th day of the twelfth lunar month, the imperial carriage traveled sixty miles and arrived at the city of Pingyao.
The defenders in Pingyao were already shocked by the Song army's sudden and rapid northward advance to surround the city. Seeing countless troops passing by the city and heading north, they gradually wavered. Then they saw the dragon banners arriving, and they were completely horrified. On the second day, which was the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, when Emperor Zhao was about to abandon the siege troops and continue northward, the Han army in the city rebelled, opened the east city gate, and took the initiative to surrender.
Faced with such an opportunity, Zhao Jiu certainly did not give up, but handed over the imperial guard to Qiao Zhongfu, the commander of the imperial camp who was responsible for locking the city of Pingyao. Qiao Zhongfu immediately led his troops into the city, and after a fierce battle, they captured this important stronghold in the Taiyuan Basin before noon.
However, even though the city was breached, Emperor Zhao had no intention of stopping. He left some of his squad members behind, gathered the troops, and immediately set out with Wang Sheng's troops who had caught up with him. That evening, they arrived at the city of Qi County and met up with Wang De.
Another day, which was the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhao Jiu arrived at the city of Taigu at noon, met up with Han Shizhong and Wang Yan, and then arrived at Xuguo Town in the evening without stopping.
On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, upon learning that the important town of Yuci to the east of Yangqu, the capital of Taiyuan, had been surrounded by Li Qiong himself, Emperor Zhao did not hesitate to lead his growing number of main combat troops towards Yangqu, the capital of Taiyuan.
That evening, they arrived at Yongli Prison, less than 20 miles away from the main city of Taiyuan, and set up a large camp there.
On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, in the morning, leaving aside the 300-li distance for the vanguard troops, Emperor Zhao and his imperial guards, after eight days of rapid march, through the narrow passage of Queshu Valley, a total of nearly 500 miles, finally set up the iconic dragon banner under the city of Taiyuan at a speed that was absolutely beyond imagination... This speed, no matter from which angle, is undoubtedly a military miracle. Not to mention, during this march, the important towns on the east bank of the Fen River were quickly divided and surrounded by the Song army one by one, and even the important town of Pingyao was captured.
However, at the same time, in order to maintain the speed of advance, the many towns on the west bank of the Fen River were almost completely forgotten by the Song army. Wanyan Salihe, who was in charge of the defense zone on the west bank of the Fen River, was not sure if he was disturbed by the speed of the Song army's advance, but he was actually hiding under the surveillance of the Song army.
Thanks to this, along with the dragon banner of Emperor Zhao, there were no less than 30,000 elite soldiers from the imperial camp. At the same time, countless troops and civilians were constantly gathering from the rear.
It can be imagined that before tonight, there will be 40,000 to 50,000 people arriving, and the number will only increase in the future. In the end, if Wu Jie can arrive as promised, it would not be surprising if there are 100,000 people here.
Let’s not talk about the future for now. Let’s just say that for now, Zhao Jiu can finally stop his horse by the Fen River and take a closer look at the Taiyuan City of this era.
By the way, the Taiyuan City in the Song Dynasty is not the same as the Taiyuan City in the Han and Tang Dynasties.
The main part of Taiyuan City was located on the west side of Fenshui River, which is the traditional Jinyang area, and the city was large. The Taiyuan City in the Song Dynasty was built by Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, after he destroyed the old city. He found that Taiyuan could not do without a big city, so he asked Pan Mei to rebuild the new city. The new city was located in Yangqu County on the east side of Fenshui River, not in the traditional Taiyuan area, and was much smaller.
However, this does not mean that this city is inferior to any Taiyuan city in history in terms of defense. Otherwise, Nianhan would not have had no choice but to lock the city and march south, only to find that Taiyuan was still in the hands of the Song army. He had no choice but to besiege the city and fight for reinforcements. After defeating hundreds of thousands of Song troops, it still failed. In the end, it took 250 days for the city to be breached, and he had to massacre the city to vent his anger.
"Officials, please wait and see."
Han Shizhong led his Beiwei Army to the north of the city to guard the road for defense, and Li Yanxian went to preside over the construction of the fortress under the city. Unexpectedly, it was Yang Yizhong, who was always taciturn outside, who took the initiative to instruct Emperor Zhao on the defense of Taiyuan City... He was originally from Daizhou in the north. "Taiyuan City is more than ten miles in circumference. It is not a big city, and it is not made entirely of bricks and stones, but mostly rammed earth... But the west of the city faces the Fen River, and then the Fen River is diverted around the city as a moat... There are only four gates, three gates on the east, north, and south sides, all of which have separate protruding gates. The gates and the city gates behind them rely on suspension bridges, but they are real brick and stone walls... Not only that , there is also a separate inner city in the city, with a circumference of more than five miles, almost occupying half of the city, and there are no people living in the inner city, but warehouses, government offices, and barracks..."
"In other words, although Taiyuan City is small, it is actually a special flat fortress?" Zhao Jiu, standing by the Fen River, looked at the flags of the Jin army waving on the city wall in the south of Taiyuan, and suddenly realized. "A place dedicated to military use?"
"Yes." Yang Yizhong nodded in response. "I can only say that it's fortunate that it's frozen in winter, otherwise the Fen River would flow around the city, and with three city gates standing side by side, we would have to use cannons to attack... and the people in the city could use cannons to counter cannons... it would have been a matter of consuming..."
Yang Yizhong spoke slower and slower, and Zhao Jiu and other close ministers were also gradually attracted by other things... It turned out that just as Han Shizhong was on the way to the northern passage of Taiyuan, Li Yanxian led the large army to set up camp, and when Emperor Zhao was listening to the introduction under the dragon flag, as the flags on the southern city wall waved, suddenly, a group of Jin cavalry appeared from the east.
This group of cavalry was not large in number. There were only seven or eight Mouke, or about seven or eight hundred cavalrymen. Judging from the situation, they were obviously transferred from the eastern city.
Under the watchful eyes of Emperor Zhao and many of his close ministers, they first attacked the southeast corner of Taiyuan City, startling some civilians and soldiers who were setting up camp there, causing a small chaos... That would have been fine, as the defenders in the city took advantage of the foreign enemy's unstable foothold and launched a cavalry raid to dampen the enemy's morale, which was a conventional tactic... However , after a successful attack, this small force not only did not turn back, or showed signs of turning back, but actually relied on the cover of the southern city gate, turned around, and headed straight for the dragon flag.
"Wanyan Zhehe, do you think I am Sun Quan?" Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. "But he didn't know how he broke the Xiaoshi Bridge when the Fen River froze."
"Your Majesty, why don't you take shelter for a while!" Although they were more than a mile away, Yang Yizhong had no choice but to change the subject. "Your Majesty, we will fight the enemy..."
"I will stay here and watch you defeat the enemy!" Zhao Jiu stopped his horse and shook his head.
Yang Yi Zhong glanced at Wang Yan, and seeing that the other party nodded in understanding, he and Liu Yan hurriedly put on their helmets, and then one of them led the infantry and the other led the cavalry, and they hurriedly formed a battle formation forward.
However, because the enemy came suddenly, and although the imperial guards were wearing the main armor at the beginning, they were still not fully equipped, so the speed of the armored formation was inevitably a little slow to keep up.
In fact, this is probably the reason why this Jurchen cavalry felt that they could make a profit.
But having said that, how could Zhao Jiu retreat at this time?
However, just as the two armies were about to meet hastily, a group of soldiers suddenly rushed out from the gap between the main formation of the Song army and the imperial squad, and collided head-on with the Jurchen cavalry.
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, because he saw clearly that these were the Japanese samurai who had been left behind when he set out and had just arrived from the rear... Hundreds of Japanese samurai, some holding terrifyingly long bows, some holding swords as tall as them, riding on unarmored horses that were probably used for logistics supplies to travel, with amazing momentum, they rushed straight into the Jurchen cavalry formation.
Of course, it was not new for Japanese samurai to fight on horseback, because Taira no Kiyomori had been skilled in riding horses since he came to the Akashin Team. At that time, Zhao Jiu asked out of curiosity... As a result, Taira no Kiyomori told Emperor Zhao that at that time, most of the samurai in the north of Japan fought on horseback, and they only had pedestrians to assist them. Their weapons, from the tachi to the longbow, especially the tachi with a blade almost as big as a person, were originally exclusive weapons for fighting on horseback.
Now, the most crucial point is that the Jurchen cavalry was not sure if they were frightened by the exaggerated weapons of the Japanese samurai, but they actually paused. Not only that, because the blade was too long, the bow was too big, and the visual effect was too strong, even Zhao Jiu couldn't help but have some hope.
But it was just a hope. The next moment, as these exaggerated swords slashed through the Jurchen cavalry's thick armor that weighed at least 50 kilograms, both sides of the battle and many people watching, including Emperor Zhao, all woke up from their dreams.
For a time, the cavalry was rampant and Japanese samurai suffered heavy casualties.
Fortunately, he bought time for the imperial guards and the Song army, so he can be regarded as loyal and brave.