The iron cavalry swept through the formation, and the autumn waves hit the mountains and returned.
In the second half of the twelfth lunar month, the Song army suddenly went from slow to fast and from small to large. The speed of its advance and the size of its forces shocked the Jin defenders in the Taiyuan Basin. They had no time to make a systematic response and were easily divided and surrounded in various cities by the Song army. The dragon flag of the Zhao Song official himself reached the heart of the Taiyuan Basin, the city of Taiyuan, in just eight days and nights.
In a moment, the army was at the gates of the city, and the Jin army in the city was inevitably terrified.
At this time, the defending general Wanyan Zhehe led hundreds of brave cavalry to break out and plunder the enemy camp, which greatly stabilized the morale of the troops in the city.
The victory of this surprise attack was beyond doubt... The Jin army had only more than 700 cavalrymen, and they took advantage of the gap when the Song army's large cavalry moved north and the infantry formation was not yet stable to launch a surprise attack, killing and wounding more than 400 to 500 people, and only lost more than 70 cavalrymen themselves.
What's more, before most of them retreated, they actually approached within two or three hundred steps of the dragon flag of the Zhao Song government.
If this isn’t a big win, then what is?
However, the Song army was not too discouraged by this battle... Firstly, in such a grand occasion, a battle of this scale did not have much significance , and these losses were not proportional to the casualties caused by the forced march in the dead of winter; secondly, most of the casualties caused by the Jurchen cavalry were newly arrived Japanese samurai, and it was difficult for any system of soldiers to identify with these samurai. Even the imperial guards could only shout "good men who do not care about their lives" at most, and then the matter was left unresolved.
In the end, isn't this still a gain of 70 or 80 cavalry? In the eyes of quite a few middle-level officers, this is not a loss.
However, these are the considerations of the middle and lower levels. For the top leaders of the Song army, this battle revealed some other information.
First of all, under the attack of such a scale and speed by the Song army, Wanyan Zhehe's attitude was clearly revealed through this show of force, which was completely different from Wanyan Salihe on the west bank of the Fen River.
Secondly, there is Taiyuan City, especially the three pass cities outside Taiyuan City, which are indeed tricky... At that time, although the Japanese samurai's raid failed, it undoubtedly gave the scattered Song cavalry time to assemble, and the capture of more than 70 cavalry was also achieved by these Song cavalry.
However, when these Jurchen cavalry realized the problem and tried their best to escape at the first opportunity, and arrived at the angle between the Guancheng and the city wall along the passage reserved by the sheep and horse wall, the hunt had to stop. The Song army could not even use the magic arm bow to kill the enemy... because the Jurchen cavalry turned directly from the alley between the Guancheng and the city gate, which was basically a blind spot for shooting. Instead, the powerful crossbows on the Guancheng threatened the pursuers.
In the end, the Song army could only watch helplessly as the Jin army turned back into the city.
"The most fatal thing is to close the city gates, cover the city gates, and turn weakness into strength."
"Besides, the fort is too big, covering half of the city wall. I can only guess that the giant crossbows on the corners of the fort should be able to intertwine with the giant crossbows on the corners of the wall. No matter where the attack comes from, it will be impossible to escape..."
In the evening of that day, in the hastily erected Song army camp, Zhao Guanjia, who had already taken off his armor, was holding an exaggerated Japanese longbow and playing with it in the open space beside the central army tent with great interest. At the same time, some military officers who had come from martial arts and squads were called together and were arguing about something nervously and seriously. Han and Li were not there, but Wang Yan was in charge of the overall meeting, and many close ministers listened and participated.
Moreover, these people, including Emperor Zhao himself, were not idle the previous afternoon. After the situation was under control, basic reconnaissance was inevitable. Although Emperor Zhao himself rejected Han Shizhong's proposal to use the Beiwei Army for protection, after pacifying those Japanese warriors, he still took his dragon flag and circled the city for a long distance, and only turned back just now as a gesture.
With the emperor's words, the officers of the various departments under the city naturally had to be a little careful. However, no one expected that Emperor Zhao did not immediately summon the generals and commanders to discuss military affairs, but instead suddenly summoned a group of officers from various departments who had served in the imperial court to inquire about the city defense issues.
"Crossfire."
Zhao Jiu muttered to himself but kept silent as he played with the longbow in his hand. When he really got it in his hand, he realized that the Japanese longbow was not symmetrical. This undoubtedly aroused his interest... In any case, this official was also an expert in playing with bows, but he was not good at actual combat.
"The sheep and horse wall is also complete, basically surrounding the city." Someone else spoke up. "But judging from the distance, it should be newly built by the city's defenders."
"There is not only the Sheep and Horse Wall, but also a moat outside the Sheep and Horse Wall, as well as outer trenches and fortresses." Another person mentioned. "And the passages are also quite complicated. I saw with my own eyes today that the Jin army sneaked in under the guidance of the flags on the city wall."
"There are also artillery vehicles." Another person spoke up. "Prince Anhua (Wang Bing was posthumously named) was the first to use cannons to counter artillery in this city... Wanyan Zhehe has taken over the city defense for more than 40 days, so there is no reason not to follow suit. Therefore, I guess that there should be artillery positions in the east, south, and north triangles of the city at this time. It's just that there is no need to use them for demonstration today. But if we set up artillery positions nearby, we will fall into his trap..."
"If so, although the emperor has always braved the arrows, he must not rush to the battlefield this time."
Just when the discussion was gradually gaining momentum, Ren Baozhong, who was in charge of military affairs among the close ministers, suddenly turned around, saluted respectfully and spoke seriously to Emperor Zhao, which caught everyone around him off guard and interrupted the rhythm of the discussion.
Of course, after being caught off guard, Wang Yan and the others were speechless, but they couldn't help but agree quickly with a pinch of their noses... But everyone also knew that Taiyuan City was different from Nanyang City and Dongjing City. Although the city was dangerous, the city wall itself was limited in size, and the core main city wall was rammed earth, which made it impossible for artillery vehicles to climb up the wall, and the Jurchens should also lack the technology for small artillery vehicles, so as long as Emperor Zhao was not stupid enough to run to the wall, such a thing would never happen... Ren Baozhongzhen found a way to show his loyalty.
The topic was brought up, and Zhao Jiu finally smiled and spoke, still fiddling with the bow: "I know, I will just stay in the camp and watch you guys take the city, I won't take any risks."
Everyone quickly agreed and acted as if they were relieved. However, when they came to their senses and continued the discussion, they couldn't help but get to the point ahead of time because of Emperor Zhao's words about breaking the city. At this point, the conversation became very dry.
Because it is really difficult to break into the city.
“So, if you want to break into the city, you have to use artillery to advance layer by layer. First, break through the city gates, then remove the stakes, fill in the trenches, and possibly fill in the moat. Finally, you can use artillery to smash each other and win by sheer numbers.” After some discussion, Wang Yan tried to summarize.
"So, does Taiyuan City have no weaknesses?" At this moment, Zhao Jiu suddenly interrupted, playing with his longbow. "Look, there are fortifications on three sides of the city, isn't there one missing? And if what you said is true, the inner city is adjacent to the west and north, and the artillery can't be placed in the northwest corner... Why can't we attack the city from the west?"
Everyone paused, then looked at each other.
Afterwards, Wang Yan had no choice but to take the initiative to explain: "Let your Majesty know that there is indeed no fortress west of Taiyuan City, and it is impossible to set up artillery vehicles in the northwest corner. Not only that, there is only a sheep and horse wall under the west wall of Taiyuan City, which is not very extended. Even the fortresses on the wall are much less than those on the other three sides... But the Fen River is only a hundred steps outside the city to the west. It is cold and frozen now. The Fen River is open to traffic, but it may thaw in ten days at most. By then, the west of Taiyuan City will be the safest place in Taiyuan City... Your Majesty, it's not that we can't take a risk from the west, but we don't have ready-made siege equipment, and I'm afraid it will be too late."
Zhao Jiu smiled and shook his head, but he didn't know whether he was pretending to be profound or was happy because he finally found the way to pull the longbow in his hand.
"Does the government want to cut off the Fen River?" Ren Baozhong thought for a moment and asked seriously. "While it's cold, dig a river channel outside first, and once the ice melts, cut off the original river channel, so that the river channel can be turned into a smooth road, set up positions from the west, and fire artillery to attack the city?"
Wang Yan and the others seemed to be thinking about something, and after a while, quite a few people seemed to be interested, and soon began to echo their opinions... Obviously, although this method sounds stupid and a waste of manpower, it seems to be feasible in front of Taiyuan City, a military fortress with almost no blind spots.
Emperor Zhao was not in a hurry to respond, because after studying for a long time, he finally pinched the lower third of the Japanese longbow and pulled the bow properly. Taira no Kiyomori, who had not dared to say a word or interrupt, hurriedly handed over an arrow.
Then Emperor Zhao bent his bow, drew his arrow, and pulled the bowstring towards an earthen rampart a few dozen steps in front of him. He then looked at the arrow that was deeply embedded in the earthen rampart as if he was thinking about something.
This shot also attracted a lot of people's attention.
"What do you think of this Japanese longbow?" Zhao Jiu turned around and asked a question that was obviously off-topic.
But, who can blame them for being officials?
As for the quality of the bow, everyone present is an expert and can know the inside story at a quick glance. However, due to their status, it may not be their turn to speak.
"I think this bow still has some merits." Wang Yan was already a little anxious, but he could only answer with his hands folded. "In terms of close range shooting, in terms of lethality alone, it is comparable to the Jurchen hard bow and heavy arrows, but in actual combat it is far inferior to the Jurchen hard bow..."
"Is it because the bow is too long, or because it is made of bamboo or wood?" Zhao Jiu couldn't ask any more.
"Both." Wang Yan said with a bit of annoyance. "The bow is too long, which makes it inconvenient to draw the bow. If you want to shoot the bow immediately, you will need to hone your bow skills from a young age. As for the bamboo and wood ones, in close combat, the Jurchen hard bow's ox horn iron frame can block swords, but the Japanese bow can be easily cut off."
"That's right." Zhao Jiu sighed and handed the bow to Taira no Kiyomori beside him. "This bow is not useless, but it is not our turn to use it here, because for close shooting, there are ox horn iron frame hard bows, and for long-range shooting, there are divine arm bows, so how can we use it? Just like the warriors today, their loyalty and bravery are commendable, but they don't have heavy armor, and we are dominated by armor, so their courage can only be in vain. But we can't laugh at them. When the Jurchen heavy armored cavalry appeared, we were helpless at first, and finally we slowly figured out the tricks, using heavy armor against heavy armor, strong crossbows against heavy bows, and long axes against cavalry... When anything comes out, it is only very effective at the beginning, and after a long time, sooner or later we will get used to it."
Everyone became increasingly confused.
"Nowadays, the most fundamental thing for attacking a city is the artillery vehicle, right or wrong?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask. "Once the artillery is used, it will only take time for any city to be conquered, and the city's countermeasures are mostly to counter artillery with artillery, right or wrong?"
"right."
"yes."
Wang Yan and Ren Baozhong spoke almost at the same time.
"This is what I mean." Zhao Jiu finally turned around and gave his final conclusion. "Taiyuan City is not an ordinary city. It is the center of the entire Hedong area. Once it is taken, the Hedong area will be safe. Any price is worth it, and any method can be tried... In fact, this is also one of the reasons why I rushed to the city so quickly at all costs... My lords, I want to capture the city, and I want to capture it quickly, otherwise, why would I come so quickly?"
Not to mention those young officers, almost all the close ministers around them were hesitant to speak. However, Wang Yan, who had the most awkward temper, first frowned, and then looked thoughtful.
"There are about 30,000 to 40,000 people in the camp now. Ma Jiedu should arrive tomorrow, but we don't know when Wu Dutong will arrive... We should base our decision on manpower... Let's fire the artillery first, starting from the south side of the city under our feet. This side will be left to you, Wang Qing, to handle!" Zhao Jiu ordered.
"Yes!" Wang Yan suddenly perked up.
"If the manpower exceeds 50,000, we will set up siege positions at the same time, burn the stakes, fill the trenches, and destroy the sheep and horse walls... Start destroying from the west, persuade them to surrender when necessary, and attack at night when necessary... Renqing, you will be responsible for this."
"Yes." Ren Baozhong was overjoyed.
"If the manpower exceeds 100,000, we will fire artillery fire from three sides simultaneously... At that time, the north of the city will be given to Prince Yan'an, and the east of the city will be given to Li Jiedu."
"yes."
"If we have more manpower, we can dig a canal to the west of the city to prepare for the river to thaw and attack the city from the west." As he said this, Emperor Zhao looked at a strange candidate. "When the time comes, Yang Qing, you will be in charge of this matter."
Yang Yizhong was stunned for a moment, then he bowed and said, "I know."
Wang Yan and Ren Baozhong were also stunned for a moment, and then they each seemed to realize something, but just kept silent.
It was a strange meeting. From the result, there seemed to be no problem, as it was a saturation attack with manpower. However, since even several military governors and veteran generals did not participate and the organization of the siege was finalized, it seemed that Emperor Zhao was doing it too personally.
When the news spread that night, many veteran generals, including Wang De, had complaints and doubts.
There were even bolder Jinshi who followed the army and wrote memorials to advise Emperor Zhao not to follow the example of Emperor Taizong of this dynasty, but to trust generals more and use less close ministers... Of course, this was just a scrap of information.
In fact, there are more reliable rumors. One popular saying is that Emperor Zhao did not distrust the ministers, but he was waiting for Wu Jie, the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp. When faced with a big scene, the emperor essentially trusted Wu Jie more. Even Prince Han and Li Jiedu knew this very well, so they did not say anything... and before Wu Jiedu arrived, it didn't matter if these preparatory tasks were handed over to his close ministers.
But this kind of gossip is not worth mentioning, especially starting from the next day, when the imperial edict was issued and the city was really surrounded by artillery.
Moreover, as the number of troops increased, the siege actions became more and more intense, and everyone became busy.
Emperor Zhao arrived at the city on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, and that evening there were 40,000 people under the city.
On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, with the arrival of Ma Kuo and the arrival of more and more stragglers and civilians, the number of soldiers and civilians under the city reached 70,000. Therefore, almost at the same time, Wang Yan officially set up a workshop in the north of the city, marked out artillery positions, cut down trees on a large scale, and prepared to fire artillery. Under the command of Ren Baozhong, various troops also began to try to burn the deer forts and destroy the sheep and horse walls... But to be honest, the latter was not very effective, because the bows and crossbows on the city gate were too powerful. The only effect was on the west side of the city. But as everyone knows, if the Fen River is not cut off, the west side of the city will not have much significance without a layer of sheep and horse walls.
On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, the follow-up main forces arrived one after another, and the number of combat soldiers and auxiliary troops under the city of Taiyuan definitely exceeded 100,000.
Emperor Zhao kept his word and, regardless of the fact that more than half of the civilians still had to focus on logistics transportation in the rear, he directly started firing artillery on three sides.
On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the two small camps of Xugou and Tuanbai were successfully breached, which led to more soldiers and civilians coming to the city in the following two days. The river channel was dug in the west of the city from that day. Under such circumstances, even though the Song army camp had a logistics base behind it in Yonglijian, it was still passively surrounded by the entire Taiyuan city because of the size of the camp.
This caused panic among the Jin army in the city. Some people advised Wanyan Zhehe that he should leave the city in time to attack the artillery positions, but Wanyan Zhehe sternly refused... The veteran general knew very well that, to put it bluntly, this was just the beginning.
In other words, Wu Jie had not arrived yet. If Wu Jie had led the rear army of the Zhao Song imperial camp and the Dangxiang and Khitan people to arrive together, he might have been able to learn from what happened in Daming Prefecture and build another city to surround Taiyuan.
Even at that time, they still had to conserve their strength and prepare to attack when the artillery was almost completed.
It was the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, only two days away from the Chinese New Year. What made the Song army under the city cheer and also made Wanyan Zhehe panic was that 20,000 troops under the flag of Wu suddenly came from the west... Wu Jinqing came too fast.
On the same afternoon, a moderate snowflake fell from the sky.
These two things caught Emperor Zhao, who had been "waiting for Wu Dutong", off guard.