met free Page 2562
Page 2562
Where would they find the thousands of cavalry to launch a surprise attack on Shenyang?
Most of those involved in the surprise attack were infantry, while the warhorses came from surrendered soldiers of various ethnic groups.
They rode horses to bypass the main road and head straight for Shenyang, then attacked the city on foot!
With the loss of Shenyang, Wanyan Zongfu's westward retreat route was blocked, and the only way to escape was to detour through the north.
Jin Wuzhu said, "If we withdraw our troops and head north now, we will definitely be pursued along the way, and we may not be able to take much of our military supplies with us."
"Rather than fighting with low morale during the retreat, it's better to wait in Liaoyang and fight a decisive battle while the troops are exhausted!"
"Then let's have a decisive battle." Wanyan Zongfu's eyes were blank.
Although it was said that the decisive battle would take place in Liaoyang, the Jin army actually had to retreat north first to choose a better location for the final battle.
If the Jin army remained outside Liaoyang, they would likely be attacked from three sides: Zhao Yuan's main force was in the southwest, the Baozhou army was in the south, and a detachment from Shenyang was in the northeast.
Moreover, there are rebel troops inside Liaoyang City who could rush out to help at any time!
To be honest, even if the Jin army could capture Liaoyang and successfully reclaim the city's grain supplies, they would only be left in the city to wait for death.
Chapter 3439 The Whole City Cheers
Because the Ming army captured Shenzhou in a surprise attack, Liaoyang has become an isolated city.
"The Jin soldiers have retreated!"
"The Jin soldiers have retreated!"
The entire city of Liaoyang cheered.
Less than half a day after the Jin troops withdrew, the vanguard of the Ming army arrived at the walls of Liaoyang.
That evening, Zhao Yuan led his main force to the scene.
The three spies led generals and gentry from various ethnic groups out of the city to kneel and welcome the Ming emperor.
The Heavenly King Armor was loaded onto a truck for transport, but he wasn't wearing it.
Zhang Xuanzheng lay prone on the ground and mustered his courage to look up.
A majestic and robust young man rode a fine horse slowly forward, wearing a magnificent but somewhat worn brocade robe.
Zhao Yuan asked loudly, "Who is Zhang Xuanzheng?"
"Your Majesty, this sinful subject pays his respects!" Zhang Xuanzheng knelt forward a few steps.
Zhao Yuan nodded and smiled: "The most prestigious family in Bohai is indeed extraordinary."
"I heard that your cousins Zhang Xuansu and Zhang Hao are high-ranking officials in the Jin Kingdom."
"Among the non-Jurchen officials, the two of them held the highest ranks."
Zhang Xuanzheng was filled with fear and unease: "The Zhang family was forced to surrender to the Jin, and they have always hoped that the Han emperor would recover Liaodong."
Zhao Yuan said, "Liaoyang is temporarily under your jurisdiction. I have already given food to the surrendered soldiers and laborers so they can return to their hometowns."
"You must properly register the households and the people; if any mistakes are made, you will be held solely responsible!"
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your forgiveness. I will certainly govern the people well for the Ming Dynasty!" Zhang Xuanzheng was overjoyed.
Zhao Yuan was actually setting a trap, assigning this guy an important task first, and then using him as a warning to others once Zhang Xuanzheng's corruption was discovered.
At the same time, Liaoyang Prefecture did indeed need local people to govern it in order to quickly stabilize the situation after the war.
Zhang Xuanzheng was nothing more than a tool.
Zhao Yuan then asked, "Where are Gao Jingshan and Wang Zheng?"
"This humble servant pays his respects to Your Majesty!" The two hurriedly stepped forward.
Zhao Yuan said, "Select those within the city who can ride horses and gather outside the city to await orders."
"Yes!"
Yang Zaixing's troops, who had rested for several days, all those still capable of fighting came.
Whether it's the surrendered soldiers from Hesuguan City or the various ethnic groups' troops in Liaoyang City, as long as they can fight on horseback, they are now all under Yang Zaixing's command.
There were about 5,000 cavalrymen gathered, representing various ethnic groups, including the Jurchens.
After a brief reorganization, Yang Zaixing led his men at full speed to pursue the retreating Jin troops to the north.
Instead of chasing after them to confront them head-on, they followed them closely, preventing the Jin soldiers from making a comfortable retreat.
Even if the Jin soldiers manage to escape, they must leave behind their provisions!
...
The main Jin army, carrying provisions, moved slowly and was overtaken by Yang Zaixing in about half a day.
The Jurchen cavalry returned to intercept them; if they outnumbered the Jurchens, they attacked; if they outnumbered the Jurchens, they fled.
They stuck to the rear of the Jin soldiers like a piece of chewing gum.
Jin Wuzhu's troops were the first to give up, and they retreated northward from the mouth of the Yalu River, along mountain roads.
They barely rested along the way and continued their northward retreat from Liaoyang, and are now extremely exhausted.
"Let's set up camp here. We can rest for two days and then go into battle," Jin Wuzhu suggested.
They were almost back in Liaozhong, but during the Liao and Jin dynasties, no city was built in Liaozhong; it was just a small town.
Wanyan Zongfu personally went to scout the nearby terrain, select a suitable campsite, and then the entire army rested and prepared to wait for the enemy to attack.
But with Ming cavalry nearby, I really couldn't sleep soundly.
They could only let Jin Wuzhu's exhausted troops sleep first, while Wanyan Zongfu's troops slept with their weapons at their sides until dawn.
Chapter 3440 Attacking While Crossing the River
Two days later, Zhao Yuan finally led his main force to arrive.
Yang Zaixing returned and reported: "The Jin soldiers probably don't want to escape anymore. They have set up camp with their backs to the Hun River, adopting a posture of fighting with their backs to the river."
Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "Since we are going to fight a desperate battle, our morale must be high. The Jurchen soldiers are all thinking about fighting to the death."
"Then let's not rush, let's set up camp and wait it out with them."
“Your Majesty is wise,” Yang Zaixing said. “They are short of supplies, and the longer it drags on, the more anxious they become.”
"At first, they would fight to the death to win, but once their food supplies ran out, morale collapsed."
Zhao Yuan deployed all the cavalry, while the infantry built fortifications using chariots as cover.
Yes, Zhao Yuan led his troops to pursue and kill others, and he even built fortifications!
When Wanyan Zongfu saw the Ming army using chariots to dig trenches and build fortifications, he became very upset.
"This is outrageous!" Wanyan Zongfu roared in anger.
Jin Wuzhu said, "Let's launch an attack immediately while the enemy has come from afar and is not yet firmly established, and while our army has rested for two days."
Wanyan Zongfu said, "The Ming army's outer perimeter is surrounded by chariots, how can they possibly break through?"
Jin Wuzhu retorted, "If the Ming army keeps holding onto their wagon formations like this, it will be even more impossible to attack once they build their fortifications."
"If they keep dragging this out, they could run out of our army's supplies!"
After thinking for a while, Wanyan Zongfu said, "Let the Ming army build fortifications. Once their laborers are exhausted and the fortifications are completed, we will immediately withdraw."
"The Hun River is behind us, and the two armies are not far apart. We will be attacked while crossing the river," Jin Wuzhu warned.
Wanyan Zongfu said, "If we retreat along the Hun River, the Ming army will definitely pursue us."
"We'll launch a surprise attack when their chariots haven't formed a chariot formation during their march!"
Both sides held their positions firmly and remained in a stalemate for a day.
The next day, Hua Rong led the infantry that had launched a surprise attack on Shenyang, riding horses to join the main force.
As for Shenzhou City, some surrendered soldiers from Bohai were sent to take over its defense.
Seeing that the Ming army had actually reinforced its troops, Wanyan Zongfu dared not wait any longer and hurriedly retreated eastward along the Hun River.
At this very moment, Zhe Yanzhi, Zhang Xian, Yelü Yudu, and others were leading 30,000 troops on a rapid march to join them.
If the Jin troops don't withdraw soon, we might as well just announce our surrender.
After the Jin army retreated more than ten miles eastward, Wanyan Zongfu suddenly ordered: "All troops, put on your armor and charge back!"
"Woooooooo~~~~"
The Ming cavalry, scattered and entangled with the Jurchen cavalry, hurriedly sounded their horns to warn the Jurchen troops when they returned in large numbers.
The main forces of the Ming army, which were on their way, waved their flags one after another.
Following their usual training methods, the Ming army used mules to pull their chariots, forming many small hollow formations on the spot.
The laborers led the mules to hide in the hollow formation, and then carried the supplies from the chariots.
Melee soldiers took armor from the chariots and helped each other put it on; there were also special soldiers to hang the chariot chains.
If there was still spare time, they would throw barbed wire around the chariot.
The artillerymen set up cannons and transported shells, while the musketeers quickly loaded ammunition.
As for the Ming cavalry at the front, they were responsible for maneuvering with the enemy and delaying the infantry by setting up wagon formations.
"Dong-dong-dong-dong!"
When the war drums sounded, tens of thousands of Ming soldiers had already set up twelve hollow wagon formations.
Each vehicle formation was of a different size.
They didn't strictly follow the plum blossom formation; they just did whatever was convenient and quick.
Upon hearing the drumbeats, the Ming cavalry retreated in shifts, rushing back to safety along the open spaces between the various wagon formations to regroup and await further orders.
The Jurchen cavalry were still in units of fifty men each, and the first to charge out numbered over a hundred units.
Seeing the chariot formation, they had no way to attack and could only circle around from various places, trying to find a suitable breakthrough.
"Boom boom boom!"
The massive production of iron cannons resulted in fewer than two hundred remaining after some were used to attack Jinzhou and Posu Road.
At this time, there were about a hundred cannons. They were first loaded with many grapeshot shells, and then with an iron ball. They were fired at the Jurchen cavalry in different directions. The other cannons were not moved because they might accidentally hit friendly forces.
These cast iron cannons could fire large iron bullets over a mile, and their shot could reach a range of one or two hundred meters.
The Jurchen cavalry thought they were safe because they were far away, but they were suddenly hit after the cannons fired and were so frightened that they fled to a more distant place.
Jin Wuzhu rushed to Wanyan Zongfu and said, "We can't get through like this. The Ming army's chariot formation is too fast!"
Wanyan Zongfu was at a loss for what to do.
He was truly at his wit's end!
Let alone artillery wagon formations, even the Divine Arm Bow formation would be useless against the Jin army as long as the Song army was willing to fight desperately.
Historically, Wu Jie rallied his remaining troops at Heshanyuan and used powerful bows and crossbows to rout the Jin soldiers.
At that time, the Jin army launched several attacks, but each time they suffered heavy losses and were forced to retreat.
In his desperation, Wanyan Zongfu said, "Send a brave warrior to challenge the Ming army and ask them if they dare to fight a fair and square battle!"
A brave Jurchen general rode forward on horseback. The cannons did not fire, but he continued forward with trepidation.
After galloping thirty or forty paces, the Jurchen general reined in his horse and stopped: "Is the Emperor of Liangshan of the Ming Dynasty here? If you have the guts..."
Chapter 3441 Shot Through a Sickle
"Bang bang bang bang!"
Dozens of flintlock muskets opened fire in succession, and before the Jurchen general could finish speaking, he and his horse were riddled with bullets.
The battlefield fell silent once more, save for the braying of warhorses and mules.
Just then, a group of Jurchen cavalry, without any orders, trespassed along the Hun River and strayed far from the battlefield.
The cavalry fled without warning, leaving Wanyan Zongfu completely bewildered.