Chapter 844 The autumn wind is bleak and the waves are rising (2)
The voices of people are mixed, and the sounds of cars and horses are rushing. In Daming Mansion, the majestic ancient city wall stands in the autumn sunshine, still retaining the chilling atmosphere of war a few days ago. Outside the south gate, a pale stone statue stands quietly in the shade of the trees, watching the crowds gather and disperse.
A great migration began again at the end of autumn this year.
Wealthy people driving carriages and horses, hauling grain, panic-faced men dragging their families, old ladies staggered by the crowd, potbellied women dragging children who don’t know why... There were also men in official uniforms, bodyguards and martial arts masters dragging swords, guns, swords and halberds on the carriages, and lightly dressed green forest robbers. On this day, people's status dropped to the same position again.
Their destination is either the prosperous Jiangnan, the surrounding mountains, or the nearby relatives who live in remote areas. They were all in general panic, and the dense and chaotic team gradually dissipated after stretching for dozens of miles. Most people went south and crossed the Yellow River, but some went north and disappeared into the mountains and forests of unknown places.
Things are changing, and the scene before us is not the first time it has happened in the past ten years. The Jurchens went south several times, and the harsh living environment forced people to leave their familiar hometown. However, the situation in front of me is slightly different than usual. More than ten years have taught people the experience of war, and also taught people the fear of the Jurchen.
On July 24th, as the "Guangwu Army" of the Wu Dynasty led by Wang Shanyue coincidentally took Damingfu, a similar migration situation emerged out of control. In a war, no matter who is righteous or evil, civilians involved in it will have difficulty choosing their own destiny. The Jurchen army of 300,000 going south means that tens of millions of people will be involved. The catastrophe that crushed them to no avail.
Some people leave, and some people stay. The majestic city wall of Daming Mansion stretches for forty-eight miles. At this moment, artillery, crossbows, rolling logs, stone stones, rolling oil and other defensive objects are being placed continuously with the efforts of countless people. Amid the continuous fire-like guard of banners, Daming Mansion must be built into a stronger fortress. In this busy scene, Xue Changgong walked slowly with a long knife on his waist. What flashed in his mind was the battle to guard Bianliang more than ten years ago.
More than ten years ago, Bianliang, looking north to the Yangtze River, experienced the baptism of Jurchen soldiers for the first time under the leadership of left prime minister Li Gang and right prime minister Qin Siyuan. The Wu Dynasty, which had inherited the destiny of the country for two hundred years, had hundreds of thousands of King Qin's troops outside the city, including the Western Army, defeated by the Jurchen army of no more than a hundred thousand and scattered many people, killing many people. The forbidden troops in the city, known as the Wu Dynasty's strongest troops, went into battle one after another. , and the city was destroyed several times with countless casualties. That was the first time that the Wu Dynasty faced the Jurchens' strength and their own weakness head-on.
Xue Changgong rose to prominence in the first battle to defend Bianliang, and later experienced the humiliation of Jingping, followed by the entire Wu Dynasty's flight south, and later experienced the Jurchens' search for mountains and seas. After that, when Nanwu was first established, he was disheartened and lived in seclusion in the south with his wife He Leer. A few years later, He Leier became weak and critically ill. As the prince, Jun Wu came to ask him to leave the mountain. After accompanying his wife on the last journey, he set off to go north.
During the brutal defense battle in Bianliang, his wife He Leer was injured by an arrow. Although she was lucky enough to survive, the child she was pregnant with had already been miscarried, and it was difficult for her to conceive again. In the first few years of the journey and the peaceful later years, He Leer had always been worried about this. She had tried to persuade Xue Changgong to take a concubine and leave an heir several times, but Xue Changgong always rejected her.
In fact, looking back at the beginning of the two of them, there may not have been any love that lasted until death. Xue Changgong went to Fanlou after he was not a general in the army. However, in order to vent his anger and comfort, He Leier chose Xue Changgong. I am afraid that she did not necessarily think that he was better than those scholars, but the war was fierce and dangerous, so she had someone to rely on. It was only later that He Leer had a miscarriage under the city wall and Xue Changgong was in grief. The relationship between the two finally came to fruition.
We stayed together all the way until He Leer died of a serious illness. Xue Changgong held his wife and cried loudly before burying her. In fact, he doesn't want to have an heir, isn't it just because of He Leer? Because he had seen the strength of the Jurchens and was a general who had fought all the way through the army, he was well aware of the many shortcomings of the Wu Dynasty's army and could not change it. If it were the Jurchens, they would fight all the way down and annex the entire Nanwu. If they had children, they would just be slaves to the Jurchens.
Now that his wife has passed away, he no longer has any worries in his heart, so he goes all the way north to Liangshan to join Wang Shanyue. Although Wang Shanyue looked weak, he was a ruthless man who didn't even care about eating people in order to win. The two hit it off immediately, and in the next two years, they formulated a series of strategies surrounding Daming Mansion.
At this time, Daming Mansion was located on the north bank of the Yellow River. It was an important defensive town for the Jurchen East Route Army on its way south. It was also one of the checkpoints for the army to cross the Yellow River south. When the Liao Kingdom was still there, the Wu Dynasty set up a capital in Damingfu to show its determination to resist the Liao's march to the south. At this time, after the autumn harvest, officials under Li Xizhi were collecting supplies, waiting for the Jurchens to go south to receive them. The city changed hands. These All the supplies fell into the hands of Wang, Xue and others, and a big battle could be fought.
The autumn wind is hunting, and the flags are stretching. Along the way, Xue Changgong saw Wang Shanyue and other people who were looking north at the edge of the city wall in front. Surrounded by soldiers and workers who were setting up crossbows and artillery. Wang Shanyue was wearing a red cloak and holding in his hand, It was his and Hu Sanniang's eldest son, the four-year-old little Wang Fu. The child who had been growing up in Shuibo was obviously novel about this majestic city scene. Wang Shanyue hugged him and pointed at the scenery in front of him.
“...From here to the north, it used to be our place, but now, a group of bad guys are coming from the side you see, killing people all the way, robbing people of their belongings and burning people. The house...Dad, mother and these uncles and uncles are trying to stop these bad guys. Tell me, what can you do to help dad..."
"Beat the bad guys."
"Yes, but we still have to grow up first. When we grow up, we will be stronger and smarter... Of course, what dad and mom hope more is that when you grow up, you will no longer have these They are bad people, you should read more, and then tell your friends about the fate of these bad people..."
While he was talking to the child, Xue Changgong had already walked nearby and passed through the entourage. Although he has no heirs, he can understand the preciousness of Wang Shanyue's child. The Wang family is a loyal family. Before the Blackwater Alliance, when the Liao people went south, Wang Qisong led the whole family to resist, leaving a house full of orphans and widows. Wang Shanyue was the only male descendant of his third generation. Now Xiao Wang is reunited. It's a fourth-generation single pass. This family had made so many sacrifices for the Wu Dynasty, and it was not an exaggeration to allow them to leave a child behind.
"I still think you shouldn't bring Xiaofu here."
"Xiaofu, look, Uncle Xue." Wang Shanyue smiled and put the child into Xue Changgong's arms, and dispersed it slightly The look of solemnity on the general's face , after a while, he looked at the scene outside the city and said: "It's not always a bad thing when children are around. Today, the old people in the city came to see me and asked me if the Guangwu Army captured Daming Mansion, should they defend the name? House. I mean, if you can't hold on, get out and don't bother us... I pointed out Xiao Fu who was playing in the yard. I have brought my children with me. The Wu Dynasty will do its best to regain the Central Plains."
Yes In the next battle at Daming Mansion, the two of them had countless deductions and discussions. In the worst case scenario, the possibility of the "Guangwu Army" being nailed to Daming Mansion was not impossible, but it was definitely not like Wang Shanyue. Said so firmly. Xue Changgong shook his head.
"Send us off before the war starts. There will inevitably be changes. It's better to leave early."
"That's his fate." Wang Shanyue looked at his son and smiled. , that smile faded away: "The Wu Dynasty has been weak, even if it wants to change, it will not be the work of one generation. Jurchen People are strong because they dare to fight and fight tenaciously since they were young. If our generation did not defeat them, I would rather my children have been accustomed to swords and guns since they were young! The Wang family has no weak points, but no generals. Hopefully starting with him will be a little different.”
Wang Shanyue's words were calm and Wang Fu had difficulty understanding them. He asked confusedly: "What's the difference?"
Xue Changgong said: "Your father wants you to be a general in the future."
Such expectations are in the process of children’s growth It was probably not the first time he heard this, so he finally understood, and then nodded heavily: "Yes."
Xue Changgong smiled, and Wang Shanyue also laughed. The sunshine still seemed cold and indifferent. To the north of Daming Mansion, the vast sky spread out across the plains. Li Xizhi's 170,000-strong army was divided into three groups and had already crossed Xingzhou, a hundred miles away. The mighty flags filled every inch of the field of vision, and the raised dust covered the sky. day. More than ten miles away to the west, a Jurchen army of more than 10,000 people was rushing to the bank of the Yellow River at top speed.
Li Xizhi, the "Pingdong General" of Daqi, is forty-three years old this year. He has a long face, bright eyes and a high nose. He was the general who surrendered with the Qi family when the Jurchens went south for the second time. He was also popular with Liu Yu He paid great attention to it and later became the spokesperson of Qi and Liu forces in the northeast of the Yellow River. The Central Plains north of the Yellow River has been occupied for ten years, and the original thinking of the world as a military force has gradually loosened. Li Xizhi could see the rise of an empire - it was time to change the dynasty.
The rise of the Jurchens is the general trend of the world, and the trend of the times cannot be resisted. But even so, being a lackey was not his ambition. Especially after Liu Yu moved south to Bianliang, Li Xizhi's power expanded, and the area under his jurisdiction was close to a quarter of the Puppet Qi, which was more than Tian Hu and Wang Juyun combined. To be big, he is already a real prince.
To maintain the status of a prince, even Liu Yu, he can no longer respect, but only the will of the Jurchens cannot be defied.
This time the Jurchens went south, it was no longer the fight in the past. After these years of cultivation, this new empire would officially annex the southern land. The Wu Dynasty is in the sunset, and only those who follow the trend can survive this war.
For this reason, before the Jurchens went south, Li Xizhi had sent his cronies to various places to carry out strict purges - since the three-year war of Xiaocanghe, this kind of purges has become almost the norm within the puppet Qi forces. . It's a pity that after this, the news that Daming Mansion quickly changed hands due to internal and external cooperation still spread. After Li Xizhi became furious, he could only quickly mobilize troops to rescue according to the plan.
Time is as gentle as water and a terrifying weapon capable of crushing everything. When the Jurchens first went south, there were countless resisters in the Central Plains. By the second time they went south, there were still many in the Central Plains after Jingping's disgrace. The struggles and activity of the rebels. However, by the time the Jurchens' ravaging of mountains and seas in the south of the Yangtze River ended, there were not many large-scale resisters in the Central Plains. Although every group of bandits who went up to the mountains and fell grass had to be labeled as rebels against the Jin Dynasty, in fact They still make a living by drugging, robbing, killing, and kidnapping. As for who they killed, they were just the more defenseless Han people. When the Jurchens became furious, these martyrs actually didn't dare to move.
Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimps. This is the truth in the world, and few people can jump out. Therefore, when the Jurchens went south, Li Xizhi didn't care about the many fallen grasshoppers around him, but he knew his own affairs. There were two forces on his territory that he had been wary of. Wang Shanyue's troubles in Daming Mansion were not unexpected. To his surprise, the power of the "Guangwu Army" made him wary, but beyond that, there was a force that always made him wary, even fearful, and that was the shadow of the Black Flag Army that had always shrouded everyone behind them. .
No one wants to be like Liu Yu, who was beaten in the palace in the middle of the night.
If everyone can comfort themselves after the battle at Xiaocanghe, it is the beheading of the inner demon Ning Yi. Last year, Tian Hu's power suddenly became the Queen of Heaven, and everyone in the Central Plains truly experienced the oppression of the Black Flag Army. Later, the news that Ning Yi was not dead was more like a high-profile mockery of everyone in the world: You all It's a fool.
Liu Yu was frightened out of his mind in the palace, and Jurchen was slapped hard. However, the Kingdom of Jin was in the north, and the black flag was in the southwest. It was hard to express anger, but on the surface, he kept his temper. , I don’t know how many people were punished internally.
Beyond this, other forces in the Central Plains could only pretend to be peaceful. Li Xizhi stepped up internal purges. In Zhending, Hebei, the elderly Qi Yan, the old man of the Qi family, was frightened several times. Awakened in the night, even Even though he shouted "Black Flag wants to kill me", he secretly offered a reward of millions of dollars for Ning Yi's head. Therefore, the Green Forester who went to the southwest to seek wealth was instigated by Qi Yan to go to Wuhan. I don’t know how many more Confucian scholars visited the court.
As the saying goes, everything that a thousand people point out ends without a cure, but only Ning Yi risked the world's disapproval from the beginning. He killed Zhou Zhe like a chicken in the Jinluan Palace. From then on, he was in danger, offending the Wu Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty. country , offended the Central Plains, offended Xixia, offended Dali... After he offended the whole world, people like Li Xizhi had to admit that once they were targeted by such vicious people, no matter who they were in the world, they would have to skin themselves even if they didn't die.
The old lady Qi in Hebei was on the list of traitors in China, and during the years of governing Jingdong and Hebei, Li Xizhi knew that there was a black flag force near Liangshan, which was for him and for It was left by the Jurchen people. In several years of small-scale friction, the message of this force gradually became clear. Its leader, Zhu Biao, known as the "city-burning gun", had been following Ning Yi since he slaughtered the Song and Jiang clan in Liangshan. He has always been Ning Yi's most trusted right-hand man. He is highly skilled in martial arts and ruthless, and he has learned the truth from his inner demon.
With such a group of people buried around, something will happen sooner or later, but Li Xizhi did not dare to really use his troops to destroy the black flag. Time has changed, the powerful Liao Kingdom has been destroyed, the Wu Dynasty has declined, and the Jin Kingdom is struggling for the last two hundred years. The Jin Kingdom has emerged from the sky, and many heroes have emerged. However, it is the true pride of heaven and the trend of the times. As for Ning Yi’s so-called The Huaxia Army is the most bizarre demon that has been bred in this chaotic world.
When gods fight and little devils suffer, it is inevitable that the so-called "Guangwu Army" led by Wang Shanyue lies on the Jurchen's way south. Even if they take Daming Mansion, after all, the entire Yellow River is now There is always a solution within our own hands. But with only this black flag, Li Xizhi could only hope that they would be in harmony with the Guangwu Army, or that the Chinese Army in the south was still wary of the Jurchens. Seeing that the Jurchens wanted to take Jiangnan this time, they should not make mistakes in advance, as long as the Jurchens With a safe transition, this trouble will no longer be your own.
"...the two princes of Daijin raised troops and went south. Wang Shanyue's so-called Guangwu Army took Daming Mansion. It looked brave, but in fact it was brave and foolhardy! Regarding the matter of this Guangwu Army, I have already discussed it with Da Mingfu. Lord Jin Wanyanchang has discussed that there are 30,000 to 40,000 people stationed in Liangshanshui to defend, and if we want to encircle and suppress them, we will get twice the result with half the effort, but he dares to come out. , now that we have captured the daimyo, it is time for us to destroy it, so this battle should be slow rather than hasty! Our first step is to slowly drag all the troops behind the daimyo and gather around it! It's so powerful that I will surround the great name in another Taiyuan Mansion. I would rather kill him than kill him!"
In the 14th year of Jinghan's reign in the Central Plains, Qin Shaohe, the eldest son of the Qin family, led the entire city of soldiers and civilians to defend Taiyuan for a year. Finally, due to being isolated and helpless, the city was broken and the entire city was massacred. Qin Shaohe was killed on the way to escape, and his body was They were all chopped into pieces by the Jurchens, which became one of the most tragic events during the Jurchens' first march south. The original fortified city of Taiyuan is still in ruins more than ten years later.
On the first day of August, after the army passed through Xingzhou, Li Xizhi set the tone in the army's deliberations that he would pin Wang Shanyue and his party to Daming Mansion. And just a moment after this discussion passed, a spy came from four hundred miles away and brought news that there was no room for turning around.
"The black flag captured the city and came out of Zengtou City!"
Li Xizhi sat in the camp for a long time: "So, Wang Jiya's 20,000 people are gone?"< br>
Since the Wu Dynasty, many places on Jingdong Road have experienced unrest and high-handedness. Most of the time, Zengtou City is a mixed bag and tends to be autonomous, but in theory, of course, there are officials and garrisons.
Taking over Jingdong Road from Li Xizhi, in order to guard against the harassment of black flags, he stationed 20,000 troops in the Zengtou City area. The army was led by his fierce general Wang Jiya, who was highly skilled in martial arts, careful in nature, and cruel in temperament. In his early years, he participated in the battle of Xiaocanghe and had a deep hatred with the Chinese army. Since he guarded Zengtou City and coordinated with the Jinan Prefecture's garrison, he has been able to subdue many surrounding hills for a period of time, making most bandits dare not make trouble. Who knew that this gathering of black flags would first target Zengtou City.
On July 28, 11,000 black flag troops raided Zengtou City and first captured the east city wall. After the city was in chaos, it fell into street fighting. Wang Jiya assembled an army to hold on to the south of the city, and even personally led the charge three times. When he led the team to seize the city for the third time, he was attacked by the Black Flag Army. After fighting several moves with the "big sword" Guan Sheng, he was beheaded with a knife. The leader of this Black Flag team was none other than Black Flag General Zhu Biao.
After defeating Wang Jiya and taking Zengtou City lightly, the Black Flag Army had already released the news that they were going to kill Li Xizhi and Daming Mansion directly. The spy who sent the message was a little flinched when he talked about it. Li Xizhi asked a few questions before he saw the leaflet that the spy had brought over and shot into the city on the way.
The message in the flyer is crooked, as follows: Li Xiaozhi, adults want to fight, children, get away!
“This is too much!”
With a loud bang, Li Xizhi slapped his palms on the table and stood up. He was tall. After standing up, his beard and hair were spread out. The whole tent was already filled with murderous aura.
But then, there was no luck anymore. Facing the Jurchen army of 300,000 moving south, these more than 10,000 black flag troops did not hide their strength and bide their time, but were already at the forefront. For Li Xizhi, this kind of behavior is the most senseless and terrifying. When gods fight, there is no place for the devil to hide.
No one has a place to hide.
It is strange to say that with the beginning of the Jurchens' southward march, the fierce battle in the world is still started by the black flag of the "safety" southwest. The Jurchen army of 300,000 had not yet crossed the Yellow River at this time. In Liangshan in the southwest, on July 21, Luqiaoshan negotiated with Ning Yi. On the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, hundreds of thousands of troops entered the Liangshan area one after another. They first responded to the Mangshan Ni and others, and began to intimidate and persuade many surrounding Ni tribes.
Countless people are waiting with bated breath for this battle, including the Gao family forces in Dali in the south, the Tubo resentful army in the west, Confucian scholars such as Long Qifei in Zizhou City, and various members of the Wu Dynasty at this time. The warlords and even Wanyan Xiyin of the Kingdom of Jin, who were thousands of miles away, each sent out spies and agents, waiting for the first shot to be fired.
On July 26, at Xiufeng Pass in Liangshan Mountain, the main force of the black flag from Hedeng County, which had been silent for several years, made the first move against the 100,000 troops entering the mountain. (End of this chapter)