Fenghou

The dry grass material caught fire first, and then spread rapidly, and some small branches and leaves also burned, and the gunpowder and sulfur assisted the combustion, making the fire more rapid.

In just a moment, a raging fire ignited in the stone wall, and thick smoke billowed, filling the depths of the valley.

If there are no new big trees to add, these hundreds of big trees will burn for at least one or two days. If the big trees are added continuously, the fire will not be extinguished for three days and three nights.

Ah Huya led a thousand cavalrymen into the thick smoke. They covered their noses and mouths and carefully groped forward. There were more than [-] steps away from the mouth of the valley. They saw the raging fire ahead and sealed off the entire valley.

At this moment, there was a sudden scream from behind, Ah Huya didn't know what happened, suddenly a huge black shadow fell from the sky, and hit him heavily on the top of his head, smashing people and horses to pieces.

Everyone was unprepared, although Xiao Zong's subordinates had encountered such a tragedy, it was a pity that all his troops were killed in battle, and the news was not passed on to Wanyan Wushu, so Jin Bing never dreamed that the god of death would fall from the sky.

Hundreds of thick tree trunks fell from the sky, smashing a thousand cavalrymen to death 800 people, and the remaining more than 100 people were scared out of their wits, and desperately urged their horses to flee back.

Wanyan Alupu was taken aback, and looked up to the top of the mountain. When he saw the gunpowder just now, he muttered a little, how did the Song army climb to the top of the mountain?

Only now did he realize that the Song army had placed the battlefield on the top of the mountain.

On the west side of the Shenchagou Valley are cliffs and dangerous peaks, but on the east side it is a relatively gentle mountain top, indeed an ambush can be set up on it, but the Shence Valley Valley is trumpet-shaped, and the road at the south exit is very narrow, only twenty or thirty feet long , and then gradually widened, at most there was only a narrow valley of about two hundred steps to ambush, and then it opened up. The valley was as wide as one mile, and an ambush on the top would not hurt the soldiers below.

This is how to do?There is a raging fire in front of it, and it is said that there is a high wall outside, there are giant trees attacking on the top, and there is billowing smoke, this is simply impossible!

There is no water to put out the fire, and it is unrealistic to use sand and sand. They can’t get close to the fire at all. The thick smoke and heat waves are enough to knock them down. There are also giant trees above their heads and arrows shot from outside. It is even more difficult to go down the mountain of swords and into the sea of ​​fire.

At this moment, Wanyan Alupu was very glad that he did not issue a military order.

"Order, the whole army retreats!"

Nine thousand cavalry turned their horses and withdrew to the north of the valley.

Chapter 175 A dead end

From the soaring smoke and flames ahead, Wu Jie judged that the south exit of the Shenchagou Valley must have been blocked by Chen Qing, and he no longer pursued it. Instead, he led his troops to block the north entrance. The south exit is much wider, nearly half a mile wide.

There used to be lush forests here, but now all the trees have been cut down by Jin Bing, revealing a bare canyon mouth.

Wu Jie simply deployed [-] bed crossbows and [-] crossbowmen at the entrance of the valley to prevent the Jurchens from returning to Dashan Pass and retreating from the west valley.

Just when Wu Jie had just completed his deployment, he received news from the vanguard scouts that a 3000-man Jurchen cavalry was rushing towards the north exit. In fact, there was no need to report. to a mile away.

"Prepare the bow and crossbow!"

Wu Jie shouted, one thousand bed crossbows and three thousand crossbowmen were already in full formation, and there were ten thousand spear troops behind them. Even if the cavalry broke through the bow and crossbow defense line, they could not break through the thick spear formation.

The Jurchen cavalry had already killed a hundred steps away. Under the moonlight, they could see their ferocious faces. The violent horses rushed like a black tide, and the thunderous hooves made all the soldiers of the Song Army hold their breath. .

This is the assault that the Jurchen cavalry are best at. They use this unstoppable murderous aura to deter the enemy and break through all the enemy's defenses. Back then, Wanyan Aguda led [-] Jurchen cavalry to break through hundreds of thousands of Liao troops.

Only fifty steps away, Wu Jie roared, "Shoot!"

Three hundred bed crossbows were fired first, and [-] jackdaw arrows were fired at the oncoming Jurchen cavalry. One by one, the enemy soldiers fell on their backs and fell dozens of steps away. Immediately afterwards, the second round of jackdaw arrows was fired. The arrows were like rain, and the horses and cavalry behind screamed and fell down. The powerful iron arrows were indestructible. The Jurchen armor could not resist the penetration of such iron arrows, causing more than a thousand casualties in an instant.

Immediately, the third row of [-] bed crossbows fired, and [-] jackdaw iron arrows shot at the cavalry behind.

This kind of three-stage shot was first launched by Chen Qing. The generals of the Western Army all found the advantage of its formation, which can maximize the lethality of the arrow and strike the enemy without interruption. The generals followed suit, and Wu Jie also adopted it. The essence of this kind of three-stage ejaculation is brought into full play.

Not only did the [-] bed crossbows fire in three stages, but the [-] crossbowmen also fired in three stages, and the crossbowmen also began to show their power. The [-] crossbow bolts shot out powerfully, rushing towards the enemy like black locusts.

The purpose of the three thousand crossbowmen is to buy time for the bed crossbow to rewind. After the three thousand crossbowmen finish shooting, the bed crossbow will show its power again...

Most of the Jurchen cavalry, who had suffered most casualties, were terrified. "Woo—" The soldiers blew the horn to retreat, leaving behind nearly [-] corpses, and the rest of the cavalry turned their horses and fled in panic.

The [-] cavalry who tried to test the northern exit were Wanyan Wushu's personal guards, and they were the only cavalry capable of fighting. As long as this cavalry broke through the northern entrance, the Song army would inevitably retreat to the north in a panic, and it might even take the Song army to the north. Catch them all.

But the only cavalry with combat effectiveness also ended in failure. Wanyan Wushu was completely desperate. He immediately ordered the army to retreat in the direction of Niushoufu. Wan Jinbing was buried in Niu Shoufu.

After a year, I can still see the tattered armor, leather boots and broken weapons left by the Jin soldiers who died last year. There are still many Song soldiers who did not take away the burned corpses and turned them into bones, lying in the ravine. Let Jin Bing be frightened.

At this moment, there was a fierce sound of war drums behind him, and the Song army came after them. Tens of thousands of Jin soldiers panicked and scrambled for their lives. Overthrown to the ground, trampled by war horses, broken bones and tendons died tragically. Thousands of golden soldiers died on the mountain road in just twenty miles.

At this time, Wu Jie led the Song Army to chase and kill them from behind. At this time, Jin Bing's morale collapsed and everyone was scrambling to escape. Even Wanyan Wushu rushed to the front. Surrounded by a thousand guards, he ran away on horseback and threw away all the other soldiers. Therefore, it is true that Niu Shoufu is the hell of the Jin soldiers. Tens of thousands of Jin soldiers were killed by the Song army and piled up dead bodies Like a mountain, there are countless surrenders.

Less than 1 people escaped the pursuit of the Song army.

More than 1 Jinbing soldiers entered the open area. This is a basin surrounded by high mountains and cliffs. In the middle is a depression with a radius of several miles. Turning to the south and turning over a not-so-steep mountain, it enters a low and gentle hilly area, and then goes north. It is the Weihe River.

But the problem lies in this not-so-steep mountain. Soldiers can climb over it, but the horses can't get through it. The soldiers can only leave the horses and climb the mountain on foot.

In order to prepare for war, Wanyan Wushu ordered tens of thousands of soldiers from the Xie Congjun army to dig a path through the mountain a few months ago, and dug out a narrow mountain path, which can barely walk on horses.

This narrow road, which was originally used for combat preparations, has now become the only way for Jin Bing to save his life.

Wanyan Wushu led his army up the mountain path and led his horses up the mountain. The mountain path was so narrow that only two cavalrymen could walk side by side. Soon, a long queue formed at the foot of the mountain path.

After more than an hour, Wanyan Wushu and more than 1000 of his men climbed over the mountain and rushed down the gentle mountain.

Let Wanyan Wushu heave a long sigh of relief, and finally escaped.

At this moment, the sound of war drums suddenly sounded in front, and a cavalry rushed out from a valley a few miles away. The leading general was Chen Qing, who had just arrived with his army, just in time to meet Wanyan Wushu's team .

"Marshal Du is safe and sound, Chen Qing has been waiting here for a long time!"

Chen Qing waved Fang Tian's painted halberd to block Wanyan Wushu's way. When Wanyan Wushu saw Chen Qing for the first time, he was so shocked that his heart was broken and he cried out inwardly.

At this time, Wanyan Alupu roared, and rushed towards Chen Qing with a mace.

Wanyan Wushu seized the opportunity and urged his horse to gallop eastward. The eldest son Wanyan Bodie and a thousand cavalry followed closely behind. Yang Yuanqing led a thousand cavalry to intercept Wanyan Wushu, and Yang Zaixing led another thousand cavalry to intercept Fanshan The golden soldier who passed.

Chen Qing and Wanyan Alupu fought for less than two rounds, stabbing Wanyan Alupu's horse to death with a halberd, and Wanyan Alupu fell to the ground with his horse and man.

"Tied up!"

Chen Qing shouted an order, turned his head, saw that Wanyan Wushu had already galloped hundreds of steps away, he immediately mobilized his horse and chased after Wanyan Wushu.

Wanyan Wu's martial arts skills are extremely strong, he cut a bloody path, led his son out of the Song army's siege, and fled in a wilderness. Seeing that Chen Qing couldn't catch up, he drew an arrow, and the bow was an arrow.

The arrow was like a shooting star, it went straight to Wanyan Wu's neck, Wanyan Wushu heard the sound of the wind behind his head, his body dodged and avoided the vital point.

'puff! '

The arrow hit Wanyan Wushu's left shoulder, Wanyan Wushu let out a scream, his body swayed, almost fell off his horse, dozens of personal soldiers desperately guarded Wanyan Wushu, ran for their lives, and gradually went away.

The remaining more than 1000 soldiers had no intention of fighting and ran for their lives. Except for a very few who escaped, the rest were all killed by Chen Qing's army, leaving corpses all over the ground.

This is also a big difference between Chen Qing and Wu Jie. Chen Qing never kept prisoners of war against the Jurchen soldiers, and always killed them all, unless it was a senior general like Wanyan Alupu.

But Wu Jie will be surrendered. He does not advocate killing them all. Leaving a way can make the Jin soldiers give up resistance faster.

There are still more than 8000 Jin soldiers trapped on the mountain, unable to move forward or retreat. At this time, it began to rain lightly, and the spring was cold. The Jin soldiers were cold and hungry, and the soldiers were depressed and panicked.

The Wu rank army had already arrived. He sent someone to shout to the Jin soldiers that they could accept the surrender.

The eight thousand golden soldiers trapped on the mountain road were afraid of Chen Qing's killing, and they put down their weapons and surrendered to Wu Jie.

So far, the 15 Jin soldiers who participated in the Battle of Dasanguan have been wiped out, and more than [-] people have surrendered. Seven ten thousand captains including Wanyan Alupu, the clan of the Jin Dynasty, have been captured.

The first battle of Dashanguan shocked the world, the imperial court rejoiced, and Longyan was very happy. The emperor Zhao Gou sent a letter by means of a flying eagle, and he was granted the title of Wu Jie as the Jiedu Envoy of Hanzhong, promoted to the official servant doctor, and bestowed it on Nanzheng County Marquis.

Chen Qing made meritorious service in the fierce battles on the periphery, he was granted the title of governor, promoted to doctor of martial arts, and given the title of Viscount of Chengji County.

The rest of the generals will be rewarded after the official edict is issued.

Chapter 176 Food

The changes in the battle situation brought about by the disastrous defeat of the Jin soldiers at Dasan Pass had a profound impact on both the Song and Jin Dynasties. Wanyan Wushu was removed from the post of Marshal of the West Route Army, and the Wanyan Wushu faction within the Kingdom of Jin was also suppressed.

Wan Yanchang gained power, and at Wan Yanchang's suggestion, Song and Jin began negotiations, exchanging some captured minor Song people for Jurchen prisoners of war in Dasanguan, including the empress dowager Wei, the birth mother of the son of heaven.

Due to the victory of the Song army on the western front, the main combat faction of the Song Dynasty gained the upper hand. Not long after the Battle of Dasanguan, Fan Zongyin was implicated by Wei Pang and was dismissed as Prime Minister and demoted to Sima of Xuanzhou.

Zhang Jun returned to Beijing to become prime minister because of his great victory on the western front, and Zhu Shengfei, a minister of the Ministry of War, was appointed as the Xuanfu envoy of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Due to Wan Yanchang's gaining power and the further expansion of the power of the puppet Qi State, Jin State temporarily withdrew from Xihe Road and handed over Shanxi Road and Xihe Road to Qi State for management.

Puppet Qi Emperor Liu Yu appointed Guo Zhen, a member of the Privy Council, as the Marshal of Zhenxi, and also as the Xuanfu envoy of the Northwest and Northwest Roads. He led 15 elite soldiers to take over Shaanxi Road and Xihe Road.

As the Jin soldiers withdrew from Xihe Road, an opportunity arose. Zhu Shengfei, the new Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu envoy, was still on his way to take office after the handover from Lin'an and Zhang Jun. Zhu Shengfei issued several appointments in succession.

Appoint Dutong Guan Shigu as the general manager of Pingjing, and lead [-] troops to garrison Pingliang Mansion, Yuanzhou, and Jingzhou. He also appointed Dutong Fu Xuan as the general manager of Fenglong, and led [-] troops to garrison Fengxiang Mansion and Longzhou.

At the same time, the Xixia army also took the opportunity to go south and swallowed Deshun Prefecture, Zhenrong Prefecture, Qingzhou, Baoan Prefecture, and half of Qingyang Prefecture in one fell swoop, plus Shizhou, Hezhou, Lanzhou, Huizhou, etc. that Xixia had annexed before. In fact, Xixia took the opportunity to annex most of the northern border states of Xihe Road and Shaanxi Road in the Song Dynasty.

Song, Qi, and Xixia have intertwined forces in the northwest, and the situation is extremely complicated.

Chen Qing's rank was promoted, his military rank was promoted, and he even won the title of knighthood, but his dispatcher has not changed, he is still the envoy of the Qinzhou system.

At the beginning of March, after resting for half a month at Dasan Pass, Qinzhou led [-] troops to Qinzhou to take office. This was not to fight, Sima Qu Hongyuan only gave Chen Qing food for five days.

From then on, food and grass had to be settled by himself.

At this time, the Jin soldiers had already withdrawn from Qinzhou, and there were rolling mountains in the distance. An official road stretched to the west. The Weihe River was surging on the south side of the official road, and on the north bank was a vast wheat field. The green winter wheat was growing gratifyingly, and farmers could be seen from time to time. Busy in the wheat field.

"The imperial court has no foresight! If you don't send more troops to the northwest at the critical moment, just rely on these 3 horses to fight against Xixia and puppet Qi. Is it enough?"

Zheng Ping complained all the way, the Jin soldiers were withdrawn, and even the Xixia people knew that they should increase their troops to annex the territory of Xining Road. Such a good opportunity, but the court was indifferent.

"Okay, just listen to your thoughts along the way, don't complain, the higher ups are more awake than us, let's do our own things well first! The fodder and food are almost gone." Chen Qing said angrily.

"Forage is not a big problem. It's spring now. Where can I find a few mouthfuls of grass to eat? The key is food, hey! You and I know it well."

"How to say?" Chen Qing glanced at Zheng Ping.

"How much food did we burn, and where did the food for Jin Bing come from? Do you think there will still be food in Qinzhou's official warehouse?"

Although Zheng Ping is a bit wordy, he always hits the nail on the head.

While speaking, the army arrived at Chengji County. Chengji County is the prefecture of Qinzhou. It is a large county with a city circumference of about [-] miles. During the Xuanhe period, there were tens of thousands of families. The brutal massacre of the city, but after the nest is overthrown, there will be no eggs. The people in Chengji County have been displaced, and the population has dropped sharply. Now there are only more than [-] households, less than [-] people.

The county town was also dilapidated, with collapsed houses everywhere. It had just rained lightly and the ground was very muddy. The gray dawn and the dilapidated city cast a shadow over Chen Qing's heart.

"Hu Yanyun, take some brothers to find a place that can be used as a military camp!"

Hu Yanyun was in charge of the logistics, which was his job. He nodded and led more than a hundred cavalry to find the camp. Chen Qing asked Yang Yuanqing to lead the army to rest outside the city.

Chen Qingze, Zheng Ping, and staff member Zhang Xiao came to the state government office. The state government office and the county government office were together. The two government offices faced each other. The county government office looked like a dilapidated city god's temple. Only a broken, dusty drum stood at the door, and only one of the two gates remained, with some rotten wood and broken mats blocking the other side.

Although there are not many decent county government offices in Song Dynasty, this is the first time everyone saw this dilapidated county government office. Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, and the staff member Zhang Xiao said with a smile: "Why don't you go to the state government office to have a look first!"

The state government office looked a little better, but it was also in disrepair for a long time. When everyone walked into the official office, the official office was empty and there was no one in sight.

Chen Qing was a little annoyed and said, "Search for me and find someone who can talk!"

Dozens of soldiers rushed to each room, and after a while, some soldiers shouted: "Find one here!"

After a while, a civil servant was pushed out, and the civil servant said dissatisfiedly, "I can walk by myself, so I don't need you to push me!"

The voice was a bit familiar, and when the official approached, Chen Qing recognized it immediately, "You are... Du Min!"

This man is Du Min, the feeble scholar who was in charge of the warehouse in Jiandaoguan. He also went to the city to participate in the war. After the war, Chen Qing gave him 50 taels of silver and asked him to go back to Siyang County. Unexpectedly, he met him here. .

"It's General Chen!"

Du Min was suddenly surprised and delighted, "Hey! And Zheng Dutou, why did you come to Qinzhou?"

Chen Qing smiled and said, "It's normal for me to come to Qinzhou! But you, aren't you in Siyang County? Why did you come to Qinzhou?"

"Hey! It's a long story. Not long after the battle of Jiandao Pass, someone reported to the county government that I was working for the Song army. The county magistrate is good. He secretly sent someone to tell me to run away. It would be troublesome if I was caught by the golden soldiers. My wife I'm from Chengji County, so I took my family and fled to my father-in-law's house, and my father-in-law asked someone to find a job for me in the state government."

"Why are there no people in the state government and county government?"

"The county government has long been abolished. The state government has always been the county government. Wang Tongjuan took the governor and archers to the countryside to collect taxes two days ago. He will not be back until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Other officials took the opportunity to sneak back home. , I’m the only one guarding here, and there are a few team leaders who were still there just now, and I don’t know where they went.”

"What about Zhizhou?"

Du Min shook his head, "Zhizhou fled with the county magistrate and the others. Now there is only Wang Tongpan. He is both the county magistrate and the prefecture. Then there are Li Dujian and several soldiers who joined the army. I am the official in charge of the warehouse."

"How much food is there in the warehouse?" Chen Qing asked anxiously.

Du Min smiled wryly, "All the money, food, and materials in the warehouse have been transported to Dasanguan. There are only some logs and bricks left in the warehouse. There are still a few official ships on the Weihe River, and some land. This is all the property of the government. .”

Zheng Ping glanced at Chen Qing, his eyes clearly said, 'I'm right! '

Chen Qing didn't bother to pay attention to him, and asked again: "Who appointed this Wang Tongpan? Is he an official of the Jin Kingdom, the Puppet Qi Kingdom, or the Song Dynasty?"

"This is more complicated. He is none of the three mentioned by the general. He is actually an official elected by the gentry in the city. He has never been an official, and Jin Bing doesn't care. He just passed the three-year sentence in a daze. "

Chen Qing also understands that this is the case in many prefectures and counties. Officials appointed by the imperial court have run away, and Jin Guo has not appointed officials. Xu Ning is like this.

It doesn't matter whether the current official is legal or not, the key is how to solve the pressing problem now?

"How long can our food last?" Chen Qing turned around and asked.

Zhang Xiao thought for a while and said, "Tomorrow night!"

"The general has no rations?"