In Xuzhou, a light rain fell from the sky, and the air was frigidly cold and gloomy.
Li Zhuohui, the staff officer of the Third Division of the Huaxia Fifth Army, passed through the simple courtyard, and when he got down to the corridor, he took off his hoodie and patted the water droplets on his body.
Passing through the corridor in front of the courtyard, more than a dozen officers have gathered in the courtyard and greeted each other. It was a routine meeting after the morning, but it was expanded in scope due to what happened yesterday.
Outside the city of Xuzhou, the skinny body of the Huaxia Army brother was still hanging on a wooden stick. Although it is said that there are always dead people in wars, and the siblings who are sent out of the city are in great danger, and they will not take special actions because of a certain person, but today, Li Zhuohui still has some different thoughts in his heart.
Some time may have come. Yesterday, Li Zhuohui was in charge of verifying the identity of the corpse outside the city. At night, he communicated with several generals in the army. Everyone's ideas were radical and conservative, but today, Li Zhuohui decided to speak out at the meeting.
Not long after, the teacher Liu Chengzong arrived in the courtyard, and everyone went into the room. There will be several daily topics at the meeting, and Li Zhuohui initially reported the identity of the corpse outside the city.
The victim's name is Fang Mu. He is twenty-nine years old this year, but he is an old scout in the Huaxia army. Before he was ten years old, he was a homeless child in the capital. At that time, he was taken in and trained by Zhuji. In the battle of defense, he experienced monarchy and rebellion, and later he experienced successive battles in the northwest. He worked underground for a period of time in Zhuji.
He already has a wife and children in Liangshan Mountain. In principle, he should not be allowed to leave the city. But over the years, the Huaxia Army has experienced many battles. But not many - at least in this division of more than 8,000 people, such manpower is lacking. Fang Mu took the initiative to ask for this job out of the city. At that time, he said that he would be a spy among the hungry ghosts, and it might be easier to survive without confrontation on the battlefield.
"... 'I have a wife and children to take care of at home, I am thin, and it is easier to live outside the city... ' He said that at the time, but he never expected... to be discovered... "
After Li Zhuohui said this, he sat down in his seat. Liu Chengzong nodded, and after discussing about Fang Mu for a while, he began to enter other topics. Li Zhuohui was thinking about when his thoughts would be suitable for everyone to discuss. After a while, Luo Ye, the head of the special regiment sitting in front of him, stood up.
"Master Liu, everyone, I have an idea."
"Say." Liu Chengzong nodded.
"I think it's time to fight a battle." Luo Ye said, "Fight the hungry ghost and kill Wang Shitong."
The officers in the room exchanged glances, and Liu Chengzong thought for a while: "For Fang Mu?"
"Fang Mu can be the reason, but the main reason is because I think the time has come."
"Oh?"
"I said this for the following reasons." Liu Chengzong looked at Luo Ye with a puzzled look, and Luo Ye also looked back calmly, and then said: "First, what is the purpose of our coming to Xuzhou? Jurchen III 100,000 troops, more than 8,000 of us, stick to Xuzhou and rely on the city wall to be strong? This was denied in our military discussions last year. Persistence, street fighting, evacuation, harassment... Even in the most optimistic situation, we will Abandon Xuzhou City, and finally turn to guerrilla and harassment. Then, our purpose is actually to prolong the time, to become famous, and to give a sigh of relief to the resistance forces in the Central Plains and even the Yangtze River Basin as much as possible.”
"…So what does the hundreds of thousands of hungry ghosts outside the city mean to us for such a purpose? Spring is coming, and the Jurchens are about to kill them. We can hope that these hundreds of thousands of hungry ghosts will become our natural ones. Barrier, that is to say, we wait for Jurchen to kill hundreds of thousands of hungry ghosts, and finally come to Xuzhou City... This seems to be a good idea, but this choice, I think it is very negative. "
"... First of all, let's consider the fighting power of hungry ghosts. Hundreds of thousands of people are dying of starvation. When harassing Jurchen, even if I am Wanyan Zongfu, I feel very troublesome. The enemy must be killed, and the resistance of the hungry ghosts is actually very limited. Watching hundreds of thousands of people slaughtered under the city, and then defending the city, it is also a great blow to our morale. "
"...Secondly, the Jurchens outside the city have begun to adopt a strategy of dividing and attracting hungry ghosts. These starving people are very powerful in desperate situations, but... Once they encounter division and have a way to go, they can't resist this. This kind of temptation. So the barrier of hundreds of thousands of people just looks beautiful, but it is actually vulnerable, but the life and death of hundreds of thousands of people is actually very heavy... "
Luo Ye paused: "In the past few months, in Xuzhou city, we watched them starve to death outside. Although it is not our fault, it still makes people feel... indescribably frustrated. But turn around and think about it. , If we break up this group of hungry ghosts gathered under the city now, what is the benefit?"
He raised a hand: "First, of course, it has a boosting effect on the morale of the army. Second, the hungry ghosts gathered in Xuzhou because of Wang Shitong. Once Wang Shitong was killed, the hundreds of thousands of people who survived would be killed. The surrounding area is very miserable, the road to the south is difficult to walk, but... a small number of people will survive, this is the only merit we can do. Third, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are rushing out People in Xuzhou may also be able to wrap up in the whole situation and start to retreat south, and even all the residents in the south of Xuzhou can feel this atmosphere and go south to find their last way to survive.”
"Master, everyone." Luo Ye took a breath and pointed out the window, "Spring is here, the snow is about to melt, and this battle will come no matter what. Let the hundreds of thousands of lives outside the city drag us on. Ten days and a half months? Or let us take the initiative and do a warm-up before Jurchen arrives? What we want is the strength and determination of the entire Central Plains struggle. As Mr. Ning said, we want this play to be If the performance is good, then there is no need to wait so uselessly for the Jurchen to act. If Wang Shitong is turned against by the Jurchen, we will have a large group of enemies. If we really want to withdraw from Xuzhou in the future, I am afraid it will be difficult to do so. ."
In Luo Ye's words, Li Zhuohui raised his hand in the back: "I, I think so too..." Liu Chengzong looked at Luo Ye from the front: "It's beautiful, but what about the specifics? What about our losses? "
I have a plan - thought Lee Cheuk-hui. But I heard Luo Ye who was in front of me saying: "I communicated with several regiments last night, and drove out a plan overnight. Once the hungry ghosts start to attack, it will be annoying, but their ability to resist the attack is not enough. There are a lot of people among them. We just need to keep an eye on Wang Shitong’s position, break in at a high speed with elite power, and kill Wang Shitong. Of course, we also have to consider the follow-up development after killing Wang Shitong. , To activate the hidden stakes that we have placed among the hungry ghosts and guide the hungry ghosts to go south, further improvement and a few days of communication are needed in the middle..."
Luo Ye handed over the plan and explained the steps of the plan in his mouth. Li Zhuohui and others began to nod in agreement. After a while, Liu Chengzong in front nodded: "Can we discuss it, is there any objection?" He looked around.
For a moment, Liu Chengzong laughed, and there was a hint of seriousness and fierceness in his smile. A voice sounded in the room.
"... The plan is passed on, and everyone can discuss it together. Li Zhuohui, I think you have an idea. Please improve it. The official result will be released in the afternoon. If there is no clearer and more detailed objection, it is as you said... "
He stood up and banged his fist on the table.
"Spring is here... Kill the King Lion Boy and sacrifice the flag!"
****************
A thousand miles to the northwest of Xuzhou, the flames of war and the flames of war have not dissipated.
In the Linzhou battlefield, the fierce battle is falling back as time goes by.
It's hard to tell when the Jurchen army's retreat started, but by the end of the time, around noon, a large-scale retreat had begun to form a trend. Wang Juyun led Ming Wang's army all the way to the northeast to kill, and felt that the resistance on the way began to become weak.
The Jin soldiers were retreating, and some of the troops led by the generals still launched a counterattack against the Ming Wang army during the retreat, and some of the retreating Jin soldiers even lost their formation and combat strength to take care of each other. Branch still retains the strength of the army to pursue and kill all the way. Wang Juyun rode on his horse and watched all this.
Zhu Lisu was one of the core generals under Wanyan Zonghan along with Yin Zhuke, Tu Lisu and others. After the death of Agu, the Jin Kingdom was divided into two power centers, the east and the west. The Jurchen royal army controlled by Wu Qimai. The Jurchen elite under the command of Shu Liesu was one of the most elite troops Wang Juyun had ever encountered, but this time in front of him was the only time he had fought so easily against the core Jurchen elite.
He hadn't personally seen what happened in the past hours, but everything he participated in on the way, and the surviving soldiers of the Black Flag who were almost slaughtered to the point of losing their strength, explained the tragic killings of the two sides in the previous few hours. If he hadn't seen it in person, Wang Juyun would have had a hard time believing that the army supporting the black flag in front of him had been broken up in the hedging time and again, and the broken up teams kept reuniting and repeated their encounter with the Jurchen. 's fight.
Even at the moment he saw it with his own eyes, it was hard for him to believe it. Since the Jurchen swept the world and launched the slogan of invincibility, more than 30,000 Jurchen elites faced the black flag army of more than 10,000. This morning, the opponent was forcibly defeated.
On the battlefield, there was a message of "Shu Lisu is dead" in the mouths of the fallen and wounded soldiers, but no one knew whether the message was true or not. "Zhu Biao is dead" or even "Mr. Ning is dead" and other messy rumors, no one knows the truth or not. The only thing that is clear is that even in the case of such rumors, the warring parties are still fighting in such a chaotic fierce battle. Killed until now.
Nearly a quarter of noon, Wang Juyun saw Zhu Biao, who was commanding all the soldiers who could still move to rescue the wounded in the battlefield. On the battlefield, mud and blood were mixed, and the corpses stretched out. The flags of the Huaxia Army and the Jurchen flags were intertwined. The Jurchen brigade had already evacuated. Help save people!"
His voice was hoarse, Wang Juyun had already rushed to help with everyone, the old man supported Zhu Biao, Zhu Biao smiled, and then waved: "Look carefully! Look carefully! Some people are not dead... "He smiled. "They just lost their strength. Help them get up..."
On the battlefield, many people fell into the pile of corpses and did not move, but their eyes were still open. With the end of the fight, many people exhausted their last strength. They either sat or lay there to rest, rested. Often can't wake up.
Some soldiers died at this time.
People came over one after another in the distance. The scouts who reported the news were exhausted and passed on the news of all parties on the battlefield. Huyanzhuo got in touch, Qin Ming got in touch, Shi Guangen got in touch, and Zhu Biao and Wang Juyun received the news together. Every time the news of someone surviving is confirmed, Zhu Biao smiles: "This guy is not dead yet..." But there are also depressing messages.
Soon after, someone passed the news of Guan Sheng and Li Jiakai. This was the news from the riders sent by Wang Juyun, and there were already people behind them carrying stretchers. They told Zhu Biao and Wang Juyun. Speaking of the thrilling assassination.
"Look at this dumpling..."
When the stretcher came over, Zhu Biao pointed at one of the people on the stretcher and laughed heartlessly, until tears flowed out of his eyes. Lu Junyi's body was tightly wrapped by gauze on top of it, his face was pale and his breathing was weak, looking extremely desolate.
"The stab wound to the chest is very serious. Can it be carried... It's hard to say... "
The medical officer who accompanied the army was embarrassed to talk about the situation. He already knew the news about Lu Junyi's beheading technique, so he took special care of him. Another zongzi moved on the stretcher next to him, and his eyes turned to this side.
"His martial arts are so high that he can't die."
This is Li Jiakai. He took the attention of more than 100 people who were trying to attract the attention of Zhu Lixu, and waited for Guan Sheng and others to kill him. Then he discovered the change on the other side of Lin Zi. When he arrived, Lu Junyi and several of his companions had already been killed. No way out. Lu Junyi was hit a few more times, and three of his companions were still alive. After Li Jiakai arrived, Lu Junyi fell. Soon after, Guan Sheng led people to kill from the outside. The Jurchen army, which had lost its commander, began a large-scale evacuation. issued by the general.
Although Lu Junyi's fellow special forces soldiers died of serious injuries afterward, one of the remaining two people looked over from there and said, "In the last stroke of the killing technique, his horse... rammed Instructor Lu. If it didn't fly, Instructor Lu probably wouldn't be able to survive now..."
Zhu Biao nodded, and Wang Juyun, who was beside him, asked, "Where's the speed?"
"I don't know... the Jurchen didn't leave the body behind..."
Wang Juyun also nodded, bowed his hands in salute, and then the medical staff carried the wounded down. After a while, Guan Sheng and others also came here, and after a while, a figure walked towards the medical team, far away. It seemed that it was Yan Qing who was once active on the battlefield.
There was a cold wind blowing over the battlefield of Mianmian Momo. In this field, mountain forest, valley bottom, and hills, which had experienced fierce battles, silhouettes passed through and converged for the final finishing touch. Campfires were lit, tents were set up, and hot water was burned, and people continued to search for traces of survivors among the corpses. Many people died, and naturally many people survived. After all kinds of information were roughly outlined, Zhu Biao sat down on the slope, and Wang Juyun looked into the distance: "This battle will surely shock the world."
In the distance, someone held a leaf under the tree and blew a tune, which was completely different from the atmosphere of this golden horse, but set off the surroundings warm and quiet.
"Unfortunately, the world cannot be saved in the first battle." Zhu Biao said.
"There has to be a beginning." Wang Juyun's voice was always calm, and after a while, he said: "More than ten years ago in Hangzhou, I met that Mr. Ning several times, but unfortunately, I can't remember it now. Now... With this battle, the Jindi army is uplifted, and it is difficult for the Jurchen to boast of invincibility, I wish the general..."
He wanted to say something to Zhu Biao, but in the end he didn't say it. Finally, he just said: "After such a big battle, it's time to take a rest. Wang will be here to watch the aftermath. Take care of your body so that you can deal with the next big battle."
Zhu Biao stood up, he knew that the old man in front of him was also a real big man. In the Yongle Dynasty, he was the Shangshu Wang Yin, both civil and military, majestic and domineering at the same time ruthless. After the Yongle Dynasty ended, he was even able to personally sell the seller Baihua and others. In exchange for another rising fundamental, and facing the Jurchen who overthrew the world, the old man stood on the front line of anti-gold without hesitation, and invested his entire family business for several years into the anti-gold with an almost ruthless attitude. Go in the tide.
"I have Lao Wang Shuai." He bowed to Wang Juyun, and Wang Juyun also recalled. Afterwards, Zhu Biao walked slowly towards the tent that was set up. It was already afternoon. Under the cold sky, the bonfire was glowing warmly, illuminating the busy figure.
Wang Yin looked at these backs.
Far away, the Jurchen army was still converging one after another in the tragic retreat, and no one could believe the immediate results. No one can believe that the 30,000-strong army was disastrously defeated in the frontal battle. In the past 20 years, this is something that has never happened before.
In the whole Jin and the whole world, not many people know this first-hand news. In Wasion City, Lou Shuwan raised her head in the cold temperature and muttered a calculation. She hadn't slept peacefully for more than half a month. During this time, she arranged various negotiations, promises, and threats. With the assassination, he is like a miser, calculating the chips at hand every day, hoping to gain more power in the next split.
Many times, she had a splitting headache, and soon, the news would make her sleep well, and she would meet Ning Yi in a dream.
You Hongzhuo walked through the dark alleys, the long knife he was carrying was unsheathed. Over the past few days, Wasion has been splitting up. Shameless people advocated the theory of surrender and began to stand in line and form gangs. You Hongzhuo killed a lot of people and got some injuries.
In the Tianji Palace, facing the towering towers every day, Shi Jin, who was in charge of security, had no distractions. If one day this huge tower will collapse, he will deliver a fatal blow to the enemy outside. It is also not long before the light will shine in from the other end of the tower, and he will hear the names of some familiar people and hear information about them.
In the Jurchen camp, Wanyan Xiyin is also calculating the changes in the general situation. The snow has melted and the ice has melted, and more than 200,000 troops are ready to go. When the inevitable victory of Linzhou comes, his next step will start one after another...
****************
South, Xuzhou, three days later.
The third division of the Huaxia Fifth Army, the team of more than 8,000 people seemed to be gradually ignited by something, the gears were buckled, and they began to gradually and quickly operate. Some messages were quietly conveyed under the quiet water, the breath of war. It has been brewing rapidly.
Li Anmao, the prefect of Xuzhou, noticed some traces, and he often came over these two days to ask around and inquire about the situation.
In the staff department, the plan has been completed, and all kinds of foreshadowing and liaison work have come to an end. On the morning of February 12, hurried footsteps sounded in the yard of the staff department, and someone came with urgent news.
"Outside Xuzhou, the situation has changed—"