Hot air balloons rose in the sky, and the wind howled, blowing across the rolling hills in view.
In the early winter, the mountains were grey and gray, and the ups and downs were like a strange ocean. The road between the mountains was like a dragon breaking through the ocean, spreading forward with the march of the army. The woods in the distance are ups and downs, and there is a man-devouring abyss in the woods.
The terrain of Shu is magnificent. Li Bai once said: Shu Road is difficult, and it is difficult to ascend to the sky. But in fact, the road that is described as difficult to climb to the sky is already a relatively easy gate to enter Shu.
From Jiange to the west and Jinniu Road to the north, it will be called a part of the Longmenshan fault zone in later generations, which belongs to the real moat. The Dajianshan Mountains to the south have rough roads and dense cliffs, but the Jinniu Road passes through the mountains and passes through the mountains. Many post stations and villages are attached to the road to see off merchants, and hunters can also enter and exit the mountain.
In the past, the only people who could walk through such rugged mountains were the poor old hunters nearby. Dense mountain forests and rugged terrain, ordinary people may get lost in the mountains soon after entering the forest, and can no longer turn around. In mid-October, the first large-scale fighting broke out in such terrain.
With the help of the hot air balloon or the observation tower built at a high place, the explosion can occasionally be seen in the distant jungle or mountain stream.
The Huaxia Army scouts carry explosives called grenades, and the Jurchen scouts also carry fire thunders that can be ignited with open flames. In addition to the violent noises caused by these two, most of the fights in the forest are not easy to see from the outside world, but there will be screams from a distance, and occasionally you can see the smoke rising from the forest, or you don't know where. The sound of "bang" came from afar, and the troops on the road knew that the fight was going on.
In the first few days, there were still fierce but scattered battles in the forest. The two troops that started to fight carefully tested the strength of their opponents. There were scattered explosions far and near, dozens of explosions a day. Occasionally there were casualties from After withdrawing from the forest, the leading Jurchen scout reported the scout strength of the Huaxia Army to the general.
These scouts are the most elite veterans of the Jurchen Army. They are either hunters trained in the harshest environment in the northern mountains, or soldiers who survived the sea of blood and corpses. , or Bo kills Xionghu, it doesn't matter. And many people are quite famous in the army, and they are trusted confidants of the generals in whichever army they are placed. Yu Yu used these confidants from the very beginning, one is to trust them, and the other is to get the most accurate feedback.
The feedback from the first fight came back quickly with the wounded and the retreating scouts. The Huaxia Army scouts, who had been developing in the southwest for several years, were no strangers to the mountains of Sichuan and Shu. The first batch of elites who entered the mountains and fought against the Huaxia Army The scouts achieved some results, but the casualties were not small.
In the first few days of friction, it was actually impossible to judge the exact casualty ratio, but this situation was not unexpected by the upper class of Jurchen. In small-scale conflicts with less than 100 people, even the military of the Wu Dynasty can often shoot two eyes. In terms of achievements, the Han people have no shortage of brave men, not to mention the Black Banner Army who have beheaded Lou Shi and never lost their words.
20. The pre-arranged follow-up scouts entered the mountains one after another. For these non-Jurchen scouts, the military executives offered extremely high rewards: one hundred coins for killing a soldier of the Black Flag Army, and the officers increased on this basis. Up to the company level, there are acres of land, official titles and even titles, and three times the number of live captures.
There was a huge gap between the rich and the poor in the society of the Wu Dynasty, and the poor families spent only a few thousand dollars a year. From the monthly salary of the Bapin county magistrate, they were already relatively rich. The average head here is worth a hundred coins, and most of the scouts are elites in the army. If you kill a few with flowers on their shoulders, you will be wealthy and worry-free for a lifetime.
The gold and silver used for rewards were packed in boxes and placed beside the barracks of several post stations on the road, dazzling people's eyes. This was directly obtained by the scouts of each army. As for the killing of the enemy on the battlefield, the reward is first attributed to the military merit of each army. After the battle, the reward will be uniformly awarded, but it will basically be the same as the head price of the scout leader. Even if the army is killed in battle, as long as the military merit of the army is in place, the reward will remain in the future. It will be sent to everyone's home.
In terms of such a reward, Wanyan Zonghan would need to spend at least tens of millions of dollars to "buy" the entire head of the Huaxia Army, but he didn't mind.
When the Liao Kingdom was still in existence, the annual coins that the Wu Dynasty paid to the Liao Kingdom each year exceeded one million yuan in silver coins, and the Wu Dynasty relied on trade and earned it back in multiples. Tong Guan bought the sixteen states of Yanyun in those days, and together with large and small families in the north and various bureaucrats in the DPRK and China, he collected tens of millions of dollars worth of property. Wouldn't the people still take the property back from the people
When the Jin Kingdom stepped on the Central Plains, overthrew the Wu Dynasty, and destroyed the family and family along the way, the gold and silver that were copied and the slaves who could be captured back to the north to produce gold and silver were more than that. If Zheng Zheng was able to "buy" the Huaxia Army with tens of millions of gold and silver, Zong Han, Xi Yin and others would not be stingy at all at this time.
This is the final battle to decide the world.
Among such huge benefits and honors, not only the scouts, but even the soldiers in the middle and lower ranks are gearing up for action.
Twenty-two, the conflict between the scouts in the vast mountains and forests suddenly became fierce. The troops invested by the Jurchen and the troops invested by the Huaxia Army chose to overweight at the same time and at the same node.
Since the afternoon of the 22nd, the most obvious feature of the conflict that can be seen between the rugged mountains is not the occasional explosion sound, but the black smoke column and mountain fire rising from the forest: this is in the After fighting in the chaotic environment of the woodlands, many people chose the strategy of confusing the situation. Some wildfires swirled and died, and some wildfires spread in the relatively dry environment in early winter. Great momentum.
Thick smoke billowed and fluttered in the mountains, and the traces of the burning were clearly visible for dozens of miles. The animals living in the woodlands fled, and the occasional fighting broke out in such a chaotic situation.
Most of the fires in the forest were caused by Bohai people, Liaodong people and Han army scouts on the Jurchen side.
Although the huge bounty offered by the Jurchen made these daring military elites eager to enter the mountains to kill the enemy, but when they entered the wild forest, when they really fought against the Chinese soldiers, the huge pressure was only will fall on everyone.
The mountains and forests of Sichuan and Shu seem to be vast and vast, and those who are good at running in the mountains can indeed find many roads, but the rugged terrain makes these roads appear narrow and dangerous. It is easy to say that if you have never encountered an enemy, once you encounter an enemy, the most intense and treacherous fight will unfold.
In a group of ten people, the Huaxia Army scouts who were originally trained for forest fights wore clothes of similar colors to the mountains and forests, and each carried a powerful hand crossbow. When they met suddenly, the ten members blocked the road from different directions, but the first wave of crossbow arrows shot from different angles was enough to make people terrified.
In addition to the crossbow bolts, each of the thrown grenades carried two or three grenades. If such an explosion was encountered on a narrow road, it would be a dilemma.
In addition to hand crossbow, fire thunder and other things, the ten members have different emphasis and cooperation. Some team members have steel hooks that are easy to climb, pulleys that can make people go up and down mountains like apes, and a small number of elite teams. Those with sniper rifles moving forward, they occupy high places, use binoculars to observe, and send signals to nearby squads.
Of course, among the Jurchen scouts, there are also Haidongqing, many sharp shooters who can penetrate Yang at a hundred paces, and people with stunts who are good at climbing mountains and dangerous peaks. The scouts suffered huge casualties.
Hundreds of thousands of scout troops were still crowded and lively on the road leading to the mountain pass. Entering the forest, they chose different roads to spread out. From time to time, they would encounter the figure of the elite Jurchen scouts who had entered the mountain in the past few days. They went up as replacements for the fresh army. Hundreds of special operations teams of the Huaxia Army have also been killed one after another. By the afternoon, there was chaos in the forest, and some of the surviving scouts set fires, and some flames were burning.
Some of the scouts who had surrendered to the Jurchen side cried and scolded their mothers. Although they were "many and powerful" in this forest, the combat power of each team was high and low, and their styles were different. Also different. Some troops were fighting in the front, seeing the flames spread from the rear...
On the other hand, the various special operations teams of the Huaxia Army had a rough battle plan earlier. This was still in the early days of the war, and the teams were closely connected. There has not been a team that is too aggressive.
In the past few days, although I have also encountered unusually powerful veterans, hunters and other characters in the opponent's team, some suddenly appeared and blocked their throats with an arrow, and some hid in the pile of dead leaves, violently killing people, resulting in a lot of casualties, but in exchange terms, the Huaxia Army has always taken a huge advantage.
According to later statistics, twenty-two, the Jurchen-affiliated scout troops who died in the forest slaughter were about 600 or more, and the Huaxia Army suffered more than 100 casualties. On the 23rd and 24th, casualties on both sides were reduced, and the Huaxia Army's scout front was generally pushed forward, but there were also several Jurchen scouts who became more familiar with the mountains and forests and occupied several important observation points in front of the forest. This is a small loss before the war.
Yu Yu adapted to this situation and made several adjustments to the battle in the mountains, but in general, he didn't care too much about the blunt response of some vassal troops in battle.
Twenty-fifth, the tens of thousands of troops led by Tu Shuo made preparations outside Huangming County, and thousands of Han prisoners were driven towards the county wall.
Huangming County developed from the post town originally located here, not a strong city. Its city wall is only 30 feet high, and the total length of the side facing the mountain pass is 460 feet, which is 1,500 meters in later generations. The city wall winds from the open area to the hillside in the south. The hillside is relatively steep, so that the defense of this section forms an "L"-shaped angle with the lower part. Several catapults and cannons with a long defensive distance are placed here. , The hot air balloon responsible for the observation is also floating high above the city head here.
The northern end of the city wall is adjacent to a mountain stream with six or seven battles, but there is also a small road crossing the city near the city wall. As the captives were driven out, the soldiers on the top of the city shouted loudly to let the captives detour to the north of the city to survive. Naturally, the Jurchens at the back would not allow it. They first drove the captives south with arrows, and then set up cannons and catapults to start firing at the crowd at the northern end.
The crowd cried and crowded towards the bottom of the city wall. Arrows, stones, and artillery shells fell on the piles of people behind. The explosions, crying, and screams were mixed together, and the smell of blood spread.
The prisoners who squeezed under the city wall were considered to be out of the range of artillery shells, throwing vehicles, etc. Some of them shouted under the city, hoping that the Chinese army would open the city gate, and some hoped to throw ropes above, but the Chinese soldiers on the city wall did not. Moved, some people spread toward the north of the city, while others ran to the rugged hillside in the south of the city.
In fact, at this time, only the path between the mountain stream in the north of the city and the city wall was the only way to escape. In the Jurchen army formation, Tu Lisu quietly watched the prisoners being driven to the bottom of the city wall. No mines exploded in the middle. When the crowd began to crowd north, he ordered the second batch of about a thousand or so. The captives were driven out.
Among the prisoners was a bow and arrow team of about 100 people. They used the cover of the Han prisoners to shorten the distance between them and the city wall, and began to shoot arrows at the prisoners fleeing north under the city wall. Some arrows were missing. Scattered on the city head.
Pang Luan ordered to fire.
Three shells roared out from the city wall of Huangming County and fell into the crowd mixed with archers. At this time, the Jurchen also sparsely fired at the back of the running prisoners. The three shells flew, mixed in the shouts and gunpowder.
He waved and ordered his subordinates to release the third batch of prisoners.
This group of prisoners also numbered a thousand people. Unlike the previous ones, the Jurchen distributed dozens of rough ladders to these prisoners.
"...If you want to escape to the north of the city, you can't get past it! The city wall of the county in front is not high, and the Black Flag Army calls itself Huaxia. As long as you go up, they won't kill anyone! Carry the ladder and run for your life! If you run slowly, beware of the Jurchen. cannon!"
The one who was held in front of the captives and shouted was an official of the original military court. Among the prisoners, a large number of people with family and family carried the ladder and ran to the front while crying. Some people hugged their children, but there was no meaningful begging for mercy in their mouths.
At this moment, the Huaxia soldiers on the city wall are putting down shields, knives, door panels and other objects into the crowd under the city, so that they can defend against the stray arrows. Seeing someone on the other side of the battlefield carrying the ladder, Pang Luan and Chief of Staff Guo Chen were only silent for a moment.
"... Let people shout, tell them not to bring ladders, there are spies in the crowd, and don't fall for Jurchen's tricks."
Guo Chen ordered this, and then sent an order to the artillery: "Calibrate the distance."
Soldiers with loud voices at the top of the city held simple horns and shouted desperately towards the front.
On the "battlefield" in front, there are no soldiers, only crowds of people fleeing, shouting, and weeping. The smell of blood rises, mixed in the smoke and internal organs.
This was the most "gentle" start on the entire battlefield, and he watched all this with bloodthirsty frenzy in his eyes.
For the Jurchen, this was just a simple massacre that didn't even let go, but he enjoyed the enemy's dilemma, and he would be satisfied with the resoluteness or anger shown by the opposing general.
For the Huaxia Army, this is also a cruel, but in fact, extremely ordinary psychological test. Many people have already experienced it as early as the Xiaocanghe period. Now, a large number of soldiers have to experience it again.
The Jurchen swept the world, and if they needed to be captured, millions of them would be no problem for them, and they drove them forward, chasing them, and slaughtering them. If the soldiers on the city wall show the slightest weakness or weakness, after these thousands of people, Tu Lisu, Zong Han and the others will not mind rushing another 100,000 or 100,000 people over and beheaded in front of the battle formation .
The captives holding the cloud ladder were driven over, and the distance was narrowed, and the previous batch of captives began to be brought in. The soldiers shouting on the wall were hoarse. Pang Luan took a breath.
"fire."
On the city wall, the soldiers dropped their torches, the muzzle of the iron cannon made a roar, and the cannonball rushed out of the firelight and flew over the sea-like crowd.
After one cannonball, another, and then a third, some people were blown away, some broke their limbs, and cried shrilly.
"Hahahaha..." Pulling Lisu laughed on the battle horse, and the follow-up orders were issued in an orderly manner.
Catapults on all sides of the battlefield began to slowly advance forward, taking advantage of the chaos, the artillery array advanced, and the fourth batch of prisoners was driven out... All the subordinates are ready and waiting to set off.
This is a battle-hardened vanguard general among the Jurchens. As early as when Aguda was still alive, Wuritan was the confidant and brave general who left Su's command. This attack on the Huaxia Army is of great significance to Zong Han and Xi Yin, and many people regard it as the last obstacle to conquering the world, but the cautious use of soldiers and adequate preparation does not mean that the people in the army lost their original sharpness.
In the face of the obstacle of Huangming County, after pulling out the speed and setting up the battle, Wu Litan asked the commander for orders, hoping to take the lead in this battle and take the revenge of the marshals such as Lou Shi and Ci Bushi. The opening of the war. Pull away from the speed agreed.
As the prisoners were driven out in batches, the formation of the Jurchen army was slowly advancing. Around noon, the catapults with the farthest range gradually brought the city walls of Huangming County into the attack range. The Huaxia Army, who was waiting for work, first attacked the Jurchen camp with the catapults, and the Jurchens quickly fixed their equipment and launched a counterattack. At this time, fewer than eleven people were able to escape the battlefield from the trail north of Huangming County, and the battlefield had turned into a meat grinder for civilians.
A moment later, at the most annoying and tiring time in the afternoon, the first wave of climax broke out on the bloody battlefield. The thousand-person team led by Wuli changed their clothes slightly, and wrapped another batch of civilians towards the city wall. Advancement started. He reserved the attack location, divided the thousand-man team into ten groups, and attacked from different paths.
Pulling Li Su on the battle horse, his eyes calmly looked at the battlefield. At a certain moment, his brows slightly frowned.
On the battlefield, there was still cries and loud noises. The catapults of the two sides attacked each other. Five of the catapults erected by the Jurchens had been smashed into pieces. Under the city wall of Huangming County, I don’t know how many people were rolled into meat sauce by the flying boulders. . The flying of the stones brought great destruction and did not stop for a moment. But at the head of Huangming County, at a certain point in time, the atmosphere seemed to suddenly quiet down.
Pulling away from the speed felt this moment of silence.
Above the city wall, Pang Luan rushed forward abruptly. He picked up the binoculars and quickly scanned the battlefield. Some veterans of the Huaxia Army soldiers guarding the city's head also seemed to feel something. They looked out under the cover of shields. Some newbies in the army who did not have much experience looked at these veterans who had experienced the Xiaocanghe period. movement.
"Hehe... Damn, finally, at, dare, come, come, come..."
The long knife was pulled out of the scabbard, and the sound from the throat was suppressed into the bone marrow, and the slaughterhouse-like ferocious aura spread across the city.
"...Come here, do you want to fire?"
The city walls of Huangming County are only 30 feet long. If the enemy approaches, they can quickly climb to the city to fight. Pang Luan's eyes swept across the battlefield filled with blood and screams, his teeth grinding.
"… see blood first."