Chapter 825 0820 [Let’s Have a Decisive Battle]

Zhu Ming has led the main force to Chengzhou, which is Haicheng City in later generations.

During the Liao Dynasty, Tongzhou was established in the southeastern mountainous area, and Tiezhou was established in the southern mountainous area.

There is copper, iron, and gold.

Continue to move forward, 110 miles to the northeast is Liaoyang.

A fierce offensive and defensive battle is taking place there!

The city has been occupied by the rebels, but the Jin army's food and grass are in the city. Wanyan Zongfu must take it no matter how much it costs.

Wang Zheng brought all the families of various ethnic groups to the top of the city, pointed to the Jin soldiers besieging the city outside and said: "Look carefully, are there any Bohai soldiers or Han soldiers?"

After looking for a long time, everyone did not see the relevant flags.

But it is also possible that the distance is too far to see clearly.

Gao Jingshan said: "The armies of all ethnic groups in Hesuguan City must have surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and driven the Jurchen soldiers out of the city. The military commanders in your tribe have all rebelled. Once the Jurchen soldiers capture Liaoyang, will they be kind enough to let you go? It will definitely be a disaster for the whole family!"

The Jurchen soldiers outside the city were demolishing the houses of the people in the suburbs to obtain wood, and using nails and even ropes to build siege ladders.

As the person left behind by the largest family in Liaoyang, Zhang Xuanzheng immediately understood what to do. He said to other prominent families: "I will coordinate the supplies in the city, and Generals Gao and Wang will command the battle. You go to the city to organize the people and tell them that the Jurchens have been defeated and have reached the point where they are desperate. Once the city is broken, no one will be left alive. Whoever does not work hard to defend his hometown will be massacred by the Jurchen soldiers!"

"We will do our best."

As it concerns their lives, all prominent families must cheer up. If they cannot defend Liaoyang, everyone will die.

There were more than 800 elite soldiers from Bohai brought back by Gao and Wang, more than 300 Huangtou Shiwei (they suffered heavy casualties in the attack on the city gate), and more than 2,000 Han and Xi soldiers in the city.

The total number of soldiers defending the city was only 3,200.

There were more than 10,000 Jurchen soldiers outside the city!

All the noble families went out to spread propaganda in different areas, telling everyone that the Jurchens were going to massacre the city. Moreover, Wanyan Zongfu had been defeated, and the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was coming soon. It was only a matter of time before the Jin Dynasty was destroyed.

From the old men in their 50s and 60s to the teenagers in their 14s and 15s, all men were organized into the army.

Women and children helped transport supplies and cook and deliver meals to the soldiers.

Three Ming Dynasty secretaries each led a new army, all of whom were ordinary people who had never fought in a war.

Anyway, the military rations in the city were piled up like mountains. In order to boost the morale of the whole army, both the soldiers participating in the battle and the women and children responsible for logistics could eat every meal.

Military pay was paid on a daily basis.

As long as they were stationed on the city wall that day, or transported supplies, or even just helped deliver meals, they could go to collect their military pay after the handover.

There were additional rewards for meritorious service in battle.

…

Outside the city.

Wanyan Zongfu led his army to arrive in the middle of the night. The exhausted soldiers did not attack immediately, but retreated to rest for a while.

At the same time, some Jurchen soldiers guarded the bridge to prevent the defenders from leaving the city and destroying the moat bridge.

The next morning, half of the soldiers rested, and the other half of the soldiers dismantled the houses. In the afternoon, they took turns to continue dismantling the houses.

On the third day, the whole army used the wood obtained from the dismantling of the houses to build thousands of simple siege ladders.

Climbing the fortified city on such siege ladders was simply courting death. Fortunately, there were not many regular troops in the city, and those civilians must have been in a mess before the battle.

A team of light cavalry suddenly rushed over. They came from the southern mountainous area.

"Marshal, Posulu is on the way to withdraw his troops, and the main force will arrive at noon tomorrow at the latest." The light cavalry responsible for reporting the news said.

Wanyan Zongfu asked: "Have the Ming army on the other side of the Yalu River been chasing us?"

The Qingqi replied: "We sent elite soldiers with carpenters along the way to cut down trees on the mountain and roll them down the hillside to block the road. It is estimated that we can delay the Ming army for one or two days."

"Only one or two days, time is tight." Wanyan Zongfu looked to the southwest, where the main force of the Ming army was, and it is estimated that they will come in one or two days. If the Ming army abandons artillery, it may arrive today.

But Wanyan Zongfu must stay here, either to break the city quickly to obtain food and grass, or wait for Jin Wushu to withdraw his troops and transport food and grass.

"Prepare to attack the city, attack from three sides at the same time!"

All the veterans in the city are responsible for guarding the walls near the city gate, or staying at the horse road as a reserve.

The new recruits are distributed on the four walls, fighting with a variety of weapons.

Hundreds of forks were urgently built to push down the siege ladders. It is best to overturn the siege ladders, otherwise once the Jurchen soldiers climb the city, those new recruits will be easily defeated.

The more than 10,000 Jurchen soldiers only brought a few days' rations, which would be finished in two or three days.

Defeat or destruction of the country were no longer their concerns. These guys only wanted to enter the city to seize food.

Each of them was ready to die!

A team of dozens of people rushed forward with siege ladders.

The defenders had few bows and arrows, and the Jurchen soldiers quickly rushed to the wall. When they began to climb, the defenders began to push the siege ladders with forks, or threw rolling logs and poured gold juice.

The previous waves of attacks all failed. The squads with too many casualties were immediately replaced to rest, and another squad continued.

The battle lasted until the evening, and Wanyan Zongfu had no intention of withdrawing his troops.

Finally, several Jurchen soldiers climbed up the city wall and killed dozens of new recruits nearby.

Those new recruits were still civilians a few days ago, and they came to help defend the city because they were afraid of being massacred. Although the food and salary were enough and the morale was high, they were completely blind when they really fought. First, they lacked weapons and armor, and second, they had no training.

A few Jurchen soldiers in full armor can kill a large number of people after climbing up the city.

Wang Zheng is observing the battle situation on the tower, and he is responsible for commanding the walls on both sides of the tower. Seeing Jurchen soldiers ascending the city, he immediately ordered: "Move the Xi soldiers over!"

The flag on the city tower was waving, and the messenger soldiers near Xi Bing immediately shouted after receiving the news: "Xi Bing, go to the rescue!"

This Xi Bing is a reserve team. Although they have a grudge against the Bohai people, they are all grasshoppers on the same rope now.

On the other hand, the Jin soldiers were also moving troops towards the first ascending point, trying to occupy the city wall in one go.

The Xi Bing reserve force was delayed by the defeated troops. By the time they rushed over, more than fifty Jurchen soldiers had already boarded the city.

At the same time, another recruit was also killed and routed, and the nearby Han army reserve team went to rescue.

They continued to fight until darkness fell, and the Jurchen soldiers who ascended the city were finally driven out completely.

In desperation, Wanyan Zongfu could only withdraw his troops at night.

"Follow me!"

Gao Jingshan led the 500 Bohai elite cavalry who had been waiting for a long time. When the Jurchen soldiers retreated, they opened the urn city under the cover of night and rushed out to kill them.

The Jurchen soldiers who were retreating carrying the siege ladder were caught off guard when killed, and they all broke down and fled.

It was not until they chased half a mile across the moat that the Jurchen cavalry arrived to rescue them. Gao Jingshan quickly led his troops back to Wengcheng.

…

Jin Wushu was still on his way in the mountains. His biggest headache now was not the pursuing soldiers, but the deserters who appeared every night.

He ordered all the tribes south of the Yalu and Tumen rivers to leave their homes and go to Shoupo Sulu City.

It is true that these mountain tribes took refuge in the Jin Kingdom very early, but the leaders had long been promoted and moved away. The rest are all poor people, and there are not many young and strong people. Only the Jurchens on the lazy road are considered elite.

With a city to defend, they were relatively safe.

They are not willing to abandon the city and evacuate.

Especially the Jurchen people south of the Yalu River. They have not gained much benefit from following the Jin Kingdom, but now they are required to leave their homes and flee for their lives, and their lives may even be in danger at any time.

On the night when Jin Wushu withdrew to the north, some Jurchen soldiers fled.

There was an emergency evacuation in the mountains. They were all on narrow mountain roads, and they didn't even have time to set up camp. They just stuck their spears on both sides. How to stop deserters in this situation?

Often a team of soldiers would be sent to collect firewood, only half of the team would be left, and the rest would take the opportunity to escape.

Or wait until most people are asleep and quietly crawl into the forest.

Some were even brave enough to go back the same way they came to join the pursuing Ming army. Because they had no food with them and were afraid of encountering wild beasts in the mountains, they simply turned traitor and surrendered to the Ming for a better chance of survival.

When Jin Wushu led his army out of the mountains, he had less than 20,000 troops (including the grain transport team).

Although horses can carry armor and food, the mountain roads in some places are rugged and horses cannot carry too much weight. If you want to transport most of the grain and grass on Posu Road, you need a group of civilians to carry grain.

The two Jin soldiers met outside the city of Liaoyang.

Jin Wushu asked: "It hasn't been captured yet?"

"It's almost time. From yesterday to now, we have already visited the city several times." Wanyan Zongfu said.

Jin Wushu asked again: "Where is the main force of the Ming army?"

Wanyan Zongfu said: "This morning, the Ming army's light cavalry was found twenty miles away. Their main force is probably arriving soon."

Jin Wushu said: "I left several thousand soldiers to guard the mountain pass to prevent the Ming army chasing after the Yalu River from coming out of the mountain. Do I need to be transferred here for a decisive battle?"

Wanyan Zongfu turned to look at the city, wondering whether he should attack the city again.

Within a day, if they still cannot capture Liaoyang, they will face the main force of the Ming army led by Ju Ming himself.

Wanyan Zongfu asked: "I still have more than 11,000 soldiers in hand. Counting the soldiers you brought, how long can I last with food and grass?"

"One month," Jin Wushu said, "if we save on food, we can survive forty or fifty days."

"Why are these the only ones left?" Wanyan Zongfu asked.

Jin Wushu explained: "I was traveling in a hurry in the mountains. Along the way, there were many deserters, and some were injured and stragglers. In the second half of the journey, there were not enough civilians to escape, so I could only let the war horses carry grain and grass, and there were many others. Little food and grass were burned on the road.”

There was nothing that could be done about it. If Jin Wushu didn't rush for time, the main force of the Ming army would definitely arrive earlier.

At this moment, several cavalrymen from the east rushed over, their armors covered in blood.

The horses were running so fast that they were frothing at the mouth, and one of them fell down after being far away.

A cavalryman who was at the forefront was led to Wanyan Zong, got off his horse and reported: "Marshal, Shenzhou (Shenyang) is gone!"

Wanyan Zongfu was shocked: "Why is Shen Zhou missing?"

The Jurchen cavalry said: "The Ming army had thousands of cavalry, and they made a surprise attack on Shenzhou last night. Many of them were armed with muskets. Shenzhou's troops were empty, and there were still some craftsmen in the city, so they fell all at once."

Wanyan Zongfu stood stunned on the spot.

It turned out that the reason why the main force of the Ming army was so slow was not because the artillery slowed down the march, but to paralyze Wanyan Zongfu so that he could secretly send troops to surprise Shenzhou.

All the cavalry in Ju Ming's hands were sent to Jinzhou and Baozhou, leaving only Yang Zaixing's troops who had suffered heavy losses to rest and recuperate.

How can we get thousands of cavalry to attack Shenyang unexpectedly?

Most of those who participated in the surprise attack were infantry, while the war horses were descended from various tribes. Make a detour on horseback and go straight to Shenyang, and then attack the city on foot!

As soon as Shenyang was lost, Wanyan Zongfu's westward retreat route was blocked. If he wanted to run next, he could only make a circuit from the north.

Jin Wushu said: "If we withdraw our troops immediately and head north, we will definitely be chased along the way, and we may not be able to take much food with us. Instead of fighting with low morale during the withdrawal, it is better to fight the decisive battle in Liaoyang while waiting for work!"

"Then let's have a decisive battle." Wanyan Zongfu's eyes were blank.