People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 380 Xiao Wanli suffers cardiac arrest

The monstrous flood poured down like the Milky Way, and the sky in the distance roared like a mountain falling apart.

With the last ray of light between the sky and the earth, mixed with lightning, one could vaguely see the rolling torrent overflowing, and both sides of the Yushui River were submerged in an instant.

The surging floodwater continued to flow downstream, and soon it was near Yuguan, about five kilometers away from Jiaoshan.

At this moment, the Liao army on the other side had already noticed the roar of the mountains to the north. Since it was already dark, many people didn't know what was going on. After hearing the noise, they all looked into the distance.

When they saw the surging flood, the Liao army who was building the pontoon bridge was almost out of their minds. They were so frightened that they jumped up from where they were, and ran towards the shore crying for their fathers and mothers.

Fortunately, because the sound of the dam collapse was too loud, the overwhelming flood came, and they were separated by a distance of several kilometers, giving them enough time to escape to both sides of the bank.

Otherwise, if they were any closer to Kakuyama, I'm afraid the monstrous torrent would quickly submerge them.

But the thousands of Liao troops on the west bank suffered. The flood suddenly flooded over and washed away their formation. Just as the large Song army arrived, Di Qing immediately gave the order and mustered up his courage to annihilate this Liao army.

There was a flood behind them, and there were seven or eight thousand Song troops blocking the way in front. It didn't take long for them to fall to the ground one by one amid the gunfire, and then ran to other places.

If there were thousands of their original Song troops on board, this would be a heavy loss.

Next to him, Hu Yanshou opened his mouth wide and stared blankly at the sawdust on the river.

"Do you need to tell me this news? I already knew it."

But if the vitality is preserved and only these ships are destroyed, but the Liao army cannot cross the river for at least a day or two, then everything will be worth it.

Hu Yanshouyong still looked at the river with distress, but he couldn't help but be curious.

Di Qing had not done this before. First, the Song army's physical strength was almost exhausted, and the Liao army was waiting seriously. Moreover, the Liao army on the east coast would continue to support by boat, so they might not be able to eat it quickly.

Although limited by the width of the river, their large Fuchuan battleships, Flying Tiger frigates, and Sea Falcon attack ships did not enter Yushui for cruise.

The huge waves seemed to collapse everything in front of them. The ships of the Song Army that were originally docked on the west bank of Yushui were instantly overturned by the huge waves and fell into the river.

"hehe."

Seeing that Hu Yanshouyong was still looking at the river blankly, Wang Kui patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "After this battle is over, we can write to the court with our merits and ask them to build you a building boat." "

Di Qing laughed so much that he almost burst into tears. He patted Hu Yanshou on the shoulder, pointed at the Liao army on the east bank and laughed and said: "If you use this money to exchange for our victory, what's wrong with it?" Woolen cloth?"

It is for this reason that the Huyan family could not get anything when Xungui fished for military oil and water, so they managed to survive the last great purge.

The Song army did not pursue them. To the south was the sea, and to the west was Guangning. There were ships of the Song army on the sea. Guangning City was also occupied by the Song army. The Liao army fled in the direction of Yingzhou City a little further west. , and there are almost no other places to go.

"Do not know what is this?"

Huyan Shouyong opened his eyes wide.

In fact, his grandfather Hu Yanchan was not a high-ranking official. At his highest, he was only the deputy capital of a state and the governor of the state. He was considered a fifth-grade intermediate general and was at the bottom among the nobles.

Di Qing was also worried that if the dam suddenly collapsed while they were entangled with the Liao army, floods would spread everywhere, and it would not be easy for them to escape from the battlefield.

Wang Kui smiled and said: "Your Huyan family is a noble family, so you can indeed get some gossip, but you don't know."

Hu Yanshou rolled his eyes at Wang Kui and said, "Can that thing be driven at sea?"

"Commander, our ship"

Although he is a descendant of the Huyan family, Xungui's life has not been easy in recent years. It is okay for a promising son in the family, but if there is no successor, his power will naturally plummet.

When the flood came, their boat on the Yushui River was indeed washed away. But these ships were originally bait, in order to trick the Liao army into flooding the ships themselves.

"Inside information."

Moreover, the Song Dynasty Navy spent a lot of money. The cheapest warships cost thousands of guan, and the expensive ones even tens of thousands of guan. The impact of this flood was hundreds of thousands of guan. If you say you don't feel distressed, you would be lying.

"The Governor once said that money is what you fight in wars."

Now they no longer have such worries. They stand on the dry bank and shoot in the direction of the Liao army at will. They don't waste too much energy. At the same time, the Liao army on the east bank can't hit them. It's just like hanging them easily. .

As long as the Liao army on the east coast is firmly embedded in the east of Shanhaiguan, a large number of Liao reinforcements and supplies will not be sent to Xijin Mansion. Then Yelu Zong will really have only one end - a crushing defeat!
"Okay, stop looking, Di Shuai has gone back."

In fact, the Song army only fired a few shots from a distance. Except for a few hundred unlucky ones who took the word "gun", most of the Liao army fled in panic along the north and south directions of the west bank.

One or two days are enough for the Song Army to re-deploy its defense line on the west bank and wait for the arrival of Zhen Haijun.

Almost at the same time when the Song army was chasing the Liao army on the west bank, Di Qing saw rumbling sounds coming from the Yushui River.

Hu Yanshouyong said contemptuously: "Besides, this is all a matter of speculation. It is not certain whether it is true or not."

In addition, Hu Yanshouyong himself was also very brave. In addition, there were not many high-ranking nobles who were willing to go to the navy, which had the lowest status in the general concept. This allowed him to take advantage and become the commander of the Ping Navy.

Soon, the Liao army on the west bank was wiped out by the Song army.

Due to the bad weather and the fact that it was already dark, it was naturally impossible for the Song army to really annihilate the Liao army.

At first, there were boats floating on the thirty-forty-foot-wide river, but not long after, they quickly sank into the river, and then there were only a large number of wood chips undulating in the rolling river.

Wang Kui said mysteriously: "I have a brother who is working as a supervisor at Jiangnan Shipyard. He mentioned this during the Chinese New Year last year. The Constitutional Yuan has approved it, and now it is said that it has entered the manufacturing process. From now on, Isn’t that iron-clad ship better than this wooden ship?”

"Lou Chuan?"

Wang Kui looked around, and then pretended to be mysterious: "I heard that the imperial court is building ironclad ships. They are made of things that can pull trains. In the future, there will be no need for manpower. They can travel thousands of miles on the sea easily. And It’s all armor.”

Especially to the south, because the manic floods were attacking them ferociously at this time. If they went north, the floods that had overflowed to both sides of the bank would probably get them involved in the rough waves, so they instinctively ran to the south.

But they have gathered more than 20 assault ships, assault ships, landing ships, and combat ships from both armies. There are even a lot of supplies and artillery on board, which is almost half of the assets of Ping Haijun and Ding Haijun.

"Is there really an ironclad ship?"

So in fact, Hu Yanshouyong didn't have any background, so naturally he didn't know about some of the more secretive things of the court.

Although Wang Kui was not born into a noble family, he couldn't help but have a relative who was directly engaged in the shipbuilding industry. Therefore, through this relationship, he actually learned about this major event that was being carried out secretly by the court.

"That's natural. We are all brothers who share life and death. Don't you still believe me?"

Wang Kui took Hu Yanshouyong's shoulder and pulled him toward Guangning City in the southwest. He said with a smile: "Our great contribution, let alone capturing Xiao Xiaomu, is to cut off Yuguan. That's nothing." With great military achievements, it won’t be easy to ask the imperial court for a few armored ships. What’s so important about this wooden ship? If you don’t get rid of the old ones, you won’t get new ones.”

Huyan Shouyong turned around and glanced at the undulating wood chips with longing. At this time, most of the wood chips had long been washed away, and there was still a little residue rolling on the river.

He gritted his teeth and said, "If the imperial court has an ironclad ship, I will be the first to write to the imperial court to ask for one!"

As he spoke, he raised his head and looked into the distance, murmuring to himself: "Our warships in the Song Dynasty must be invincible in the world, and we also have to show those infantry and cavalry troops that our navy is not the same display as before. Now it is like This Di Shuai has accomplished something that even they can’t do!”

It was completely dark.

With the protection of the flood, Song Jun returned to the camp to rest confidently and boldly.

In addition to arranging some sentries to observe the floods and the movements of the Liao army on the other side, Di Qing almost all the Song troops returned to Guangning or rested on the ships at the Guangning dock on the seaside.

The Song army had a good night's rest, while the Liao army on the other side of the river was anxious, but faced with the rolling waves, they could not cross the Yushui River.

It was not until daytime the next day that the water slowed down a lot, but the entire banks of the Yushui River were almost completely covered with water.

The water on the ground was nearly a foot deep and filled with silt, like a swamp. The horses' hooves would sink to their ankles if they stepped into it. In addition, the water flowed very fast, so unless the Liao people could fly, they would have no way of getting through.

So compared to how leisurely Di Qing was at this time, Xiao Wanli really had no choice at all.

Yuguan is their nearest passage, and the other passages have to go through Xifengkou, which requires a long detour, and there are mountains along the way. The road is extremely rugged and difficult to travel, and it is not easy to deliver supplies to Xijin Mansion. .

Therefore, he could only stay where he was while trying to find a way to send a small group of troops from the north of Jiaoshan over the mountains and ridges to Lulong to find out the news about Xiao Xiaomu. While waiting for the water to recede on its own.

The next morning, the rain was much lighter than yesterday. Sometimes it would stop for a few hours, then suddenly drizzle, and then turn to moderate to light rain.

But generally speaking, it is no longer as big as it was a few days ago.

Song Jun, who had been exhausted all day yesterday, had a good night's rest. After having breakfast in the morning and a batch of clean clothes transported from the supply ship, he finally regained his previous energy.

Di Qing inspected the river and found that although most of the floodwater accumulated by the Liao army had drained away, the level of the Yushui river had risen a lot due to the rainfall over the past few days.

When it was at its lowest before, there was a gap of two to three feet between the Yushui river surface and the shore. In some places, a small part of the river beach was even exposed.

Even if the water in the middle of the river is deep enough for the Song Army's ships to float and sail on the river, it makes it difficult for the Song Army's ship artillery to reach the shore. At most, it can only hit Yuguan.

But now the river surface has surged, so that the height of the ships has also skyrocketed. If the Song army's fleet appears on the river again at this time, it will definitely threaten the Liao army on the east bank.

It is a pity that all their small-tonnage ships were destroyed, and the large-tonnage ships must be used as a retreat, otherwise they will definitely die if other accidents occur.

Di Qing was thinking so.

After the army reorganized, the Song army once again began to deploy defenses along Guangning.

Two days later, the heavy rain for days finally stopped. As November approached midwinter, the weather became colder and the wilderness was filled with a moist atmosphere.

After the rain stopped, the Song Army's firearms once again had room to display. Xiao Wanli tried to organize a fleet to cross the river several times, often at night, but in the end the Song Army noticed it and fought them back with difficulty.

It's really tough.

Without the bridgehead of Yuguan and without the fleet patrolling the Yushui River, it was difficult for the Song army to detect the Liao army's movements in advance.

You must know that it is five kilometers from Jiaoshan in the north to Yuguan City, and six kilometers from Yuguan City to the Bohai Sea in the south. This means that the length of Yushui is at least 11 kilometers.

With such a long defense line without constant cruising by river ships, a large number of defense areas need to be divided and stationed in each area to observe the enemy.

However, the number of the Song army was small to begin with. If the troops were further divided, there would only be a few hundred Song troops in each defense zone. However, the number of the Liao army on the other side was increasing every day, and was now eight or nine times that of the Song army. Once the Liao army crossed the river in a small boat at night, it would be difficult for them to successfully stop it immediately.

On several occasions, the Liao army secretly transported at least thousands of people. If the Song army had not fired and fired artillery regardless of ammunition, I am afraid that the Liao army had secretly established a foothold on the west bank by this time, and both sides would have fought a fierce battle to seize the city of Guangning. .

October 26 was the nineteenth day that the Song Army cut off the Yuguan Corridor. In the early morning, the Song Army and the Liao Army had been fighting fiercely all day and night, but the Liao Army on the other side was frantically crossing the river by boat.

Sitting on a hillside on the west bank, Di Qing stared into the distance with a serious face. Ever since the Liao army crossed the river again at night last night, they had been fighting bloody battles with the Liao army for a long time.

If it had been dawn before, the Liao army would have withdrawn quickly. But now the Liao army is still continuing to charge, seemingly completely ignoring the Song army's artillery fire.

Because the Liao army also noticed that as time went by, the Song army's firepower was getting lower and lower.

In the past, the Song army started firing guns and artillery when the Liao army started sailing towards the west bank on the other side of the bank, but now they had to wait until they docked before firing.

This can only explain one reason-the Song army ran out of bullets.

This is actually true.

Di Qing naturally knew that waiting for the Liao army to reach the shore before shooting was the next best thing.

After all, even if you do this when there are enough bullets, it will only increase the number of Liao troops on the shore.

No one is a sharpshooter, and sometimes they need many bullets to kill an enemy.

If you can shoot while the enemy ships are moving, even if you scare them away and prevent them from coming over, it will be considered a success, and you will never give the Liao army a chance to go ashore.

However, the past few days of fighting have almost exhausted the ammunition of the Song Army. Sometimes the Song Army even had to fight hand-to-hand with the Liao Army.

This is obviously very bad news.

If the reinforcements have not arrived yet, then the Song army may have no choice but to return to the ship and go back in despair.

At this time, bad news came one after another.

A scout came to report: "Report, Commander, all the ammunition in the C-shaped battalion of the Dinghai Navy has been used up."

Not long after, another scout came to report: "Report, Commander, more than a thousand Liao people have come ashore in the defense area guarded by Ping Haijun's T-shaped battalion."

"Report, the Dingjun A-shaped battalion is currently engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy."

"Report"

All kinds of bad news kept coming, making Di Qing's face become more and more calm.

He never expected that the bullets would be consumed so quickly.

It’s also no wonder that the Liao army has gone crazy these days. First, it’s the fact that Xiao Xiaomu was captured alive, and second, if they are not eliminated, the supplies for the front line will not arrive for a long time. Xiao Wanli and other senior Liao army generals on the east coast will surely die. .

Under such circumstances, Xiao Wanli and the others could only give death orders to their subordinates. No matter how heavy the casualties were, they had to rush to the other side. It didn't matter even if they used human lives to consume the Song Army's ammunition.

So under the Liao army's madness, the result was that the Song army's bullet consumption doubled, and it was now close to exhaustion.

Even if the price paid is huge, nearly tens of thousands of Liao troops may have died here.

But as long as they can win, they have no worries.

"call!"

Di Qing breathed a long sigh of relief and said in a deep voice: "Guards, follow me!"

He planned to rush to support Dinghai Navy's Jiazi Battalion.

All members of the A-shaped battalion have begun to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Liao army, which means that they have no bullets left and can only fight hand-to-hand.

Once there is no ammunition to suppress it, a steady stream of Liao troops will continue to come ashore, and the Jiaziying defense area will be in danger.

And just when Di Qing led his personal guards to Camp A to rush for reinforcements, some small black dots slowly appeared on the sea level in the distance to the south. I don't know when.

Someone exclaimed and shouted: "There are ships on the sea, there are ships on the sea."

Di Qing quickly took out his telescope and saw a fleet of ships on the sea in the distance. The flags on it were the army of the Song Dynasty!
"Finally we're here."

Even Di Qing, who was as steady as a mountain, took a long breath.

Once the reinforcements arrive, everything will be safe.

At this moment, on the east bank, Xiao Wanli was also observing what was happening on the other side of the river.

When he discovered that the Song Army's guns and artillery sounds had decreased a lot since the day before yesterday, he concluded that the Song Army's ammunition stock was running low.

So he made a prompt decision and ordered the soldiers to launch a death charge.

Now it seems that things are exactly as he expected.

Although their soldiers paid a heavy price, at least seven or eight thousand people had crossed Yushui and reached the other side.

This also means that their people will continue to cross the river, and the Song army will undoubtedly be defeated.

Shulu Chuiliji saw from the side that Xiao Wanli's expression softened slightly because the army had crossed the river a lot, but was still solemn, so he said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Although we were unable to cross the river a few days ago due to the flood, the Song army We have also lost the support on the river, and it will be a matter of time to fight to the other side of the river. "

"Of course I know that. What I'm worried about is King Qi's safety."

Xiao Wanli shook his head bitterly.

The flood washed away Song Jun's boats on the river. When the flood receded and the water flow began to slow down, it seemed that their boat could finally pass.

But Xiao Xiaomu's capture was still a big stone weighing on his heart.

Although he and Xiao Xiaomu were both surnamed Xiao, and both came from descendants with the surname Xiao, they both had the same surname and had different statuses.

Compared with Xiao Xiaomu, his status is far behind.

Xiao Xiaomu was arrested this time. Even if he fought to the other side and defeated the Song army, I'm afraid it would be more of a mistake than a merit in the eyes of Yelu Zong. It would be a good thing if he didn't go to jail and be questioned.

Shulu Chuiliji quickly consoled him: "The King of Qi has a noble status, and the Song people will not dare to harm him. As long as we defeat the Song army, we may be able to rescue the King of Qi."

"I hope so."

Xiao Wanli said noncommittally.

At this moment, someone shouted: "Your Majesty, our people have killed us, and the Song army has begun to collapse."

"Oh?"

Xiao Wanli quickly looked to the other side.

As expected, the Song army on the other side seemed to have begun to suffer a massive defeat. Many people did not dare to continue defending on the shore, so they broke away from the battle and fled towards Guangning.

At this moment, on the entire west side of Yushui, a large number of Liao troops began to land ashore and quickly occupied the defense area on the other side.

Seeing this situation, Xiao Wanli was overjoyed. He finally used up all the bullets of the Song army, so he immediately said: "Okay, pass my order to the general, and the front army will board the ship immediately, march to the other side, and cover the army to cross the river!"

He must force all the main forces to cross the river and annihilate Di Qing to satisfy his hatred.

"Yes."

The order is sent down.

Soon following Xiao Wanli's order, about 20,000 soldiers from the Liao army's front army began to formally prepare to board the ship.

However, less than two quarters of an hour passed, almost when countless Liao soldiers approached the shore and began to board the boat and prepare to row to the other side.

I don’t know who shouted: “Look, the Song fleet!”

Suddenly there was a commotion.

Many people's eyes are looking towards the southern ocean.

Various ships on the Yushui River began to fall into chaos.

Some want to continue walking, some want to paddle back, and some are at a loss.

Xiao Wanli on the shore was still thinking about annihilating the Song army and rescuing Xiao Xiaomu.

When the time comes that he has made such a great contribution, your Majesty will no longer punish him, but will reward him well.

As Xiao Wanli thought about it, a smile appeared on his face involuntarily.

After all, Di Qing was also the greatest general in the Song Dynasty, second only to Fan Zhongyan and Zhang Kang. If he could be caught or killed, it would be considered a great achievement.

Just as he was thinking this, the noise nearby quickly attracted his attention, and Xiao Wanli instinctively turned his head to look south.

At this look, the originally happy face was almost dull, and the smile suddenly solidified.

Because he saw a large number of ships emerging on the southern sea.

Although he was far away, that was because he was standing on the shore several kilometers away, and the ships were already heading towards Yushui.

that moment.

Xiao Wanli almost suffered cardiac arrest!
(End of this chapter)