The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 180: Attacking Tongguan, Quanzhen Sect Bet

Guo Jing calmed down and returned to the military camp, where he once again became a decisive and ruthless commander.

In the past few days, the army has been resting on the road to maintain the food and fodder supply. Now that the baggage has been transported to various places along the way, they can speed up the march. Guo Jing issued an order, "Pass the order, speed up the march, and send scouts fifty miles away!"

"As ordered!"

Tens of thousands of troops advanced along the road, cutting through mountains and building bridges across rivers. There were many roads leading to Guanzhong, and fixed routes had been formed over thousands of years. Some of them could be used for marching, while others needed to be repaired and widened before people could pass.

Although the Jin Dynasty conquered Guanzhong, its control over the area was not strong. Many city roads were in disrepair and deserted. The war spread in the north, but Guanzhong, thanks to its geographical advantage, was not greatly affected.

When the villagers along the way saw the army coming, they hurriedly fled into the mountains with their wives and children. As the saying goes, "bandits passing by are like a comb, soldiers passing by are like a rake, and officers passing by are like shaving." Except for a few people, it was obviously impossible to expect the ancient army to have strict discipline. Guo Jing knew that it was easy to attack Guanzhong, but difficult to take it.

To rule a place, in addition to having strong power, one must also win the hearts of the people and maintain local stability. As early as the beginning, he issued strict military orders, forbidding harassment of local people.

Along the way from Taiyuan to Tongguan, dozens of heads have been hung on the military flags. Nothing is absolute in the world. Even if the military order is serious, there are still people who want to break the law.

The Mongols roamed across Eurasia not only because of their strong fighting power but also because of their strict discipline. They came and went like the wind, including when they were looting.

Guo Jing fought with Genghis Khan on the grassland and inherited Wu Mu's will. He knew the importance of discipline. From the very beginning, the Han army under his command was different from other armies.

In today's world, among the armies of various countries, Mongolia is the best, Western Xia and Jin are in the middle, and Song Dynasty is the worst. Especially the imperial guards of Song Dynasty, which inherited the bad habits of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and continue to this day.

A few days later, they finally arrived below Tongguan.

Late autumn of 1217, Tongguan.

The mighty army of 50,000 men, with flags covering the sky and obscuring everything that could be seen, divided into several routes, winding through the plains, hills and mountains, extending for more than ten miles towards Tongguan. A large number of scouts radiated in all directions, running back and forth to bring news of the march.

Countless war horses and soldiers raised a large amount of dust that filled the sky. Among the marching square formations, archers and crossbowmen were protected in the middle of each route to avoid being attacked by the enemy.

Guo Jing rode on a little red horse with a tall general's flag behind him. He was surrounded by three thousand personal soldiers and a central formation of two thousand cavalry. Although the marching speed was not fast, the dense advance of fifty thousand people gave a feeling of a flood overturning the earth.

This time, although only 50,000 people came from the Three Jins, their momentum was even greater than the Mongol army's failed attack on Tongguan two years ago.

Cavalry is good at field battles and suitable for decisive battles on plains, but it is very unfavorable for sieges. When attacking Tongguan, the Jin Kingdom was defeated and its military momentum was greatly reduced. However, Mongolia did not have the strength to occupy the captured land and eventually retreated to the north, and the Jin Kingdom made a comeback.

However, Guo Jing emerged as a rising star and conquered the Three Jins. After two years of management, he is now ready to fight again and will never retreat easily. Upon learning that Guo Jing is coming to attack, the Jin army panicked and suppressed the idea of ​​a field battle, determined to defend the gate to the death.

A man's reputation is like the shadow of a tree. Ever since Guo Jing fought against the Jin Kingdom, his fame has spread far and wide. He first attacked Youyan and fought with the Jin cavalry. Then he entered the Three Jins and destroyed the 150,000-strong Jin army in two battles, shocking the world.

At this point, no one dared to look down on him anymore, even though he was only in his twenties.

The wind blew across the fields, raising clouds of dust. The high-raised Guo flag fluttered, and countless banners stretched out around it. Guo Jing was wearing bright armor, with a sword hanging from his waist. His tiger eyes stared at the distant city wall. The traces of fire and arrows on the city wall told of past experiences.

Tongguan is indeed a strategic place in the world.

The area borders the Yellow River to the north and the Qinling Mountains to the south. It is strategically located and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Tongguan controls the passage from the Central Plains to Guanzhong and the Western Regions. Its strategic location is extremely important and has always been a battleground for military strategists.

But an isolated city is hard to defend. If the Mongolian cavalry could take it, so can I!
Guo Jing had a lofty ambition in his heart and ordered an attack on the city.

As the drums sounded, the Xixia vassal army attacked Tongguan with wooden shields and ladders.

The Jin army guarding the Tongguan city wall was well prepared. Countless arrows rained down, and in a short moment, the Western Xia army suffered casualties. After finally rushing to the bottom of the city wall, they were thrown down with rolling logs and rocks. They had to retreat in a panic, leaving behind hundreds of corpses.

The initial test was only to test the strength of the defending army. It was impossible to take Tongguan with just one charge.

Seeing that the Jin army guarding the city was heavily guarded, Guo Jing stopped probing and sounded the horn to call back his troops.

"Woo!"

When the horn sounded, the army slowly retreated and set up camp on the spot.

……

As early as the beginning of the war, the Jin army cut down all the tall trees within a ten-mile radius, or directly burned the mountains to prevent them from being used by the enemy. After Guo Jing set up the camp, he ordered his men to build siege equipment.

This time, he led an army of 50,000. In addition to the laborers who transported food and fodder, he also brought thousands of craftsmen to build siege equipment. Tongguan is a strong pass, and it will cost a price to take it down. He will not simply pay the price with human lives.

Thousands of craftsmen worked day and night to build siege equipment, and the soldiers cut down trees and chiseled through rocks. After a month, hundreds of ladders, siege crossbows, catapults and other equipment had been built.

The sun was rising and the earth was still silent. Soon after, the desolate and sharp sound of an ox horn rang out from heaven and earth. A goshawk flew across the sky, crying long and low. Looking down at the ground, in the large camp, endless black figures walked out of the military tents and gathered on the ground.

"Dong dong!"

Drums beat suddenly, and the rumbling of horses' hooves sounded like thunder. They began to march quickly around the infantry phalanx, then slowed down and guarded on both sides. Fifty thousand soldiers deployed their troops, and the battlefield spread out. It was dark below Tongguan, and everywhere you looked were human figures and rows of flags.

"Wan Sheng!"

On the high platform, Guo Jing shouted loudly, and the generals below echoed in unison. Countless people on the battlefield were surging with excitement. They smashed their weapons on the ground with bangs, raised their arms and shouted loudly. Countless voices merged into one, like thunder rumbling in the sky, pressing on the chest and making it hard to breathe.

On the city wall, the Jin soldiers were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they could only hold on to their weapons and shields tightly.

On the drum tower on the city wall, the sound of war drums rang out, and the morale of the Jin army was immediately boosted, and they were no longer afraid as before.

Guo Jing's central army was deployed on a small hill ten miles away, with a high command platform built on top of the hill. From the platform, he could overlook the battlefield below and command the army to attack the city.

On both sides of the central army stood several sentry towers about 20 feet high, observing the troops on the city wall. The general's platform was surrounded by the personal army, mainly cavalry, and heavily equipped armored troops as a secondary force. There were two more troops behind the central army. They could defend the rear and serve as reinforcements.

The more than 10,000 vanguard troops at the front were composed of shield soldiers, archers, swordsmen and axemen, and fortification soldiers, equipped with necessary siege equipment such as beams, ladders, and tower carts.

With the sound of war drums and horns, the army officially launched the siege.

Dozens of iron plates that were specially designed to block arrows began to move towards the Tongguan tower. Behind each car were more than a dozen archers. As long as they reached the appropriate distance, they could shoot arrows from behind the two-zhang-high iron plates at the top of the city wall to cover the attacks of others.

The tower cars began to move forward, moving towards the city wall like tall towers.

The soldiers on the tower car, because of its height being similar to the top of the wall, can not only cover the entire top of the city within the range of arrows, but when it is close to the city wall, the soldiers can also directly step onto the top of the wall and attack into the city.

The horn sounded loudly, stretching for miles.

Hundreds of catapults, pushed by hundreds of baggage soldiers, arrived first, passed the tower carriages, and chased after the iron-plate carriages that were used as shields.

"Kill...kill...kill..."

Ten thousand vanguards shouted together. These soldiers were infantrymen that Guo Jing had spent countless money and food to train. Although there were Western Xia vassal troops, Guo Jing still decided to let them be the vanguard.

In war, courage is a matter of strength. It weakens after the second strike and is exhausted after the third strike.

The morale of the Xixia vassal troops is not high, how can they be allowed to charge into the battle?
Whether it's a mule or a horse, take it out for a walk. Only the battlefield can train a strong army.

In an instant, even though the Jin army defending the city was also well-trained, they were still frightened by the rumbling power of the vanguard troops. On the contrary, the vanguard soldiers who were gradually approaching the city were all greatly encouraged after hearing the support of their comrades.

The shouts in unison shook the earth.

"Oh!"

As the siege vehicle crashed into the city wall, the soldiers ran out of the vehicle and climbed up on ladders. On the city wall, the Jin army shot arrows, rolled logs and stones, and poured hot oil and gold juice.

The soldier climbing the ladder was hit on the head and fell down with a scream, while the soldiers behind him continued to rush forward.

The mile-long city wall was filled with densely packed figures.

Finally, some soldiers could not bear the tragic scene before them and fled the battlefield in collapse, but before they could take a few steps, they were nailed to the ground by arrows shot from behind. After one round of siege, more than two thousand of the tens of thousands of vanguards had been injured, and they had merely rushed onto the city wall and were driven down again.

Seeing this, Guo Jing sighed inwardly and ordered the withdrawal of the vanguard and the replacement of the Western Xia vassal army.

If we fail in the first battle, the next thing we will fight will be a war of attrition.

Stones whizzed through the sky and hit the city walls, arrows were flying continuously, and people died every moment, but no one noticed.

……

This siege was destined to be long. The mountains and plains outside the city were lit with torches. The soldiers' ears were filled with shouts of killing, the sound of catapults, the sharp sounds of wheels rubbing against the ground, and the rumbling sounds of stones hitting the ground or walls.

The Jin army was running back and forth to fight the enemy, and everyone's eyes were bloodshot. There seemed to be only one simple goal in their minds, which was to stop and kill the invading enemy by any means.

There were corpses everywhere on the wall, and bright red blood kept adding to the charred bloodstains, but no one had the time to pay attention.

The sky was covered with dense clouds, and the stars and moon were dim.

The fire pots and torches on the wall were burning brightly, dyeing the whole place blood red. What I saw before me was like hell on earth!
On the Tongguan city wall, the sky was full of stars, stretching across the sky like a long river. The Jin army general Yongxi stood behind the parapet wearing armor and holding a weapon, looking at the enemy camp under the stars, and sighed deeply. At this time, footsteps approached behind him, and the deputy general took the cloak and put it on him. He tightened his collar, frowned, and felt very uneasy.

……

Outside Chang'an, there is Chongyang Palace in Zhongnan Mountain.

In the hall, Qiu Chuji said loudly, "Brother, opportunities are rare and will never come again. Guo Jing is attacking Guanzhong, and our Quanzhen Sect's chance has come!"

Ma Yu, with gray hair, was wearing a Taoist robe and sitting on a cushion. Hearing this, he said, "Brother, it is still unknown who will win this battle. At the beginning, you sent people to help him stabilize the Three Jins, but this time we Quanzhen Sect are going to personally participate in the war? We are monks."

Qiu Chuji was the most enterprising among the Seven Quanzhen Sect leaders. Historically, it was under his leadership that the Quanzhen Sect reached its peak. He had long been optimistic about Guo Jing, and now, hearing that Guo Jing was going to attack Guanzhong, he became even more anxious.

He glanced at his fellow disciples and said in a deep voice, "Brother, Guo Jing is not an outsider. He learned the martial arts of our Quanzhen Sect and has a close relationship with us. Before our master founded the Quanzhen Sect, he was also determined to fight against the Jin Dynasty. We have no choice but to cooperate with the Jin Dynasty due to the situation. But now the world has changed drastically and the artifact has changed. We should inherit our master's will and fight against the Jin people. Why not?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of Ma Yu, Tan Chuduan, Liu Chuxuan, Hao Datong, Wang Chuyi and Sun Buer suddenly changed. This was something that none of the Seven Quanzhen disciples wanted to mention, and Qiu Chuji actually brought it out in public, which really surprised them.

Among religious sects, inheritance is the most important thing, and this is especially true for Quanzhen Sect, which is the largest sect in the north.

Wang Chuyi had had many dealings with the Jin court, and Qiu Chuji's words touched him greatly. "Brother, what you said is very true. In the past, we had no choice but to cooperate with the Jin people. Now that the Jin people are in decline, should we still cling to the old friendship? Those who are not of our race must have different hearts. Don't forget, Guo Jing is a Han Chinese. If we don't help him, should we help the Jin people? Since ancient times, fence-sitters have no good end!"

Immediately, Tan Chuduan and others also spoke up. Except for the quiet and peaceful Sun Buer who was indifferent, the rest of the people expressed their support.

Ma Yu's eyes flashed with a faint smile, and he nodded slightly, "Since the brothers are interested in this, I will naturally not object. Junior Brother Qiu, this matter is entirely up to you, how about it?"

Qiu Chuji stroked his beard lightly, smiling, "Brother, rest assured, I will never let you down!"

The next day, Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi, along with a hundred Quanzhen disciples, left the Quanzhen ancestral temple and went down Mount Zhongnan.

At this time, in the small town at the foot of the Quanzhen Sect mountain, a middle-aged man selling wine was looking to the north, his weathered face full of vicissitudes. He leaned against the wine cabinet in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking about.

(End of this chapter)