Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 918 Focus on the heart
Jin Dynasty envoy Cai Gui, escorting more than twenty large carts, hurriedly headed towards Kaifeng.

Inside the carriage were not only stunningly beautiful mature women and young girls, but also Wanyan Shaliguzhen, Wanyan Tongjia, and Keliyete Meiduo, as well as a large amount of treasure.

These are not just simple gold and silver items, but priceless treasures.

Among them are even many ancient paintings and calligraphy works, and rare books.

When the Jurchens captured Bianliang, countless treasures in the Song Dynasty palace fell into their hands.

What Wanyan Liang is now using to bribe Yang Yuan is only one percent of it.

Beneath the walls of Kaifeng, the Song army was engaged in fierce fighting.

The terrain around Zhuxian Town is flat, making it suitable for cavalry warfare.

Therefore, Xin Qiji's cavalry had already arrived at Zhuxian Town.

Once the Jin army deploys its heavy cavalry "Iron Pagoda" and light cavalry "Hooked Horses," it will be time for Gan Quan's firearms battalion to cooperate with Xin Qiji's cavalry to display their might.

However, in reality, the Jin Dynasty is currently short of horses.

Having lost the Northeast and fallen out with the Tatars, the Jin dynasty's cavalry force was greatly reduced.

The Jin cavalry was even fewer in the Central Plains, but the Jin army in Shaanxi still retained a relatively strong cavalry force.

Because the "Iron Pagoda" and "Hooked Horse" troops in this area had already been transferred to the Yanjing area by Wanyan Liang in advance to strengthen the defense of the capital.

In this way, the Jin army would have no need to attack Zhuxian Town, where the Song army was heavily armed.

They withdrew their troops in advance and held Kaifeng.

As the former capital of the Song Dynasty, this place has sturdy city walls and comprehensive defense measures.

Even if the number of Jin soldiers defending the city was only a few times that of the Song army, as long as there were enough provisions, they could hold out for at least half a year.

Yang Yuan's army rested for two days in Zhuxian Town, and after a brief reorganization, launched an attack on Kaifeng.

Xin Qiji's cavalry were responsible for protecting their own logistical supply lines and disrupting the Jin army's possible food transport routes.

The section of the Yellow River near Kaifeng was already frozen over, so there was no need to worry about the Jin army's supply ships coming up the water.

The Song navy was no longer of much use at this point, having been converted into a rear supply transport force.

After inspecting the city walls, Yang Tang, the Grand General of the Nanjing Road Army, and Nalan Shuofeng, the Garrison Commander of Kaifeng, personally returned to their respective tents.

Their main tents have been moved forward from the city center and set up in the gate towers of the west and south cities respectively.

The sound of watchtowers echoed, signaling the time for the three armies to eat.

Junior officers and soldiers had already eaten their fill, while mid-ranking officers were just beginning to enjoy their meal.

The quality and quantity of military rations varied depending on the rank of the soldiers.

Han soldiers were to be treated as lower than Jurchen soldiers, and ordinary soldiers were to be treated as lower than officers.

However, now that Kaifeng is under siege, only high-ranking generals still have chicken, duck, fish, and meat on their tables.

Looking at the glistening stewed lamb leg and the braised Yellow River carp on the table, Yang Tang did not criticize the waste.

Because this wasn't just his food; wherever he went, his personal guards and attendants would follow.

These people haven't eaten either. When Yang Tang eats, they have to take turns guarding him, and most of the meat ends up in their stomachs.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

In the distance, the sound of war drums could be heard.

This is also the reason why the northwest wind is blowing today; otherwise, even the faint sound of war drums could not be heard in the south of the city.

Yang Tang, who was about to stand up, sat back down and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This is the Song army attacking the west gate.

He was guarding the south gate, and the area below the city was relatively quiet.

Yang Tang ate the pancakes with meat, dried wild vegetables, and radish strips, and also drank a bowl of millet porridge.

After a hearty meal, the guards served a cup of chrysanthemum tea.

This is the tea culture of Kaifeng. The chrysanthemums used are grown in Kaifeng, making it a kind of medicinal tea.

It was popular in the Kaifeng area during the Northern Song Dynasty. At that time, Xinyang Maojian was not considered mainstream, but it was the favorite tea of ​​scholars and officials.

After the Jurchens entered and ruled the Central Plains, they, who already admired the culture of the Central Plains, learned everything and naturally accepted this tea culture as well.

"Send someone to the west of the city to take a look."

Although Yang Tang was very confident in Lai Shuofeng's ability to defend the western city, he still decided to send a guard over to check the situation.

One of the guards, who had already eaten his fill, immediately put on his hood, wrapped himself tightly in his sheepskin coat, and headed west along the wide city wall.

"Grand Commander, a message has been sent by arrow from below the city!"

A guard rushed toward him, clutching an arrow with the arrowhead removed.

The arrowhead was wrapped tightly in a piece of sheepskin.

Too lazy to untie the thin rope, Yang Tang cut it with a knife and took off the sheepskin.

There was a pebble inside to add weight, and also a silk scroll wrapped inside a sheepskin.

Yang Tang unfolded the letter, and the first part read, “To my cousin Zidi.”

Zidi was Yang Tang's courtesy name. When he saw someone affectionately addressing him as his cousin, and the letter came from the enemy camp, Yang Tang's first thought was that one of his cousins ​​had been captured by the Song army and forced to write a letter to persuade him to surrender.

He immediately skipped the content and went to the signature at the end: "Respectfully addressed by my brother-in-law, Yang Yuan."

Yang Tang's lips twitched involuntarily a few times.

He remembered that Yang Yuan had a wife named Wugulun Yingge, and he was Yingge's cousin.

and so……

The city gate tower was filled with Yang Tang's trusted confidants.

They also knew that if an arrow carrying a message was shot down from below the city at this time, it was most likely an attempt to persuade them to surrender.

Although they outwardly remained at their posts, either standing at attention or patrolling, their attention involuntarily turned to Yang Tang.

Will the Grand Steward accept it?

Although they were just insignificant soldiers, they would not even leave any trace in history books.

But they are also living, breathing human beings.

Having developed to this point, the Jin people were beginning to tire of war. They secretly hoped that the Grand General would make a decision that would cheer them up.

Yang Yuan was personally watching the battle in the western city at this time.

There are only a few methods and weapons used in attacking and defending cities, so there are no special tactics or strategies for attacking and defending cities.

It is a true contest of strength, or to put it more cruelly, it is a battle of lives and fighting will.

Of course, the Song army's artillery now includes throwing grenade weapons.

These factors greatly aided the Song army in their siege, causing the Jin army, which initially held a geographical advantage, to suffer losses far exceeding the normal loss rate when defending the city.

However, relying on artillery to break through the city gates or destroy the city walls was still quite difficult.

Behind the city gate, there were piles of stone slabs, stacked together in a crisscross pattern, firmly blocking the passageway below the city.

Not to mention modern artillery, even artillery from the future world couldn't break through such a thick "stone wall".

The walls of Kaifeng were wide and thick, and once a breach was breached, the Jin army would throw bundles of straw onto the breach and then pour water on it. Before long, the straw would freeze into ice blocks, making full use of the favorable weather conditions.

"Concentrate all the artillery and bombard this section of the city wall."

Yang Yuan observed the battle situation and pointed to a section of the city wall that was already showing signs of collapse under the bombardment of artillery shells, giving an order.

"All the cannons are assembled here and will bombard the city in two stages. I want to see if they still have time to build a city on ice."

At Yang Yuan's command, the Song army's cannons immediately began to assemble.

On the city wall, Lazy Wind noticed the movements of the Song army below. After observing for only a moment, he understood the Song army's intentions.

Nalan Sufeng immediately ordered the catapults on the city walls to be aimed specifically at the Song army's cannons.

Even if they couldn't destroy the Song army's cannons, they should still smash the cannon carriages and kill the artillerymen to prevent them from concentrating their firepower.

At the same time, he ordered the soldiers hiding in the bunkers below the city to prepare explosives for throwing.

Once the city walls collapsed and the Song army swarmed in, the density of arrows fired was insufficient.

However, those gunpowder canisters filled with iron nails and porcelain shards had the remarkable effect of blowing up a whole area.

The Song Dynasty transferred Yang Yuan's firearms craftsmen to Lin'an, but due to negligence, they were successfully abducted by the Jurchens, allowing the Jurchens to quickly acquire this powerful weapon.

Although the Jurchens were not as advanced as the Song army in the development and research of firearms, they were able to make up for this gap in firearms technology in siege warfare, allowing gunpowder to exert its great power.

If the Song army insists on a strong attack, even if they manage to capture Kaifeng, they will suffer heavy losses.

However, Kaifeng was of great significance to the Song Dynasty, to our army and the enemy army on the entire Central Plains battlefield, and it was something that had to be captured.

If Kaifeng is captured, the morale of the Song army, which is still fighting fiercely in various parts of Nanjing Road, will be greatly boosted, while the fighting spirit of the Jin army will be further reduced.

Therefore, neither besieging the city to lure reinforcements nor engaging in a prolonged siege were in line with Yang Yuan's strategic requirements; he had to capture Kaifeng as soon as possible.

This is the capital of the Song Dynasty.

Although later generations divided the Song Dynasty into the Northern Song and the Southern Song, the Song people never made such a division, nor did they ever establish a separate capital.

Bianliang was the capital of the Song Dynasty from beginning to end.

The significance of capturing Kaifeng was immense.

Yang Yuan wrote a personal letter of surrender to Yang Tang, but he could not guarantee that Yang Tang would surrender, let alone that Yang Tang would surrender immediately.

However, breaching the fortress from within is the quickest and most effective way to retake the capital.

Therefore, psychological warfare tactics still need to be used, and we cannot rely solely on Yang Tang.

"Master, the proclamation, the proclamation, the slanderous letter, and the secret letter have all been revised. Please take a look."

Upon hearing the man address himself as "Master," Yang Yuan knew that this was his student.

There were too many students and too few opportunities to interact with them, so he couldn't remember them all. But all the students remembered him and were proud to be Prime Minister Yang's students.

Yang Yuan nodded, came down from the arrow tower, and led the scribe into his central command tent.

Flyers were placed on the table.

Actually, these are all flyers, but they serve different purposes.

The essays previously drafted by the students were too elaborate, like essays for the imperial examinations, with ornate language, memorable phrases, and a grand and impressive style.

Therefore, Yang Yuan rejected the idea with a single sentence.

The articles are all good, but you have to consider who they're for.

What's the use of a seductive wink if you're blind? It's far less effective than a sweet, coquettish "My lord, you mustn't~"

So, under Yang Yuan's guidance, all the flyers were rewritten.

A proclamation is a public statement that denounces the crimes of the Jin Dynasty, proclaims the righteousness of the Song Dynasty in recovering lost territories, and serves both as a deterrent and an offer of surrender.

This is for the civil and military officials of the Jin Dynasty. No problem. You've used parallelism, you've made a name for yourself in Jin, you've used classical Chinese, you've written long essays. Very good.

The urgent dispatch was intended for the soldiers guarding the city and the common people in the city. It should be concise and easy to understand, without needing to be pedantic.

So, the above was just one sentence: "Surrender and you will be spared death," "Those who surrender the city will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold," and "Those who resist to the end will have their entire family executed." In short, it was either coaxing or intimidating.

Libyan books...

That's rather mean.

They first found out the names of the civil and military officials in the city, and then, in a tone that suggested they had communicated with each other multiple times, fabricated a letter of betrayal, claiming they were going to coordinate an attack from within and without to kill the defending general and surrender the city.

The Jin army's civil and military officials defending the city might not believe it, but whether they believe it or not doesn't matter; you'll probably have some doubts in your mind, right?
There were also those who incited the Han Chinese in the city to cause destruction, saying, "You are originally Song citizens, why are you guarding the city for the Jurchen dogs?"

Then write incitement to the Jurchens to surrender: "Shaanxi has been recovered," "Luoyang has been recovered," "The traitor Liang has committed suicide," "Surrender immediately, and those who have rendered meritorious service will be rewarded!"

"Good, this is well written. Let's print it!"

At Yang Yuan's command, various leaflets were printed in the camp.

That night, shortly after the Song army sounded the retreat, tall arrow towers were erected in the Song army camps outside the north and west walls.

Then, aided by the biting northwest wind, countless leaflets flew into the air like snowflakes.

One piece, two pieces, three or four pieces,

Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten pieces.

Thousands of pieces, countless pieces,
They flew into Bianliang and disappeared.

(End of this chapter)