Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 197: Giving the Song Kingdom a chance was useless!
"Uh... yes."

The commander-in-chief wanted to establish his authority, so what could Meng Gong, as a general, do? If he really angered Xue Ji, he would kill several of Meng Gong's generals to establish his authority, and Meng Gong would have no choice but to endure it. He could only reluctantly accept the order and leave to lead the Zhongshun Army to fill the moat.

Fortunately, Meng Gong's Zhongshun Army was closest to Bianliang and arrived earliest, and managed to build some catapults.

Otherwise, without the cover of catapults to cover their ascent of the city, the less than 20,000 Zhongshun soldiers would probably have perished beneath the walls of Bianliang.

However, that's still quite a lot!

How could a hastily built trebuchet of less than a hundred possibly withstand the meticulously crafted trebuchets and countless triple-bow crossbows that had been prepared long ago on the walls of Bianliang?
And most importantly, what sense does it make to fill the moat with elite troops when the situation is not urgent?

Despite Meng Gong's numerous attempts to appease him, he managed to borrow some catapults and triple-bow crossbows from other armies. However, the quantity was small, and they were delivered secretly. After all, the commander-in-chief had clearly intended to embarrass Meng Gong; helping him now would be tantamount to slapping the commander-in-chief in the face.

Meng Gong also allocated a large sum of money as rewards to boost the morale of the Zhongshun Army.

But what use is money if you're dead? More importantly, the Zhongshun Army is a force united by hatred. They came to kill the Jurchens and avenge their families. How can you expect them to fill in the moat when you lack ranged weapons?

Therefore, after three days of fighting to fill the river, the morale of Chungshun's army inevitably plummeted, and the casualties were even more severe.

"Have all the casualties been tallied?"

Three days later, Meng Gong looked at his scribe, Li Fang, with a solemn expression.

Li Fang bowed slightly and said, "The statistics are in. Our Zhongshun Army originally numbered 15,687. In these three days of fighting, 1,069 were killed and 2,142 were wounded. Among them, 452 were seriously wounded, and even if they recover, they will likely be unable to return to the battlefield. And this is still..."

"then what?"

"It was thanks to the excellent medicine that King Zhao Shuo distributed when we fought alongside him. Otherwise, the casualties would have been much higher. Besides, we've almost used up all that medicine."

"Okay, I see."

Frustrated, Meng Gong waved his hand, signaling Li Fang to leave.

"General... General." Li Fang did not leave, hesitating to speak.

Meng Gong said, "Do you have anything else to say?"

"It's not that I have something to say, it's that my brothers have something to say." Li Fang said bitterly, "I don't know how many brothers have been talking about this in private. We fought to the death for the Song Dynasty, but how has the court treated us? We are not afraid of death, but we cannot die without meaning!"

"Wang Tiezhu, what a fine man! He was originally from Tangzhou, but he was conscripted by the Jin army and sent to Yehuling to defend against the Mongols. His family couldn't afford the Jin army's exorbitant taxes, so his wife had to go and transport grain for them. As a result, the Jin army took a liking to her and forced her to become a camp prostitute. That very night, she hanged herself."

"Upon learning of this, Wang Tiezhu killed two Jin dogs and, after overcoming countless hardships, reached Xiangyang to join our Zhongshun Army. He was always at the forefront in every battle; when had he ever retreated? His body was covered in over forty scars, large and small, none of them on his back. Now he had risen to the rank of commander, leading a thousand men. Yet, outside Bianliang, he was struck by a spear and three arrows, and died just like that! And then there was Sun Dashan…"

"Stop talking, I know everything," Meng Gong interrupted, his expression unreadable.

Li Fang's voice grew even louder as he said, "No! There's more you don't know! Countless brothers have said that since we're all going to kill Jin dogs anyway, it's better to work for the Zhao Emperor in the North than for the Southern Zhao Emperor."

"Serving the Northern Zhao Emperor, when have we, the Loyal and Obedient Army, ever filled in the moat? In every battle's spoils distribution, has the Northern Zhao Emperor ever shortchanged us by a single penny? They bestowed cotton armor upon us before the weather even turned cold, and after we were wounded..."

"I told you to stop talking!"

Meng Gong flew into a rage and shouted, "Where has the court mistreated you? Have you received your monthly salaries on time? Not a penny less? As military men, isn't it your duty to die on the battlefield?"

"And what's wrong with filling in the moat? This work isn't done by us, it's done by the local militia! Are the local militia not human? We're all born of parents, so what? The local militia can die, but you can't?"

Under Meng Gong's accumulated authority, Li Fang was reprimanded so harshly that he stammered, "But...but..."

"Alright! There are no 'buts'! No matter how much you say, can the fallen soldiers come back to life? Or are you planning to rebel against the imperial court?"

"I did not mean that."

"That's not what I meant. Talk less and do more!"

After a pause, Meng Gong softened his tone and said, "When you get back, make sure to comfort the soldiers. It's just filling in the moat for three days. Can't they even handle this little bit of hardship? Also, make sure the food is good these next few days so the soldiers can get a good rest. If they're well-fed and rested, they won't have so many complaints."

"Yes."

Li Fang accepted the order and left.

Watching Li Fang's departing figure, Meng Gong's eyes were filled with sorrow.

How could he not feel heartbroken at the deaths and injuries of more than three thousand Zhongshun soldiers?
Moreover, he understood that with morale low, the troops were difficult to lead. After Xue Ji's machinations, the Zhongshun Army would be unusable as an elite force, at least for the time being.

Of course, Xue Ji felt that this act of making an example of someone had been very effective. Not only did Meng Gong become more respectful to him, but generals such as Zhao Fan, Zhao Kui, Quan Zicai, and Yang Yi also dared not oppose his decisions anymore.

With over 200,000 troops, all bowing their heads and obeying orders without question, it felt wonderful.

Ten days later, the Song army finally filled in more than two miles of the Bianliang moat, and the siege equipment was almost ready. Xue Ji gave the order, and the various units took turns attacking Bianliang.

The fierce battle for Bianliang has begun.

The Jin people not only had a large number of well-made trebuchets, but also produced far more and better quality stone projectiles than the Song people. When Emperor Hailing of Jin built Bianliang (Kaifeng), he not only constructed palaces and buildings on a grand scale, but also ordered the transportation of large quantities of stone from all over the country to build artificial mountains and gardens.

The giant trees were all extorted by Zhao Shuo, but these stones are still here.

With ample manpower, they sculpted these stones into round, bulbous shapes, increasing their range and power.

The Song people were not to be outdone, and their trebuchets, built by skilled craftsmen, were even taller. The power of the thirteen-spindle trebuchets was already close to that of ordinary counterweight trebuchets.

The two sides fought for seven days with their long-range weapons, and the various stone projectiles piled up under the city walls were almost half the height of the walls.

However, the city wall of Bianliang was built by Emperor Shizong of Zhou, Chai Rong, and was as hard as iron. The artillery battles of these days could only damage the towers on the city wall, but could not destroy the city wall itself.

Seeing that the supply of stone projectiles was running low, the Song army began to order its elite troops to launch a strong attack.

The Jin army still had plenty of food and high morale, determined to resist to the death. Emperor Wanyan Shouxu even personally climbed the city wall of Bianliang to comfort the wounded and bestow official titles upon them, greatly boosting the morale of the Jin army.

Seeing that a direct assault would be difficult, the Song army ordered men to dig tunnels under the walls of Bianliang, preparing to use gunpowder to breach the city.

The Jin army directly lowered a 20-pound thunderbolt from under the city wall and suddenly set it on fire at the cave entrance, killing the Song soldiers inside.

...After sixteen days and nights of fierce fighting, the Song army lost nearly 17,000 elite soldiers before finally scaling the walls of Bianliang.

At this point, Xue Ji caused trouble again.
He disliked Meng Gong, and he also disliked Zhao Fan and Zhao Kui, who had secretly provided Meng Gong with catapults.

Therefore, Xue Ji ordered the other troops to retreat, and sent Quan Zicai and Yang Yi to lead their 25,000 troops into Bianliang City, ordering the two to achieve the great merit of capturing Bianliang.

These 25,000 troops were among the weakest of the Song army's elite forces. Quan Zicai and Yang Yi were not particularly outstanding generals either.

After a day of bloody fighting, the two sides were forced out by the Jin army, suffering more than 7,000 casualties.

After a three-day assault on Bianliang, the city remained unmoved.

By now, the Song army had lost nearly 30,000 elite troops and 24,000 garrison troops. Morale had plummeted, and complaints were rampant. It seemed that the capture of Bianliang was a distant prospect.

Moreover, while the Song army was besieging Bianliang, many cities in Henan were still in the hands of the Jin army. The Jin general Puchaguannu led 700 cavalrymen from Caizhou to repeatedly attack the Song army's logistics, and even the army's food supplies were running out.

The dilapidated house was further aggravated by a night of continuous rain.

"What? A... plague?" Xue Ji nearly fainted upon hearing this news.

Quan Zicai said with a bitter expression, "Indeed, an epidemic has broken out in the army. More than 300 of my soldiers have been suffering from fever at night and vomiting incessantly during the day. It seems that too many people have poured into Bianliang City, and the season is bad, which has led to the outbreak of the epidemic. They deliberately let us into the city in the first place, hoping to spread the epidemic to our army."

"General, you must make a decision soon!"

Now, Meng Gong no longer cared about his grudges with Xue Ji and said, "There are only a little over three hundred people showing symptoms right now. Who knows how many people are infected with the plague? We must immediately set up camp elsewhere for the entire general's troops. If the whole army is infected, then we're all doomed."

"But... but what will we do then?" Xue Ji was now completely panicked. "An epidemic has broken out in Bianliang, and Quan Zicai and Yang Yi's troops have been redeployed. How are we supposed to take Bianliang then?"

Meng Gong said bitterly, "You're still thinking about taking Bianliang? Now, Pu Chaguannu is leading his army to harass our logistics, and the morale of our troops has plummeted. Meanwhile, the defenders of Bianliang still have some strength left. If we continue the attack, they will launch a full-scale attack, and I'm afraid our elite Song troops will be wiped out in Henan!"

"Then... shall we start building a city according to your plan and surround Bianliang?"

"I'm afraid it's too late. Back then, our army had ample strength and high morale, and we could besiege the city. Now, our forces are insufficient, and morale is low. Building the city will take a long time, and things are bound to change!"

"We can't just retreat, can we?"

"If we could retreat, it wouldn't be out of the question. But, Commander, please consider this: will the Jurchens allow us to retreat safely? If they pursue us relentlessly, the consequences would be far more dire!"

"Then... what do you suggest we do?"

In fact, let alone retreating, the fact that the army returned empty-handed after failing to capture Bianliang was something that neither Xue Ji nor the Song Dynasty court could accept.

If they couldn't even destroy the weakened Jin Dynasty, how would the people view the powerful minister Shi Miyuan? How would they view the Song Dynasty court?

Meng Gong thought for a moment and carefully chose his words, saying, "After much consideration, I'm afraid I have no choice but to ask King Zhao Shuo for help."

"Can Zhao Shuo help us?"

Xue Ji could guess with his toes that an epidemic had broken out in Bianliang. Zhao Shuo was unwilling to let his elite troops get involved in this mess in Bianliang.

The plague is more unreasonable than catapults and ballistae; no matter how high your official rank or how strong your military force, it will still take you down.

Meng Gong said, "We don't need Zhao Shuo's troops to help us attack Bianliang. In fact, I have already discussed this with Generals Zhao Fan and Zhao Kui. With the Mongol army in the wings, the morale of our Song army has greatly increased, and they are quite capable of fighting."

"Now, all we need is for Zhao Shuo to send a portion of his troops to support us. We don't need to attack Bianliang. We just need to boost morale, slowly build up the city walls, and surround Bianliang while the Mongol army is in charge. With the Mongol army in charge, Puchaguannu's seven hundred cavalrymen are nothing to fear."

Even so, Zhao Shuo can't just agree to that so easily, can he?

"Of course, Zhao Shuo must be given some benefits. As for what kind of benefits, that can only be decided by the imperial court."

"Alright, I'll write a memorial to the court immediately and ask them to make a decision!"

Xue Ji is now truly panicked.

Although the Song Dynasty did not have a rule against killing civil officials, if he failed in this task, it would be no problem to send him to Lingnan. Even Shi Miyuan could not protect him!

He hastily wrote a memorial describing the Song army's current predicament and requesting the court to make a decision.

Upon seeing this memorial, the Song court panicked. The Song's elite troops were all besieged at Bianliang. If the Jin dynasty were to turn the tide and defeat them, wouldn't the Song dynasty be finished?

Therefore, he sent Prime Minister Zheng Qingzhi as an envoy to meet Zhao Shuo.

"Alas! This really gave your Song state a chance, but you're all useless!"

After hearing Zheng Qingzhi's request, Zhao Shuo shook his head and sighed, his face full of disdain.

In fact, Zhao Shuo had long guessed that the Song army's attack on Bianliang would not be so easy.

Historical records indicate that the population of Bianliang suddenly increased to 2.4 million, which was also due to the outbreak of a plague.

Of the 2.4 million people, more than 900,000 died, and only 1.47 million survived.

This is also one of the reasons why he was unwilling to attack Bianliang and instead let the Song state attack it.

However, he did not expect that Xue Ji would be so good at playing tricks. He first crippled the most capable Zhongshun Army, causing widespread resentment in the army. Now, even Pucha Guannu's seven hundred elite cavalry could cause them great trouble.

However, the Song army still needed to be rescued.

Otherwise, Zhao Shuo would have to use his elite troops to fill the plague-ridden city of Bianliang. Moreover, pushing the Song Dynasty too far and forcing them to negotiate peace with the Jin Dynasty would not be good for Zhao Shuo either.

Of course, if the State of Song wants Zhao Shuo to send troops, it must pay a heavy price!

Zhao Shuo said, “Now your Song state only has about 80,000 elite troops left, and their morale is very low. In Bianliang, although the Jin state has fewer elite troops, most of its more than two million people are Jurchens. It shouldn’t be a problem to recruit 400,000 troops, right? They are facing the destruction of their country and the extinction of their people, so they are fearless and their morale is high.”

"Now both sides are afflicted with the plague. For the Jin army, not knowing when they will die makes them even more eager for battle, and their morale will only be higher. But for your Song army, morale will only be lower. Add to that the harassment of your logistics by Pucha Guannu... tsk, you are really in great danger!"

(End of this chapter)