You have truly caused me great suffering!

The war machine carefully cultivated by Chen Shao – the Dingnan Army.

Once it starts, it can't be stopped.

Within Shuozhou, the Yinzhou light cavalry once again triumphed over the Jurchens in a speed contest.

Despite the puddles on the muddy roads, they outran the Jurchen Tartar army on the western route and were the first to arrive in Mayi.

The local officials, powerful figures, local gentry and tycoons, as well as some bandits and outlaws who rose up during the chaos.

They were utterly helpless against the soldiers of Yinzhou.

Zhu Lingling looked eastward; once she crossed this mountain, she would reach the territory of Yingzhou.

I wonder if that Meng Nuan managed to hold on.

Thinking about this, Old Zhu became somewhat worried.

He turned to ask, "Brother Qu Duan, how many troops should be left in Mayi?"

"We should keep two thousand, and then gather the surrounding people to defend the city."

"Two thousand?" Zhu Lingling shook his head and said, "Two thousand won't do. I still need to lead troops to rescue Meng Nuan. This man is truly a hero. No wonder he was given so much supplies by the military commander and Li Xiaozhong."

Qu Duan snorted somewhat unconvinced, “Yingzhou is a strategically important location, impregnable by one man and with ample provisions. Since Li Xiaozhong went to Datong last year, the plan was to have Meng Nuan defend Yingzhou to the death and contain the Jurchen western army.”

"If we still can't hold out after all this, then we should be beheaded."

Old Zhu frowned and glanced back at him, then suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Brother, you're actually a really good person. There are a few things I wouldn't say to someone I'm not close to. You need to change your temper. Don't be so resentful and dissatisfied. We're all on the same side."

"Born into the Dingnan Army, we are destined to share both glory and ruin. If we can maintain good relations with other generals, we can support and help each other in the future."

Qu Duan remained silent with a cold face, which was already giving Lao Zhu a lot of face; he would have started criticizing most people long ago.

Old Zhu seemed to know his character and didn't hold it against him. He said, "Brother, you stay in Shuozhou and oversee the overall situation. I'm going to Yingzhou. Li Xiaozhong's troops are already on their way. With him holding them back, the main Jurchen force won't be able to seize Shuozhou. If they do, you should act according to the situation. If you can defend it, you must defend it to the death. If you can't defend it, you should retreat in advance and implement a scorched earth policy."

Although Qu Duan has a bad temper and likes to offend people, he is capable.

Zhu Lingling thought to herself, "I can't control you. I've already done more than enough by telling you this. You'd better take care of yourself."

He simply didn't have time to stay in Shuozhou any longer.

If the Yinzhou troops can reach the walls of Yingzhou, the outcome of this phase of the battle will be decided!
Sometimes, victory or defeat is determined by running around, not by fighting.

The soldiers from Yinzhou fled to Yingzhou.

The Jurchen western army will be a complete loser. With two armies marching south, they will not only fail to occupy even a single inch of Song territory.

They also lost half of Yunnei, which originally belonged to the Jin Dynasty.

Zhu Lingling glanced at the people around him, all of whom were exhausted. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let the brothers rest for the night, and continue our journey tomorrow, arriving in Yingzhou as soon as possible!"

The nearby soldiers breathed a sigh of relief.

Qu Duan, standing to the side, also shouted loudly:
"Meng Nuan is Zhang Jue from Yunnei, and Zhang Jue is Meng Nuan from Liaodong. If we can't protect him, the Commander-in-Chief will lose face!"

"Who will dare to surrender to us in the future?"
-
Yingzhou.

The siege continues.

As the battle continued, the hearts of the soldiers defending the city grew cold, and they lost all compassion. Arrows flew long and bows were drawn with force; in an instant, countless cold glints swept across the frigid sky and disappeared into the dark, surging waves of men below the fortress.

Sometimes Meng Nuan really wanted to curse. She had sent out scouts in advance to warn the people in the surrounding villages to take refuge in Yingzhou.

Unfortunately, they didn't believe it!

Just how many people were captured by the Jurchen Tartars?

The Jurchen army drove in several thousand more prisoners. These people weren't even wearing armor, let alone thick clothing. The Jurchens stripped them all off to keep their mounts warm, and some were simply naked.

The arrows used by the garrison in Yingzhou were either secretly transported by the Dingnan Army or privately prepared and stockpiled by Liao craftsmen gathered by Meng Nuan.

Youzhou, where the Dingnan Army was based, was a famous iron-rich area. Whether it was arrowheads or crossbow bolts, they were all made of high-quality iron arrowheads. Armor-piercing shovels with barbs were also available for bloodletting.

When it hits the people near Yingzhou, it's like a knife cutting through cheese; it cuts deep and pierces through.

Some crossbows were so powerful that the bolts, which had no fletching, would go in from the front and out from the back, instantly creating two bloody holes in a person's body! The wave of people that was slowly surging forward was suddenly overturned.

The outcome of such a great battle had fallen on her shoulders. Standing on the city wall, Meng Nuan often fell into deep thought.

I just wanted to coast through life.
Holding the young wife of a former high-ranking official of the Liao Dynasty, he became a local tyrant in Yingzhou Prefecture. One day, when the world was at peace, he would surrender the city and seek official position, and be incorporated into either side's territory, it didn't matter.

How the hell did I become the focus of the world's attention?!

Screams rang out from below the city walls, instantly snapping Meng Nuan back to reality. She began running around the city walls, overseeing the battle and directing the defenses.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!" Meng Nuan shouted, "Shoot these thieving bastards to death! That'll teach you to obey! That'll teach you to stay away! That'll teach you to be so reluctant to give up your tiny piece of land!"

As the arrows rained down, the army of laborers was thrown into turmoil. Those who reacted quickly retreated, while those who couldn't escape ducked behind the dozens of carts that were being pushed forward.

At this moment, the garrison on the fortress used sledgehammers to strike the ballistae, and the thick ballistae bolts shot out, landing on the carts and instantly destroying two of them. Wood chips flew everywhere and penetrated deep into the flesh, and the people hiding behind the carts screamed in agony.

Some people, unable to die immediately, would writhe in the mud, struggling for their lives, their blood gushing out.

Meng Nuantai thought these people were all Jurchen Tartars. How exhilarating it would be to shoot and kill Jurchen Tartars!

Unfortunately, those demonic Tartars only knew how to abuse the people and were unwilling to be the first to attack a city unless it was a field battle.

The soldiers in charge of the crossbow carts, tears streaming down their faces, shouted, "Run! Run! There are only so many Tartars left, run in all directions!"

He cried out as he swung his hammer, striking the crossbows on the city wall.

The men below were disorganized and too close together, while Meng Nuan's trusted confidants who remained by her side were all seasoned veterans, and every arrow they fired hit its mark.

The front line of people, as long as they were not obscured by the convoy of vehicles, was almost completely swept away by this barrage of arrows!

The screams in front were deafening, and suddenly a shrill cry rang out from the back of the line.

It turned out that a few quick-footed men turned and ran away, but were mercilessly shot dead by the Jurchens. The Jurchen soldiers escorting the procession drew their bows and shot, and their shooting accuracy was even better than that of the defending soldiers.

Even when riding a horse at full gallop, the accuracy remains unaffected; every arrow hits either the face or the heart.

The arrowheads used by the Jurchens were thicker and more robust than those used by the garrison. They had acquired artisans from Bohai and had access to resource-rich regions like Liaodong. Their armor and weapons had long been among the best in the world.

The Jurchen knight leading the procession had finished firing his arrows and was shouting loudly. Although he spoke in Jurchen, which the people of Liaodong couldn't understand, the meaning of "retreat or die" was crystal clear!
At this moment, in the ranks of the survivors, someone who had once been a leader in a fortified village suddenly cried out in a mournful voice, urging everyone: "There are many Jurchens, and few soldiers in the fort ahead. We cannot retreat and live. Let us risk our lives and charge in! There may still be a way out if we charge in!"

"Listen to me, everyone! Huddle behind the carts and bring up the ladders first! Fill the city with your lives! Once we take Yingzhou, the Jurchen lord might just let us become auxiliary soldiers, so we won't have to fill the city anymore and can still fight to the death."

"If we can't break through, we'll all die here!"

When a person is mentally broken, it is very important to have someone step in and take charge.

At this point, a leader is needed, regardless of where he leads everyone, since most people have already lost the ability to think.

Sure enough, when the laborers below the city heard someone calling out, they grasped at straws and, unafraid of death, all obeyed and crawled into the carts.

At this time, arrows were still falling like rain from the city wall, and people were being shot through from time to time.

The sound of the sledgehammer striking the crossbow mechanism was particularly terrifying. Each time, two huge crossbow bolts would pierce the air, one missing its target and impaling two civilians on the ground, while the other landed on a cart.

This cart was more sturdy. It shook violently for a while, but miraculously it didn't fall apart. It just tilted to one side, revealing the crowd that was being sheltered behind it.

Suddenly, another volley of arrows rained down, splattering blood and killing countless more people.

The voice that had been directing the crowd shouted again: "Stop the carts! Make sure they're secure! The ladders are behind the carts, push forward! Everyone push forward, let's risk our lives!"

The crowd squeezed behind the carts immediately obeyed, stabilizing the carts while continuing to push forward with difficulty.

Many people clung tightly to the part of the cart that was about to break, while others took off their tattered clothes and tied them to the wooden pole, making it as strong as possible.

The will to survive overwhelmed everything at that moment, driving them forward with all their might. Just then, arrows from Fort B finally rained down from the side, supporting Fort A. The carts offered little protection on both sides, and men were constantly struck by arrows and fell to the ground. As the carts pushed forward, they left a trail of blood.

On the east side of Yingzhou, arrows and crossbow bolts rained down from Jiazi Fort without ceasing, falling like locusts.

The mutual support between the fortresses and strongholds was on full display at this moment.

Even so, under the command of that voice, the people who had no choice but to push the carts forward, with the long ladder following closely behind.

Several ballistae fired, only managing to destroy one cart. This, however, actually fueled the will to survive among the desperate people, causing them to surge forward even faster.

On the city wall of Yingzhou, Meng Nuan looked down at the scene below and said to the guards beside her who were drawing their bows and shooting arrows, "That birdman is not Cui Dachuan from Longshou Fort. This man is a waste of his skills. He refused to join the group because he was attached to his land. I didn't expect him to be captured by the Jurchens!"

The guard said, "In this situation, he can still give orders and commands; he's truly a talent!"

"What a load of rubbish! I'll skin him alive!" Meng Nuan hated these people to death. If they had listened to her earlier, none of this nonsense would have happened.

If the Jurchen Tartars below cannot capture any prisoners, they will personally attack the city.

All the methods I had prepared over the past six months were poured into them. No matter how thick-skinned the Jurchen Tartars were, they would all be wiped out.

Meng Nuan cursed through gritted teeth, but that didn't stop him from waving his hand and ordering, "Stop shooting! Don't use the ballistae either! This row of carts is coming over. Prepare the golden juicing!"

The scalding hot, boiling broth, with its foul smell, was poured down, immediately eliciting a series of inhuman screams!

This juicy liquid seeps into any crack or crevice; if you get it on your skin, it will burn off your flesh!

Cui Dachuan continued to shout orders, "This kind of thing can only be cooked in one pot at a time, hold on! Hold on!"

On a distant hill, Yin Shuke and Wanyan Xiyin were also watching everything that was happening in front of the city.

After watching for a while, Wanyan Xiyin laughed heartily: "Yinshuke, I told you you were lucky. Among the captives you captured, there was actually such a talent."

Yin Shuke snorted, ignoring Wan Yanxi's sarcastic remarks. At their level, they were practically hard-hearted in the face of battle.

He glanced intently at the battlefield, and though he didn't speak, he suddenly thought of the Tatars who had followed him in his pursuit of Yelü Yanxi.

Those men were equally skilled in battle and fearless in the face of death. They followed him with unparalleled fervor, and in the end, they were of one mind and accomplished extraordinary feats.

After hearing that he had left, they, relying on their merits, went to demand rewards, and were then captured by Wanyan Balisu's men, their fate unknown.

Yin Shuke suddenly felt that perhaps he should give them new armor and weapons, and let them fight to the death for the Jurchens.

Is it really the right thing to keep driving out the population to attack the city?

In front of the Jiazi Fort, the large army of laborers pushed carts, carefully guarding the long ladder, and slowly surged forward.

A barrage of arrows rained down from the front, while arrows and crossbow bolts fired from the side of the fortress caused men to fall repeatedly into the mud.

Yet there are always people shouting and calling out to them, instructing these numb strangers on how to act.

These thousands of people, enduring casualties, were slowly being brought closer to Jiazibao.

It seems like we've really seen an opportunity!
Having been slaughtered so horribly, these survivors gradually forgot that their true enemy was the Jurchens.

They hated the archers above.

Seeing that things had come to this point, the people's eyes turned red with envy, and all that remained before them was the small fortified village of Jiazibao.

It seems that if we rush to this fortress, we can survive this calamity!

They went mad, unafraid of death, since fear was useless anyway.

The uprooted timber was thrown into the trench all at once, and even several carts that had been pushed there with great difficulty were pushed in as well.

Many people who were already carrying sacks of soil threw them in at this time.

They used human lives to fill in several more paths in the trench. The paths, made of piled-up earth and wood, were lined with corpses, and the trench was indeed completely filled.

Driven to rage, the people pushed the cart over the pile of their fallen comrades and down to the city walls.

From the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period onwards, foreign tribes liked to use civilians to attack cities. These civilians could often endure far more casualties than the army.

The reason is simple: they've been killed so many times that they're completely numb and driven by the law, like dogs and sheep, and can't think of anything else.

Such people live like ghosts or vengeful spirits.

In fact, this was not created by the Jurchen Tartars; a quick glance through historical records reveals that such things are commonplace.

Every time a ruthless person appeared who drove the common people to attack the city, it was accompanied by a series of horrific massacres. Of those who were driven into battle, less than one in ten survived.

At the foot of Yingzhou City and in front of the adjacent Jiazi Fort, after the unarmed and ragged civilians had suffered heavy casualties, they finally overwhelmed them in front of the Jiazi Fort!

Behind them, Yin Shuke, Wanyan Xiyin, and the Jurchen soldiers all remained oblivious.

Since they raised their army, they have long been accustomed to such brutal scenes.

In the process of expansion and constant killing, this nation has fully revealed its cruel and tyrannical nature.

In real history, the more than ten years of continuous killings that followed the Jingkang Incident on Chinese soil were the most vividly depicted!
Yin Shu could see that they had rushed to the city walls, bringing with them siege engines and some ladders. With these thousands of prisoners as cover, he might have to commit troops to launch a probing attack to see if any brave warriors could be the first to scale the walls and break through the city!
Seeing an opportunity, Yin Keshu decisively ordered: "The main force advances and forces these prisoners to their deaths. Nahai's moukes go up and fire arrows upwards! Xiaolu's moukes are heavily armored; see if they can breach the city walls! If they think it's impossible, retreat immediately to avoid further casualties!"

Although they valued the lives of the uninhabited as insignificant, they regarded their own tribal warriors as precious treasures, and if even one was lost, there would be no one to replace him.

These people were his only assets in the Jin Kingdom. When he lost his unit's soldiers due to a crime, Yin Shuke instantly became an easy target.

Even a lowly subordinate of Wanyan Xiyin, Puli Yan, dared to insult him at will.

The two Jurchen generals behind him immediately responded loudly and galloped off like lightning, each going to mobilize their troops. After two horn calls, the entire central army slowly advanced. Seeing the main force move, the Jurchen light cavalry patrolling at the front raised their weapons and cheered loudly, their shouts echoing across the snowy fields!

Wanyan Xiyin glanced at Yin Shuke as he heard her order, but said nothing.

The Jurchen light cavalry swept around the flanks, one by one on horseback drawing their bows and firing upwards. Waves of Jurchen heavy arrows with long arrowheads swept through the crowd and shot straight into the Jiazi Fortress.

On both flanks, light cavalry, along with Jurchen infantry warriors, rolled forward in formation, ready to follow the thousands of civilians and charge straight at Jiazi Fortress.

This formation of Jurchen armored soldiers numbered no more than two hundred, yet their imposing presence far surpassed that of the thousands of ordinary civilians!

They were strong and robust, each wearing double armor, like mobile steel fortresses, their movements accompanied by the clanging of metal.

The outer armored soldiers wielded large shields for cover, while the middle armored soldiers were armed with long swords, iron hammers, and other weapons suitable for close combat. Every few dozen steps, Puliyan would shout loudly to maintain order in the formation.

Following behind them were hundreds of soldiers who caught up and overtook them, clearing a path through the chaotic battlefield for the heavy infantry.

The battlefield situation suddenly reversed. On and below the city walls, the defending soldiers roared in terror, the civilians cried out desperately, and the leaders of the auxiliary troops gave loud commands.

There were also the neat shouts of the Jurchen heavy infantrymen when they paused to regroup every few dozen steps, which reverberated in front of Jiazi Fort, as if the sound waves alone could crush and flatten the fortress!
This small fortress, and Yingzhou City, will, like countless famous cities and fortresses of the Liao Dynasty, succumb to the military might of the Jurchen warriors!

Meng Nuan's face turned ashen. The Jurchens were indeed experts; they knew that if they took Jiazi Fortress first, their Yingzhou prefecture would lose an arm.

Such a well-defended fortress would allow the surrounding fortresses to fall, and the garrison in the fortress would inevitably select elite troops to launch a surprise attack to support the garrison in the outer fortresses.

We will do our utmost to maintain the integrity of our defense system.

Historically, almost all true siege battles involved repeated struggles within the outer defensive system, even at the cost of gradually depleting the city's mobile forces.

Whether the side being besieged forces the city walls to be attacked or repeatedly fights for control of the outer perimeter, these are two completely different things.

Later, the Southern Song Dynasty defended Xiangyang and Fancheng, fighting for several years in the outer, dangerous areas. Even though Xiangyang was surrounded by a 200-meter-wide moat and was one of the most fortified cities in the world, the defending troops would not easily retreat back into the city to defend it to the death.

Instead, they bravely engaged the Mongols in open battle and fought to the death! This led to this great victory in defending the city!
Historically, during the Jingkang era, the defending troops of Bianliang were completely unable to fight back, and the Jurchen army easily forced the city to set up camp without lifting a finger.
Furthermore, the Guan-Ning cavalry during the late Ming Dynasty almost exclusively relied on fortified cities and cannons for defense.
They can only hold out for a while; sooner or later, their city and passes will be breached repeatedly.

This army's field combat capabilities and fighting spirit had deteriorated to a certain extent, making it incomparable to the Southern Song army in the Battle of Xiangfan. Therefore, it is not without reason that the Southern Song was able to survive for so long, while the Ming and Northern Song could not.

The battle had been going on for a long time and was quite brutal, but for the defenders of Yingzhou, it was only a psychological burden, not a real pressure.

As Jiazibao fell into crisis.

The true test of Meng Nuan and the garrison of Yingzhou has only just begun. (End of Chapter)