Chapter 469
Catching a turtle in a urn
...
Duan Zhengyan, Gao Liangcheng, and others did not refuse to abandon the city and flee.
The problem is that both Longshou Pass and Longwei Pass have been breached by the Song army, leaving them trapped with nowhere to escape.
Of course, this is also because both the Dali Duan family and the Dali Gao family are extremely large clans with a large number of elderly, weak, women and children. Whether they go to explore Cangshan Mountain or venture into Erhai Lake, it is a matter of life and death for these elderly, weak, women and children.
As a result, Duan Zhengyan and Gao Liangcheng had no choice but to adopt a scorched-earth policy, hoping to outlast the Song army with the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Yangjumei City, their ample food and supplies, and the approaching hot weather and miasma.
It is worth mentioning that, knowing that the Song Dynasty had hot air balloons, Gao Liangcheng also sent his nephews Gao Shouzhen and Gao Shouchang to lead 30,000 cavalry to garrison outside the city.
In Gao Liangcheng's view, this arrangement has many advantages.
If the Song army wanted to besiege the city, it would have to divide its forces and deploy defenses. These 30,000 cavalry could then target the city's weak points, cut off the Song army's scattered supply lines, and kill any lone scouts, making it impossible for the Song army to have peace of mind and build a secure encirclement.
More importantly, the garrison of Yangjumei City was trapped inside the city, with their view mostly obstructed by the city walls. The cavalry outside the city, on the other hand, could climb to higher ground and see far and wide, taking in the Song army's troop movements and formations. They could then relay this information back to the city, allowing Gao Liangcheng to adjust his defensive strategy accordingly.
Furthermore, stationing these 30,000 cavalrymen outside the city would also help stabilize morale among the troops and the people.
When the soldiers and civilians in the city saw that Dali cavalry were still galloping back and forth outside the city, they knew that they were not isolated and helpless. Their despair of being trapped in the isolated city was reduced to some extent, and their will to defend the city became more and more determined.
Furthermore, when the miasma spreads in early summer, the cavalry outside the city can take advantage of the favorable weather to launch a fierce attack on the Song army camp. At that time, the Song soldiers are mostly disturbed by the miasma and their combat strength is greatly reduced. The Dali cavalry, having rested and ready, may be able to win several battles, turn the tide of the war, and then "negotiate peace" with the Song Dynasty.
Gao Liangcheng also harbored some selfish motives.
That is, if Yangjumei City cannot be defended, the Gao family can still leave some descendants and not be completely wiped out.
It can be said that Gao Liangcheng went to great lengths during this critical moment.
Unlike the Gao family of Dali, who still had a backup plan, a large number of the Duan family members were trapped in Yangjumei City.
This was, of course, the work of the powerful minister Gao Liangcheng. He used both soft and hard tactics to keep all the people of the Dali Duan family, regardless of age or gender, including monks, inside the city, preventing them from leaving.
In terms of the current overall situation of defending the city, the Duan family is the foundation of the Dali Kingdom and is the recognized royal family in the hearts of the people and various tribes. As long as the Duan royal family is still in Yangjumei City, it means that the Dali Kingdom has not been extinguished, and the soldiers and civilians defending the city have a spiritual pillar.
Those people who were originally anxious because of the loss of the Dragon Head and Dragon Tail Passes, and those tribal leaders who were waiting and watching, would believe that this battle to defend the city was not a private struggle for the Gao clan, but for the survival of the entire Dali, as long as they knew that Duan Zhengyan was still in the palace. In this way, people's hearts would not be scattered, and the tribes would not dare to easily side with the Song Dynasty.
Gao Liangcheng, on the other hand, was able to use the Duan family as a banner to legitimately integrate all the troops and provisions in the city, turning the Duan family's prestige into the confidence to defend the city.
This can be considered a crucial step for Gao Liangcheng to stabilize the current situation.
Furthermore, this would prevent the Duan family from taking advantage of the chaos to regain actual control of Dali.
It should be noted that since Gao Shengtai returned power to the Duan family, although the Gao family has always held military and political power in Dali, the Duan family has always been the nominal monarch of Dali. There are still many former officials and tribes in the country who are loyal to the Duan family, but they dare not make any moves because of the pressure from the Gao family.
The Song army's siege of the city coincided with the most chaotic moment in Dali's situation. If the Duan clan members were allowed to leave the city, it was hard to guarantee that some of them would take advantage of the chaos to contact forces loyal to the royal family, or flee to tribal strongholds between Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, establish their own banners, and rival the Gao clan.
At that time, the Gao family will have to resist the Song army and guard against the Duan family's interference from behind, inevitably falling into a predicament of being attacked from both sides.
Now that the entire Duan clan is trapped in the city, it is tantamount to holding this potential "sharp blade" in one's own hands. The life, death, honor, and disgrace of the Duan clan are firmly tied to the safety of the city. They can only advance and retreat with the Gao clan. There is absolutely no possibility of starting anew in the chaos, let alone taking the opportunity to reclaim the power that has long since fallen into other hands.
Furthermore, in the event that Yangjumei City could not be defended, Gao Liangcheng could offer all the members of the Dali Duan clan to Zhao Yu, using the entire Duan clan as a bargaining chip to try to preserve the Gao clan.
In short, as long as Gao Liangcheng keeps the Duan family in Yangjumei City, the Duan family will be trapped in the isolated city and become a pawn in the game between the Gao family and the Song Dynasty. If the city is intact, the Duan family will maintain the hearts of the people for the Gao family; if the city falls, the Duan family may become a bargaining chip for the Gao family to seek peace with the Song Dynasty.
Thus, no matter how the war unfolds, the Gao family will not completely lose their influence in Dali and are most likely to survive this national crisis.
This was precisely the safest move Gao Liangcheng made for his family during this crisis.
Soon, news spread that the Song army had broken through the Longshou and Longwei passes and was approaching the capital. The city of Yangjumei was in chaos. Many wealthy families began to make arrangements to leave the capital for refuge, while ordinary people were filled with fear, anxiety, and helplessness.
Faced with this situation, Gao Liangcheng decisively ordered the city gates closed and forbade anyone from leaving Yangjumei City, declaring that they must live and die with Dali.
At the same time, Gao Liangcheng issued a series of personnel appointments, promoting Gao's supporters and pro-war faction to key positions, thus maintaining both absolute control over Yangjumei City and its fighting capacity.
Gao Liangcheng also used both kindness and severity to severely punish a group of high-ranking Dali officials who wanted to leave Yangjumei City without authorization, effectively deterring those in the city who wanted to escape.
On the same day, the Dali court once again organized relevant personnel to distribute notices throughout the streets and alleys of Yangjumei City, recruiting brave and courageous warriors to form a vanguard suicide squad.
People in the city responded enthusiastically and signed up to participate.
Many soldiers who had been defeated at the Dragon Head and Dragon Tail Passes fled back to Yangjumei City. Having nowhere else to go, they also came to enlist. Even wealthy families issued notices saying they would provide money and rice to recruit brave warriors to help the country fight the enemy and defend the capital.
Two days later, the Song cavalry arrived outside Yangjumei City.
Instead of immediately launching an attack on the city, they headed straight for the northwest outskirts of Yangjumei City, seized a horse ranch, and set up camp there.
This horse farm was the largest horse breeding farm of the Dali Kingdom, which once housed more than 20,000 horses, and the grain and feed in the warehouses were piled up like mountains.
Moreover, the terrain here is precipitous, surrounded by water on three sides, like a sandbar, with the Cangshan Mountains behind it serving as a natural barrier.
Occupying this place would ensure that the Song Dynasty's warhorses would not lack food for a short period of time, and it would also be easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Before the Song army arrived, Gao Liangcheng had already ordered a scorched-earth policy and, taking this horse farm into consideration, had ordered all the horses there to be moved to Yangjumei City.
However, the Song army arrived too quickly, and Dali's response was somewhat slow. Or, it could be said that Dali was caught off guard by the Song army.
This meant that before the Dali people could move all the horses from the horse farm, the Song army attacked.
This ensured the preservation of all the hay in the horse ranch, solving many problems for the Song army. Occupying this place was a win-win situation: firstly, it provided a geographical advantage, and secondly, it secured military supplies, laying a solid material foundation for the upcoming siege.
It was clearly suggested and guided by the Dali people who had surrendered to the Song Dynasty that they seized this horse ranch.
As locals, these Dali people are certainly familiar with this horse farm. With just a little suggestion from them, they can make a great contribution. Why not do it?
Gao Liangcheng judged that the Song army would definitely launch an attack at night, so he dared not slack off and kept patrolling the various defense zones of the city wall.
really!
The Song army began its attack on the city that night.
However, because Li Lin's cannon is too heavy, it will take some time to transport it over.
Therefore, the Song army mainly used tiger-squatting cannons in their probing attack that night.
Even so, the soldiers and civilians in Yangjumei City were terrified!
There, a group of tall, burly northern men, wearing two layers of armor, braved arrows and stones to climb the city wall, seemingly oblivious to their own danger.
At this moment, in front of the Song army, dozens of tiger-squatting cannons were being carried by soldiers to the pre-dug positions. Iron claws were driven deep into the soil, and iron hooks held the cannons firmly. The muzzles were slightly raised, pointing directly at the crenellations and battlements on the city wall.
As the cannons roared, hundreds of lead bullets mixed with iron shot rained down on the city walls.
The Dali defenders who had been hiding behind the crenellations, preparing to fire arrows, were caught off guard and riddled with bullets; several strong men carrying logs, intending to push the city walls down, were struck by a hail of bullets as soon as they leaned out, screaming as they fell from the top. The indirect fire advantage of the Tiger Crouching Cannon was now fully apparent. The Dali defenders who hid in the blind spots of the city walls, trying to avoid direct fire, could dodge the lead bullets from Li Lin's cannons and the crossbows of the Song soldiers, but they could not escape the rain of bullets falling from the sky. They could only cower in the corners, without even the courage to look up.
Even more deadly was the rapid firing and continuous suppression of the Tiger Crouching Cannon. After one round of bombardment, before the Dali defenders could recover, a new round of reloading was already completed. The cannon fire continued incessantly, thick smoke billowed from the city walls, and screams, cries, and the sound of cannon fire mingled together.
Under such sustained suppression, the Dali defenders on the city walls could not even hope to peek out and fight back.
The Song soldiers wore double armor, which made them difficult to penetrate with arrows.
In just one wave of attack, hundreds of Song soldiers climbed onto the city wall.
The people of Dali were generally short, and in direct combat, they were often no match for the tall Song soldiers.
It often takes three Dali soldiers to defeat one Song soldier.
The key point is that the Song soldiers all carried thunderbolts. If they were outmatched, they would detonate the thunderbolts on their bodies and perish together with the many Dali soldiers.
However, the people of Dali were also very determined to defend their homeland. Often, when they were no match for the Song soldiers, they would rush over in groups of three or five, grab the Song soldiers, and jump off the city wall together.
This also caused considerable casualties to the Song army.
Despite this situation, the Song army continued their relentless attack, charging over corpses.
Having witnessed the terrifying power of the Song army, the people of Dali finally understood why the Song Dynasty could destroy more than a dozen countries and easily breach their proud Longshou Pass and Longwei Pass.
The process will not be described in detail.
It is said that the people of Dali in Yangjumei City used all their strength to barely repel the Song army's attack at dawn.
What they didn't know was that this was actually a feint attack by the Song army, mainly to test the defenses of Yangjumei City, summarize their findings, and figure out how to take Yangjumei City in one fell swoop.
The next day, dozens of Li Lin cannons and thousands of shells were carried by hot air balloons to the outskirts of Yangjumei City.
Having seen the legendary hot air balloons and Li Lin cannons, and recalling how they almost failed to defend Yangjumei City yesterday without them, many people in Dali panicked, thinking that if the Song army attacked the city again today, they would definitely not be able to hold it.
Seeing this, many people advised Gao Liangcheng to send Guo Jing and his six Jia soldiers, saying that otherwise, Dali might perish.
Although Gao Liangcheng didn't quite believe in Guo Jing and his Six Jia soldiers, he was at his wit's end and had no choice but to try Guo Jing and his Six Jia soldiers as a last resort.
The Liujia Zhengbing (Six-Jia Regular Army) was seen by many Dali people as a secret weapon of Dali. They hoped that once the Liujia Zhengbing left the city, they could deal a devastating blow to the arrogant Song army in the south of the city.
After receiving the order, Guo Jing led the six Jia soldiers to the city wall.
Upon arriving at the city wall, Guo Jing first erected flags on the wall and painted the image of the Heavenly King on each flag.
Guo Jing said to his men and women, "There are three Heavenly King flags on each wall, according to the five directions."
The soldiers of the Six Armies standing next to Guo Jing said, "This banner will surely terrify the Song traitors."
The Dali soldiers present all found these six Jia soldiers mysterious and unpredictable.
Seeing that the time was about right, Gao Liangcheng ordered the gates of Xuanhua to be opened, allowing the six Jia soldiers to go into battle.
Then, seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven regular soldiers, arranged in seven square formations, marched out of the city with great pride and high spirits.
Upon hearing that the Liujia army was finally going to battle, the citizens of Yangjumei City flocked to the vicinity of the city gate, craning their necks and waiting for the good news.
This dark, dense crowd stretched as far as the eye could see, numbering approximately tens of thousands.
Some people even secretly followed the Liujia soldiers out of the city.
—There were probably tens of thousands of people watching the spectacle from the sidelines and cheering on the brave warriors.
A short while later, someone ran into the city gate and reported: "The vanguard has captured the main camp and raised a large flag in the enemy camp."
Then, someone ran up and reported, "The vanguard has seized a thousand of the enemy's horses."
In fact, all of these messages are false and purely based on misinformation.
Guo Jing saw from the city wall that the Six Jia soldiers had left the city, so he asked Gao Liangcheng to send an envoy to deliver an order: except for the envoy and soldiers left to guard the city, all other personnel should leave the city.
This is because Guo Jing was going to use the Six Jia Divine Technique on the city wall. This technique could make people invisible, so that the Song army would not be able to detect it.
Gao Liangcheng then sent someone to deliver the order, commanding all other personnel on the city walls to come down to the city.
At this moment, a large crowd had gathered on the city wall. They wanted to witness firsthand how the Six Armored Soldiers were slaughtering the Song army.
However, all of these people were driven out of the city.
At this point, the Song army had already begun its attack.
The main force attacking the city was Zhao Zun's troops, who advanced in four directions with great fanfare.
At this time, the vanguard of the Liujia army had crossed the moat and headed straight for the Song camp.
Zhao Zun personally went to the front line to command. He found it ridiculous that the Dali infantry dared to march forward in a square formation.
Zhao Zun immediately dispatched more than 500 cavalrymen to launch a surprise attack on the vanguard of the Liujia regular army.
The soldiers of the Six Armies seemed to realize at this moment that they were also made of flesh and blood, and many of them were so frightened that they fled.
How can two legs outrun four legs?
Soon, the vanguard of the Liujia Army was cut in two by the Song cavalry.
The six Jia soldiers in front were wiped out by the Song cavalry, as easily as mowing grass.
The remaining six Jia soldiers retreated in disarray, falling into the moat.
The pile of corpses was so high that it weighed down the suspension bridge over the river, preventing it from being lifted.
In a very short time, the vanguard of the Liujia regular army was completely annihilated by the Song cavalry, and the cries of agony were unbearable to hear.
Standing atop the city wall, Guo Jing saw this and said to those around him, "I never expected the Song traitors to be so rampant. I will descend the wall and personally perform a ritual to ensure that not a single Song soldier is left alive!"
After saying this, Guo Jing hurriedly left the city.
But instead of performing any rituals or engaging in battle, he led a few dozen trusted men and fled straight towards the Song army...
...(End of chapter)