vstars Chapter 143 The Mongol Army Breaks Through the Great Wall Defense Line
Chapter 143 The Mongol Army Breaks Through the Great Wall Defense Line
At this time, Naza and Wan Hanzhong, who had returned from Lin'an City of the Song Dynasty, were also in the army attacking the Jin Dynasty. They were discussing their strategic plans for the next few days around a campfire.
One of the commanders of the Ongud tribe said, "If you ask me, we should take advantage of the heavy snow blocking the city and the Jurchens' defenses being weak, and charge straight in to catch them off guard."
Several commanders of ten thousand and a thousand men nearby readily agreed, as the grain they had plundered was running low. At the current rate of consumption, tens of thousands of Mongol soldiers would starve in ten days. Therefore, they had been plotting a surprise attack on the Jin army, hoping to breach the Great Wall's defenses and plunder inside.
Naza spoke up at this moment: "When we returned from the Song Dynasty, we discovered a gap in the Great Wall in Fengsheng Prefecture. Although there are quite a few Jin troops deployed there, it's still much better than if we were to fight them head-on."
The chieftain of a small tribe was worried: "Our army is running low on food. It's okay if our soldiers eat less, but our warhorses can't. If the warhorses are not well-fed, their fighting power will definitely be greatly reduced when they charge. Even if we set off from here tomorrow, it will take three or four days to reach Fengsheng Prefecture. If we fail to capture that gap by then, we will have no way to retreat."
Just then, Wan Hanzhong, who had been silent until now, stood up. After looking around, he slowly said, "I have a way to create a breach in the Jin Kingdom's defensive city walls. However, this thing is extremely destructive, and anyone who goes to place it may be blown up."
As he spoke, Wan Hanzhong had someone bring him a bomb, which was given to him by his friend Bu Liang when he passed through Anyang Prefecture, and Bu Liang had also taught him how to use it.
Wan Hanzhong carefully took out a small packet of explosives from the explosive pack, then attached a fuse, lit it, and ran a long distance away.
"boom!"
Because it was nighttime, the explosion produced a tremendous sound and then flashed with an extremely bright light, just like lightning.
After the smoke cleared from the explosion, a crater a meter deep appeared on the ground. Keep in mind that this was only the power of a small bowl of explosives. If the entire explosive charge were ignited, the destructive power would be more than ten times that.
Before sunrise the next day, the Mongol army dispatched a dozen or so suicide soldiers, each carrying a satchel charge and a tinderbox. These soldiers were hastily assembled from various tribes; they had been informed of their mission and knew it was highly likely to be a one-way trip.
"Borkin, keep your noise down, you must not let the Jin soldiers above hear you."
Below the Great Wall were low shrubs. Although the winter winds had blown away most of the dry, yellow leaves, some stubborn leaves still clung to the branches, making a rustling sound as the dozen or so Mongolian warriors walked by.
In fact, they were being overly cautious. By this time, the Jin soldiers had already been freezing and had gone to find a place to warm up. Because the Great Wall was very high and there had just been a thick snowfall, they were not afraid that anyone would climb up it.
About twenty minutes later, the Mongol warriors had gathered and settled at a spot below the city wall as instructed by Mr. Wan. The man in charge glanced around and then said in a low voice, "I'll light a fire and we'll run away together. Whether we survive or not will depend on the will of the Eternal Heaven. May the Eternal Heaven bless us."
After saying this, he took out a tinderbox from his pocket, removed the protective cover, and gently blew on it. A small flame appeared. After he lit the fuse, a dozen Mongol warriors ran desperately downwards in a puff of smoke.
Looking through his binoculars from a distance, Wan Hanzhong saw the rising smoke and said to Naza beside him, "They've succeeded. We can prepare now."
Naza drew his Mongolian sword from his waist and shouted to the 50,000 cavalry behind him, "Warriors of Mongolia, may the Eternal Heaven protect us! Follow me and slaughter these Jurchens!"
The commotion caused by the dozen or so Mongol warriors fleeing caught the attention of the Jin soldiers. Braving the chilly morning wind, they came out to investigate, only to find the Mongols running faster than rabbits. Upon closer inspection, they discovered that something below the city wall seemed to be burning, emitting a strange smell.
Just as a Jin officer was about to send men down to investigate, a deafening explosion came from beneath their feet. This section of the Great Wall trembled as if an earthquake had struck, and the spot where the men had just stood was now a huge gap. The Jin soldiers who had been there were blown into the air along with the rubble.
The explosion served as a signal; 50,000 Mongol cavalry charged towards the breach. The explosion had likely been so loud that the surrounding Jin soldiers hadn't had time to react. By the time they realized the danger, the Mongol soldiers had already scaled the walls, engaging in a fierce battle at both ends and inside the Great Wall.
Wan Hanzhong did not participate in the charge. As a strategist, his job was simply to offer advice when appropriate; fighting on the front lines was not his forte.
These Mongol soldiers had been held back by the Jurchens for over a month, and they vented all their anger on the Jurchen soldiers, charging into battle and forcing the Jurchen army to retreat repeatedly.
The Mongol army marched south and captured Weizhou, which was already sparsely defended. Upon taking Weizhou, Wan Hanzhong and the Mongol leaders were stunned. It turned out that the Jin army, fighting against the Western Xia, had placed almost all of its supplies in Weizhou. Not to mention anything else, there were hundreds of thousands of dan of grain alone, along with countless weapons and other supplies. The Mongol army had become incredibly wealthy.
News of the Mongol army's breach of the Great Wall defenses in Xijing quickly reached Zhongdu, the capital of the Jin dynasty. The entire Jin court was shocked; they couldn't fathom how these primitively equipped Mongol tribal armies had managed to break through the Great Wall. At this time, there were few troops available near Zhongdu, and Wanyan Zonghan's heavy cavalry were engaged in battle with the Western Xia army on the western front. This was a serious problem.
After the Mongol army captured Weizhou, Wan Hanzhong revised the battle plan, ordering Naza to lead 30,000 cavalrymen disguised as Jin troops to quickly raid and occupy Zhending and Taiyuan prefectures. This forced Wanyan Zonghan to divert some of his troops to block the Mongol army from continuing its southward advance.
At the same time, Pingyang Prefecture, Daming Prefecture, and Hejian Prefecture quickly organized 40,000 troops, led by Prince Zhennan Wanyan Ping, to attack Zhengding Prefecture in an attempt to drive out the Mongol army.
Now well-fed and clothed, the Mongol tribal warriors were equipped with superior Jin army gear, greatly enhancing their combat effectiveness. They were not only skilled in mounted combat, but also had their own methods for defending city walls. Furthermore, with Wan Hanzhong providing strategic advice, the Jin army was unable to breach the walls after a prolonged siege, resulting in the needless loss of many Jin soldiers' lives.
After the Ongud tribe broke through the Jin people's defenses and marched south, the small and medium-sized tribes that had previously been opportunistic all joined the Ongud tribe. The Khan of the Ongud tribe then organized a second army to march south. Although the number of people was smaller this time, it still numbered nearly 40,000.
They offered virtually no resistance this time, arriving at Weizhou City as easily as taking a stroll. Naza was now incredibly wealthy, and he completely re-equipped the second wave of Mongol troops with Jin army weapons and equipment.