Chapter 1290: The Fall of Jinzhou

The construction of the Liao Jinzhou city began in the era of Yelu Abaoji. Although it held the throat of east-west traffic, for a long period of time it was not given much attention. Only after the Great Han's first northern expedition, under the pressure exerted by the Youyan Han army, did it begin to be taken seriously.

Over the past decade or so, Liao had conscripted labor four times, investing large amounts of money, grain, and materials to expand and reinforce Jinzhou city, finally forging it into the mighty city that now towers at the eastern end of the Liaoxi Corridor, becoming a formidable pass against the Han army.

Judging by the course of this northern expedition, Liao's investment in Jinzhou has paid off—it once became an insurmountable obstacle for the Han army, causing enormous trouble and heavy casualties.

Jinzhou's city walls, especially the outer wall, were exceptionally solid, rarely using brick-and-stone construction, with a circumference of over seven li and wall thickness of more than two zhang. However, this city that could be called as impregnable as gold and iron, under the sustained assault of the Han army, finally showed a breach, revealing its weakness.

And once one point breaks, it often leads to a total collapse!

That deafening explosion suppressed even the fierce battle cries of both attackers and defenders, and the earth-shaking commotion drew the eyes of everyone.

At the southwest corner of Jinzhou, that thick city wall collapsed almost in its entirety, bricks sliding down rapidly, rubble flying, dust rising on all sides, the adjacent gate tower collapsing with it. The hundreds of Liao soldiers stationed on that section of wall were buried within, their brief screams seeming utterly insignificant.

Thick dust rolled and churned for quite some time. When the dust settled, the collapsed wall finally revealed its broken visage—jagged rubble, a scene of devastation. Yet for the two armies locked in fierce combat, it brought different joys and sorrows. The Han army was overjoyed, their morale soaring—this turtle shell had finally been smashed open. The Liao army was shocked, as if struck by a heavy blow; the reason they had been able to hold out this long, besides capable command and soldiers fighting with all their might, was chiefly the strength of their fortress.

Now, their greatest reliance had been smashed by the Han army. If the Han army climbed the walls, they could still drive them back through close-quarters combat—in the past two-plus months of siege, there had been no fewer than ten battles on the walls, and each time the Han army had been repelled.

Therefore, the Liao army, having held out this long, did not fear the Han army scaling the walls, especially after reinforcements arrived from Liaoyang. But the wall had collapsed—what now? That gap, blasted open by the Han army to a width of three to four zhang, was like a great gate the Han army had knocked open, a gate sending them to hell. More than two months of stubborn defense seemed about to be destroyed in an instant.

After a brief silence, fierce combat erupted once more. Liu Guangyi and Li Hanqiong, the two Han generals directing the attacks on the west and south walls, hesitated not at all, nearly simultaneously giving orders, urging their soldiers to press the attack. Near the city, powerful crossbow bolts shot upward, attempting to suppress the Liao army, while Han assault troops continued to climb the walls endlessly via scaling ladders.

Knowing of the demolition plan, they paid no heed to that gap, instead continuing to strike at the Liao troops on the walls—someone else would handle that matter.

Zhang Qiong, Deputy Chief Commander of the Xiaodi Army, a Han army fierce general renowned for valor, boldness, and utter fearlessness, had once again reached the moment to lead from the front.

During the last northern expedition, when Tanzhou's walls were breached, he was the first to lead men up the city walls, smashing the defenders in one stroke and achieving the great victory at Tanzhou. Now, over a decade had passed; though older, his ambition was undiminished. At the military council, he firmly requested the assault mission.

Though the city wall was damaged, revealing its greatest weakness, forcing through that weakness to completely tear open the Jinzhou defense line was by no means an easy task. One could say it was even more dangerous—given the fighting will the Liao army had displayed thus far, they would certainly launch a desperate counterattack.

And indeed, that was exactly the case. Yelu Xiuge was also commanding on the wall, and upon learning of the wall's collapse, he too was shaken with fear. But after the shock, he quickly adjusted, issuing several military orders in succession to respond to this sudden crisis.

His defensive arrangements for Jinzhou were extremely well-layered, with reserve forces both above and below the walls. At the first moment, he ordered the Liao troops in the barbican to head to the collapse site, sternly commanding them to hold back the Han army at all costs and buy time to repair the breach.

Even more, while facing enormous pressure on the walls, he had no choice but to give brief instructions and go there personally. Under such circumstances, facing such a situation, at the place of greatest crisis, no one but him, the commanding general, could accomplish this arduous task—he could hardly trust anyone else.

By the time Yelu Xiuge hurried over, fighting had already erupted at the collapse site. The Han army was well prepared and came up quickly. The Han troops advancing with Zhang Qiong's vanguard were not numerous—only two thousand men—but every one was elite, every one a death-defying warrior. Five hundred heavy infantry, three hundred shield bearers, two hundred throwers of great strength, plus one thousand elite soldiers wielding repeating crossbows.

The attack, being well prepared, was also highly methodical. Over a thousand thunder-crash bombs of considerable weight were hurled into the breach, supplemented by jars of fire oil—blasting and burning—while behind them repeating crossbows fired in volleys, directly clearing out a large swath of the Liao soldiers who had rushed to block the gap.

Thereafter, Zhang Qiong led the heavy infantry forward first, without hesitation, without fear, stepping on broken bricks and climbing swiftly. The Han soldiers following him were all men of astonishing physique, warriors who could fight one against ten, clad in dozens of jin of heavy armor, traversing this jagged, rugged terrain as if walking on flat ground.

Like armor-piercing bolts of tremendous penetrating power, they smashed through all obstacles with fierce impact, tumbled into the city, and became locked in tangled combat with the arriving Liao troops, firmly holding this gateway to victory. The Han soldiers behind followed in their footsteps.

One side was fully prepared, the other caught off guard—under Zhang Qiong's leadership, the expected results were achieved without surprise. Of course, the Liao army's will was not completely shattered; some Liao junior officers still commanded their men, meeting the attack without regard for casualties, trying with their lives to drive back the Han army and fill this fatal gap.

There were those who fought desperately, and there were those who panicked. Therefore, the first thing Yelu Xiuge did upon arriving was not to direct the recapture of the breach, but to order military execution for those Liao soldiers who were panicked and nearly reduced to a mob.

Yelu Xiuge's prestige earned from defending the city, plus the lives of over a hundred panicked soldiers, finally steadied the line. Then, without any need for words, it was close-quarters combat, fierce and bloody.

The Han soldiers who had crossed the collapsed obstacle also fought with reckless abandon. After firing their bolts, the crossbowmen discarded their precious crossbows and drew their sabers to join the hand-to-hand fighting.

Zhang Qiong was like an arrowhead, charging at the very front, his modao like a divine weapon, its edge fully exposed, unstoppable, extraordinarily ferocious. The Liao soldiers who fought him ended up either decapitated or dismembered.

However, in such fighting, even the full-body armor could not protect everything. A sharp arrow pierced through his calf, but Zhang Qiong seemed not to notice, dragging his wounded leg and continuing to fight.

This was not the situation Yelu Xiuge wanted to see. He wanted to quickly drive back the Han army and retake the breach, but under Zhang Qiong's leadership and the performance of his men, his plans were completely thwarted.

Neither side had room to retreat. The Han army had boundless rage and pent-up frustration to vent upon this Jinzhou city that had held them back for over two months, while if the Liao army retreated, it would mean total collapse.

Within Jinzhou city there were barbicans and an inner city. If normal defense failed, at the final moment, with Yelu Xiuge's command abilities, he could still gradually fall back, preserve his effective strength, and retreat into the inner city to continue holding out.

However, the breach came suddenly. Even if Yelu Xiuge were a war god incarnate, in such a caught-off-guard situation, his options were few. The Han army in front pressed the attack ever more fiercely, giving him no chance to catch his breath or maneuver.

At the southwest corner, soldiers of both the Han and Liao armies engaged in the most ferocious fighting since the Jinzhou siege began—blood flowed like rivers, corpses piled like mountains, and as time passed, both sides were practically fighting while treading upon the dead.

And the longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for the Liao army. Yelu Xiuge continuously summoned men to block the advance, and within that narrow space, it had become a hell on earth.

If the Liao army was like this, how could the Han army lag behind? Behind Zhang Qiong, Zhao Kuangyin was also deploying troops and dispatching generals. That collapsed section of wall was like a breach in a dike, and the Han army poured in like floodwaters. In terms of military strength and numbers, the Han army naturally held an absolute advantage!

This battle did not end in a short time—the breach of the city was only the beginning. It was a grueling fight lasting over two shichen, continuing until past noon, when the west and south gates were both broken through by the Han army. Jinzhou city, this city soaked in the countless blood of soldiers from both the Han and Liao armies, was finally declared breached. With this, the Han army opened the most formidable and most critical pass leading to Liaodong.

The capture of Jinzhou also meant that the northern expedition entered a new phase. With this as a foundation, the Great Han's army could now operate with full freedom, conquering Liaodong...