Chapter 134: Siege of Zhongdu

Marching light, a cavalry unit with one rider and three horses moves at a terrifying speed; in an era where the marching speed is only fifteen kilometers, the Revolutionary Army cavalry's speed of over ninety kilometers a day is undoubtedly terrifying.

Coupled with the fact that Mount Taixing is very close to Zhongdu, this caused the eight-hundred-li urgent messenger to arrive at Zhongdu only when the Revolutionary Army's several divisions of cavalry were a day's distance from Zhongdu.

Upon learning that tens of thousands of cavalry were marching from Mount Taixing at one hundred li a day toward Zhongdu and were now only a day's distance away, Wanyan Honglie felt as if the sky were collapsing and the earth were splitting.

He had issued the edict to punish the rebels less than seven days ago, yet now the rebels were besieging the capital; this was simply a slap in the face.

Not only Wanyan Honglie, but the Wanyan clan generals stationed across the Jin Kingdom at this moment realized how naive their previous belief that Zhang Chu'an and Zhang Xiaofan were merely simple scholars had been.

That was thirty thousand cavalry; who would believe that hiding so many cavalry secretly did not involve thoughts of rebellion? Moreover, they were heading to attack the Jin Kingdom's capital, Zhongdu.

Although the various generals of the Wanyan clan were very annoyed with Wanyan Honglie, it was absolutely impossible for them to stand by and watch the Jin Kingdom's capital be taken.

If a nation's capital were taken, then the Great Jin would truly have lost all face; the so-called strong military and a million troops would be the funniest joke of the year.

Losing face is a small matter, but the consequences of losing face are a big matter; once everyone under heaven knows the Great Jin is a fraud, won't the gentry in the native lands harbor other thoughts? Won't the Song Kingdom in the south stir and march north to wash away the so-called Jingkang humiliation?

What about the Tatars in the west who destroyed Western Xia? Won't they send troops into the Central Plains to attack the Great Jin? Once the Great Jin reveals its weakness, the surrounding nations will pounce like tigers and wolves to tear it apart.

Upon learning this news, the commanders-in-chief of all military routes immediately dispatched troops to rescue Zhongdu; the Jin Kingdom's governed regions had nineteen routes in total, each with one commander-in-chief of military affairs to command the army of that route.

Except for the border garrison troops stationed at the Shaanxi and Henan border who needed to monitor the movements of the Southern Song and the Mongols, the other commanders-in-chief of military affairs all dispatched troops to rescue.

These thirty thousand troops were like a sharp knife stabbing straight into the heart of the Jin Kingdom; this robust nation had no choice but to pull back its fist to block the stabbing knife.

Most importantly, this knife stabbed so fast that even the Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs Office of Zhongdu Route, which was closest to Zhongdu, received the news and found that in just one day, these three divisions of cavalry had arrived at the gates of Zhongdu Prefecture.

In one day, he did not even have time to prepare supplies for the soldiers to march; by the time he marched out to rescue, Zhongdu would have been besieged for several days at least.

At this very moment, Zhongdu facing the Revolutionary Army's siege attack was suffering unbearably; the firepower outside the city suppressed the archers on the walls so they could not even lift their heads, and most importantly, their large balloons that could fly in the sky; this thing alone, dropping gunpowder from above every day, was enough to make these defending troops suffer unbearably.

Moreover, their gunpowder was very powerful, often causing heavy casualties to the defenders on the walls; facing the enemy carelessly dropping explosives from the sky, they found it very difficult to devise any countermeasures.

"This is too frustrating; I have fought wars for so many years, but this is the first time I have seen a city defense battle fought as frustratingly as ours," said Du Jisi Zhong, the Jin Kingdom's Han Chengxiang, angrily throwing his hat to the ground.

In a city defense battle, the defending side suffers heavy casualties while the attacking side has very few; who would dare to imagine this? Watching those people throw gunpowder at them from the sky every day is truly too frustrating.

"Han Chengxiang, there is no need to worry; Zhongdu Route is the military core territory of our Great Jin, and the soldiers here are the most elite warriors of our Great Jin; when the capital is besieged, they will definitely send troops to support," said Wanyan Honglie, quickly comforting the crowd.

However, Wanyan Honglie's words instantly aroused Temujin's alertness; Temujin recalled their strategic policy of annihilating the enemy in mobile warfare and developing their comrades in the process.

Temujin could not help but break out in cold sweat; with the Jin capital besieged, the commanders-in-chief of military affairs of all routes would surely send troops to support, and the Revolutionary Army could exactly use the tactic of besieging a point to defeat reinforcements near the capital.

Recalling that the Revolutionary Army's infantry had not appeared in these past few days, where could they have gone?

Most importantly, the cannons that had dealt him a heavy blow that time had not appeared.

The more Temujin thought, the more terrified he became; he could not help but retreat step by step. In his panic, he missed a step, stumbled over the stairs hidden in the night, and fell heavily to the ground.

The commotion of Temujin's fall attracted the attention of everyone in the hall; with Wanyan Honglie's coup succeeding, Temujin's status here, having helped him succeed in the coup, rose accordingly.

Furthermore, during these few days of defending the city, Temujin's leadership and wisdom had conquered all the generals present; if not for Temujin, Zhongdu City might have been taken on the very first day.

"Brother Temujin, what is wrong with you?" Wanyan Honglie stepped forward and asked with concern.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about the city defense and didn't notice, so I fell," Temujin said, pretending to be calm and acting as if he didn't care.

After the crowd dispersed, Wanyan Honglie went to find Temujin, and the first words Temujin spoke shocked Wanyan Honglie greatly.

"Your Majesty, prepare to break out and flee; the troops of Zhongdu Route will not come to support. I estimate that by this time they have all been ambushed by the Revolutionary Army. Hebei will soon become the Revolutionary Army's base; if we don't run now, we won't be able to run."

"Impossible; the troops of Zhongdu Route are the most elite troops of our Great Jin; how could they be defeated?" Wanyan Honglie shook his head repeatedly.

The troops of Zhongdu Route are composed of native Jurchens; they not only have the finest equipment but also possess heavy cavalry like the Iron Pagoda and firearms like the Thunder of Heaven; how could they possibly lose?

Temujin could not help but smile bitterly; how could it be impossible? He did not believe the Revolutionary Army in this place did not have those earth-shattering cannons; Temujin felt that the Revolutionary Army here possessed no fewer cannons than the Revolutionary Army on the grasslands.

107 In this regard, Temujin was mistaken; the 107 rocket launchers possessed by the Taihang Mountain Military Region were far more numerous than those on the grasslands.

The firepower on the grasslands was caused by only seventy 107 rocket launchers, while the 107 rocket launchers possessed by the Taihang Mountain Military Region totaled four hundred.

Most importantly, the people of the Taihang Mountain Military Region have a broad mass base and can launch ambushes on the Jin soldiers' inevitable path.

Launching ambushes with 107 cannons at suitable locations gave the Jin army of this era a taste of the treatment of American soldiers in the twentieth century in advance.

Under the raging of cannon fire everywhere, the cavalry unit that was originally majestic and galloping across the battlefield now, like withered leaves devastated by a storm, was blown apart and scattered everywhere. On the battlefield, dust flew, smoke filled the air, and the heavy smell of gunpowder permeated the air, suffocating.

In this tragic scene, only the young Jin army general at the head knelt alone on the ground. His eyes were filled with helplessness and despair; tears slid down his cheeks, mixing with the dust to form desolate tear tracks. His shoulders trembled as he wept aloud, his voice sounding so weak and powerless amidst the cannon fire.

This young general, who once led the cavalry unit to be invincible on the battlefield, could now only watch helplessly as his subordinates were blown into pieces of minced meat by the cannon fire.