Chapter 1009: Zhiling County

Liangzhou.

This is the place where Jiaozhi and the Zhennan Pass of Jiaozhou, Great Song, border each other.

Once the Azure Dragon Army marched out from Zhennan Pass, they entered the territory of Liangzhou.

Although the north of Great Song is currently in the midst of a bitter winter, the weather in Jiaozhi is still extremely scorching, as if it were the height of summer.

The soldiers had walked less than twenty li along the rugged mountain road when their thin military uniforms were already soaked through with sweat.

"General, there are beacon fires ahead." As the main army was marching, Shang Yi suddenly pointed ahead.

Qin Shan looked over and saw black pillars of smoke rising from a hilltop more than ten li away.

Afterward, smoke pillars rose one after another from other hilltops, extending to a very far distance, just like the beacon towers of the Great Song's northern Great Wall.

Qin Shan gave a cold smile.

Beacon fire communication is a commonly used method in warfare.

Jiaozhi is mountainous, and a bonfire is set up on a hilltop every twenty or thirty li.

It only takes a short hour to transmit the news of an enemy invasion four or five hundred li away.

For Jiaozhi, where it is inconvenient for cavalry to travel, this is the best way to transmit military intelligence.

"Order the scouts to pay attention to the high mountains and deep forests on both sides to prevent Jiaozhi soldiers from hoarding falling rocks and rolling logs on the mountains to launch sneak attacks," Qin Shan instructed Shang Yi.

Starting from Zhennan Pass, there is a mountain road about fifty meters wide.

This mountain road connects Zhiling County and Longyou County like a line.

And once they exit Longyou County, they will have passed through the mountainous region of northern Jiaozhi and will enter the plain area where Hanoi, the imperial capital of Jiaozhi, is located.

It can be said that this mountain road, as well as Zhiling County and Longyou County on the mountain road, are places that their Azure Dragon Army must attack and the Jiaozhi army must defend.

At the same time, this mountain road is also the only path the Azure Dragon Army must take.

Because all other mountain paths and trails in northern Jiaozhi are hidden in deep mountains and old forests, full of fierce beasts and poisonous insects, making it difficult to march.

After all, they are carrying hundreds of pieces of artillery.

"Yes, General." Responding with a yes, Shang Yi passed down the order.

Six reconnaissance squads, each composed of one hundred men, took telescopes, carried Qin-series rifles on their backs, and hung hand grenades at their waists as they set off forward.

They marched five li ahead of the main army, constantly sending men into the mountain forests on both sides to scout the situation.

Meanwhile.

After the five beacon fires within a hundred li were lit, the Jiaozhi army stationed in Zhiling County immediately became alert.

Ruan Youjin, the Great General of Jiaozhi, heard the news and came to the North Gate.

Looking toward the beacon fires, his gaze was gloomy.

Jiaozhi has always imitated the systems of the Central Plains, so its military system is similar to that of Great Song.

The Great General commands the military forces of the entire country, and under his command are officers such as Zhenwu Generals and Captains.

"Great General, it must be the Great Song army attacking." Standing beside Ruan Youjin was Zhenwu General Gao Yaozhi, who wore a worried expression.

"Organize the troops and prepare to meet the enemy," Ruan Youjin said through gritted teeth, full of resentment.

Last year, he led two hundred thousand troops to station themselves under Zhennan Pass.

After attacking the city for eight consecutive days, they gained nothing except for leaving behind thirty thousand corpses.

Even now, he still remembers the tragic scene from that time.

Afterward, he received orders to temporarily retreat and station his troops in Zhiling County.

It was not until later that he understood that the Piaoman had also hit a snag in Yunzhou.

With setbacks in both directions, Governor Markwen and the French Army General Gao'erle discussed temporarily stopping the offensive and waiting for changes in the northern war situation of Great Song.

But waiting until now, they had not received any favorable news; instead, the Great Song army had arrived.

"Yes, Great General," Gao Yaozhi shouted.

Currently, half of Jiaozhi's elite forces are in Zhiling County, and the other half of the army is stationed in Hanoi.

The Great Song Navy is rampant in the Southern Region; after capturing the Australia of the British, they stationed troops in Luzon, and for these past few months, they have repeatedly fought with the Stedan in Yajia to compete for strongholds.

The eastern coastline of Jiaozhi is exposed to the Great Song Navy as if it were undefended.

Their Emperor Ruan Chushan felt deeply worried, and to ensure nothing went wrong, he had no choice but to withdraw half of his troops to garrison Hanoi.

Therefore, they can currently mobilize one hundred thousand troops.

Gao Yaozhi left, and Ruan Youjin returned to the city.

Since the Great Song army took the initiative to attack, he naturally had to use the defensive advantage to hold his ground; his only regret was that the area below the mountain road was all stone,

making it impossible to dig trenches.

Otherwise, the defenses of Zhiling County would be even more solid.

Under his orders, the Jiaozhi army became busy.

Piece after piece of field artillery and siege cannons were pushed onto the front city walls.

Soldiers equipped with rifled muskets were also deployed on the northern city wall, relying on the battlements to defend against the enemy.

Once everything was ready, Ruan Youjin ordered soldiers to scout back and forth and report the distance of the Great Song army at any time.

He also sent soldiers to ambush at the narrow parts of the mountain road.

When the Great Song army passed by, they were to push mountain rocks down to kill the enemy.

Time passed.

The sun rose from the willow branches to the zenith, and then moved from the zenith toward the west to set.

At about the Mao hour in the afternoon, the three thousand ambushers he had sent out fled back in a panic, with fewer than one thousand remaining, and some of them were injured.

Seeing this, Ruan Youjin was greatly shocked and shouted, "What is going on?"

The leading general said sorrowfully: "Following the Great General's orders, we were ambushed at Hezui Mountain forty li away. We didn't expect to be discovered by the Great Song soldiers. They opened fire on us and threw things that would explode. Many soldiers were frightened, fled in a panic, fell off the mountain and died, and many others were shot to death."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Youjin's face immediately darkened.

He secretly thought that the Great Song army was truly airtight when on the march.

The commanding general was a formidable figure, certainly no fool.

Thinking of this, he suddenly realized something: "So, the Great Song army will be here soon."

"I fear the vanguard will arrive in less than half an hour," the leading general replied, panting for breath.

Ruan Jinshan nodded, his eyes narrowing.

In this battle, the Western Lands Allied Forces had high expectations for them.

Their Jiaozhi Ruan Clan also wanted to use the momentum of the Westerners to invade the Great Song and realize Jiaozhi's thousand-year aspiration: to occupy Jiaozhou.

What their Ruan Clan least wanted to see was the rise of a Central Plains dynasty.

Although they were unwilling to admit it, every member of the Ruan Clan knew how Jiaozhi had broken free from the control of the Central Plains dynasty.

In the eyes of the Central Plains dynasty, they were traitors through and through.

Whenever the Central Plains dynasty was at its peak, and a brilliant and ambitious emperor appeared during such a prosperous era, they would inevitably launch a campaign to punish the traitorous Jiaozhi and bring it back under the rule of the Central Plains.

Yet they knew clearly that once the Central Plains dynasty occupied Jiaozhi, their Ruan Clan would never survive.

Therefore, for Jiaozhi, every war against the Central Plains dynasty was a battle of life and death.

This time was no different.

They were so actively dealing with Yan Wang precisely because they feared the resurgence of the Great Song.

To prevent the rise of the Great Song, they were willing to pay any price.

Even if Jiaozhi were torn to pieces, they would still drive the Great Song army away to protect the interests of the Ruan Clan.

"I will spare your lives for the failure of this ambush, but in the coming defense of the city, whoever dares to take a single step back will be executed immediately!" Ruan Youjin suddenly glared fiercely at the leading general.

The leading general immediately lowered his head.

"Get out!" Ruan Youjin shouted again.

He then climbed onto the city wall and looked toward the North Territory.

He would make the Great Song army bleed rivers beneath Zhiling County.

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