Chapter 425: Crossing the Troops

Yongzhou.

The north bank of the Jin River.

Northern Di soldiers were crossing the river; they were not using boats, nor were they using wooden rafts, but rather a special type of river-crossing vessel—sheepskin rafts.

After ordering Xiliang to send the Third Prince back, they set about manufacturing the sheepskin rafts.

The goal was to cross the Jin River south from the Hetao Plain to launch a surprise attack on the Northern Expeditionary Army of Great Song.

They did not build warships because they feared the southward plan would be discovered by the eyes and ears of Great Song.

They did not use wooden rafts on the spot because wooden rafts could not carry excessively heavy items, such as artillery.

Yet, sheepskin rafts were not easily discovered by the enemy and could carry heavy loads.

This type of raft had existed since ancient times, and the manufacturing process required highly skilled skinning techniques.

One had to perfectly cut off an entire sheepskin without any damaged areas.

Afterward, the sheepskin was dehaired, inflated to expand the skin casing, then filled with a small amount of vegetable oil, salt, and water, before the head, tail, and four limbs of the skin casing were tied tight and left to dry for a period of time.

Finally, wooden beams were lashed onto the sheepskin casings with hemp rope.

Previously, the Jin River was guarded by the Ma Family Navy, and such rafts would have been no different than seeking death against warships.

But now, they had nothing to worry about and only needed to cross the river.

Yet even so, facing the Jin River, which was three to four li wide with turbulent currents, their crossing remained difficult.

And this was still the narrowest part of the Jin River in the Yongzhou section.

At present, they possessed one hundred sheepskin rafts.

The smallest sheepskin raft was made of forty sheepskins and could carry twenty people at a time.

The largest sheepskin raft had six hundred sheepskins and could carry two hundred people, or six pieces of artillery, or eighty warhorses, approximately thirty thousand jin.

However, the most common were the medium-sized sheepskin rafts made of one hundred sheepskins.

Even so, to manufacture these sheepskin rafts, they had specifically slaughtered eighty to ninety thousand sheep.

After all, skins were not usually cut so perfectly on the Grassland.

But even so, nearly half of the skins from the eighty to ninety thousand sheep had been cut unsuccessfully.

This was the reason they ultimately only had a little over one hundred sheepskin rafts.

If there were any more, the Grassland would not be able to bear it.

After all, cattle and sheep were precious property to the people of the Grassland.

"Plop!" A loud sound of a heavy object falling into the water suddenly came from the busy river surface.

Tiemuta had been supervising the soldiers crossing the river.

He turned his head to look and saw that a sheepskin raft made of three hundred sheepskins had come apart.

The sheepskins were drifting on the murky river surface.

He remembered that there had been one piece of artillery and fifty soldiers on that sheepskin raft.

"Damn it!" Tiemuta cursed loudly, "Kill all the slaves who inspected this sheepskin raft."

To ensure the safety of the artillery, every sheepskin raft was inspected after returning from crossing the river, and only if there were no problems would it continue to carry loads.

Now that one piece of artillery had fallen into the Jin River, the sheepskin raft was ruined, and fifty soldiers had been swallowed by the river; his heart was practically bleeding.

Even with all the sheepskin rafts working non-stop, the number of Northern Di soldiers reaching the opposite bank every day was less than twenty thousand.

With the damage to the sheepskin rafts, their speed of moving troops would have to slow down again, not to mention they still had quite a bit of baggage train.

Once delayed, it would affect their plan to encircle the Northern Expeditionary Army of Great Song with Xiliang.

Upon receiving his order, a general galloped away, and before long, several screams rang out.

Tiemuta was still in a fit of anger when a cavalryman arrived at his side, "Tiemuta, Great King, the Khan summons you."

Nodding, Tiemuta reined in his horse and turned back, arriving at the golden tent on the riverbank.

"How many troops have crossed now?" Mule Hongzhen leaned back in his chair, his demeanor languid.

"Reporting to the Khan, since the people from Xian City came to inquire last time, another thirty thousand troops, eighty pieces of artillery, and three thousand warhorses have crossed; there are now thirteen thousand troops, five thousand warhorses, and one hundred ninety-six pieces of artillery on the south bank," Tiemuta said.

Mule Hongzhen frowned.

The Northern Di army crossing the river south to Weicheng this time totaled three hundred thousand.

This was barely half.

He said, "Too slow. From today on, cross the river day and night, and load as many people as the sheepskin rafts can carry, as long as they don't sink to the bottom of the water."

"But if we do this, I fear many soldiers will drown," Tiemuta said with some concern.

"In marching and warfare, how can one have the benevolence of a woman? If we can destroy the Northern Expeditionary Army of Great Song in one fell swoop and annihilate Yan Wang this time, what does it matter if a few people drown?" Mule Hongzhen said angrily.

"Yes, Great Khan!" Tiemuta lowered his head to receive the reprimand.

Changing to a semi-reclining posture, he added, "You immediately send someone to tell Wulanba that he can lead the Gaoli Navy south. When the time comes, I want to see whether Yan Wang saves Yanzhou or his father, the Emperor."

It would take seven or eight days to rush from here to Gaoli without stopping.

By then, the main force of the Northern Di troops would have mostly crossed the river as well.

This war would then truly be able to begin.

Next, he ordered the two royal tents at the foot of the Yin Mountain to set out, detour through Xiliang, and emerge from Xiao Pass.

Thus, the momentum of a pincer attack from the north and south would be formed.

"Emperor of Great Song, this time let us see whose sword is sharper," Mule Hongzhen looked toward the south, standing proudly.

Weicheng.

Zhao Xu walked through the streets of the civilian quarter.

In the distance, the sounds of gunfire and screams rang out from time to time.

That came from the Xiliang soldiers rushing out of the civilian district.

Ever since Weicheng was taken, the Xiliang soldiers in the civilian district had been without food for nearly five days.

During this period, aside from the Xiliang soldiers who could no longer bear the hunger and came out to surrender, there were those who launched a desperate final attack.

"Qin Shan, how many Xiliang soldiers have been captured and killed so far? How many do you estimate are still remaining?" Zhao Xu asked.

"Reporting to Your Highness, the current count of corpses is 56,382, and there are 22,078 captured soldiers. It is estimated that there are still over 20,000 people in the civilian district," Qin Shan said.

Zhao Xu nodded, "Keep starving them for three more days to see how long they can hold out."

The repair of Weiqiao would still take time, and he had plenty of it.

There was no need to make his soldiers risk their lives.

After all, the amount of time a person can endure starvation is only about seven or eight days.

Even if the Xiliang soldiers did not starve to death, they would be so hungry they could barely lift their blades.

The three days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the morning of the fourth day, Zhao Xu ordered Qin Shan to launch the attack.

Over these three days, more than 10,000 more Xiliang soldiers had come out to surrender, leaving only about 10,000 people inside the civilian district.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Gunshots erupted continuously in the civilian district; clearly, some Xiliang soldiers were still putting up a stubborn resistance.

But after only one hour, the gunshots in the city ceased.

Qin Shan returned and reported the results to Zhao Xu, "Your Highness, all the Xiliang soldiers in the city have been annihilated; Weicheng has been recaptured."

Zhao Xu revealed a satisfied smile, while Ma Han's eyes were slightly red.

The rebellion of Ma Jin had caused too much damage to the Ma Family.

The once prosperous city was now devastated.

On the main road, once bustling with crowds, it was now hard to see a single soul.

They had either fled to Sizhou, died in the chaos of war, or been abducted to Xiliang by the Xiliang people.

Along the way here, it was almost a thousand miles of scorched earth.

Thinking of this, the hatred in his heart almost burst out of his chest.

Looking toward Yan Wang, he said, "Your Highness, if Ma Jin can be captured, please, Your Highness, hand him over to me. If I do not slaughter him with my own hands, it will be hard to appease the hatred of this subordinate."

(https: //)

Let's set a small goal first, for example, remember it in 1 second: Shukeju mobile reading website: