Chapter 10 3. Seize Beijing and lock the throat

"The Kingdom of Jin has moved its capital! The Kingdom of Jin has moved its capital!" Facing the scorching summer sun, a horse galloped like lightning, raised layers of yellow dust, and quickly arrived at the Mongolian army camp by the Yuer Lake in the former Tatar hometown.The messenger on horseback threw his stirrups off the saddle in front of the Dagong tent, jumped off his horse, and rushed in. It turned out that Wan Yanxun, the new emperor of the Jin Kingdom, knew very well that humiliation, summation, gold and silver, and even the daughter of the former emperor, Princess Qi, could not satisfy the appetite of these Mongolian prairie wolves.The peace that came at such a high price was, at best, a temporary truce.The Great Wall can't stop the Mongolian army, what else can stop them?

Under the repeated instigation of Hu Shahu and others, the new emperor of the Jin Kingdom made the final decision: to abandon the central capital, move the capital to Bianjing, rely on the Yellow River natural moat, and fight against Mongolia. In the imperial garden, the sheng pipes are singing together, and the singing and dancing are dancing.Hearing that the capital was going to be moved, the court was in an uproar. Prime Minister Zuo Tuketanyi and Wanyan Fu rushed over excitedly, seeing the emperor having a banquet with Hu Shahu, they fell to the ground and worshiped, crying and admonishing, "My emperor, you must not move the capital!"

Wanyan Xun turned his head, squinted at the two people who were prostrate on the ground crying, and asked back: "If we don't move the capital, what do we rely on to hold on? The 400,000 army will be wiped out in less than a month. What else can we give them?" ?” Zuo Prime Minister Tuke Tanyi raised his head, tearful, and said: "Your Majesty, the Tatars invaded the south, and the national disaster is at the head of the line. It is only reasonable that the monarch and the people can solve the national disaster together. Now, His Majesty moves south, abandoning the people in the fire and water. The hearts of the people are scattered, and the morale of the army is disintegrated. The country will be destroyed forever! A strong enemy is in the north, and Luanyu is heading south. How can we resist the enemy? If the center is not defended, the northern land will be lost. Ruined and ruined, I sincerely hope that His Majesty will take back his order and stick to the central capital, the country and the people will be blessed!"

Wanyan Fuxing also said: "Now that I have been humiliated and asked for peace, I should cherish it, gather troops and accumulate millet, and stick to the capital. It has been more than a hundred years since the capital was moved to Yanjing in the first year of Zhenyuan of the Great Jin Dynasty. Now that the enemy is now, I can't wait. Thinking about the War of Resistance, we moved our capital to Bianliang instead. This is our cowardice. Besides, we just made peace with the Tartars. Once we move our capital, it will give them an excuse to attack. Therefore, your majesty, you must not move your capital!"

Wanyan Xun said unhappily: "Understood, I and Hu Shahu Zuo Deputy Marshal have come up with a perfect plan, let's go out!" There was an uproar in the city of Zhongdu, people rushed to flee, and the order was in chaos. In June 1214, Wanyan Xun left Wanyan Chenghui as the Marshal of the capital, and he was loyal to Zuocheng Mu Yan, and he was loyal to the prince and stationed in Zhongdu.Since then, he has set out in Liugong and moved the capital to Bianliang. Genghis Khan couldn't help being furious after hearing the order's dictation: "This Wanyan Xun, since he made peace with me, why did he move south? I think he must hold suspicion and hold grudges, but through peace negotiations, I implement the strategy of delaying the army. We must preemptively defeat his tricks."

Therefore, the leaders of the grassland ministries were called immediately to discuss the third gold cutting. Jochi stood up first to speak. "Father Khan, we should take this opportunity to capture Zhongdu in one fell swoop and capture Altan Khan alive. My son is willing to be the first to enter Zhongdu." Jochi just returned to the camp yesterday.The right army led by him, Chagatai and Wo Kuotai swept the entire Hebei Plain from north to south, and the troops went straight to Huaiqing Mansion on the North Bank of the Yellow River.There, their offensive pace was blocked by the surging Yellow River, so they turned westward, attacked Taiyuan in one fell swoop, and returned to the Mongolian grassland after obtaining a large amount of spoils.After countless battles, the eldest son of Genghis Khan's expression became more serious, his temperament became more aggressive, his eyes shone with a frightening light, and he was a goshawk ready to go at any time.

Jochi's proposal was immediately responded by many tribal leaders, "Let's attack!" "Let's fight!" These passionate "challenges" echoed in the palace tent.Countless eager eyes stared at Genghis Khan's face, expecting the Khan to give the order to march. Genghis Khan was not in a hurry to express his opinion, but turned his attention to the few people on the other side who hadn't spoken yet. Last year, Genghis Khan resolutely disagreed with the attack on Zhongdu City, because he knew that the Kingdom of Jin had built the capital for more than 100 years and worked hard to manage Zhongdu, with tall and thick walls.In addition, as the capital, the number of garrison troops should not be underestimated.Although the Mongolian army broke through the Juyongguan Pass, they had to go through many twists and turns. Once they failed in the attack, they would fall into a dilemma of garrisoning troops under the fortified city.But today is different. After more than a year of actual combat experience, the Mongolian army has mastered certain siege skills, especially learned to use artillery and catapults from the Han and Khitan people, which greatly strengthened the siege force.Therefore, this time, Genghis Khan will never give up this good opportunity to win the central capital and destroy the Kingdom of Jin.

However, he needs a more secure method, a more secure person who allows him to let him go with confidence. His eyes fell on Mu Huali again. Mu Huali stood up and said: "Khan, last year I entered Shandong with you, Keyidu (now Qingzhou), Binzhou (now Binzhou North), Dizhou (now Huimin South), Zhucheng, and returned to the division to encircle Du, forced Jindi to ask for peace, and then I thought about how to attack. Today, I would like to ask for orders to be the vanguard, leading 100,000 troops, and conquering Zhongdu." Seeing that Mu Huali not only did not object, but pleaded for orders, Genghis Khan nodded in satisfaction.After several years of conquests, he has become more and more dependent on Mu Huali. Mu Huali is like him, calm and decisive, but not reckless; rough and brave, but not lacking in wisdom.Moreover, he has one thing that other Mongolians can't match, that is, he is good at using Han people.Mongolian nomads are not good at attacking cities and land, but with the wisdom of the Han people, the Mongols can attack cities and conquer land, and they are invincible.Thinking of this, Genghis Khan immediately said loudly: "Okay! Then I will order you to be the vanguard, and Jebe will be the deputy general to lead the 20,000 Mongolian army, plus the Khitan army under Ming'an's command and the rebel army of King Yeluliu of the Liao Dynasty. Wan Dajun will go first, and I will support them later, and take Zhongdu in one fell swoop."

Then, Genghis Khan ordered Yue Hunan to draft the order for the second expedition to the Kingdom of Jin, and issued the whole grassland, accusing the Kingdom of Jin of having no peace sincerity, arbitrarily detaining the friendly envoys sent by Mongolia to the Southern Song Dynasty, and arbitrarily breaking the contract after forming an alliance for less than half a year.All tribes are required to take action to eliminate the Jin Kingdom and avenge the two dead Mongolian Khans. An order aroused the Mongolian army that had already been ready to attack, and within a few days, the boundless grassland by the fishing lake was crowded by the Mongolian iron hoofs ready to go.Under the guidance of the bald black flag, Genghis Khan under the nine-tailed white flag made his second expedition to the central capital of the Jin Kingdom.

Mu Huali took the order and set off immediately.This time, he brought two more people, namely the Shi Tianni brothers who were recruited last year. In the large tent of the Mongolian Army's Vanguard Department, Mu Huali, Zhebe and the others sat down again to study the detailed plan of the march.This time, Mu Huali strongly recommended Shi Tianni to join the battle as Wanhu.Tian Ni is both wise and brave. Since the surrender in Yongqing, Shandong Province last year, Mu Huali has relied on him as his confidant.When he returned to the grassland, Mu Huali recommended him as the ten thousand households, and he was granted the command of the horse infantry army, controlling 140,000 households.His younger brothers Tian'an and Tianze were also promoted to captain.On the eve of this great battle, Mu Huali hoped to hear his voice even more.

Seeing that the Mongolian generals were all looking at him, Shi Tianni cleared his throat, breathed out, and began his first official speech as a staff officer: "Gentlemen, although the capital of the Kingdom of Jin has moved to Bianliang and the central capital is empty, this is only an opportunity to take advantage of it on the surface, but the centipede is dead but not stiff. After all, the capital of the central capital has been established for more than a hundred years. Zhongdu is the largest city in the Kingdom of Jin, and also the city with the highest defense. Its defense and its war potential cannot be ignored. Compared with such a city, the ability of our Mongolian army to attack fortifications is very insufficient gone." "However, we also captured many cities, Shangdu Ning, Taiyuan, Jinan, these are also big cities, don't they still fall into our hands?" Subotai asked. Shi Tianni replied calmly: "Yes, these cities are also very large and strong, but how did we capture these cities?" "Surprise attack, internal response, and deception to lure the enemy." Subotai replied. "That's right, all strategies were adopted, taking advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, and capturing the city by surprise, but none of them were captured by frontal attack or long-term siege. Why?" Shi Tianni asked himself without waiting for Subutai to speak. Self-answered, "Because if we attack the city from the front, our army lacks the corresponding siege equipment, such as charging carts, building carts, ladders, trebuchets, and artillery, and we don't have enough infantry; if we are besieged for a long time, our army is short of troops. And in the enemy's territory, it is difficult to supply food and grass. According to the art of war, it is a big taboo to station troops under a fortified city and be unable to attack for a long time. Our army is a guest, and the Kingdom of Jin is the master. Moreover, most of our army is cavalry, and they are not good at infantry combat. If we abandon our advantages of flexibility and maneuver and turn to protracted siege warfare, it will be tantamount to using our own weaknesses to counter the enemy's strengths. Army. Once it takes a lot of time to attack the fortifications, it will give the Kingdom of Jin a chance to breathe and make them use their potential troops that can fight. On the contrary, our army will be caught in a dilemma, and there is even a danger of being surrounded. At that time, food and grass will be in short supply, morale will be low, and the situation will be dangerous, even if Sun Wuzi is alive again, it will be difficult to save him." Having said that, the generals nodded. "That's right, since the central capital has changed at this time, the defenses must be more stringent. I'm afraid it won't work if we use a surprise attack. Once these strategies fail, we can only attack hard. If that happens, our losses will be great." Jebe also nodded and said, "That's right, our horses can't fly up to the city, if we climb the city wall instead of horseback, no matter how brave the soldiers are, they won't be able to do what they want." Mu Huali said: "Then what do you think we should do at this time?" Shi Tianni said: "The Kingdom of Jin gave up the central capital of Youzhou and moved the capital to Bianliang. This is the most failed move. The vast Liaoshui area is the birthplace of the Jin State, and the central capital is the gateway to the Liaoshui area. Throats and strategic locations. Before we attack Zhongdu, it is better to occupy and pacify all the counties and counties in Liaodong and Liaoxi, put soldiers in their backyards, cut off their retreat, and Zhongdu will be isolated." "If that's the case, wouldn't the Jin people be able to breathe?" Shi Moming'an objected. "We will not give them a chance easily. I suggest that General Subotai lead the Mongolian army, and General Shima Mingan lead the Khitan army. Together with General Cheida, a total of 50,000 people, surround Zhongdu without attacking. The strategy of besieging the city and fighting for aid cut off all ties between Zhongdu and the outside world, and did not allow a single soldier and grain of gold reinforcements to enter Zhongdu. General Mu Huali personally led the main force to attack Liaodong and captured Gaozhou ( Northeast of today's Chifeng, Inner Mongolia), Chengzhou (now northwest of Fuxin, Liaoning), Jinzhou (now part of Liaoning), Yizhou (now northwest of Zhangwu, Liaoning) and other places, and then return to the division and attack Zhongdu together with the siege troops. By then, Without food and grass inside, and without reinforcements outside, Zhongdu will be a lonely city, a dead city, and eventually the enemy city will be forced to surrender without a fight." "Okay, let's do it like this!" Mu Huali was overjoyed, and immediately ordered the troops to act according to plan. Let's talk about the central capital of the Kingdom of Jin. Before the Mongolian army arrived, Prince Wanyan Shouzhong, who was ordered to stay in the central capital, also led his army to flee south. The military strength in the central capital became weaker and weaker, and the morale of the army and the people reached the lowest point in the history of the Kingdom of Jin.The powerful fortress that once made the Mongols look at the city sighed, after the interior collapsed, it has become a ripe apple, just waiting for the Mongolian army to reach out and pick it.Wanyan Chenghui, a general staying in the capital of the Jin Dynasty, saw the critical situation and was very anxious, so he quickly sent someone to Bianjing to report the emergency military situation.Jin Xuanzong ordered Yushi Zhongcheng Li Ying and others to lead the troops to support.Li Ying was originally a civil servant and was born as a Jinshi. Although he had certain political insights, he had no practical experience in commanding the army.Jin Xuanzong messed up the mandarin ducks and handed over the important task of aiding Zhongdu to Li Ying, which in itself was improper employment. In order to boost morale, Li Ying ordered everyone to carry three buckets of food, "even Marshal Wanfu is no exception."These tens of thousands of troops, from the generals to the soldiers, carried food for thousands of miles, and the lack of people and horses greatly weakened the combat effectiveness of the troops.After learning about this situation, Zhebe immediately ordered Shi Momingan, right deputy marshal Shensa and others to lead the cavalry to intercept.In the Qingge area of ​​Bazhou, the Mongolian cavalry encountered Li Yingjun. Li Ying had always been addicted to alcohol, and the military discipline of the army under his command was lax. When the two armies were fighting against each other, Li Ying still drank several cups and became very drunk.When he arrived on the battlefield, he was riding on horseback, stumbling around, and even his subordinates couldn't help laughing when they saw it.The Mongolian army rushed over like a whirlwind, like a tiger descending from the mountain, how could the soldiers of the Jin Dynasty stop it, but Li Ying was intoxicated, swayed a few times while sitting on the horse, and suddenly fell from the horse to the ground. The soldier had sharp eyesight and quick hands, and stabbed him to death with a single shot.Poor Marshal Li Ying, who just went straight to the hometown of wine in such a daze, and reported to Du Kang, the ancestor of wine making.The army of the Jin Dynasty lost its commander, and the whole army immediately fell apart and fled in all directions. The city of Zhongdu ran out of food and aid, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were cannibalistic due to excessive hunger.Wanyan Chenghui, who stayed behind in Zhongdu, was more than loyal, but he was also powerless to return to heaven. Seeing that the situation was over, he committed suicide by taking poison and died in the line of duty.The left deputy marshal abandoned the city and fled south, but the central government surrendered without a fight. Genghis Khan immediately ordered the vanguard officials to go to the city to check the treasury property, transport it all back to Mobei, and then let the Mongolian soldiers burn, kill and loot.Jindu suddenly became a hell on earth, and the century-old prosperous metropolis groaned amidst the war... In this battle, the Mongolian army adopted the method of dividing the connection between western Liaoning and Zhongdu and besieged the city to fight for aid, forcing the Jin army in Zhongdu to kill itself, thus successfully occupying Zhongdu.Due to the southward relocation of the capital, the Jin army changed from a passive defense to a retreating defense. After occupying the central capital, Genghis Khan divided his troops into three groups, continued to go south, and plundered Hebei and Shandong.