I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 166 The Painful Destruction of Zhong Xiang, A Feint to the West to Attack the East

Zhao Zicheng allocated 5,000 pure cavalry troops to Yue Fei for this operation, which was all the cavalry force Zhao Zicheng had accumulated over the years.

He also gave Yue Fei all of his current stockpile of light bronze cannons, as well as a large stockpile of hand grenades and some stockpile of explosives for demolition, in case of emergency.

The first public reveal of these groundbreaking weapons should be accompanied by a momentous event. To expose such powerful artillery for some minor skirmish would be a gross underutilization of their capabilities.

After receiving the order, Yue Fei immediately took a ship to Goryeo and arrived in Goryeo in August. He then assembled the necessary cavalry and warships and prepared to go to Vladivostok Bay from the east coast of Goryeo.

According to Zhao Zicheng's estimation, the Jurchens likely moved Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan between May and October of that year. This was because the northeastern region was only suitable for military campaigns during those few months; after October, the weather became too cold.

Moreover, historically, although it seems that the Jurchens took Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan more than a year to reach the capital, a significant portion of that time was spent waiting in Yanjing for the right season and weather for their march. In reality, the actual time spent on the road was only a few months before they arrived at Wuguo City.

After sending Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan to the Jurchens, they might not immediately hold the sheep-leading ceremony to present the captives, but at the latest, it would not be delayed until after the New Year.

Therefore, if Yue Fei had been able to reach Wuguo City by the end of October or November, he might not have encountered Wanyan Wuqimai, but he would definitely have run into Zhao Huan and Zhao Ji.

Arriving later would have brought more losses and challenges for Yue Fei, but it would also have provided greater cover. In the Northeast, once winter arrived, fishermen and hunters of that era would stay indoors to hibernate. Even in populated areas, there would be little human activity in the countryside during winter, and the Jurchen patrols would be much fewer, making it easier for Yue Fei to advance.

Of course, the biggest challenge for Yue Fei's army in the Northeast winter is the cold, and Zhao Zicheng will make full preparations for this.

When he first transmigrated, he was still a minor member of a collateral branch of the royal family, struggling to make a living. He had already ventured into the down industry. Later, when he arrived in the Shandong Peninsula, he began to cultivate cotton and manufacture cotton-padded coats.

Several years have passed, and cotton-padded coats are no longer a rarity, but they are certainly not so common that ordinary people can afford them. Only Zhao Zicheng could provide tens of thousands of cotton-padded coats from his stockpile. Zhao Zicheng would certainly equip every one of Yue Fei's soldiers with thick cotton-padded coats. This kind of unexpected winter gear would obviously be able to catch the Jin people off guard and give them more surprises.

When the Jurchens arrived safely after a long and arduous journey, their vigilance would be at its lowest. Which Jurchen could have imagined that after traveling thousands of miles without incident, they would encounter an accident in their homeland, the place where they least expected any mishaps?
Besides, by then it will be winter in Northeast China, and even if the Jin people racked their brains, they still wouldn't understand.

As for Zhao Zicheng, the only thing he could do for Yue Fei was to personally lead an expedition against Zhong Xiang as the Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces of the Realm, making the campaign as grand as possible.

This led the Jin people to mistakenly believe that Zhao Zicheng's entire camp was focused on Huguang. "If they did not send troops to the Xiangyang battlefield to monitor and be ready to attack Zhao Zicheng from both sides, then Zhao Gou's territory might be taken over by Zhao Zicheng."

The greater Zhao Zicheng's influence, the more Jurchen soldiers he could recruit, and the safer it would be for Yue Fei to launch a long-range encirclement and annihilate the enemy's stronghold.

……

With such tacit understanding, the Hubei-Hunan Campaign proceeded as planned.

Zhao Zicheng sent Yue Fei away in July, while he himself delayed until August to begin assembling for a personal campaign. He arrived in Jiangzhou halfway through August, and by early September, he had passed through Qi and Huang, launching a fierce attack on Ezhou, which was controlled by Zhong Xiang's army.

Zhao Zicheng made no secret of this operation; on the contrary, he deliberately made a big show of it to create as much of a stir as possible. As a result, Prime Minister Zhong knew about Zhao Zicheng's arrival long in advance and made ample preparations.

Zhong Xiang brought the core Manichaean leaders of the Huguang rebels to the front line in Ezhou, attempting to "defend the country from the gates" and knock Zhao Zicheng's teeth out with the strong city of Ezhou.

In theory, Zhao Zicheng could use his long-suppressed bronze cannons to attack the city, but he clearly wouldn't do that. He'd already endured so much; to expose himself at the last minute and alert the Jurchens would be a huge loss.

In any case, we must wait until Yue Fei succeeds before revealing the existence of the bronze cannons on other battlefields.

Furthermore, future historical records must emphasize that "the bronze cannon was invented just before the return of the two saints," and anyone who dares to spread such nonsense will be silenced.

Therefore, Zhao Zicheng has firmly chosen the traditional method of attacking the city.

He wasn't afraid to drag out the game and play slowly.

In this battle, Zhao Zicheng personally led 60,000 Song troops to fight.

Nearly 20,000 of them were his former troops from the Liangzhe Road area, as well as some former Western Army troops who had fought alongside him against Fang La and had just been transferred over a longer route.

Han Shizhong and Liu Guangshi were also transferred here by him using his power as regent. Zhao Zicheng had sent the transfer order to Li Gang in Luoyang a few months ago, and Li Gang then found a way to transfer these two forces through the war-torn Hannan area from Heluo to the Hubei battlefield.

Although the route passed through some of Zhao Gou's territories, Zhao Gou had only recently established his rule and his control over the local areas was not yet complete. In addition, Zhao Gou was also cowardly and did not want to fire the first shot in the "Zhao family civil war," so he turned a blind eye and allowed Han Shizhong and Liu Guangshi to pass through and join forces with Zhao Zicheng. Zhao Gou was also happy to see these former generals of the Western Army who refused to follow him. They should first fight Zhong Xiang to the death, since it was a matter of sacrificing friends rather than himself.

Han Shizhong and Liu Guangshi each led three to four thousand of their own men to join Zhao Zicheng's army.

These armies had a significant psychological advantage when facing Zhong Xiang's army, composed of Manichaean followers, because they had all participated in the suppression of Fang La, who was also a Manichaean rebel and whose influence was even greater than Zhong Xiang's back then. Moreover, these troops had a sufficient number of soldiers, had not been owed pay for many years, and were well-equipped, making them the backbone of the Song army in Jiangnan.

The 40,000 men that Zhao Zicheng had left were mainly troops drawn from Jiangnan East Road and Jiangnan West Road, and some were even conscripted from Fujian Road. Their combat effectiveness was much lower, mainly because they had not been personally trained by Zhao Zicheng before, and they had only received their full pay for two months, so their morale had just begun to recover.

The equipment was merely replenished to make up for the deficiencies, replacing the old, dilapidated swords, spears, and rotten armor that had been in disrepair for years; there hadn't been time to upgrade to new equipment. As for the source of the materials needed for their equipment upgrade, it was naturally the old equipment that Zhao Zicheng's elite troops had acquired after the upgrade.

Although those old-fashioned equipment are not up to par, they are still durable. Unifying the equipment of each army can also reduce logistical pressure.

As for the other northern troops, Zhao Zicheng did not bring any of them. Those troops were required to hold the front lines against the Jin army and could not be moved lightly. Moreover, the northern Song army was not good at naval warfare. To fight against Hunan warlords like Zhong Xiang, the local troops from Jiangnan were enough, which was a good use of their talents.

Upon arriving in Ezhou, Zhao Zicheng first ascertained the enemy's situation and discovered that Zhong Xiangjun's mobilization of defensive forces actually exceeded his own offensive forces, with over 100,000 ragtag troops gathered on the Ezhou front alone.

These Manichaean armies have always been very large in number. Fang La was able to raise over 100,000 people in a short period of time, while Zhong Xiang had already controlled the entire Hunan province, and even the part of Hubei province south of the Yangtze River in later years, raising over 300,000 people.

However, all such armies suffer from inadequate weaponry and equipment. The armor coverage rate among the 300,000 troops is extremely low, and the quality of both melee and ranged weapons is poor, with a lack of powerful crossbows.

However, because Zhong Xiang's core territory was around Dongting Lake, his army had a considerable number and tonnage of warships, as well as large wagons and tower ships. In naval battles, they could overwhelm the Song army with sheer numbers.

Even if their melee weapons are weaker, they can still fight back by ramming and other methods on the river.

Seeing the sheer number of enemy troops defending the city, and their unusual composition in terms of strength and combat capability, Zhao Zicheng was no longer in a hurry to launch a direct attack. Instead, he decided to besiege the city and attack any reinforcements.

After observing the enemy's situation, he instructed his accompanying generals Han Shizhong, Liu Guangshi, Lin Chong, Lu Da, and others:

"Lin Chong and Lu Da, you two will lead the army to besiege the city on land. Liu Guangshi and Han Shizhong, you will lead the navy to intercept the enemy's water transport on the Yangtze River, ensuring that Zhong Xiang cannot send any more troops to reinforce Ezhou, and even more so, preventing Zhong Xiang's grain transport team from entering the city."

The remaining reinforcements from Jiangnan Road and Fujian Road can be stationed slightly further back and along the river to shorten our army's land transport routes, reduce losses, and facilitate a protracted war.

It's only early September, and the autumn grain in Jiangnan has already been harvested, but it hasn't been dried and stored yet. The grain reserves in Ezhou City are certainly not high. That ignorant scoundrel Zhong Xiang, completely ignorant of military strategy, dares to keep hundreds of thousands of troops garrisoned in the city while the harvest is still in progress, waiting for me to launch a full-scale attack! It's utterly delusional!

Upon hearing this, the generals all agreed and ceased their attempts to launch a direct attack, instead strictly adhering to Zhao Zicheng's plan.

It must be said that Zhao Zicheng's impressive pre-battle mobilization intimidated Zhong Xiang, leading to his flawed decision-making and distorted execution. Because Zhao Zicheng's boastful approach before the attack made Zhong Xiang believe that Zhao Zicheng was definitely going to launch a thunderous assault.

Who would have thought that Zhao Zicheng had no pride whatsoever? He made a lot of noise but did little, and when he rallied his troops, he was so ruthless, but when he actually arrived in Ezhou, he changed his strategy and besieged the city, starving Zhong Xiangjun to death.

Lin Chong and Lu Da spent about half a month digging long trenches around Ezhou, adding passageways and barricades. As the siege fortifications became increasingly tight and were about to be completely closed, Zhong Xiang's army inside the city finally panicked.

In addition, the city's garrison also saw Zhao Zicheng's deployment. Zhao Zicheng only deployed the more than 20,000 men led by Liu Guangshi, Han Shizhong, Lin Chong, and Lu Da along the city's front line, while stationing the majority of the remaining troops at key ferry crossings on the Yangtze River, in order to shorten the land route for grain transport and reduce losses during transport.

This deployment gave Zhong Xiangjun's army inside the city a false sense of security, making them believe that they could exploit a time difference to first eliminate the Song army directly surrounding the city, and then defeat the Song army in the rear camp that was coming from the Yangtze River. On September 20th, the army inside the city finally launched a field counterattack, attempting to break out of Ezhou's south gate and towards the lake area south of the city, opening a passage to the waterway and cutting off the besieging Song army from that direction.

However, Zhao Zicheng was already on guard, and Lin Chong and Lu Da were also on high alert. In addition, Zhong Xiang's chaotic army was poorly organized and disciplined, and could not remain silent during the surprise attack, so there was no element of surprise whatsoever.

Zhong Zi'ang, a general under Zhong Xiang, led tens of thousands of men in a counterattack. After encountering Lin Chong, the two sides immediately engaged in a bloody battle.

Lin Chong's troops formed a dense forest of spears and were fully equipped with crossbows. They first used their swift firepower to suppress Zhong Zi'ang's charging troops, scattering Zhong's army and causing them to scream in agony.

Zhong Zi'ang, relying on his superior numbers and disregarding casualties, relentlessly urged his troops forward. They finally managed to enter the melee with heavy casualties, but they still could not shake Lin Chong's spear formation.

Lin Chong braved arrows and stones, shouting and fighting fiercely on the front line, trying his best to boost morale. The soldiers were also in high spirits and fought to the death without retreating.

"Brothers, kill them! These Mani thieves are nothing to worry about!"

"Fang La was also defeated in one battle by Your Highness back then, so what is Prime Minister Zhong compared to him!"

At this critical moment, the morale boost from their previous victory over Fang La became crucial. The soldiers were almost all highly motivated and unafraid of the enemy in front of them, giving them a significant psychological advantage.

The words spoken by the Song army during their fierce battle also reached the ears of Zhong's soldiers. Seeing how calm the government army was, and how they were laughing and mocking the old troops of the Holy Duke, who were also part of the Mani army, for being so easily defeated, Zhong's soldiers couldn't help but feel uneasy.

With morale shifting, Zhong Zi'ang's repeated assaults yielded no results, instead resulting in unnecessary losses of men and troops. By the time Song reinforcements arrived, Zhong Zi'ang's counterattack was a complete failure.

As the Song army launched a counterattack, a large number of Zhong's soldiers were killed, trampled, or captured.

Zhong Zi'ang himself managed to escape back to Ezhou City after doing his best, but then it took a lot of effort to close the city gates and prevent the pursuing Song army from directly seizing the city.

However, in order to achieve this goal, Zhong Zi'ang disregarded the principle of loyalty to his own side and ordered the heavy gate on the city wall to be lowered—the normal city gate simply couldn't be closed, as too many fleeing soldiers were trying to escape back into the city. The only option was to use the heavy gate to smash it down, which killed dozens of his own soldiers who happened to be directly below the gate at that time.

The horrific sight and cries of the soldiers crushed to death by the gate truly terrified the guards on the city wall, causing their morale to plummet to rock bottom.

After this battle, the defenders of Ezhou dared not make any more trouble, and the two sides remained locked in a stalemate and siege. Time flew by and it was already October.

Although the city's grain reserves can last until winter, they definitely won't last until the spring famine next year. Moreover, surviving winter will require careful rationing, so Zhong Xiangjun will definitely be eager to ask for help to break the siege.

Unable to break through Lin Chong and Lu Da's blockade by land, the army inside the city could only rely on naval warfare.

Zhao Zicheng then used a clever trick, deliberately spreading the word to the enemy that "this time, the naval force is led by Liu Guangshi and Han Shizhong, who were Zhao Zicheng's direct subordinates transferred from the Western Army and fought alongside him in the suppression of Fang La."

At the same time, Zhao Zicheng also did not forget to voice some of the "complaints" of his own soldiers, saying that Liu Guangshi and Han Shizhong, as military men from the Northwest, did not understand naval warfare at all. They were only allowed to lead an army because of their long-standing relationship with Zhao Zicheng and because Zhao Zicheng practiced nepotism. It was truly an amateur commanding an expert.

In reality, Zhao Zicheng certainly knew the naval strength of Liu Guangshi and Han Shizhong.

He was also worried that his preconceived notions were playing tricks on him, so he secretly tested Han Shizhong and found that the man was indeed exceptionally talented. When he followed Tong Guan to fight Fang La, he learned a lot about naval warfare and troop leadership.

After coming south this time, he only carried out a few months of maritime missions, but his latent talent seemed to have been activated, and his ability to lead a naval force was very solid.

The problem is, the enemy has no idea about this.

Therefore, the rumors and gossip spread by Zhao Zicheng were quickly believed by Zhong Xiang. In desperation and fearing that his son and the vanguard would be surrounded and starved to death by the Song army, Zhong Xiang finally chose a day in October of that year when the weather, wind direction, and hydrology were all suitable. He ordered his general Yang Yao to lead tens of thousands of naval troops, including all the heavy warships that Zhong Xiang's army could muster, to sail downstream and attack Liu Guangshi and Han Shizhong from both sides.

Thus, a large-scale naval battle took place between the Song army and Zhong army on the Yangtze River near Parrot Island.

Liu Guangshi and Han Shizhong's ability to lead the navy far exceeded the expectations of Zhong Jun's soldiers. The so-called "Western Army's landlubber generals who don't understand naval warfare" is complete nonsense.

Han Shizhong, as always, demonstrated his combat prowess, just like in the Battle of Huangtiandang in a parallel universe.

More importantly, this time Han Shizhong also received a large amount of hand grenade support.

Zhao Zicheng also specifically taught him how to light the fuse of a floating mine that weighed several kilograms of explosives, and then launch it with a crossbow. He didn't need to launch it very far; a range of a few dozen paces would be enough.

The biggest difference between this floating mine and the mines used by Yue Fei when he defended the city is that it has been weighted and tested in water before leaving the factory to ensure that the overall average density is slightly lighter than water.

Even if the floating mine sinks temporarily after entering the water due to the instantaneous impact, it will quickly rise to the surface. By the time the internal fuse has burned long enough to detonate, it will be just in time to hit the enemy ship below the waterline.

With the Song army possessing new gunpowder-based explosive weapons while the other side lacked them, the naval battle was already an absolute crushing victory. The military talents of Liu Guangshi and Han Shizhong were merely icing on the cake.

Yang Yao led Zhong Jun's naval reinforcements in a major battle at Parrot Island, but was ambushed by mines, resulting in the sinking of dozens of large wooden ships and severe damage to many more, causing morale to collapse.

Liu Guangshi and Han Shizhong, of course, would not miss this opportunity. They immediately launched a surprise attack, scattering Yang Yao's troops and completely cutting off the encirclement. Countless Zhong's soldiers surrendered in fear, and tens of thousands were annihilated in a single battle.

The morale of the Song army was greatly boosted, and taking advantage of the momentum of the great victory on the water, they further proclaimed their power and threatened the defending troops in Ezhou.

Finally, in November, due to hunger and a lack of hope, some officers of the Ezhou garrison, who were trying to save their lives and personal wealth, took advantage of the chaos to agree to surrender the city.

Zhong Zi'ang tried to quell the situation but failed completely. In the end, the chaotic soldiers led the Song army into the city, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

Only a small portion of Zhong Zi'ang's soldiers were willing to fight to the death with him; the majority gave up hope and prepared to surrender the moment the city gates were opened by the traitor.

After a chaotic battle, Lin Chong led his troops to charge and surround the prefectural government office in Ezhou amidst the turmoil, killing Zhong Zi'ang and others inside.

With Ezhou recaptured by the Song army, the morale of the government troops soared, and they continued their advance upstream along the Yangtze River.

After this battle, Zhong Xiang lost at least one-third of his total forces and had to retreat to Yuezhou at the mouth of Dongting Lake.

When Zhao Gou in the north heard that Zhong Xiang had suddenly lost, and lost so badly, with more than 100,000 rabble being annihilated by Zhao Zicheng, he was greatly shocked.

He immediately ordered his generals Li Cheng and Kong Yanzhou to prepare to defend Jiangling and support Zhong Xiang. At the same time, he also reported the critical situation on the southern front to the Jin state.

After hearing the news that Zhao Zicheng had personally led an expedition to capture Ezhou and defeat Zhong Xiang, the Jurchen commander Wanyan Zonghan took it very seriously. He finally stopped dispersing his troops and instead gathered all the Jurchen elites he could mobilize in Xiangyang. He also sent generals south to try to counterattack Ezhou or to defend Yuezhou from the north of the Yangtze River.

"Has Zhao Zicheng personally led the expedition to Ezhou? Then there's no need for further piecemeal attacks. Let's concentrate all of our Jin's elite troops along the Ezhou and Yuezhou line! As long as we annihilate Zhao Zicheng's main force, the southeastern half of the country can be settled in one battle!"

The Jin people were clearly determined to carry out a decapitation strike; other targets were secondary. Opportunities to directly defeat Zhao Zicheng on the battlefield were rare.

Now that Zhao Zicheng has personally led the expedition, the Jin people can set aside all other objectives and focus on Zhao Zicheng himself!

Unbeknownst to them, the Jin army was sparing no expense in gathering its main force in the Jinghu region, seeking a decisive battle with Zhao Zicheng himself.

On Yue Fei's side, he had already led 5,000 cavalry and 20 bronze cavalry cannons, taking advantage of the vacuum created by Zhao Zicheng, and successfully landed at Vladivostok Bay. He then secretly made his way to Anchuhu Ridge by taking a roundabout route.

(End of this chapter)