choke element

Chapter 1034 Puzzled (Part )

A large number of people and horses were running and gathering, stirring up billowing dust, forcing people to squint their eyes to see far away. What was happening near Kaifeng City was even more difficult to see from a distance of several miles.

Only a few miners' leaders stood there with their hands on their backs, staring at the situation, and then listened to the faint sounds coming from the sky. One of them said to his companions, "It seems like someone is firing cannons on the top of the city wall. I don't know what new thing it is."

The others nodded and said confidently, "From what I hear, it's not a cannon or something like that. It sounds more like a signal cannon...Guo is going to lead his men to start fighting!"

"Good! Good! Guo Liushou is a famous general. Since he is dispatched, we can be sure of this battle!"

No one doubted their judgment. After all, the miners had rich experience in using gunpowder, which was beyond the reach of ordinary people. And the judgment that the Kaifeng defenders were about to go into battle also gave everyone more confidence and expectations.

In recent years, the economy of various parts of the Central Plains has been booming rapidly, and no one would deny that the mines in various places have contributed half of the credit. However, there are very few mineral resources around Kaifeng. Copper and iron mainly rely on the mines on the border of Song State in the south and Ci and Ming states in the north. The only local production with a slightly larger output is coal in the Shitang River area.

Therefore, the main business of dozens of local coal mines is not mining, but a large number of secondary processing tasks. The mine owners employ a large number of craftsmen to grind the coal into powder and process it into charcoal balls or fragrant cakes, making several times the profit.

Now these coal mines were destroyed by the Mongols, and almost all of them were destroyed, not only the coal mines, but also the iron smelting, stone quarrying, brick making, and even the lumberyard and weaving mills.

Wherever the Mongolian army went, they used various means to destroy the enemy's war potential. In addition to killing people everywhere, they also burned buildings to ruins, knocked down blast furnaces, and flattened brick kilns. Artisans in many military states suffered heavy casualties, and those who survived either lost their families or their jobs.

When the Great Jin was still in existence, the Jurchens had poor governance and various industries had been in decline for decades. Everyone still remembers the embarrassment and suffering of ordinary people who were hungry and cold, and faced life-and-death dangers at any time. It was not until the establishment of the Great Zhou that all industries revived. Only then did society gradually stabilize, the commodity economy flourished rapidly, and life became better.

The money was originally earned by the Southern Song Dynasty. The demand for goods from Korea, Japan, and even the distant Mekong countries was endless, bringing tens of millions of guan of benefits to the Song Dynasty every year. Only the Jin Dynasty was isolated from the outside world, and the annual tribute from the Southern Dynasty was not enough to fill the gaps between its teeth.

After the Great Zhou was integrated into this trade circle, the two countries exchanged what they had, which led to a rapid expansion of the scale of the trade circle. Song State certainly earned more than before. Relying on the private collusion with the Great Zhou, the relevant officials received unimaginable benefits, and everyone was well-fed. And the gains of the officials and people of the Great Zhou were more than a hundred times more than those of the Jin Dynasty.
In this environment, the size of the town continued to expand, and new workshops were opened one after another. There were as many as fourteen charcoal mines around Kaifeng alone, each of which required more than 500 craftsmen, and the scale of other industries was not inferior.

There were many workshops, but the number of craftsmen who were not on the land could not meet the demand. Therefore, there were merchants who were responsible for going deep into the territory of Song to hire craftsmen at high prices.

Local farmers wanted to make some extra money during the off-season, so the price they were offered by farm owners was generally quite high. If women wanted to make some extra money, they could work as weavers.

Farmers who are smart and reliable can learn some real skills after working for a year or so. At this time, many people rent out their own land and become full-time craftsmen. They can also be promoted to foremen in a short period of time, or be poached by other farms, thereby earning more money and returning to their hometown to buy fields.

Even those who were not so ambitious had a good income. Often one person's hard work could support the entire family. During festivals, they could even buy a few feet of cloth to make clothes, and then have a meal of beef as delicious as flower cake for the whole family.

In a rapidly developing environment, such a golden age is bound to emerge.

Maybe it won't last long, maybe the interests of the people will be swallowed up by those in power, or maybe the business environment will change, factories will close down, workers will lose their jobs and become foodless and clothingless, and fall into ruin again. But at the moment, this world is good enough. Compared with the last few decades of chaos in the Jin Dynasty, now it is no different from the paradise in dreams.

Who gave us such a good life? Of course it was the Emperor of the Great Zhou, Guo Ning!

Who is uprooting all this? The Black Tartars, of course!
Everyone was furious about the Mongolian invasion.

In the eyes of the Mongols, ordinary Han farmers were no different from cattle and sheep, and the anger of cattle and sheep was nothing to the herders. However, craftsmen were different from farmers. They were used to working with dozens or even hundreds of people, obeying the orders of foremen and managers, and not allowing anyone to act on their own. This gave them perfect organization and discipline, as well as a far greater ability to act than farmers.

With discipline, they can stick together to protect themselves when danger comes; with the power of action, their rage is no longer just rage, but immediately transformed into a raging fire of revenge.

In the past few days, hundreds of attacks against small groups of Mongol cavalry have been launched by escaped miners, fueled by the fire of revenge.

These attacks may not have been effective, and the miners suffered heavy casualties. However, no one cared, and instead, their ruthlessness was aroused more and more.

They continued to fight, sacrifice, and gather together. They also opened several arsenals that had not been discovered by the Mongols to equip themselves, and even joined forces with soldiers who continued to fight in various places.

At first, a Mongol shooting an arrow from a distance would scare hundreds of people away. But they soon discovered that although the Mongols were powerful, their weapons had a limit to their lethality. As long as they seized the right opportunity and waited for an enemy to approach carelessly, they would immediately surround and entangle him. Even if they killed ten or eight of their companions in one go, the remaining people could still kill the Mongol.

It turns out that the iron hammer used to grind coal can also be used to smash the enemy's skull; it turns out that the tool used to cut wood can also cut the enemy's arm; it turns out that you can make a shield by splitting a few pieces of wood, and then use the shield to smash the enemy to death...

It turns out that the Mongolian cavalry were not ghosts or gods and could be killed.

As more experienced warriors joined in, they became more courageous and fought more proactively.

Previously, Tolui had dispersed his troops too much in order to expand his power, and many teams of ten were slower to gather than expected because of the joy of looting. This situation provided the best training opportunity for the craftsmen. They were already organized, and now they have courage, as well as combat skills from the officers and soldiers of the Great Zhou. It's enough, we have everything we need, what are we waiting for? Of course, we will continue to fight and have a big fight with the Mongols!
"Those who have bows and can shoot arrows, follow me! Everyone else, line up immediately as we agreed before!"

The dark and thin Mr. Zhu shouted a few words.

He walked slowly in the crowd with a cane, looking a little out of place compared to the murderous people around him, but everyone made way for him.

Among the craftsmen present, he was the one with the highest status. Last year, he led thousands of civilians to serve in Tianjin Prefecture. It was hard work to dig harbors in the winter. But he brought everyone back safely without any loss. During this period, a few scum in the army caused trouble and broke Zhu Lao Da's two legs, but they did not gain any advantage. Instead, their family was purged by the court.

This sense of responsibility and toughness made everyone believe in him. Although he could no longer work in the fields, many people were willing to consult him when they encountered difficulties in life. Many of the laborers later became craftsmen in various industries. When they had conflicts with their employers, they were willing to ask Boss Zhu to come forward and make a judgment.

Such a person would be a thorn in the court's side. But it must be said that the Zhou court was too rudimentary. Not only did they not keep an eye on him, but they gave him a title and encouraged him to come forward to explain the court's policies and mediate between the common people and the wealthy on behalf of the court.

This was true in peacetime and in wartime. Following Boss Zhu's shout, dozens of men armed with bows and crossbows came out and followed him without hesitation, while others gathered together and tried to form a small square formation.

After a few days of fighting, they already knew what kind of formation was best for dealing with Mongolian cavalry, but they were not real soldiers after all, and they could not change the formation while moving forward. Some people tried to stop and reorganize the team, but were pushed and shoved by the people behind them, so they started to yell and curse angrily.

There were soldiers in the ranks, but most of them were garrison troops from various garrisons. They lacked experience, and their commands were quickly drowned out by the surging voices of the crowd.

Such chaos in front of the enemy is a way to death. If there were no friendly forces in several directions to hold them back, the Mongolian army would have sent a team of cavalry to rush over and disrupt everyone.

The combat capability of the Mongolian army increased rapidly as the size of the army expanded. The craftsmen who could defeat a team of ten and consume a team of a hundred in scattered battles would be no different from meat on a chopping block if they faced the elite Mongolian team of a thousand in this state.

Zheng Rui knew that he could not allow the chaotic situation to continue, so he hurried over from behind.

He knew very well that the real main force of the battle must be the Kaifeng defenders and Yang Miaozhen's elite cavalry. The huge group around him was actually used to distract the Mongols. But taking on this combat mission did not mean sending oneself to death.

Zheng Rui left Guide Prefecture yesterday afternoon and joined this team. Because his original subordinates were killed in the battle, he was now leading more than a hundred military academy students who were undergoing training and internship in Suzhou.

Yang Miaozhen came with elite cavalry to rescue, and the military and civilians responded wherever they went, so the military academy students followed Yang Miaozhen and his party. Because there was no battle along the way, the marching speed was very fast; half an hour ago, when they were handed over to Zheng Rui, they were all intact, and none of them were injured.

"You two will form a group, each in charge of a square formation." Zheng Rui said to them, "Do as the manual teaches!"

"As ordered!"

The cadets immediately dispersed into the crowd and soon stood at the front of the square.
Those who can be selected into the military academy are either the best soldiers or officers who already have command qualifications but lack cultural foundation. In school, they have to learn a lot of combat command courses and be ready to replace officers at all levels at any time.

In the minds of these military academy students, the Great Zhou Emperor Guo Ning and the generals around him are living legends. They stood out from the most ordinary soldiers and achieved unprecedented achievements. And those who followed them, such as senior officers like Zheng Rui, also gained wealth and status that were enough to bring honor to their ancestors.

Such a leap is something that ordinary soldiers could never dream of. But now they don't have to dream, just look at what is in front of them, there is a chance if they can make merit in this war!
The cadets were all excited. They themselves were a constant source of fresh blood in the long battles, and they were an asset that only a country with a strong military and extremely rich could provide.

The cadets quickly took over the command. They took out different flags from the bags behind them, put them on the gun barrels, and then raised them high.

Such flags were only owned by regular troops. In the Zhou Dynasty, which attached great importance to the status of soldiers, soldiers were paid much more than craftsmen, and the army recruited craftsmen every year.

Many craftsmen had participated in the recruitment and training, but were eliminated because of some unsuitable conditions. However, with the training background and the admiration and respect for the soldiers, they immediately stood behind the military flag and soon became well-organized.

As the flags were waved vigorously, the whole crowd became excited and shouted loudly.

"I guess we can have a good fight today!" A miner stroked his messy beard and laughed towards the sky.

"Kill, kill, kill! Kill the Tartars and take revenge!" A sturdy man with twisted muscles all over his body stared with bloodshot eyes.

Someone beside him whispered to comfort him: "After defeating the Tartars, life will go on as usual. I will give my youngest son to you for adoption!"

A little further away, a Song man, called Lao Han by the craftsmen, stuck his knife into the ground. He was very skilled in martial arts and was very respected in the battles of the past few days, so no one disturbed him as he knelt on one knee and muttered to himself.

Behind the formation, a taller command flag had been erected, and an exciting trumpet sounded. Everyone held their weapons tightly, and under the command of the military flag, one phalanx after another set out, and the entire wilderness seemed to be filled with people. The cold light of their weapons flashed, shining like an endless cluster of stars in the smoke and dust.

Tolui's face turned pale as he stared at their approaching troops.

A Qian Hu Na Yan nearby reminded him, "Fourth Prince, these are just for the sake of being a blade. Their real fighters must be hidden."

Tolui nodded slightly, but still stared.

He was the most familiar with the Han people among the Mongols, and he also understood the Han people's rules the best. Only by having in-depth contact with this nation can one truly feel what it contains. That's why he made a huge plan, intending to suppress or destroy it in one fell swoop.

But now it seems that he was deceived by the appearance of the Southern Song Dynasty and underestimated the Han people. The real organizational ability and background of the Han people can completely scare any Mongolian!

Apart from anything else, after being slaughtered by tens of thousands of Mongolian cavalrymen, they were able to fight back and gather their troops in an orderly manner. What kind of terrifying tenacity is this? To support such a huge force, what kind of strong material deployment ability is needed?

From the perspective of senior Mongolian generals, the army before them was indeed not a strong enemy.

Tuo Lei was sure that if he wanted to fight, he only needed two thousand-man teams to attack together and kill them all in one hour if there were no obstacles. If he wanted to retreat, it would be even easier. This army was mainly composed of infantry, and it was impossible for them to catch up with the Mongols who came and went like the wind.

But they can't be considered weak enemies.

They were well organized, well-armed, well-managed, and the soldiers were willing to obey orders and the officers were experienced. This was much better than the armies of the so-called great powers in the Western Regions and Central Asia. Those armies had no strict discipline and were just large-scale bandits.

Perhaps only the troops under the Khwarezmian prince Jalaluddin were stronger than them. But how many people did Jalaluddin have under his confidants?

After the Battle of Baluwanchuan, Jalaluddin was left with only 700 guards. Even though he almost managed to kill Genghis Khan himself, he was ultimately defeated and had to flee.

But here, when the mighty army appears, there are more than tens of thousands of people.
What was even more terrifying was that this was an army formed by ordinary people in just a few days. Tuolei had no idea how many such armies there were... Based on the number of Han people, perhaps there were countless!
Why are there so many Han people? Why are they so strong?
I wanted to come here for revenge, to be proud of myself. But... the Yeke Mongol Ulus are obviously stronger than before, and I command more troops than before, but even after trying my best, I am no longer qualified to fight against the Emperor of the Great Zhou!
(End of this chapter)