Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

“Great idea!” Sariho exclaimed.

Wanyan Zongwang then said, "I will take the rest of the Han troops from Hebei with me."

"I'll leave you a group of Khitan soldiers."

Sariho asked, "Isn't the Marshal going to fight the final battle here?"

Wanyan Zongwang shook his head and said, "The battlefield was chosen by the Emperor of Liangshan."

"How could I possibly dive right in?"

"I'm going to bring the main force of the Great Gold,"

"And there are also unreliable Han Chinese troops from Hebei,"

"We will march south from Zhending Prefecture to attack Zhao Prefecture."

"The battlefield where the two armies fought a decisive battle,"

"It's right outside Zhao Prefecture!"

The Hutuo River, Qinshui River, Hulu River, and Yellow River are interconnected.

Form an irregular rectangle.

The draft is located in the upper left corner of the rectangle.

The two Ming armies were positioned on the long and wide sides.

They sandwiched Gaocheng between them, which was more than 30 miles away.

The entire interior of the rectangle,

It was all Ming territory.

Wanyan Zongwang could also cross the river and go around to get in.

But he will face multiple cities within the rectangle.

Every city,

They were all strongholds of the Ming army.

Who knows which city has a large army lying in ambush?

If we choose Manuscript City as the decisive battleground

Both sides will inevitably fight in the narrow area at the top left corner of the rectangle.

The Jin cavalry had difficulty unleashing their full fighting potential.

Moreover, Zhao Yuan was not afraid of the Jin army harassing his supply lines.

Because several waterways are connected,

Grain transport ships can go anywhere.

Wanyan Zongwang's idea was very simple.

He wants to change the route of his troops.

That is, starting from Zhen Ding Prefecture,

Using Luancheng as a springboard,

Take straight to Zhao Prefecture, where Zong Ze is located.

At the same time, he ordered Sariho to defend Gao City to the death.

If Zhao Yuan were to lead troops to rescue Zhao Prefecture,

Wanyan Zongwang fought the final battle there.

If Zhao Yuan did not save Zhao Prefecture,

He then besieged the city.

They attacked from behind the main camp of Guan Sheng, Li Jinyi, and Yue Fei.

They could also take the opportunity to seize Ningjin, which is further south.

Xinhe Town, an important grain depot and gathering place for artisans that threatened the Ming army.

……

"Are the Jin soldiers changing shifts?"

Zhao Yuan began to consider the situation.

Li Yanxian said, "According to observations by the scouts using binoculars,"

"A large number of Jin Dynasty elite troops crossed the river and entered Gaocheng,"

"Many more weak soldiers from the city were transported away by ships."

"They should have exchanged the Jin soldiers for the Han army in Hebei,"

"It seems the Jurchens are determined to defend Gaocheng to the death."

Zhao Yuan said, "Gaocheng is the gateway to Zhen Ding Prefecture."

"Of course the Jurchens would defend to the death."

"But where will they take the Han soldiers from Hebei?"

"Could it be that they're going to attack Zhao Prefecture?" Li Yanxian guessed.

Zhao Yuan nodded and said, "That's possible."

"But Zhao Prefecture is a high city with deep moats,"

"Guan Sheng and Yue Fei will be able to quickly return to reinforce,"

"Wanyan Zongwang definitely can't take it."

"They're probably trying to lure me there,"

"Let's change the battlefield for the final battle,"

"He didn't want to fight in this wretched place called Gaocheng."

Chapter 2057 Even Thugs Can Do Great Things

Li Yanxian said, "Actually, it doesn't matter where you play."

Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "The Xiao River is rather narrow."

"The Jin soldiers can easily cross the river."

"The Golden Cavalry can gallop freely across the land,"

"Even if defeated, they can quickly retreat to Luancheng and Zhending."

"That's a place where you can advance or retreat,"

“It would be even better for the Jin people.”

"Let Yue Fei lead the army back to Zhao Prefecture,"

"Send out more light cavalry to scout out the enemy's situation."

"Once it is confirmed that the main force of the Jin army has gone to Zhao Prefecture,"

"Li Jinyi led his troops to stay and join forces with me,"

"Guan Sheng and Li Qiong then went to join forces with Yue Fei."

"Aren't we going over there?" Li Yanxian asked.

Wang Yan, the commander of the Eight-Character Army, suddenly said:

"Your Highness intends to launch a full-scale attack on Gaocheng?"

Zhao Yuan said, "If we take Gaocheng, Zhen Ding Prefecture will be wide open."

"I've almost filled in the moat,"

"How could we possibly be led by the nose by Wanyan Zongwang?"

"I'll attack Gaocheng, he'll attack Zhaozhou,"

"Let's see who takes it down first."

Wanyan Zongwang's last invasion of the south,

Leading tens of thousands of troops,

Even with a small force of weak soldiers holding out, they couldn't capture Zhao Prefecture.

Even though they brought trebuchets this time,

I'm afraid we can only look on with envy and sigh.

Zong Ze, Yue Fei, Li Qiong, Guan Sheng, Li Xianzong, and others were all there!

Of course, Wanyan Zongwang thought so too.

He left behind elite troops to defend Gaocheng to the death.

Although the city walls of Gaocheng were not as good as those of Zhaozhou.

However, it is backed by rivers to the west and north.

He simply couldn't figure out how Zhao Yuan could possibly win.

How to get it?

Use muskets and cannons!

Although artillery is unlikely to breach strong city walls in a short time.

However, important defensive structures such as city walls and arrow towers can be destroyed first.

……

Manuscript City.

A large number of Han soldiers from Hebei were taken away.

Only six thousand bandits who had been granted amnesty were left behind.

Several thousand more Khitan soldiers were brought in.

The Han army commander who was left behind,

They are Zhang Di and Kong Yanzhou.

Kong Yanzhou was a fellow townsman of Yue Fei from Xiangzhou.

He came from a gangster background.

He committed a crime, changed his name, and joined the army.

He was arrested and imprisoned after the incident.

He bribed the guards to untie him.

He ran away in the middle of the night and became a thief again.

Historically, this guy served in the army and made meritorious contributions in suppressing the Shandong uprising.

He actually rose through the ranks during the Southern Song Dynasty.

When leading troops to attack Zhong Xiang,

They burned, killed, and looted during the march.

This forced many people to join the rebel army.

They suffered another defeat and lost a large amount of supplies.

They fattened up the rebel army of Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao.

Later, he betrayed the Song Dynasty and surrendered to the Jin Dynasty.

He even forced his own daughter to marry him.