In 1131, the Song army fired a salvo of crossbows, 100,000 Jurchen elite soldiers were defeated, and the commander Yan Zongbi was shot twice in the left leg and fled. The Song army took advantage of the victory to pursue, capturing more than 300 middle and senior generals of the Jin army and capturing tens of thousands of pairs of armor. In the Battle of Shangyuan, the Song army won more with fewer victories, thousands of remnants of the defeat will defeat the Jurchen 100,000 elite soldiers, but also take advantage of the victory to pursue, Wu Jie, Wu Xuan brothers became famous in a battle, so that the Jurchen Iron Riders were frightened.
In 1127, 60,000 Jurchen (Jin army) iron cavalry approached Kaifeng, and Zhang Shuye (who destroyed the Songjiang rebel army in world war I) led thousands of "Qinwang army" to fight hard, defeated the Jurchen iron horse many times, and rushed into the city to assist in defense. Unfortunately, Emperor Huizong of Song and Emperor Qinzong of Song were too weak, and they were afraid of the Jurchen Iron Horse, so they took the initiative to send gold and silver treasures and family members of the clan room. This move made the Jurchen soldiers despise the Zhao song emperor even more.
Ben had the opportunity to defeat Jurchen, but the Zhao song emperor did not give a damn, Kaifeng fell, and more than 3,500 people, including the clan, ministers, and female dependents, became prisoners and were escorted to the north by Jin soldiers. After the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, jin soldiers continued to hunt down and kill the Song dynasty royal family, and Emperor Gaozong Zhao was panicked and lost his fertility due to excessive fright. However, Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and other famous generals insisted on resisting the war, and the Jin soldiers were trapped near the Yangtze and Huai rivers and could not continue south.
Yan Zongbi, also known as Wushu, was the first general of the Jin Dynasty, and almost every famous general of the Song Dynasty had a fierce battle with him, so he was known as a "famous general maker". Yan Zongbi had a unique vision, and he believed that directly crossing the river south would not win the Song army at all, and would be maimed by Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and others. In this way, Yan Zongbi decided to bypass the Jianghuai defense line where Yue Fei and Han Shizhong were located and attack from the west.
It has to be said that Yan Zongbi's vision is indeed fierce, and the main direction of attack he chose is Guanzhong and Sichuan, trying to capture the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and then "wrapping dumplings" in the Southern Song Dynasty along the east side of the river. You know, later Kublai Khan destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, that is, he first seized the upstream region and then went on an eastern expedition, destroying the Southern Song Dynasty in one fell swoop. In 1130, at the Battle of Fuping, Yan Zongbi defeated 150,000 Song troops with 50,000 soldiers and horses, and most of Guanzhong fell.
After the Battle of Fuping, Yan Zongbi was full of confidence and decided to take Hanzhong in one fell swoop, and then take Sichuan, and the Southern Song Dynasty was doomed to perish. To capture Hanzhong, it was necessary to break through the defense line of Dasan pass, and Yan Zongbi encountered a strong opponent, that is, the famous generals Wu Jiu and Wu Xuan's brothers. In the Battle of Fuping, the commander made a mistake in command, and the brothers Wu Jiu and Wu Xuan were also defeated, but they did not lose confidence, and they scattered their troops outside the Guanwai and Shangyuan to continue to resist Jin.
Thousands of remnants of the army were defeated, and Yan Zongbi did not pay attention to it at all. In 1131, Emperor Yanzong sent Ulu and 30,000 cavalry as the vanguard to attack the Song army in two ways, and then met the division in Shangyuan. 30,000 jin soldiers attacked, Wu Jiu did not tie his hands and capture, he took the initiative to attack, led the jin soldiers into the valley, and then sent out ambush troops to kill. In mountain warfare, the cavalry could not expand the position, and could only dismount and fight on foot, and was shot by countless Song infantry.
In mountain warfare, the Jin soldiers could not do it, and Ulu was defeated, leading the troops to retreat to Huangniupu. At this time, the clouds were thick, the wind was fierce, the sky was pouring rain, and Huangniupu was pitch black. The brothers Wu Jiu and Wu Xuan seized the fighter in time and personally led elite cavalry to raid the Jinbing camp. The Jin soldiers had not yet set up a camp, the Song army cavalry suddenly killed, the sky was dark again, Ulu could not judge the number of Song troops, and could only run back to Guanzhong in gray.
30,000 Jurchen cavalry defeated thousands of remnants of the defeated general, Yan Zong was furious, he decided to personally go out on horseback, led 100,000 elites to battle, vowed to destroy Wu Jiu, and made his head into a wine glass. After Yan Zongbi set up a pontoon bridge to connect the two banks of the Weishui River, 100,000 soldiers quickly crossed the river and camped all the way to prepare for a decisive battle with the Song army.
The 100,000-strong army was huge, but Wu Jiu was not afraid at all, because the monk's original terrain was dangerous and there were many valleys, and it was difficult for Yan Zongbi to invest many troops in one direction at the same time. In addition, the Song army was equipped with a large number of bed crossbows, and a bow and crossbow could fire three or five arrows at the same time, forming a dense network of firepower, which could definitely turn the Jurchen cavalry into hedgehogs. With strong fortifications and crossbows known as the "dense array", Wu Jiu was afraid of it.
After Yan Zongbi took the initiative to attack, 7,000 Jurchen Iron Riders rushed to the front line, holding bows and arrows, and launched an attack at a long distance. The Song army had fortifications to rely on, and there was almost no loss, and the Jin soldiers wasted their bows and arrows in vain. The Jurchen cavalry charged and killed, and the force was fierce, and Wu Jie was very happy. These guys who give heads are about to usher in a "surprise", and Song Jun gives them unexpected "gifts".
The Song army's position was not chaotic in the slightest, and rows of bed crossbow launchers were waiting in strict formation. When the Jurchen cavalry rushed to about 300 meters, the Song army's bed crossbow fired a salvo and counterattacked with a "dense array" of arrows. The bed crossbow is infinitely powerful, and one arrow can penetrate a heavily armored war horse, which is far from being comparable to ordinary bows and arrows. In 1004, the Commander of the Liao Army, Xiao Taolan, was shot dead by a crossbow, and the Liao Army was forced to agree to peace talks.
The "History of Song" records: "Repeated shots, the bows and arrows were fired continuously, and the rain was like rain", and the crossbows were fired continuously, and the Jurchen cavalry and horses were knocked to the ground, and the casualties were heavy. In the face of the "dense formation" of the Song army, the Jurchen cavalry suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat. After Yan Zongbi repeatedly attacked, he could not get close to the Song army's position. At this time, Wu Jiu sent his younger brother Wu Xuan to lead 3,000 elite soldiers to sneak up on the Jinbing Grain Road and intercept and kill the transport team of Yan Zongbi's army.
The battle of the position could not be won, and the grain route was blocked, so Yan Zongbi decided to withdraw his troops and open the grain road first. Wu Jiu took advantage of the victory to pursue, and the Jin soldiers were defeated in successive battles, and Yan Zongbi was gray-headed. When entering the valley, the roads were narrow and muddy, and the golden soldiers had a very difficult time walking. At this time, Wu Xuan led his troops from the mountain to rush to kill, and the Jin soldiers encountered an ambush, and suddenly the position was chaotic, and the soldiers panicked in order to escape, and they were embarrassed.
Wu Jiu and Wu Xuan were pioneers, and the morale of the Song army was high, and they were all ten in one. During the battle, Yan Zongbi's left leg was shot twice by a bow and arrow, bleeding profusely, and he almost became a prisoner of the Song army. The commander was injured, the golden soldiers had no morale, and they collapsed for thousands of miles, trampling each other and dying in the valley, and the scene was very chaotic. In order to survive, the golden soldiers took off their heavy armor and fled lightly.
In the Battle of Shangyuan, thousands of remnants of the Song army defeated 100,000 Jin soldiers, successfully prevented the Jin soldiers from invading Hanzhong, and saved the Song Dynasty's Sichuan-Shu base. This battle shows that the Southern Song Dynasty did not lack elite soldiers, but Zhao Zhuo was too weak to have the courage to fight with the Jin soldiers to the death, and the Southern Song Dynasty could only take the south of the Jiangsu River and could not recover the Central Plains and save Huizong and Qinzong.
Bibliography: History of the Song Dynasty