1. Cannon Mortar Möngke
Black clouds pressed against the city, causing the flowers and plants of early summer to lose their bright and brilliant colors; the sound of gunfire filled the air with the smell of gun smoke and blood.
In July of the first year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1259 AD), outside the Diaoyu City in Hezhou, Sichuan, the Mongol army gathered and launched the strongest offensive against the Song army defending the city with the determination to win.
Diaoyu City is located on the Diaoyu Mountain in the east of Hezhou City, built on the mountain, facing the river on three sides, the terrain is extremely dangerous, and the strategic position is extremely important. Therefore, both the Mongolian and Song dynasties did their best to attack and defend.
This time, the Mongol soldiers launched a large-scale campaign against the Southern Song Dynasty in three ways, with the aim of completely destroying the Southern Song Dynasty. Since the beginning of the war, the other two roads have progressed smoothly, and only this one led by the Great Khan himself to attack Sichuan has stopped in front of the small Diaoyu City.
The great war began at the end of last year, and both sides did their best to fight water and land battles and tunnel wars, repeatedly tug-of-war. From the snow and frost-covered winter to the grassy spring to the extremely hot summer, the Mongolian army has been attacking for 9 consecutive months, losing countless elite soldiers, but it has never been able to occupy the city.
At this time, a general suggested that this diaoyu city is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is not worth wasting time. It is better to take a detour and attack Gangnam directly. Möngke was furious: The Mongol army swept across the world and was invincible, how could it not conquer a small fishing city?! Now that the siege of the city has been so long, these Song people must have run out of food. The city is about to be destroyed, we can't retreat, we can't lose everything!
Having said that, Mungo was also muttering in his heart: What the hell is going on with this defender? He decided to build a high platform outside the east gate of Diaoyu City, looking for a place outside the range of the other party's bow and arrow, and he wanted to see for himself what was going on inside the city.
On this day, when his subordinates reported that the high platform had been built, Möngke was already a little impatient.
Surrounded by many retinue guards, Möngke Khan climbed the high platform step by step. A flock of mountain eagles roared overhead, the mountain wind blew the flags, and the wooden steps under his feet creaked endlessly, making Möngke, who already had a tight brow, even more upset. He did not notice that a Song general at the head of the opposite city was paying close attention to their every move.
The general looked very young, not yet thirty years old. He was tall and burly, and his face had a determined determination that was not commensurate with his age. Seeing that Möngke was already standing on the high platform, pointing out with the generals around him, he immediately waved the flag in his hand without hesitation, and suddenly the cannons and stones of the Diaoyu City head fired in unison, firing at the high platform - the range of the bow and arrow could not reach the high platform, but the artillery and the trebuchet could. Some of the artillery hit the high platform, and some directly exploded in the air, and the high platform was suddenly full of sparks and roared endlessly. The Mongols on the high platform were caught off guard and had nowhere to hide, and for a time there was great confusion. One of the cans of gunpowder bombs called "Earthquake Thunder" exploded near Möngke, who was seriously injured by a splash of flying stones and died a few days later.
The development of history has its own laws, but it is often affected by accidental events.
Möngke accidentally died in Diaoyu City, leaving the position of Great Khan of the Mongols vacant. In order to compete for the Khan's position and power, the Commanders of the Mongolian Army who were on various battlefields withdrew their troops one after another, so that the Expansion of Mongolia in Eurasia stopped, not only the Southern Song Dynasty was able to survive for 20 years, but also Africa was spared from war. The Diaoyu City was therefore called "the place where God breaks the whip" by Europeans.
I don't know which shell created this miracle, some people attributed it to Wang Jian, the commander of Diaoyu City at that time, and some people thought that it belonged to The young deputy marshal Zhang Jue, who personally commanded the front line, and wrote a poem "Yong Huai He Zhou Famous Eunuch Zhang Jue", which has the sentence "Anger enemies are sad and believe in the country, and the planners are killed by a cannon".
The story of Zhang Jue and Diaoyu City, and the life-and-death confrontation with Meng Yuan for decades, is really too long and wonderful.
2. Hundred battles of famous generals
Zhang Jue is a native of Fengxiang, Shaanxi, who was originally an ordinary person and lived a normal and peaceful life. Only because the Mongol army swept north and south, wherever the iron horse went, the mountains and rivers changed color, the blood flowed into rivers, and the slaughter and looting of the city were common things. In order to escape the chaos of the war, Zhang Jue was displaced with his family, and many of his relatives died or scattered in the process of fleeing. Hearing and witnessing the withering of the countryside, the displacement of the people, and the brutality and bloodshed of the Mongol army from childhood made Zhang Jue's heart full of hatred for the Mongols.
At the age of 18, Zhang Jue came to Diaoyu City alone to join the army. Yes, he did not want to run away from him anymore, he wanted to use his courage and blood to face the cruel war and keep the people at peace. In the troops that pay attention to the level of relations, Zhang Jue has no talent or connections, and there is no extraordinary adventure, he can only start from the most ordinary soldiers. But Zhang Jue has a stoic temperament and extraordinary courage and wisdom. He not only sweated on the training ground and did not hesitate to shed blood on the battlefield, but also insisted on reading military books, observing at any time, keeping the mountains and rivers and terrain in mind, and familiarizing himself with the enemy's feelings. Zhang Jue soon became a warrior with both courage and wisdom, praised by his superiors, and trusted and respected by his comrades-in-arms.
Zhang Jue fought in a battle, promoted at the first level, and every step was solid and powerful. His fame gradually became known. Many people were impressed by his bravery and courage, calling him "Sichuan Dragon General". By the time he killed Meng Ge at the Battle of Diaoyu City, he had become the commander of the Chinese army and was the deputy of Wang Jian, the commander of the Diaoyu City in charge of defending Hezhou. In September, when the Mongol army besieged the city and attacked the city, Zhang Jue assisted Wang Jian in fighting wits and courage with the enemy, often visiting the former enemy in person, braving the arrows and stones, and killing the enemy's attacks again and again, until the day of the "cannon attack on Meng Ge".
Wang Jian was transferred shortly after the Battle of Diaoyu City, and in 1263, Zhang Jue became the military and political commander of Hezhou, with full authority to guard Diaoyu City.
Unlike many high-ranking generals from prominent backgrounds in the military, Zhang Jue came from ordinary soldiers and had an empathetic understanding of low-level officers and soldiers and ordinary people. In the days of living with them day and night, living and dying together, he will integrate a love and loyalty into his own blood, and with the passage of time, he will become deeper and more tenacious.
Zhang Jue's rule of the army is strict, fair and just, no matter whether he is distant or distant, he will be rewarded and punished for meritorious service, everyone has the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, and everyone must assume his or her own responsibilities. Therefore, he won the hearts and minds of the military and the people, so that "everyone uses their lives" and will not give up. Diaoyu City became an impregnable fortress.
Although the Mongol army withdrew, Diaoyu City remained on the front line. Over the years, the two sides repeatedly attacked and defended, and the war was never far away. While repairing fortifications and training soldiers, Zhang Jue actively encouraged production, and even sent troops to protect farming, so that the people could live in peace, and the army had enough food and grass. On the one hand, there is bloody death, on the other hand, the general who is fragrant with rice, and the general who kills and decides to kill on the battlefield actually loves life and yearns for peace in his heart.
Zhang Jue never passively defended, often took the initiative to attack, and repeatedly recovered the lost land, so that the situation in Sichuan once improved. The history books say that he often "sets up surprises and makes no plans", which makes his opponents deeply jealous and admired.
(To be continued)