At the border between Song and Liao Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan adopted the method of building a strong wall to clear the wilderness, and moved the border people southward, mainly to defend the city.
The Liao State's strategy of using war to support war completely failed.
So Liao Xingzong ordered Xiao Xiaoyou to provide backup in Nanjing, and Yelu Chongyuan led 20,000 cavalry to pretend to attack the capital. He personally led 80,000 cavalry to besiege Gaoyang.
But the real purpose of the Liao Kingdom was actually to protect the city in the middle. Xiao Hui led an army of 50,000 to attack the city.
Baosai is bounded by Suicheng and Ansu to the north, Rongcheng and Xiongzhou to the east, and Beiping and Wangdu to the west. It is the center of the border front line. According to the Liao State spies, most of the Song State's front line materials, food, grass and ordnance are stored in here.
In fact, this is also the case. Due to its location, Baosai has to radiate to the side, and the resources prepared are the largest except Damingfu, the rear center. Naturally, it can be regarded as the front line of the Song Army.
If the Liao Kingdom attacks other places, the troops and materials for the defense will be able to rush to help immediately. But also if the Liao Kingdom captured Baosai, the Song Kingdom's front line would be in trouble.
Therefore, Fan Zhongyan asked General Wang De to lead 20,000 troops to guard this place, and he personally led 30,000 people to Yongning in the rear as backup.
In this way, plus the surrounding Song armies, the Song army alone on the front line deployed about 100,000 people. There are still more than 100,000 troops in the rear. It can be said that a pocket formation has been carefully arranged for the Liao army. It depends on whether the Liao army will rush over.
Obviously, Fan Zhongyan's policy of strengthening the walls and clearing out the wilds had made the Liao Kingdom unable to bear it, and the internal consumption was serious. Yelu Zongzhen decided that he could not delay it any longer and had to make a splash no matter what.
For a time, the border was full of wars.
Groups of Liao army squads dispersed, some went deep into the Song Dynasty to invade the border villages in the hinterland, some attacked the outer fortresses to eliminate hidden dangers, and some gathered the main force to brazenly attack the Song Dynasty city.
Anyangkou Village is located to the north of Beiping County, probably in the area of Shunping County in later Hebei Province. Three thousand Song troops were stationed here.
To attack Wangdu, you must first pass through Beiping. To cross Beiping, you must first pass through more than ten fortresses such as Anyangkou Village, Beiping Village, and Yutaikou Village. Almost as soon as Yelu Chongyuan's troops arrived, the soldiers in the small outer fortresses gave up. They resisted and retreated to the three villages of Anyangkou, Beipingzhai and Yutaikou.
After all, there are only a few hundred Song troops in that kind of small fortress. Although they can rely on the stronghold wall for defense, they do not have many firearms on hand. Secondly, they are outnumbered. In the face of a surprise attack by the Liao army of 20,000, not retreating will only lead to Causing unnecessary casualties.
It is better to concentrate on defense.
This was very clear to Xue Xiang, the new Jiedu envoy who also knew the Dingzhou horse infantry deployment. He sent his general Zhang Ying to lead the troops outside the city, and he personally supervised the battle on the city.
On December 12, the bleak north wind howled, and the earth was as desolate as the desert north. There are thousands of miles of fertile fields on the Song-Liao border, but the two sides are on guard against each other. Except for mutual trade, agricultural cultivation has basically stopped, so that even though there are thousands of acres of fertile land, no one is working.
Young Yelu Zhongyuan was riding on horseback, overlooking the Song Army stronghold in the south. There were several rings of outer walls. The outermost one was a rammed earth wall, followed by rows of wooden houses, towers, towers and turrets. , it was densely packed with countless figures.
"kill!"
Yelu Zhongyuan raised the spear in his hand.
The Northeast produces iron, and there are a large number of Han craftsmen under the rule, which makes the smelting technology very developed, and the weapons and equipment are naturally very sophisticated. Except for the firearms, which are not as good as those of the Song Dynasty, the other equipment is on par with the Song Dynasty army.
The Liao cavalry mainly used long spears, with scimitars on their waists, and wore battle armor. Even their horses were heavily armored. They were armed to the teeth and very powerful.
At Yelu Zhongyuan's command, the army behind him surged toward Anyangkou Village in the distance like a torrent.
The Liao soldiers at the front were not Liao people, but Han people, Bohai people, and even Jurchens and Mongol people. They were not on horseback, but infantry. They held shields and scimitars in their hands, covering the ladders. troops charge.
The Liao cavalry at the rear supervised the battle. Once the infantry broke through the wall, they would immediately launch a fierce attack towards the gap like bloodthirsty sharks, rushing directly into the wall to kill wantonly.
But it was obvious that the Song Army's defense was at its peak. The distance between the two sides was still one mile away, when more than ten crossbow strings exploded with loud bangs. Iron-tipped crossbow arrows as thick and long as tree trunks fell into the Liao army's formation with a whistling sound like ghosts crying and wolves howling, splashing tragic blood.
However, the attack of the bed crossbow only temporarily stopped the Liao army's offensive. Then, under the supervision of the Liao cavalry, the infantry continued to grit their teeth and launched a charge forward. The distance between the two sides was about a hundred steps, and the Song army was raining dense arrows. He took it head-on.
Immediately, there were continuous screams, and even caused a commotion. Some infantrymen were afraid and wanted to escape. Immediately, dozens of Liao cavalry squads came out of the formation, galloped towards the deserters, and killed them one by one.
Those real Liao soldiers watched all this indifferently. When the Liao Kingdom attacked Xixia, they often used fewer troops because Xixia was relatively far away. Unless the Mongols were recruited, the number of troops was usually maintained at more than 100,000 to 200,000. In the meantime, there was no nationwide effort.
But attacking the Song Dynasty was different.
The centers of both sides were close to each other, and the Liao people gathered troops and horses from all over. Although their cavalry number was only more than 100,000, they also had more than 100,000 conscripted infantry, so the total strength of the Liao Kingdom may have reached 300,000.
On the Song side, there were already 200,000 to 300,000 troops stationed on the Hebei Road, and 50,000 elite troops were transferred from the northwest. Another 100,000 troops were sent from the Bianliang side, making the total strength more than 400,000.
It can be said that if we include the more than 200,000 troops currently deployed on the Shaanxi Road, the Song Dynasty has deployed nearly 800,000 imperial troops in addition to the 400,000 Xiang troops deployed in various parts of the south for the war between Xixia and Liao. Two thirds.
Now there are only tens of thousands of troops in Bianliang, which are almost empty shells.
If Zhao Jun hadn't been traveling around the country in the past two years, punishing rape and eradicating evil, and barely maintaining local stability for the time being, he might have had to send Xiang troops to suppress the uprising in the rear if the war broke out.
After the riot, the overwhelming Liao infantry came again. Zhang Ying on the wall looked down expressionlessly. The archers above were still shooting, but in fact the number of troops in Anyangkou Village was still too small. Compared to Fang's army of at least 40,000 to 50,000 Liao soldiers, it was a huge difference.
In a moment, a large number of Liao infantry rushed outside the stronghold wall. After approaching, the Liao army was able to fight much easier. They used a shield formation outside to resist the Song army's archers, and then the Liao army's infantry and crossbows fired in unison at Walled up to fight back.
After all, the fortresses and camps of the Song Army were not cities. They had limited height and defensive capabilities. In addition, there were few people and they were outnumbered. The crossbowmen above were either shot dead or had to hide under the female wall.
Without long-range suppression, the Liao infantry rushed to the wall and built a ladder. A strong man with a height of at least seven feet swung a sledgehammer, his muscles bulged high, and with a roar, he slammed the sledgehammer against the wall of the village. The rumbling sound was like the heaven and earth shaking.
When Zhang Ying saw this scene, he knew that he could not hold on. Compared with the Liao army, the Song Dynasty might only be able to defend the city.
Even if there are no newly made grenades, the city may not be safe, just like before the Battle of Chanzhou, the Liao Kingdom conquered Baosai, Ningbian, Qizhou, Zhaozhou, Peiping, Wangdu and many other places.
"withdraw!"
Zhang Ying waved his hand, and the Song troops on the wall no longer held back. They fired all the grenades and threw them out. Then they got off the wall and ran to the rear.
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!"
A large number of grenades roared, almost blasting a vacuum outside the village wall, and even the village wall collapsed.
Yelu Chongyuan had no time to feel sorry for the dead infantry. He just wanted to wipe out the Song army. With one order, all the cavalry were dispatched to level the Song army's stronghold.
I just didn't expect that there was a reason for the small number of people in Anyangkou Village. All the elites of the Northwest Army were stationed here, and all of them were good at riding horses.
The soldiers ran all the way to the back village, and each battalion as a unit got on their horses. More than two thousand people filed out of the back door and fled directly to the south according to the route marked by the Song Army themselves.
Yelu Chongyuan did not intend to surround the entire Anyangkou Village, but the Song army not only dug trenches, but also dug many horse traps. All kinds of iron nails and broken iron pieces were also scattered on the ground. In the absence of horseshoes, The cavalry's rash encirclement on all sides will only increase casualties.
Song Jun naturally knew the location of the horse trap he dug and the iron nails and iron pieces he threw, so he found a safe route and successfully escaped.
Jintaiyi, located in the northeast of Baosai, was an important stopover and garrison between Zhenzhou and Liaoyouzhou in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was outside Dongguan, Baoding City, Hebei Province in later generations. "Xuzhi Tongjian Changbian": In the fourth year of Taiping and Xingguo in the Northern Song Dynasty (979), Taizong took advantage of the trend of destroying the Northern Han Dynasty and moved to conquer Liao Dynasty, passing through here on his way back and forth.
It can be said that this place is one of the outer barriers of the fortress.
At this time, the Song army camp in Jintaiyi was sent by Wang De to send troops to Hebei Road. Wang Huaixin stationed 5,000 soldiers here. They were the horns of Baosai City and attracted reinforcements.
Liao general Xiao Hui sent vanguard Yelu and his enemy Lugu to also launch a fierce attack here.
The attack method of Anyangkou Village is almost the same. The Liao cavalry supervises the battle from the rear and uses infantry composed of other ethnic groups to launch a strong attack. After fighting outside the stronghold, they climbed up the stronghold wall via a ladder, broke through the stronghold gate, and then the Liao cavalry finished.
After only half a day of such an offensive, the Jintaiyi Song Army could no longer withstand it. Wang Huaixin was forced to throw out his last grenade, abandon the camp, and retreat back to Baosai City.
If the main force of the Liao State was not still in the rear, and Wang Deyong in the fortress city sent people to rush for reinforcements, I am afraid that this group of Song troops would be in danger.
Situations like this happened everywhere on the borders of Liao and Song Dynasties.
Many military villages on the border, including Qijikou, Zhengzhen, Hongchengzhai, Zhuomazhai, and Changfengzhai, were attacked.
These military strongholds were basically from nearby fortresses where the Song troops evacuated before the Liao army attacked, and there were basically two to three thousand people in them.
The fortress could defend against a small-scale Liao army attack, but in the face of a large Liao army, there was really no chance of winning. Therefore, within a few days after the war began, almost all the hundreds of border fortresses that the Song army was proud of were lost.
A large number of medium-sized camps were also raided, and at least seven or eight military camps were breached. Almost as soon as they met, the Song army lost at least seven to eight thousand people.
However, the actual battle loss ratio of the Song Army was less than that of the Liao Army.
Because if the Liao army wanted to break through the military stronghold, it had to sacrifice human lives. Under this step-by-step progression, although the Liao army's cavalry suffered no losses, the infantry suffered heavy casualties. If it had not been suppressed by the Liao army, I am afraid that those soldiers would have suffered heavy casualties. The Han, Bohai, Jurchens, and Mongols had all fled long ago.
At the same time, Fan Zhongyan learned that the Liao Kingdom was attacking, so he personally led the army to Baicheng in the rear. The current situation of the war is very complicated. Many places have been raided by the Liao army. Many peripheral fortresses and military strongholds with fewer troops have been basically breached.
However, the main cities of the Song Army were basically intact, which was very different from the Liao Army's continuous attack on several important towns and cities of the Song Army before the Battle of Chanzhou.
Outside Gaoyang City, this is already the hinterland of the Song Army. Baosai, which the Liao Army mainly attacked, is still located northwest of Gaoyang City, while Baicheng, where Fan Zhongyan is located, is to the west of Gaoyang City. The distance between the two sides is only forty or fifty kilometers.
In the main camp of the Liao army, Yelu Zong was really watching the battle reports sent from various places.
He led the main force deep into the hinterland of the Song Dynasty. The purpose was to contain the main force of the Song army, including Fan Zhongyan, so that together with Yelu Zhongyuan's feint attack, it would create opportunities for Xiao Hui's side to capture Baosai.
However, at this time, facing the news that a large number of Song army camps were successively attacked from various places, Yelu Zongzhen was not happy at all.
Their infantry casualties were also very high.
If this continues, it is very likely that the soldiers of other ethnic groups under his command will be overwhelmed and rebel, which will become a serious problem.
So Yelv Zongzhen put down the battle report in his hand with a heavy face, looked around, looked at Xiao Ying, Xiao Xiaomu, Zhang Jian, Liu Liufu, Yelv Renxian and others below and said: "Song's grenades are indeed powerful, our infantry casualties too big."
Through the spies in the Song Dynasty, he now also knows the name of this thing.
Zhang Jian smiled bitterly and said: "The power of this thing to defend the city is indeed powerful, otherwise I would not advise your majesty not to start a war rashly."
"But no matter what, we must defeat Song State again."
Yelu Zongzhen said in a deep voice: "If the Song Dynasty thinks that it can rely on this thing to resist the Liao Dynasty, then where is the majesty of the Liao Dynasty?"
Liu Liufu said: "Your Majesty, I think that our goal is actually to continue to conquer the Song Dynasty, demand the ten counties of Nanguan, and force them to hand over the gunpowder formula. If we want to achieve this goal, there is no need to spend such huge casualties. Continue the attack."
He paused and continued: "After all, this is not a war to annihilate the country. The Song Dynasty is not weaker than the Liao Kingdom. If it were to fight a war to annihilate the country, even if the Liao Dynasty wins, it will probably be a fight between two tigers, and one will be killed and the other injured."
"oh?"
Yelv Zongzhen asked quickly: "What's your clever plan?"
Liu Liufu said: "The emperor of the Song Dynasty has always been timid. Don't look at Zhao Zhen's toughness this time. In fact, it was only Fan Zhongyan who defeated Yuan Hao in the northwest, which greatly boosted his ambition. However, it only takes one defeat to make him fight. After returning to his original form, he came to negotiate peace with Daliao, so I think that only one city needs to be destroyed."
"where?"
"It's still Baosai!"
Liu Liufu said: "The fortress is an important border town between Song and Liao. If the fortress is broken, the Song front line will collapse immediately, and we can only evacuate to the south. Although the south is still full of cities, it is difficult for our Daliao army to move forward, but As long as the Song Dynasty is afraid and interferes with peace talks, our goal will be achieved."
"Um"
Yelu Zongzhen nodded in thought. He initially wanted to break through the fortress and then attack Yongning. Then he marched straight in to threaten Daming Mansion and make the Song Dynasty feel fear.
But obviously the power of the grenades on the battlefield had surprised him. It would be very difficult for the Liao Kingdom to attack some military strongholds now. If they attack the important cities and towns of the Song Kingdom, there is a risk of the entire army being annihilated.
So focus your firepower to destroy a city first. As long as Zhao Zhen is scared, everything will be back on the negotiating table and everything will be easy to talk about.
Thinking of this, Yelu Zongzhen immediately discussed tactics with everyone.
In the end, they decided to feign an attack and surround Gaoyang with a large army, and conduct a tentative attack to put pressure on the Gaoyang defenders and ask them to invite Fan Zhongyan's main force to come for rescue.
When Fan Zhongyan was mobilized by him, the main force of the Liao State turned around and rushed towards the fortress. They joined Xiao Hui and stormed the fortress together.
This is to use the mobility of their Liao cavalry to create a time difference.
So in the next few days, Yelu Zongzhen immediately mobilized his troops and launched a siege on Gaoyang.
After all, there are only more than 10,000 Gaoyang defenders here. Facing a fierce attack by more than 100,000 Liao troops, even with grenades, it is still a bit difficult.
The most important thing is that although Gaoyang is an important town, it is not equipped with artillery.
At present, the Firearms Department has only produced five artillery pieces, and they are all bronze cannons. In an era without data, it was too difficult to cast iron cannons, and the risk factor was very high.
So after Zhao Jun's suggestion, I decided to make a few safer bronze cannons for the time being.
Unfortunately, copper is in short supply.
This bronze cannon requires more than 2,000 kilograms of copper, which is really unaffordable.
Currently, two of the five cannons are in the important frontline town of Baosai, and the other three are in Yongning, the current rear area of the Song Army.
In addition, Gao Yang's grenade reserves are also limited.
After all, this is a national-level battle. Even though the Song Dynasty has been preparing for two years, this is not the future of the industrial age. Hand grenades are now completely made by hand, and the efficiency cannot be improved.
The Song Dynasty experienced another Song-Xia war, which consumed a lot of reserves.
Facing the Liao Kingdom, which was more powerful than Xixia, various fortresses, military villages, and cities had to carve up a large number of grenades as defensive weapons. The reserves of the Song Dynasty were already quite tight.
Therefore, in this case, the Gaoyang defenders had to ask Fan Zhongyan for help.
Fan Zhongyan led a main force of 50,000 troops and mobilized 70,000 to 80,000 nearby reinforcements to support him.
Yelvzong really saw that Fan Zhongyan had been fooled, so he left tens of thousands of infantry to delay the main force of the Song army. He led 50,000 cavalry to quickly fight back and advance towards Baosai.
December 18th.
Early morning hours.
Outside Baosai City, densely packed figures of countless Liao soldiers had appeared.
As the leader of the Liao Kingdom, Yelu Zongzhen, joined Xiao Hui, there were already more than 100,000 Liao troops outside Baosai City, while there were only about 20,000 Song troops in Baosai City.
Obviously this is a great test for Song Jun.
By noon, the Liao army had already assembled, and the city was surrounded on three sides. Liao soldiers, like a tidal wave, stood in formation outside the city, with no end in sight.
Seeing such a battle, Wang Deyong knew that he couldn't do it without taking out the things at the bottom of the box. With a wave of his hand, dozens of soldiers carried the two big guys and slowly pulled them to the city wall and began to install the base. Gunner debugs!
At this moment, the Liao army was making a strong appearance in front of the formation. The vanguard general Yelu Dilugu was more than seven feet tall, with strong muscles and powerful muscles. He was riding a horse in front of the formation, waving the sword in his hand, and howling like a wild wolf. .
At this moment, on the top of the fortress in the distance, two long copper pipes stretched out from the crenellations of the female wall. Well-trained gunners slowly adjusted the gun position.
The direction he was aiming at was Yelu Dilugu!
(End of chapter)
