Cangzhou, beside the Yellow River, Duliu Dongzhai.
"Meet you brother!"
Gongsun Sheng led everyone to greet Sun Lei.
"No need to be polite, how is the situation?"
Sun Lei waved his hand and asked.
"Brother, the situation is a bit complicated!"
Gongsun Sheng quickly welcomed Sun Lei into the stronghold.
"Brother, please look!"
After Sun Lei and others sat down, Gongsun Sheng took out a few pieces of paper and handed them to Sun Lei.
"After Emperor Yelu Chun of the Northern Liao Dynasty came to power, he immediately sent envoys to the Song Dynasty to seek peace. He was willing to give up his annual coins and have equal relations with the Song Dynasty!"
"But Zhao Ji flatly refused, believing that the Liao Kingdom had been destroyed, and the Northern Liao Dynasty was not qualified to be on an equal footing with the Song Dynasty. They did not recognize the identity of Emperor Yelv Chun, and asked the entire Northern Liao Dynasty to annex the country."
"Yeluchun and the Liao nobles were naturally unwilling. In anger, they directly killed the envoy. For this reason, the two armies almost met each other on both sides of Baigou."
Gongsun Sheng talked about the recent situation.
"We almost had a fight, but we didn't start a fight in the end? We killed the envoy and didn't start a fight? Can you tolerate this?"
Sun Lei said in surprise, killing the envoy is a very serious matter. If the two armies are fighting and do not kill the envoy, killing the envoy means that there will be no end.
"Brother, look at this. This is the order from Tokyo to Tong Guan. It is the emperor's three plans for Tong Guan: if the people of Yan like it, they will take it because they will restore the old territory; if the king of Yan accepts it, he will be called a vassal. The next best thing is for the Yan people to come and submit, patrol the border with troops, and then go down."
Gongsun Sheng took out a piece of paper and said.
"Are you trying to defeat others without fighting?"
Sun Lei laughed. Only a fool like Zhao Ji could dream of such a big dream.
"It is said that Zhongshi Dao and others have received military orders from Tong Guan, saying that they have received the holy teachings and are not allowed to kill northerners without authorization. Master Wang crossed the boundary river and came to greet them."
Gongsun Sheng smiled helplessly, and that was probably what he meant by being angry with him.
"We are already preparing for war, and the other party has also killed the envoy. At this time, you still want to surrender without fighting and let the enemy take the initiative to surrender. Do you really think that you have the aura of a king, or do you think you are too arrogant?"
Sun Lei smiled and shook his head. I don't know if Zhao Ji is too stupid or just not smart. Does he feel so good about himself? No matter how much the Liao Kingdom pulls, it's not something he can look down upon.
"Where is our army now?"
Sun Lei asked again after reading the information.
"Last month our army crossed the Yellow River and pushed the front thirty miles forward. The Liao people did not move. Now there are four battalions of soldiers and horses stationed on the north bank of the Yellow River."
Gongsun Sheng pointed at the map and said.
"Well, the navy is stationed along the Yellow River!"
Sun Lei looked at Fei Bao and Hu Yanqing and said, "There is no movement in the Liao Kingdom now, but once there is movement, it will be a war. At this time, the Yellow River is very important, and the army must ensure that it can advance and retreat freely."
"What's the situation over there in Liao?"
Sun Lei asked again.
"After this period of investigation, we found that the Liao Kingdom still has 300,000 troops in Yanyun, and they are all elites of the Liao Kingdom, and more than half of them are Khitans!"
"The Liao Kingdom has confiscated all the horses in its territory, and now an ordinary horse has been sold to 150 gold!"
"All kinds of craftsmen in Yanyun have also been recruited to make swords, armor, and ordnance in large quantities!"
"The main force currently leading the army is under the control of Liao King Xi Wang Xiao Qian and Yelu Dashi. In addition to more than a dozen generals, there are also eleven Yao generals and twenty-eight Xingxiu generals, totaling more than fifty generals."
"In addition, it was discovered that the Liao army was secretly training soldiers and practicing military formations. However, it was very secretive and the investigation was not very clear. Currently, the only ones known are the Five Tigers Backing Formation and the Huntian Xiang Formation."
Gongsun Sheng said.
"More than fifty generals and three hundred thousand elite soldiers and horses. These should be the last elites of the Liao Kingdom."
Sun Lei rubbed his chin and thought. For the Liao Kingdom, this was a critical moment of life and death, and this deadly counterattack must be extremely ferocious.
"Where are the Jurchens?"
Sun Lei continued to ask.
"The Jurchens seem to be still chasing Yelu Yanxi and have no intention of crossing Yanshan Mountain and heading south."
Gongsun Sheng replied that the Jurchens were all cavalry and Yanshan was not so easy to cross.
"I want this side to fight first, and then they will come and harvest! Even though these Jurchens are barbarians, they are quite clever."
Sun Lei sneered and said, Yelu Yanxi was already a bereaved dog. Of the five capitals of the Liao Kingdom, the Jurchens had conquered four of them, leaving only Nanjing alone. This was obviously to prepare for a snipe and clam fight for the fishermen's profit.
After carefully understanding the situation, Sun Lei asked the army to return to camp and wait for the next order.
"General Liu, I heard that Zhongshi Dao asked you to bring me a message not long ago?"
Sun Lei looked at Liu Fa and asked. Liu Fa's leg injury was almost healed, but because of the severity of the injury and the delay in treatment, he still needs the assistance of crutches.
"It's not his words. It was Tong Guan who asked him to pass on a message. Before Yanyun recovers, he hopes that we will not start a war again."
Liu Fa is not one who speaks tactfully, he just says whatever he wants.
"What's the benefit?"
Sun Lei also asked directly, since we are asking for peace, then we have to pay something, right? During the peace talks between Song and Liao, they also gave him 300,000 yuan per year.
"He didn't say this. It's probably because Tong Guan didn't tell him."
Liu Fa shook his head.
"Then please give General Liu a message to General Zhong. It's not impossible to suspend the war, but you have to pay the corresponding price!"
Sun Lei looked at Liu Fa and said.
Liu Fa nodded. In his opinion, Sun Lei was right. Tong Guan wanted Liangshan to stop the war. How could he not pay the price?
"Leader Sun, are you going to fight Yan Yun first?"
Zongze looked at Sun Lei and asked.
"We must fight. I promised Daoist Gongsun and Daoist Ma that recovering Yanyun is one of Liangshan's goals. Now that I have the strength, I will naturally help my brothers fulfill this long-cherished wish!"
Sun Lei nodded.
"The current Yanyun situation is not right."
Zongze looked at Sun Lei and said.
"Oh? Why do you see it?"
Sun Lei looked at Zongze curiously. This old man had been training troops on the south bank of the Yellow River and had never gone deep into Yanyun. How did he know that something was wrong.
"The Liao Kingdom should still have hidden strength! Even if we attack rashly and win, I'm afraid we will have to bear considerable losses."
Zongze opened his mouth and said that he knew Sun Lei's habit of "buttoning and searching" in battles. He didn't like the large number of casualties on his side, and would try his best to use strategies and equipment to crush him.
This style of fighting is very effective in wars of a certain scale, but in extremely large-scale battles, everything is full of uncertainty.
This war has brought together many forces. Liangshan has nearly 150,000 troops; the Song Dynasty has more than 300,000 troops, and more troops are still being added; the Liao Kingdom has more than 300,000 troops, and in the later period the whole country may And fight; outside Yanshan, the Jurchens sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and hundreds of thousands of troops may attack at any time.
"General Zong still understands me! Fortunately, we are not enemies now!"
Sun Lei chuckled, and Zongze saw his weakness and Liang Shan's weakness at a glance.
Although Liangshan is expanding rapidly, it has a weak foundation and a small number of people. It is afraid of casualties among the soldiers, and cannot bear the consequences of a sharp decline in strength after a large number of casualties. This will threaten the foundation of Liangshan.
