Thirty thousand Song troops crashed into the Liao army like a wave, with the sound of crackling flintlock guns everywhere. The Liao army could not withstand it and was defeated across the board. It was a devastating defeat. The Liao army retreated into the camp, and before their soldiers had completely withdrawn, they fired with bows and crossbows. Many Song and Liao soldiers were hit by arrows and fell to the ground.
Seeing that it was difficult to break through the fortress, the Song army fled away. The battle is over. In the wasteland between the city and the Liao army's camp, countless corpses were seen densely scattered and scattered. It suddenly became quiet, making people feel as if they were in a wilderness cemetery, and they felt terrified. Dozens of vultures appeared out of nowhere and were hovering in the sky, waiting to eat human flesh! For them, today may be a good day to celebrate.
Night fell, and the atmosphere in the Liao army's tent was very depressing. Coach Xiao Duoli frowned and his eyes were full of anger. None of the generals spoke, and many of them had not recovered from the fiasco during the day. "General, I'm afraid we won't be able to capture Yingzhou. Seeing that the food and grass will not last long, we should bypass Yingzhou and Mozhou and retreat to Zhuozhou. Rest and regroup before fighting." A general named Long Teduo suggested road. This man is an out-and-out Khitan, with dark skin, a thick build, and a majestic temperament, but there is always a deep brilliance in his eyes, which makes people think that he is not an ordinary reckless and reckless Khitan.
Xiao Duoli said angrily: "Is it possible that we Khitans did it to escape in such a dejected manner around the city?" When Long Teduo heard this, he couldn't help but frowned and continued to persuade: "General, this Song army's battle The strength of the Song army is far beyond our imagination. In the daytime battle, our army was almost destroyed by it! If we stay here and don't leave, not only will we not gain anything, but we will also have to wait until the food is exhausted. There is a danger of the whole army being annihilated! General, please don’t act out of impulse!"
Xiao Duoli slapped the desk and shouted: "Are you the general or am I the general?" Long Teduo sighed. In the middle of the night, Xiao Duoli was awakened by a burst of shouting and fighting. He got up suddenly and hurried out of the tent. All they saw were flames soaring into the sky. Countless fireballs streaked across the night sky and fell into the camp, exploding into clouds of flames. There were longing figures in the fire, and the army officers were running around in panic. Xiao Duo's expression changed.
Long Teduo ran over and said anxiously: "General, the Song army suddenly came and launched a fierce attack!" "How many people?" Long Teduo shook his head, "I don't know! But it is estimated that there are only 30,000 people at most. There are only so many Song troops here!"
Xiao Duoli raised his eyebrows and said angrily: "Thirty thousand people dare to attack my camp. This is really too much! Give me the order and send the whole army out to fight!" Long Teduo said hurriedly: "General, our army passed by during the day In the First World War, the morale of the army was turbulent and morale was low. It was not suitable to go to war, just to hold on to the base!" Xiao Duuli glared and shouted: "If you are afraid, just stay here!" Then he conveyed the order to the soldiers around him, and the soldiers agreed. Ran down.
However, at this moment, a loud bang came from near the camp gate. Xiao Duoli and others hurriedly followed the sound and saw a ball of fire rising up, lifting both tents into the sky. The remains of human bodies were faintly visible in the dazzling firelight. Xiao Duoli and others changed their colors, and Long Teduo exclaimed: "This seems to be gunpowder, but..." Before he could finish his words, he only heard a whistling whistle in the air. Xiao Duoli and others immediately judged that this was the sound of huge arrows fired by the Song Army's three-bow crossbow.
Boom boom boom...! There was a violent explosion, dozens of fireballs rose up, and the Liao army soldiers were blown to pieces in the rolling flames. The screams made people feel scalp numb! Before the Liao army could react to this terrible bombing, there were loud shouts of killing outside the camp, and countless Song troops could be vaguely seen coming like a wave.
Xiao Duoli was shocked and quickly ordered all armies to fight. The Song army swarmed in through several gaps opened by the explosion. The Liao army hurriedly fired a wave of arrows. The arrows fell into the surging wave and immediately disappeared without a trace, as if they had no effect.
The Song army crashed into the middle of the Liao army, and the panicked Liao army collapsed one after another. Xiao Duoli killed more than a dozen fleeing officers and soldiers, but he still could not stop the defeat. Finally, the entire Liao army collapsed, and the defeated troops fled in all directions in the dark. The Song army was chasing them from all sides, and the battle was a one-sided massacre!
The night finally passed, the rising sun showed its face in the east, and the earth gradually became brighter. The battle that lasted for a night has ended, and the Liao army's camp has become a ruins covered with corpses. Nearly ten thousand Song troops are cleaning the battlefield.
Xiao Duoli and others led the remaining defeated soldiers and ran all the way north, crossing a small river on a wooden bridge in the early morning. Longtedo, who was following the team at the end, ordered his soldiers to set fire to the bridge. After a while, the flames enveloped the wooden bridge. Xiao Duoli, who was running away from the front, saw thick smoke billowing from behind. He thought that the pursuers were coming. He was so frightened that he was scared to death. Without thinking about it carefully, he wanted to run for his life. However, he soon learned that it was Long Teduo who was setting fire to the bridge. He was relieved and then secretly lamented Long Teduo's calmness in the face of danger.
Xiao Duoli felt that the Song army could not catch up for the time being, so he asked the soldiers to rest. Xiao Duoli walked to a large bluestone and sat down. He took the water bag from the general's hand and drank a few gulps. He wiped the water stains at the corners of his mouth and looked around. I found that the terrain here is very dangerous, with towering and precipitous mountains on both sides. On the cliff are craggy rocks, pines are like dragons and snakes, and goshawks are circling on the top of the mountain, emitting a long roar from time to time. "Is this Yingchou Stream?" Xiao Duoli asked the general in front of him. The general nodded, "It's Yingchoujian. After passing here, you will enter the ground of Zhuozhou!" Xiao Duoli sighed, "I didn't expect that I, Xiao Duuli, would run away in such a mess!"
He looked at the frightened soldiers around him and ordered: "Count the number of people." The general agreed and ran down. Long Teduo led several soldiers over and gave Xiao Duoli a chest salute. Xiao Duoli motioned for Long Te to sit next to him. Long Teduo walked to Xiao Duoli's left side and sat on the ground. Xiao Duoli asked: "Do you think the Cangzhou Army will take the opportunity to attack Zhuozhou?" Long Teduo frowned and said: "This is almost certain! Our army has suffered heavy losses, and the Cangzhou Army will definitely take advantage of the opportunity to attack Zhuozhou!" Xiao Duoli said worriedly Asked: "Can we defend the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun?" Longte was silent for a moment and said to Xiao Duoli: "General, whether we can defend it or not, we must defend it to the end! If Yanyun is lost, Sixteen States, Your Majesty will never spare you or me!" Xiao Duoli nodded with a stern expression.
The general who had just gone down came back, saluted Xiao Duoli and reported: "General, there are still more than 10,000 cavalry left in our army." Xiao Duoli was shocked, "Only 10,000 cavalry are left. Are there any remaining cavalry? Where are the infantry? Is there not a single infantry left!" The general shook his head sadly. Xiao Duoli was heartbroken and angry, and he also had some fears that he himself was probably unwilling to admit.
Smoke rose in the valley, and the originally silent valley became noisy. The hungry Liao cavalry had to slaughter their mounts to feed themselves. Before the Liao soldiers had time to cook the horse meat, thrilling shouts suddenly came from the steep mountainside on both sides. The officers and soldiers of the Liao Army were startled and looked at the mountainside on both sides, only to see many officers and soldiers of the Song Army appearing on the mountainside. Long Teduo exclaimed in shock: "No! The Cangzhou Army actually set up an ambush here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, arrows rained down from the mountainside on both sides, and rolling stones and trees poured down like a mountain torrent. The unsuspecting Liao troops fell one after another, running around like a pot exploding! "General, rush north quickly, there may be a glimmer of hope!" Longteduo shouted loudly. Xiao Duoli quickly led a group of soldiers and horses to rush north despite the rolling stones, wood and arrows flying in the sky.
Peace finally returned to the valley. I saw corpses piled up in the entire valley and blood flowing into canals. A group of Liao army prisoners were escorted by the Song army and walked south. Yang Peng patrolled the battlefield surrounded by troops. Yang Xiong rode up from behind, clasped his fists and said, "Brother, according to preliminary statistics, more than 6,000 Liao soldiers were killed and more than 3,000 were captured, but Xiao Duuli escaped with more than a thousand remaining soldiers!" Yang Peng smiled slightly, "Immediately I sent an order to Duan Zhixian, asking him to leave a thousand men to guard Yingzhou, and the rest of the troops will immediately join me to attack Zhuozhou!" Yang Xiong clasped his fists in agreement and ran down.
Xiao Duoli and others fled into Zhuozhou in a panic. As soon as they entered the city, they closed the four gates and ordered all the men in the city to go to the city wall to defend the city. At the same time, they sent people to Nanjing (now Beijing) to mobilize troops for support. People in Zhuozhou city were panicked.
Chai Yonghui felt strange when he saw the servants in the mansion hurriedly looking worried, so he stopped a servant and asked, "What are you doing in such a panic?" The servant said, "The Song army defeated the general. , after occupying Yingzhou and Mozhou, we will attack Zhuozhou! Everyone says that Zhuozhou cannot be saved, and the Song army will soon attack Nanjing!"
Chai Yonghui was overjoyed, "Is this true?" The servant nodded. "Where is the Song Army? Didn't the Song Army suffer successive defeats? Why did it suddenly attack?" The servant said: "I heard that it was the Cangzhou Army. They were all like wolves and tigers. The generals were defeated one after another and almost the whole army was wiped out. !" Chai Yonghui's eyes were filled with brilliance. He quickly ran to the study and said to Chai Yongqi: "Brother, we are saved!" At this moment, Chai Yongqi was reading a book. When he heard his sister's voice, he put the book down and said in confusion. Look at his sister.
Chai Yonghui told Chai Yongqi the news he was about to learn from the servant. Chai Yongqi was very excited, "Great! Great! Brother Yang is indeed a hero. When the entire Song army was defeated, he was able to turn the tide with one pillar! Great!" Chai Yonghui said excitedly: "I believe it won't be long before Brother Yang can capture Nanjing, and then we will be saved!" Chai Yonghui and Chai Yongqi are actually in Nanjing? HH? It turns out that the Liao army marched southward and Dingzhou fell in an instant. Chai Jin and his family had no time to escape and were captured by Xiao Duoli.
Xiao Duoli saw Chai Yonghui's graceful appearance and noble temperament, and also knew that the Chai family was the descendant of the former Central Plains royal family, so he intended to marry the Chai family. The brothers and sisters were taken to Nanjing and put under house arrest. Xiao Duoli planned to return to Nanjing to marry Chai Yonghui after the war against Song Dynasty came to an end. Xiao Duoli had a good idea, but it's just that God's calculations are not as good as those of humans.
Chai Yongqi frowned, "I'm afraid it will be difficult for Brother Yang to invade Nanjing! Nanjing is impregnable, and after the Liao royal family learned about Xiao Duoli's defeat, how could they not send reinforcements? Once the reinforcements arrived, let alone Nanjing has been conquered, whether Brother Yang can protect himself is a question!" Chai Yonghui's original excitement was poured cold water on him.
Yang Peng led nearly 40,000 soldiers and horses under his command to Zhuozhou City and formed a battle formation. The fierce general Zhan Jin came out to challenge, but no matter how Zhan Jin greeted the women of Xiao Duoli's family and the women of his ancestors, Xiao Duoli refused to fight. Zhan Jinguo cursed his tongue dry, returned to Yang Peng, and cursed: "This Tuo Bird is just a gray grandson! Yesterday, we greeted his wife, daughter, mother, and grandma, but he didn't show up!" Everyone! Couldn't help but laugh.
That night, Yang Peng stood in front of the map in the big tent, frowned and thought while looking at the map. Duan Zhixian and Huyan Chijin came in quickly. Duan Zhixian clasped his fists and said, "Brother, the scouts just came to report that Nanjing's 20,000 defenders came out in full force and are heading this way."
Yang Peng said: "Zhuozhou is the gateway to the south of Nanjing. If Zhuozhou is lost, Nanjing will be wide open." Xiang Danian said anxiously: "Brother, we should attack Zhuozhou as soon as possible, otherwise it will be difficult to fight when their reinforcements arrive." Got it! "
Early in the morning, Xiao Duoli climbed up the city wall and looked up. He saw that the Song army officers and soldiers were cutting down trees in the nearby woods, and the military camp was also a busy scene. Xiao Duoli knew that the Song army was rushing to make siege equipment and prepare for a strong attack on the city. He couldn't help but feel worried and quickly ordered the messenger to urge reinforcements.
On the other hand, after leaving Nanjing, 20,000 reinforcements from the Liao Kingdom came all the way to Zhuozhou. The leading general of this Liao army is named Xiao Ying, who is Xiao Duoli's younger brother. This is a man with a majestic appearance who obeys his brother unconditionally.
At the same time, the Liao court received a letter asking for help from Xiao Duoli. Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were greatly alarmed. Some ministers accused Xiao Duoli of not rushing into the Song Dynasty and proposed that Xiao Duoli be dismissed and replaced with a capable person to guard Nanjing. I don't know if there is something wrong with this minister's brain. Now that there is a war in Nanjing, how can he change the general rashly? Fortunately, Empress Dowager Xiao did not adopt the minister's suggestion in the end, but sent her own daughter, the eldest princess of Daliao, Yelu Guanyin, with an army of 50,000 to the south to aid Xiao Duoli.
The focus turns to Tokyo in the Song Dynasty. The Emperor Zhao Heng of the Song Dynasty, who was in a irritable mood, left the palace incognito and came to Pan Niangniang's home with only a trusted old eunuch and two trusted guards. When Empress Pan heard that the emperor was coming, she quickly came to the hall and knelt down to receive him. As soon as Zhao Heng saw the charming Pan Niangniang, all his worries disappeared. With a smile on his face, he stepped forward to help Pan Niangniang up, held Pan Niangniang's delicate hand and said with emotion: "Only when I stay with Pan Niangniang, I feel that I have no worries!" Pan Niangniang smiled brightly, and then asked worriedly: " Your Majesty, I heard that the Liao people are coming, and your Majesty is moving the capital?"
Zhao Heng sighed, "Yes, the Liao people are coming, so we have to move the capital!" Then he frowned and said angrily: "I have an army of millions, how come it is useless?! The Liao Kingdom is actually defeated by him! Sixty thousand soldiers and horses were beaten to the point where they lost all their armor and had to move the capital!"
Empress Pan comforted her softly: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. I believe there will always be heroes who can help the country and turn the tide to solve your problems!" Zhao Heng felt better and nodded, "I hope so." He glanced at Empress Pan. , patted her slender hand, and said with tenderness in his eyes: "No matter where the capital is moved to, I will never leave Madam Pan behind." Madam Pan couldn't help but feel a little moved, and said softly: "Do you want me to play the piano for Your Majesty?" Zhao Heng nodded, "Okay, I just want to hear Madam Pan play the piano! Hey, let's not think about those troublesome things!"
Madam Pan left Zhao Ji, walked to the piano table on one side, and sat down. Zhao Heng sat down on the main seat and stared at Pan Niangniang. Just as Empress Pan was about to play the piano, a palace servant rushed in excitedly. He saluted and said urgently: "Your Majesty, urgent military situation..."
Zhao Heng was in a bad mood and said angrily: "We'll talk about those things later!" Zhao Heng thought it was bad news again, and subconsciously wanted to escape. It was precisely because of this that he secretly ran to Pan Queen, come here.
Pan Niangniang said softly: "Your Majesty, military and national affairs are important, let's deal with them first." Zhao Heng sighed, looked at the chamberlain, and asked angrily: "Did you lose another battle? Did the Daming Mansion not lose it?" Said this When he spoke, Zhao Heng's voice was trembling, which showed that he was very afraid of hearing such news.
The chamberlain shook his head vigorously, "No! Your Majesty, this is a good news! What a great victory!" Zhao Heng was stunned, looking in disbelief. The chamberlain continued: "Just now a good news was sent to the Privy Council, saying that General Yang Pengchen, the commander of Jingdong East Road, led his 40,000 Cangzhou troops to defeat Xiao Duoli at the foot of Yingzhou City, and then captured Yingzhou and Mozhou, and then in Yingchoujian once again defeated Xiao Duoli. Now the troops are overwhelming Zhuozhou, and the troops are heading straight to Nanjing! "
Everyone present felt unbelievable when they heard the news. They really couldn't believe that the Liao army, which had killed the Song army and fled in embarrassment not long ago, was defeated by the Cangzhou army in the blink of an eye. Not only that, the Cangzhou army actually They even went down to Yingzhou and Mozhou, and surrounded Zhuozhou, directly threatening the city of Nanjing in the Liao Kingdom!
Pan's eyes were filled with brilliant lights, and she was suppressing the excitement in her heart. Zhao Heng said excitedly: "That's great! That's great!" He turned to Pan's mother and said, "My beloved, do you really mean it?" By the way, there really is a hero who appears from nowhere to solve the problems for the poor!"
Pan Niangniang smiled slightly: "Congratulations to your Majesty!" She stood up and said: "Since your Majesty has this talent, he should reuse it! I believe he will live up to your Majesty's high expectations!" Zhao Heng nodded solemnly and hurried back to the palace. . When I came to the court room, I saw the excited Eighth Prince and the unnatural expressions of Master Pang, Kou Zhun and others.
The emperor hurriedly asked: "Is the news of the great victory true?" The Eighth Prince immediately presented the news of the victory sent by Yang Peng, and said with a smile on his face, "Absolutely true! General Yang has defeated the Liao army in succession, and all roads have been defeated." The crisis has been completely resolved! Now General Yang is besieging Zhuozhou, I believe he will achieve greater feats in the near future!"
The emperor read the good news and nodded excitedly. The Eighth Prince took the opportunity and said: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, if the name is not correct, the words will not go smoothly. General Yang should be appointed as the envoy of the Sixteenth State of Yanyun and take charge of the Northern Expedition!" The emperor felt that the request of the Eighth Prince was very reasonable, so he wanted to agree. But at this moment, Li Te objected: "No! Your Majesty, Yang Peng is too young to take on such an important task!" The Eighth Prince snorted coldly, "Don't you think these words are feeble now? You Privy Councilor Li Te held a high position and had deep qualifications. However, he suffered two major defeats and lost 200,000 troops, causing the Liao captives to attack the city rampantly. However, although General Yang Peng was not qualified enough, he turned the tide and cleaned up the mess caused by the Privy Councillor. And he defeated Xiao Duoli in one fell swoop and captured Yingzhou and Mozhou. With such merit and talent, shouldn’t he be entrusted with an important task?"
Li Te said with a livid face: "Anyway, if you don't have enough qualifications, you shouldn't be entrusted with important tasks!" The Eighth Prince sneered: "It should be decided by the Privy Council whether we should be entrusted with important tasks and should not be punished, but by your Majesty. Decision!" The emperor showed displeasure and said decisively: "Yang Peng lived up to my expectations, turned the tide in one fell swoop and shocked the Liao captives, and appointed Yang Peng as the envoy of the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun to shoulder the important task of the Northern Expedition!" Looking at the Eighth Prince! , "Kou Zhun recommended him and was promoted to Privy Council Envoy with meritorious service. The former Privy Council Envoy Li Te was demoted to Deputy Envoy."
Li Te's face turned pale, and Kou Zhenzhan thanked him excitedly. Li Te winked at Master Pang frequently. The latter stepped forward and bowed to the emperor, and then said slowly: "Your Majesty's decision just now was very wise!" Li Te couldn't help being stunned when he heard this. Taishi Pang continued: "Now the Liao Kingdom must be greatly shaken, and the leader of the Liao Kingdom must send elite troops south for reinforcements. Therefore, Yang Zhaofu should be ordered to stop his advance and retreat to Mozhou for defense, so as not to be trapped in a tight siege and suffer defeat."
The emperor frowned and nodded, "What the Grand Master said is absolutely true!" Then he said to the Eighth Prince: "Murong Aiqing immediately conveyed the general's order accordingly, instructing Yang Peng not to advance rashly and to retreat to Mozhou for defense." The Eighth Prince Hold your fist and promise.
Master Pang and others left the court room. Li Te, who had long been unable to bear it, asked in confusion: "Grand Master, why did you let Na Kou Zhun succeed! That boy clearly wants to challenge the Grand Master's position!" Grand Master Pang smiled coldly, "He is still a little green!" He glanced at Li Te and said in a lecturing tone: "Don't you see His Majesty's attitude? His Majesty is overjoyed by Yang Peng's victory. If he strongly opposes it at this time, it will only make His Majesty disgusted! The reason why Kou Zhun was promoted to Privy Councilor is, The reason why you were demoted half a level is because you said those things you shouldn't have said!" Li Te said with a depressed look on his face.
Taishi Pang sighed, "Hey! I didn't expect that Yang Peng is really an unparalleled general! Kou Zhun got the limelight thanks to him!" Then he smiled coldly, "But they were happy too early! This The imperial court still has the surname Pang!"
Yang Peng looked at the order in his hand and frowned. The generals standing under the tent were all very curious. Duan Zhixian couldn't help but ask: "Brother, what did the Privy Council say?" Yang Peng raised his head, "The Privy Council sent an order from the emperor, telling us to stop as soon as possible. Withdraw the defense of Mozhou." The generals were talking nonsense, and Duan Zhixian cursed angrily: "What kind of order is this!" Huyan Chijin frowned and said: "Now is the time to take advantage of the situation to capture Nanjing, how can we retreat like this? Wouldn't all the previous efforts be wasted? Got it!"
If you want to know what happens next, let’s look at the breakdown in the next chapter.
