Cao Bin led 200,000 imperial troops to Shangjing. Yang Peng and Cao Bin met, Cao Bin was arrogant and arrogant. Yang Peng personally arranged for Cao Bin and his accompanying generals to stay in the original Liao palace next to the Liushou Mansion. That night, when Yang Peng was sitting under the lamp reading the letter from the Eighth Prince, Li Xu hurried in and said, "Oh no, big brother, something happened!"
Yang Peng raised his head, "What happened?" Li Xu said: "Cao Bin's general named Yuan Zuo led several officers and got drunk. Seeing a pretty girl, he snatched her away. Went to the inn. When the civilian girl’s father heard about this, he rushed to the inn to beg for his daughter, but was beaten to death by the officers. It happened that Zhou Dayong led the guards passing by the inn. When he heard about the incident, he was furious Angry, he immediately led his men into the inn and tied up the general named Yuan Zuo and several of his officers."
Yang Peng had already stood up, pacing back and forth with a slight frown on his hands behind his back. "What happened next?" Li Xu said: "Zhou Dayong wanted to execute those people on the spot, but Cao Bin led people to the scene. Now the two sides are at a stalemate!" Yang Peng cursed, walked out of the study quickly, and said in a loud voice: "Here comes someone!" Two nearby female guards immediately came over to greet them, cupping their fists and saying, "What are your orders, General?"
Yang Peng said: "Immediately order all the troops in Beijing to prepare for battle, notify the city defense, and impose martial law throughout the city!" The two female guards responded and ran down. Yang Peng said to Li Xu: "Let's go to the scene!" Then the two of them left the left-behind residence and led a team of hidden assassins to the scene.
When we arrived at the scene, the once bustling street had turned into a battlefield. Led by the furious Zhou Dayong, hundreds of troops from the left-behind mansion in Beijing were facing off against nearly a thousand troops from Cao Bin. Cao Bin, sitting high on his horse with an angry look on his face, pointed his riding whip at Zhou Dayong and shouted: "Kill me!" "Nearly a thousand soldiers around him were about to step forward.
"Let's see who dares!" A roar suddenly exploded. Cao Bin's soldiers and horses, who were about to take action, were startled. They stopped advancing and followed the sound. They saw a heroic general in armor and a cape, leading a handsome general and hundreds of extremely sturdy sergeants on horseback. . Yang Peng and others rode their horses to get in between the two sides and reined in their horses. Zhou Dayong and others clasped their fists together and bowed: "General!"
Yang Peng nodded and asked Cao Bin with a cold face: "Commander, what's going on?" Cao Bin snorted coldly, "Don't the general know, and come to ask me instead?" "Of course I know!" Referring to the embarrassed generals and officers who were being held captive by Zhou Dayong's men, "These people first robbed civilian women and killed innocent people later. They deserved to die. It is my duty to capture them, and I What I don’t understand is, what on earth does the commander want to do by mobilizing troops with such great fanfare?”
Cao Bin shouted with a stern face: "My people, even if they break the law, should be punished by me. You don't need to meddle in my own business!" Yang Peng smiled coldly, "This is Shangjing, my jurisdiction, everything here is I should handle all matters, big or small!" Cao Bin glared and shouted: "Yang Peng, don't toast me and eat as a fine! If you dare to touch my people, I will make you walk around without food!"
Seeing that Cao Bin was so tough and confident, Yuan Zuo struggled to stand up and shouted: "Young man named Yang, please let me go quickly! Otherwise, you won't get anything good to eat!" His men Several officers also shouted.
The people watching the situation from a distance felt a pressure in their chests and panicked. An old man on crutches sighed: "There is no justice in this world!" Zhou Dayong said urgently: "Brother, you can't let go. Kill them!" Yang Peng frowned and held the spear in his hand tightly. Cao Bin raised his chin and looked at him triumphantly. Cao Bin was not afraid that Yang Peng would not give in.
Yang Peng suddenly turned his head and ordered: "Zhou Dayong listen to the order!" Zhou Dayong was shocked and said anxiously: "Brother, you can't!" Yang Peng said angrily: "Zhou Dayong listen to the order!" Zhou Dayong hesitated for a moment. He clasped his fists angrily and said, "The end is here!" At this time, many people had already left. Some cursed Tong Guan in a low voice, while others scolded Yang Peng, saying that he was in vain and was just a coward who was afraid of the powerful. Cao Bin sat high on his horse, feeling proud, while Yuan Zuo and others looked proud. They, the tied prisoners, seemed like masters!
"Execute these beasts who robbed women of the people and took human lives seriously!" As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked. Zhou Dayong reacted first, excitedly and loudly agreed, and then shouted at his men: "The general has an order to put these beasts to death on the spot!" "Yang Peng, how dare you!" Cao Bin shouted. Yuan Zuo and others were so frightened that they were at a loss.
"Kill!" Several steel knives fell suddenly, and the heads of Yuan Zuo and others rolled to the ground. The scene was completely silent, and thunderous cheers suddenly erupted from the people in the distance. Everyone seemed very excited and excited. Cao Bin was shocked and angry. He pointed at Yang Peng and shouted hysterically: "Come on, come on! Kill him, kill him!" Cao Bin's soldiers began to act subconsciously.
Zhou Dayong roared angrily, rushed in front of Cao Bin's army, raised his flintlock rifle, and shouted: "Come up if you are not afraid of death!" Zhou Dayong's soldiers shouted together and leveled their spears. The momentum was like a mountain collapse; everyone hid and killed Then he was ready to charge and stared at Cao Binjun coldly. The bullies under Cao Bin couldn't help but panic when they saw this scene, and Cao Bin couldn't help but feel frightened. Pointing at Yang Peng, he shouted sternly and restrainedly: "Yang Peng, do you want to rebel?"
Yang Peng said coldly: "I am protecting your majesty's dignity! I am protecting the face of the court."
Cao Bin's expression changed several times, but he finally did not dare to order an attack. He said with a cold face: "Yang Peng, don't forget, I have an army of 200,000 outside the city!" Yang Peng smiled coldly, "If you want If you resort to force, I will accompany you to the end!" Cao Bin felt that there was nothing he could do. He snorted heavily and shouted to his soldiers: "Go back." Then he led his soldiers away in despair.
The people rushed up, surrounded Yang Peng and the others and cheered. Cao Bin, who was far away, turned around and glanced at Yang Peng gloomily. Later that day, Yang Peng received a report that Cao Bin led his soldiers out of Shangjing City and entered the military camp outside the city.
Duan Zhixian laughed and said: "This old boy must be afraid of being killed by his elder brother in the city, so he ran away!" Everyone laughed. Yang Jing frowned and said: "People like Cao Bin will definitely not give up. If they don't have the ability to deal with big brother, they will definitely come up with tricks! Big brother must be on guard!" Yang Peng nodded, "I have sent someone to Tokyo. Went to write letters. Even if Cao Bin wants to cause trouble, it will be nothing more than an unclear lawsuit with the emperor."
An officer rushed into the hall, clasped his fists and said: "General, Cao Bin sent someone to collect food." Duan Zhixian scolded: "Won't he look for it himself? He is not our son, why should we raise him? ?" Zhou Dayong immediately agreed. The two rough guys sang and harmonized, looking like they wanted food but not their lives.
Yang Jing frowned and said: "I'm afraid this is inappropriate. After all, the imperial court asked us to bear the logistics of Tong Guan's army. If we don't provide food and grass, we would be unreasonable." Yang Peng nodded, "That's right. Besides, although Tong Guan is hateful, , but those 200,000 soldiers are innocent, you can't take advantage of those 200,000 soldiers!" Then he said to the officer: "Go and report the visitor, and say that the food and grass are being prepared and will be delivered soon. His military camp." The officer promised and ran down. …
Cao Bin's army stayed in Shangjing for several days, and then moved north, aiming directly at Shunzhou to the north of Shangjing. Prior to this, Queen Mother Xiao had been leading an elite group to station there. Yang Peng sent many scouts to investigate the progress of the war. Three nights later, news came, which was beyond the expectations of Yang Peng and others. The expected fierce battle did not happen. Cao Bin's army occupied Shunzhou almost without any blood, but Shunzhou was already an empty city at this time.
Yang Peng and others gathered in front of the map. Zhou Dayong shouted: "It's really a ghost! Why did the Liao army escape without fighting? That Queen Mother Xiao's army is very powerful!" Huyan Chijin thought: "Maybe it's because of the strength of the troops. It's not enough." Yang Peng looked at the map and slowly shook his head, "Impossible! Even if the troops are insufficient, there is no reason to flee without fighting. The consequences of abandoning the city and fleeing will be more serious. Besides, the Queen Mother Xiao is such a He is a man of both wisdom and bravery, and the soldiers under his command are also the elite of the Liao Kingdom." He frowned and said, "Maybe this is a trap."
Everyone was stunned and looked at Yang Peng in confusion. Yang Peng said: "Play hard to get. If my prediction is correct, the Liao Kingdom is trying to lure the enemy deeper." Everyone suddenly realized and were shocked. Duan Zhixian said loudly: "Brother is right, this must be the Liao Kingdom fishing. His grandma's, Cao Bin's army may be wiped out again this time!" Yang Peng immediately ordered Li Xu to send someone to notify Cao Bin : This may be the Liao Kingdom's plan to lure the enemy deeper into the country. Be careful and don't rush deep into the Liao Kingdom's hinterland. Li Xu agreed and ran down.
It is said that after Cao Bin captured Shunzhou without a fight, he felt that he would not waste any effort to defeat the Liao Kingdom. Immediately, he sent people to Tokyo to offer victory. The victory report boasted about his martial arts, saying that after a day of bloody battle, he annihilated one hundred thousand of the main force of the Liao Kingdom, recaptured Shunzhou, etc. At the end of the victory report, he listed a dozen people who gave him generous gifts. The names of the generals were also listed, along with their glorious military exploits.
Cao Bin left thousands of people to guard Shunzhou, while he led a main force of 200,000 to continue marching north. A few days later, we arrived at the foot of Tanzhou City, which was probably near Miyun, now Beijing. The former Shunzhou was probably near Huairou, now Beijing. Cao Bin's army once again captured Tanzhou without any bloodshed. Tanzhou, like Shunzhou before it, had long been deserted, but there were a lot of property scattered in the streets and alleys and in the treasury. It seemed that the people of Liao Dynasty were in a panic when they fled. The soldiers looted the city's property, and the whole city was in chaos, but Cao Bin did not stop it.
Subsequently, another even more exaggerated good news was sent to Tokyo. "Commander, my general sent a junior general to remind the commander that the enemy's escape without fighting is most likely a plan for the enemy to lure them deeper. Please be careful, commander-in-chief." An officer sent by Yang Peng stood in front of Cao Bin Yang Peng's warning was relayed in front of him.
Cao Bin smiled coldly, "Yang Peng saw that I kept singing triumphant songs and was about to make great achievements that would be remembered forever, so he became jealous and deliberately came to scare me. Go back and tell Yang Peng that I am familiar with the art of war and I have a sure chance of victory." , there is no need for him to tell me what to do! Who is he? Prepare food and fodder for me properly. If he dares to deliberately default on my food and fodder, I will kill him without a burial place! Get out." The officer raised his fist towards Cao Bin. left.
Cao Bin smiled sarcastically, "I don't know, you actually want to trip me up, do you think I'm a fool?"...
The officer rushed back to Beijing and reported Cao Bin's words to Yang Peng. Yang Peng was fine, but the brothers under him couldn't hold it any longer. Duan Zhixian shouted: "It's his grandma's fault! His good intentions are treated like a donkey's liver and lungs. This bastard will die a good death!" Everyone agreed.
Yang Peng frowned and thought. On the other side of Tokyo, they were extremely excited because of Cao Bin's continuous good news. The bad impression of Cao Bin from all walks of life was completely reversed. All officials congratulated the emperor, and the emperor was immersed in the dream of reviving the glory of the Tang Dynasty. middle. …
After Cao Bin occupied Tanzhou, he continued to advance northward, and his troops were directed at an important pass on the Great Wall, Gubei Pavilion. The army rushed through Gubei Pavilion in one go, and then occupied Bei'an Prefecture, an important state south of Zhongjing Road. It was only 230 to 40 miles away from Zhongjing, the most important of the five capitals of the Liao Kingdom. Cao Bin's raid on Liao Zhongjing seems to be just around the corner.
Cao Bin marched towards Liaozhongjing with great excitement. Cao Bin and others were already imagining the wonderful scene after their success. The army entered Songzi Ridge. Songzi Ridge is located at the southern foot of Ma Yu Mountain, southwest of Beijing in central Liaoning. It has high mountains and dense forests, and endless pine forests, so this place is named Songzi Ridge.
The 200,000-strong army was traveling through Songzi Ridge, divided into many long lines by thousands of mountains and ravines. The troops at the front were almost out of Songzi Ridge, while the troops at the back had just entered Songzi Ridge. At this time, the sun hung in the middle of the sky. Although it was only April, I could feel the irritating heat. The mountain breeze blew, and the dry breath mixed with the fragrance of wood and grass hit my face.
Cao Bin looked up at the sun above his head and muttered: "Why is it so hot today?" Wu... Wu... Wu..., the unique horn sound of the Liao army suddenly sounded loudly, echoing among the mountain peaks, It seemed like the sky was overwhelming. The officers and soldiers of the Song Army were startled when they suddenly heard the horn sound of the Liao Army, and hurriedly looked towards the surrounding mountains. Suddenly, I saw countless people suddenly appear on the mountainside where there was no one there. Before the soldiers of the Song Army could react, the rockets fell like a storm. The unsuspecting Song Army soldiers were hit by arrows one after another and howled. At the same time, countless huge burning firewood balls on the hillside roared straight to the bottom of the valley. .
In the blink of an eye, flames were raging in the valley, the Song army soldiers were running around in panic, and screams resounded throughout Songzi Ridge. …
Shortly after sunset, a fast horse galloped into Shangjing. Yang Peng hurriedly came to the hall, and the veteran scouts reported urgently: "General, Cao Bin's army was ambushed by the Liao army in Songzi Ridge!..." Yang Peng frowned and walked quickly to the map. . The scout pointed to the location in Songzi Ridge, "Here."
Yang Peng looked at it and asked quickly: "How is the situation?" The scout clasped his fists and said: "The two hundred thousand troops have been wiped out. The specific situation is still unclear." Yang Peng cursed and said to the scout: "Continue to investigate. ." The scout clasped his fists in agreement and ran down. Yang Peng called a female soldier and asked her to immediately send orders to the generals to discuss matters in the hall.
After a while, Zhou Dayong and others came to the hall and paid homage to Yang Peng. Yang Peng said: "I just received a report from the scouts. Cao Bin's army was ambushed by the Liao army in Songzi Ridge and the whole army was wiped out." Everyone was startled and started talking. Duan Zhixian laughed and said: "I have long said that this guy will not die well. , as expected!"
Yang Jing frowned and said: "This is nothing to be happy about! Cao Bin's army has been wiped out, and the Liao army will definitely take advantage of the momentum to go south, and it will be dangerous to go to Beijing!" Everyone couldn't help but worry. Zhou Dayong said loudly: "What is there to be afraid of! It's not like we haven't encountered the Liao army before! If they come, just come!" Several brothers agreed one after another. Yang Peng thought for a moment and said to Li Xu: "Li Xu, you immediately lead a thousand cavalry to the north, first to collect the remaining soldiers, and second to stop the opponent's forward." Li Xu promised with clasped fists.
Yang Peng then said to Liu Zhiliang and Cheng Shijie: "Liu Zhiliang, Cheng Shijie, you two stay in Beijing, make all preparations to hold on, and mobilize the people of this city as much as possible. In addition, take the money and food we have stored in Wuqing County And all the baggage and supplies were transported back to Beijing." "Yes." "The others will follow me north to meet the enemy." The rest of the people clasped their fists and agreed.
"Okay, let's all go down and get ready. Li Xu will set off as soon as he's ready. The rest of us will have a night's rest and set off early tomorrow morning." "Yes." Everyone clasped their fists in agreement and hurriedly left the hall. Yang Peng thought for a while, summoned Xue Fu, and ordered him to immediately go to Zhanjin Kingdom in person to deliver the order. At midnight, the north city gate opened wide. Li Xu led a thousand cavalry out of the city and galloped towards the north, quickly disappearing into the night.
Yang Peng returned to the backyard and was greeted by Yang Tong, Zhao Jinxi and Yang Jiumei. Yang Tong asked very worriedly: "Ms. sir, are the Liao people coming?" Yang Peng glanced at them, Yang Tong and Zhao Jinxi's There was clearly a look of fear and uneasiness on her face, but Yang Jiumei seemed a little eager to give it a try.
Yang Peng smiled and said: "Don't worry, it's okay. We were able to seize Shangjing from the Liao Kingdom before, but now we can't hold it?" The three women couldn't help but feel relieved when they heard what Yang Peng said. Yang Peng said: "I will go on an expedition early tomorrow morning. You should stay at home and don't worry about me." Yang Tong and Zhao Jinxi frowned and remained silent. Yang Jiumei said eagerly: "Brother, I will go on an expedition with you."
Yang Peng said angrily: "How can this work!" Yang Jiumei raised his eyebrows, "Brother, don't underestimate me. I dare say that my martial arts skills are better than many of eldest brother's brothers!" Yang Peng held Yang Jiumei's hand. Slender hands, smiled, and said softly: "Jiu Mei's martial arts are naturally strong, but you are my woman, how can I let you go to the battlefield and take risks? If there is something wrong, where can I find another Jiu Mei? Sister?"
Tenderness filled Yang Jiumei's heart, and she glanced at Yang Peng tenderly. Yang Tong and Zhao Jin on the side were delighted to see this situation and couldn't help but feel a little disgusted. "Stay at home peacefully. Brother, nothing will happen to you." Then he glanced at the three girls and smiled, "Don't you understand my character? I won't do anything I'm not sure about." Three The woman nodded gently, but she still felt uneasy in her heart.
I don’t know if it was because of fear, but that night, the three women actually served Yang Peng together, allowing Yang Peng to enjoy all the blessings.
Li Xu led a thousand cavalry into Shunzhou and found that the thousands of Song troops staying in Shunzhou were all panicked. The commander named Wang Shun, who was leading the army, was preparing to lead his men to escape. Li Xu stopped them and said angrily: "Are you going to run away?" Wang Shun said hurriedly: "General Li, you don't know, the commander-in-chief and his army were wiped out!..."
Li Xu said calmly: "I know this. The general also knows. The general has expected it a long time ago. Don't be afraid. The general has been prepared. You have two ways, or you can flee back like a coward. The court is I will not let you go, either stay and fight side by side with us, and when the Liao army is defeated, not only will you be innocent, but everyone will have merit."
Wang Shun and others looked at each other. Wang Shun asked: "Can the general really defeat the Liao people?" Li Xu said: "Since the general was able to sweep across the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and regain Shangjing, today he can hold Shangjing. But if you must leave, I will never fail to stop you.”
Wang Shun and others hesitated for a moment, then clasped their fists together and said, "We are willing to follow the general's lead!" Li Xu was overjoyed, "Very good! Then please ask General Wang to continue to lead his troops to guard Shunzhou and wait for the arrival of the general's brigade." "Yes." Wang Shun promised with clasped fists.
Li Xu led a thousand war cavalry under his command, passed through Wang Shun and others, left Shunzhou, and continued northward. In the early morning, they encountered a Liao forward cavalry force of nearly a thousand people north of Niulan Mountain. The two sides immediately started an encounter. Two thousand war cavalry charged and killed, arrows flying criss-crossing, and the sound of killing was loud. Li Xu relied on his unique sharpshooter to kill several generals of the Liao army one after another. The Liao army was finally defeated and fled north. While Li Xu sent people to report the battle situation to Yang Peng, he led his cavalry to continue heading north.
The army led by Yang Peng entered Shunzhou at noon, then left the city and headed north. In the evening, they arrived at Niulan Mountain, where the army set up camp. Early the next morning, the army left the village and headed north. Not long after, I saw a cavalry coming towards me. Yang Peng asked the army to stop and prepare to fight. After a while, the cavalry came closer. It turned out to be Li Xu and his cavalry. The nearly a thousand cavalry that left before seemed to be much less now, and almost everyone had blood stains on their bodies, and some even carried... The wounds were so severe that some people had not had time to pull out the arrows on their bodies. The military formation separated, and Li Xu led the cavalry directly into the military formation. Then the military formation closed again.
Li Xu ran to Chen Xiao, reined in his horse, clasped his fists and said, "Brother, the Liao army is coming soon!" Yang Peng asked, "Are you injured?" Li Xu shook his head, "I'm fine." As he was speaking, he just I saw many cavalry appearing on the hill in front of me, followed by countless people and horses coming overwhelmingly. The people and horses were like a tide, the flags were surging, the horns were soaring into the sky, and the earth was trembling.
Li Xu frowned. The scale of the Liao army far exceeded his expectation. He originally estimated that the Liao army should have only 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers and horses, but looking at the posture in front of him, there were at least 150,000.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
