Li Tongren frowned and said: "Although I don't agree with going to war, I still think that your Majesty's approach is reasonable!" Several civil servants looked puzzled, and the civil servant who just spoke said angrily: "What kind of reason is this! That Yanyun Army is the army of tigers and wolves, the best in the world! Although our army is four times that of the enemy, the Prime Minister must know better than us what the situation is! Not to mention 400,000, even 800,000, it is difficult to fight in the field. Fight against those 100,000 elites! No matter how many sheep there are, they are no match for the wolf!" Other civil servants agreed, all looking worried.
Li Tongren shook his head and said: "Although what you said makes sense, you don't understand military matters after all! I can probably understand your Majesty's intention. The Yanyun Army is powerful, but our 178,000 regular troops are not vegetarians either. , as long as they can form a stalemate with the Yanyun Army on the battlefield, the morale and fighting spirit of the Yanyun Army will decline. At this time, if more than 200,000 civilian troops rush into the enemy's formation like a tide and fight with them, we have a great chance Win!" All the civil servants looked at each other, they didn't quite understand the reasoning behind this.
Li Tongren frowned and said, "Actually, Your Majesty has no choice but to do this! If you don't defeat Yan Yun's army in the south as soon as possible, I'm afraid something will happen to the north!" He raised his head and looked at everyone, "You know, Chen Xiao But the tiger and wolf are more ferocious than Yue Fei!" Everyone was shocked. Li Tongren continued: "We don't have time to defend slowly. Only by getting rid of the Yanyun Army in the south as soon as possible can we be free to deal with the Yanyun Army in the north! If we are in a stalemate with the enemy, then the situation in the north will inevitably change. It's getting worse quickly! This is the main reason why His Majesty decided to go to war!" Several civil servants didn't know what to say, and they just felt their minds were in a mess.
Li Tongren said: "We, the civil servants, should not worry about things on the battlefield, just do what we should do! His Majesty can think of everything we can think of!" All the civil servants agreed in unison.
At this time, in the camp hall, Li Zongdao said: "Your Majesty, the general thinks that all these civil servants should be driven back to the capital! It is useless to stay here, and it will only weaken the morale of the army!"
Li Qingxia frowned and said: "I originally did it to facilitate the handling of government affairs, but now it seems that it is really inappropriate!" She looked at Li Zongdao and smiled: "The Generalissimo doesn't like them very much?" Li Zongdao sighed, "I can't say whether he likes them or not. I like it, but the battlefield is really not the place where these civilian officials should come. The battlefield should be left to the soldiers! If civilian officials stay here, they will fail more than they succeed!"
Li Qingxia nodded thoughtfully and looked at Li Zongdao, "Let's do this. I will pass down an order for them to return to Xingqing Mansion tomorrow, and at the same time, Prime Minister Zuo will temporarily handle internal affairs on his behalf!" Li Zongdao bowed and said: " Your Majesty is wise!”
Li Qingxia walked to the main seat and sat down, and glanced at Li Zongdao, "Generalissimo, do you have anything to say about going to war?" Li Zongdao said: "The general understands His Majesty's concerns and intentions very well. I would totally agree! Just, just..."
Li Qingxia said for him: "It's just that facing Yanyun Tiger and Wolf, there is no certainty in this battle!" Li Zongdao bowed and said: "Your Majesty is wise! Although our army has 400,000 troops, Yanyun Army only has 100,000 troops, but regardless of In terms of equipment, fighting spirit, fighting spirit, fighting skills, etc., they are inferior to the Yanyun Army! As the saying goes, good soldiers do not have too many troops. Our army of 400,000 is against the Yanyun Army of 100,000. It is really difficult to say that we are sure of victory!" After a pause, "But It's not that there is no chance of winning. As long as our regular troops can form a stalemate with Yanyun's army, then our large number of civilian troops can break into the enemy's formation from the flanks and destroy the enemy's army in one go. The ants will kill the elephant! "
Li Qingxia nodded, "That's what I planned, but I'm not sure whether I can win in the end! It depends on God's will!" Li Zongdao said: "Your Majesty, the general thinks there is no need to be so anxious to fight Yan Yun's army. , you can wait and wait for the battle situation on Li Cunxiao's side before making a decision! If Li Cunxiao successfully captures Youzhou, there is no need for us to take such risks!" Li Qingxia nodded, "Well, you are right, wait a little longer. Wait and see, wait and see. I hope God will bless Li Cunxiao and he can live up to his trust!" After a pause, he suddenly said: "In order for Li Cunxiao's attack to proceed smoothly, we here cannot wait and must attack immediately. Yang Yanzhao launches an attack!"
Li Zongdao was stunned and then understood Li Qingxia's intention: Yang Yanzhao may not know the situation in Youzhou yet, but he will know it sooner or later. Once he learns that Youzhou is in danger, he will most likely retreat immediately. As a result, even if Youzhou breaks through, he will not be able to capture Changcheng Ridge and achieve the desired effect of closing the door and beating the dog. Therefore, in order to ensure victory in the Battle of Youzhou, an attack must be launched here. Even if they cannot win, they must still entangle Yang Yanzhao. If they can win, that would be even better.
Li Zongdao nodded and said to Li Qingxia: "General, I will go to the military camp to prepare for the decisive battle with Yanyun Army tomorrow morning!" Li Qingxia nodded, "Generalissimo, thank you for your trouble!" Li Zongdao said to Li Qingxia He bowed and left in a hurry.
Li Qingxia was in a daze for a while, and then quickly walked to the bedroom where she lived temporarily in the backyard. He walked to the bedside, opened the bedside table, and took out a palm-sized square red-lacquered and golden gluttonous-grained wooden box. He retreated to the edge of the bed and sat down, opened the wooden box, and took out a turtle shell and nine ancient Qin coins. Put the coins into the turtle shell, clasp your hands, close your eyes, and mutter something. Then it shook gently, and the coins made a clicking sound in the turtle shell. Li Qingxia shook it for a moment, then suddenly threw the coins into the box. There were nine coins, four heads, four tails, and the last one stood on the edge of the wooden box. When Li Qingxia saw this situation, she couldn't help but be stunned and felt a little incredible.
He quickly collected the coins, put them into the turtle shell, and divined again. The result was still the same, nine coins, four heads, four tails, and the last one stood on the edge.
Li Qingxia was surprised, frowned and murmured: "What does God's will mean? Are you telling me that the outcome is not clear, and everything depends on myself?" At this thought, infinite hope rose in her heart, and she just felt As long as you remain steadfast and the monarch and ministers work together, you will definitely be able to defeat Yan Yun.
At the same time, in the Yanyun Army's tent, Yang Yanzhao stood in front of the map, staring at Youzhou City. According to the news just received, the Xixia Snow Mountain Army has left Tiemenguan and is attacking Youzhou. This is beyond Yang Yanzhao's previous expectations. Yang Yanzhao had previously judged that after his army conquered Yanzhou, the interior of Xixia would be greatly shaken, so he gathered all the main forces to fight with his own side, and he could take the opportunity to contain the enemy's large forces, and let King Yan wait for an opportunity to invade Xixia. In the hinterland, it would be better if there is a chance to defeat the enemy's main force here; but the current situation is somewhat different from what was originally expected. Li Qingxia did not lose sight of her, and was keenly aware of her own weak link, Yuzhou, and thus The elite of the Snow Mountain Army came out of Tiemenguan to attack Youzhou.
As a result, he was in a dilemma: should he continue to attack Xiping Mansion, or should he immediately return to Yanzhou to support Youzhou. To be on the safe side, we should undoubtedly retreat immediately, so that we can naturally avoid the worst-case scenario. However, once we do this, our own energy will be frustrated. Now we are outnumbered and the enemy is outnumbered. Although we are far from the elite, once our energy is frustrated, we will not be able to fight again. I'm afraid I won't be able to attack. Yang Yanzhao was a little reluctant, but compared to the huge risks hidden in Youzhou, it seemed that this could only be the case. Those who are good at fighting must first establish themselves in an invincible position. They must not ignore the huge risks in Youzhou and make a desperate move. This is not what a warrior does, it is what a gambler does.
Yang Yanzhao looked at the map and fell into deep thought. After a moment, Yang Yanzhao turned around suddenly, the hesitation on his tough face was gone, and his eyes showed a look of determination. He walked behind the desk and shouted outside the tent: "Here comes someone!"
At the sound of footsteps, the captain of the soldiers rushed into the tent, clasped his fists and asked, "What are your orders, general?" "Go and call Yang Dezheng."
The captain made a promise and ran down. A moment later, he led Yang Dezheng, who was dressed in military uniform and fierce, in. Yang Dezheng, the former Yang Family Army general, is one of the four strongest generals in the Yang Family Army. The Yang Family Army has the so-called Four Tiger Generals, namely Yang Gui, Yang Dezheng, Yang Qi, and Fan Long. They had already made outstanding achievements in the wars with the Khitans and Koryo and were well-known throughout the world. Later, the Yang Family Army was merged into the Yanyun Army. , these four tiger generals, together with Yang Yanzhao, followed Yang Peng in the east and west, and they were even more powerful in the world.
Yang Dezheng clasped his fists and asked, "Commander Father, what are your orders?" Yang Yanzhao walked up to Yang Dezheng and said something. Yang Dezheng was taken aback, "Well, is this going to be a problem?" Yang Yanzhao smiled and said, "I know in my heart, there will definitely be no problem!" Then he gave instructions carefully and finally asked; "Is there anything else? Is there anything you don’t understand?”
Yang Dezheng clasped his fists and said, "I understand! Please leave!" Yang Yanzhao nodded, and Yang Dezheng hurriedly left the tent. Yang Yanzhao walked outside the big tent, looked at the stars in the sky, and couldn't help but murmured: "What I plan is up to man, and it is up to God. I have done everything I should do, and the outcome depends on God's will!"
Early the next morning, trumpets sounded loudly in Xipingfu City, shaking the earth and the earth. Immediately, the city gates were opened wide, and 50,000 light-armored warriors poured into the city first, forming formations on the east and west sides. Yang Yanzhao saw that the other party was going out of the city to fight in the field, which was exactly what he wanted, and immediately ordered the entire army to go out to fight. In the Yanyun Army camp, the camp gate was opened wide, and all the soldiers and horses came out.
Soon after, almost all the soldiers and horses from both sides lined up in a large formation in the wilderness outside the city, facing each other from a distance. The drummers on both sides beat the drums vigorously, and the trumpeters blew the trumpets with all their strength. The sound of the drums and trumpets reverberated between heaven and earth, making people's eardrums numb.
Suddenly, the sound of drums and horns suddenly stopped, the world became quiet, and the atmosphere was very solemn. At this time, the sun emerged from the clouds, illuminating the entire earth, and the swords, guns, and armor reflected the cold light; the battle flags buzzed in the wind, and the goshawks circled in the high sky, making a whistle from time to time.
The military formation in front of the Xixia Army was opened, and nearly ten thousand wars were seen riding out of the military formation and arrayed in front of the army. Those war horses are taller than other Xixia war horses. Both men and horses are covered in heavy armor. The war horses only have four hooves hanging on the ground. The knights only show a pair of eyes. Their armor is as strong as mountains and they are full of murderous intent. This is how Xixia wars compete with powerful countries. The foundation of Xixia Iron Kites is heavy riding. This iron kite, like the Iron Buddha of the Khitan Kingdom and the King of Yan's Iron Cavalry in Yanyun, is a heavy armored cavalry. In this era, the heavy armored cavalry in the West has just started. Whether it is equipment or tactics, it cannot compare with the heavy armored cavalry in the East. Armored warrior. In fact, even after the Western heavy armored cavalry tactics matured, they were also very stupid. Western heavy armored cavalry actually did not have auxiliary tactics when fighting. It was just a tactic. Tens of thousands of heavy cavalry rushed towards the enemy in a swarm. If the opponent If you can't stop it, you will naturally be trampled to pieces, but as long as the opponent has a way to restrain this tactic, it can be said that the Western heavy cavalry will lose, and they will lose miserably. For example, in history, the Western coalition's hundreds of thousands of heavy cavalry The example of the cavalry being wiped out by tens of thousands of Mongolian cavalry within a few days illustrates this point.
Having digressed, let’s get back to the topic.
As soon as the Xixia Iron Harriers formed their formation, the horns of the Chinese army sounded loudly. The light cavalry on both wings shouted fiercely and rushed towards Yan Yun's army from the left and right wings. This is a tactic commonly used by Mongolian cavalry in the Western Xia Liao Kingdom and even in history. They first attack the enemy with light cavalry to disturb the enemy and shake the morale of the army. Then it is the turn of the elite heavy armored cavalry to take action, relying on unparalleled impact to give the enemy a fatal blow. hit.
Yang Yanzhao naturally knew his opponent's tactics, and he was already prepared for this. Seeing the enemy troops coming, he immediately ordered the crossbowmen to prepare to shoot. As mentioned earlier, the Yanyun Army does not have a clear division of arms. Everyone is equipped with melee weapons and long-range weapons. Therefore, in addition to the tower shieldmen, spearmen and spearmen who are responsible for peripheral defense at this moment, the 80,000 Yanyun Army are equipped with melee weapons and long-range weapons. Except for the powerful Modao Army, all the soldiers held up infantry crossbows. There are two types of infantry crossbows. One is a powerful crossbow modified from the Divine Arm Bow, which has a long range and is powerful, and the other is much smaller. Although the continuous crossbow is not very powerful, it is superior in firepower. It can pour out a heavy rain of arrows at the enemy within fifty meters. It is the ultimate weapon to block attacks at close range. At this time, tens of thousands of Yanyun Army officers and soldiers had already raised their infantry crossbows and aimed at the enemy war cavalry rushing up from both wings. Fifty thousand enemy war cavalry roared and rushed, really like the surging waves.
On the 250th step, the two officers shot an arrow at the enemy. The powerful arrows fired from the crossbow roared out, flew through the space of more than 200 steps, and fell into the enemy. At the same time, they shot down one of the soldiers. The enemy, the enemy fell off their horses and was instantly submerged in the rolling waves of cavalry.
Yang Qi and Fan Long, who were in charge of the command, saw that the enemy had entered the shooting range, and immediately shouted: "Fire the arrow!" The soldiers had been aiming at the enemy. As soon as they heard the order, they immediately pulled the trigger, and only heard a buzzing sound. There was a loud noise, and two huge black shadows suddenly flew into the air, flying towards the wave of cavalry rushing up from the left and right wings. The locust-like arrows plunged into the wave of cavalry. In an instant, people fell on their backs and screamed. Countless ripples were caused in the two waves of cavalry. Some of the cavalry who fell to the ground were not dead, but they had no time to get up. , was trampled to the ground by the wave of iron hoofs, and turned into a pulp.
Yan Yunqiang's crossbow fired arrows continuously in three stages of shooting. Each wave of arrows flying out caused countless ripples in the wave of cavalry, and many Xixia cavalry died unexpectedly. However, the Xixia war cavalry was in a state of madness. Facing the constant rain of arrows and the constant casualties, they did not care at all and just charged towards Yan Yun's army.
After a while, the distance between the two sides was only more than a hundred steps. The Xixia war cavalry bent their bows and set arrows to shoot at the Yanyun army. Arrows flew into the Yanyun army one after another, and Yanyun army soldiers continued to be hit by arrows. Those who were not seriously injured were completely ignored, while those who were seriously injured were immediately dragged down for treatment by their companions. The shooting rhythm and intensity of Yanyun Qiangnu did not seem to be affected at all.
In the blink of an eye, the Xixia warriors rushed into the fifty-meter range. Yan Yun, who had been waiting for this moment for a long time, fired his crossbows together. The charging Xixia warriors saw that the intensity of the arrow rain from the opposite side suddenly increased by ten times. The locust-like arrows flew towards them, as if they were airtight. Seeing that the forward of the Xixia War Cavalry seemed to have encountered a strong obstacle, they fell on their backs and their momentum suddenly slowed down, as if there was an invisible giant force countering the charge of the Xixia War Cavalry.
The Xixia warriors roared and charged with all their might, firing arrows as hard as they could. The Yanyun army also continued to suffer casualties, but the losses of the Xixia army were obviously much greater. The Xixia war cavalry did not directly attack the Yanyun defense line. When they were about thirty meters away from the Yanyun defense line, they suddenly turned and ran parallel to the Yanyun defense line. At the same time, they continued to shoot arrows with their cavalry archery skills. The Yanyun army continued to fire crossbows. Arrows from both sides flew interlaced in the sky, and the space between the two sides seemed to be filled with arrows fired by both sides. The Xixia war cavalry kept people turning on their backs, while the Yanyun army kept people falling to the ground after being hit by arrows.
Li Qingxia, dressed in military uniform, immediately stood under the imperial flag and stared coldly at the fierce battlefield ahead. Suddenly he said to Li Zongdao: "Iron kites attack!" Li Zongdao agreed, raised his right hand and shouted: "Daxia iron kites!" Nearly ten thousand iron kites arrayed in front of the army shouted in unison: "Zongheng Invincible!!" With this shout, the Iron Kites Army burst out with astonishing momentum, and even the other Xixia troops couldn't help but feel excited.
The horn sounded loudly, and the ten thousand iron kites started slowly. The dull sound gradually became louder. After a while, Yan Yunjun saw a torrent of steel rushing towards him. The momentum was far beyond what he could compare with when the light cavalry charged just now. , the earth is trembling, thunder is echoing, even the bravest warrior cannot remain unmoved when faced with such a scene.
Yang Yanzhao ordered all the powerful crossbows to stop shooting against the enemy's light cavalry, and instead aimed at the surging steel torrent from the front. In the blink of an eye, the torrent of steel entered the range of two hundred steps, but Yang Yanzhao did not give the order to shoot. Seeing the torrent of steel approaching rapidly, the shaking of the earth became stronger and stronger, and the thunder-like sound became louder and louder. Unknowingly, the torrent of steel had already entered the range of a hundred steps! Yang Yanzhao suddenly shouted: "Fire the arrow!"
The first wave of powerful crossbows was launched immediately. The powerful rain of arrows roared away and flew into the enemy army. There was a loud crackling sound. The powerful crossbow arrows launched by the powerful crossbows were nailed heavily on the heavy armor. A few penetrated the heavy armor. The armor shot the knights off their horses. Most of the crossbow arrows failed to penetrate the heavy armor. However, the huge force knocked many people off their horses, and then they were trampled to pieces by the surging iron hooves.
The soldiers who fired the crossbows immediately retreated to the end to reload the arrows. The second wave of soldiers immediately stepped forward to fire. Another wave of powerful arrows flew into the wave of armor, causing a similar situation to the previous one. Although the Iron Kites Army killed and injured some people, the overall momentum of the charge was not reduced much. The torrent of steel surged forward and was still unstoppable.
Yan Yun's strong crossbow continued to block Xixia's steel torrent with three shots. Although it caused some losses to the Iron Kites Army, it did not weaken the enemy's momentum much.
Unknowingly, the torrent of steel rushed in front of us. The tower shield hand took a lunge and pressed his shoulders against the tower shield. The spearmen behind him all leveled their spears, held their breath and pursed their lips while staring at the steel wave that was already close at hand!
In the blink of an eye, the surging steel wave hit the Yanyun defense line heavily, like a stormy sea crashing on the shore, making a huge and heavy impact; countless tower shields and the soldiers behind were hit by the huge impact. It flew away, and the countless spears failed to pierce the opponent's armor. Instead, they were broken into two pieces by the huge impact. The originally solid defense line was riddled with holes in an instant!
The powerful impact of the torrent of steel continued to press forward. The already riddled defense line finally could not withstand it and collapsed completely. The torrent of steel poured into Yan Yun's army with a roar. The Xixia people who were watching the battle in the rear were very excited when they saw this situation. They couldn't help shouting. Li Qingxia hurriedly said to Li Zongdao: "The whole army is pressing forward, and we must defeat the enemy in one go!" Li Zongdao promised loudly, and then he shouted to the whole army. The soldiers shouted: "Warriors of Xixia, please serve Your Majesty at this time. Follow me to fight and defeat the enemy in one go!" The soldiers of Xixia shouted, wave after wave, shaking the heaven, earth, mountains and rivers. It was so powerful that it was like a rainbow!
Immediately, Li Zongdao took the lead and personally commanded 100,000 infantry troops to kill Yanyun's army. At the same time, General Li Yuantong led all the civilian troops to bypass Yanyun's flank.
The Xixia Iron Harrier Army broke through Yanyun's defense line in one fell swoop, and then attacked Yanyun's army formation. However, their impact speed was completely eliminated at this time! As soon as the Iron Harriers entered Yanyun's military formation, they saw Yanyun's army retreating rapidly. At the same time, thousands of majestic soldiers covered in iron armor and holding huge swords came towards them under the leadership of the warrior Yang Gui! Yang Gui took the lead and charged into the Iron Kites army. A pair of copper hammers whirred up and down, knocking the Iron Kites soldiers off their backs and causing blood and flesh to fly everywhere. The heavy armor on the Iron Kites body was as fragile as pieces of paper in front of his copper hammers. One blow; at the same time, the Mo Dao army wielded their Mo Dao, cutting people with their swords upwards and horses with their swords downwards. They were extremely powerful, and the sword light swept across the enemy, causing blood to fly.
The Iron Harrier Army is the elite force of Xixia. Although they were suddenly hit by a strong counterattack by Yan Yun's army, they were not afraid at all. Instead, they aroused their bloodthirsty ferocity. They all howled and attacked desperately, fighting Yan Yun with big axes. The Mo Dao soldiers of the army were flying in the air, with the sound of slashing and roaring. I saw the soldiers of the Mo Dao Army being chopped down to the ground by the heavy axes in their hands.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
