After hearing Ma Jin's words, Yang Peng's expression softened a little, and he said to Xiao Yanke: "I am not guilty of escaping from the battlefield, but I am guilty of framed colleagues! Come on, take Xiao Yanke back to Yanjing and wait for disposal! "Wang Kai agreed and immediately ordered a squad leader to escort Xiao Yanke back to Yanjing. Several secret guards came forward, Xiao Yanke kowtowed to Yang Peng a few times, stood up, and was escorted down by several secret guards.
Ye Qi Guanyin led the guards and ran down from the mountain and said: "Yang Xiong is missing!" He glanced at Ma Jin and said: "It should be that he saw General Ma Jin coming back. His crimes could no longer be covered up, so he fled in fear of crime. !”
Yang Peng said to Wang Kai: "Send the order to various places. Yang Xiong is absconding in fear of crime. There are rewards for his arrest in various places." Wang Kai agreed and immediately sent two secret guards to Yanjing to convey the order. Yang Peng said to Yedi Guanyin: "It's not convenient for you to go to the mountain." Yedi Guanyin nodded, turned the horse's head, and led the Feifeng female guard under him to run towards the mountain. After a moment, her figure disappeared Disappeared into the mountains and forests.
Yang Peng looked at Ma Jin and several other soldiers, and said: "You are very tired and injured. Go back to Yanjing." Ma Jin clasped his fists and said, "I will be fine. I will stay with Yanjing." Fight alongside the king!" Several other soldiers also expressed their determination to stay and fight, and everyone looked resolute. Seeing this, Yang Peng nodded appreciatively and said, "Okay."
At this moment, a faint sound of thunder came from the distance. Yang Peng raised his eyes and looked into the distance, only to see a black line appearing on the horizon. The black line gradually expanded into a large area and surged towards this side. Yang Peng's eyes showed excitement, he turned back to the horse and got on the horse. Ma Jin and others also mounted their horses and entered the military formation. Ma Jin immediately stood beside Yang Peng.
Soon after, the faint sound of thunder turned into a loud roar of rolling thunder, and the earth trembled, and countless Khitan army cavalry were seen overwhelmingly approaching! The flags are like clouds, the spears are like forests, the cold light is like snow, and the iron hooves are clanking!
Yang Peng ordered: "Raise the king's flag!" Wang Kai agreed and shouted, "Spread the flag!" The strong and tall flag bearer immediately raised the king's flag and waved it in the air. The big flag unfolded with the wind, hunting and hunting. Sound.
Two hundred thousand Khitan troops, led by West Butler, stopped more than 300 steps in front of Yanyun's army. When Butler saw King Yan's flag, he showed a shocked look and said to West: "That's King Yan's flag. Could it be that King Yan is here!" West stared closely at the extraordinary and heroic flag under King Yan's flag. The figure frowned and said: "It seems to be him!" Butler couldn't help but show fear and said: "I didn't expect, I didn't expect that King Yan was here!" After a pause, "He is worse than the fox." He is even more cunning, and more ferocious than a tiger. He actually only leads a small number of people in formation. I'm afraid, I'm afraid that he has laid a big trap to deal with us!"
After hearing this, West couldn't help but feel this way. When he saw several big mountains next to the opponent, he couldn't help but look towards the mountains. He saw dense forests and mist, but the cold light of the weapons was faintly reflected in them. West was startled, and quickly pointed to Niulan Mountain and said to Butler: "The cold light is shining in that mountain, there must be a heavy ambush!" Butler looked towards Niulan Mountain, and sure enough he saw the cold light reflected from time to time in the dense clouds and forests. , with a shiver in his heart, he hurriedly said to West: "The enemy's ambush may not be limited to this place, we must retreat quickly!" West thought deeply and nodded. Then the two men turned their horses and shouted loudly: "Retreat! Retreat!"
The order to retreat came too suddenly, and the two hundred thousand troops suddenly started to commotion, then crowded with each other and ran towards the north.
When Yang Peng saw that the enemy troops were retreating to the north and the chaos was increasing, he immediately rushed forward and killed them all while hiding. When Ma Jin and others saw this, they quickly shouted and rushed forward.
The retreating Khitan army was a little panicked when they saw the Yanyun army rushing up. Now they were even more panicked. They scrambled to get on their horses and ran wildly. Many people were knocked off their horses, and many people lost their front hooves. As a result, they were trampled by the surging hooves. Got minced meat.
Yang Peng took the lead and charged into the middle of the enemy army. His iron horse flew up and down like a swimming dragon. The others followed and rushed into the middle of the Khitan army to kill them. For a moment, blood was flying all over the sky, and the Khitan army officers and soldiers fell on their backs.
Yang Peng and others chased him for more than ten miles before withdrawing his troops and returned, killing thousands of Khitan troops. After the Khitan army ran for more than thirty miles, they saw that the Yanyun army was no longer pursuing them, so they stopped one after another. Immediately, Bastwest received a report from the scouts and knew that the enemy troops pursuing his own army were actually less than a thousand cavalry. He couldn't help but look at each other and felt depressed. Then he became angry and led the army to come back.
Rushing to the foot of Niulan Mountain, they found that Yan Yunjun had already disappeared. The two men immediately led 200,000 war cavalry to rush south, and after sunset they captured Shunzhou without any blood. However, at this time, Shunzhou City had already become an empty city, and the Khitan soldiers did not catch anything here, which was diluted. The joy of capturing Shunzhou. The Khitan army did not stop here and continued to Nanjing. They crossed the Wenyu River before midnight that day, and their troops were approaching Yanjing Mansion. Two hundred thousand cavalry were galloping over the endless grain fields. The original peaceful and peaceful atmosphere had been completely destroyed by the billowing smoke!
The next morning, a rolling wave of 200,000 Khitan army cavalry surrounded the city of Yanjing. The army immediately launched a fierce attack, and waves of attacks hit the city wall hard. The soldiers of the city defense army resisted desperately, but the majestic Yanjing City remained motionless! However, the situation is not optimistic at all. The city defense army is no better than the field army. It has never fought a fierce battle with a strong enemy and has limited combat power. It often suffers heavy casualties under the fierce attack of the Khitan army. The morale of the army is shaken. The Khitan army relies on a tenfold advantage in strength. Fierce attacks from all sides made the already insufficient defenders even more stretched.
After a whole day of fierce fighting, the Khitan army almost broke through the city defenses several times. If Yang Peng, Ma Jin, Xiao Feng, Ye Qi Guanyin and other soldiers had not fought desperately to fight back, the consequences would have been disastrous.
The Khitan army attacked fiercely for a whole day, but could not break through the city defenses. Their fighting spirit inevitably weakened, and the attacks were not as sharp and fierce as before. When West saw this, he felt very sorry and ordered the army to retreat ten miles to the stronghold. The fierce battle came to an end, and the originally noisy battlefield suddenly became quiet. The exhausted defenders staggered around and sat in the pile of corpses to rest in the blood. The top of the city was very quiet, only the painful groans of the wounded echoed in the night sky from time to time.
Yang Peng was patrolling the city wall, and unknowingly came to the west city wall, where he saw Ye Qi Guanyin standing behind the wall stacks in the distance and looking out of the city in a daze. Yang Peng's heart moved, he walked up, turned around and looked outside the city, sighed, and said softly: "Guanyin, it's really hard for you!"
Ye Qi Guanyin withdrew her gaze, glanced at Yang Peng, and said angrily: "Do you think I am the kind of useless woman who can't face this kind of thing?" Yang Peng looked at her in confusion. Ye Qi Guanyin said calmly: "Since I have married you, I am yours. I am a Yanyun and a Han. It is natural for me to help you fight against foreign enemies. I have nothing to think about! Not to mention us Khitans There were many internal civil wars back then! Didn't you say that the Khitans and the Han people are both descendants of the Yan and Huang people? So the war we are having now is just a civil war between the descendants of the Yan and Huang people, and that's nothing!" Yang Peng He smiled and said: "You can think so, I feel relieved!" Yeli Guanyin sighed, glanced at Yang Peng, and said quietly: "Who calls my man the King of Yan!" Yang Peng smiled softly and stretched out his hand. The right hand holds Ye Qi Guanyin's left hand.
A gentle look flashed in Ye Qi Guanyin's eyes, and then he said jokingly: "There is still a war, and you, the commander-in-chief, can't have random thoughts." Yang Peng squeezed Ye Qi Guanyin's palm and said with a bad smile: "If Do I have to think wildly?" There was a wild look in Ye Qi Guanyin's eyes. She held Yang Peng's palm with her backhand and said, "Since you, the commander-in-chief, are not afraid, what should I be afraid of?" Then he dragged Yang Peng's hand. Peng walked towards the city wall. Yang Peng was just joking. How can I be so leisurely and relaxed at this time? Seeing that Ye Qi Guanyin was really coming, he quickly grabbed her and said with a smile: "I am really afraid of you. How can I have such leisure at this time?" What an interest!" Yedi Guanyin rolled her eyes at Yang Peng and said angrily: "It's you who say yes, and you who say no, you are really difficult to serve!" Yang Peng laughed.
Ye Qi Guanyin accompanied Yang Peng to inspect the city wall. What they saw made the two of them worried. After all, the city defense army was just a city defense army. Faced with the huge pressure in front of them, many people looked low in morale and low in fighting spirit. It is completely different from the field troops, which become stronger and braver as they fight.
The two came down from the city wall and prepared to return to the palace to rest for a while. At this moment, they saw Yang Jiumei leading many subordinates running towards them, and the two of them stopped. Yang Jiumei and others rushed to the two of them and bowed in unison. Then Yang Jiumei said: "To inform King Yan, my subordinates have mobilized hundreds of thousands of young men in Yanjing City. Currently, these soldiers and horses are in various camps. Standby."
Yang Peng nodded, not particularly surprised, because although there were more than 100,000 young and middle-aged men, they had not received any training, and they relied on a moment of bravery to fight, and they might risk their lives to fight for the enemy. In front of you, you may suddenly become frightened and turn around and run for your life. It's hard to say what role they can play on the battlefield. They may be able to turn the tide, but they may collapse at the first touch and disperse the city defense forces, causing their own side to lose faster! Therefore, Yang Peng had already made up his mind not to use these civilian troops unless it was absolutely necessary.
Yang Peng said: "There is no need for them yet." "It's too dangerous for them to go into battle without any training." He turned to Wang Kai and said: "Select two hundred secret guards and go to each military camp to train them. Although there is not enough time, but If you sharpen your gun in battle, it will be bright even if it doesn’t shine brightly!”
Wang Kai responded and ran down.
Yang Peng asked Yang Jiumei: "When did you forward the troop deployment orders for the second and third legions?" In fact, Yang Peng had already realized that the Liao army might take the opportunity to invade after receiving the report of the earthquake that day. At that time, Yang Peng sent an urgent order, ordering the 2nd and 3rd Army Corps originally stationed in Luanzhou and Yingzhou to immediately rush to aid Yanjing. The entire Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture, the most critical one was Yanjing, even if the entire Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture was Everything has fallen. As long as Yanjing is still under control, the situation is not too bad.
However, the military order was issued from Tianjing New City to Yanjing, and then forwarded from Yanjing to Luanzhou and Yinzhou. After all, the journey was long and time-consuming, so the second and third legions may have just left their base at this moment.
After hearing Yang Peng's question, Yang Jiumei bowed and said: "I have something to apologize to King Yan!..."
Yang Peng looked at Yang Jiumei in confusion. Yang Jiumei continued: "After receiving the report of the collapse of the Gubei Pavilion, my subordinates realized that the Khitan army was very likely to seize the opportunity to invade, so they did not wait for King Yan's military order and immediately conveyed the order of the Liushou Prefecture to Yingzhou and Luanzhou. , order the main force of the second and third legions to rush to Yanjing’s aid immediately!”
Yang Peng was overjoyed and asked: "Does that mean you issued the order to Yingzhou and Luanzhou at least two days in advance?" "Exactly. My subordinates did not wait for King Yan's military order and then mobilized the army without authorization. It was a big sin. Please punish the King of Yan!" Yang Jiumei was appointed by Yang Peng to stay in Yanjing and was in charge of the civil affairs of Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture. Regarding military affairs, Yang Peng never gave her the power to mobilize troops, but he also did not say that she could not mobilize troops. According to the tradition of this era, the person left behind in a place is often the local military commander, who has the power to mobilize troops.
Yang Peng waved his hand and said: "As a left-behind, according to the custom, you have the right to mobilize the army. Therefore, you issued the order of the left-behind government to the two armies, which is not considered to be an overstep of authority!" Yang Jiumei bowed: "Thank you, King Yan, for not committing a crime." kindness!"
Yang Peng frowned and murmured: "What I am most worried about now is whether the brothers of the two legions will refuse to carry out the orders of the left-behind mansion because I have not explicitly authorized it!" Yeli Guanyin said: "It's very It is possible that it is reasonable for them to refuse to carry out the order of the left-behind mansion." Yang Jiumei frowned and thought: "If this is the case, the two legions may not have received the order at this moment!" Then he said to Yang Peng: "My subordinate is the King of Yan who has arrived in Yanjing. The royal military order received the night before was forwarded immediately!" Yang Peng nodded.
In the prison cell of the government office, Duan Yao and other rebellious scholars who were imprisoned here could not help but be shocked and suspicious when they heard the loud killing sounds outside. Duan Yao rushed to the door and shouted to the jailer sitting far away: "Master, sir!" The jailer turned his head and shouted displeased: "What are you shouting for?"
Duan Yao felt angry when he saw that a little jailer on the other side was so rude to him, but the smile on his face became even brighter. He took out a small piece of broken silver from his arms, raised it towards the jailer, and said, "Young man, I have something to ask."
When the jailer saw Yinzi, he immediately stood up and walked over. He walked outside the cell door and looked at the silver in Duan Yao's hand. Duan Yao immediately put the money into the jailer's hands. The jailer was in a good mood after getting the money. He put the money into his arms and asked with a smile: "What can I do for Mr. Duan?" He thought that the young man might be tired of the prison food and wanted to improve the food. He felt that this was not a good idea. Not a big deal.
Duan Yao clasped his fists and said, "Xiaosheng, please ask Brother Jailer, what's going on with the shouting of killing outside?" The jailer sighed and said angrily: "What else could it be? I'm not a Khitan!..." Duan Yao clasped his fists and said. After hearing this, Yao's heart moved, and then a ray of hope appeared in his heart. Just listen to the jailer continue to say angrily: "What the hell are the Khitans! We Yanyun don't go to trouble them, but they come to trouble us. We are really tired of living! These ungrateful bastards, I have forgotten that we, Yanyun, supported them in fighting the Japanese!" There was a hint of fear and worry in his angry tone.
Duan Yao asked: "I wonder how many Khitan troops have come? Can we hold it?" The jailer couldn't help but look worried and said: "I heard that an army of 200,000 people came! But with King Yan personally sitting in charge, I believe they can You can hold it!" When the jailer said the word 'King Yan', he couldn't help but perked up and became more confident. He just felt that with King Yan here, no matter how big the difficulty was, it wouldn't be a problem.
Duan Yao didn't know that Yang Peng had arrived. He was startled when he suddenly heard the jailer's words and asked hurriedly: "The King of Yan is in Yanjing?"
The jailer nodded and said: "That's right! It hasn't been long since I came here, it's only been less than two days." Seeing Duan Yao's strange expression, he thought he was thinking about his case, so he comforted him: "Since King Yan Here, the young master might be summoned. If the young master has any grievances, just tell him directly. The king of Yan is extremely wise and I believe he can give you justice!" He didn't really think that Duan Yao was innocent, but since After taking the other party's money, you have to say something nice. Anyway, it doesn't cost half a dime to say these words.
Duan Yao sneered in his heart when he heard the jailer say that King Yan could give him justice. He cupped his fists towards the jailer and said, "Thank you, brother jailer!" The jailer smiled and said, "If you have anything else you want to know, just ask. In the words of you scholars, I know everything I know and can tell you everything!"
Duan Yao said: "No, thank you very much." When the jailer heard this, he turned and left.
When Duan Yao saw the jailer walking away, he immediately ran to the fence adjacent to the cell and shouted in a low voice: "Father!" Duan Wenrui was curled up and lying on his side on the straw. When he heard Duan Yao's cry, he sat up. Looking at Duan Yao, he asked unhappily: "What are you doing?" There was clear resentment in his tone. It turned out that the Duan family was imprisoned because of the rebellion, and their property was confiscated. Duan Wenrui blamed his son Duan for all the sins. Yao believed that it was his wishful thinking of rebellion that had implicated the whole family, so he hated Duan Yao since he was imprisoned and regarded him as an enemy!
Duan Yao was very dissatisfied with his father's very hostile tone and attitude, and said to himself: "You blame me entirely now, but you didn't express the slightest objection at the beginning. You were the instigator of many things!" ’ Suppressing his anger, he asked: “Father, did you hear the sound outside?” Duan Wenrui naturally heard it and said angrily: “You heard it, what’s the matter?”
Duan Yao glanced at the jailer in the distance and lowered his voice: "Father, maybe our chance will come!" When Duan Wenrui heard this, he immediately became interested and did not care about hating him. He quickly got up and ran to Duan Wenrui. In front of Yao, he asked: "What did you say? Is our opportunity here?"
Duan Yao nodded and said: "I just heard from the jailer that the Khitan army is approaching with 200,000 soldiers and horses!" Duan Wenrui's eyes lit up and he said excitedly: "200,000?! Great, great! There are only 20,000 city defense troops in Yanjing, so there is no doubt that it will be defeated! Maybe tonight or tomorrow, the Khitan army will be able to invade Yanjing City!"
Duan Yao nodded in agreement and said: "It must be because the earthquake gave the Liao Kingdom a great opportunity, so the Khitans suddenly sent troops! Father, the Khitans suddenly launched a surprise attack, and Yan Yun was unprepared, and he heard It is said that their food and grass have long been exhausted, so the Khitans will definitely be able to seize the Sixteenth Yanyun Prefecture in one fell swoop this time! After they seize the Sixteenth Yanyun Prefecture, the urgent problem is how to manage the Sixteenth Yanyun Prefecture! If I don’t expect it, If not, they will definitely choose suitable candidates from the locals to manage the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun!"
Duan Weirui's eyes lit up and he said excitedly: "Among the sixteen states of Yanyun, who is more suitable to be the leader of Yanyun than our Duan family?" Duan Yao nodded, "What father said is absolutely true! Khitan People may invade Yanjing at any time, we have to think of a way to say it first, so as not to be caught off guard!" Duan Weirui nodded in agreement, glanced at Duan Yao, and praised: "Yao'er, you are really awesome. So resourceful!" Duan Yao smiled proudly.
After Yang Jiumei separated from Yang Pengye and Guanyin, she led her staff back to the government office. As soon as I walked through the door, a staff member behind me said: "Sir, I have a sentence that I don't know whether to say or not?"
Yang Jiumei stopped and turned around. Seeing all the staff members looking strange, she asked in confusion: "What's wrong with you? If you have anything to say, just say it!" A middle-aged staff member said: "Sir, the Khitan Army Two hundred thousand elites surrounded us, and we had less than twenty thousand city defense troops. Although the hundreds of thousands of temporarily mobilized civilians were large, they had no effect at all! In our current situation, it is impossible to hold on until the end of the third day. The second and third legions are coming!..." Other staff members nodded in agreement.
Yang Jiumei frowned and asked: "What exactly do you want to say?" The middle-aged staff member said: "My subordinates believe that there is no benefit at all in holding on to the current situation, and it is just sacrificing human lives in vain! It is better to abandon Yanjing and order all troops to retreat to Hebei Only in this way can we turn the crisis into safety!"
Yang Jiumei glanced at the others and asked, "You think so too?" Everyone bowed and said, "We think so too."
Yang Jiumei said: "The King of Yan has already made it clear that Yanjing must be defended and Yanjing must not be lost! The military orders are like mountains. If you speak like this, you are clearly disobeying the military orders. What do you think I should do with you?" Everyone's hearts trembled. , all worshiped: "Subordinate, I will never dare to disobey military orders at all. However, I am just saying what I think in my heart for your consideration! Please be careful!" Yang Jiumei's expression softened and she said decisively: " Since King Yan has made up his mind, we must execute it to the death, otherwise it will be disloyal! I just pretended that I didn’t hear what I said just now, and I don’t want to hear similar words in the future!” Everyone promised tremblingly and wiped the scars on their foreheads. Cold sweat.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
