In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two sides was only a few dozen steps. Yan Yun's war cavalry suddenly threw a javelin. In an instant, the Khitan army's war cavalry turned on its back, and the horses neighed. The momentum of the Khitan army's charge was instantly reduced. a lot of. Yan Yun's war cavalry kicked fiercely into the middle of the Jin army's war cavalry. He stabbed with spears and slashed with swords. Flesh and blood flew everywhere. The Khitan army's war cavalry fell off their horses one after another. In an instant, the war cavalry of both sides passed by each other. Ma Kuang saw that the enemy group had retreated more than a hundred steps and was waiting in formation. There was no chance. He immediately gave up the plan of attacking the enemy's main force and led his war cavalry to turn and rush in. Hejian Mansion.
The right-wing cavalry of the Khitan army, which had just had a battle with the Yanyun cavalry, returned to the center of the formation. The leading general shouted to Sa Li with lingering fear: "It's amazing! After one charge, our army lost more than 3,000 people. !”
Xiao Sali frowned and said: "This is the light cavalry of Yanyun's first legion. I didn't expect them to come!" Then his heart moved, and he turned to the scout officer and said: "Spread out all the scouts immediately, maybe nearby There are enemy troops!" The scout officer responded and gave orders to the scouts under his command, who immediately ran out in all directions.
Ma Kuang led Yanyun's First Legion's cavalry and rushed into Hejian Mansion. Kou Yan immediately led his men to greet him. The soldiers and civilians in the city also came to watch, all looking very happy and excited. Kou Yan recognized Ma Kuan and said with great joy: "General Ma, you are finally here!" He glanced behind Ma Kuan and others, only to see nearly ten thousand warriors, he couldn't help but frown slightly and asked: " General Ma, why are only these people here?"
Ma Kuang got off his horse and said, "Follow me!" Then he ran towards the city wall, and Kou Yan and others quickly followed. Everyone came to the city wall and looked out of the city following Ma Kuang's gaze, but they only saw the figures of the Khitan army's cavalry, and everyone couldn't help but feel a little confused.
Suddenly, billowing smoke and dust rose from the west, and at the same time there was a loud rumbling noise. I saw a large army running at full speed from west to east. Two battle flags were flying in the wind, with the word "Yan Yun" embroidered on one side. On the other side were embroidered the words 'First Legion', a large army with majestic armor and murderous intent. It was the most powerful First Legion in the Yanyun Army. Kou Yan and others' eyes were wide open and they were overjoyed. Kou Yan said excitedly: "It's the First Legion!" Ma Kuang said: "You guys guard the city!" Then he led his soldiers and ran down the city wall, ordered the city gate to be opened, and led his men to fight. The cavalry ran out of the city again and formed a battle formation with their backs against the city wall.
Xiao Salihe saw the smoke and dust billowing and the army like a tide, and he was naturally shocked. He really didn't understand, how could Yan Yunjun mobilize the army? Isn’t Yanyun short of food and grass? Suddenly, Xiao Salihe felt a surge of fear in his heart, and then he put this inexplicable fear behind his mind, determined to take advantage of the current unsteady foothold of the First Legion to defeat them in one fell swoop! As soon as he thought of this, he immediately ordered: "Xiao Da Buye, you have 20,000 war cavalry to contain the enemy's war cavalry!" Xiao Da Buye agreed and immediately led his 20,000 war cavalry to approach Ma Jian's 10,000 war cavalry.
Xiao Sali shouted to another general: "Yokui, your 20,000 warriors are the first to attack the enemy. You must take advantage of the enemy's lack of time to form a formation to attack the enemy in one fell swoop!" Ye Kui had a full face. A steel-needle-bearded, dark-skinned, strong and fierce general, after listening to Sa Lihe's instructions, he immediately agreed and shouted to his soldiers: "Follow me!" Then he led his 20,000 warriors to leave the brigade and headed towards The main force of Yanyun's First Legion was rushing towards them.
The iron hooves surged like a tide, stirring up smoke and dust all over the sky, and swept towards the main force of the First Army! At this time, the main force of the First Army was still in the process of marching. Under such circumstances, it was suddenly attacked by enemy cavalry. According to historical experience, it was impossible to have time to form a formation to meet the enemy! When Kou Yan and others on the city wall saw this scene, their hearts were in their throats!
Xiang Danian, the commander of the First Army Corps, reined in his horse, raised his mace, and shouted loudly: "Stop advancing and form a formation to meet the enemy!"
The soldiers of the first legion immediately stopped advancing, and then the soldiers of each battalion quickly began to form formations. To outsiders, they saw smoke and dust billowing from Yanyun's army, and flags surging in the clouds. Soon after, Ye Kui led 20,000 war cavalry and rushed less than 200 steps in front of Yan Yun's army. Suddenly, he saw the smoke and dust dispersed in front of him, and a large formation as solid as a mountain appeared in front of him! Ye Kui and others were greatly surprised. They never dreamed that Yan Yunjun could set up a large formation in such a short period of time? !
Ye Kui became furious and ordered the army to charge and defeat the enemy. Twenty thousand warriors howled, like a large group of wild beasts rushing towards their prey, running faster and faster, turbulent and overwhelming!
Many Yanyun soldiers raised their crossbows and pulled the trigger suddenly. They heard a loud buzzing sound, and the dense rain of arrows roared away against the tide of enemy troops. In an instant, they saw only ripples in the surging tide. Many Khitan army warriors fell on their backs! The momentum of the Khitan army's charge did not weaken much, and they continued to charge forward! At this time, the roars of the Khitan army officers could be heard clearly. It could be heard that they had gone completely crazy. Their bloodthirsty and violent roars would have broken the hearts of any other army! However, they were facing the first legion of the Yanyun Army. They were unmoved by the violent and bloodthirsty momentum of the Khitan Army, as if the breeze was blowing on the hills, and they had no feeling at all.
Yan Yun's army designed the enemy cavalry in a three-stage shooting method. After just one round of shooting, the enemy cavalry had already rushed to forty or fifty steps in front of them. I saw the Khitan army's cavalry firing arrows one after another. The arrows fell into Yanyun's army, but they were blocked by countless shields. The Khitan army's cavalry attack had almost no effect!
Some of Yanyun's soldiers put down their shields, picked up their repeating crossbows, and fired arrows at the enemy's warriors. Suddenly, a rainstorm of crossbow arrows flew towards the enemy's warriors, like migratory locusts. The Khitan army cavalry suddenly saw such a scene and couldn't help but turn pale with fright. Before they could react, they were overturned on their backs. The forward line was in chaos, and half of their charging momentum was immediately lost. However, the Khitan Army's war cavalry has already rushed here. Just like a sharp arrow that has been separated from the string, it is impossible to turn back. The brave Khitan Army's war cavalry roars and continues to rush forward against the oncoming arrows. It really feels like there is no turning back. The momentum!
The tidal wave of Khitan army cavalry slammed into Yanyun's defensive front! Amidst the huge impact, Yanyun's giant shield defense line only trembled for a while, and was not broken through by the Khitan army's war cavalry at all. However, the impact of the Khitan army's war cavalry quickly attenuated!
The spears behind the giant shield defense line were thrust out together, and the nearby Khitan army cavalry were knocked to the ground. Immediately, the frontal defense line opened, and thousands of warriors like iron towers came out wielding the flickering Mo Dao, and rushed into the middle of the Khitan Army's war cavalry. The swords were flying, and the Khitan Army's war cavalry turned on their backs, and screams were heard. ; The Khitan army officers and soldiers fought back one after another, but the scimitars and spears bounced off the opponent's heavy armor when they hit it, only igniting a few sparks. However, the opponent's counterattack chopped them into pieces!
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Xiao Yekui calmed down and hurriedly ordered his men to retreat. The Khitan Army cavalry quickly broke away from the contact. Unexpectedly, at this moment, another heavy rain of arrows was fired from the Yanyun Army formation. The Khitan Army cavalry behind were shot so hard that they fell over and the other Khitan Army soldiers fled in a hurry.
Xiao Yekui led his cavalry back to the middle of the army. Xiao Yekui said with lingering fear: "Those guys are so tightly guarded that we can't break the formation at all!" Xiao Sali frowned and said: "I saw it! I didn't expect that Yan Yun's army could actually do this. From a marching state to a fighting state in such a short period of time! You are indeed the best soldier in the world, the master of tigers and wolves!" Xiao Yekui asked: "General, what should we do now?"
Sa Lihe thought for a moment, glanced at the approaching Yanyun Army in formation, frowned and said: "We have no confidence in fighting the Yanyun Army in a positional battle. Please pass on the order and the army will temporarily retreat into the camp." The herald immediately sent the message. After giving the order, a short horn sounded immediately. The main force of the war cavalry retreated first, and then the Khitan army's war cavalry that forced Yan Yun's war cavalry also retreated. Yan Yun saw that there was no chance to take advantage of him, so he stopped pursuing him.
Yanyun's army marched into the city one after another. Kou Yan saw Xiang Danian and hurriedly came forward to pay his respects. Xiang Danian got off his horse and bowed in return. Kou Yan was extremely happy and said: "I didn't expect that the first army was here! I thought it would be difficult to mobilize the army due to food and grass problems!"
Xiang Danian laughed loudly and said: "Eldest brother ordered Zhang Ping and his wife to buy a large amount of grain and grass from the Song Dynasty. Food and grass is no longer a problem! Let me tell you, not only our first legion is coming, but also the sixth and seventh legion We are also on the way, and I believe we will arrive soon!" Kou Yan was overjoyed and said: "In this way, there will be an army of 200,000! In addition to the hundreds of thousands who are still staying in Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures, There are more than 300,000 soldiers and horses. Although it is still difficult to counterattack against the 600,000 Khitan army, we must be able to stabilize the defense line!"
Xiang Danian patted Kou Yan on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Although you have followed Big Brother for a long time, you don't understand Big Brother at all! Big Brother will never only think about how to defend, but also to counterattack! Tell me You, when I came, I heard from Han Bing's sister-in-law that the two hundred thousand soldiers of the direct legion had received orders from my elder brother and were preparing to launch a major attack!" The direct legion is the officers directly under Commander Yang Peng, Yan Yun and others The number of members of the Grand Army, from the First to the Ninth Army, is fixed. However, this is not the case for the Directly Affiliated Army. There were only 50,000 people in the Directly Affiliated Army at the beginning, but now it has expanded to 400,000, of which 100,000 are from the original Yang Family Army system. Cao Jun's system has 50,000, and Gao Hu's system has 50,000. These 400,000 directly affiliated legionnaires are the real elite main force of the Yanyun Army!
After hearing this, Kou Yan was overjoyed at first, and then said worriedly: "I'm afraid our enemies now are not just the Khitan Army!" He glanced at Xiang Danian, pulled Xiang Danian aside, and whispered: "Soon I received news not long ago that the Changdao Water Village of our navy was attacked by the Japanese!..."
Xiang Danian suddenly heard the news that the Changdao water stronghold had been attacked by the Japanese. He was shocked and said in disbelief: "How is this possible? Our navy was defeated?" He paused and raised his eyebrows, "Where did the Japanese come from? Navy troops?"
Kou Yan frowned and said: "The Japanese were hiding their troops before! They tried their best to hide their navy, just to give us a fatal blow at the most suitable time! We were careless, that's why the defeat of Changdao happened!" Xiang Danian was a little anxious and couldn't help but cursed: "Fuck!"
Kou Yan said: "One more thing. One hundred thousand Japanese army elites, led by the Japanese Taizheng Minister Ping Qingsheng's eldest son Ping Chongsheng, have landed on the east coast of Chuzhou and are attacking Chuzhou! Now, brother Cheng Shijie is leading the fifth army with 30,000 soldiers. Defending Chuzhou, I heard the battle was very hard! I'm just afraid..."
Xiang Danian waved his hand and said resolutely: "What a worry! Brother Cheng Shijie is brave and resourceful, the Japanese can't even think of conquering Chuzhou!" Seeing Kou Yan still looking worried, he said angrily: "Don't worry about it left and right. Oh! I don’t believe there is anyone in the world who can be my rival!” Kou Yan nodded and said, “I also believe that my eldest brother is the number one hero in the world! It’s just that gods also have time to take a nap!” After a pause, , frowned and said: "Now it's not only the Khitans and Japanese who are in trouble with us, I'm worried that the Song people, the Tubo people, and even the Xiliao people may take this opportunity to make trouble! In addition, we are not stable internally! In Tianjing New City before, there was It was time to assassinate King Yan, and when the earthquake occurred not long ago, Xiao Yu and others openly rebelled. Fortunately, Lord Yelu and General Xiao Feng are loyal, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable!"
Xiang Danian raised his eyebrows and said: "Okay, okay! It's useless to say all this! Don't you know, eldest brother? It's just that eldest brother didn't think of it, didn't all the sisters-in-law think of it? Don't waste your brains! You Brother can think of everything he can think of, and he has already arranged it! I think his intention is to first eliminate the threat of the Khitans, and then use troops against the Japanese! You have to eat one bite at a time, and things have to be done step by step. If you put everything into your head at once, your brain will be confused and you will still be able to come up with a ridiculous solution!"
Kou Yan looked at Xiang Danian in surprise and said: "I didn't expect, I didn't expect that General Xiang would have such an opinion!" Xiang Danian laughed loudly and said: "I am a rough man, so I can think of all this. That’s what eldest brother said!”
Kou Yan nodded and said: "What King Yan said couldn't be more correct!" He took a long breath and said with a smile: "I think that's all I need to do is carry out the orders honestly, and I don't have to use my brain to think about it. "...
His eyes turned back to the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun. Ye Qianhucheng led the army and rushed to Tanzhou, only to find that Tanzhou was already deserted. The ruins of the city were empty, and there was not even half a human figure anywhere. Seeing this scene, Ye Qian Hucheng was very angry. He originally wanted to annihilate Liu Zhiliang's third army in one fell swoop, but he did not expect that the other party would not come to collide with him head-on.
General Zheng Shilong rushed over and reported: "Your Majesty, all the grain, grass and baggage stored here by our army have been destroyed, but the enemy troops have disappeared."
Ye Qian Hucheng was annoyed and cursed, then he blamed himself very much: "I was too careless. I didn't expect that the enemy would raid my grain and grass transfer base!" Zheng Shilong said: "The king is actually not careless. In fact, It's the Yanyun people who are too cunning! Who would have thought that Liu Zhiliang would dare to attack Tanzhou instead of retreating when our army of 300,000 cavalry attacked from all sides!" Yeqi Hucheng said angrily: "I didn't expect that. It's just carelessness, it's my fault!" Zheng Shilong didn't dare to say anything more.
Yeqi Hucheng thought: "Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for them to hide their whereabouts! They must have been traveling day and night, and walking through the mountains and forests, to avoid the detection of our army's cavalry and scouts!" Yan Nian ended here. , I feel that this must be the case, otherwise, it is impossible for them to launch a counterattack against Tanzhou until this time, take the main road, and arrive at Tanzhou City half a month ago.
Yeqihu City thought: Although the grain and grass transferred from Tanzhou were destroyed, the grain and grass stored in Shunzhou were safe and sound. There was no problem with the grain and grass. The main purpose of Liu Zhiliang's raid on Tanzhou must be to understand the siege of Yanjing .
At this thought, Ye Qian Hucheng smiled coldly and murmured: "You are just daydreaming about rescuing the siege. You are just delaying for some time, which is useless!" Turning around, he said to the generals: "Give me the order. , Return to Yanjing immediately!" All the generals agreed in unison, and Zheng Shilong asked: "Your Majesty, aren't there any troops left here?" Ye Qihucheng said: "It's all been reduced to ruins, what a waste of time to stay!" Zheng Shilong He quickly said: "Your Majesty is wise!"
At this time, a herald came flying from the south. He ran to the vicinity of Yeqihu City, reined in his horse, rolled over and rolled off the saddle, ran to the front of Yeqihu City, and said urgently: "I am reporting to your Majesty, General Tong has been defeated and has retreated to Shunzhou!" Yeqiu Hu City! Cheng was startled, and then said angrily: "What's going on? Tong Dawei has 30,000 soldiers and horses. The remaining soldiers and horses in Yanjing City are about this number. How could he be defeated by the other party?" The herald hurriedly said Said: "There is more than just the second legion! Soon after the king led the main army to leave, the second and third legions of the Yanyun Army came out in full force..."
Ye Qian Hucheng's heart was moved and he asked hurriedly: "What did you say? The third army? The third army has arrived in Yanjing?"
The herald nodded and said, "Yes."
Yeqihucheng thought for a moment, looked at the herald, and asked: "How do you know it is the third army?" The herald said: "There is the flag of Yanyun's third army..." Yeqihucheng said: "Then I can’t count them! How many enemy troops are there in the attack?” The herald said: “About fifty or sixty thousand people!” Yeli Hucheng was startled and frowned: “With so many soldiers and horses, it seems that the Third Army is indeed We've arrived in Yanjing!" Then he began to worry secretly: The previous attack on the second legion had already depleted the strength of the Nine Bulls and Two Tigers, and now adding a third legion, I'm afraid it will be even more difficult than before!
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but regret it again. I regretted that I should have been careless. I actually thought that the Third Army had retreated south without taking any precautions! Yeqian Hucheng is not a person who likes to dwell on the past with regrets. The thought of regret only flashes in his mind. When Ye Qian Hucheng thought about how to capture Yanjing, he only felt that it would be more difficult to capture Yanjing now. Not to mention it would take a long time, but he was afraid that he would pay an extremely heavy price, and with the troops currently on hand, it would be even more difficult. I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure.
Thinking of this, I can't help but want to call back the hundreds of thousands of war cavalry that have been attacking from all sides and attack Yanjing with all their strength. That way, there will be overwhelming power from Mount Tai, and there will be no problem in capturing Yanjing! As soon as he thought about this, he made up his mind and ordered the herald to immediately send orders to each war cavalry, asking them to leave a small number of troops to guard the occupied states, while the large troops rushed to Yanjing immediately. The herald officer took the order and passed it on to his subordinates, who immediately took the arrows, got on their horses, galloped off, and went to deliver the order. …
At night, Yang Peng stood on the attic of the palace and looked at the brightly lit city. The night market in the distance is very lively. The vendors are out doing business, and there are also many people visiting the night market stalls. The people seemed to no longer have the nervousness and fear that they had before. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, and laughter floated in the night wind from time to time.
There were footsteps behind him. Yang Peng took back his thoughts. He knew who was coming without looking back. He smiled and said, "Guanyin, are you still awake?"
Yeqi Guanyin pursed her lips and smiled, and asked: "You can smell my fragrance from so far away?" Yang Peng turned around, and at this time, Yeqi Guanyin, who was stunningly beautiful in military uniform, walked up to Yang Peng. Peng naturally held her slender hands and said with a smile: "This time it's not because of the fragrance, but because of the sound of your footsteps." Ye Qi Guanyin looked at Yang Peng's ears and joked: "It turns out that eldest brother is not just a nose." Pointy, the ears are also quite pointy! Yang Peng chuckled, hugged Ye Qi Guanyin into his arms, and the two of them leaned on each other and looked towards the night market in the distance.
Ye Qi Guanyin asked: "Brother, why haven't you rested yet? The enemy has been temporarily defeated. You can have a good rest!"
Yang Peng frowned slightly and said: "This is only a temporary victory. Your eldest brother will definitely make a comeback!" Ye Qi Guanyin frowned and nodded, looked into the distance and said: "You are right, eldest brother is We will never give up like this! Liu Zhiliang’s actions just bought us some time!”
Yang Peng nodded and thought: "If I were him, I would mobilize 300,000 cavalry and attack the city with all my strength! I think he would do the same in nine out of ten cases! After this fierce battle, Yanjing City will probably be destroyed. I can’t keep it!”
Ye Qi Guanyin left Yang Peng's arms, looked at Yang Peng, and said, "Since you know you can't hold on, it's better to give up on Yanjing."
Yang Peng couldn't help but feel that giving up Yanjing seemed to be an option. Judging from the current strength of the troops left behind in Yanjing, they would definitely not be able to defend Yanjing in the face of the Khitan army that was fighting with all their might. They knew they could not defend Yanjing but they still had to hold on. , it’s really unwise! If you give up Yanjing today, you can take it back in the future! However, despite thinking so, Yang Peng could never make up his mind. This determination is not easy to make. After all, Yanjing is the place where Yang Peng rose to power and is the foundation of the entire Yanyun!
Seeing that Yang Peng was very hesitant, Yedi Guanyin did not bother him, so she looked at him quietly. In fact, Ye Qi Guanyin put herself in Yang Peng's shoes and felt that she was in a dilemma. Although giving up Yanjing could retain her vitality, once Yanjing was lost, it would have unimaginable far-reaching effects on the entire Yanyun, and the consequences may be unbearable. ! But the problem now is that it is difficult to defend Yanjing if we stay behind, and the main forces of the two legions will be buried here.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
