Yan Ji was not good at military strategy, but she felt that what her husband said was reasonable and couldn't help but nodded.
Yang Peng thought for a moment and said, "I want to write a letter immediately." Then he walked downstairs. Yan Ji followed closely behind.
The two of them walked towards the imperial study room while talking. At this time, since all the imperial concubines and princes and princesses were in Yanjing, the harem was very quiet. The lights in the corridor in the distance flickered. It was the Feifeng female guards patrolling, but there was no movement other than that. The silent palace and the noisy city formed a sharp contrast, as if they were two completely different worlds.
The two came to the imperial study room. The lights in the royal study are kept under special care and stay on all night long.
Yang Peng walked to the desk and sat down. Yan Ji spread out the letter paper for Yang Peng and polished the ink. At this time, several palace maids waiting in the imperial study got the news and came over. When they saw Yang Peng and Yan Ji, they hurriedly said: "Greetings to your majesty, hello to the empress." The one who was adding water to the brush washer was adding water to the brush washer, and the others were waiting. On both sides of Yang Peng.
Yang Peng wrote a letter, checked it, dried the ink, folded it, put it in an envelope, handed it to Yan Ji, and ordered: "Give it to the Military Command immediately, and ask them to hand it to Shi as quickly and comfortably as possible." Liancheng's hands." Yan Ji continued the letter and said, "I'll go immediately." Then she quickly left.
Yang Peng showed a thoughtful look. When he came back to his senses, he saw several maids standing aside and said with a smile: "You guys go down and have a rest. You are not required to wait here." The cheeks of the palace maids turned slightly red, they respectfully agreed and exited the imperial study.
Yang Peng stood up, walked to the map hanging on the wall on the side of the study, looked at the map and thought about it. The map in front of you is the entire map of Dali. Yang Peng was thinking about the worst-case scenario: the worst-case scenario is that the Tianzhu people are unwilling to fail and continue to attack aggressively, and the Bagan emperor also raises troops to take revenge. Duan Zhichun will naturally not give up. Even if the troops of Tianzhu and Duan Zhichun remain unchanged, they will already exceed 600,000. If the Bagan people come to take revenge, they will definitely use all the strength of the country, and they will definitely exceed the previous 200,000 troops. It is conservatively estimated that the three-party coalition forces will The total strength of the army is also close to one million.
At this thought, Yang Peng frowned. Although he was confident in the combat effectiveness of his own army, the enemy's army was several times larger than his own. This battle was not easy to fight. A little carelessness might lead to an irreversible outcome!
After thinking for a moment, Yang Peng felt that while preparing for war, he should also use diplomatic means to divide and disintegrate the enemy's alliance. Even if their alliance cannot be broken up, they must be dissatisfied with each other. After thinking for a while, he decided to leave this matter to Fan Yong and his subordinates in Dali.
At this time, there was the sound of footsteps at the door. Yang Peng raised his head and saw Yan Ji coming back, and couldn't help but smile. When Yan Ji saw Yang Peng smiling at her, she couldn't help but give him a beautiful smile in return. He walked to the desk and said, "Husband, the letter has been handed over to the Military Command Department for dispatch." Then he took out a letter, presented it with both hands, and said, "This is an urgent report just sent from Ningxia."
Yang Peng picked up the report, opened it, took out the letter paper, unfolded it and read it. Yan Ji saw a slight movement in her husband's face, and couldn't help but secretly thought: Could it be that Xiliao has made another move? They really didn’t shed tears until they saw the coffin!
Yang Peng put down the letter, looked at the letter in front of him and frowned: "The Khitan's 100,000-strong army entered Khwarezm!"
Yan Ji was stunned, "Are they from Khitan?"
Yang Peng nodded and thought: "Previously, the Xiliao army unexpectedly attacked Khwarezm. Khwarezmo was caught off guard and was overwhelmed by Xiliao all the way; now the Khitan people's 100,000 elite troops have also invaded Khwarezmo, too. Invincible. Now the capital of Khwarezm, Samarkand, and all the southeastern provinces have been occupied by the Western Liao Dynasty, while all the northeastern provinces have been occupied by the Liao Kingdom. Khwarezm has already invaded the Seljuk Empire's army They were transferred back to prepare for a decisive battle with Xiliao and the Liao Kingdom. This war may have broken out at this moment. If Khwarazm can win, then Khwarazm can continue, otherwise Khwarazm will become history. Western Liao and the Liao Kingdom will take its place."
Yan Ji didn't feel anything special after hearing her husband's words. After all, Khwarazmo was too far away from her country. If the intelligence system hadn't paid attention to that aspect, Yan Ji wouldn't have known that there was another one named Khwarazmo. Zimo's country, she had originally only heard of a country called Persia in the far west. The carpets and goldware they produced were very famous.
Yang Peng saw Yan Ji's expression in his eyes and said with a smile: "This Khwarezm is not a small country. It is also a country that can definitely be called an empire. It is very powerful and has a very vast territory. Even with us In comparison, the gap is not big.”
When Yan Ji heard this, she was surprised and said in disbelief: "How big is the Khwarezm?" Yang Peng smiled and nodded. Yan Ji frowned and said: "This is not good!" Yang Peng didn't understand and asked: "What's not good?" Yan Ji looked at her husband and said: "Since Khwarezm is such a big country, if it is conquered by Xiliao If the Liao Kingdom is divided, it will definitely not be a good thing for our Ming Dynasty!"
Yang Peng said: "That's okay. Our opponents are too weak now. It would be better to make Xiliao and Liao Kingdom stronger. Then we can defeat them and we will have a sense of accomplishment!"
Yan Ji's eyes showed a narrow look and she asked: "Does your husband want to wait until the Liao Kingdom becomes stronger before fighting, or is he reluctant to fight?"
Yang Peng was stunned and said angrily: "What are these words?"
Yan Ji smiled and said, "I already know about your husband and the Queen Mother of Liao."
Yang Peng felt a little embarrassed, and then said angrily: "Which bastard is talking nonsense?!"
Yan Ji said angrily: "This matter has already spread all over the world. People all say that Your Majesty slept with the Queen Mother of Liao Kingdom. It is really amazing!"
Although Yang Peng was as shameless as a city wall, he couldn't help but blush when he heard these words. He chuckled and said, "That was an accident!"
Yan Ji pursed her lips and smiled, glanced at Yang Peng, and said angrily: "Let's go to sleep, but she is pregnant with a child! It will be difficult for the Liao Kingdom to use the rat weapon now!" Yang Peng said: "I have ordered everyone to get pregnant. The authorities have gone to investigate secretly. If this matter is true, I will find a way to save my child."
Yan Ji glanced at Yang Peng and said, "If this happens, won't the child have to leave his mother?"
Yang Peng was stunned. He had never thought about this problem before, but now he couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy after hearing Yan Ji's words. She frowned and said, "At this point, we have to choose the lesser of two evils!" Yan Ji nodded.
His eyes turned to Dali.
Shi Liancheng gathered his troops and marched to the gate of Fengyu County and immediately launched an attack. Fengyu County is located between the mountains of Diancang Mountain. The terrain is difficult to defend and difficult to attack. It is difficult for the Ming army to attack, but Duan Zhichun's army holds on to the danger. The fierce battle lasted from morning to noon, and from noon to evening. The Ming army launched a dozen attacks in total, but they failed to make any progress because the terrain was too dangerous.
The Ming army stopped attacking and returned to camp. When the officers and soldiers of Duan Zhichun's army saw that they had repelled the attack of the Ming army, they were all excited. There were thunderous cheers on the city walls. Everyone was full of confidence in defending Fengxian County, and Duan Zhichun became even more confident in defending Fengyu County. .
In the Ming Dynasty's tent, all the Ming Dynasty generals looked very depressed. Today's day-long attack did not make any progress, but instead resulted in the loss of thousands of troops.
Huang Xin frowned and said: "This Fengxian County is too dangerous. Sitting on the precipitous terrain of Dian Cang Mountain, our army's attack is just like climbing a cliff! Even if there is no guard, it is already very difficult to climb up. What's more? We still have to face the enemy's resistance!" Everyone nodded, and one person said: "This kind of terrain cannot be overcome by human power. If we attack the city like this, even if we finally break through the city, I am afraid our army will pay a very heavy price! We are waiting for your majesty. , I am not afraid of death for the Ming Dynasty, but it is really not worth paying such a heavy price for such a city!" The generals began to discuss in low voices, and for a while there was a buzzing and whispering sound in the big tent.
Shi Liancheng frowned and thought, it was his idea that the generals were discussing. However, if he gave up the attack on Fengyu County, he was afraid that if the Tianzhu army came back, or even if the King of Bagan launched an army for revenge, he would be in a very disadvantageous situation. If this worst-case scenario occurs, it will be difficult to defend the Dali City area without Fengyu County's control. The urban area of Dali is the essence of Dali. If the Dali City area is allowed to be lost and ravaged by war, even if Dali City can be recaptured in the future, the victory will be greatly compromised. Between a prosperous and rich Dali and a Dali that was ravaged by war and turned into ruins, which one is beneficial to the empire? Even a fool can tell!
However, if the losses are too great in order to capture Fengyu County, it will also be detrimental to the subsequent war. I am afraid that Dali City will eventually be lost. If there is really no way to capture Fengyu County at a small cost, I am afraid we will have to give up this route. Wu Song frowned, he was really unwilling to do so, thinking that if he attacked secretly at night, he might be able to succeed. As soon as he thought of this, he immediately conveyed the order.
At midnight, in the dead of night, the entire mountain city seemed to be asleep.
A group of Ming Dynasty elites quietly headed southeast of Fengyu County under the cover of night. That side is relatively remote, and the terrain is more steep than the front. The Ming army did not attack that position when they attacked during the day. Duan Zhichun's army may have thought it was very safe there and would not bother to defend it. Maybe they could defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. Ground defense circle.
Hundreds of Ming elites were not wearing armor, they were all lightly armed, carrying only weapons and ropes. Soon after, hundreds of people arrived near the southeast corner of the city wall.
Several hundred Ming elites were hiding in the darkness, and the leading captain observed the situation on the city wall not far away. There were only a few torches lit on the city wall. The firelight flickered and the city wall looked very dark. A few sentries were sparsely scattered throughout the city wall. Some were chatting, while others were dozing off against the wall stacks with their spears in their arms. The situation here is completely different from the brightly lit and tightly guarded situation on the city wall in front. The guard is very negligent. It seems that Duan Zhichun's army did not realize that they would encounter a surprise attack from Yan Yun's army in this direction. Perhaps it was because the Ming Army did not appear at this location during the day, and the location was rugged and rocky, which was not conducive to the army's deployment. Therefore, Duan Zhichun simply did not think that the Ming Army would attack the city from this location. !
The captain saw the situation on the city wall and was secretly happy. He immediately made a gesture, and hundreds of elites immediately took action and quickly came to the city wall under the cover of night. The defenders on the city wall were unaware of it and were still in the dark.
The captain ordered a few soldiers to shoot lock hooks near the dozing sentries. After a few soft clicks, several lock hooks flew up to the top of the city. The few sentries who were dozing were still dozing, and the few chatting sentries in the distance were still chatting, completely unaware of the few soft sounds in the dark night.
The captain waved his hand, and a dozen sergeants immediately began to climb. Everyone had strong hands and climbed up quickly like apes.
The dozen or so sergeants who first boarded the city quickly eliminated the sentries on the city, and one of them immediately gestured to the bottom of the city. Upon seeing this, the captain immediately led the sergeants to climb up the city wall along the rope.
The originally dark city top suddenly lit up, and at the same time there were loud shouts. The Yanyun elites on the top of the city and the Ming Dynasty elites who were climbing the city were suddenly startled when they saw the flickering figures of people around them. The captain's eyes widened and he shouted: "No! There is an ambush!" Before he could finish his words, arrows rained down from all directions. The Ming army was on the top of the city and under the city wall, with nowhere to hide and no shield to resist the arrows. They were all shot to the ground immediately! Although the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were suddenly ambushed and suffered heavy losses, they showed no fear and drew their swords and rushed towards the nearby enemies. They were extremely brave! However, the enemy army was well prepared. Before the Ming army could rush up, a second wave of more dense arrows roared towards the Ming army. Amidst the muffled sound, the Ming soldiers fell one after another. No one could rush to the enemy. The army is approaching! After several waves of arrows, hundreds of Ming elites fell into a pool of blood.
At this time, the Ming army launched an attack from the front. Shi Liancheng saw from a distance that the elite troops who were attacking were ambushed. Knowing that the plan was exposed, he ordered his army to attack the city gate. This was only to allow the hundreds of elite troops to retreat safely. Unexpectedly, there would be no movement there soon after. Shi Liancheng knew that the fate of several hundred elite troops was in danger and that it was useless to attack the main gate again, so he immediately ordered the army to retreat.
The army returned to the main camp, and Shi Liancheng and others returned to the main tent.
A moment later, the scout reported urgently: "General, our several hundred elite troops have been wiped out!"
Shi Liancheng frowned and asked: "All dead?" The scout nodded and said: "All dead! The enemy has been prepared for a long time. The archers not only ambush on the top of the city, but also ambush outside the city. When our army climbed the city wall, At that moment, they suddenly fired arrows, and our troops had nowhere to hide, and they were all shot to death!" The scout's words were full of grief and anger.
There was a huge uproar in the big tent, and everyone was indignant. They wanted to cut the pure corpse into thousands of pieces to relieve their hatred. However, facing Fengyu County, which is surrounded by steep mountains, everyone had a feeling of shrinking back. The turtle's head and limbs feel like they have nowhere to start.
Shi Liancheng frowned and thought to himself: This section is so treacherous, it would be really difficult to break through Fengyu County at a relatively small cost!
When he came back to his senses, he saw all the generals looking at him and said: "You all go down. Have a good rest and be careful. Although the enemy is not strong, you cannot take it lightly." The generals clasped their fists in agreement and exited the tent. Only Huang Xin stayed.
Huang Xin said to Shi Liancheng: "General, it seems that it will be difficult to take down Fengyu County easily!"
Shi Liancheng stood up, walked to the door of the tent, looked at the hazy outline of the city in the night in the distance, and said: "If we can't win Fengyu County at a relatively small cost, we have to give up. In this case, if Tianzhu If people, even Bagan people, come to attack, it will be difficult for us to defend the Dali City area!"
Huang Xindao: "We rely on Dali City to defend, but we don't believe that we can't stop the enemy's attack! Although the enemy's troops are large in number, their combat power is far inferior to ours. We rely on Longwei Pass and Dali City to resist the enemy's army, and it is difficult to measure the enemy's attack. As!”
Shi Liancheng smiled and said: "If the enemy only attacks these two places, there is nothing to worry about!" Then he frowned, "What I am really worried about is that the enemy will use part of its force to contain our army near Dali City. , and then use other forces to attack north and east to cut off the connection between our army and the country." Huang Xin couldn't help but change his face when he heard this, and said: "If this is the case, it will be terrible!"
Shi Liancheng looked at the city in the night in the distance and frowned: "The enemies are not stupid! Like tonight, we thought of a sneak attack from that position, and they also thought of it and set up a trap early, causing us to lose hundreds of elites! Hum, the hunter plots against the prey, and the prey plots against the hunter!" Turning to look at Huang Xin, he said: "On the battlefield, we cannot expect the enemy to be stupider than ourselves! Everything we can think of, the enemy can often think of, and we must win. You're lucky!" Huang Xin bowed and agreed.
Shi Liancheng looked thoughtful. He knew that his consideration was based on the worst case scenario. The development of the war might not be so detrimental to his own side. Maybe the Tianzhu and Bagan people would not dare to invade again, and Or even if they come to invade, they will not think of cutting off their own retreat. However, in the decisive battlefield, we cannot rely on the enemy's stupidity, but should consider the worst case scenario. If we consider the worst-case scenario, it will be really difficult for our side to win, and we may even be taken advantage of by the enemy and suffer a major defeat! Shi Liancheng thought about the difficulties, but he was not afraid at all. Instead, his blood boiled and he was very excited. No wonder, for a hero like Shi Liancheng, there is really nothing to be happy about defeating a weak enemy. Only by defeating a powerful enemy, and even turning defeat into victory in a dangerous situation, can you be a real hero and a good man! Of course, in this case, no one can be sure of victory, but even if you die in battle, it is still an honor! In this life, if you only seek to be vigorous, you will live up to this life!
At this time, Shi Liancheng actually did not expect the Tianzhu and Bagan people to retreat. Instead, he expected both of them to attack and have a vigorous battle.
For several days, Shi Liancheng led his troops to attack continuously, but could not break through. The terrain in Fengyu County was too dangerous, and it seemed impossible to break through it with manpower. Duan Zhichun's army defending the city was originally very frightened when faced with the attack of the Ming army. However, in the past few days, the Ming army was trapped in an extremely unfavorable terrain and could not break through. Instead, Duan Zhichun suffered heavy losses. The fear of the soldiers gradually disappeared, and they gradually became arrogant and arrogant. The insults and taunts of Duan Zhichun's soldiers kept coming from the top of the city. This made the Ming soldiers extremely angry and wanted to pounce on the enemy troops. The corpse was broken into thousands of pieces, but it was blocked by the chasm-like terrain in front of them, and it was impossible to do what they wanted. Every life-threatening charge only resulted in the casualties of fellow soldiers.
Shi Liancheng saw that he could not break through and the army's strong attack was only in vain, so he ordered the army to suspend the attack. The fighting between the two sides was suspended, and the two sides entered into a silent confrontation. However, the laughter and insults of Duan Zhichun's army officers were still heard from the city wall. The officers and soldiers of the Ming Army were all holding their anger and wanted to fight the enemy. However, without the general's order, they could only stay in the camp. Time passed slowly like this.
The sight turns to the capital of Bagan, Bagan City. The situation in Bagan is somewhat similar to that in Dali. The name of the country is the same as the name of the capital. Bagan City is now Bagan in north-central Myanmar. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River. It is the most developed city in Myanmar at this time. The city is not small, and the most eye-catching buildings are the many pagodas and temples, many of which It will be passed down for thousands of years and become a world-famous civilization relic.
After years of fighting, Bagan has unified almost all areas of Myanmar and most of Thailand. Recently, the army has moved north in an attempt to annex the southern region of Dali in one fell swoop. The whole country was inexplicably excited. When the army set off for the expedition that day, thousands of people in Bagan were packed to see off their warriors. After that, the Bagan army was overwhelming and captured many cities and counties in Dali one after another. When the news spread to the country, there was joy everywhere. People outside the palace spontaneously came to kneel and worship! The emperor's prestige has reached its peak at this time! However, not long after, the bad news came. The 200,000-strong army was wiped out in an instant, and it was the Central Plains people who took action! The monarchs, ministers and people of Bagan couldn't believe it. They felt as if they had fallen from heaven into hell all of a sudden. Panic, anger, and worry spread throughout Bagan. Various rumors spread all over the sky. They were originally very happy. In the streets and alleys, cries can now be heard from time to time.
The palace hall was in chaos, and the ministers of Bagan were quarreling. One group of people believed that the annihilation of the entire army had shaken the foundation of the country. If the Ming army took advantage of the situation and went south, the consequences would be disastrous. Therefore, they advocated immediately sending envoys to sue for peace with the Ming people. This group was mainly composed of civilian officials; however, the other group was mainly composed of military generals. One group of people strongly advocated going north for revenge. They believed that if the Ming army relied on its true ability to compete with the Bagan army, it must have used conspiracy and tricks. Therefore, their side could definitely turn defeat into victory. They also believed that they would stop fighting after losing a battle. Sending people to sue for peace is too cowardly, disrespectful to dignity, and will make people look down upon. He advocates immediately mobilizing the whole country's strength to go north for revenge, firstly to avenge the hatred, and secondly, to take advantage of the situation to seize Dali.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
