The gathering and southbound speed of the Goryeo fleet was a little slower than Li Yun originally expected. There are three reasons for this:
First, the private collusion between the powerful officials of the Jin Kingdom and the Koryo Kingdom cannot be exposed to the public. Once it was done, the officials in the Song Dynasty would naturally cover their eyes and cover their mouths, denying it to their superiors, but it would be ugly if someone exposed it beforehand.
However, there were hundreds of Song Dynasty maritime merchants and governors stationed in Yeseong Port of Goryeo for a long time, and there were many Song people who held official positions in Goryeo in King Seong-ri of Kaikyo. It would be bad if these people heard the news and went by boat to report the news.
Therefore, Cui Zhongxian specially ordered his eldest son Cui Yu to summon Song merchants at the government office in Beijing and entrust them with the transshipment and sale of Goryeo celadon this year. It was not until the leaders of the Song Dynasty and Shang Dynasties left one after another that the Koryo fleet in Licheng Port could move smoothly.
For both, the Koryo fleet alone is not enough. The size of the Goryeo fleet was not enough to transport the amount of food required by the Ding Navy, so after the fleet left the port, it first went to Dengzhou Sanshan Port, where it met up with Liang Jushi of the Ding Navy. The two sailors had to be mixed for a while, and arrangements had to be made. It holds the official certificate of the Korean people, and several interpreters are stationed on each ship to cover it up.
Although these tasks can be dispatched while driving on the seaway, they will inevitably slow down the speed.
Fortunately, Zhou Keshan had already made preparations for Mingzhou City Boss. This trip was purely for food, and there was no need to stop for trade. It was shipped when it arrived and left when it was full. Therefore, when the fleet returned to boarding, it would not delay the food accumulation of the Marshal's Mansion.
Compared with the previous two, the third reason affecting the fleet caused even more headaches for the Koreans. That is the Khitan people who penetrated deeply into the territory of Korea a few days ago. They seem to be much more difficult to deal with than expected. Wei
When these Khitan people crossed the Yalu River before, they were tired from the long journey and brought their families with them, so there was no way to march. The famous general of the Goryeo Kingdom knew that the troops in the northwest were in trouble and raised troops to attack. Both sides suffered casualties. The defense line of the Goryeo Army was generally stable in the Qingsai and Pinglu cities of the Thousand Miles of Great Wall, and they were not passive.
However, the Khitans were fierce after all. While fighting with Goryeo, they organized elites and distributed ordnance according to the military system. In just two or three months, they became stronger and stronger as they fought. On that day, generals such as Yelu Sibu, Yelu Jinshan, and Yelu Ya'er under Yelu Liuge were fighting with the Jin Army and Ding Haijun. Now they were rushing back and forth against the weak soldiers of Goryeo, and they actually showed the majesty of the iron cavalry.
Jin Juli couldn't resist immediately and was defeated back to Kaijing. Goryeo immediately recruited troops from various counties in Kinki, intending to form a large army to attack. In this process, it is inevitable that many strong men who should be sailors were taken away.
Li Yun didn't mind this.
At the end of May, he respectfully met with the King of Korea and Prime Minister Cui Zhongxian. He and a group of Cui Prime Minister's cronies made peace with each other and discussed how the two countries of Jin and Li would get along in the future. The fleet left later, so he stayed longer and took the opportunity to see how the country of Korea was doing.
Ten days ago, the fleet finally left the port. Five days ago, the Koryo Kingdom finally summoned nearly 100,000 troops and appointed many famous ministers and powerful generals to lead the troops. For example, the person who served as the marshal of the army in the camp was Zheng Shuzhan, the counselor of political affairs; the person who served as the deputy marshal was Zhao Chong, the marshal of the northwest; Li Yanshou, the right chengxuan, was the military commander of the capital; Jin Jiuli still accompanied the army.
But these soldiers and horses have nothing to do with Cui Zhongxian, and Cui Zhongxian is happy for them to fight and consume the Khitans. Therefore, only his elite troops remained stationary, and only a few close associates were sent as supervisors. Wei
Li Yun had already seen what the cavalry of Goryeo's Longwu Army was like, but he really didn't know what the other six guards of the first army were like. So one day he proposed to Cui Zhongxian that he wanted to follow the army and see the fighting.
Cui Zhongxian did not object.
He hoped that the Kingdom of Jin would come forward to solve the Khitan rebellion for him. But in the process, he didn't want to appear too weak. The civil and military officials around Cui Zhongxian also felt that they had to suppress the Khitans on the battlefield and then invite envoys from the upper state to take action, so as not to damage the country's prestige.
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Therefore, Li Yun took 20 servants and went out of the city to catch up with the army, still accompanied by Cui Junwen.
It is said that Cui Junwen received many civil and military compliments because of his neither humble nor arrogant attitude when introducing the envoys from the Kingdom of Heaven. Cui Zhongxian has already regarded him as a family member. A few days ago, Cui Zhongxian had to give his famous concubine Tonghua as a gift.
The group of people ran quickly and passed Suanniyi Station that day, and caught up with the army the next day.
The terrain in this area is low-lying, with many swamps and dense growth of reeds and aquatic plants. Wei
Li Yun and others finally found a high ground and climbed up to take a look. Far away, Li Yun saw a young general urging his horse along the way and shouting: "Everyone, speed up, we will enter Xingyi Post tonight!"
Following the shouts, a group of cavalry galloped through the muddy ground, throwing away the mud all over the Korean soldiers on the roadside. Because the Korean people like to wear white clothes, they will be very conspicuous once they are dirty. And because these people were not ordinary cavalry, the people who were covered in mud did not dare to speak. They only complained in a low voice after the cavalry left.
Li Yun asked: "Did you see that team of cavalry? Who is the boy leading the team?"
Cui Junwen laughed twice: "That is Jin Quan, the second son of General Jin Juli. He had been doing business with the Japanese country in Gyeongju, Tokyo. This time, General Jin probably felt that the opportunity was rare and took him with him. I’ve learned a lot about the battlefield.”
"Japan? What's the business there?"
Cui Junwen said casually: "The place is extremely poor, and there is only some sulfur for sale. I heard people talk about it, and it seems that there are gold, silver and copper mines, but no one has ever seen it seriously."
Li Yun's eyes flashed, and he only responded indifferently: "I see."
Cui Junwen was about to find some other gossip to talk about when he suddenly heard a burst of wild shouting in front of him.
"There are Khitan soldiers and horses ahead!" The young general Jin Quan had just moved forward, but now he ran back in panic, shouting and yelling along the way.
Many Korean soldiers scattered on both sides of the road stood up in an uproar, with a mixture of disbelief and horror on their faces.
"Impossible!" shouted a Goryeo general: "How could the Khitans come here? There are 50,000 soldiers of our Goryeo Kingdom ahead!"
Jin Quan shouted: "Everyone is defeated! Defeated! Marshal Zheng is dead! Li Douzhi is dead too! Let's run! The Khitans are really coming to kill us!"
They exchanged a few words for a short moment, and sure enough, a sound like rolling thunder came from the road ahead.
The Korean general asked repeatedly: "How many Khitans are there?"
Jin Quan had already disappeared with a puff of smoke.
The people who stayed there looked at each other, not knowing what to do for a moment, but no one followed them.
Li Yun couldn't help but nodded. He said to Cui Junwen: "A few days ago, I saw that your generals recruited all the monks in the temple as soldiers, thinking that they would be easily shaken. Now it seems that it is not bad. I know that there must be peace in a war. The principle of anger..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw all the generals and soldiers discarding their weapons, turning around and running away.
Before the enemy could be seen, thousands of people within the sight of Li Yun and others collapsed!
Li Yun couldn't help being stunned.
Cui Junwen said angrily: "How dare they!"
After a while, countless soldiers on the road ahead also fled back in dense numbers. They had some order when they were far away, but then they ran more and more chaotic. Everyone wanted to run ahead of others, as if this way they could avoid being chased. As order was lost, people began to crowd each other.
Someone pulled out a knife and hacked at the people in front of him who were blocking the way.
Someone tripped over the mud while walking through the swamp, and the people behind them stepped on them without hesitation, causing those who tripped to be trampled to death or drowned in the knee-high sewage!
As they ran past one after another, the road was littered with various weapons. In Li Yun's view, perhaps because the army belonging to the King of Goryeo was really in dire straits, the weapons they discarded were of various types, with no uniform standard at all, and they looked purely tattered. Among the metal rags, there were also military flags, military uniforms, military drums, horns and other rags thrown around.
Cui Junwen stared at the situation in front of him in stunned silence. It took him a while to react. He quickly said to Li Yun: "Something big has happened now! Envoy from the Kingdom of Heaven, let's leave quickly! Leave quickly! It won't be safe to leave Beijing anymore! Those Khitans Humans are all beasts, they kill without blinking an eye!"
At this time, the large group of defeated soldiers like flies in front were still crowding around them in groups, and at the end of the road, the Khitan cavalry indeed appeared.
The number of Khitans was not large, about five hundred. Because the armor, stomach, and weapons on his body were all made up of captured items, they were a bit messy. But under the murderous spirit developed from winning consecutive battles and killing to one's heart's content, this is no longer a concern. Wei
"Envoy from the Kingdom of Heaven, let's go quickly!" Cui Junwen urged the horse over and reached out to grab the bridle of the horse under Li Yun's crotch.
"Let go!" Li Yun whipped the back of his hand, causing him to scream in agony.
"The Khitans are no different from other tribes in the northeastern hinterland. Don't worry, I'm also very familiar with them. Among Brother Yeluliu's old tribe, there were only a few who could lead five hundred cavalry into battle. Those who came were either Yelujinshan or Yelu Ya'er or Yelu Tongguyu."
Li Yun said in a deep voice: "Yelu Qinu, go and ask who the person is, and then tell him that I, Li Yun, am here, and let the leader of the army come to see me!"
There are many Khitans in the Ding Navy. Guo Ning's minister who moved Chu Cai was a Khitan, but he was a Confucian minister of Khitan. He still follows the Jurchen rules and does not use the word Yelu. He is not the same as Yeluliu Ge who gathered to rebel in the early years. Guys.
Under the Liaohai Jiedu Envoy, Han Xuan's deputy general, Xiao Molele, was a Khitan. He was also Guo Ning's confidant and served as Zhao Jue's deputy and deputy commander of the bodyguard.
And Brother Yeluliu's old troops are more numerous. Last year, the Khitan warrior Yelu Annu died heroically while fighting the Mongols, and many of his companions also fought with the Mongols to the end. When recounting his achievements after the war, Han Xuan promoted more than thirty Khitan generals in one breath. The Yelvqinu who followed Li Yun to Goryeo this time was one of them. Wei
This taciturn Khitan man with a scarred face and wavy braids listened to Li Yun's instructions and rode out without saying a word.
"Who is he? Is he going to die?" Cui Junwen asked tremblingly.
Then he watched dumbfoundedly as the chasing Khitan cavalry suddenly reined in their horses. Among the hundreds of ferocious Khitan people, no one dared to take a step closer to the thunder pool. He rubbed his eyes and looked again in disbelief. The Khitan entourage running out from Li Yun had already galloped back with a Khitan general behind him.
The Khitan general's face was both embarrassed and ashamed. The closer he got to Li Yun, the lower his head lowered, and finally he jumped off the horse and gave Li Yun a military salute.
"I have never seen you. However, I have heard about the Khitan general who is missing half an ear. You are Yelu Jinshan, right?"
The Khitan general said dullly: "Yes!"
