At that time, Song army spies reported that the military envoy Shao Lipao was killed and his head was hung on a high pole in front of the Liao army formation in Liangxiang. When Liu Yanqing heard about this situation, he was furious and immediately ordered Zhenbei troops to attack Liangxiang and capture Youzhou.
The herald immediately conveyed the order.
Immediately, Liu Yanqing summoned Gao Yaoshi, the deputy vanguard of the former army, to come to the Chinese army's tent to discuss the war to conquer Liangxiang and the two armies.
After hearing the order, Gao Yaoshi hurriedly came to Liu Yanqing's vanguard envoy's tent.
Gao Yaoshi entered Liu Yanqing's command tent and met with Liu Yanqing. Liu Yanqing said: "No need to be polite, please sit down quickly and let us discuss tomorrow's war."
Gao Yaoshi bent down and replied: "General, I will obey the order!" Then he sat aside.
The two men immediately discussed tomorrow's war.
"Deputy Commander Gao, General Shao was ordered to go to the Khitan as an envoy, but he was killed by the Khitan. His head was hung on a high pole in front of the formation. Do you know this situation?"
"Tell me the truth to the commander, the general is still unaware of this situation."
"Yesterday, I sent General Shao as an envoy to the Liao Army. Early this morning, General Shao followed the order and went to the Liao Army, but was killed by the Liao Army. There is a saying that when two armies are fighting, the envoy will not be killed. The Liao Army Killing General Shao is just to show our disgrace. From this point of view, it is impossible to resolve the issue peacefully between our army and the Khitan. As a result, the two armies can only differentiate themselves on the battlefield. As a deputy vanguard Let them see how our army will attack the Liao army's formation?"
"Commander, in the opinion of the last general, our army should gather its forces and advance as a whole to prevent the Liao army from taking advantage of it. Our army can gather absolute superiority in strength and annihilate the Liao army. Pioneer envoy, even if our army cannot reach the point of gathering, The strategic purpose of annihilation is also enough to defeat the Liao army, leaving them head and tail, and our army will take advantage of the victory to pursue it, reach the city of Yanjing, besiege it, and Yanjing can attack it!"
Liu Yanqing was overjoyed when he heard this and said loudly: "This is the best! Early tomorrow morning, the deputy commander will lead the army and attack first. I will lead the Chinese army to follow closely. Our two armies, front and rear, will integrate closely and advance as a whole to destroy the Liao army." military formation to achieve a complete victory.”
Gao Yaoshi replied loudly: "General, I will obey the order!"
After the two discussed the battle tomorrow, Gao Yaoshi said goodbye and left.
That night, in Liangxiang, not far from Baigou, in the main tent of the Liao army, Liao Prime Minister Xiao Qian and Yanjing Deputy Defense Envoy and General Han We were also discussing the strategy of facing the Song army.
Ever since Xiao Pu Xiannu beheaded the Song army envoy Shao Lipao and hung it on a high pole in front of the battle, Xiao Qian and Han We knew very well that the battle between the Liao army and the Song army would not only be fought head-on. , there is no other way. As a general, Han On knew better that as far as the current situation was concerned, the Song army had an absolute advantage in numbers. This time he came north to seize Yanjing, determined to win it. Han Or also knew in his heart that the reason why the Song army did not attack directly, but sent envoys to persuade them to surrender, was that they did not want to fight face-to-face with the Liao army, but only wanted to intimidate the Liao army into surrendering and surrendering without a fight. This approach obviously doesn't work for the Liao army. Now, when the commander-in-chief of the Song Army saw that Shao Lipao was killed, he knew that the Liao Army had no intention of unilaterally making peace, and would definitely attack with all his strength to achieve the goal of annihilating or defeating the Liao Army. Therefore, the Liao Army must have corresponding countermeasures to disintegrate the Song Army. attack.
After Han Yu pondered for a long time, he suggested to Xiao Qian: "Prime Minister Xiao, when facing the Song army's attack, our army should move out of the way and leave only a small number of troops to resist, so as to lure the Song army and extend it as much as possible. On the Song Army's front, a large number of our troops were deployed on both sides of the Song Army's attack route, with 5,000 troops and horses forming an assault square. When the Song Army advanced, they rushed from the side and intercepted the Song Army. If they turn back to attack, they will form a three-sided siege on the Song Army. The Song Army will inevitably panic and have no other option but to retreat, while our army will take advantage of the situation to pursue them."
Xiao Qian heard Han On's proposal and thought it was very good, so he said to Han On: "This is a good plan for defense. Just arrange the deployment. I fully support the army."
Han Wen said: "Prime Minister Xiao also agrees with this strategy. Tomorrow, I will lead 20,000 troops and ambush south of the road. Prime Minister will lead 20,000 troops and ambush north of the road. Another vanguard general, Xiao Shili, will lead 10,000. Soldiers and horses, meet and lure the Song army from the front. When the Song army enters the ambush of our army, use the sound of cannons as a signal, and the three armies and horses will attack together. Our army will win."
The reason why Han Wen was confident about defeating the Song Army was because the Song Army had not fought a war for a long time. The military fortifications built and deployed by the Song Dynasty in the north were abandoned, and there was a phenomenon of falsely reporting the number of soldiers to defraud the court of money; The Song army did not have many soldiers and horses that could really fight. Han On had already grasped this situation in advance, so facing the Song army, which was far more numerous than the Liao army, Han On was not afraid and was confident of defeating the Song army. The only thing that worried Han Wei was the Gao Yaoshi Department who surrendered to the Song Army. Because Gao Yaoshi's victorious army can fight and is familiar with the Khitan's fighting style.
After planning the overall war strategy, Xiao Qian and Han Ao convened a meeting with the generals to arrange the specific tactics.
The Liao generals were ordered to arrange their troops in accordance with the arrangements of Xiao Qian and Han Wen.
Early the next morning, Gao Yaoshi commanded 50,000 Song troops and took the lead in attacking. Liu Yanqing, commanding 100,000 troops, followed closely behind. The Song army was lined with swords and guns, their flags covered the sun, and their war drums shook the sky with great momentum.
From the Liangxiang Liao army formation, a group of soldiers and horses rushed out to meet the Song army.
Seeing this, Gao Yaoshi turned around and asked: "Which general will fight first?" Before Gao Yaoshi finished speaking, a general rushed out from beside him and shouted: "I will fight first!" Gao Yaoshi turned around and saw that it was Zhen Wuchen, the training envoy of the Ever Victorious Legion. After the five ministers of Zhen finished shouting, they rode up to meet him and started a battle with General Liao.
The Liao general who came was none other than General Xiao Shili. Xiao Shili fought with Zhen Wuchen for five rounds, and shouted loudly: "Ah! It's awesome, I can't beat you!" After shouting, he turned his horse's head and ran away.
After Xiao Shili's horse, the Liao army also panicked and retreated.
Seeing this, Yaoshi Gao raised his spear high and shouted: "Kill!"
After shouting, Gao Yaoshi took the lead and rode in hot pursuit. Behind Gao Yaoshi, the Song generals shouted loudly, hoping that the defeated Liao army would pursue them.
Following Gao Yaoshi's 50,000 troops were 100,000 troops commanded by Liu Yanqing. When Liu Yanqing saw that Gao Yaoshi had been victorious for a while, he moved forward to pursue him. He was overjoyed and urged his troops to advance quickly.
Suddenly, there was a sound of artillery, followed by a loud drum beat, and a large number of Liao soldiers rushed out from both sides.
Gao Yaoshi and Liu Yanqing panicked and hurriedly gathered the two armies together to face the Liao soldiers charging up from both sides.
As the Liao troops on both sides fought out, Xiao Shili, who was retreating in front, also stopped retreating, turned back, and fought back.
Xiao Shili was the general in front of the Northern Privy Council of the Liao Kingdom. He was tall and mighty, with a broad face, a pair of eyes as big as ox eggs, and three strands of hair on the top of his head. He looked very powerful. At this moment, Xiao Shili opened his mouth wide and shouted loudly: "The traitor Gao Yaoshi comes out! Grandpa will fight you for three hundred rounds."
When Gao Yaoshi saw this, he was furious and went to fight Xiao Shili with a long spear.
The two fought for more than ten rounds without a winner.
At this time, the Liao army came fiercely from three sides, and the Song army was attacked on three sides. The formation was disrupted and the soldiers retreated. With this retreat, the Song army's formation became more chaotic, the soldiers had no fighting spirit, and they all panicked. The Liao army took advantage of the victory and pursued it.
Behind the Liao army is Yanjing. The Liao army has nowhere to retreat, so it becomes more and more courageous as it fights. The Song army led by Liu Yanqing and Gao Yaoshi had not fought for a long time. After fighting to the death for a while, they saw that the Liao army could not retreat. They relaxed a little and were dispersed by the Liao army. The soldiers of the Song Army panicked and retreated, but Liu Yanqing could not hold him back.
Xiao Qian and Han Wei led their troops to pursue the victory, but the Song army was defeated and fled.
The Song army was defeated and retreated to Baigou before stopping.
That night, Liu Yanqing and Gao Yaoshi discussed the war together again.
Gao Yaoshi suggested: "Liu Xianfeng, in my opinion, this attack on Yanjing must be carried out wisely. The two armies attack head-on. The Liao army has no way to retreat and must resist with all its strength. The final outcome will be an endless stalemate." If you go on, there won’t be any good results.”
"Then according to the deputy commander's wishes, how should our army outwit them?"
"According to my wishes, in the coming day of the war, the vanguard will lead his troops to attack the Liangxiang Liao army and contain its main force. I will lead thousands of victorious troops and take advantage of the battle between the two armies to bypass Liangxiang in the chaos. Sneak into Yanjing and set fire to the city of Yanjing to create chaos. At that time, Yanjing will be in chaos. The vanguard will send another 20,000 troops to help me attack Yanjing. I will cooperate with the troops outside the city and the city of Yanjing can be destroyed! "
Liu Yanqing saw this and asked: "Is this plan feasible? How can the deputy commander sneak into Yanjing City?"
Gao Yaoshi said: "The commander is unaware of something. The Liao army must have mobilized many soldiers and horses in the city of Yanjing when Chen Bing is in his hometown. Many of my ever-victorious troops are Liao people who returned from Xianzhuo and Yizhou. After the Song Dynasty, the uniforms of the Ever-Victorious Army were still there, and you only needed to wear the uniforms of the Ever-Victorious Army to take advantage of the chaos and enter Yanjing."
Liu Yanqing was overjoyed when he heard this and asked anxiously: "How many troops are the deputy vanguard going to bring into the city?"
Gao Yaoshi thought for a while and replied: "Five thousand troops are enough. Any more may be easily exposed, causing the plan to fail."
Liu Yanqing said loudly: "Okay! Just do as the deputy vanguard envoy said. Tonight, the deputy vanguard envoy can select 5,000 elite soldiers of the Ever Victorious Army, and prepare to sneak into Yanjing overnight. Wait until tomorrow when the Japanese vanguard envoy will lead When the army attacked the Liangxiang Liao army, the deputy vanguard took advantage of the chaos and sneaked into Yanjing City."
"General, I will obey the order!" Gao Yaoshi replied loudly. After answering, Gao Yaoshi emphasized again: "Mr. Pioneer, after I lead the victorious army into Yanjing City tomorrow, you must arrange additional troops and horses to support me. Otherwise, even if the plan fails, the lives of the soldiers may not be saved."
When Liu Yanqing heard this, he immediately patted his chest and said loudly: "Don't worry, Deputy Pioneer Envoy. Tomorrow I will send my son Guangshi to personally lead 20,000 elite soldiers and strong generals to meet the Deputy Pioneer Envoy outside the city to ensure that Yan can be recovered in one fell swoop. Jing, it’s absolutely foolproof.”
Gao Yaoshi was overjoyed and said loudly: "Okay! I have prepared troops and horses overnight and will enter Yanjing City tomorrow."
Gao Yaoshi then bid farewell to Liu Yanqing and selected 5,000 strong soldiers from the Ever-Victorious Army overnight. He asked the soldiers to wear the uniforms of the Ever-Victorious Army, bring their weapons, and make all preparations before entering Yanjing City.
The victorious army of five thousand soldiers and horses selected by Gao Yaoshi prepared overnight and were ready to go.
