If the Liao general who oversaw the army had not immediately ordered the execution of the frightened horses, the Liao army's rear group might have been overrun by his own horses. After the first day of fierce fighting, the Liao army suffered more than 20,000 casualties, while the Qi army suffered very few casualties. Moreover, the casualties of the Liao Army were all its most elite Pishi Army. What is even more serious is that the experienced generals of the Liao army suffered heavy losses under the artillery fire of the Qi army. Known as the most knowledgeable person in the Liao imperial family, King Yelu Longqing of Qin and Jin was hit by artillery fire and died in battle on the first day.
When the sun rose again, the Liao army, which was frustrated on the first day but still refused to give up, gave up its left and right wings this time. All the elites were gathered together and launched a desperate attack on Cao Rui's Chinese army regardless of casualties. The Liao army changed their style of play and concentrated all the pressure on the front. Divide the troops into ten cavalry waves and launch attacks in turn. Not only the cavalry, with the cooperation of the horse archers, pressed forward across the line, but even the infantry brigade behind them slowly moved forward, trying to increase the pressure and disperse the Qi army's defensive strength.
In this day's offensive, Beiliao devoted all its elite troops to the central army, which put Cao Rui's 10,000-strong central army under tremendous pressure. After another fierce battle during the day, more than half of the cannon barrels were turned red due to too frequent firing. We had to resort to watering, which would do great harm to the cannon, to cool down. There were even a few five-pound cannons that exploded due to excessive firing. The Liao army regarded artillerymen as the main targets of its upward arrow rain, which also posed a great threat to the artillery.
But Cao Rui, a veteran general, faced the Liao army's life-threatening attack regardless of casualties, but he put on a posture of letting the wind and rain beat you, but I will not move. No matter how critical the situation was, the 20,000 cavalry hidden in Ma Men Mountain behind were not mobilized. Not even the 3,000 reserve troops behind were mobilized for reinforcements. Faced with requests from the left and right wings for reinforcements, they were also completely rejected. No matter how the generals below ask for instructions, they just say that the time has not come yet. Protecting your two wings is better than anything else.
Not only did Cao Rui not use the hidden 20,000 fine cavalry, but when Cao Rui faced off against the more than 100,000 cavalry from Beiliao, he only used the five-pound and twelve-pound cannons with the largest amount of equipment in the army. The large-caliber artillery carried and the secret weapon used as a pressure box bottom, the Thunderbolt Cannonball, were not used. The only thing that changed was that the vehicles carried by the entire army were gathered together, piled with soil and poured with water to form a second defensive wall behind Lu Chai. In order to gather enough vehicles, even the artillery carts unloaded the shells and put them all in.
Relying on the newly established obstacles, they faced a swift and fierce attack by the Liao army who broke through Luchai's defense circle regardless of casualties. Cao Rui held on for another whole afternoon. They even survived the cannon firing too frequently and had to stop firing to wait for it to cool down. At one point, they were almost completely broken through by the Liao army. Even a small group of Liao troops that rushed in were already within fifty feet of him, and an arrow shot from a strong bow could kill him. But even so, Cao Rui did not mobilize reinforcements from both wings.
At this time, Huang Qiong was in Cao Rui's central army. Facing the Chinese army's hard support, he just sat there and remained motionless no matter how much he was persuaded by his surroundings. But looking at Huang Qiong, who was still as calm as a mountain, and Kou Zhun, who went out with the army to deal with civil affairs, he felt a little uneasy. He bowed and said: "Your Majesty, we still have 20,000 cavalry, which have not been used. Now that the situation is so critical, will your Majesty give Lord Cao an imperial edict to dispatch those 20,000 cavalry immediately? If the Chinese defense line is breached, Your Majesty is in danger."
"Your Majesty is responsible for the safety of the world. You must not make any mistakes. Now that your Majesty is behind the central army, the Liao army broke through the defenders in front twice and almost hit your majesty. This really puts your majesty in danger. . I also know that the formation of this march is the responsibility of the generals at the front. But today is different from ordinary times. Your Majesty is in the army now. If the entire front line is defeated, wouldn't Your Majesty be in danger? I beg Your Majesty, for the sake of the world. For the safety of the people of Daqi, please issue an imperial edict to General Cao to mobilize his troops."
For Kou Zhun, who was obviously panicking, Huang Qiong looked at the battle situation in front of him, shook his head and said softly: "This time, the commander of the Chinese army is Cao Rui, not me. How to deploy troops and generals when marching and setting up formations, that is This is what Lord Cao should do. It is my consistent style to employ people without doubting them and employing them without doubting them. I still believe in Lord Cao. When Lord Cao mobilizes the cavalry to join the battle, that is what he should do, not me. Those who intervene. Uniting the army to fight is Mr. Cao’s forte, not mine.”
Speaking of this, Huang Qiong couldn't help but smile bitterly as he watched the Liao army charge again. Knowing that this was Cao Rui, he was imitating himself in Ningxia Mansion and used himself as a bait to lure the Dangxiang rebels. When repeated attacks failed and the division's veterans were tired and their morale declined, they worked together with the reinforcements to attack in one go. Even if the victory could not be determined in one fell swoop, Huang Qiong, who at least wanted to severely weaken the enemy's vitality, turned to the guards beside him and said: "Raise the yellow dragon flag that represents my presence higher."
I know that the Lord in front of me always speaks the truth. Once an order was given, several guards who had absolutely no room for negotiation heard Huang Qiong's instructions. Even if I disagree with it ten thousand times in my heart, I can only carry it out helplessly. As the Yellow Dragon Flag was raised, the soldiers of the Qi army knew that the emperor was behind them. Although he was extremely tired, his morale was greatly boosted. The whole army shouted long live. The Liao army on the opposite side also saw the Huanglong flag raised higher at this time, and could not help but increase the intensity of their attack.
After hearing Huang Qiong's order, Kou Zhun almost fainted. This leader was really just watching the fun and didn't know the seriousness of the matter. He knew that the Liao army was risking his life to attack the Chinese army, but part of the reason was for him. Now that the first line of defense at the foot of the mountain had been broken through by the Liao army, he did not retreat at this time, but did the opposite and raised the Huanglong flag, which represented the emperor's identity, by more than one foot. Although it can greatly boost the morale of the Qi army at the foot of the mountain, it is also too dangerous. He is the king of a country, how could he put himself in danger so easily.
Faced with Huang Qiong's calmness, Kou Zhun wanted to persuade him to say something, but found that Huang Qiong had closed his eyes and made it clear that he did not want to continue talking about this matter. Kou Zhun had no choice but to give up the idea of continuing to persuade. However, Kou Zhun could only sigh in his heart when he looked at the princes and civil servants who were almost equally trembling when they saw the bloody battlefield below the mountain. Order the surrounding guards and 3,000 imperial troops. If the situation is unfavorable, the battle situation at the foot of the mountain will be dangerous. They fully escorted the emperor through Mameng Mountain, or retreated to Bei'an Prefecture, or joined Ouyang Shan's 20,000 elite cavalry.
He is now the right deputy of the Palace Chief, Du Chengzhi, and is in charge of the daily affairs of the Eighth Army of the Imperial Forest. After Huang Qiong succeeded to the throne, he separated the command and mobilization power of the Eighth Army from the command and responsibilities of the infantry commander in front of the palace. In the front department of the palace, the post of right deputy Du Chengzhi was specially set up to be in charge of the Eighth Army of the Royal Forest, and he was given the title of Minister of War. From the original responsibility of nobles and nobles, it was changed to the responsibility of civilian officials appointed by the emperor. Kou Zhun is now the right deputy of the Palace Chief, so he still has the right to give orders to the three thousand soldiers who followed Huang Qiong on the expedition.
Although Kou Zhun also understood that Huang Qiong, the emperor who personally led the army, was now the morale of the entire army and could not easily advance or retreat. If he retreats, the entire army will collapse. But as the emperor's important minister in charge of the personal army, he had to prepare for the worst whether the emperor was safe or not. In order to escort the emperor at the most dangerous time, there are such a group of princes, plus dozens of civilian officials rushing out. Otherwise, if something unexpected happens, even if he uses his whole family's brains to compensate, it will be difficult to recover this huge loss.
As an official in charge of the bodyguards and troops here, Kou Zhun had already prepared for the worst. Huang Qiong over there was so calm. It was the first time he faced this kind of scene. Although he was calm, he was still a little young and not so calm. Huang Ruifeng was somewhat panicked. Compared to the younger brothers who were a little flustered, they instantly calmed down. Just looking at the fierce battle at the foot of the mountain, I didn't know what I was thinking. However, the hand that tightly grasped the waist knife still showed the nervousness in his heart.
A battle raged from early morning to dusk. Facing the life-threatening impact of the Liao army's cavalry, the Qi army suffered heavy casualties in this day's battle. Relying on their war horses, the Liao army broke through the Qi army's first-line defense several times. They all relied on infantry and used hollow formations that had been drilled long ago to drive them out forcefully. Maybe Yelu Longxu was determined this time. Even if he couldn't achieve a full breakthrough, he would at least defeat the Qi army in front of them. Therefore, when night fell, the Liao army's offensive did not even weaken or stop in the slightest.
As the war drums sounded again among the Liao army, under the illumination of countless torches and under the cover of the rain of arrows, the Liao army launched another charge. But looking at the Liao army charging forward again regardless of casualties, Cao Rui did not relax at all. Knowing whether he can defeat the morale of the Liao army in front of him depends on Cao Rui this night. This time not only the following five thousand troops were mobilized, but also reinforcements were sent to the front line. He even hid the sixteen twenty-eight-pound cannons in the back and used them as his trump card.
As dawn approached, two days and one night of hard fighting continued without any progress. At this time, the morale of the Liao army had been extremely low. Under the urging of the war drums and horns behind them, they launched another attack. Cao Rui, who had been paying close attention to the battle situation, was not only helpless when he saw the Liao army's attack. Moreover, a large number of cavalry were roaming outside the range of the twelve-pound artillery. No matter how hard the drums and horns sounded behind me, I was still unwilling to move forward again, so I knew the time had come for me to fight back.
As Cao Rui waved the flag in his hand, these sixteen 28-pound cannons appeared on the battlefield for the first time, making a huge sound when they fired. Coupled with the alternating firing of thunderbolt bombs and solid bullets, the explosions have huge power and sound. Another night of fierce fighting without any victory. Not only did the Liao army suffer huge casualties, but they were also exhausted. Facing the bombardment of these sixteen cannons with a range that could even hit them where they were gathering, they were completely overwhelmed. Especially where the shells fall, they will leave blood stains and broken arms and limbs.
Even the cavalrymen who were directly hit by the thunderbolt shells disappeared except for a large crater on the ground. After a shower of blood, a pile of stumps fell down. How could the already exhausted Liao army endure such a horrific scene? Morale, which was originally low, fell rapidly again. Let alone attacking, if the emperor was not still in the army, coupled with the resilience tempered by being from a nomadic tribe in a difficult environment, I am afraid that it would have completely collapsed.
But no matter how hard the generals suppressed and scolded them, almost all the Liao troops, including some senior military attachés, kept retreating. Almost everyone has a hint of timidity or even a look of terror on their face. These sixteen twenty-eight-pound cannons brought not only casualties to the Liao army, but also supreme fear.
