For those veterans of the Liao Army who participated in the Kou border, these cannons are actually no strangers. On the front line of Yanshan Mansion, a few doors have been deployed. But the previous solid bullets were not very dangerous as long as they were not hit directly. The nearby iron sand is quite deadly. But as long as you carry a shield and leather armor, you may not be so unlucky. Even if the whole body is beaten into a honeycomb, the chance of survival is generally not impossible. But once this kind of thing explodes, it will be a big crater, and no one around will survive.
This was the first time they had seen such a scary thing. When the Qi army's first round of thunderbolt bombs landed in the Liao army's camp, it exploded the Liao army's front troops into chaos. Later, the Liao army, which was scolded by military attaches at all levels and even hacked to maintain its formation, and was bombed there, actually showed signs of defeat. In fact, if Huang Luo Umbrella, born of Emperor Liao, was not still there, and the power of the emperor was still there, I am afraid that even those military attaches who were frightened themselves would not be able to control so many troops and horses.
Faced with the tragic situation after the cannonball landed on its own, they would turn around and run away as soon as possible. But seeing that the morale of the Liao army was extremely low, and there was also a certain amount of chaos. Although they are still trying to hold on, they are actually at the end of their efforts. Cao Rui, knowing that the time had come for him to counterattack, immediately ordered the 20,000 cavalrymen who had been recuperating before, under the command of Ouyang Shan, to charge directly towards the center of the Northern Liao army. The artillery team and archers followed behind, pushing the light artillery as much as possible to keep up with the cavalry brigade.
On the one hand, they have been recharging their energy for a long time, and on the other hand, after a long battle, everyone from man to horse is exhausted. On the one hand, I looked at the infantry in front, holding my breath after two days and one night of bloody battles. On the one hand, due to the huge casualties, coupled with the overwhelming artillery fire, morale quickly fell to the bottom. In particular, King Yelu Longqing of Qin and Jin, who was always known as a good armor soldier in the Liao Kingdom, was shot and killed last night. Prince Consort Xiao Jixian was seriously injured and lay on a stretcher like honeycomb, groaning in pain.
What's more, the morale of the Liao army has dropped to a state of low. Facing the 20,000 elite soldiers killed by the Qi army, they still had an advantage in terms of military strength at this time. But from top to bottom, everyone showed timidity. Once in contact with the enemy, it almost collapses at the first touch. Ouyang Shan disrupted the Liao army's center with little effort. Even in one go, they directly penetrated the Northern Liao Central Army. Turn around and once again charge into the Liao army's already chaotic formation. The defeated Liao cavalry not only collapsed first.
They even rushed into chaos and followed closely because it had never been their turn to go into battle, and the Bei Liao infantry camp was still considered complete. For a time, the Liao army's formation was in chaos. The cavalry fled back desperately, and the infantry was not only disrupted but also trampled by the cavalry. Even the generals around Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu restrained and scolded them, but no one paid any attention to them. Even though the supervising team cut off more than a dozen heads of retreating military attachés, they still could not stop the rout. Even he himself was defeated and swarmed to death with swords.
Faced with his own succession, even since the founding of the Northern Liao Dynasty, he had never suffered a major defeat. Yelu Longxu, who personally led the crown prince Yelu Zongzhen and hundreds of civil and military officials to guard the formation, couldn't help but burst into tears. In his eyes, the 100,000 Khitan cavalry, who were invincible in the world and could sweep the entire world and wipe out any country, coupled with the 30,000 Bohai infantry, were actually defeated in such a big way. Facing the defeat, he still refused to give up. He still wanted to reorganize the retreating army and fight to the death with the Qi army in front of him.
But not only did they fail to organize the defeated army, but the formation of the Gong Fen army around him as a guard also became unstable under the impact and coercion of the defeated army. When he saw Qi Jun, he was about to kill in front of him. The Gong Fenjun around him also looked timid when facing Qi Jun's artillery, and some even trembled with their hands holding the weapons. Knowing that the morale of the army has been lost, if we continue to do meaningless hardships, I am afraid that a group of us may become prisoners under the persuasion of the crown prince and his surroundings.
Under the desperate protection of the three thousand palace troops around him, and relying on the fact that the horses under him were all the best Khitan horses, he fled in a hurry towards the Dading Mansion in Zhongjing. When Ouyang Shan saw the Northern Liao emperor's banner and fled all the way to the north, he personally led three thousand cavalry to hold on to it all the way. One is desperate to escape, the other is desperate to chase. But the war horses Ouyang Shan rides on are all party horses trained by Long You. Although it is fast, has strong impact, and is good at carrying heavy loads, its endurance is not as good as that of the Khitan horse. Especially as the Emperor of Liao, he is a first-class horse when using mounts.
Before, Ouyang Shan could still bite the Liao Emperor's guards. Although the idea of beyond pursuit was shattered by the Gongfen army who was more or less able to recover without the threat of artillery. But like a pack of hungry wolves following them, they kept biting off the Liao Emperor's guards one by one and eating them. But after more than a hundred miles, Ouyang Shan's horses gradually failed to catch up due to poor endurance.
The Liao Emperor and his party have fallen further and further behind. Helpless, Ouyang Shan could only take the cavalry around him and be content to hold on to the Liao Emperor and his party for the time being. The straight-line distance between Ma Yu Mountain and Dading Mansion in Zhongjing is not very far. Everyone's war horses are all good horses. After chasing him all the way, he arrived outside Zhongjing City before he knew it. After seeing the tall city walls of Zhongjing City, Emperor Liao and his party finally relaxed their worries. When they were about to rush outside the south gate of the capital, Emperor Liao and his army guards were shouting to open the city.
But I heard a volley of cannons going off in the city. A row of cannonballs and arrows hit the city, covering their heads and faces. The scattered bullets and dense rain of arrows knocked down the Liao Emperor's guards who were caught off guard as they approached the moat. But before the Liao Emperor and his party could retreat hastily, they could react. The suspension bridge at the south gate of Zhongjing was slowly lowered, and a group of Qi cavalry rushed out from the city gate. While shouting Khitan words to surrender and avoid death, under the cover of artillery fire from the city head, they ran directly towards the Liao Emperor and his party to kill them.
Seeing the pursuers behind him and the interceptors in front, the originally confident Liao Emperor collapsed completely. Since he succeeded to the throne, he has made several expeditions against Qi, twice against Goryeo, and many times against Jurchens, Uighurs, enemy Liedu and other tribes. It’s not that we have never suffered defeats before, but we have never suffered such a heavy defeat. In this battle, very few of the civil servants and generals who followed him on the expedition came forward. Most of the remaining ones, as well as the queens, concubines, princesses, and princes who followed him on the expedition, were basically lost in Zhongjing City.
Originally, when Da Qi sent troops, Yelu Longxu was taking his concubines, princes, princesses, consorts, and a large number of clan members, civil and military officials from Tanshan, where Nabo was located in Xia, to Fuhu Forest in Qingzhou, where Nabo was located in autumn. After receiving the battle report during the transfer, he immediately sent an order to mobilize the troops and horses from Shangjing, Zhongjing and Tokyo to assemble towards Dadingfu in Zhongjing. Because he was worried that when his emperor father was on the throne, he would be attacked by the Qi army in the capital again. In addition, it was too late to send his wife and children back to the capital.
Therefore, according to the Nabo system, all accompanying concubines, princesses, and princes were brought to Zhongjing. In the eyes of Yelu Longxu, who was still confident before the war, his wife and children would definitely be safe with his hundreds of thousands of cavalry escorts who could sweep the world. And this battle may be a draw or a stalemate. But there is only one thing, that is, you must not lose. His wife, children, clan, and civil and military officials who cannot go to the battlefield will definitely be safe and sound if they stay in Zhongjing.
This kind of move, and taking the wife and children to the battlefield, would have been different from any other dynasty in the Central Plains. That was enough to send the general to the head of the whole family. If another emperor had done this, he would have been laughed at for thousands of years. Moreover, if the emperor goes to the battlefield and brings a large group of women with him, it will also seriously affect the morale of the army. But for the nomadic Liao people, this is not a strange thing. After all, they live by water and grass. Wherever there are water and grass, they are home, and their wives and children will naturally be together.
What's more, the women on the grassland are not kind. When encountering an enemy, you should still shoot your bow and arrows, and go into battle to kill the enemy. There is no way, the fight on the grassland is like this life and death. If you don't want to become a slave, you have to risk your life. Of course, when he marched toward Ma Yu Mountain with the troops and horses mobilized to Zhongjing, it was naturally impossible for him to take the concubines, princesses, and princes with him. It's okay to bring women to the battlefield, but taking them directly to the front line is too much. So he left it in Zhongjing, guarded by five thousand Bohai navy who were good at defending the city.
Unexpectedly, he was fighting hard at the front, but his lair in the rear was attacked by the Qi army. Not only the mountains of grain, grass and ordnance piled up in Zhongjing City also became the spoils of war for the Qi army. Even the concubines and princesses who stayed in Zhongjing, as well as a large number of accompanying clan members, civil and military officials, fell into the hands of the Qi army. Before this battle, Yelu Longxu joked with his concubines that even if Emperor Qi could not be captured this time, he would capture a few princes from Qi Dynasty and give them a good look. But he didn't expect that the result would be the opposite.
The city of Zhongjing was lost, and the wives, children, and clan members in the city became prisoners of the enemy. But this time, he gathered more than 100,000 elite Pishi troops and Gongfen troops from the Northern Liao Dynasty, plus an infantry army composed of Bohai people and Han people. At this moment, there are only more than 2,000 people around him. Yelu Longxu, who really felt that he had no face to face his ancestors, and even less face to face his own mother, drew out his sword and tried to wipe it against his neck. Seeing Emperor Liao behaving like this, the Crown Prince and Prince Yelu Longyu of Liang, who were beside him, grabbed the sword and hurriedly hugged it tightly.
Crown Prince Yelu Zongzhen cried and said: "Your Majesty, we still have more than 100,000 troops in Shangjing and Tokyo. Although we are defeated in this battle, we are not without room for recovery. What's more, we are on the desert grassland, and there are still There are so many tribes. As long as your majesty issues an imperial edict, you can summon hundreds of thousands of troops at any time. Your majesty returns to the capital, reorganizes the army and horses, and selects generals who are good at fighting. We still have the strength to save the situation. If your majesty, for my sake, we will fight all over the country. Thousands of people must never do such a thing."
Faced with the hard persuasion of his son and brother, Ouyang Shansuo's troops caught up again behind him. How could Yelu Longxu, who had his sword taken away, not know that what his son and brother said was not wrong? After letting out a long sigh, King Liang took the initiative to lead a thousand troops and horses to cut off the rear. The two of them, together with the prince, were escorted by the remaining hundreds of defeated soldiers, and ran towards the capital. Yelu Longyou, who was left behind to break up the rear, faced Ouyang Shan who was chasing him and the troops and horses that came out of the city, and fought to the death to buy time for Emperor Liao to retreat.
And the thousand Liao troops around him, under his leadership, also broke out the true defense spirit of the grassland people. They were entangled with the Qi army that was rushing over. Until the last person fell, no one surrendered. The deadly battle of these thousand cavalry gave Yelu Longxu and his son an opportunity to escape. Ouyang Shan, who originally wanted to divide his troops and continue the pursuit, faced this group of stalking Liao troops and had no choice but to give up and continue the pursuit. However, after dealing with this Liao army, Ouyang Shan was very dissatisfied.
