Although Yelu Longxu said that he was defeated now, he even lost the upper and middle capitals. But this does not mean that this person is an idiot. Although most of the foundations of the Northern Liao Emperor were laid during his mother's reign. There are many arrogant soldiers and generals in Beiliao, and a considerable number of clans are not only difficult to control, but also extremely ambitious. Therefore, since Taizu and Taizong, Bei Liao has always been in internal chaos. Internal rebellions continued one after another, and it was not until his father, Emperor Jingzong, was in power that things stabilized.
But after the death of the Empress Dowager Chengtian, this person was still able to firmly grasp the extremely complicated situation in Bei Liao. He even personally conquered Goryeo twice, once to conquer the tribes of Chu Bu and Enemy Lie. It can be seen that this Yelu Longxu is definitely a talent. What's more, Beiliao still has a lot of Tibetan and Han troops in Tokyo Road. Although there are not many authentic Khitan people, there are still a lot of Bohai navy and Han army. There should be no big problem in gathering an army of 100,000 in a short time. When needed, the Jurchens and northern tribes can also recruit tens of thousands of troops and horses.
He is still an opponent that cannot be underestimated. Anyone who despises it will probably suffer a big loss. I will never allow something to happen that fails because of the conflict between the two people. And because I have to consider the overall situation and deal with the tribes in the desert grassland to the west, I can't go to the military to preside over the affairs between the two. This requires a person of noble status who can at least suppress two people to go to the front, mediate when conflicts arise between them, and even make the most favorable decision when necessary.
And this incident is equivalent to giving his second son a big test. If Huang Ruifeng can pass this big test, then some things can be settled. In order to test this son properly, Huang Qiong also spent a lot of effort. Before Huang Ruifeng left, Huang Qiong granted him the power to make decisions in Linji and take over military affairs when necessary. However, Huang Qiong also made a request to Huang Ruifeng. After taking Liaoyang Mansion, Yi Ying must be brought back intact to make up for the crime of bullying the emperor.
Looking at his father who had an extremely tough attitude, he knew that he, the emperor, was full of twists and turns. Upon hearing his father's request, Huang Ruifeng could only roll his eyes helplessly. During the time he lived in Liaoyang Mansion, he had long understood Aunt Yi's temperament. I know that woman is not only extremely stubborn, but also full of ideas. You can easily place a trap on someone. Will you bring the person back intact? Even if we take down Liaoyang Mansion now, it would be good if we can find someone.
But facing his father, he was extremely tough and did not allow any discussion. Huang Ruifeng could only bite the bullet and rushed directly to Cao Rui's headquarters under the escort of a thousand guards. After Huang Ruifeng left, Huang Qiong did not pay much attention to the battlefield to the east. Instead, more attention was paid to the tribes on the grasslands to the west and the Khitan tribes in the Huangshui Basin. The Khitans are not just the Yelu tribe, there are many other tribes. These tribes have surrendered to Northern Liao for hundreds of years.
Although they may not be completely loyal to Bei Liao, these tribes are quite repulsive to Han people like Da Qi. These tribes have their own tribal armies, a separate tribe, although they may not pose any threat. But if all the tribes join forces, they will become a big force. Moreover, these tribes, because the emperors of the Liao dynasties wanted to strengthen their control, they were surrounded by bodyguards composed of children from various tribes, which was the predecessor of the Pishi Army. Now the palace branch army directly under the Liao Emperor is composed of children from various tribes.
In this battle of Ma Yushan, more than 100,000 Liao troops were annihilated. Yelu Longxu and his son fled with only more than a thousand guards. These tribes also had a large number of children who were captured or died in battle. These tribes, which were originally repulsive to the Han people, are probably now hostile to the Daqi tribe. Since sooner or later there will be an opponent, it is better to strike first. There are also 60,000 Xi people from the tribal army in their hands. They were active between Shangjing and Zhongjing, in the upper reaches of the Huangshui River Basin. This is a huge threat to myself.
Huang Qiong made up his mind to dispatch troops and generals to deal with the Khitan tribes in Huangshui Basin first. Therefore, I can only sit in the capital in person. However, he can still rest assured that the battle situation in Tokyo Road will be left to General Cao Rui, and the increasingly mature second son will be in charge. Of course, Huang Qiong has been paying attention to the battle situation on Tokyo Road. On the third day of October, Cao Rui's troops concentrated their infantry. With the cooperation of Ouyang Shan, Wuzhou and Liao mobilized 50,000 Bohai and Han troops from Tokyo Road, plus 10,000 Jurchen troops and horses, and fought several battles in succession.
Cao Rui used cavalry to outflank the enemy on both sides, and infantry to cooperate with artillery to break through in the middle. After three consecutive battles, the Liao army once again defeated the Liao Emperor himself. Yelu Longxu led the defeated army and fled to Huanglong Mansion. He sent his prince Yelu Zongzhen to Liaoyang Mansion to recruit troops. Before the heavy snowfall, they successively captured Wuzhou, Changchun, and Taizhou, and took advantage of the situation to surround Huanglong Mansion, an important town in Northern Liao. On the fifth day of October, the three thousand defenders of Xianzhou, an important town in the Northern Liao Dynasty, surrendered without a fight. Guo Chen seizes key areas without bloodshed and cuts off the connection between Liaoyang Prefecture and the northern states.
After the Liao Emperor fled to Huanglong Mansion, facing the pursuing Daqi cavalry, the Liao Emperor, who had no food and reinforcements at home and no external reinforcements, could only abandon Huanglong Mansion and Changchun Prefecture one after another. Cao Rui sent Ouyang Shan to mobilize 10,000 cavalry to pursue and capture the Liao Emperor. Both of them judged that it would be more convenient for Emperor Liao to flee to Liaoyang Mansion. After receiving the battle report, Huang Qiong could see that Yelu Longxu was a little panicked, and he was even more eager to return to Shangjing and conquer Linhuang Mansion, the fundamental place of Longxing. And open up the connection with the desert grassland hinterland.
In order to mobilize the tribal armies for him to buy time and opportunities. Otherwise, he would not have ignored Guo Chen and outflanked the troops behind him. He did not bother to train the troops and horses, and did not wait for the troops and horses gathered from Tokyo Road to arrive, and then went to the capital to counterattack. As a result, the Bohai Navy and the Han Army were defeated in one blow. Even Beiliao in Tokyo Road, besides Liaoyang Mansion, Huanglong Mansion, the most important strategic location, didn't even bother to give up. Although he is missing now, Huang Qiong also knows clearly that he must have tried every means to gather troops and horses to fight back.
I'm afraid that guy also knows that if he enters Tokyo Road, he will have the support of manpower and material resources there. But there are not many Khitans who can really be relied upon. He was eager to conquer Shangjing because he wanted to open up the connection with the Khitan hinterland. Recruit Khitan tribal armies. The Xi people, in particular, have always been well-known and held a very high position among their descendants in Northern Liao. Once Yelu Longxu gets in touch with him, tens of thousands of cavalry will be at your fingertips. These Xi cavalrymen were much more loyal to the Northern Liao than the Bohai people and the Han people.
He has issued successive edicts, and King Xuanxi came to the capital to see him. That guy didn't come or give any reply. Although the envoys he sent were not killed, they came back with reports. If it hadn't been for the cold winter and the heavy snowfall, which made it difficult for the horses to move, I'm afraid King Xi would have raised his troops long ago. These reports made Huang Qiong, who was originally a little contemptuous, take Xi Ren seriously. There are still seven Khitan tribes left in Huangshui, but most of their elite soldiers have been recruited into the Pishi Army. In the battle of Ma Yushan, one hundred thousand Pishi troops were destroyed.
There are not many elites left among the Khitan people. On the contrary, it was Xi Ren who now made Huang Qiong pay attention to him. After discussing with Zhao Wushan, Huang Qiong decided that Zhao Wushan would lead 20,000 cavalry, take advantage of the heavy snowfall, carry seven days of dry food, and brave the cold to raid the palace of Prince Xi. Strive to take advantage of the opportunity when Xi Ren's troops and horses have not yet gathered together, and strive to completely defeat Xi Ren's elite in one go. And Huang Qiong personally sat in the capital. Before Zhao Wushu set off, Huang Qiong added 40,000 war horses to his troops.
In two consecutive battles, more than 100,000 war horses were captured in Zhongjing and Shangjing, enough for Zhao Wushu's men to have two horses. This kind of long-distance attack, especially in severe cold weather, can cause great damage to the war horses. Bring as many war horses as possible not only to carry more food. And it can ensure the ability of soldiers to continue fighting. Not only did Huang Qiong replenish a batch of war horses for Zhao Wushu, but he also replenished 20,000 war horses for Cao Rui. This not only reduces the pressure on going to the capital, but also ensures the combat effectiveness of the soldiers in front.
In several consecutive battles, the troops and horses collected by Beiliao on Tokyo Road once again lost embers. The only news that there is no news at the moment is that Yang Jiyuan's troops have set out from Mizhou and occupied Chenzhou in northern Liaoning on September 13th. However, Huang Qiong didn't pay much attention to the fact that there was no news from Yang Jiyuan's department. Huang Qiong still has confidence in Yang Jiyuan's abilities. Standing up, Huang Qiong walked outside the palace door and pushed it open. Feeling the biting cold wind outside the door, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart, thank you for having that bastard Beiliao and his party.
We have mastered the climate and terrain of Beiliao as much as possible. I had made preparations in advance, and the army's winter clothes were all ready. Before sending troops, in addition to hundreds of thousands of cotton-padded coats, hundreds of thousands of sheepskin coats, leather hats and felt boots were prepared. Now all the winter clothes of the army have been distributed. The soldiers marched and fought without worrying about getting cold. In the battle of Ma Menshan and Zhongjing, 70,000 war horses, more than 30,000 camels, and a large number of oxen and carriages were captured. Can smoothly transport baggage and materials.
In addition, the large number of cattle and sheep seized ensured that the entire army had one pound of beef and mutton every day. Although some ministers suggested that the seized cattle be transferred back to Daqi in order to replenish the cattle farmed in the mainland and reduce the price of cattle in the mainland. But Huang Qiong refused directly. Right now, it is more important to ensure the supply of meat to the entire army. As long as we control the desert grassland, we can have as many cattle as we want. People who eat meat are always stronger than those who eat vegetables. Now that so many cattle and sheep have been seized, if the supply of meat for the army is not guaranteed, why are they waiting?
In fact, the Northern Expedition went so smoothly and progressed so fast that Huang Qiong himself was somewhat unexpected. Although this Northern Expedition was planned and prepared painstakingly for many years except for mental calculations. In addition, for so many years, I have been making great efforts to develop various firearms, and made tactical adjustments after armies were equipped with firearms on a large scale. With painstaking confidentiality, it was truly unexpected. Only then did they win several battles in a row, completely defeating the main force of the Northern Liao Army in one fell swoop.
But until this time, even among the Northern Liao clan, except for the kings in Tokyo Road, Yelu Longxu and his son were the only ones left. Now Ouyang Shan is searching everywhere, and Guo Chen has also sent some troops to the north to cooperate with the search. And Yang Jiyuan is taking advantage of the last time when Daliangshui has not yet frozen, advancing by land and water, and is marching towards Liaoyang Mansion. The armies are in utter devastation. The war has reached this point. As long as the Liaoyang Mansion is captured, the overall situation will be decided. In this situation, Huang Qiong still felt unreal.
Seeing that Huang Qiong's clothes were a little thin, Li Hai was waiting outside the palace. After all, he was Huang Qiong's most considerate servant in the palace. He quickly took a mink fur cloak and put it on Huang Qiong. The weather in the North is indeed unmatched by anything in the Central Plains. When Li Hai did this, Huang Qiong really felt a little cold.
