For a moment, Wan Yanliang didn't know which group of people he should use to truly feel at ease.
The Jurchens can't do it, the Han people can't do it, the Khitan people can't do it, and the Bohai people can't do it...
Who can do it?
he does not know.
But this severe punishment still shocked everyone's heart.
Both those who were dissatisfied with Wan Yanliang and those who were not dissatisfied with Wan Yanliang had a new understanding of the emperor's cruelty from the bottom of their hearts, and they were even more frightened.
They worked overtime, fearing that they would be caught if they made the slightest mistake and end up like Gao Cunfu and Xiao Tula.
With their unremitting efforts, more and more troops gathered in Zhongdu, with more and more food and fodder, more and more weapons and armor, and more and more large-scale engineering equipment.
Moreover, a large number of soldiers and materials continued to gather in Zhongdu from all directions.
There are more and more of them, and even the original warehouses cannot accommodate them, and new warehouses have been built.
Wan Yanliang personally inspected the warehouse several times and gave the highest instructions on the situation of the warehouse. He was very satisfied and felt that it was not too late for him to go south.
At the same time, he received a report from the Liaodong battle, saying that Xiao Huaizhong led the army to successfully defeat the Khitan Restoration Army that occupied Xianping Prefecture, defeated 30,000 enemies, recovered Xianping Prefecture, and was now attacking further towards Hanzhou.
Wan Yanliang was overjoyed and immediately sent someone to praise Xiao Huaizhong.
As soon as the pressure comes on, people immediately become different.
And it must not be fake.
Xiao Tula could only talk about how many enemies he had annihilated, but never about recovering the city. However, Xiao Huaizhong recovered the city as soon as he took action, which was gratifying.
By mid-to-late May, good news came again. Xiao Huaizhong reported that he had once again defeated the Khitan Restoration Army in Hanzhou and recovered Hanzhou. The army continued to advance and the rebellion would soon be put down.
The effect of the killing was immediate, and the resentment that had been accumulated in Wan Yanliang's heart for a long time began to slowly dissipate.
Sure enough, the problem appeared in Xiao Tula and Gao Cunfu. Killing these two people would solve all the problems, and all the problems would be solved!
The war continues to advance, and victory is close at hand.
And as the mobilization process continued to grow, he felt that the time had come for him to turn the situation around.
Although news came soon after that the Jin Army on the southern front suffered defeat on the battlefields of Xiongzhou and Bazhou, and was defeated by the Hebei rebels who broke through the Yishui River defense line and set foot on the north bank, directly threatening Yijin Pass and Waqiao Pass, Wan Yanliang did not Extremely panicked.
Although Yishui River has been breached, the two important military areas of Yijin Pass and Waqiao Pass are still in hand. The last line of defense is still there and has not been lost. The Han rebels cannot yet set foot in Yanyun.
As long as the pass remains, it is impossible for the Hebei rebels to break into Yanyun.
So gritting his teeth, Wan Yanliang continued to convey the order that the Jin army on the southern front should not attack, and added 10,000 troops to the southern front to strengthen the defense lines of Xiongzhou and Bazhou.
As long as the northern front is victorious, he can accept no matter how fierce the rebel offensive is on the southern front.
As long as Xiao Huaizhong can win, everything will get better and all losses can be accepted!
However, Wan Yanliang's life never seemed to be smooth sailing. Every time he reached a new stage, many people had to die and he had to struggle several times before he could succeed.
On the first day of June, Wan Yanliang received the battle report.
The battle report was sent jointly by Wan Yanyong, the left-behind officer of Tokyo's left-behind department, and Li Yanlong, the deputy left-behind officer.
The battle report stated that Xiao Huaizhong was defeated and killed in Xinzhou, numerous officers at all levels died in battle, an army of 30,000 was annihilated, and more than 20,000 were captured.
In short, the Jin Army's crusade was defeated and was defeated by the Khitan Restoration Army.
Thousands of remnant soldiers were divided into two groups and retreated all the way to Linhuang Mansion. The news was unclear for the time being.
They retreated all the way back to Liaoyang Prefecture in Tokyo. They no longer dared to go out to fight in the city and huddled in the city.
The Khitan rebels gained momentum and broke through Xinzhou, Hanzhou, and Xianping Prefecture, regained all the previously lost territory, and headed directly for Tokyo. Their forwards had already arrived in the suburbs of Tokyo and began to engage with the Tokyo defenders.
Li Yanlong didn't know much about military affairs and was at a loss when facing the critical situation. He could only bite the bullet and ask Wan Yanyong to lead the Tokyo garrison to defend the city.
Wan Yanyong showed some military talents, personally went to the city to command the defense, and repelled the siege troops of the Khitan Restoration Army several times. The current war situation is in a stalemate.
The Khitan Restoration Army is constantly increasing its troops and is ready to besiege and conquer Tokyo.
Li Yanlong had no choice but to report the matter to the emperor and ask for reinforcements.
If reinforcements don't come, Liaoyang Mansion will be really in danger.
At the same time, according to the latest reconnaissance report, the Khitan rebels not only attacked Tokyo with a large army, but also divided their forces to attack Linhuang Mansion, hoping to capture the hometown where the Khitan people flourished.
The Jin Kingdom's suppressive offensive failed, and the situation deteriorated overall. The Khitan Restoration Army was so powerful that it seemed to have an uncontrollable trend.
Wan Yanliang was stunned on the spot, the battle report fell from his hands, and he sat down on the throne with a look of disbelief on his face.
"how so?"
Liang Ju, who was waiting beside him, heard Wan Yanliang repeating this sentence continuously throughout the morning.
Indeed, not only Wan Yanliang, but also Liang Ju found it inconceivable why Xiao Huaizhong, who had marched all the way singing a triumphant song, died in battle like this?
It's only been less than a month.
why?
The reason is of course very simple, because Xiao Huaizhong's victory was basically caused by the Khitan Restoration Army's active retreat.
The Khitan Restoration Army did not engage Xiao Huaizhong in a head-on battle and retreated away from his attack.
Xiao Huaizhong did win, but he failed to annihilate the effective strength of the Khitan Restoration Army, and instead dispersed his own forces.
When he reported the battle situation, he made "embellishments". Even though he had only defeated the Khitan Restoration Army, which consisted of hundreds or even thousands of troops, he multiplied the number by three, or five, or seven. The number of enemy annihilations was too low. .
As a result, no one in the entire command chain realized the risks lurking behind Xiao Huaizhong's rapid progress.
If Xiao Huaizhong told the truth and used Wan Yanliang to annihilate the number of enemies and advance at a high speed, Wan Yanliang would have noticed something was wrong and told Xiao Huaizhong to be careful. This was most likely a Khitan plan to lure the enemy deeper.
But Xiao Huaizhong was too eager to win and survive.
Although some of his subordinates asked whether this progress was too fast and whether there were any problems, Xiao Huaizhong did not listen to his subordinates' suggestions.
Every time a place is conquered, troops must be divided to defend it, and a large number of manpower must be repaired on roads and bridges. Constant marching without rest will cause the army to be overtired and have low combat effectiveness.
All kinds of military taboos were committed by Xiao Huaizhong at once, but he only wanted to win and survive, and he no longer cared about other things.
He desperately needs to win, nothing else matters.
So in the battle of Xinzhou, the long-spent strength of the Khitan Restoration Army was superimposed with long-simmering resentment, and they poured into the Jin Army in one breath.
The infantry of both sides faced off against the infantry, and the cavalry against the cavalry. From morning to afternoon, the battle was very fierce.
It was the cavalry of the Khitan Restoration Army that broke the situation. Under the leadership of Yi Lawo'o, Lao Monk, Butebu and others, the Khitan cavalry attacked quickly and fought many rounds with the Jin Army cavalry. Both sides won and lost. What matters in the end is physical strength and willpower.
There is no doubt that the Khitan cavalry has the upper hand in this area.
In the afternoon of the battle, the Jin Army's cavalry was exhausted and was defeated by the Khitan cavalry. The Khitan cavalry took advantage of the situation and took advantage of the Jin Army's infantry formation. They cooperated with the infantry and attacked from both front and rear. The Jin Army's morale was shaken and the formation was in chaos. They were subsequently broken. .
Xiao Huaizhong was very desperate. In desperation, he rejected the suggestion of his subordinates to escape with him. He led his soldiers to charge and fight fiercely, hoping to die. In the end, he got his wish and died on the way to charge. All the soldiers around him died in the battle, and no one was killed. One survived.
As long as he dies in battle, then even if he is defeated, at least his family will not have to die.
This was also the last thing Xiao Huaizhong could do for his family.
The general died in battle, and the Jin army became even more chaotic. The officers could not control the soldiers under their command. The soldiers fled in all directions, pushing and trampling each other, causing a large number of casualties.
More Jin soldiers died at this stage than were killed by the Khitan Restoration Army.
The main force of the Jin army was completely wiped out in this battle, and only a small number of broken troops fled in two directions, one to Liaoyang Prefecture in Tokyo and the other to Linhuang Prefecture.
This massive crackdown was a complete failure.
