People will still learn some lessons from failure.
This time Yelu Deguang learned the lesson of underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly last time. After appeasing Liu Zhiyuan, Yelu Deguang listened to the advice of veteran general Yelu Wuzhi and divided the southward army into two parts.
The former army, led by Yelv Pode, Xiao Shilu, and Xi Wanglala, each led 20,000 troops, attacked in separate directions, and tried to turn the land of Hebei in the later Jin Dynasty into a puddle of mud.
The rear army was led by Yelv Deguang himself, mainly composed of Youpishi Army and Shushan Army, and also included infantry from Xi, Han, Bohai, Nüzhi and other tribes, totaling 60,000.
The rear army first repaired in the Youzhou area, waiting for the front army's 60,000 light cavalry to burn, kill, and loot the land of Hebei into a mess. After introducing the Jin army into this Shura field where no one could obtain supplies, they then went south to defeat the rear Jin army. .
In mid-October, after Yelu Deguang learned that Yang Guangyuan was unexpectedly attacked by Li Shouzhen and his whole family was killed, he canceled his decision to continue the attack on Qingzhou area with 20,000 troops to join Yang Guangyuan.
At this point, the size of the Khitan rear army has reached 80,000 people, plus the 60,000 people in the front army, a total of 140,000 troops. It can be said that the Liao Kingdom has all its elite troops and is bound to win.
At the end of October, the Liao Army's former route army began to move south. They abandoned the Shenzhou-Zhaozhou-Jizhou-Beizhou-Weizhou line that had suffered heavy losses last time.
That is to say, later generations went directly south from Beijing to Hebei Shen County-Ji County-Qinghe County-Daming County.
Instead, the Dingzhou-Hengzhou-Zhaozhou-Xingzhou-Mingzhou-Cizhou road, which is closer to the Taihang Mountains, was adopted.
The general route of this road is from Dingxian in Hebei to the south through Shijiazhuang-Xingtai-Handan-Cixian. This is also the main route south from Beijing in later generations of the Republic.
The reason for this choice is that, first, these states and counties were more severely affected by the disaster and were less difficult to attack. It was also more difficult for the Jin army to gain support from local residents and obtain supplies.
Second, after stabilizing Liu Zhiyuan, it will be safer to walk closer to the side of Taihang Mountain.
However, in actual operations, the tribal habits of the Khitan soldiers and horses being backward began to hold them back again.
Yelu Deguang's original intention was to completely disrupt the five states of Ding, Heng, Zhao, Xing, Ming and Ci, and then attract the Jin army to move north.
In this way, the Khitans could use a large number of mules and horses and plundered residents of the five states to participate in transportation and ensure food supply.
The Jin army heading north lacks mules and horses, and does not receive local food and grass support, so it will be in trouble with supplies. The Liao army can even cut off the Jin army's food and grass and slowly surround it.
This plan was very good, but it was ruined by the Liao army's extremely poor execution.
Because this year's flood and drought disasters, except for Hexi, were slightly less severe, and Zhang Zhao's large number of water conservancy facilities and relatively clean official team were able to withstand it.
The entire northern country, including the grasslands, was hit hard.
The Khitan and other grassland tribes who were recruited actually came with the purpose of plundering more supplies so that their families could survive the spring famine.
This resulted in the army being less restrained after just passing through Hengzhou, that is, Zhengding, Shijiazhuang, and Gaocheng.
Moreover, the damage in Dingzhou and Hengzhou was very serious, but it became less severe as we went south. The southern states were all richer than Ding and Hengzhou, so the 60,000 Khitan army herded sheep in an instant.
The task of plundering was overfulfilled, but Yelu Deguang's order to capture the five prefectures of Ding, Heng, and Zhao was not carried out at all, and even the larger county towns were not captured.
As for the Khitans, their siege ability was extremely weak, and there were enough targets for plunder even in the countryside, so they simply did not attack the fortified city.
Like wild boars entering a vegetable garden, 60,000 people marched all the way from Dingzhou to Xiangzhou, which is near Anyang, Henan. They were only 160 miles away from the Yellow River.
this? Is this any different from last time?
have! The route is different!
Last time, we went all the way to Daming County in Weizhou, Hebei Province. Although it was almost parallel to Anyang in Xiangzhou, the route was different after all.
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In the Daning Palace in Kaifeng Mansion, Tokyo, Shi Chonggui didn't panic at all.
The last time the Khitan went south, he was so frightened that he personally went to the front line with a feeling that the country was in danger. But the results showed that this was just what the Khitan people were doing.
And although there has been a disaster this year, the state supplies are sufficient and the three armies are serving their orders. Why are you still afraid of you, the Khitan?
However, I, the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty, Shi Chonggui, still remember deeply that there was no music to listen to in Chanzhou last time, so I am not ready to go on a personal expedition.
Anyway, his uncle Du Chongwei has been appointed as the capital's envoy, so he might as well just let Du Chongwei go directly north to defend against the enemy.
In early November, Shi Chonggui officially ordered Du Chongwei to go north to fight against the Khitans.
But I, Marquis Du Wen, was good at plundering the people, I was very shameless, and my fighting was real, but he was also timid. He had just crossed the Yellow River and refused to leave when he reached Weizhou, which is Xinxiang City, Henan Province.
Du Chongwei's deputy, commanding envoys on the left and right sides, and An Shenqi, the military governor of Yanzhou Taining Army, were helpless.
They could only lead Zhang Congen, Ma Quanjie, Huangfu Yu, Murong Yanchao and other generals to lead part of the army northward, leaving Du Chongwei to stay in Weizhou and take command. '
"Gene Era"
At the end of November, the army crossed the Anyang River north of Xiangzhou City and camped on the north bank, but did not encounter Khitan soldiers and horses.
An Shenqi then ordered the Grand Master of the Inspection School, Huangfu Yu, the governor of Huazhou, and Murong Yanchao, the governor of Puzhou, to lead four thousand elite cavalry to explore for the army.
Huangfu Yu and An Shenqi led four thousand cavalry and continued north for more than twenty miles. When they were about to cross the Zhang River, they suddenly encountered tens of thousands of cavalry.
This is an extremely unexpected encounter!
For the Jin army, it has been in an environment of lack of good horses for a long time. There are many horses in Henan and Hebei, but there is an extreme shortage of good horses that can go on the battlefield. The function of the Jin army's cavalry has gradually degraded and is relatively simple.
Among their responsibilities, the function of battlefield assault was maximized, but at the same time, the reconnaissance, cover, and other functions that the cavalry should have were forced to be greatly reduced.
If divided by function, the Jin cavalry can be said to be all heavy cavalry.
For example, this time when heading north, Huangfu Yu followed his usual strategy and only sent fifty cavalry to cross the river first. After crossing the river, he only maintained a cordon of two to three miles to cover the army.
This was completely unacceptable to Zhang Zhao's Liang army.
When the Liang Kingdom's army is dispatched, the light cavalry will usually be deployed around ten miles away. If fighting in a broad plain, it will even be deployed around fifteen miles away.
During this period, every quarter of an hour, there were Tang horses with flags on their backs reporting the situation back and forth.
However, the Jin army lacked war horses, which forced them to save horse power to ensure the fighting effectiveness that followed. They had enough horse power to use, so they could not release extravagant sentinels like the Liang cavalry.
At the same time, the Khitan cavalry, who had no shortage of war horses, were completely in a hurry and had a great time.
Their nearly 40,000-strong army was led by Xiao Shilu and headed south in such a hurry because they heard that Xiangzhou was wealthy and would be overtaken by others.
Therefore, there were no sentinels at all, and they hurriedly thought about looting various places in Xiangzhou.
Xiao Shilu immediately stood up and saw across the Zhang River, where the current was not turbulent. Although the Jin army was well-organized, its number was only three or four thousand.
He immediately realized that he had encountered the vanguard of the Jin army, so he immediately summoned the generals around him.
"According to the regulations of the Han army, the forward elite cavalry are usually thirty miles away from the main force. Now we suddenly meet. If we can gather and annihilate this group, the Han army's cavalry will be lost and only the infantry will be left. It will be a big deal.
Send someone quickly to inform Zuo Pishi of the situation, and we will go and entangle the Jin army first. "
When the Khitan cavalry immediately prepared to cross the river, Murong Yanchao flew to Huangfu Yu's side in person.
"Grand Master, a certain family has locals from Yedu under his command. They say that three or four miles up and down from here, the Zhang River is wide and shallow, and any large army can cross it."
Huangfu Yu heard this and glanced at the Khitan troops who were already setting up rafts to cross the river, and said angrily: "Further down here, isn't it where Yedu is?
This fortified city just blocked the wide and shallow left bank of the Zhang River. It was originally an important town in the country, but the emperor listened to the slander and did not cultivate military equipment.
Now it is impossible to say that the main force of the Khitan is still near Yedu. Let's go south and get closer to the army. "
This Yedu on the Zhang River was originally a prosperous metropolis in the Central Plains during the Later Tang Dynasty and Shi Jingtang's period. It was also the north gate of Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo, the capital of the Later Jin Dynasty, so it was called Yedu.
However, after Shi Chonggui succeeded to the throne, he was not so upright and even married his aunt as the queen. Therefore, in order to appease his uncle Du Chongwei, who had military power, he transferred Du Chongwei from Zhenzhou to become the military commander of the German Army and transferred him to Yedu as a left-behind officer. .
What kind of character is Du Chongwei?
This bastard failed to take office in Zhenzhou. Shi Jingtang sent an envoy to reprimand him, causing the local people to flee without a living.
Du Chongwei then took the envoy who had reprimanded him to Zhenzhou Street, pointed at the sparse crowd and said: "People say that I will drive out all the people, how can there be so many people in this city?"
For such a shameless thing, what's the point of it in Yedu?
In just one year, Du Chongwei brought Yedu, a city with prosperous household registrations, to the point where merchants and common people fled with their families.
Afterwards, although Shi Chonggui was under pressure and drove Du Chongwei to Hengzhou, he was not willing to spend money and experience to restore Yedu.
Even Ye stayed at this important position. Apart from using it to fool Yang Guangyuan, it was never established again.
Since then, Yedu, which was supposed to be the Zhangshui Fortress and the gateway to Tokyo, was directly destroyed by Shi Chonggui and Du Chongwei.
No wonder these two names contain heavy words, and their feelings are heavy.
Huangfu Yu and Murong Yanchao retreated all the way to the southeast, while Xiao Shilu and his army were in pursuit.
Of course, this retreat and pursuit were not all about running away, but they were always in the middle of moderate fighting and tearing.
The Khitan soldiers and horses were delayed due to crossing the river, so they could only let a small group of cavalry cross the river to constantly chase the Jin army's rear team to harass and pull them.
At the same time, in order to prevent the retreat from turning into a rout, the Jin army also had to intercept with its elite troops from behind to ensure the formation and morale of the large troops behind them.
The vanguard and rear armies of both sides were involved in a brutal dog fight with a scale of about fifty to two hundred on the plains along the Zhang River.
Huangfu ordered Murong Yanchao to lead the front army, and he personally blocked the rear. The Jin army first dismounted their horses to block the attack with bows and crossbows, and then mounted their horses to charge forward, constantly repelling the pursuing Khitan cavalry.
The Khitan cavalry adopted the wolf pack tactics commonly used by the prairie light cavalry, sticking closely to the Jin army and harassing them with mounted fire. When any part of the Jin army showed a flaw, they called on their comrades to rush forward.
However, overall, due to the difference in elite level, the losses of the Khitan cavalry were much greater than those of the Jin army.
The rangers suffered considerable losses when faced with strong bows, crossbows and charging cavalry who could play horse-fighting.
However, the two sides fought for nearly an hour, and after dozens of large and small battles, the Jin army encountered great trouble.
Because the Khitan Rangers did not wear much armor and had far more horses than the Jin army, after an hour of chasing, the horse power of the Jin army's horses was stretched to the limit.
They had to stop and rest, otherwise if they continued running, all their horsepower would be lost, which would be dangerous.
Therefore, after Huangfu Yu led his army to retreat to a elm forest south of Yedu, he never dared to move again.
He first relied on the cover of Yulin to repel the thousands of Khitan Qingqi who were following him, and then immediately sent someone to ask for help from An Shenqi, while speaking to Murong Yanchao next to him.
"We are outnumbered, and we are taking a lifeless path. It is better to fight bloody battles, but we will live up to the imperial court!"
Murong Yanchao was originally from Tuyuhun and the half-brother of Liu Zhiyuan from Hedong Province. In his early years, he had assumed the surname of Yan from Taiyuan. Because he was dark, ugly and pockmarked, he looked intimidating and was nicknamed Yan Kunlun.
Such a person is naturally not a timid person. After hearing the words, he immediately agreed and formed an array with Huangfu on the left and right.
When Xiao Shilu heard the report, he was afraid of letting the Jin army go, so he led the army to chase after him anxiously.
As a result, just two or three miles away from Yulin, the sound of drums was heard, and Huangfu Yu and Murong Yanchao suddenly rushed out from the left and right sides of Yulin.
The Jin army used half-armored cavalry as the vanguard. They did not even shoot arrows on horseback, but directly charged into the formation.
When Huangfu encountered a horse in the lead, he rushed out with a horse spear in hand. The Khitan army was caught off guard and could only shoot the Jin army's armored cavalry with a horse bow, and the damage was even minimal.
Within a dozen breaths, the Jin army rushed to the front of the army, and the thousands of forwards led by Xiao Shilu immediately collapsed.
Fortunately, this old boy was also smart. He pulled his horse and ran back, so he was not knocked off the horse on the spot.
At this time, the battlefield situation changed to the Jin army taking advantage of the situation to attack. The Liao army's cavalry was unable to fight, so they could only respond sideways and shoot backwards.
After several charges, more than 400 soldiers and horses were lost. Xiao Shilu was so anxious that he even threw away his armor and stomach for fear of being caught by the Jin army.
The two sides struggled for more than a quarter of an hour before the Liao army crossing the river finally arrived. There were probably tens of thousands of people covering the mountains and plains.
Huangfu Yu asked someone to set up the Yamen flag of his Huazhou Jiedushi, and shouted loudly to the soldiers around him.
"It's an emergency! They have so many light cavalry that they can't escape. It's better to keep charging and retreat before they can return!"
The surrounding soldiers responded loudly. Huangfu continued to lead his troops to charge when he met him. The Khitan soldiers on the opposite side also dispatched a large number of cavalry to meet Xiao Shilu.
Huangfu Yu thought he was in the vanguard, and his troops were extremely brave. They broke through three lines of defense of the Khitan army and were about to catch up with Xiao Shilu.
It's a pity that he and Murong Yanchao only had 4,000 troops in total, and several hundred people were left to watch the horses in Yulin, while the number of Khitan cavalry was increasing, reaching more than 30,000.
After Huangfu Yu broke through the third line of defense of the Liao army, the Xiren infantry archers dragged by King Xi had already assembled in formation. They held hard bows and shot the Jin army with heavy arrows.
The Jin army's cavalry fell off their horses in large numbers, and the momentum of the pursuit was halted. Even Huangfu Yu's horses were shot and killed.
At this time, after two rounds of heavy arrows from the Xiren archers, the Khitan cavalry simply wore armor and did not shoot arrows. They charged over like the Jin army just now.
Seeing that the matter was urgent, Huangfu Yu's personal guard general Du Zhimin, who served as Ji Gang (military judge) in the army, resolutely gave up his horse to Huangfu Yu and shouted: "Mount the horse at high speed!"
Just at this time, Murong Yanchao, who was lagging behind, also arrived, and the two of them rushed back and forth among the Khitan army.
Both of them are brave generals who can defeat thousands of people. In this chaotic moment, the Khitans did not set up a military formation and could not stop them at all.
Three thousand Jin cavalry rushed left and right among 20,000 Khitan cavalry, and miraculously broke out of the encirclement. Not only did they not suffer much damage, they also killed hundreds of Khitan cavalry.
After breaking out of the encirclement, Huangfu Yu looked around, but Du Zhimin was nowhere to be seen.
Huangfu Chong, a tribesman next to him, knew who Huangfu Yu was looking for. He pointed behind his finger and shouted loudly: "Du Zhimin and more than ten people are surrounded there, and they may have been captured and killed!"
At this time, Murong Yanchao rushed out and reached Huangfu Yu's side. Huangfu Yu raised his hand to Murong Yanchao on his horse.
"If you are smart enough to teach me a horse, it is righteous, and you will be able to fall into the hands of thieves!"
Murong Yanchao wiped away the blood on his face and raised his hand.
"The Grand Master is a truly benevolent and righteous man! Although my servant is vulgar, I am willing to accompany the Grand Master to rescue Du Zhimin."
Therefore, the two men left 500 men to respond, and each led 500 men to return and charge into the Khitan army again.
Du Zhimin and more than ten people were captured by Khitan soldiers.
General Yi Xi was about to take them back to the coach to ask for credit, but he didn't expect Huangfu Yu and Murong Yanchao to turn around and rush in.
Caught off guard, the Khitan's 10,000 cavalrymen still failed to stop the Jin army's 1,000 cavalrymen.
When Du Zhimin and others saw Huangfu Yu coming to rescue them, they also struggled violently. At this time, the Khitan people understood that these Jin troops who had already escaped were coming to rescue their comrades.
Under this united momentum, Huangfu Yu rushed towards him as if he was going to die. The Khitan cavalry could not stop them, so they could only leave Du Zhimin and others and retreat.
Huangfu Yu took the opportunity to snatch back Du Zhimin and more than ten people, and fought out of the encirclement again.
Seeing that the Jin army commander was so benevolent and brave, the Khitan cavalry also waved their weapons and shouted, this is their praise for the warriors.
Xiao Shilu did not dare to pursue anymore, but just followed the Jin army.
At the beginning of the afternoon (one o'clock in the afternoon), Huangfu Yu and Murong Yanchao led their troops back to Yulin. They set off with 3,500 cavalry, but only more than 2,700 cavalry returned.
The Khitan cavalry also pursued them to Yulin, and the two had to rely on the trees in the Yulin to defend themselves against the attack of the Khitan cavalry with bows and crossbows, waiting for An Shenqi's rescue.
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Twenty miles away, in the south of Anyang River, after An Shenqi went north, Du Chongwei was afraid that An Shenqi would go too far north, so he sent Zhang Cong'en to divide An Shenqi's military power.
Seeing Zhang Congen coming, An Shenqi didn't care whether he divided his military power or not. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised that someone who could take charge was finally here.
He said to Zhang Congen: "Grandmaster Huangfu led his army north to explore. He has not sent anyone back for two days. I am afraid that he encountered a large Khitan army and was surrounded by enemy cavalry. If we don't go north quickly to search, they will be captured by the Khitan people." Living."
Before Zhang Congen could speak, someone shouted from outside. It turned out that the envoy sent by Huangfu Yu had finally arrived at the army. Huangfu Yu and Murong Yanchao had indeed met the main force of the Khitan.
As soon as Zhang Cong'en arrived, he heard that the main force of the Khitans was coming, and he suddenly felt a little afraid. He said to An Shenqi.
"The Khitan's main force is huge. We only have 20,000 soldiers and horses. The main force is still with the envoy (Du Chongwei). What's the point of going here? It's better to wait for the big army to arrive before making plans."
An Shenqi didn't expect that Zhang Con'en was also a softie. You must know that Zhang Con'en was born in Daibei Wuxun, and Mingzong Li Siyuan was once a subordinate of Zhang Con'en's father.
Zhang Congen's daughter was Shi Chonggui's first wife. Although she was deceased, Zhang Congen was still the official head of the country, and was not comparable to that of the Feng family.
An Shenqi said unceremoniously when he saw that Zhang Cong'en, a martial artist and father-in-law of the country, was so afraid of death.
"Success or failure is a destiny. If it doesn't work, both of them will die. If we lose these two generals, how will we be able to meet the emperor!"
Hu Cile also jumped out with his son Hu Guang at this time, "The most important general of Huangfu Taishi, An Neng watched helplessly as he fell into the hands of the Beibei? This is a great shame and humiliation! What shame do we have to sit here and wait?" "
After saying that, Hu Cile raised his hands to An Shenqi and said, "My father and my son do not want to live in Shuinan (Anyang). We are willing to obey the military orders of the Taiwei!"
Wang Zhou and Yao Yuanfu, who had been secretly attracted by him for a long time, also came out to agree with his statement.
An Shenqi snorted coldly, and ignored Zhang Congen. He led Hu Cile and others out of the camp, collected 3,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry from the generals, and went straight across the Anyang River to rescue Huangfu.
At this time, Huangfu Yu and Murong Yanchao had reached the last moment. Although they used this elm forest to block the attack of the Khitan cavalry, there were still six to seven thousand Xi people among the Khitan's 40,000 troops.
Although Xi people and Khitan are often called together, their fighting methods are different.
The Xi people are more similar to the pure fishing and hunting people like straight women, but they are much more civilized.
Most of the Xi people are not cavalry. They are better at formation infantry and mountain warfare. In addition, they are familiar with fishing and hunting and are very good at using bows.
Therefore, in the Liao Kingdom, the Xi people, as a second-class nation, often appeared as infantry and archers.
The large Yulin where Huangfu Yu and Murong Yanchao were was just suitable for Xi Ren to fight.
After two days of siege, the Jin army had already exhausted all the dry food they carried. More than 30,000 Khitan soldiers surrounded them, while the Xi people's infantry continued to infiltrate.
The Jin army was short of food and clothing and could not rest. Even Huangfu Yu was wearing more than ten wounds, his shirt was soaked with blood, and he collapsed in an instant.
The enemy was so difficult to chew, and Xiao Shilu and Xi Wang were even more excited because it showed that the 'prey' they surrounded was very valuable.
The battle started in the early morning, and by the end of the day, around 11 o'clock in the morning, the Xiren infantry had basically occupied most of Yulin, compressing and dividing more than 2,000 Jin troops into several different areas.
At this moment, An Shenqi finally arrived with his army. He looked at Yulin and expected that Huangfu Yu and Murong Yanchao had reached the last moment, so he hurriedly said to Hu Cile.
"The 700 Liangzhou horses under the defense envoy are among the best in the world. Please join me to charge directly at the Khitan army.
Yao Cishi bravely led the three armies, please lead 500 soldiers to break into Yulin from the weak point in the east, report to Grand Master Huangfu, and ask him to work with you to drive out the Xi soldiers.
The king's governor can lead the infantry from the west to form a formation outside Yulin. When the Xi soldiers withdraw from Yulin, they will immediately kill them."
The three of them took the order and left.
The Khitan army of the governor had been fighting intermittently all morning. They were already exhausted and were about to prepare meals. It might as well be that the Jin army had arrived.
After Xiao Shilu received the report from You Yiqi, he saw smoke and dust covering the sun in the distance. He thought that the main force of the Jin army had arrived, and he was greatly frightened.
At this moment, Hu Ci Le relied on the speed of his horse to escort An Shenqi with 600 Liangzhou elite cavalry and rushed towards the Khitan rear army.
Xiao Shilu quickly mobilized his troops to defend, and then hundreds of An Shenqi's knights rushed in again.
Before these two places could be blocked, Yao Yuanfu and Wang Zhou attacked from the left and right again, and the Khitan army was in chaos.
With 7,000 men, An Shenqi actually drove back more than 20,000 Khitan soldiers and horses in the surrounding area.
After half an hour of fighting between the two sides, Yao Yuanfu finally entered Yulin and found Huangfu Yu's Jin army.
The Jin army received reinforcements and cheered loudly. They drove Xi Bing out of Yulin in one go, while Wang Zhou intercepted and killed them outside.
Xi Bing, who suffered a double blow, collapsed first, and then they affected the Khitan cavalry who were fighting fiercely.
Xiao Shilu was frightened and couldn't figure out how many Jin troops had come. Out of fear, he actually chose to retreat.
For a time, the army was defeated like a mountain. More than 30,000 Khitan soldiers fled in confusion. Those who were entangled and eaten by the Jin army, plus those killed and wounded by Huangfu Yu and others, totaled six to seven thousand people.
In particular, the more than 3,000 Xi infantrymen sent to Yulin by King Xi were almost completely lost.
