Compared with the Han army at Yanmen Pass enjoying the joy of victory, as a loser, the Liao army can only be described as embarrassed, and the most embarrassed one was naturally Yelu Dilie who led his men to failure.
Although the Han army did not pursue and fight fiercely, Yelu Dilie still led the defeated army and retreated all the way to Jincheng County in the northeast. This was also the base for his march south, and he had a chance to breathe.
After resting for a while in Jincheng County, preliminary battle losses were quickly calculated. Not counting "Han soldiers", the number of soldiers lost was about 1,700. As for ordnance, flags, armor, horses, and grain, it was even more. All the livestock accompanying the army were left behind. Gave it to the Han army. The only good thing is that the Pishi Army suffered little damage, with less than 200 casualties.
As for the attached "Han soldiers", the damage can be described as heavy. They were used as cannon fodder to attack the formation. Yelu Dilie killed about 700 more people to show their dignity. The main targets of the Han army's pursuit were still them. In addition to the attacking Due to the losses of the formation, less than 800 people finally returned to Jincheng County. There was also a lot of resentment. When he was on the battlefield, he was frightened by Yelu Dilie and fled to Jincheng. Many people looked at Yelu Dilie, the defeated general, with bad eyes.
Of course, for Yelu Dilie, no matter how ferocious the sheep's gaze was, it was not enough to scare the tigers. He had neither the care nor the intention to appease the puppet soldiers.
After returning to Jincheng, he calmed down and regret filled his mind, and he realized that although he was defeated by the Han army, the strength he had in his hands was still better than that of the Han army. Otherwise, how could the Han army pursue and kill them for a while? He gave up voluntarily because he was afraid of his remaining strength.
If he could reorganize his army as quickly as possible after breaking away from contact and fight back, the Han army would inevitably relax after a great victory, and he could reverse the defeat.
However, at that time, he only focused on fleeing north and leaving the battlefield in order to reduce losses, and no one reminded him. Of course, if Yelu Dilie had such intelligence, courage, and grasp of fighting opportunities before the battle, then congratulations to the Liao Kingdom for having such a famous general in the clan.
However, even with the hindsight summary, Yelu Dilie still didn't think enough about the situation at that time. For example, the army and cavalry were defeated and in a hurry. Who was willing to accompany him to fight back? Besides, did the Han army really relax?
Regarding this defeat, Yelu Dilie was quite unconvinced. He was defeated by an "unknown" Han general like Yang Ye who was outnumbered, which made him even more angry.
The morale of the other Khitan generals who also suffered the same defeat inevitably dropped. As soldiers who were guarding the south, many of them had interacted with Yang Ye and knew that he was a difficult opponent to deal with. This battle , proved this point again. From then on, I was not afraid of the Han, but I understood a profound truth. If you want to invade Hedong from Yanmen, if you don't have enough strength and determination, don't be delusional.
Just as the Han soldiers and civilians in the north had a certain amount of resentment and hatred towards the Liao Kingdom outside the Great Wall, so did the Khitan people. Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, they have not achieved a commendable victory for more than ten years.
At that time, Yelu Deguang mobilized the whole country to attack the Jin Dynasty in the south. Although the battle with the Jin army was very difficult for a time, they won the final victory. They successfully destroyed the Jin Dynasty and swept across Hebei and the Central Plains, and the Han Dynasty surrendered.
However, we have to mention the Battle of Luancheng again. For the Khitan, it was really a national tragedy. Since then, the national power has been greatly damaged, the people were exhausted, and civil strife continued. Until the years when Yelujing came to power, he took a rest and recuperation. Only by reconciling contradictory national policies can things get better...
Young Yelu Dilie did not have a clear understanding of this, but he was still infected by the sentiment shared by the whole country.
As far as Yelu Dilie is concerned, there is only one problem before him. He does not admit defeat and wants to go south again to compete with Yang Ye after resting. Of course, the result was that he was blocked by Yelusha. He was stubborn and argued, and insisted on disagreeing. In the end, an edict came from Yelujing, Emperor of Liao Dynasty in Yunzhong, which not only settled the dispute, but also stopped Yelu Dilie's military adventure.
But it was Yelujing who learned of Yelu Dilie's defeat and directly ordered the two of them to set up defenses and return to Yunzhong to report on their duties. Faced with Emperor Liao's order, Yelu Dilie did not dare to directly object and went back obediently.
"King Anping and Xiangwen kneeled down before the Yamen to beg for an audience!" In Yunzhong City, the servants looked at Yelujing who was studying the map of the southern prefectures and counties of the Liao Kingdom with fear.
During this period of time, Yelujing has been staying in Yunzhong City, sleeping less, drinking less wine, and not going out of the city to hunt. Since Youzhou was recaptured by Zhao Yanshou, Yunzhong City has become the largest city in the south of the Liao Kingdom. Under the governance of Yelu Talie, it has been relatively stable, with prosperous trade, numerous department stores, and considerable development in the handicraft industry.
"Let them come in!" Yelujing ordered with barely moving her eyelids.
Soon, Yelu Dilie and two others came in. When they saw Emperor Liao, they fell to the ground and apologized. But facing Yelujing's scrutinizing gaze, Yelusha felt panicked and felt that he had failed his trust, while Yelvdilie was mostly ashamed.
"How many soldiers were lost?" Yelujing asked Yelu Dilie calmly.
"There were more than 2,000 casualties among our troops!" Yelu Dilie replied.
"Aren't the casualties of those 'Han soldiers' counted?" Yelujing immediately scolded.
At this time, Yelujing was not at all as casual and harmless as usual, with a majestic expression and sharp eyes that almost pierced her heart. Yelu Dilie, who had still maintained a certain degree of pride, suddenly shrank.
"How many enemy troops were killed?" Yelujing asked again.
Yelu Dilie kept his head silent and did not answer, but Yelu Sa carefully reported: "Your Majesty, the casualties of the Han army should be around a thousand!"
Hearing what he said, Yelujing's eyes became calmer. At least he didn't lie. Otherwise, he would have directly ordered him to be pulled out and killed. As for the details of the battle at Baicaokou, over the past two days, Yelujing had of course investigated clearly early on.
"Get up!" Yelvjing pointed to Yelushagui and said, "In this battle, it's up to you to work hard to stop the defeat in time and reduce the loss of soldiers. You have done a good job! I will give you 50 gold and silk, 50 cattle and sheep each. 10 good horses!”
Hearing this, Yelusha was stunned. He went south from the expedition and followed Yelu Dilie to a defeat. He thought he deserved to be questioned, but in the end he was rewarded. This was beyond his expectation. After being stunned for a while, he finally came to his senses, bowed his head to Emperor Liao again, and said in a touching tone: "General, I thank you, Your Majesty!"
A smarter general might have refused and said that a defeated general would not dare to receive a reward. But among the generals of the Liao Kingdom, there were few people with such awareness. Since the emperor had rewarded him, he would accept the gratitude generously.
Yelu Dilie was also very surprised by the reward given by Yelusha. He was also stunned and did not understand the relationship between it. The main and deputy generals who went south were rewarded, and it was clear who would bear the blame for the defeat.
"Tell me, how did this battle end?" Yelujing turned to Yelu Dilie, and her tone became serious again.
Yelu Dilie's mood became a little lowered, and he carefully recounted his actions after going south and the situation of the confrontation. Yelu Sa supplemented the information, which allowed Yelu Jing to understand it from the perspective of the general.
After listening to the two men's stories, Yelujing couldn't help but look at Yelu Talie, the king of the South Academy, and said with emotion: "As you said, that Yang Ye is really a general!"
"It was lucky that he won this battle. Next time, I will definitely be able to beat him!" When Yang Ye was mentioned, Yelu Dilie felt a surge of anger that he was holding in his heart and gritted his teeth.
After listening to his words and observing his behavior, Yelujing finally became angry and said loudly: "If you lose, you will lose. You don't want to learn a lesson, but just use your words. How can you be his opponent!"
"I..." Yelu Dilie opened his mouth to refute.
Yelujing scolded him: "Before we went south, what did I tell you and how much did you remember? This battle could have been avoided. Even if we engaged in the battle, we could have reduced the losses. If you were not arrogant, how could it have ended like this? ?”
Seeing that the emperor's brother was really angry, Yelu Dilie no longer dared to hold his tongue. He remained silent and finally lowered his head, like a defeated rooster.
Seeing his depressed look, Yelujing lowered his voice and said: "You cannot escape the blame for this defeat. Go and receive 30 lashes. You will be temporarily deprived of all titles but retain the title. Go and reflect on it. Put away your arrogance. , read more military books, you don’t even understand other people’s tactics and formations, how to defeat the Han army!”
Yelujing's treatment is not severe, it just depends on what Yelu Dilie thinks.
After the two retreated, King Yelu Talie of the South Court couldn't help but said to Emperor Liao: "Your Majesty, King Anping's performance in this battle also has merits. He has high fighting spirit and decisive killing. After all, he is young. If you work harder, you can become a general of Daliao in the future!"
In fact, judging from the overall performance of Yelu Dilie's march south, there were not many mistakes and omissions. Every move and judgment before the battle were well-founded. As for the reason for the failure, it lies in the hard power of the Dingxiang Army. The key is Yang Ye. Without that kind of bravery and courage, the Han Army would not be able to win.
"But it was a defeat after all!" Yelujing said: "If I had sent you there, I would never have suffered such a defeat!"
Yelu Talie responded: "Your Majesty, if I lead the army, even if we are not defeated, it will not be difficult to defeat Yang Ye and seize Yanmen Pass!"
After hearing what he said, Yelujing was silent for a moment, his face returned to calmness, and he said in a deep voice: "This confrontation is not without success. The combat power of the Han army will probably exceed our expectations! A Yang Ye , a Dingxiang army is so difficult to deal with, let alone the elite Han troops in the Southern Dynasties who have been fighting all year round!"
After hearing what he said, Yelu Talie shook his head and said to Emperor Liao: "Your Majesty, I think that one Yang Ye cannot represent all the Han generals, and one Dingxiang army cannot represent all the Han armies! This defeat of Yanmen will make it even more difficult." The reason for this is that the enemy situation in Yanmen is unique, the generals are brave and the soldiers have been trained for many years, but our army has been hasty in getting started, and King Anping is young and energetic...
I think that your Majesty can take this defeat seriously, but there is no need to think too highly of the Han army just because of a small defeat! "
"Your words are pertinent!" After Yelu Talie's enlightenment, Yelujing's slightly heavy mood actually improved.
"It's up to you to arrange the aftermath of this battle!" After walking a few steps in the hall, Yelujing told Yelvtalie: "Among the Khitan tribe, the casualties of the soldiers will be given extra compensation. There are some who have killed Han Those in the army will be rewarded based on their merits. Those who have no achievements and above will be promoted to the first level! I have other plans for the Pishi Army!"
"Your Majesty is clear about rewards and punishments, I admire you!" Yelu Talie responded.
Yelu Jing also said: "For those 'Han soldiers', based on their performance in this battle, they will all be promoted from level 1 to level 3 and each will be given food and cloth!"
Hearing what he said, Yelu Talie was slightly surprised, but his expression could not help but express approval: "Your Majesty is going to show mercy to these Han people!"
Yelujing sighed with emotion: "Basu Jin's behavior is too much. It will only arouse the disgust and resistance of the Han soldiers, and is not conducive to the consolidation of people's hearts. Under the rule of Daliao, there were many prefectures and counties, and the Han people were even more numerous. There are one hundred thousand people, and the shortest period of these people's return has been more than ten years. If these people rebel in groups, it will bring unrest to the Liao Dynasty, but if they can be truly used by me, it will be of great benefit to the country!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Yelu Talie was considered to be the most rational among the aristocratic ministers of the Liao Kingdom, and he could provide a certain degree of fairness to the people of all tribes under his rule. Since the Emperor of Liao came to the throne, he actually showed a certain dislike for "Han". At this moment, he realized that in his heart, the emperor actually still attached great importance to the issue of ruling Han people.
However, it is not that easy to completely conquer the Han people in the Liao territory and use both Hu and Han forces. The Liao Emperor alone could not represent the will of the entire Khitan, and among the Khitan's aristocratic ministers, there were too few rational ministers like Yelu Talie.
More importantly, as the Han Dynasty in the south became more and more powerful and posed a threat to the Liao Kingdom, the affinity between people of the same culture and race was much closer than that of the Khitan people. However, that still requires a premise called "interest".