Arriving at Qinghe County, the imperial camp stopped and docked for rest and recuperation. The soldiers took turns disembarking from the boats to eat hot food and solve physical problems. The boats were cleaned of filth and replenished with supplies. The governor of Beizhou led the local people to eat pots of pulp to reward the king.
Of course, this was more of a formality to boost the morale of the troops. The war on Youyan's side had begun, and Liu Chengyou was eager to go north to supervise the military situation. Therefore, he tried to avoid details along the way and did not intend to stop unless necessary.
However, in Qinghe County, an unexpected person appeared, the father-in-law Guo Wei. On the bank of the canal, Guo Wei stood solemnly, looking at the mighty soldiers on the river, his weathered face full of emotion.
Wearing a simple and elegant brocade robe, although his beard and hair are a bit gray, his complexion is still rosy, and his whole spirit seems peaceful and generous. Behind him are several knights guarding him, and holding his youngest son Guo Yi in his hand.
Knowing that Guo Wei was here, Liu Chengyou specially ordered Chi Qingzhou to pick him up on the dragon boat, and called Concubine Guo Ning to wait in person.
"I see your Majesty!" Guo Wei immediately saluted respectfully when he saw Liu Chengyou on board the dragon boat.
"No gifts! We are all a family, no need to stick to these vulgar etiquettes!" Liu Chengyou personally helped Guo Wei up. This time he did not pretend to be enthusiastic, but his gentle face revealed a genuine kindness.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Liu Chengyou's support was not too strong, so Guo Wei still gave a full salute.
"I haven't seen you in three years! Your style is still the same and your magnanimity has not diminished!" Looking at Guo Wei, Liu Chengyou chuckled.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty!" Guo Wei responded: "I live in the countryside, fishing and hunting, following nature, taking care of myself, and enjoying myself!"
"Such idle clouds and wild cranes make me jealous!" Liu Chengyou made a joke, looking down at Guo Yi who looked directly at him boldly with innocent eyes, and couldn't help but reach out and pinch his little red face, and said: "Has little Guo Yi grown a lot taller?"
"Why don't you kowtow to Your Majesty!" Guo Wei glared at his youngest son.
Guo Yi hurriedly kowtowed, and Liu Chengyou noticed that there was a jade pendant on his waist. It was a gift from Liu Chengyou when Guo Yi was still in his infancy, and he still remembers it.
"Why did you come to Qinghe?" Looking at Guo Wei again, Liu Chengyou asked with a little curiosity. He asked as he entered the cabin with Guo Wei.
There was a look of admiration on old Guo Wei's face: "Your Majesty launched an army to conquer Khitan in the north. The people of Yan and Zhao all rose up and participated in the battle enthusiastically. I have been away from the battlefield for a long time, and although I can't kill the enemy with my sword, I heard that Your Majesty is personally marching here on horseback. , watching the brave soldiers of the Han Dynasty, wishing them to defeat the barbarians, and also bowing their heads in worship, hoping that the king's army will make a triumphant return!"
Guo Wei's words were very encouraging. Liu Chengyou was very happy and laughed a few times. Back then, before Guo Wei returned to hospital, Liu Chengyou visited him on his "sick bed". At that time, Guo Wei once said that if Wang Shi attacked Liao, he would pray and bless him. Now, it can be regarded as the fulfillment of the original promise. It can also be seen from this that Guo Wei does have certain insights into the military strategy.
Inside the cabin, the decoration is very simple, even crude, but fortunately the space is quite large. The father-in-law and son-in-law were sitting across from each other, and Concubine Guo Ning served hot tea in person. There was a smile on her youthful face, her beautiful eyes were brighter, and her autumn wave was charming.
"In this Northern Expedition, the total number of armies from all walks of life is nearly 300,000. It can be said that we are attacking with all our strength and sparing no effort. Do you think I can succeed?" Liu Chengyou asked.
"Your Majesty will succeed, and the big man will win!" Guo Wei opened his mouth without thinking, his tone was extremely sure, and he seemed more confident than Liu Chengyou.
...
As the imperial camp moved north, the fierce fighting between Han and Liao had already begun in the Youzhou area for a long time. Although Liu Chengyou officially issued the edict on August 20, the fighting between the two parties had started a month earlier and gradually expanded.
At first, thousands of Liao cavalry were divided into three groups and attacked the land of Youji. According to the plan of Yelu Talie, the king of Liaonan Yuan, these Liao cavalry did not think about looting, but only killed people. They wanted to interrupt the Han Dynasty's rhythm of preparing for war by destroying the land of Youyan.
However, Zhao Kuangzan, King of Yan, who had received a personal reply from the Emperor early and knew that the Northern Expedition was imminent, did not show any timidity at all. He gathered the 5,000 Yanqi that his subordinates had accumulated over the years and had always regarded them as treasures to pursue and suppress the invading Liao army.
When facing the invading Liao army, the soldiers and people of Yan fought hard from top to bottom. The soldiers killed the enemy enthusiastically, and the people fought angrily without any fear. Later, as Liao cavalry continued to participate in the war, their strength rapidly increased to tens of thousands. However, the Yan cavalry had few people and eventually became exhausted and suffered a lot of losses. At this time, An Shenqi decisively sent 5,000 northern troops of the Northern Army to the north to cooperate with the Yan Army in the battle, so as not to fall behind.
Later, the Northern Liao Emperor entrusted the southern military commander Yelu Talie with another 10,000 cavalry to join the invaders from Juyongguan. Upon hearing this, An Shenqi ordered Ma Quanyi, envoy of the Yongqing Army, to lead his army north to support the defense of Youyan.
Although the Liao Cavalry is highly mobile, the people of Youyan are not sheep to be slaughtered. The Wubao cities are just pieces of hard bones. It is not that the Liao army has never tried to break them by force, successfully defeated them, and massacred several forts, but they will soon face attacks and sieges by various groups of Yan cavalry and Han cavalry.
In the strenuous struggle of the Han army and people, Yelu Talie's "Three Guangs" policy suffered a huge setback. Across Yanshang, the land of deep Ji is supposed to be a place where they can roam freely. However, as the war progressed, problems were soon discovered.
The cities, water veins, and fortresses of Yandi were like nails, large and small, cooperating with the attacking Han cavalry, compressing their space for movement. As the Hebei frontier troops moved northward, their strength was again at a disadvantage. Yes, although the Liao army was mobilizing troops to participate in the war, the efficiency was not high. In addition, the defense of various passes had to be taken into account, so the number of troops directly deployed on Youyan could only gradually increase.
As for the Han army heading north, they also took the initiative to attack, but faced the Han army's formation, they had no desire to attack. They wanted to delay the tired army, but the Han army cooperated with infantry and cavalry and did not completely lose mobility and initiative. In the end, they could only watch as the Han army successfully entered Zhuyan City and strengthened its defense.
The Liao army also tried to go south and penetrate deep into the hinterland of Hebei, and then encountered a lot of trouble, especially in the Yongqing area. During that time, Han troops transferred from the south to the north could be seen almost every day.
Even though the Liao army encountered great difficulties in its strategy of killing and plundering the Han territory, Yelu Talie not only did not relax in joining the invaders, but continued to send more cavalry. Just like what he said to Emperor Liao at the beginning, the will must be firm and the approach must be ruthless. In fact, no matter how resolute the resistance of Yan's army and people is, such a tug of war on their own land, and faced with the targeted attack by the Liao army, the losses will not be small.
By early August, the Liao army sent by Yelu Talie to fight in Yan already had 50,000 infantry and cavalry. The cavalry came from the north of Saibei and the infantry came from the Zunhua and Luanpingying areas in the east. They were mainly Han people and the Bohai people. Auxiliary, cooperate in combat.
However, the Han army was not at a disadvantage, especially after Gao Huaide and Guo Chongwei led the Long Jie Army and more than 20,000 "mercenaries" from the northwest to ride north, and gradually gained the upper hand.
In one month, the two sides experienced hundreds of battles, large and small, and there were 9 attacks involving more than 3,000 cavalry. As a result, the Han army won 6 times. Therefore, in mid-August, the Liao army was already busy resisting the Han army's attack. As for looting and killing the Han people and attacking the Han army's food routes, they did not care at all.
The fighting area between the two sides expanded from the Youji area at the beginning to the entire south of Yan. The Liao army switched from attacking to collecting, and the Han army switched from defending to attacking. Ma Quanyi even led the army to launch a tentative attack on Zunhua.
In a short period of time, the forces of both sides were in a state of interlocking, and the number of people participating in the battle reached 100,000. This was a cruel confrontation, and the losses on both sides were considerable. The Liao army suffered more than 13,000 casualties before and after, and the Han and Yan troops suffered more than 3,000 direct casualties. The casualties of the Yan people and the destruction of production were all losses that are difficult to estimate at the moment. .
Until the Han Emperor's Northern Expedition edict reached the northern camp, they had already gathered in the Yongqing area, and had a certain amount of rest and training for the main force of the Han army. They officially marched north under the command of An Shenqi.
As soon as the hundreds of thousands of troops were launched, the remaining troops of the Liao army who were entangled with the Han army in Yandi retreated decisively after hearing this.
