On the general platform, Murong Yanzhao has been standing since the launch of the attack. All the Han army soldiers may not be able to see the figure of the commander, but the high-hanging banner is always fluttering in the wind, getting more and more high-spirited, and is always with them.
Although he was the commander-in-chief of the army, he did not issue a few military orders before and after. He just stood on the tower and calmly supervised the battle. On the front line of the battle, there are generals such as Zhang Qiong and Murong Yanqing, who are responsible for the specific command, and there are also generals like Li Chongjin who are responsible below. As for the big aspects, the arrangements have been made clearly.
It seemed that Murong Yanzhao, the commander-in-chief, was very relaxed. Of course, this is just an illusion. As the commander of an army, he is responsible for working hard and thinking ahead to anticipate the enemy.
When the Han army attacked Miyun City, all the generals watching the battle were happy, except Murong Yanzhao whose expression remained unchanged. Sure enough, even if they successfully climbed to the top of the city, the Liao army did not collapse in one battle and still persisted for a long time. As time passed, the fighting in the city became stalemate, but Murong Yanzhao always remained calm. The generals were even more convinced by Murong Dushuai's demeanor.
After several rides, Pegasus came and reported back one after another.
"I am reporting to the commander-in-chief that General Zhang Qiong has captured the top of Miyun City and seriously injured the enemy general Han Kuangmei!"
"The city gate is broken open, General Murong Yanqing has led his army into the city!"
"The Liao army is defending the city wall, General Zhang Qiong will break it again!"
"Commander Li Du has led the entire Saint Protector Army into the city and is chasing and annihilating the remaining enemies!"
"..."
A series of reports on the battle situation, each one more good than the last, even made Murong Yanzhao, who had always been calm, show a slight smile on his face. Sun Li didn't have such patience. Murong Yanzhao said: "Dushuai, relying only on the Holy Army to protect him, I'm afraid he won't be able to clear out the remaining enemies in a short period of time!"
"General Sun intends to go to war?" Murong Yanzhao looked at Sun Li.
Three years ago, he participated in the Battle of Jinghu. After returning to Tokyo, Sun Li had a big belly and gained a lot of weight. After the emperor mentioned it, Sun Li's body has regained his strength, but the fat on his face has become more and more shapely. .
Speaking of which, Sun Li had participated in several foreign wars since the founding of the Han Dynasty, except against Shu. This time, the same goes for the Northern Expedition to Khitan.
At this time, when Murong Yanzhao asked, Sun Li also responded directly: "How can the general stay out of the battle against Liao? Since the battle of Luancheng, the sword in the suit has not drank the blood of the Khitans for 11 years. The first contribution to the city's destruction was given to the Protector of the Holy Army, and I, the Xiaodi Army, deserved more credit for the finishing touches. Commander, please give me the order!"
Murong Yanzhao laughed directly after hearing what Sun Li said.
On the side, Lu Huaizhong said: "Commander, there are originally 40,000 Liao troops in the city. After taking into account the losses caused by the previous entanglement, the number of combatable soldiers is probably not less than 35,000. Although the defeated army cannot be relied on, , but in order to reduce the casualties of the soldiers, we should mobilize troops and horses as soon as possible and enter the city to eliminate them!"
"General Sun can lead the Xiaodi Army to attack, but there is no need to enter the city. Lead the troops to the North City. The enemy will rob and kill them when they come out. If the enemy does not come out, attack them directly!" Murong Yanzhao ordered.
"Yes!" Sun Li said immediately, and immediately realized: "Dou Shuai is saying that the Liao army will break out from the north of the city and flee?"
"My army is in the south, and the other three sides are all in vain. The city is broken, and the Liao army will not defend it for fear of it. Miyun is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and there are water obstacles on the east and west. Only the north is the most suitable place for a breakthrough!" Murong Yan! Zhao explained briefly.
"I will never let the Liao army escape!" Hearing this. Sun Lim's eyebrows were full of joy, he cupped his fists and said, and then hurried away.
After Sun Li left, the governor Lu Huaizhong couldn't help but said to Murong Yanzhao: "Commander, if the Liao army breaks through, they may not go north. If they go west, Qingqi can pass through the water, and they can also escape into Yanshan Mountain. Desperate people should not be underestimated, our defenses in the west of the city may not be able to stop them!"
"General Lu's considerations are reasonable!" After hearing this, Murong Yanzhao nodded slightly, and immediately summoned the military academy and ordered: "Send the order, Shi Yande, the commander of Hujie, will lead his own horse army to lie in wait in the west of the city! If there is a Liao army, Break out, rob and kill them!"
"yes!"
"Commander, what if the Liao army leaves the east of the city?" Lu Huaizhong asked.
Hearing this question, Murong Yanzhao's calm tone revealed a strong sense of confidence: "The north and west roads are close, and the east side has twists and turns. If it goes north or west, there may be a chance of survival. If it goes east, we can calmly encircle and suppress it. It will inevitably be destroyed!”
While the Han army outside the city was further mobilizing in an attempt to annihilate the Tanzhou Liao army, the Liao army inside the city was also hurriedly making its final struggle. Of course, this kind of struggle is not to continue to resist the Han army, but to organize a breakout and evacuation as soon as possible.
Xiao Siwen, if you let him command the battle on the spot, may have shortcomings, but he is still decisive enough in deciding matters. In fact, when they lost the city tower, they knew that Miyun was undefendable. The reason why they organized an army to guard Wengcheng was not to resist stubbornly, but to urgently mobilize manpower behind to prepare for a breakout.
Half of the guards in Miyun City were Han soldiers, and the rest were also Khitan, Xi Bu sergeants, and Bohai Navy soldiers. These people were all elite soldiers of the Liao Kingdom.
With the elite cavalry from his uncle's corps, supplemented by Xi Qi and Bohai soldiers, plus a part of the Han army led by Han Kuangmei, these armies were actually organized and capable of fighting.
In times of crisis, it is impossible to be fully organized. After Zhang Qiong broke through Wengcheng again, Xiao Siwen led the three thousand elite cavalry organized in advance and retreated directly to the west, coercing and gathering troops along the way. As for the remaining Han soldiers, they were abandoned directly, while the remaining Khitan soldiers were informed and broke out individually.
That's right, Xiao Siwen chose to go west. There is no place to bury the dead in the east of the city; the road in the north of the city is easy to walk, but it must be the key defensive direction of the Han army, which is difficult to avoid ambushes and facilitates their pursuit; although the Baiyu River is blocking the west of the city, the water is still shallow and can be forded directly, and Can have unexpected effects.
This was what Han Kuangmei, who was seriously injured, analyzed for Xiao Siwen before he fell into coma. Xiao Siwen also chose to believe him and did not abandon this loyal minister of Liao. Instead, he ordered his bodyguard to tie him up and carry him away.
By the time Xiao Siwen and his men stormed out of Xicheng, they had gathered more than 5,000 troops, mainly cavalry. He only used two sentences to boost morale. He did not say that he was loyal to the Liao Dynasty, nor did he mention any achievements in military service. He only said that if he fell into the hands of the Han army, he would die and break through for his own life.
When they were in a desperate situation, seeing the hope and direction of life, some people took the lead. As the backbone of the Liao army, following Xiao Siwen, they still had basic combat qualities. Driven by the desire to survive, everyone was enthusiastic and started. Open the door and head straight for it.
In the west of the city, although Murong Yanzhao set up a stronghold and set up a line of defense, it was indeed not strong enough. There were only about 10,000 people, and most of them were civilians. The soldiers were mainly from Hebei Dusi, and their combat power was much weaker.
Xiao Siwen led a group of desperadoes to attack. Although a Han general took the initiative to lead people to intercept, he really didn't stop him. After the killing was dispersed, Xiao Siwen ignored the pursuit and went straight across the Han camp in the west towards the Baiyu River. However, outside the Han camp, someone fell on his back.
The Han army set up hundreds of disguised horse traps in the wild, and countless people fell into the traps. In this regard, he did not dare to bet on how much the Han army had deployed, so Xiao Siwen immediately led his people to detour north (he really did not dare to go south). However, the detour to the north was blocked by a wide, long and deep trench, which was still crisscrossed three times in a row, making it impossible to detour.
In an emergency, Xiao Siwen directly ordered the killing of horses to fill the pit, and finally crossed the dangerous ravine. In the process, the reorganized Xicheng Han army continued to hunt and entangle.
The Han general Shi Yande, who was ordered to move westward, also led three thousand tiger cavalry to pursue them. In fact, after the city was broken, the Han army's response was fast enough, but overall, it seemed there was still a delay. The main reason is that even the Han general himself did not expect that Miyun could be defeated in one day.
On Xiao Siwen's side, because of his strong desire to survive and decisive decision-making, he bought himself a lot of time.
By the time Han general Shi Yande led his army to catch up after bypassing the trap he had set, the Liao army fleeing westward was already halfway across the border. In this regard, without any hesitation, he led the army to charge. Later, after learning the main direction of the Liao army's breakout, the rest of the Han army also came to encircle and annihilate them.
On the banks of the Baiyu River, more than 4,000 Liao troops who fled west were killed in battle, and hundreds of corpses were buried. A section of the Baihe River was almost dyed red. Only the leader of the Liao army, Xiao Siwen, led less than 400 people, successfully crossed over and fled in a hurry. .
The rest of the Tanzhou Liao army, whether inside or outside the city, could not escape. Under the heavy encirclement and suppression by the Han army, they were basically wiped out. Before and after this battle, the 40,000 Liao troops killed more than 12,000 people, and the rest were surrendered. Three thousand war horses, countless flags and armor, and ninety thousand dan of grain were captured. It was a great victory.
Of course, the Han army also suffered a lot of losses. Not to mention the casualties of soldiers, the consumption of ordnance and manpower was enough to make the logistics staff bleed.