After meeting with Yelu Cong and hearing his military strategy, the Liao Emperor almost without stopping summoned all the civil and military officials who accompanied him and held another military meeting. However, this time, instead of giving them room for free discussion, they directly laid out Yelucong's debate and directly stated his decision to take the initiative and attack the Han army in Nankou.
Yeluwu, the king of the Beiyuan, still had reservations about the great changes in the Liao emperor's combat strategy. He also admitted that Yelucong's considerations were based on the overall situation, based on long-term strategy, and had foresight, but after all, it was not to the extent that a fatal blow was needed.
Moreover, even if a decisive battle was to be fought, in his opinion, given the current situation in the Youyan area, it was not suitable to fight in the small area of Youzhou-Juyongguan-Tanzhou.
However, opinions are just opinions after all, and when Emperor Liao made up his mind, it was difficult to stop him. Moreover, if the Han army only targets the south entrance, concentrates its forces, and launches a surprise attack, there is indeed merit.
Therefore, in less than a quarter of an hour, Emperor Liao reached a consensus with his attendants, civil and military, to beat him. In fact, the morale of the Liao army who was recruited and followed Yelv Jing to the south was strong. The period of recuperation and recuperation in Wende was also a process of recharging their strength. They were also encouraged by the Liao emperor's choice to take the initiative.
Yelujing arrived in Huaihua on the 21st. From that day on, hundreds of thousands of Liao troops began to mobilize intensively. At the same time, the Liao Emperor urgently ordered that all the more than 70,000 Liao troops stationed in Wende County be transferred eastward to participate in the war. Wende is only a hundred miles away from the Huailai area. Even if the army moves, it will be less than a mile away while retaining its horsepower. The time of the day has also arrived.
By the evening of the 22nd, preparations for the two-pronged advance of the Liao army were basically completed, and the deployment of troops was also arranged in place. Then came the final rest and preparation before the war.
The Liao army advanced in two directions, one from Juyongguan, which was the main attacking army. Yelvcong was the main general, leading the Youpishi Army, the tribal army, the original Hu and Han defenders, and some vassal tribes in Mobei, with a total strength of more than 130,000.
The roundabout division that made its way to victory was personally commanded by King Yelu Wuzhi of the Beiyuan, and was supplemented by Yelusagei, Yelusha and other Liao generals. It had more than 70,000 troops, all of which were cavalry, including the Zuopishi Army.
It can be said that in order to deal with the Han army at Nankou, the Liao army spent all their money and concentrated their elite troops in order to launch a fatal blow.
On Yelvcong's side, Emperor Liao also sent the left and right iron kite troops to him. "Iron Kites" are not exclusive to Xixia. There is such a force in the military system of the Liao Kingdom. They are also heavily armored cavalry and are unparalleled in offense and defense. The Han army also had some construction on heavy cavalry, but the scale was not large. There was only a heavy armor of 300 cavalry under the cavalry army. There was no shortage of men and a lot of equipment. The main reason was the lack of suitable war horses.
Nankou, the Han army's side, maintained a kind of tranquility, but in this late autumn season, the wind was blowing and the dew was cold, and the chilling atmosphere that filled both inside and outside the camp became stronger.
The Han camp was divided into five strongholds, front, rear, left, right, and center. Each stronghold had its own camp, each garrisoning troops and horses. The front camp at Yongguan in the front was the strongest and had the largest number of troops garrisoned. In fact, in the Han camp at Nankou, there were only more than 80,000 Han troops, and most of the rest were stationed in Changping City. However, when it comes to fighting troops, their strength is greater than that of the Han army in Tanzhou.
In addition to Fengguo, Xingjie, and the 10,000 Yan troops, the main force of the Hebei frontier army is also stationed here, which totals about 60,000 people. It was a bit stronger than what Yelvcong had calculated.
In the Han camp, the soldiers in each camp also calmed down from their busy work. Without him, they distributed winter clothes and mattresses in advance. Winter is coming soon, and the weather is already a bit cold. The soldiers are very happy to see the court's considerate care. At the same time, taking advantage of this opportunity, he also changed the uniforms and colors of the Yan army and unified them with the imperial troops and horses.
"King Chenliu, I think there is something wrong with the Liao army!" Luo Yanxu, the envoy of Shun'an Army, found An Shenqi in the Chinese army commander's tent and said to him.
Hearing this, An Shenqi couldn't help but perked up, and his face turned tired. He is already sixty-two years old. At such an age, it is not easy to command an army and maintain abundant energy and a clear mind.
"What did you find?" An Shenqi asked.
Luo Yanxuan responded seriously: "Although the Liao army has not been dispatched in large numbers in the past few days, there has never been a shortage of scattered cavalry scouts. Especially in the past two days, the intention of spying on our camp's defense has been too obvious. The sentry cavalry also reported, inside Juyong Pass , the sound of knocking is endless, it seems that they are forging ordnance, so the general will be suspicious..."
"Do you suspect that the Liao army will take the initiative to attack?" An Shenqi became more alert and stared at it with frowning eyebrows.
Luo Yanxuan also showed a little tangled look on his face, and said: "I can't guarantee it, but I just feel strange. Since the troops left Changping, the Liao army in Guan Nei has attacked several times, but we have beaten them back. Now the army is strong and strong." Standing here, with the strength of the defenders, how dare we offend? Maybe the Liao army's unusual movements are just preparations for defense!"
Although Luo Yanyi was hesitant, An Shenqi took it seriously. He thought about it seriously and said, "The defenders in the pass are certainly not strong enough. What if Wende's Liao army also dispatches?"
With his brows furrowed, An Shenqi immediately called the officer in charge of communications and ordered: "Send my command to all battalions and villages to strengthen their defense, especially Han Lingkun, and ask him to be more vigilant. The waiting cavalry will closely monitor Juyongguan City!"
"yes!"
After thinking for a while, An Shenqi ordered again: "Send someone to ask the people in the Military Intelligence Department whether Wende's Liao army has moved eastward!"
Seeing that his warning had been taken seriously by An Shenqi, Luo Yanxuan breathed a sigh of relief subconsciously and listened to his arrangements. He rolled his eyes and said: "Guanshan is dangerous and it is inconvenient to transmit information from spies. Even if the Wende Liao army really We’ve been mobilized, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to spread the news for a while!”
In response, An Shenqi just nodded, ordered his soldiers to put on their armour, put on their belts, and said, "Let's go to the front camp to inspect it!"
When the enemy's situation was unclear, the Han army had An Shenqi's command, and the battalions did increase their vigilance to a certain extent, but it was only compared to before.
No matter how prepared the Han army was, the Liao army was proceeding in an orderly manner according to the established plan. In less than two days and nights, the Liao army completely demonstrated the fighting style of the northern overlord, and it was very efficient.
In the early morning of the next day, the Liao army, which had rested in advance, adjusted their schedules, and eaten well, led by Yelu Cong, quickly passed through the Juyong Gorge, exited the customs, and attacked the Han camp at Nankou.
Although Guancheng is not far from the south entrance, the movement caused by the attack of hundreds of thousands of troops cannot be concealed. What's more, the Han army monitors the movements of Guancheng day and night.
The Liao army, however, had no intention of completely concealing their whereabouts. They only used their fine cavalry to kill the Han army scouts and arrived in front of the stronghold to ensure the smooth flow of the road. The rest of the army, led by Yelu Cong, calmly forced themselves in front of the Han camp.
By dawn, 130,000 Liao troops on foot and cavalry were already in formation at the front of the Han stronghold, and the troops to attack the stronghold were also ready. Subsequently, under Yelu Cong's order, more than 10,000 puppet troops, carrying offensive weapons, launched an attack on the Han stronghold.
The moment they heard the news of the Liao army's dispatch, the entire huge Han camp had already woken up. Although the soldiers were trapped, they could not care less about the enemy's attack. They gathered and prepared under the leadership of their respective generals. In fact, the timing of the Liao army's attack had a certain surprise effect.
Although they were on alert in advance, the condition of the Han army before dawn was hardly good. Let alone sleepiness, empty stomachs and physiological needs were all problems.
Therefore, I rushed to the front stronghold in person, climbed to the top of the stronghold, and looked at the hundreds of thousands of fully equipped Liao troops, densely packed, crowded, and full of murderous intent. In this regard, An Shenqi's expression was unusually solemn. The Liao army's attack this time was extraordinary. From his understanding, it could be determined that the troops must be gathered in a very short period of time to launch this surprise attack.
Although the Han army was good at defense, An Shenqi would not be arrogant enough to believe that he could truly be invincible and fearless by relying solely on defense. The state of the soldiers is a big problem that has to be faced.
Fortunately, before the Liao army set up their formation and made final preparations for the attack, each battalion of the Han army also ate dry food and drank cold water to replenish their physical strength during the crunch. As for pooping and peeing, you can only hold it in. If you can't hold it in, you can only defecate in your crotch.
In fact, after the Liao army launched its attack, the battlefield where the two armies fought fiercely was filled with stench.
