As the night progressed, Yelu Sagui was also ordered to withdraw, quickly broke away from contact with Gao Huaide's army, retreated to the south entrance, and strengthened the siege and defense of An Shenqi. It was a dark night again, and a large number of reinforcements from the Han army arrived. Under such a situation, it was not a good choice to divide the troops into the field.
Gao Huaide, who had been struggling with Zuo Pishi's army under great pressure, relaxed and stopped mentioning pursuit. He took the remaining 17,000 Forbidden Army cavalry and moved closer to Changping. There were 23,000 cavalry before departure. Except for the thousand cavalry who were assigned to the party and the soldiers who died in the battle, the rest were all Fan cavalry. They were defeated and fled in all directions. Among them, less than two thousand people gathered again and found Guo Chongwei...
On the Liao army's side, after excluding casualties, there were still about 160,000 troops left, and 120,000 were besieging the south entrance. Counting from the beginning of the attack, the soldiers of the Liao army had worked hard for a whole day and night, so they all took the opportunity to rest and even indulged a little.
Because before the war started, they did not expect that the battle would go this far. The Liao army was well prepared strategically and tactically, but it also had shortcomings, such as tents for camping and other materials.
Fortunately, there are still some captured and a small number of well-preserved Han camps that can be used for shelter. Even so, many Liao soldiers could only rest on the ground, light a bonfire, and sleep on their pillows.
However, the cold nights of late autumn are not so easy to endure. To keep out the cold, it is common to strip clothes and armor from dead bodies. In fact, the Liao army's arrangement at the south entrance was actually very dangerous.
There are still nearly 50,000 Han troops in the central stronghold. It is hard to predict how many soldiers there are to fight. Although they are surrounded on all sides and have defenses around them, if they concentrate their elite troops and attack one side, it will be difficult to resist.
The Yelüsha army that marched south to Changping played a very important role in providing protection. The Liao army commander rarely took a moment to rest. He was a little surprised when he learned that another Han army reinforcements had arrived in Changping.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Yelu Cong stood in the tent, hesitating and anxious, looking at Yelu's house, and said: "With the strength of the Han army near Youzhou, it is absolutely impossible for the Han army to attack the enemy in such a short time. Within, more than 100,000 troops will be mobilized for reinforcements!"
Taking a deep breath, Yelvcong said: "I have carefully investigated and calculated that, excluding the troops and horses on the east route, the guards in various places, and the transfer of soldiers and civilians, the Han Dynasty in Youzhou can only mobilize about 300,000 soldiers and civilians, and no more than 300,000 at most." fifty thousand.
Now, Tanzhou has contained more than 100,000 people, and 100,000 people have been trapped at the south entrance. In one day, more than 100,000 of them came to the rescue on foot and horse. Will the Han army in Youzhou fail to defend it? Doesn't their emperor need to be defended?
The Han army's reinforcements must be deceitful! "
At the end of his speech, Yelucong's tone became very certain. Regarding his judgment, Yelu Wuzhi also agreed with him and said calmly: "The Han cavalry from Niulan Mountain are just bluffing. I'm afraid these two groups of reinforcements are also following this method to confuse and frighten our army!"
"Are the reinforcements entering Changping fake?" Yelvcong asked.
Yelu Wuzhi shook his head and responded: "I'm afraid one is false and the other is true. According to Yelusha's report, if the judgment is correct, the former is false and the latter is true. No matter what, tens of thousands of Han reinforcements have indeed arrived!"
"Even if these tens of thousands of troops are added up, we still have the advantage in strength!" Yelucong said.
Looking at Yelu Cong, Yelu Wuzhi sighed: "That's true, but after nearly a day and night of fierce fighting, our soldiers suffered heavy casualties and most of them were exhausted. The Han army at Nankou still held on to the stronghold and was difficult to defeat. The Han army was peeping in the south and did not attack, which actually formed a pincer attack on our army. Although the situation is still under our control, the battle situation has already tilted towards the Han army..."
"I don't agree with what King Beiyuan said!" Listening to his analysis, although he agreed with some of the truth, Yelu Cong disagreed with his analysis of Yelu Wuzhi's battle situation and said: "The Han army marched hundreds of miles to come to the rescue. The same Weary, otherwise why would we go to Changping to rest and recuperate? The Han cavalry, after being attacked by Zuopi Shijun, was almost defeated. Facts have proved that we still have the advantage over the Han army.
The remnants of the Han army at Nankou were at the end of their rope. Even with the support of reinforcements, the troops were short of food and it would be difficult to continue resisting for long. As long as we can break through the south entrance, our army will win this battle! "
Yelvcong's idea was good, and his analysis was based on the military situation, but the question came, could the Han army in Nankou be defeated? Will Changping's reinforcements watch them annihilate An Shenqi's army again?
"Right now, what I'm worried about is not the Han army in Changping, but other reinforcements. With the strength of the Han army, it is not impossible to continue to mobilize troops for reinforcements. And the nearest Tanzhou division, with the decisiveness of the Han army, will be ready tomorrow. To the South Privy Council, I'm afraid it will be difficult to contain them! If reinforcements from the Han army are allowed to come in a steady stream and gather here, our army may be in danger!" Yelu Wuzhi expressed his worries.
Hearing what he said, Yelu Cong couldn't help but said: "This is what Yelu Xiezhen proposed!"
Yelvuzhi sighed: "This is something we have to worry about!"
Upon hearing this, Yelvcong frowned, and the anxiety on his face was beyond words. After a long time, Yelu Cong looked at Yelu Wuzhi: "The King of the North Courtyard is an important minister of the country, the pillar of the country, and can always make decisions on major issues. What do you think, the King, at this time, how should we make a decision?"
Seeing Yelu Cong kick the ball to him, Yelu Wuzhi pondered for a while and said seriously: "Time is in our favor and against us. We don't have much time left. If we persist too long, we will lose. We cannot let the war continue to drag on. Otherwise, The strength of the Han army will continue to increase, but we will be unable to succeed!"
As he said that, Yelu Wuzhi and Yelu Cong looked at each other: "For the current plan, we can either choose to fight at night and continue the fierce attack before the Han army's follow-up reinforcements arrive, trying to break through the south entrance. Or... withdraw the troops!"
Hearing the word "withdrawal", Yelu Cong immediately became anxious and said: "For this attack, we have assembled 200,000 troops and raided the south entrance. If we retreat due to the cowardice of the enemy, how will we explain to your majesty and the people of the country? Besides, The soldiers have been fighting hard for a day, with such fear of death and injury, and seeing that the work is about to be accomplished, so giving up will inevitably dampen morale and sadden the morale of the army, how can the soldiers be willing to do so?"
Hearing Yelu Cong's remarks, he was probably the most unwilling person. After all, he was the one who advocated the attack, but if he failed, even if he returned without success, he would be the one who took the main responsibility.
After thinking about it, Yelu Cong said: "The soldiers have been resting for a while. Let Yelusha keep an eye on the reinforcements of the Han army. We will lead the troops and continue to attack the Han army. I don't believe how long they can hold on after their blood is cold." ! Perhaps launching an attack at this time can also have the effect of a surprise attack, and it may not be impossible to achieve success in one fell swoop!"
After hearing what he said, Yelu Wuzhi frowned, how could he rely solely on gambling, and immediately said: "Since the former chose to stop fighting and rest for a night, if he drives the soldiers to attack again, there will be complaints, and the soldiers will not be motivated to fight! "
Yelucong couldn't help but pace again, his steps much faster, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Then rest for the night, wait for the morning, feed the soldiers, and then attack the stronghold. Tanzhou's reinforcements may not come back, even if they come Now, we may not be without the strength to fight!"
Seeing Yelu Cong's performance, Yelu Congzhi was completely angry. He stood up and cursed: "We are not gamblers. How can we be so careless about military and national affairs? Now that the situation is getting worse, we should change according to the situation and act randomly. How can we insist on having our own way? Your Majesty has paid 200,000 people to help us, and many of the country's elites have gathered here. If there is a big attack, don't you know what serious consequences it will have?"
After being scolded like this, Yelu Cong could not help but be shocked. He calmed down and looked at Yelu Chong, who had a stern and majestic look on his face. He hesitated for a while and said, "Your Majesty, the situation has not yet reached such an urgent and critical moment. If you retreat rashly, all your previous efforts will be wasted. , It’s a great pity. It’s better to wait a little longer, and the two of us will report the current situation to His Majesty urgently, and let His Majesty make his decision!”
After Yelu Cong said this, Yelu Wuzhi thought for a while and said, "Let's leave it like that for now!"
Although Yelu Wuzhi was no longer optimistic about the prospects of this battle, he was unwilling to let Yelu Wuzhi retreat directly. How could he not have any expectations in his heart. In one day's offensive, defensive and blocking operations, they suffered nearly 40,000 casualties. Under the Han army's tenacious resistance and counterattack, more than 20,000 people were directly killed. This casualty was too heavy for the Liao army.
In fact, as reinforcements from the Han army arrived in Changping, the battle situation between the Han and Liao forces at the south entrance became interesting. The Liao army's 120,000 troops surrounded less than 50,000 Han army remnants at Nankou Zhongzhai. Changping's various forces combined more than 80,000 troops to deal with the 40,000 Liao army in Yelusa.
If the Liao army wants to win, it must defeat the Han army in Nankou while withstanding the reinforcements of the Han army. The Han army wanted to rescue, maybe break the containment and blockade of the Yelusha army.
In fact, a balanced situation has been formed between the two parties. If you want to break this balance, you must either use internal force or rely on external force.
When the commander-in-chief of the Liao army felt that it was difficult to advance or retreat, after midnight, it took about two hours for Han Emperor Liu Chengyou to gallop to Changping at night under the stars. General Changping was shocked when he learned in advance that the emperor was coming to the front line. Gao Huaide hurriedly gathered 3,000 forbidden cavalry and headed south to meet him. After escorting Liu Chengyou into the city, he felt relieved.
Regarding the arrival of the emperor, the generals on the front line felt a little complicated and felt more pressure. When Chai Rong saw Liu Chengyou, his expression was extremely serious: "Why would your Majesty come to the battle in person?"
