Although they decided to withdraw westward, even abandoning some Shanyou prefectures and setting up the battlefield in the Yunshuo area, the Liao army made no major moves in the following days. In addition to sending troops to monitor the Han army in Ruzhou and sealing the passes, they also strengthened the investigation of the Han army spies who were constantly infiltrating into the Liao border. Since the war began, those Han army spies were really rampant.
Apart from this, the Liao army made no unusual movements. They just rested peacefully in Huai Lai, acting as if the enemy was immobile and I was immovable. In the face of the Liao army's actions, after a wave of attacking troops were chased and killed by the Liao army, Li Chongjin became more honest. He only conducted targeted surveillance and did not dare to harass with hundreds of soldiers.
In the process, Liu Chengyou increased his troops to Jinshan by 30,000 through his words of victory. While continuing to increase the threat to the flanks of the Liao army, he also ensured the strength of the Han army in Jinshan and ensured a well-founded advance and retreat.
Until mid-October, when the Han army still maintained a standstill strategy, the Liao army, which had been resting for more than half a month, finally made a big move. More than 100,000 Liao troops retreated across the board and headed toward Wende in the northwest. County shrinks.
Juyongguan and Huailai County were all abandoned. Before retreating, the Liao army moved all the able-bodied men and "confiscated" all the grain reserves and livestock of the officials and people, leaving behind a large number of old, weak, women and children. This is not a coup, but it can at least guarantee that it will add a lot of burdens after the Han army takes over.
At the same time, Huailai City was burned down in order to give the Han army a base that they could rely on. How could the Han army not react to such movements from the Liao army? After Li Chongjin immediately reported the news to the imperial camp still in Changping, he immediately led his army westward to pursue it.
However, due to the large numbers of the Liao army, Li Chongjin was very careful, and coupled with the harassment of the Liao cavalry, when he arrived at Huailai, he only saw an earthen city that was still burning, with thick smoke billowing above the city walls. .....
There were tens of thousands of old and weak people gathered outside the city. Although they were noisy and wailing, they seemed to be waiting for them. Seeing this scene, Li Chongjin was a little angry. He called a few old men to inquire about the situation. Only then did he learn that the Liao army's retreat had been prepared for a long time, but it was only today that there was a big movement.
Facing the burning county town, Li Chongjin had no intention of paying attention. It was impossible to put out the fire. Large-scale water extraction had to go to the Sanggan River to the west, or the Sanggan River in winter.
They just led the army and stopped outside the city to get warm. As for the tens of thousands of old and weak people, they chose another place to settle. At this time, the people of Huailai sent representatives to say that all the rations had been confiscated and hoped that the Han Dynasty King would distribute food relief.
In this regard, Li Chongjin's attitude was very rude. He thought that the petitioner did not look like a good person. Furthermore, in his opinion, military rations were valuable, so how could they be used on these "Liao people". Therefore, categorically refuse. Later, unable to bear his repeated pleas, Li Chongjin simply ordered the soldiers to tie him up and whip him several times.
At this time, the scouts sent out also came to report back. On the other side of Juyongguan, people were leaving the city empty, but the Liao army was quarrying stones and blocking the road. In front of the camp, Yuhou Shi Shouxin was arranging for people to clean up. What interested Li Chongjin was the situation of the Liao army withdrawing westward. Because they were escorting the people and accompanying the army with a large amount of goods and supplies, the Liao army did not withdraw quickly to the west. In addition, it was withdrawn in batches. behind.
In response to this, Li Chongjin immediately became interested in pursuing the enemy. Together with Long Jie's cavalry general Shi Yande, he led five thousand Han cavalry to pursue the trail, hoping to bite the Liao army hard.
The result, of course, was not as smooth as Li Chongjin expected. The pursuit was to catch up with the rear of the Liao army, but they were ambushed by the Liao army in front of Jiming Mountain, sixty miles west of Huailai.
More than 40,000 Liao troops surrounded them, and the Liao general responsible for setting up the ambush and commanding them was Yelu Xiezhen, the camp commander newly promoted by the Liao Emperor. Facing eight times the encirclement and annihilation of the Liao army, Li Chongjin and Shi Yande were completely unprepared. In the critical moment, they naturally resisted desperately and fought hard to break through. With more than half of the casualties, they fought their way out.
Then, under the pursuit of the Liao army, there were more casualties. If Murong Yanqing, the commander of the right wing of the Protecting Saint Army, had not led the response, Li and Shi would have been completely wiped out.
Even so, the final result was no different from the annihilation of the entire army. Only less than 500 riders managed to survive, and almost everyone was injured. After such a victory, the Liao army retreated more calmly, and their morale was greatly restored.
After learning about the Liao army's changes, Han Emperor Liu Chengyou did not hesitate at all. He ordered the advance. The enemy retreated while we advanced, pressing step by step without any hesitation.
Those who arrived in Huai Lai early were only part of the Jinshan and Nankou armies, totaling more than 60,000 people. As for Liu Chengyou, it was only three days later that he joined the army.
On the day he arrived in Huailai, Liu Chengyou did not inquire about the military situation first. What he needed to know was already known, and nothing else changed in these three or four days.
Liu Chengyou first met with representatives of old and weak women and children who had been abandoned by the Liao army. He comforted these people and personally welcomed them back to the Han Dynasty with the dignity of the emperor. He also ordered that a part of the military rations should be allocated to support them through the winter. .
To be honest, the Liao army's abandonment of the old and weak did add some burdens and troubles to the Han army, but it also gave Liu Chengyou an opportunity to play his political cards.
Afterwards, they met with Li Chongjin and Shi Yande. These two people were already restless and eager to plead guilty to the emperor. Li Chongjin, in particular, felt even more uneasy when he saw the emperor's attitude towards those "Liao people".
Regarding the defeat of the two, Liu Chengyou did not show an overreaction. He just said that victory or defeat was a matter of military strategists' attempts, allowing the two to sum up. Of course, since the battle was defeated and so many cavalry were lost, you must know that it is not easy to train the Longjie Horse Army, but the elite cavalry guards. It's just that the anger in his heart has not been expressed.
How to deal with the two of them, Liu Chengyou left it to Chai Rong. In this regard, Chai Rong certainly has no reason to show favoritism and does not dare to show any favoritism. He summoned Li Chongjin, scolded him, and then ordered him to be demoted to the commander of the First Army of the Right Wing of the Protector of the Holy Spirit. From a general of a large army to a lieutenant general, he was demoted three levels in a row. At the same time, because of his rough treatment of the people, he was whipped thirty more times.
Speaking of which, Li Chongjin's military career was not smooth. Very early on, he became a senior general of the Forbidden Army, but he has never been able to get promoted over the years.
During the Huainan War, he made many achievements. After returning to the court, he got into trouble with Wang Yansheng. Although he was punished in the end, he also went further. In this Northern Expedition, Tanzhou was defeated earlier, and he led his army to defeat the victory gate and regain Ruzhou. However, he was defeated at Jiming Mountain and was punished by whipping the people.
It really feels like bad luck. If there is no better performance in the next war, then after returning to the court, we may have to stand still, or even fall instead of rising...
After the Han army took Huai Lai, the Han and Liao sides fell into a confrontation again in the following time. The Han army came with a hundred thousand troops to garrison Huai, accumulating food, grass, ordnance. They no longer had any intention of attacking, but they only wanted to spend the winter here.
However, after the Liao army withdrew to Wende, they did not continue to retreat, but firmly grasped the mouths. If you don't take a step back, wait for the Han army to make a move.
In fact, Yelujing did not fully agree with Yelu Wuzhi's proposal to abandon all Shanyou states. The reason for withdrawing from Huailai was because of the loss of Jinshan Mountain, so as to avoid a flanking attack by the Han army.
However, the Yunshuo area is indeed relatively convenient for the Liao cavalry to use. However, if the four states of Ru, Gui, Wu, and Xin are abandoned, then the Han army can also attack Yunzhou from both sides. If the Han army marched out from Huai'an west of Wuzhou, it would even be called a backstab.
If the situation is like that, Yunzhou will also be unable to defend it. This is determined by both strength and terrain. Yelujing didn't know why Yeluwuzhi couldn't see this...
In this "tacit understanding", it fell into peace for the first time since the Han-Liao War, and the silence lasted for a whole winter.
