On the second day of February in the twelfth year of Emperor Qianyou's reign, on this day with many "twos", after two days of marching, Wei Wang Fu Yanqing led an army of more than 80,000 people and finally arrived at Yunzhong City.
At this time, the Yunzhong Liao army, led by Yelu Talie, had already sharpened its troops and armor and was ready. Outside Yunzhong City, there is a white land. The densely populated Liao army camps have been basically burned. Everywhere is smoky and scorching, and there are still traces of fierce battles and the hoof marks of the cavalry.
After Yang Ye led the army and followed Shi Yanchao to the north and contacted Fu Yanqing in the rear, Kang Yanze was ordered to lead the remaining 5,000 Dingxiang troops to continue advancing towards Yunzhong City and serve as the outpost of the army.
However, after arriving at the city for the first time, Yelu Talie immediately sent ten thousand horses out of the city, hoping to take advantage of the Han army's unstable foothold to launch a surprise attack. Speaking of which, Yelu Talie and the Dingxiang Army are old rivals. As the absolute main force in the Han army in the Northeast Hebei Expedition, the Dingxiang Army has a great reputation. Therefore, all the tactics that were useless on Shi Yanchao were used on Shi Yanchao. On its body.
Dingxiang's army, both generals and soldiers, had sufficient experience in dealing with enemy cavalry attacks. Although the Liao army came with thousands of cavalry, they did not panic. Under Kang Yanze's effective command, they formed a formation to fight and killed the Liao army.
However, what was not expected was the determination of the Liao army in this surprise attack. The Liao army who stayed in Yunzhong, under the leadership of Yelu Tallie, had a somewhat desperate temperament, which was reflected in the burst of energy on the battlefield. Considerable. From the very beginning, Yelu Talie gave a death order and launched a life-threatening three-sided siege.
When the horse's momentum is checked, he dismounts and fights on foot, advancing without retreating. In the face of the Liao army's crazy killing, although it caused a lot of casualties, the casualties of the Dingxiang army would inevitably increase, and there was a sense of surprise.
The Liao army wanted to trade lives for lives, but Kang Yanze did not want to fight head-on, so he chose to fight and retreat at the same time, moving to the camp where the Liao army stayed outside the city, hoping to use the camp fence to curb the mobility of the Liao cavalry.
However, this choice played into the plan of the Liao army. In those camps, there were piles of hay and grease sprinkled everywhere, and Yelu Talie secretly ambushed the dead soldiers among them. When the Han army retreated into it, it was immediately ignited. The fire broke out and quickly engulfed the camp. This immediately put the Han army into an embarrassing situation.
Kang Yanze was a decisive Han general. Although he regretted his negligence, he remained calm when faced with the chaos. He quickly organized two battalions of elite soldiers and launched an assault on the Liao army.
The fire surrounded the Han army and also frightened the Liao cavalry. They did not dare to get too close to fight and only shot with bows and arrows. Seizing this opportunity, Kang Yanze personally led his men to clear an open space, and the Han troops from behind followed closely.
Of course, the Dingxiang Army suffered heavy casualties in this process. Later, under the leadership of Kang Yanze, the Dingxiang Army, backed by raging fire, once again formed a formation to resist twice the Liao army's attack. The Dingxiang Army trained by Yang and Kang also showed great resilience, relying on Use crossbows, hard shields, spears, and swords to block them.
The two sides fought fiercely for more than two hours, and both suffered heavy casualties. Because the Han army was designed by the Liao army, although Kang Yanze forcibly gained some space, they were always on the passive side. Although the Liao army was well prepared and spurred by military orders, facing the strong resistance of the Han army in the Turtle Formation, all tactics of detour, outflanking, and division were useless.
In the end, he was gradually drawn into the exhaustion of positional warfare. Finally, when he learned that Fu Yanqing's Chinese army was approaching and reinforcements were coming, Yelu Talie decisively chose to give up the attack and ordered to retreat to the city.
Yelu Talie was wily and resourceful, able to gather the troops' morale, and also understood military strategies. The reason why he designed these was not to cause casualties to the Han army, but to undermine the morale of the Han army and at the same time enhance the confidence of his officers and soldiers.
When you find that both parties are in a state of exchanging pieces, give up decisively. The time to really exchange lives is far from coming. Although the Liao army is not good at attacking and defending in city warfare, it is only compared to field warfare. When it is supported by solid city defense and has strict command, how much can its combat capability be weakened?
The Liao army voluntarily gave up the attack, which made Kang Yanze relieved. He quickly led the remaining troops to retreat south, joined the corresponding Han army, and stationed on the spot to wait for King Wei's army.
Therefore, when Fu Yanqing led the army to arrive, looking at the smoke and fire ahead, he couldn't help but frown. Although he learned that most of the Liao army had withdrawn, out of a desire for stability and the exhaustion of the march, Fu Yanqing did not approach Yunzhong City. Instead, he chose to build a stronghold near the water around a hilly area seven miles away.
As soon as the commander's tent was set up, Kang Yanze came to ask for an audience. When he saw Fu Yanqing, he knelt down and bowed down, with a look of shame on his face: "The general is ineffective in fighting, please punish King Wei!"
Fu Yanqing also knew something about the situation of the war. He admired the chief and deputy military envoys of Yanmen Pass very much. He glanced at Kang Yanze, paused at the bandage on his body, and asked directly: "How many people were lost?"
"Nearly a thousand casualties!" Kang Yanze said in a heavy tone, blaming himself: "If the general had not been negligent and mishandled the enemy, this would never have happened!"
Fu Yanqing also sighed. A thousand casualties were indeed nothing compared to a battlefield that could easily number hundreds of thousands. However, for the Dingxiang Army, it was a big trauma. You must know that since the Northern Expedition, they have fought fiercely with the Liao Army in the Yunshuo area for so long and experienced several fierce battles. The Dingxiang Army has only suffered thousands of casualties. I died.
"You don't have to blame yourself. I also know what happened during the war. If it were me, I might make the same choice. The command of the Liao army is very cunning, and they have made a lot of preparations to deal with our army. After putting so much effort into planning, it is not easy for you to be calm in times of crisis, respond decisively, save the soldiers from danger, and avoid more losses!" Fu Yanqing has rich experience in the battlefield, and with an understanding attitude, he slowly Come on.
Hearing this, Kang Yanze was greatly moved and bowed his head again. Then he said: "Although most of the Liao army retreated, they still left a lot of soldiers and horses in the clouds. Although their specific strength is unknown, the general estimated that it was at least 20,000. Moreover, they took all the soldiers and civilians in the city. After moving out, the last general inspected and found out that all the young and strong people in the clouds were forcibly moved north, leaving about 20,000 old, weak, women and children, who were abandoned in the original Liao camp. In the fire, there were many casualties... ..."
In terms of casualties, they were still the old, weak, women and children. On the cruel battlefield, they were like duckweeds, either scattered or crushed.
After hearing what he said, Fu Yanqing immediately frowned. From the series of movements of the Liao army surrounding Yun Zhong, he had a strange feeling. After coming back to his senses, Fu Yanqing asked again: "Where are Shi Yanchao and Yang Ye? Is there any news?"
Hearing this, Kang Yanze shook his head and said solemnly: "There is no military information yet!"
Fu Yanqing immediately lowered his features and said solemnly: "Send people to explore the north, we must find out their situation!"
"This Shi Yanchao, who let him chase him alone!" Fu Yanqing took a deep breath, a little angry: "The Liao army escaped, obviously well prepared, how can we easily chase him and annihilate him! This is using the Han Banqi The elite takes risks to achieve his achievements?"
Seeing Fu Yanqing's anger, several Han generals present did not dare to answer the question. Fu Yanqing calmed down quickly and ordered: "Send out all the cavalry, and be sure to bring back Shi and Yang's troops!"
"yes!"
"Also, keep an eye on Yunzhong City and investigate the enemy's situation in depth!"
"yes!"
When Fu Yanqing was annoyed by Shi Yanchao's pursuing army and sent troops to support him again, Shi Yanchao, who was pursuing aggressively, got into trouble as expected.
At first, taking advantage of the dawn, he led his army to advance quickly, following the traces of the Liao army's brigade along the road, chasing after them. It was almost a thoroughfare, and in the evening, we caught up to the Jiaoshan area south of the Great Wall.
There, we finally caught up with a part of the Liao army. In addition to the Liao cavalry at the rear, there were also some young and strong Hu and Han people who were slower on their feet. Without any hesitation, Shi Yanchao attacked and killed them.
Because the sky was getting dark, Shi Yanchao originally did not want to continue heading north and wanted to rest on the spot. However, from the prisoners' mouths, they learned that not far ahead was where Emperor Luanjia of the Liao Dynasty was located. The Emperor of Liao was in the rear division and there were not many troops.
After receiving the news, Shi Yanchao was so excited that he could not control himself, and immediately ordered to continue the pursuit. Of course, Shi Yanchao was not completely brainless and didn't think about anything.
He had thought about it. The Liao army retreating north had a lot of baggage and miscellaneous troops, and was burdened with heavy burdens. This was an opportunity for pursuit. In addition, the area around Jiaoshan and the Great Wall was hilly and mountainous. Through this area, the speed of marching is even more restricted. There may be a lot of troops behind the Liao army, but in this environment, it is difficult to spread out. In addition, it is eager to return north, so it is not difficult to pursue them. The most important thing is that Emperor Liao's Luan is driving behind him, which is too attractive.
Therefore, Shi Yanchao ignored Kang Zaiyu's dissuasion and forcibly led his men through Jiaoshan. He also broke the Liao army's blockade at the entrance of the Great Wall at night and pursued them in depth. Along the way, we have gained a lot.
However, the hot pursuit of his soldiers and horses, of course, came to the ears of Emperor Liao early, and after some deliberation, he immediately judged his intentions. So Yelu Wuzhi personally arranged to set up an ambush in a valley at the north entrance of the Great Wall, and succeeded in one fell swoop.
Although Shi Yanchao used his brains, he ignored too many things. The Liao army at the rear was elite and not weak in battle. Although they were eager to return home, if you tried to stop them, you would naturally be regarded as life and death enemies. In addition, the Liao monarchs and ministers were well prepared for the Han army's pursuit, and the easy and smooth pursuit and annihilation process further reduced Shi Yanchao's wariness.
Therefore, when the Liao army was ambushed, even the elite Han army soldiers would inevitably fall into chaos. Even if Shi Yanchao and Kang reacted quickly when they met again and gathered troops to resist, they could not avoid falling into a dangerous situation of being attacked from both sides and surrounded by enemies on all sides.
What is even more dangerous is that the Han army was cut into two sections, and the head and tail could not see each other at all, causing the battlefield to form a situation of being cut and surrounded. Poor Han army officers and soldiers, who traveled more than 70 miles north, walked through mountains, and crossed the Great Wall, were very exhausted mentally and physically. Under such circumstances, faced with multiple deliberate attacks by the Liao army and unnecessary casualties, they were killed immediately. Produced in large quantities...
