A fierce life-and-death attack and defense came to an end with the tacit understanding of both parties. Although the attack has stopped, the existing results still need to be consolidated. The four city gates are firmly in the hands of the Han army.
After fighting fiercely for a whole day, the soldiers built their own camps and retreated to the camp to treat their injuries and recuperate. There were cooks who had prepared soup and food to satisfy their hunger. Naturally, a different group of Han soldiers entered the city, and a simple defense was built outside the fire scene.
At the same time, a large number of civilians began to continue working, carrying injured soldiers and cleaning up the remains. During the four days and three nights of continuous fighting, neither side paid much attention to the corpses. Therefore, mountains of corpses were piled up above and below the city, occupied by broken arms and limbs. There was almost no room left. In fact, many people were killed. Trampled to pulp...
Those who are completely unrecognizable can only be identified by the identity cards of the soldiers. The bodies of the Han soldiers were naturally carefully collected and sorted, but the Liao people were dealt with more casually. Several large pits were dug in the wilderness and buried on the spot, and their flesh and blood were used to enrich the soil of Yunzhou. Improve fertility.
The four city gates that were originally sealed were gradually cleared of earth, stone and hardwood, and passages were cleared. The weapons and armor scattered on the battlefield also need to be collected. In these days of attack and defense, the Han army consumed hundreds of thousands of arrows, and most of them need to be recovered. The battle can be fought in a grand manner, but it is also Can't waste it.
The soldiers below were setting up defenses and resting, but as the generals at the top, they still had to deal with military affairs and there was no room for rest. Liu Chengyou, on the other hand, led people to inspect the wounded soldiers. No matter how genuine his feelings were, it still had a great effect on soothing the morale of the soldiers.
Until late at night, the emperor's imperial tent and the generals who were not on duty gathered together to conduct a phased summary of the siege war. However, at the beginning, Liu Chengyou faced confessions from the generals, which were quite orderly, especially the four commanders. Of course, they all knew it and showed their attitude.
"We were able to defeat the outer city of Yunzhong, firstly because of the bravery of the soldiers, who risked their lives to fight, and secondly because of the able command of the ministers. What's the crime?" Of course Emperor Liu showed great magnanimity: "Although he failed to completely conquer the city and destroy the Liao army, , but the outer city is destroyed, how long can we hold on with just an inner city? Gentlemen, relax your mind, comfort the soldiers, and make persistent efforts to completely defeat Yunzhong and rope in his leader!"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely take the head of the thief chieftain as a tribute!" After Liu Chengyou said this, a veteran general stood up, full of energy, generous and heroic, it was Zhe Fei's father, Zhe Deke. When he said this, he also glanced at the front-line generals in the imperial tent, as if to say, don't fight with me.
In this Northern Expedition, Zhe De's performance was not very active. It was not that he did not try his best, but that he did not find a good opportunity. Leading an army on your own and moving all the way, although it reflects your status, on the battlefield of Yunshuo, if you want to fight a big battle and achieve great achievements, you also need luck.
Therefore, apart from leading his army to capture Shuozhou in this spring offensive, Zhe De had no other achievements to show off. After the army besieged Yunzhou, Zhe Deku also led the army north to assist in the battle. During this siege, Zhe Deku gave his subordinates strict orders and was bound to become the first army to enter Yunzhong. Fu Yanqing also took good care of him when arranging troops. However, it was Li Wanchao's men who took the lead in breaking the city in the end.
Noticing the performance of his father-in-law, Liu Chengyou also gave him face and chuckled: "Then I will wait for you to make a contribution!"
"However, Yelu Talie is indeed an outstanding person. He can lead a lone army and hold on to such a situation without wavering at all. I heard that he did not become an official until he was forty years old and directly took up important positions. I would like to meet him. See this person!" Liu Chengyou sighed.
"It's just a stubborn chief. Although it's a pity, in the face of our Han Heavenly Soldiers, it is inevitable that he will eventually fall!" Chai Rong said calmly, his tone seemed to contain a reminder to the emperor.
Liu Chengyou also felt that although praising the enemy's coach in front of these generals could have a certain motivating effect and show his ability, it was still somewhat inappropriate. Especially, after just going through a hard fight.
After reacting, Liu Chengyou said: "However, if that hero and my enemy want to resist, I will do it for them!"
After finishing speaking, he asked Zhang Jie: "Have the casualties of each army been counted?"
"Your Majesty, after summarizing the reports from all armies, counting from the day of the siege to now, 1,055 soldiers and civilians have been killed and 3,290 wounded. 4,836 officers and soldiers have been killed and 8,495 wounded. Among them, 47 officers above the captain have been killed. .”
Upon hearing this, the emperor and his ministers couldn't help but be silent. The casualties were not small at all. Although he had experienced heavy injuries like the Battle of Nankou, he still felt heavy when hearing those numbers. The cruelty behind them was something Liu Chengyou had personally experienced.
"Where is the Liao army?" Liu Chengyou asked again.
"There is no detailed calculation, but the casualties must exceed 10,000!" Zhang Jie responded.
As the siege party, the defenders relied on the strong city and were not weak brigades. They also had unified command and effective organization. The ability to control the battle loss ratio close to one to one was already a reflection of the strong strength of the Han army.
"Your Majesty, I learned from several prisoners that before the Lord of Liao withdrew to the north, he left behind about 27,000 troops. After several subsequent battles and probing contacts, there were about 2,000 casualties. After this attack and defense, After all kinds of losses have been removed, there should be more than 10,000 combatable soldiers among the Liao army retreating to the inner city!" Fu Yanqing reported.
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou nodded lightly: "There are still more than 10,000 enemies left. Although the inner city is not as tall and solid as the outer city, if you want to break it by force, you still have to save many lives of soldiers. It has been nearly August since the Northern Expedition. The soldiers and civilians have paid a heavy price in terms of casualties. Although I say I don’t want to control the troops, I still can’t bear it in my heart!”
"Your Majesty is so considerate of the officers and soldiers, how can the ministers not serve and be loyal to the death?" After listening to Liu Chengyou's words, Dong Zunjie cupped his hands and worshiped tactfully.
In response, Liu Chengyou waved his hand and said, "Let's discuss how to break through the inner city and eliminate the Liao army while reducing casualties!"
His eyes fell on Fu Yanqing, he was the commander-in-chief after all. Fu Yanqing thought for a while and responded: "Your Majesty, the soldiers are fighting continuously day and night. Although they take turns to fight, they will inevitably be tired after these four days and two nights. Of course, the Liao army is also the same, and it is more powerful than us. Weary. I suggest that we first occupy the city defense and rest for a day or two so that the soldiers can recharge their batteries. Judging from the speed of recovery, the Liao army will definitely not be able to match our army. Moreover, after such a hard battle, we should give it a little chance to breathe. , should be able to demoralize..."
"King Wei is worthy of being a veteran on the battlefield. He has a clear understanding of the battle situation, and his advice is quite timely!" Liu Chengyou said: "The soldiers have worked hard in continuous battles, and I also intend to rest instead. However, during this rest time, I should do something else. Well, we can’t let the Liao army recuperate safely in the inner city!”
"Your Majesty, the Liao army has harassed us so much before that it was almost inexhaustible. Now that Guocheng is in our hands, we can counterattack in this way, disturb it, and make it uneasy!" Gao Huaide said.
Zhao Kuangyin thought for a while and suggested: "It is feasible to persuade to surrender. The battle has progressed to this point and the situation is very clear. Yelv Tarlie may have a heart of stone, but the Liao soldiers under his command may not be so. The strategy of persuading surrender may not be It can be done, but it can shake their military morale."
"Strategies to weaken the enemy and attack the enemy's heart can be used! But to have the decisive effect, fear is not enough!" Liu Chengyou said.
At this time, Chai Rong spoke with a cold expression: "Your Majesty, the Liao army set off a big fire to block our offensive. We can follow suit. The inner city is not big, so we can collect hay and firewood and pile them up under the city. Then use a thunderbolt car to throw the diesel fuel into the city.
Burn the city!
The Liao army had to bear the burden and moved all the Han people out of the city, so we don't have to have any taboos! "
Looking at Chai Rong, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Chai Rong was very decisive and ruthless at critical moments. However, Liu Chengyou had only one response to his suggestion: "Do it like this!"
In the next three days, the Han army piled up dry firewood and firewood outside the inner city like a mountain. All the remaining kerosene in the army was used. In addition, a large amount of coal was urgently transported from Yingzhou and sent to Pili chariots. Projectile in the city.
Facing what the Han army did, the Liao army saw it in their eyes and were anxious in their hearts, but they didn't have much to do. Fetching water from the well in an emergency was of no use at that time. Either it depends on the weather, there will be a few spring rains, but it will be sunny for several days in a row, and the weather will become increasingly sunny.
In the end, under the operation of the Han "arsonist", a violent fire engulfed the inner city of Yunzhong, and the defenders were burned, choked to death, and countless others died from the heat. treat
After the fire was extinguished, the Han army entered the city calmly.
