The setting sun hangs in the west and hangs in the sky. It can be seen that today is a good weather. The distant sky is covered with clouds, emitting brilliant and colorful light, falling on the sea, dyeing the sea water red, as deep as blood.
Liaosuzhou Port has been reduced to ruins. The sea breeze became stronger in the evening and the thick smoke cleared, revealing a shocking scene.
Most of the enemy ships were damaged and sunk, with broken planks rippling in the seawater and corpses floating in pieces. The air was filled with an unpleasant burnt smell, which was blown away by the howling sea wind.
The Liao army's Luzhai was also affected, and most of it was burned. Faced with the Han army's unreasonable tactics, all their pre-war arrangements failed to work.
The officers and soldiers of the Liao Navy were like experiencing a terrible nightmare. More than half of them were burned or bombed to death. Along with their ships, many of them drowned and fled back through the Fu River. There are only a few hundred people on land.
Even if they managed to survive, every one of them would be in shock, as if they were losing their temper. However, this is not the end for them. Adhering to the principle of beating the drowned dog, the Han army did not relax at all and continued to attack. Moreover, Guo Tingwei still had a huge appetite and wanted to devour the remaining Liao army stationed near Suzhou Military Port.
Yelu Xiezhen deployed a total of more than 17,000 Liao troops here, distributed dozens of miles from the military port to the city, and built a large number of fortresses and military strongholds between the two places, all of which were used for confrontation. consume the Han army.
However, the naval force was burned to the ground, allowing the Han army to easily lose one of its wings. The county town was also ravaged in the face of attacks from the sea, causing heavy casualties and a serious blow to morale.
At the same time, the Han army stormed the beach and landed, like a sharp knife, came ashore and cut in the middle, cutting off the connection between the city and the military port.
The dusk is getting darker, but the sound of fighting between Suzhou City and the military port is still fierce. The Liao army commander in charge of the defense of Suzhou is named Yelu Hai. He is in his prime and is a general with rich combat experience.
After receiving the battle report from the south, the naval army was destroyed and the general died in battle, I felt a little panicked, but I adjusted quickly. While facing the indiscriminate bombardment of Donghai Navy in Suzhou City, he decisively sent troops and personally led 3,000 soldiers out of the city and headed south.
Yelu Hai knew clearly that the Han army's warships could not sail ashore. Although the kerosene bombs and rockets were extremely powerful, they could not overwhelm the city and pose a fatal threat. In comparison, those Han troops who landed were still a greater threat.
Of course, his purpose was not to support the military port of Luzhai, but to open a channel to meet the defeated soldiers in the south. The defenses deployed before were like tofu and would break down at the first glance. As a veteran general, Yeluhai knew that the only thing he could rely on to resist the Han army was the city of Suzhou.
However, people are needed to defend the city. If the thousands of defeated soldiers from the south can be brought back to the city, it will also be a huge improvement to the strength of the city defender.
The task given by Yelu Xiezhen to Yelu Hai was to defend Suzhou for a month, while he used navy to attract the attention of the Han army, with the intention that the north and the south would form horns with each other, so that the military port could be defended for at least twenty days.
As a result, the reality is so bleak.
However, although Yelu Hai was a bit brave, the opponent he encountered, Shi Yande, was not a good opponent. He had rich combat experience and was a veteran who had gone through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. He was especially good at fighting tough battles.
In those days, both Pingshu and Pingnan were tempered by mountains of swords and seas of fire. In addition, with the stimulation of the navy's achievements in front of them, their fighting spirit was even higher.
His mission was originally to cut off the two Liao armies, wipe out the remaining Liao armies in the south, and then attack Suzhou City.
Yelu Hai's proactive attack not only put pressure on him, but also allowed him to see opportunities. After sending a force to deal with the desperate and frightened enemies in the south, they decisively led their troops to attack.
An encounter took place more than ten miles southwest of Suzhou City. When the two sides met, it was a life-and-death fight. There was not even too much arrangement. They fought when they met, almost a chaotic battle.
Yelu Hai brought all the elite soldiers sent by Liaoyang. There were no Han soldiers. Among them were some veterans who had participated in the Northern Expedition and the Western Expedition. They were also supervised by Yelu Xiezhen, so their combat power was very strong.
The army led by Shi Yande belongs to the second-line army in Hebei. Although it is not as elite as the Forbidden Army and the Frontier Army, the quality of Hebei warriors is there, and the equipment is better than that of the Liao Army. With Shi Yande taking the lead, Naturally, he did not fall behind.
This kind of fighting was a little more crazy, and what they fought for was the bravery and will of the soldiers. Although the Han army was in a somewhat uncomfortable state after living at sea for many days, the combat cooperation was still very orderly.
In terms of close combat, the Han army maintained long-term training in terms of coordination between troops. However, because Taiping has been around for many years, it is difficult to achieve perfect performance in actual combat.
However, actual combat and casualties are also the best way to improve. As the fierce battle continues, these Han army soldiers will quickly enter the state and actually take what they have learned in daily training to the battlefield.
Although Emperor Liu has been worried about peace for many years, and the soldiers will inevitably be slack in returning to Nanshan, but how can the army at the beginning of the empire's prosperity be easily corrupted? The imperial army built through more than 20 years of war is still It is strong, the generals are willing to fight, and the soldiers are effective in dying.
On the battlefield, the two armies were fighting with less than ten thousand people. The scene did not look that huge, but the sound of killing was loud enough, the fighting was fierce enough, and the fierce fighting on the front line continued to devour the lives of soldiers on both sides.
After more than an hour of fighting, due to the numerical disadvantage, the Liao army was exhausted. Yeluhai was seven feet tall and powerful, and stood out among the Liao army. He also fought on the front line, holding a shield in one hand. Holding a knife in one hand.
The sword in his hand has been changed three times, and twenty-one soldiers have died under his sword. Almost every time he swings the sword, the soldiers facing him will lose blood and armor.
However, relying on bravery to lead the Liao army to support the battle could not save the overall situation. Fighting on the front line, he could clearly feel the changes in the Han army. The fighting spirit was high and the team cooperation was also improving.
A veteran on the battlefield has a keen sense of smell. When he senses that something cannot be done, he has the intention to retreat. He personally takes the rear and leads the people to retreat towards Suzhou City. At the same time, I cursed the army in the south and the Han people in my heart because they were unreliable. Most of the troops in the south were Han people.
He fought for so long, but the army in the south didn't seem to have much reaction. There are not many Han troops who have landed. If we can attack from both sides, defeat this Han army, and then return to the city to hold on, we will definitely be able to restore morale and increase the capital for continued defense.
However, the fighting situation did not go according to his ideas.
Shi Yande was staring at Yelu Hai. The bravery of this Liao general was beyond his expectation, but he did not show off his strength and compete with others. Instead, he always stayed in the formation and directed the battle.
When the Liao army showed their intention to retreat, he, who was good at seizing opportunities, immediately led his troops to attack them and never let them retreat. He did not feel the threat from the enemy forces in the south, which made him free to fight.
It was due to their quality that the Liao army's retreat to the north did not turn into a rout. Yeluhai led his troops to the rear, retreated while fighting, and kept returning along the way they came. The Han army, under the command of Shi Yande, persisted. When the Liao army retreated outside the city, the last light in the sky quietly disappeared.
The world fell into darkness, but the light did not dissipate. There was a fire in Suzhou City, the city towers were burning, and the huge navy ships at sea spread out wildly and fired kerosene bombs at the city.
Although the firelight did not have the effect of reaching the sky, it was like a beacon, illuminating both sides of the fierce battle. Shi Yande has devoted all his troops to chasing and fighting, but he has never been able to defeat them. In addition to the resilience of this Liao army, Yelu Hai took the lead and was too tough.
Targeting this person, Shi Yande also engaged in hidden arrows and shot five sharp arrows himself. However, the effect was not good. One arrow was blocked by the shield, one hit the armor, one was dodged, and the rest all missed.
When approaching Suzhou City, the Han army's pursuit, under the command of Shi Yande, had already relaxed. At one time, the troops were exhausted from the fierce battle, and at the other, they were worried about sending reinforcements in the city.
The night was not chaotic, but even a little clear. Looking at the Liao army retreating into the city from a mile away, and the gate that was gradually closing, Shi Yande couldn't help but spit, and the steel knife with a curled blade was inserted into the ground under his feet unwillingly. .
At this time, he was also sweating profusely, and the smell of blood and sweat was intertwined on his body. The armor covering his whole body loyally protected his master, but it was also full of knife marks and arrow marks. In the final fierce battle, he personally led the charge.
"Let them run away!" Shi Yande said unwillingly.
Of course, he was just talking. After this confrontation, it was obvious that just with his few thousand men, he would not be able to seize the opportunity to invade the city and capture Suzhou City in one fell swoop, achieving great success. However, the results of this battle are still worthy of recognition. The casualties of the attacking Liao army must be more than half.
"To attack the city, we have to rely on our brothers to fight!" Looking at the naval fleet that had finished its work on the sea in the distance, Shi Yande cursed: "So much ammunition was wasted, and the city is still standing still. Do you really think you can defeat the city with these?"
"General, what should we do now?" a general asked Shi Yande.
Without any hesitation, Shi Yande directly ordered: "Gather the soldiers, retreat south, set up camp, count the losses, treat the wounded. And capture prisoners, no, don't take prisoners..."
"General, killing prisoners is a violation of military law." The military discipline of the Han Dynasty was still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Seeing that Shi Yande was a little over the top, the general reminded him hesitantly.
"The sworn enemies of Han and Liao, why should we be polite to the Liao army? These barbarians have good fighting prowess and must be the enemy's elite. How can we expect them to surrender?" Shi Yande said calmly: "Inform the navy to send military supplies and wounded medicine ashore, and then send troops Assist to prevent the Liao army from counterattack!"
As he said that, Shi Yande turned his gaze to the south, with murderous intent in his eyes. He would first clean up the remaining enemies in the south, and then break through Suzhou City!
