The dark night often brings tranquility and tranquility to the world. The wind carrying the tide is not so delicate, but it still dissipates a lot of summer heat when it blows on the body. However, for Yelu Hai, the Liao army commander in charge of the defense of southern Liaoning, But there is no interest in enjoying this comfort.
The night was hazy and gradually deepened, just like a shadow hanging over Yelu Hai's heart. An army with an indistinguishable number, led by Yelu Hai, was driven along the official road. It was tense and morale was low.
The Liao Kingdom doesn't pay much attention to road construction and doesn't have the energy. In addition, southern Liaoning is a bit remote, so the road looks bumpy and rough. You can feel the road ahead without looking at it. of twists and turns.
With a military order, the Liao army finally stopped, and its tense nerves were relaxed. As soon as they relaxed, they were completely reduced to a group of defeated soldiers who had lost their discipline, scattered in all directions, and many people lay down on the spot.
Yelu Hai also got off his horse. The moment he landed on the ground, his body swayed and he almost stopped standing. At this time, Yelu Hai looked particularly embarrassed, like a bereaved dog. The stimulation brought by the pain of failure made him almost ignore the pain caused by the wounds on his body.
In the dusk, there are mountains on the right, green forest fields on the left, and the wind blows on the grass and trees, which is cool and chilly. Yelu Hai can be considered a tough guy, but at this time, seeing the soldiers still following him and facing this defeated army, he couldn't help but feel sad.
Defeated, ultimately defeated! Even though I had expected it, I never expected that I would be defeated so simply and so humiliatingly...
Within ten days, the Suzhou city he was guarding was captured by the Han army. This was something he never expected. Who would have thought that the Han army's sailors were not only good at water warfare, but also good at land warfare and attacking cities and villages. The Han army's generals were willing to use those sailors for land warfare.
You must know that as far as the military services are concerned, the requirements and standards for sailor training are higher. The limitations are there. Of course, the current navy officers and soldiers still do not have so many "technical skills", and fighting is also a basic skill.
On the second day after the naval battle at Suzhou Port, the Han army continued to launch an offensive, and first eliminated thousands of defeated troops in the south. It was only one night before the tragic death of the Suzhou Navy. The remaining people had already lost their courage. They had no fighting spirit and no fighting spirit. In addition, most of them were Han or Bohai people. Facing the Han army's attack, except for Most of the few die-hards chose to surrender.
A series of defensive fortresses arranged by Yeluhai around Suzhou Port had almost no effect and collapsed. They were swept across by Shi Yande and his men, and were easily annihilated. Speaking of which, most of the naval forces established by the Liao Kingdom were Han Chinese from Liaonan prefectures and counties.
It has to be said that when the Han conquered Liaodong, the people who suffered the most damage and losses were the local people of all ethnic groups, including the Han people. However, in the context of the decisive battle between Han and Liao, in this great era, there are only friends and foes, regardless of race.
While Shi Yande was annihilating the remnants of the Liao army in the south, Yeluhai did not sit still and wait for death. Instead, he chose to take the initiative again, hoping to contain the Han army's actions and undermine their intentions.
This time, there was still no success. Another person was used to deal with him. Lin Renzhao, the commander of the Laizhou capital, was another Jiangnan general. In the Pingnan War, Lin Renzhao tried his best to resist and launched the most violent counterattack by the Southern Army against the Han Army. However, the situation was irreversible. He was talented and decisive, but he was unable to recover and was defeated outside Changzhou City. He fled back to Runzhou in embarrassment.
Later, Jinling was besieged and Li Yu surrendered. In desperation, he also surrendered to the imperial court. Emperor Liu had heard of his reputation and was very interested in this last general who was a pillar general in the south of the Yangtze River. He even met with him personally.
After an inspection, he expressed his appreciation and asked him to serve in the Donghai Navy. Generally speaking, the life of a reduced general is not easy, but the Han Empire has always been tolerant, and Lin Renzhao was praised by the emperor. Naturally, he was extremely moved, and his thoughts changed quickly. When he arrived at the East China Sea Navy, he immediately corrected his status and fulfilled his duties faithfully.
And unlike the general Jiangnan surrenders, he was originally from Fujian. After the Southern Tang Dynasty destroyed Fujian, he submitted his allegiance and waited for the unification of the world. Naturally, he would not miss the small separatist regime that was eliminated too much.
Due to his outstanding ability to lead troops and his diligent performance, Lin Renzhao was promoted and promoted while integrating into the Han Dynasty Navy in recent years. In addition to being a naval officer, he also served as the commander of Laizhou City. However, he also needed an opportunity to prove his loyalty. At this point, he was more eager than Guo Tingwei, so the Northern Expedition was in line with his ambition.
Therefore, when Yelu Hai attacked again, he faced the well-trained Laizhou navy, which Lin Renzhao had commanded for many years and was almost as strong as his arm, coupled with his excellent commanding skills.
Yelu Hai, who had suffered a defeat just the night before, suffered another setback. After suffering nearly a thousand casualties, he had no choice but to retreat and once again retreated into Suzhou City.
The next war progressed step by step according to the rhythm of the Han army in the past. After clearing out the remaining enemies in the south, they launched a combined land and water attack and overwhelmed the city. After two days of rest and careful deployment preparations, the Han army marched towards Suzhou City launched an attack.
In fact, after advancing into Suzhou Port and determining the enemy's response, Guo Tingwei had already sent people to notify Wuqing Port in the west and Laizhou Port in the south to transfer the troops, horses and ordnance to be prepared later to Liaonan to replenish consumption. and increase land offensive capabilities.
Attacking by sea is a strategic decision, but the Han Dynasty has never thought that it would be unrealistic to sweep through southern Liaoning and advance into Liaoyang with only the Donghai Navy. After the navy, 40,000 troops were prepared.
However, it will take time for all of these to be transported to southern Liaoning. However, after destroying the enemy navy in one battle and approaching the city in another battle, Guo Tingwei was also a little tempted when faced with such fruitful results. In order not to give the Liao army more time to breathe, but also to annihilate the enemy forces in Suzhou, this Then he gave the order to attack the city directly.
At that time, there were only 6,000 Liao troops left in the city of Suzhou. For a small city like Suzhou, such a force was not too weak. In addition, there was a lot of food and ammunition stored in the city, so the power to defend the city was is enough. However, after suffering successive setbacks, their morale had already declined, their confidence was lost, and they were faced with pressure from the Han army on both land and water. Naturally, the result was not what Yelu Hai intended.
This time, the protagonist was the navy. Guo Tingwei sent a total of 15,000 sailors ashore to cooperate with Shi Yande's infantry to participate in the siege. In terms of overcoming difficulties, the navy soldiers may not be as good as the army, but that is also relative.
Coupled with the hard and soft conditions such as situation, morale, and weapons and equipment, the Donghai Navy has fully demonstrated its excellent style. There are no large siege weapons such as ladders, but there is no shortage of sharp weapons such as thunder cannons, catapults, crossbows, and rams.
The reason why the fleet size of the Donghai Navy's attack was so huge was that, in addition to battleships, there were also a large number of large sea ships carrying ordnance supplies, including the above-mentioned weapons.
In addition, before the siege, Guo Tingwei ruthlessly used the surrendered prisoners as cannon fodder. When various unfavorable factors came to the Liao defenders at the same time, the result was doomed.
Liao general Yelu Hai was tenacious and determined to persevere, but he could not force his soldiers to be as tough as him. Under the strong attack of the Han army, he suffered heavy casualties. After resisting for six or seven days, he saw that he could not defend himself. I chose to abandon the city.
Guo Tingwei did not choose to besiege, but chose to attack from the east and south, supplemented by naval support at sea. Yeluhai led the remaining four thousand soldiers to flee north. He had no other choice but to fight as a trapped beast.
As for reinforcements, he did not expect them. Yelv Xiezhen gave him a total of nearly 20,000 troops. After leaving the city, they were intercepted and killed by an ambush of the Han army. Guo Tingwei's three sons made a great contribution and pursued them fiercely. They left half of the defeated army before they got out of the battle.
After fleeing for a whole day, they were defeated for hundreds of miles, and now they had a chance to breathe.
