If Emperor Liu is dissatisfied with the current results and wants to continue the war, pursue more results, and pursue the Liao Kingdom fiercely, then Liu Tinghan's defeat will make him angry, dissatisfied, and even furious.
However, after accepting Liu Yang's suggestion to withdraw troops from the northeast, Emperor Liu became more open-minded. Even if the war could not be completely ended (that was not wishful thinking on the part of the Han Dynasty), he still planned to reduce the scale of the war and maintain it within the limits of the Han Dynasty. Within the tolerance range.
Therefore, the anxiety he felt after learning that Liu Tinghan's army was trapped was almost relieved. Under this premise, Liu Tinghan's army is also on the list of withdrawals. Even with this defeat, it is acceptable to be rescued and returned.
Even if the entire army is wiped out, there will not be too many casualties. When summarizing the Northern Expedition, we will just report more losses. Of course, Emperor Liu was not that generous. Liu Tinghan's army was the elite of the Han army, especially the more than 10,000 Forbidden Army cavalry, and even the backbone of the cavalry. If they were all lost, he would be heartbroken. .
"The Central Route Army attacked and fought fiercely outside the Great Wall. It was a hard work! Although there were mistakes this time, they did their best for the Northern Expedition. A defeat cannot cover up their glory and achievements. They should be recognized!" Emperor Liu put down his tea cup and said softly:
"You draft a letter to comfort the officers and soldiers of the Middle Route Army, and then send an order to Liu Tinghan to let the returning soldiers have a good rest. In addition, ask Chu Zhaofu of Yanshan and Shi Xizai of Hedong to each raise a batch of grain, flour, wine, meat, fruits, vegetables and medicinal materials to distribute He went to the army to express his condolences. As for Liu Tinghan, let him not be too busy pleading guilty. The court will judge his merits and demerits. Let him take care of military affairs first!"
"Yes!" Cao Bin responded.
"With this defeat, the military defenses on the Guanshan front line need to be adjusted! What are the trends of the Liao army? It is rare to gain a victory, and they will not give up before they have achieved full success!" Emperor Liu pointed out with an eyebrow. Obviously, he also We know what is more important is the aftermath, how to eliminate the impact of the defeat, and how to deal with the Liao army's next move.
Cao Bin responded in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is wise! As your Majesty said, Emperor Liao personally led hundreds of thousands of people to pursue the victory southward and stopped at Yanzi City! Liu Tinghan has deployed defenses at Yehuling. The terrain there is dangerous and the fortress is It is perfect, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Although the enemy army is large, it is difficult to break through! Outside Yehu Ridge, strong walls have also been prepared to clear the country. Cattle, horses, livestock, and people's property have all been admitted. If the Liao army is arrogant and attacks, it will be severely defeated. Of!"
Listening to his words, Emperor Liu showed no joy on his face, and his face seemed to be covered with a layer of dark clouds. He glanced at Cao Bin and said coldly: "Yehu Ridge, this battle will let the Liao army reach the gate of Xuanhua. , if something goes wrong, could the Liao army threaten Youzhou’s security?"
"My incompetence caused this mistake. Please calm down your Majesty!" Seeing that Emperor Liu was showing signs of anger, Cao Bin lowered his head and apologized, and then said: "In this Northern Expedition, the border army and the Yanshan Army mobilized a lot of troops and civilians. Most of the military power was concentrated on the east road, resulting in the defenses of the Great Wall passes being empty, Liu Tinghan's army was defeated, and the Liao army moved south in a large scale, thus finding itself in this dilemma!"
Looking at Emperor Liu with a gloomy expression, Cao Bin continued: "If the Liao army wants to go to Yehuling, break Xuanhua, and threaten Youzhou from the east, then relying on the terrain and defense, they can still resist it. As long as they strengthen the defense closely, they can Solve the problem!
However, what I am more worried about is that the Liao army will not retreat to Yehuling, and the troops will turn westward, sweep through Monan, and attack Shanyang! From Yunzhong to Xuanhua, there are hundreds of miles of Guanshan. Although there is the Great Wall as a supporting defense and many forts and towns, it is impossible to cover everything. Under this situation, as long as the Liao army breaks through a little, it is very likely to break into the south of the Great Wall and advance into the hinterland of Shanyang.
Nowadays, since Li sent troops to the north for reinforcements, Yunzhong City is very empty. Only the Fengyi Army is stationed with less than 5,000 men. Only the Ningyuan Army is nearby to take care of the defense of the Great Wall and can provide rescue.
Once the Liao army successfully breaks through the Great Wall defense line, there will be a crisis in the clouds and a crisis in the mountains! Even if Yunzhong City is strong and can be defended, Shanyang Road will definitely be destroyed by war, and the Han Dynasty's management of Shanyang for more than ten years will also be destroyed.
Moreover, north of the Great Wall, there are also many Han people and naturalized tribes who have not moved inland. If sudden changes occur, they will not be able to withstand the invasion of the Liao army.
Therefore, I believe that the current situation in Shanyang is the most important and critical. The imperial court needs to respond urgently, mobilize troops, and go north to strengthen the defense to defeat the Liao army and minimize losses..."
After hearing what Cao Bin said, Emperor Liu could no longer sit still and stood up directly, pacing in the study just like Cao Bin had done before.
This was probably the most solemn moment Emperor Liu had since the Northern Expedition. Even the defeat of Yaozhou more than two months ago had never made Emperor Liu so nervous.
The autumn coolness was like a tide, constantly pouring in through the windows and doors. The dim candlelight was crumbling, and the flickering flames seemed to tell the anxiety in his heart.
In his mind, he kept reviewing the military layout and arrangements of the Northern Expedition, and various pieces of information flashed. Emperor Liu suddenly realized that the Han Dynasty seemed to be a little overconfident. The reason is due to him as the emperor, but also to the carelessness of the civil and military ministers and generals.
"Can the Liao Kingdom mobilize an army of hundreds of thousands to go south?" Emperor Liu stopped his slightly heavy steps and asked in a deep voice without any extra emotion on his face. He regained his composure.
Cao Bin replied: "Your Majesty, summarizing the previous spying information and military battle reports, since the war began, the Liao army has not supported more than 50,000 troops to the northeast. From Monan to Mobei, although the Liao army also suffered some losses, But in addition to Mobei, Xiren, and Han Kuang's American troops in Mozhongnan, the Liao Kingdom still has a heavy army stationed in Shangjing!
With all the Khitan people as soldiers, the Liao Kingdom also has the strength to organize an army of more than 100,000 people, maybe even more..."
"The Liao Kingdom has been patient for so long, and it gave me such a surprise!" Emperor Liu turned around, sat down slowly, and said: "I still underestimated this little boy Yelvxian... I went south with an empty nest, and I was very determined. so big!"
After simply sighing with emotion, Emperor Liu directly asked Cao Bin for advice: "How to deal with it, do you have any ideas?"
Cao Bin: "The only solution now is to quickly order all the passes of the Great Wall to be more vigilant, strengthen defense, and carry out strong defenses inside and outside the Great Wall. At the same time, what must be done quickly is to increase troops to Shanyang and strengthen defense. The strength, especially the defense in the cloud, cannot be compromised!”
"How many troops and horses are available around Yunzhong?" Emperor Liu asked, but he listened to Cao Bin's words, especially the lack of defense in Beiguan.
"Liaodong is the only one with the most abundant military strength. However, it is difficult to quench the thirst for water from afar. Even if it can be mobilized, it will be difficult to maintain combat power with support from thousands of miles away!" Cao Bin said: "The only ones around Yunzhong that can be mobilized urgently are One part of the Ningyuan Army, the Yanmen Dingxiang Army, and the Shuozhou Yongning Army, but both armies are insufficient in strength and need to ensure the safety of the fortress, so two thousand soldiers can be mobilized.
In addition, the Baoning Army in Shengzhou and General Yang left tens of thousands of troops in Fengzhou before heading north, so they could aid eastward. However, the journey was long and difficult, and it would take enough time to send an order to aid eastward, so it might not be difficult to get in front of the Liao army. "
Emperor Liu calculated silently and said, "In other words, including the nearby Fengyi, Ningyuan, Baoning, and Dingxiang armies, the number of troops that can be gathered is not enough for 20,000?"
"Your Majesty, the total recruitment is only 13,000 people!" Cao Bin said with a bitter tone: "Therefore, we can only recruit young men from the people for defense! Fortunately, the autumn harvest of Shanyang has passed. If we can advance it, Bringing the people of Shanyang into the city can slightly make up for the lack of military strength!"
"That's not enough!" Emperor Liu said.
"You can call for military service from Hedong and go north!" Cao Bin said directly.
Shanyang is backed by Hedong. At this critical moment, only Hedong can provide the greatest support. This is also the responsibility Hedong should bear.
Therefore, Emperor Liu did not hesitate much and directly ordered: "Instruct the Hedong Taoist priest to go all out to help Shanyang from the north!"
"In addition, Youzhou has also dispatched 10,000 soldiers to support the west!" Emperor Liu added.
Hearing this, Cao Bin immediately dissuaded him: "Your Majesty, Youzhou's troops and horses are not enough, and they still need to defend the emperor. We must not make any more deployments!"
Emperor Liu immediately replied: "We will dispatch three thousand people from the accompanying imperial guards to the west. Their responsibility is not only to protect me, but also to protect the country and the people, and defend the country against enemies. It is also their mission!"
Although Cao Bin was still hesitant, seeing that Emperor Liu was resolute, he could no longer forcefully remonstrate. But in this situation, even if it is not so critical, the emperor's safety is still the top priority, so he reported: "In this case, we should recruit more soldiers and civilians from Hebei to go north to defend the emperor!"
"Yes!" Emperor Liu did not veto this suggestion.
"Send the order, Liu Tinghan is demoted and retained to guard Yehuling! Tell him directly that if something goes wrong again, he doesn't have to come back to see me!" Emperor Liu's tone was stern, completely opposite to his previous attitude.
"Li Chuyun returned to Yunzhong and took charge of Shanyang's defense!" Emperor Liu said again.
"Your Majesty, Commander Li has been seriously ill after working hard to support the troops from the north. I'm afraid he will not be able to support the heavy burden of Shanyang's defense!" Cao Bin hesitated and reported.
This point was unexpected by Emperor Liu. He thought for a while and said: "Let Li Wanchao go up from the northeast of Hebei Province and station in Yunzhong to oversee all the armies in preparation for the invasion of the Liao army! At the beginning of the war, Fengyi Army envoy Tian Chongjin performed well. Let him cooperate with Li Wanchao!"
"yes!"
Jiuyuan Marquis Li Wanchao has been recuperating in his hometown in Taiyuan since he retired from Fengzhou. Later, he came back to work and also served in Hedong Road. He was waiting for retirement. During the northern tour last year, he was specially interviewed.
Back then, he had said that he would make great use of Li Wanchao, but he never thought that his words would come true and he would really make great use of him. Although the old general's body is still strong, he is already sixty-seven years old after all. But when encountering trouble, considering the situation in Shanyang, the first thing Emperor Liu thought of was Li Wanchao, and he was really willing to use it, and he really dared to use it!
