In late autumn, the land in northern Xinjiang is already withered and yellow. The autumn wind is howling, sweeping across the Great Wall inside and outside, accompanied by the rising beacon smoke. Starting from mid-September, the Liao army launched an attack on the Hanguan border defense. For a time, warning signs were everywhere along the Hanguan Pass along the Great Wall.
In the north of Shanyang, along the line of the Great Wall, there were a total of twenty-four large and small forts before and after the Han Dynasty. They were distributed at important road passes. Each garrison had soldiers. The large fort had 200 soldiers and the small garrison had only 20 soldiers.
These garrison points really do not play much of a defensive role along the long Great Wall. Their most important function is to provide security. In the past ten years or so, the Han's control and influence over the north of the Great Wall has been increasing day by day, so the defense construction of forts has slowed down.
And this time, the Liao army invaded the south in a large scale, and these forts naturally failed to play a much blocking role. However, in times of emergency, all garrison units received only one order: stand firm and wait for help, and are not allowed to give up or retreat.
Obviously, the imperial court's intention was to use these forts to try to prevent and delay the Liao army's southern invasion, even if it could only provide some meager strength, it must do its best.
Even the Hu and Han tribes and herdsmen north of the Great Wall became bait to attract the Liao army. The smart and quick ones fled back to the southern part of the country early, perhaps hiding in the city or deep in the mountains.
And more people became the initial victims of this war. Those Zhendian pastures, led by the Shanyang government and built by the Hu and Han people, did attract the attention of the Liao army.
The Liao army marched westward and spent a full seven days raiding and plundering the people in northern Saibei who had not responded in time. For the Liao army, which was driven to the end by the war, not to mention the livestock, grain, tea, salt, and ironware. , even tents and fodder are valuable for looting.
And these seven days are also very precious to the Han army. Because the situation had deteriorated so much, even if the Han Dynasty reacted quickly enough under Emperor Liu's instructions, it still needed time.
Whether it is the transmission of orders, the mobilization of troops and horses, the collection of military supplies, or the shelter of the people, it all takes time. For example, the farthest transfer order to Fengzhou, even if you work hard and work without sleep, will take six or seven days. If you add in the time to prepare for the eastern aid, it will be even more.
Therefore, in the extra six or seven days, I am still thirsty. However, for the big man to prepare for war, even half a day or an extra day is still earned.
At least, during the Liao army's sweep of Monan, the Fengyi Army sent Tian Zhong to lead five thousand troops back to Yunzhong. Reinforcements from the nearby Ningyuan, Dingxiang, and Yongning also arrived one after another. Jiuyuan Hou Li Wanchao did not care about his old age and hurriedly arrived. Yunzhong began to coordinate the Shanyang armies.
On the Shanyang side, the Liao army responded in full swing and did not relax too much. Yelvxian issued an order in time to restrain the looting Liao army and continue their journey south.
This time, Yelvxian's goal was very clear. There was no temptation, and he did not bother with the Han army's pass fortresses along the Great Wall. Instead, he headed directly for Jiaoshan Town, about a hundred miles north of Yunzhong.
Jiaoshan Town is the main route from Monan to Shanyang. It was this route that Yelujing's army took when it retreated from Yunzhong to the north. In the past, the Han Dynasty had 500 garrison troops stationed here all year round. Due to the Northern Expedition and Li Chuyun's northward rescue of Liu Tinghan, most of them were transferred, leaving only 200 soldiers.
Of course, Yelvxian chose to break through Jiaoshan Town not because he saw the emptiness of this pass, but because he felt that this road was easy to walk. As the main military and commercial transportation thoroughfare in the southern part of the country and the northern part of the country, the Shanyang government had Those who carried out construction and widening are now being used by the Liao army.
On the Shanyang side, due to the lack of a backbone, the reaction could not keep up. After Tian Chongjin returned to Yunzhong, he first went to Jiaoshan Town to add a thousand troops, but these one thousand were also exhausted.
After catching up with the Jiaoshan defensive battle, they faced dozens of times the enemy force. The Liao army, driven by Yelvxian, was very determined. The cavalry was used as infantry, and the elite dead soldiers were selected and dismounted to attack the stronghold. , regardless of casualties.
As a result, the Han army resisted for three full days before the town of Jiaoshan was breached. The Liao army suffered more than 3,000 casualties, and the more than 1,000 Han troops who defended were all killed in battle. The few hundred remaining in the town were The people were not spared and were all killed.
At that time, after Li Wanchao took office, he learned about the danger of Jiaoshan Town and urgently sent Tian Chongjin to lead three thousand troops northward for reinforcements. Halfway through the journey, he learned the news that Jiaoshan Town had fallen, so he had no choice but to turn back to Yunzhong.
The fall of Jiaoshan Town was like a hole in the dam, and the Liao army poured into Shanyang like a flood. On September 17, Jiaoshan Town was broken. On the evening of September 18, the Liao army's vanguard, Wanqi, moved south to knock the pass.
By September 20th, nearly 100,000 Liao troops, led by Liao Emperor Yelu Xian, came to Yunzhong City and surrounded it. At this time, in Yunzhong City, there were less than 50,000 troops and civilians, and only more than 12,000 capable warriors. More reinforcements were either on the way to support or were still being urgently recruited.
Fortunately, Li Wanchao, Marquis of Jiuyuan, was in charge of the military defense. The veteran general had a high prestige. He was able to provide peace of mind to the troops and the people, and made overall arrangements. He did a good job. Yunzhong City was rebuilt by Song Qi when he was in office. The city is very solid. Although there are only more than 10,000 soldiers in the city, it is composed of several frontier troops, so its combat power is still guaranteed, and the official granary is stocked with more than 10,000 soldiers. A large amount of military supplies prepared for the Central Army.
The troops were slightly weaker, but there was no shortage of food, grass and weapons. In order to make up for the lack of defensive manpower, Li Wanchao directly organized all the strong men in the city and issued weapons to assist in defending the city. The men who make a living in the border states have always been a good source of soldiers. Many of them are rural soldiers. They are brave warriors given the weapons. And when it comes to defending against the Liao army, they share the same hatred and the whole city is united.
Probably feeling the difficulty in Yun Zhong, although the Liao army surrounded the city, the order to attack was delayed. On the 21st, after resting for a day, the Liao army simply and clearly stated that they would give up the attack on Yunzhong, and instead chose to divide their troops into four fields to attack and plunder other states and counties.
Yunzhong may be impregnable and difficult to conquer, but the same cannot be said for other prefectures and counties in Shanyang. The Liao army may not have the guts to attack Yunzhong, but it is obvious that they still have to take a bite of those small towns.
So in late September, a large area south and east of Yunzhong became a racecourse where the Liao army was raging. More than 40,000 Liao troops were divided into groups and attacked from all directions, attacking cities, looting, burning houses and destroying fields.
Although the Shanyang government had already done the work of strengthening the walls and clearing the country, there were always people who could not escape and property and food that could not be accommodated. These were the targets of the Liao army's attack.
The most arrogant Liao army even crossed the Sanggan River and attacked Jincheng County, the prefecture city of Yingzhou. However, this was a prefecture city after all. The garrison officers, soldiers and civilians were very tough and resisted tenaciously. The Liao cavalry who dared to attack the city were knocked down. His head was broken and bloody.
Of course, not all Seoul cities have that kind of defense capability. For example, Huairen City south of Yunzhong was where Fu Yanqing garrisoned during the Northern Expedition. It was besieged by more than 10,000 Liao troops. Although it resisted desperately, the city was still destroyed. People die.
Changqing County, east of Yunzhong, was established not long ago. It is a young county newly established in the east of Yunzhong. The town is small and there are few people. Even though the location is advantageous, it still cannot withstand the Liao army's attack.
As time went by, the situation became somewhat clearer. The Liao army moved south in a large scale, and even resolutely broke through the Great Wall and entered the southern part of the Great Wall. The soldiers invaded Yunzhong. Defeating Yunzhong was obviously not the main purpose. They took advantage of the empty mountain sun to plunder the northern Xinjiang. Destruction is the goal.
In this case, there is a limitation of insufficient strength, and what the Han army can do in a short period of time becomes less. When sending additional reinforcements, we must be careful to avoid being taken advantage of by the Liao army on the way. We must always be on guard against such conspiracy as besieging the city for reinforcements. The Han army used to use it in the past, and the Liao army will also do it.
The defenders in Yunzhong were strong enough, so they could only retreat to the city for the time being. After all, there were still more than 50,000 Liao troops outside the city besieging and monitoring them. Even if this is the case in Yunzhong, the people in other states and counties can only rely on themselves.
Historically, in defensive operations, the defender has often fallen into this dilemma. If a city is trapped for a long time, it will be lost. This not only tests the general's command and dispatch ability, as well as the morale of the army, but also requires reinforcements to see the hope of holding it.
In fact, the situation faced by Yunzhong was much better. Although he was trapped, he was safe and secure. Reinforcements from all walks of life were also arriving under overall planning. All they needed to do was to cooperate with the subsequent operations.
It's just that the feeling of being under siege and watching the enemy troops march across the border, ravage the territory, and invade the hometown is not so pleasant.
