Outside Baozhou City, there is the main camp of the Liao Army.
Han Dewei, the privy envoy of the Southern Court of the Liao Kingdom, was sitting in the Chinese army's tent. He was wearing a mink fur coat and a felt hat. He held a wine glass in his hand and looked playfully at a Liao general who was kneeling in the tent.
In the large tent, there were many generals of the Liao Kingdom, including the vanguard officer Xiao Taolin, the commander Tie Lin Zuoxiang Yelu Buhua, Lin Ya officer Chen Ying and other civil and military officials.
And the Liao general who was kneeling down was the right deputy commander of the Tielin Army, Xiao Sami, who was sent to pick up Li'er and was killed by Yang Yunfan.
This time, Xiao Sa Ni was really miserable after picking up someone who was defeated. Who would have thought that Huo Ji would suddenly betray him? What he thought was an easy job failed because of an unexpected backstab. What's more, This might affect the overall situation, and Xiao Sayou was very frightened. Although he could be considered a member of the Queen Mother's Xiao family, he was a side branch. Facing the powerful Han Dewei, he still knelt down and bowed his head fearfully. After all, the person standing behind Han Dewei was Jin Wang Handerang.
After hearing the whole story, Han Dewei was not as angry as Xiao SaNi imagined, and he playfully turned the wine glass in his hand thoughtfully. After a moment, he asked Xiao SaNi to step back with a smile.
Xiao Sayou couldn't believe his ears for a moment. After he recovered his senses, he stepped back and walked out of the tent as if he had been granted amnesty.
After Xiao Sa Ni withdrew from the tent, Yelu Buhua, the commander of Zuoxiang of the Tielin Army, asked: "Xiao Sa Ni, you are so incompetent in doing things. You can't even do such a small thing well."
The two armies of the Tielin Army had always been at odds with each other in the Liao Army. Now that there was an opportunity to add insult to injury, Yelvbuhua would not let go of the opportunity.
Hearing this, Lin Yaguan Chen Ying came out and said, "Although Deputy Commander Xiao has not completed his mission, the reason is because of Huo Ji's sudden betrayal. It happened suddenly and happened to catch up." The imperial army of the Song Dynasty came to help. It is a blessing to be able to withdraw safely. I think it is not appropriate to criticize too much..."
Lin Ya was a high-ranking civil servant in the Liao Kingdom and was in charge of Wenhan's affairs. Chen Ying was a Han from Yanyun. When Yelvxian was in power, he participated in the Liao Kingdom's imperial examinations and won the first prize in one fell swoop. His successful official career all the way to Linya was a rare rise in the officialdom of the Liao Kingdom.
Chen Ying's niece married Xiao SaNi's cousin, and the two were considered to be related by marriage, so they came forward to smooth things over for Xiao SaNi.
Han Dewei, who was sitting high on the master's chair, saw the two people's thoughts in his eyes, snorted coldly in his heart, but said with a smile: "This matter has nothing to do with the overall situation, but Huo Ji's repeated jumps are kind of interesting!"
After hearing this, the pioneer officer Xiao Talin said disdainfully: "The Han people are so capricious. No wonder those mud-legged people in Shuzhong seemed to be making a big fuss, but they fell apart in the blink of an eye..."
Chen Ying asked: "Privilege Han, what's going on with Dangxiang now? Once the rebellion in central Shu is put down, the Song people will have their hands free. If Dangxiang doesn't send troops to attack the Song Dynasty, then the three-pronged attack on the Song Dynasty will be impossible." It’s become our path…”
Upon hearing this, Han Dewei took out an urgent military report from the Zhifang Division and said: "The news from the Zhifang Division yesterday is that the Dangxiang people seem to be mobilizing tribes to prepare to go south, but... I always feel that Li Jiqian is deliberately bluffing, and there seems to be something else. Pictured..."
In fact, the reason why Han Dewei is so suspicious is because Li Jiqian has always been cunning and changeable, and all major actions are undeclared wars. This high-profile recruitment and preparation for war is not his style.
Chen Ying thought for a while and said, "Could it be that Li Jiqian just wanted to stand still and watch the tigers fight to his advantage?"
After sighing, Han Dewei said: "Ignore him for now, the most important thing right now is how to capture Baozhou City. With Yang Yanzhao in charge, Baozhou is like a hedgehog, giving people nowhere to start."
It’s no wonder that Han Dewei sighed. Yang Yanzhao had been hiding in the Liao Kingdom for nearly twenty years incognito. He was already familiar with the Liao Army’s combat habits and formation strategies. Therefore, in the face of the Liao Army’s siege, his own manpower and materials were severely limited. Even if it is insufficient, Baozhou City can be defended impregnably, and a large number of Liao soldiers are consumed under Baozhou City, which seriously dampens the vigor of the Liao army.
Moreover, the most important thing is that the Queen Mother and the Emperor who are "Nabo" in Youzhou City are going to the front line to supervise the battle in person. Although the Queen Mother's message is to comfort the soldiers, everyone with a discerning eye knows that it is due to the unfavorable situation on the front line that the advance has been delayed. , the Queen Mother and the Emperor came here not only to express condolences, but also to question.
"Privilege Han, since Baozhou City is so difficult, why don't we cross Baozhou City and attack the hinterland of the Song Dynasty? The reason why Yang Yanzhao can stop our army is nothing more than relying on the strength of the fortified city. If we give up Baozhou City, We will not fight in the city, but march forward to see how Yang Yanzhao responds. If he still can't hold on, we will continue south to the hinterland of the Song Dynasty. If he dares to go out of the city to fight in the field, we will play into our hands. Who can be the vanguard in the world? The opponent of the Daliao Iron Cavalry?" Xiao Taolin, the vanguard general, said. As the vanguard of the army, Xiao Taolin was the second-largest figure in the Southern Expedition after Han Dewei, so his words naturally carried a lot of weight.
Han Dewei shook his head when he heard this, sighed and said: "Baozhou is the only way for our army to go south. If we don't pull out this nail, it will always threaten our retreat. Moreover, Song Guo can lead troops to fight. , and Yang Yanzhao is not alone. If he acts rashly at this time, the consequences are really unpredictable..."
After saying that, Han Dewei punched the table in front of him hard, causing the wine glass on the table to shake. "For the present plan, only by attacking Baozhou with all our strength can we avoid the situation of futile efforts. Now that the morale of our army is low, we should suspend the siege. After the morale is restored, we can mobilize the whole army to win Baozhou in one go. state……"
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The Chinese military tent in Baozhou City
The bonfire was still crackling in the brazier, and people around Baozhou were patrolling. Yang Yanzhao was discussing matters in the Chinese army's tent. The atmosphere in the tent was solemn, and all the generals looked stern, standing on both sides, waiting for the speech of the coach Yang Yanzhao.
After Yang Yanzhao looked around at the generals in the tent, he withdrew his gaze and said in a calm and powerful voice: "The Liao army has been besieging the city for more than a month, and all the food, grass and baggage in the city have been exhausted. From now on, from the general to the soldiers, daily rations Reduce it by another 30% and concentrate the saved food so that when Liao launches another siege, the soldiers will have a full meal..."
Although all the generals in the tent were already showing their faces, after hearing the order, they all bowed their heads and said yes. The Khitan army besieged the city, and the imperial army was unable to rush to the rescue of Baozhou, and they did not dare to fight with the Liao cavalry outside the city. Therefore, they could only avoid the real situation and attack the weak, and took advantage of the main force of the Liao army to besiege Baozhou, and made an attack from Yanmen Pass. The posture of attacking the hinterland of the Liao Kingdom was to contain the Liao army and force it to retreat. However, the basis of all this is that Baozhou must resist the Liao army's stormy attack. The longer the delay, the more prepared the Song army will be, and the more worries the Liao army will have behind it.
The real showdown begins here.
