A fierce life-and-death attack and defense came to an end with the tacit understanding of both sides. Although the attack was stopped, the existing results still need to be consolidated. The four city gates are firmly in the hands of the Han army.
The soldiers who had fought fiercely for a whole day built their own camps and returned to the camp to treat their wounds and recuperate. There were cooks who had prepared soup and food to satisfy their hunger. The Han soldiers who entered the city naturally changed a group and stayed outside the fire scene.
, simply built a defense.
At the same time, a large number of civilians also began to continue working, carrying injured soldiers and cleaning up the remains. During the four days and three nights of continuous fighting, both sides did not pay much attention to the corpses. Therefore, there were corpses above and below the city.
The mountainous area was occupied by broken arms and limbs, leaving almost no room. In fact, many people were trampled into pulp...
Those who were completely unrecognizable could only be identified by the identity tags of the soldiers. The corpses of the Han army soldiers were naturally carefully collected and organized, while the disposal of the Liao people was more casual. They were dug up in the wilderness.
Several large pits were buried on the spot, and their flesh and blood were used to increase the fertility of Yunzhou's soil.
The four city gates that were originally sealed were gradually cleared of earth, stone and hardwood, and passages were cleared. The weapons and armor scattered on the battlefield also needed to be sorted. During these days of attack and defense, the Han army consumed as much arrows as
There are hundreds of thousands of them, and basically all of them need to be recycled. The battle can be fought vigorously, but it cannot be wasted.
The soldiers below set up defenses and rested. As a general at the top, he still had to deal with military affairs and had no room for rest. Liu Chengyou, on the other hand, led people to inspect the wounded soldiers. No matter how true his feelings were, he had no regard for the morale of the military.
The comfort still had a great effect.
Until late at night, the emperor's imperial tent and the generals who were not on duty gathered together to conduct a phased summary of the siege war. However, at the beginning, Liu Chengyou faced the generals' apology, which was quite orderly, especially
The four conductors, of course, all knew it and showed their attitude.
"We were able to defeat the outer city of Yunzhong, firstly because of the bravery of the soldiers, who risked their lives to fight, and secondly because of the capable command of the ministers. What's the crime?" Emperor Liu certainly showed great magnanimity: "Although he failed to completely conquer the city and destroy the Liao army,
, but since the outer city is destroyed, how long can we hold on with just an inner city? Gentlemen, relax your mind, comfort the soldiers, and continue your efforts to completely defeat Yunzhong and rope in his leader!"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely take the head of the thief chieftain as a tribute!" After Liu Chengyou said this, a veteran general stood up, full of energy, generous and heroic, it was Zhe Deku, the father of Concubine Zhe. When he said this, he also
He glanced at the front-line generals in the royal tent, as if to say, don't fight with me.
In this Northern Expedition, Zhe De's performance was not very active. It was not that he did not try his best, but that he did not find a good opportunity. He led an army by himself and followed the division along the way. Although it reflected his status, on the Yunshuo battlefield, he wanted to
Winning big battles and achieving great achievements also requires luck.
Therefore, except for leading the army to capture Shuozhou in this spring offensive, Zhe Deku had no other achievements to show for it. After the army besieged Yunzhou, Zhe Deku also led the army north to assist in the siege.
, Zhe Deqing gave his subordinates strict orders to become the first army to enter the clouds. As for Fu Yanqing, he also took good care of him in arranging troops. However, in the end, it was Li Wanchao's subordinates who took the lead in breaking the city.
.
Noticing the performance of his father-in-law, Liu Chengyou also gave him face and chuckled: "Then I will wait for you to make a contribution!"
"However, Yelu Talie is indeed an outstanding person. He can lead a lone army and hold on to such a situation without wavering at all. I heard that he did not become an official until he was forty years old, and he directly took up important positions and responsibilities. I would like to meet him. See this person!" Liu Chengyou sighed.
"It's just a stubborn chief. It's a shame, but in the face of our Han heavenly soldiers, it is inevitable that he will eventually fall!" Chai Rong said calmly, with a tone that seemed to imply a reminder to the emperor.
Liu Chengyou also felt that although praising the enemy's coach in front of these generals could have a certain motivating effect and show his ability, it was ultimately inappropriate. Especially after the hard battle he had just experienced.
After reacting, Liu Chengyou said: "However, if his hero and my enemy want to resist, I will do it for him!"
After saying that, he asked Zhang Jie: "Have the casualties of each army been counted?"
"Your Majesty, after summarizing the reports from all armies, counting from the day of the siege to now, 1,055 soldiers and civilians have been killed and 3,290 injured, and 4,836 officers and soldiers have been killed and 8,495 wounded. Among them, 47 officers above the captain have died in battle. .”
Hearing this, the emperor and his ministers couldn't help but be silent. The casualties were not small at all. Although he had experienced heavy losses like the Battle of Nankou, he still felt heavy when he heard the series of numbers. The cruelty behind them, but Liu Chengyou Experienced it myself.
"Where is the Liao army?" Liu Chengyou asked again.
"There is no detailed calculation, but the casualties must exceed 10,000!" Zhang Jie responded.
As the siege party, the defenders relied on the strong city, were not weak brigades, and had unified command and effective organization. The ability to control the battle loss ratio close to one to one was already a reflection of the strong strength of the Han army.
"Your Majesty, I learned from several prisoners that before the Lord of Liao withdrew to the north, he left behind about 27,000 troops. After several subsequent battles and probing contacts, there were about 2,000 casualties. After this attack and defense, After all kinds of losses have been removed, there should be more than 10,000 combatable soldiers among the Liao army retreating to the inner city!" Fu Yanqing reported.
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou nodded lightly: "There are still more than 10,000 enemies left. Although the inner city is not as tall and solid as the outer city, if you want to forcefully break it, you still have to spare the lives of many soldiers. It has been nearly August since the Northern Expedition. The soldiers and civilians have paid a heavy price in terms of casualties. Although I say I can’t control soldiers, I still can’t bear it in my heart!”
"Your Majesty is so considerate of the soldiers, how can the ministers fail to serve and be loyal to the death?" After hearing Liu Chengyou's words, Dong Zunjie cupped his hands and worshiped tactfully.
In response, Liu Chengyou waved his hand and said: "Let's discuss how to break the inner city and eliminate the Liao army while reducing casualties!"
His eyes fell on Fu Yanqing, who was the commander-in-chief after all. Fu Yanqing thought for a while and responded: "Your Majesty, the soldiers are fighting continuously day and night. Although they take turns in battle, after four days and two nights, they will inevitably be exhausted at night. Of course, the same is true for the Liao army, and it is more exhausted than us. I suggest that we first occupy the city defenses, rest for a day or two, and let the soldiers recharge their batteries. In terms of recovery speed, the Liao army will definitely not be able to match our army, and , after such a hard battle, giving him a chance to breathe should be able to relax his morale..."
"King Wei is worthy of being a veteran on the battlefield. He has a clear understanding of the battle situation, and his words of advice are quite timely!" Liu Chengyou said: "The soldiers have worked hard in continuous battles, and I also intend to do it instead of resting. However, during this rest time, I should do something else. Well, we can’t let the Liao army recuperate safely in the inner city!"
"Your Majesty, the Liao army has been harassing us a lot in the past, with almost no interruption. Now that Guocheng is in our hands, we can counterattack in this way, disturb it, and make it uneasy!" Gao Huaide said.
Zhao Kuangyin thought for a while and suggested: "It is possible to persuade to surrender. The battle has progressed to this point and the situation is very clear. Yelv Tarlie may have a heart of stone, but the Liao soldiers under his command may not be so. The strategy of persuading surrender may not be possible. It can be done, but it can shake their military morale."
"Strategies to weaken the enemy and attack the enemy's heart can be used! But to have the decisive effect, fear is not enough!" Liu Chengyou said.
At this time, Chai Rong spoke with a cold expression: "Your Majesty, the Liao army set off a big fire to block our offensive. We can follow suit. The inner city is not big, so we can collect hay and firewood and pile them up under the city. Then he used a thunderbolt car to throw the diesel fuel into the city.
Burn the city!
In order to avoid the burden, the Liao army moved all the Han people out of the city, so we don’t have to have any taboos!"
Looking at Chai Rong, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Chai Rong was very decisive and ruthless at critical moments. However, Liu Chengyou had only one response to his suggestion: "Do it this way!"
In the next three days, the Han army piled up dry firewood and fuel like mountains outside the inner city. All the remaining kerosene in the army was used. They also urgently transported a large amount of coal from Yingzhou and used Pili chariots to transport it. Projectile in the city.
Faced with the Han army's actions, the Liao army saw it in their eyes and was anxious in their hearts, but they didn't have much to do. They urgently fetched water from the well, which was of little use at that time. Or they had to wait for a few more spring rains, but it continued for several days. , it’s all sunny, and the weather is getting clearer and clearer.
In the end, under the control of the Han "arsonist", a fierce fire engulfed the inner city of Yunzhong. The defenders were burned to death, choked to death, and countless people died from the heat. Wait.
After the fire was extinguished, the Han army entered the city calmly.
