On Liu Chengyou's side, when he heard the news that Yelu Ruan was proclaimed emperor, his reaction was very real and he was overjoyed.
As for the marauding Hu cavalry, they looked menacing on the surface, but in fact they did not pose much of a threat at all. They seemed to be telling Liu Chengyou that there was something wrong with the Liao army. It was obvious that they were an intruding army. If only that was the case , is not a cause for concern.
With the assistance of Wei Renpu and Xiang Xun, Liu Chengyou made a very clear judgment on the situation. Following their advice, he stayed put and waited for the situation to develop. On the contrary, some of his generals could not sit still. From Taizhou (now Hebei) A group of Liao cavalry from Baoding crossed Dingzhou and came south, burning and killing them all the way, and turned back thirty miles away from Zhending.
"What do you want to do? How can you be so noisy?" Liu Chengyou scolded him in the government office with a straight face.
In the hall, several mid-level and lower-level generals from Longqi gathered together and asked Liu Chengyou for orders to attack. Han Tong, Luo Yanxuan, including the newly surrendered Li Jun, and even Sun Li, who had not yet been injured easily.
Sun Li was seriously injured before and was about to die. Although he received all-out treatment, he still lingered in front of the gate of hell for several days due to his current medical conditions. In the end, he survived and survived for nearly a month. Only then did he slowly recover. With his merit, Liu Chengyou resumed his post as commander of the Second Army and took charge of the defense envoy of Bozhou from afar. The injury here was not healed yet. When he heard that the Liao army was committing an invasion in the south, he also started to make a fuss.
Seeing Liu Chengyou's cold face, the others did not dare to be presumptuous and simply shut their mouths. It was Sun Li who was senior, and with his voice that had become hoarse, he said: "Your Highness, Hulu doesn't teach you a lesson. If you come here arrogantly, as long as you give the order, the soldiers will behead the enemy generals and bring them to you."
It was natural for Sun Li's voice to be filled with hatred. Liu Chengyou looked at him calmly: "Do you know who the enemy general is? How many people are there in Fanqi in the south?"
Two questions stopped him. He really didn't know. He just heard that there were thieves from the south, so he got together and invited him to fight.
"I don't know."
"The enemy's situation is not clear yet, and their intentions are unclear, so they want to fight. Is fighting such a child's play?" Liu Chengyou scolded gently.
At this time, everyone basically felt Liu Chengyou's attitude, and the remaining people were even more afraid to speak up. Han Tong, on the other hand, opened his mouth, but held back.
"Everyone, please step aside and continue to train your soldiers and sharpen your swords!" Liu Chengyou confessed.
The generals who rushed over excitedly were repelled by Liu Chengyou with a few words. Next to him, he saw a group of arrogant and powerful generals. They listened honestly to Liu Chengyou's scolding. Liu Chengxun once again showed a trace of surprise in his eyes. His eyes were a little wandering. In such a scene, It was somewhat similar to his impression of Liu Zhiyuan commanding the generals in Hedong.
"Erlang, the Longqi Army has been trained very well by you! Hedong strong troops, Longqi First Army! Look at these generals, they are like wolves and tigers, and they are ready to come out. The morale of the army is so high, why be afraid? Khitan?" Liu Chengxun sighed with emotion.
In his complimenting tone, Liu Chengyou faintly noticed a hint of envy. It seemed that his elder brother was very touched.
Liu Chengyou shook his head: "You can't do that. Soldiers don't have brains, they are just a group of reckless men. In comparison, I am worried that they are too arrogant and impetuous, which is not a good thing!"
It was obvious that the generals under the Longqi Army were a little distracted. The battle in Luancheng made them feel more confident and arrogant. They no longer took the Khitan army seriously and claimed to be the strongest army in the world. Although Liu Chengyou likes his impetuousness, he has recently made a conscious effort to suppress that impetuosity.
Liu Chengxun only regarded him as being modest and said, "It's Erlang, but your demands are too high. The Liao cavalry are attacking, and the generals are very motivated to fight, so why not allow it?"
"What the eldest brother wants to ask is, why did King Yongkang of Khitan proclaim himself emperor and go south with great fanfare instead of trying to stabilize the country?" Liu Chengyou looked at Liu Chengxun.
Liu Chengxun nodded his head simply, with doubts in his eyes: "You said before that if Yelv Ruan proclaims himself emperor, there will be a civil strife within the Khitan. However, now Yelv Ruan wants to go south for revenge, isn't it the opposite?"
"Brother, I'm afraid I don't know. According to the investigation, the Hu cavalry going south are all miscellaneous Hu and Fan cavalry. They are just putting up a formation to go south. The elite Khitan gathered by Yelu Ruan are still in Youzhou. I have no intention of moving!" Liu Chengyou explained.
Obviously, Liu Chengxun was not very sensitive to these and did not clarify his doubts: "Then what is the purpose of the Liao army?"
"It's all true and false, secretive. Maybe the battle in Luancheng left them with a psychological shadow..." Liu Chengyou murmured lightly.
"Huh?" The eldest brother was a little confused. He glanced at Liu Chengyou twice in succession, frowned slightly, and asked again: "Can You Yan's proposal still work?"
"The Liao army will not move, our army will not move!" Liu Chengyou replied simply.
Liu Chengxun looked confused and nervous, but he couldn't explain it clearly in a few words. Liu Chengyou added: "Brother, wait for two more days, and the situation will be clear!"
Liu Chengyou looked confident, so Liu Chengxun stopped talking and started thinking on his own.
...
Just as Liu Chengyou and his subordinates had guessed, the subsequent development of the situation proved that the Liao army's actions were just a bluff. In the town, the deep front line was involved with the Longqi army, and they saw that Liu Chengyou had always been sincere and conservative. If you resist, you won't get any favors, and you won't be in a hurry, so you shrink back.
In Youzhou, Yelu Ruan stayed for one more day, and finally there was news. He led the Khitan and Hu troops he gathered, one hundred thousand soldiers and horses, to escort Yelu Deguang's coffin, leaving Yanshan in the north, and marched to Linhuang Mansion in Beijing.
This army was gathered by Yelu Ruan after the Khitans withdrew from China, and they worked hard to restore their morale. This is also the most powerful army in the Khitan. With a hundred thousand troops in hand, for a few moments , Yelu Ruan really had the urge to lead his troops southward and fight again.
It's just that he was forced to calm down and suppressed it. Not to mention the situation in his own country, even if he could drive straight into Hebei, what results would he be able to achieve? The situation at this time is already extreme, and Hebei in the Central Plains passes by. The previous "national crisis" has already wiped out all the oil and water. No matter how you look at it, the gains outweigh the losses.
Yelu Ruan went north and just left the territory of Yan. News came from the north that he was going to Beijing. When the Empress Dowager Shulu learned that Yelu Ruan had claimed to be an emperor without permission, she was furious and reacted strongly. She appointed the emperor's brother Yelu Lihu as the general marshal of the world's troops. He led the soldiers who went to the capital, gathered people from various tribes, and went south to attack.
A Khitan civil war seems inevitable.
Before going north, Yelv Ruan made proper arrangements for Youzhou and was obviously very wary of Liu Chengyou. Yelu Xieli stayed in Nanjing and led his troops to garrison. He also sent several groups of Hu soldiers to establish a defense line between Tai and Mo. Defend Nanjing.
Yelu Ruan thought that the arrangements were well made and he had quite a few soldiers and horses left behind. However, Youzhou was indeed empty! Liu Chengyou, who heard the news, sighed, the opportunity has come!