Due to the Youyan Incident and poor communication, although the spread of the news was delayed, it finally reached Liu Chengyou's ears clearly. Although it can be seen from the reaction of the Liao army on the southern front that Zhao Yanshou must have made significant achievements in Youzhou. The breakthrough hit the Liao army where it hurt, but the result still shocked Liu Chengyou and his aides.
Is it so easy for Youzhou City to really be captured by Zhao Yanshou? Then how much of a waste is Yelu Jieli?
There were some distortions in the transmission of the news. It may be that Zhao Yanshou's magic soldiers descended from the sky below Youzhou City and launched a brazen attack. They were invincible and the defenders could not stop them. They captured the city in one fell swoop and won the support of the Han people in Hecheng. In response to the news, people rushed to surrender. Zhao Yanshou had settled in Youzhou and supported tens of thousands of people.
After excluding the useless information, one thing is certain: the most important and difficult target of this Northern Expedition, Youzhou City, was captured.
Then, a question posed in front of Liu Chengyou, what should he and Long Qijun do?
The generals who stayed behind Zhending once again asked for battle. Looking at the eager and impatient faces, Liu Chengyou felt that he had to think about it carefully. Most of the Longqi Army had basically dispersed, and the generals The Third Army is mainly composed of middle and lower-level officers.
The news about Youyan spread quickly. If they had been asked to travel four to five hundred miles to attack Youzhou beforehand, no one would have had confidence. However, now Zhao Yanshou led a group of troops to surrender and rebelled against the Liao army when they were prepared. , just captured it. It turns out that Youzhou is not that easy to fight, so these officers and soldiers were so determined that they could not sit still, and they also wanted to make meritorious deeds.
Naturally, Liu Chengyou would not take things as simple as ordinary soldiers, thinking that Youzhou is really that easy to fight. What surprised him was that Guo Rong and Xiang Xun could not sit still, and their appetites grew. , lost his sense of normalcy, and encouraged Liu Chengyou to go north to support Zhao Yanshou and bring the land of Youyan back into the rule of the dynasty.
But this time, Liu Chengyou was as usual, extraordinarily calm. For a moment, he was really tempted, but he suppressed the impulse. Unparalleled achievements that seemed within reach are often worth repeating. Think and weigh.
"Your Highness, now that Youzhou is under your control, we have a foothold in Youyan. Relying on the fortified city, we can compete with the Liao army and drive them out completely." Xiang Xun could not suppress his excitement, even if he noticed that Liu Chengyou was not interested. Gao, still couldn't help but persuade.
"With our current strength alone, can we compete with the Liao army? You must know that we have tried our best to send troops to coordinate this time, but at the expense of Chengde Zhenzhou's defense strength!" Liu Chengyou glanced at Xiang Xun and said calmly. asked rhetorically.
Guo Rong took the initiative and said: "You can ask Zhang Du to take command and lead the first army and the second army to go north."
At first, Zhang Yanwei was ordered to lead 6,000 infantrymen to ride east to intercept Xiao Han's army returning from the north. He intercepted the last Liao army in the lower reaches of the Yellow River at the junction of Decang and Cangzhou. Therefore, Zhang Yanwei and Ma Quanyi, with the cooperation of local warlords and rebels, fought fiercely for more than 20 days and finally achieved results.
Xiao Han was alert at the end. He might not be able to wait for Youyan's support, so he led his remaining four thousand cavalry, abandoned all "encumbrances", and fled. Murong Yanzhao had been vigilant this time when he was fighting in Mozhou. With Xiao Hanjun, Zhang Yanwei captured a lot of money. After all, Xiao Han was so persistent before, but he still couldn't bear to part with the beautiful women who had spent so much time searching for it.
Zhang Yanwei did not return the troops quickly, and the large and small vehicles were still in Jizhou.
After listening to his words, Liu Chengyou said directly: "First, the second army has been fighting fiercely for nearly a month and has returned, and it will be exhausted. It is the time to show sympathy to the soldiers. Can they go north to fight again?"
"Your Highness can send troops from various towns and states in Hebei to come north, and then recruit warriors from Yan and Zhao." Xiang Xun's voice became softer.
Liu Chengyou couldn't help but look at him and said nothing, but his eyes were full of words. He seemed to be wondering whether this suggestion was really made by Xiang Xun. Recruiting soldiers may be useful, but after several wars, there are still some strong men left. How much, even if 10,000 or 20,000 people are raised, will it be enough? If you want to continue to invest in Youzhou, you need immediate combat power. As for the towns in Hebei, if the newly attached warlords in these places can not rebel and cause chaos, they will be burned. Very fragrant.
Thinking of this, Liu Chengyou's thoughts became clearer. He shook his head gently and reached out to stop Guo Rong, who was about to say something more: "With our current strength, we can control the Chengde states and defend the northern border. It’s already reluctant. Previously, I advocated sending the Yan army to the Northern Expedition, but all the kings expressed their opposition. Why are there different opinions today? It’s all because of Youzhou City. The idea of the Northern Expedition was to attack with a disadvantage if the enemy is strong. I dare to take the risk. Doing this will also intensify the conflicts in the Khitans over the struggle for the throne and make Youzhou empty. This is the opportunity the Khitans gave us!"
"It is certainly gratifying that the King of Yan has won Youzhou, but how easy it is to win it will be how fierce the Liao army's counterattack will be."
"A conquest of hundreds of miles requires many soldiers and horses, how much armor and equipment, how much food and grass, how to ensure the supplies for the back route, and how to make achievements. You two are not unaware of the difficulties involved in this. Although this deployment of troops will not last long, , but our army has reached its limit, and more than half of the Xia Shuang treasury has been consumed. Next, we need to raise both soldiers and people, and we still need to prepare for emergencies. If we invest more power in Youyan, I am afraid that we will If we are trapped in it, there will be no results in Youzhou, and we ourselves will collapse..."
In fact, Liu Chengyou said that with the talents of Guo Rong and Xiang Xun, they could not realize that the huge temptation was in front of them, which was too unbearable.
The reason why Liu Chengyou could hold back was that his expectations were not that high. Chaosing Youyan with Zhao Yanshou was his real purpose. But suddenly he found that there seemed to be a chance to take back Youyan, and Liu Chengyou became wary. On the contrary, it gets higher.
Liu Chengyou expressed his attitude so solemnly, and the two of them calmed down and looked at each other. Guo Rong said: "Your Highness, as you said, if Youzhou is lost, the Liao army will definitely counterattack with all its strength. If it weren't for us, I’m afraid it will be difficult for Zhao Yanshou to resist the support.”
At this time, Wei Renpu, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up: "The city of Youzhou is strong and we only need to gather Han people to defend it. If we only rely on the remaining soldiers in Youyan at this time, it will be difficult to recapture it in a short time. However, if we leave Lingbei, it will be difficult to recapture it in a short time. If the main force of the Liao army returns south, it will be difficult to predict."
"We can only hope that the Khitan internal struggle can last longer and buy Zhao Yanshou more time!" Liu Chengyou said.
After such a discussion, the tone was set. However, Xiang Xun was still a little unwilling and sighed: "What a great opportunity, what a pity!"
Liu Chengyou said with a sullen face: "Now that we have won Long, why don't we return to Shu?"
"The Liao army has reduced its troops to Youyan, so our army is not doing anything?" Xiang Xun asked.
Touching his chin and thinking for a moment, Liu Chengyou stretched out his hand and scratched the map on the case, and said: "The right to fight independently against the two armies, but one thing is that the Longqi Army is no better than Yishui!"
From beginning to end, Liu Chengyou acted very calmly.
His mood is naturally good. In fact, as long as Zhao Yanshou takes Youzhou, no matter how the situation develops next, his goal of disrupting Yan will be achieved. In his opinion, Youzhou is in hand, no matter what happens on his side If you don't do it, it is absolutely impossible for the Liao army to take it back from Zhao Yanshou without paying a certain price.
According to Liu Chengyou's script, the next best thing is for Zhao Yanshou to seize the strong city, gather the power of Youyan, and confront the Khitan, fighting and fighting day after day, year after year.
Of course, judging from Zhao Yanshou's past experience, it is probably impossible for him to fight with the Khitan people. This person may have the idea of swinging between the north and the south and having both sides. But in a real life-and-death crisis, he cannot bear it. Now that the pressure is on, it would not be difficult to surrender to the Khitan again, even if Liu Chengyou had already used many means to avoid this possibility.
However, Zhao Yanshou must have that opportunity.
...
As the protagonist of the discussion between Liu Chengyou and his subordinates, Zhao Yanshou was making aggressive progress. After capturing Youzhou, more than half of his worries dropped, and he became more confident.
He ordered all the Hu soldiers in the city to be killed. When the Yan soldiers entered the city, the situation was reversed. The Han people who had been oppressed and monitored were able to stand up, but the Hu soldiers were controlled instead. Zhao Yanshou quickly mobilized tens of thousands of strong men from the city, and at the same time Send people to declare Tan, Ji, Zhuo, Yi and other prefectures and counties, calling on the Han people to fight against the Khitan.
Zhao Yanshou did have some prestige in the land of Youyan, and many old ministries served in prefectures and counties. As expected, there were many people who responded. The Khitan's north-south bicameral system, which ruled the Han Dynasty with Han Dynasty, had a positive effect on its development, but when When the Han people rebelled, the sequelae were exposed.
Of course, when the Youyan Han people responded to Zhao Yanshou, in addition to his unmeasurable prestige, the decline in Khitan strength after the Battle of Luancheng and the conflicts between Hu and Han also promoted the Han people's resistance.
Entering Youzhou, taking inventory of the treasury, gathering heroes, arming soldiers, and appeasing people's hearts, Zhao Yanshou spent all his energy and energy.
In comparison, Yelu Jieli, who took the initiative to go south, was in an embarrassing situation. When they arrived at Gu'an, they saw that the county town was crumbling and was besieged by the Liao army pursuing from the north. There was nothing to be happy about, and then the Yan army came to Youzhou City by water. The news came.
Anger and hatred arose from his heart. In shame and anger, he still had the mood to order Gu'an to be destroyed. He killed all the hundreds of Yan soldiers in the city and left a blood debt before leading his army back north.
Youzhou, Yelv Jieli must take it back, otherwise not only will it be a small matter for him to lose face, but it will be a big matter for him not to be able to explain to Yelu Ruan. Although he is also considered Yelu Ruan's uncle in terms of seniority and blood relationship, he will really lose Youzhou.
Well, even if Yelu Ruan was praised for being "generous and generous", he would not let him go.
An urgent order was given to Ding, Mo's Liao army not to get entangled with the Longqi army, and to abandon the prefectures and counties and go north, and then retreated in two directions. During the Dingzhou Jiedu period, Yelu'an was beheaded by Li Jun. Yelu Jieli also moved the Yishui defense line to the
The Liao troops around it gathered together and mobilized more than 10,000 people to return to Youzhou in the north.
However, when the troops came to the city, they discovered that he no longer had the advantage in military strength. For Yelv Jieli, the strength of the city was not terrible. What was terrible was that there were still enough troops to garrison. Don't think that he is a mob. In this kind of world, pick up
A powerful warrior with weapons can teach you how to be a good person.
With his head burning, Yelu Jieli boldly ordered an attack, and then suffered a bloody blow to his head and lost hundreds of soldiers. After calming down, Yelu Jieli simply camped under the city and prepared to wait for reinforcements.
However, you wanted to regroup, but the Yan army in the city refused to let you go. Zhao Yanshou saw the opportunity and sent Yan cavalry out of the city to harass, so that the Liao army would not tire of it. Fighting against the nomads is impossible without cavalry. As long as there are cavalry, it will not be
Completely passive.
Under this situation, the morale of Youyan's Liao army was extremely low, and they even stopped obeying the command. Among the Liao army who stayed behind at Youyan, there were not many warriors from the Khitan tribes, and more of them were Xiren.
Shiwei, Bohai and other miscellaneous soldiers. However, Yelu Jieli was not very popular on weekdays, and he was stubborn and self-willed. He made several wrong judgments, which led to the erosion of the situation in Youyan.
In this situation, Yelu Jieli lost control of the army and almost collapsed under the city. Even Zhao Yanshou noticed something was wrong until Xiao Han led the remaining soldiers from the north of Tokyo. These two,
They can be said to be brothers in distress. When they got together, Xiao Han directly seized the power. Regardless of official position, status, or qualifications, Xiao Han was stronger than Yelu Jieli. Although Yelu Jieli was angry on the surface, he was actually relieved in his heart. Neither was he.
Pure stupidity.
After some deliberation, they realized that the troops under the city alone were not enough to counterattack Youzhou. If they stayed too long, it would be easy for them to take advantage of them. So, everyone voted to retreat north to rest and make plans again.
Before retreating, a group of barbarians made a plan to deal with the remaining Yan generals, such as Yang An, who had previously guarded Mozhou. However, Yang An was not the master of mermaids. He learned the news in advance and led the troops decisively.
They rebelled, rushed out of the Liao camp, surrendered to Zhao Yanshou, and reported the Liao army's actual situation. At this time, Xiao Han and Yelu Jieli were very decisive and withdrew with their men. They ran very fast and finally did not get killed.
Zhao Yanshou found an opportunity.
Although Youzhou's treasury is not full, there is still a lot of surplus, especially food. The withdrawal of the Liao army has eased the tense atmosphere in the city and gave Zhao Yanshou more time to prepare and respond.
He pulled out his weapon and pierced a sack, and a lot of the newly harvested summer grain flowed out. He grabbed a handful and held it in his hand. A smile bloomed at the corner of Zhao Yanshou's mouth.
But soon, his smile solidified. A burst of killing sounds suddenly broke out from Youzhou City, and spread at an extremely fast speed. His face changed drastically. You must know that the city has been under martial law under his order, so why suddenly
Make a killing sound.
"What's going on? What happened?" he asked angrily. He took the guards and left the treasury.
Soon, a general under his command hurriedly came to report: "King Yan, the soldiers in the city are killing Hu people..."
"What!" Zhao Yanshou's face turned green this time: "Nonsense, who told them to do this?"
"The soldiers shouted for revenge." Seeing that Zhao Yanshou was angry, General Yan explained: "King Yan, there are nearly a hundred thousand barbarians in the city. Keeping these people is also a hidden danger and is not good for the defense of the city. Furthermore, food is used on them.
, it’s such a waste. Especially those Khitan people, their families have a lot of surplus, if they can use it for military purposes..."
After listening to General Yan's statement, how could it be so reasonable? However, Zhao Yanshou always felt that something was wrong, and angrily said: "Why do you act without authorization? After passing Gu's order, all the armies immediately stopped, and the general gave Gu a command to restrain the soldiers."
However, Zhao Yanshou's order did not have much effect at this time. The city was completely in chaos. Not only the Yan army, but also the Han people in the city joined them, killing their people, occupying their houses, and taking their food...
Seeing that things could not be violated, Zhao Yanshou simply led his pro-military troops to defend Beicheng, just in case.
When Youzhou City calmed down again, the city walls were stained with blood, as if in response to the tragedy of Xiangzhou.
Zhao Yanshou was exhausted both physically and mentally, arranging the aftermath, cleaning up and burning the corpses, and sorting out the seizures. No matter how unhappy he felt, one thing was certain, the wealth of the barbarians in the city was enough for him to defend Youzhou for more than half a year.
.....
After everything was handled, Zhao Yanshou investigated the matter with a cold face, and found that several Yan generals took the lead and acted together.
As for the reason, Zhao Yanshou couldn't help but cast his gaze to the south, sighing in his heart: "How cruel!"
If something like this happens, Zhao Yanshou basically has no second choice...