Huoshen Lake is just a shallow lake in Wende County. It occupies a small area and is densely covered with water and grass. The entire Khitan army camp spreads out along the lake. It is so full of evil spirits that it scares away the ducks playing and foraging in the lake early.
.
The emperor's royal tent was erected in the center, like stars holding the moon. The huge imperial tent had plenty of space and was extremely luxuriously decorated. In addition to gold and jade utensils, there were too many things that revealed the cultural symbols of the Han Dynasty, including books, ritual guards,
The exquisite decorations and other exquisite things are intertwined with the rough atmosphere of the Hu people, which is quite incompatible.
A large number of palace servants and maids are busy, arranging the seats, placing fruits, wine, and delicacies... They are preparing a grand banquet on the orders of Emperor Yelu Ruan, inviting all the troops from the Southern Expedition.
The general banquet was a follow-up to the day's memorial ceremony, and it also relieved the pressure of the noble generals who had been suppressed for a long time.
In the innermost part of the royal tent, there is a space separated by a curtain. A huge map hangs inside, which details the current military situation in Hebei, especially the Youyan region. Khitan Lord Yelu Ruan and several close generals
Standing together, discussing seriously.
They are also Khitan nobles. These generals have vested interests after Yelu Ruan succeeded to the throne. They are still supportive of Yelu Ruan. If all the Khitan nobles had opposed him, they would have been ousted from the throne long ago and would not be able to gather together.
Army.
"Your Majesty, the Southern Privy Council has recruited soldiers and horses from western Liaoning and eastern Liaoning, plus the southern pacification army, stationed in Tan and Ji, totaling more than 50,000 troops." A general stretched out his hand and drew two lines.
, said: "Our two armies, with more than 150,000 capable troops, will advance on the left and right sides. After our army has taken a short rest, your Majesty will lead the army out of Juyongguan and go to Changping. The Southern Privy Council will send out Tan, Ji, and go to Huairou.
, Sanhe. The attacking Han army is no less powerful than when Taizong destroyed the Jin Dynasty!"
Yelu Ruan looked serious and nodded: "How are you preparing the siege equipment?"
"Return to your majesty!" Another general came out, but he was a Han general. This time, Zhao Kuangsi, who was worshiped by Yelu Ruan as the envoy to the south, said: "I was ordered to gather the Han people in the country in the two states of Ru and Wu as soon as autumn came.
Craftsmen, felling trees and forests, building all kinds of siege equipment, keep them all in your arms!"
A smile finally appeared on his face, Yelu Ruan nodded and said: "General Han is doing things, I can rest assured that he is indeed the talent that Emperor Taizong has favored. If there are more people like General Han in the country, why worry about not being able to occupy the Central Plains?
The world is unstable!"
"Your Majesty is so complimentary!" Han Kuangsi quickly expressed his humility.
Now because the Lord of Liao favored Han ministers and attacked the domestic nobility, the internal contradictions in Khitan had reached a very acute level. Although the people in the tent were all the emperor's trusted generals, Yelu Ruan still said that he was pro-Han ministers and despised the Liao people.
If so, Han Kuangsi would not be willing to take the lead in this regard.
"In this southern expedition, I am using the strength of the whole country, and there is no room for failure!" No matter how foolish and arrogant Yelv Ruan was among the Khitan nobles at this time, at this time, as the Khitan emperor and commander of the army, Yelv Ruan was still
Keeping calm: "I have made up my mind. In this battle, I will first encircle Youzhou and attract reinforcements from the Han army to the north. Then I will use the offensive power of our Daliao cavalry to carry out endless attacks on it in the middle of Hebei and in the vast plains of the north.
Harass, divide, and annihilate!”
Compared with the slogans and the big cakes painted, Yelu Ruan still felt a little more confident after actually launching the troops. From the beginning to the end, his appetite was not that big. In his mind, the most important goal of this southern expedition was to capture Youzhou.
, once again achieved complete suppression of the Central Plains.
After that, Yu Youyan recuperated his energy, and even if he could rest for a few years and go south again, it was still possible to discuss. Youzhou was in the hands of the Han people, which made Yelu Ruan feel like he had a problem in his throat. After all, he lost it when he was in power, and he was always worried about it.
, I am deeply afraid that one day, relying on the strength of Youzhou, the Han army will make a surprise attack and take back Ru, Wu, Tan, Ji and other places.
Once such a situation is formed, the strategic advantage Yelv Deguang has gained over the Central Plains after ten years of hard work will be lost in his hands. Without the danger of Yanshan Mountain, Hu Qi will want to go south without hesitation.
But it's not that easy.
According to Yelu Ruan's research on Han culture, system, and history, once it reaches that point, the Central Plains Dynasty will definitely regain its strength and become stronger again. Once the Central Plains Dynasty becomes strong, it will be the northern grasslands' turn to suffer, and those Han people will definitely
Brandishing swords and spears, riding war horses, they marched in large numbers, chanting "Seal the wolf to his shelter, and strangle the stone Yanran", and then massacred the grassland tribesmen and robbed cattle, horses and alpacas...
This is the conclusion that Yelu Ruan came to based on the past history of the Han Dynasty. And judging from the style of the young emperor of the Han Dynasty, it is obvious that he can do it. Just like Liu Chengyou is always paying attention to the enemies around him, Yelu Ruan is also not there
Pay attention to the situation in the Han Dynasty.
It was originally thought that after the death of Liu Zhiyuan, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty succeeded to the throne at a young and weak age. No matter how capable he was, it would be difficult for the young master to control the country. However, the subsequent development was completely beyond Yelu Ruan's expectation. The Emperor of the Han Dynasty tried his best to centralize power. In recent years,
, a series of reforms carried out by the Han Dynasty, most of which achieved good results, greatly improving the national strength. Every time news spread to the north, it made Yelu Ruan, who was suffering from internal strife, more worried.
Until this year, I couldn't stand him anymore.
Therefore, in Yelu Ruan's view, he led his army southward this time as a forward-looking move, for the sake of national destiny and the long-term prosperity of the Liao Dynasty. He used bloody battles to hinder the revival of the Han Dynasty, and trampled the Han Dynasty with the iron hoof of the Khitan army.
Breaking the backbone of the Central Plains Dynasty.
It's a pity that despite all the hard work and ambition, there is no support and he can only bear all kinds of pressure. In the past four years of being in power, Yelu Ruan has deeply realized that it is not easy, especially if he wants to be a holy master and a wise king. For
I also have a deeper understanding of the word profit.
After the Battle of Luancheng that year, so many clans, nobles, and ministers who supported his succession saw them turn against him step by step, because they no longer had the suppression of Queen Mother Shulu and were unable to satisfy their peers.
Greed for power and wealth...
Although I keep hypnotizing myself in my heart, I am not understood how great and wise I am, and how I endure humiliation and bear the burden. But one thing is undeniable that using this war to consolidate power, control the army, and attack political opponents is also a very strong
motivation.
With his eyes firmly fixed on Youzhou, Yelu Ruan's eyes were slightly blurred and he waved his hand: "You guys retreat first so that you can lead the troops and appease the soldiers!"
"yes!"
If we were to attack only Youzhou, there would be no need to make such a big noise. Yelu Ruan mobilized such a huge two-pronged army. First, he wanted to strengthen his control over the army and enhance his authority as the emperor among his troops; second, he mobilized such a huge two-pronged army.
They wanted to use Youzhou as bait to mobilize the Han army northward to kill and reduce its war potential.
During the campaign, the Han army was by no means a match for his Daliao cavalry. Yelu Ruan had this confidence.
In fact, Yelu Ruan had already considered a series of backup plans.
If the Han army is not fooled, then they will concentrate their strength and capture Youzhou City. They have considered ways to destroy the city. No matter how strong Youzhou City is, it is so huge and its military strength is only that much. With sufficient preparation, it can always be defeated.
If you want to destroy it, you still have the "Han soldiers" under your command who can be used. If it doesn't work, you can force the Han people to attack the city.
And once Youzhou is captured and the nails behind it are removed, there will be more room for decision-making against the Han. Whether it is war or stability. Of course, in Yelu Ruan's consideration, he still has to fight with the Han army. Once
Even if the Han army was slightly defeated, he still had more means. There were so many towns in the Central Plains and Hebei. In his opinion, how could it be possible to truly surrender to the Han court?
The historical experience of the past few decades tells Yelu Ruan that it is faster and easier for the Han people to disintegrate from within, but the prerequisite is that he must give opportunities to insiders from the outside.
Historical experience is very important, but Yelu Ruan obviously ignored one point. Relying solely on historical experience will also lead to losses. The most important thing is that times have quietly changed.
But no matter what, in the eyes of Yelu Ruan today, he is standing on the fifth floor and has considered everything, which is difficult for fools to understand...
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