Yelu Wuzhi led the army to arrive, but did not directly launch an attack. He observed the fierce fighting situation nearby and got in touch with Yelu Cong before taking action. He left 20,000 riders to cooperate with the 10,000 Liao army in the east to attack the Han army's right village.
They launched an attack, and then led the remaining 50,000 cavalry to directly attack the rear village (South Village), destroy the corridor, and present an outflanking situation.
Originally, the surprise attack brought by the 130,000 Liao army commanded by Yelvcong had already caused considerable losses to the Han army. Of course, although the pressure was great, under the command of the general, they faced the difficulties and stood firm.
He firmly withstood the situation. Moreover, because he was on the defensive, he was the leader of the Han army. During the fierce battle, the morale of the army gradually stabilized.
Although the battle in the front camp was hard, the soldiers in other camps took the time to rest and provide continuous support from afar. If Yelvcong's army alone wanted to defeat the Han army in Nankou, even if it occupied so many areas
It was also very difficult to take the lead. In fact, seeing that the Liao army could not attack for a long time and suffered heavy casualties, An Shenqi secretly dispatched troops and concentrated elite troops to prepare for a wave of counterattack and defeat the Liao army head-on.
However, the sudden arrival of the 70,000 Liao troops at the entrance to victory was a huge blow to the Han army, especially the blow to morale. Not to mention other things, they were a powerful force in terms of numbers, more powerful than those in the Han camp.
There are still more regular troops.
As fighting broke out in both the Youzhai and the Houzhai, fierce fighting was still going on in the Frontzhai. Outside the Leftzhai, more than 10,000 Liao cavalry were still encircling and suppressing the Hebei frontier cavalry. Suddenly, the Han army in Nankou was surrounded by enemies on all sides, and the morale of the army was unstable.
Big fall.
It stands to reason that with the basic qualities of the Han army and the solid fortification, even if faced with a critical situation, they would not be too embarrassed to fight. But the problem is that for this battle, the top-down psychological preparation is not sufficient, and there is no
I thought that the Liao army would attack brazenly, with such a huge appetite that they wanted to devour them all in one go. Moreover, they would directly attack with an all-out force of 200,000 people, which was quite sophisticated.
It has to be said that for this battle, the Liao army was more fully prepared, and the Han army responded passively. This can be said to be an exchange of situations with the previous battles between Han and Liao, with offense and defense swapping.
Now, the Liao army has revealed its trump card and directly launched an attack with thunderous momentum, intending to completely annihilate the Han army in Nankou. Under this situation, An Shenqi's secretly planned counterattack was aborted. At the same time, An Shenqi
Qi also knew that the time when he really needed to fight had arrived.
In order to cope with the new round of Liao army's larger-scale and more ferocious attack, An Shenqi first gave an order to the generals of each camp to gather the officers and soldiers, not to panic, and to fight with all their strength according to the terrain and features, so that officers at all levels could
, will definitely take the lead in fighting and maintain the fighting spirit of the army.
At the same time, people advertised to the whole army, saying that envoys asking for reinforcements had been sent out long ago, and as long as they persisted until evening, reinforcements would arrive. At the same time, they encouraged soldiers at all levels to bravely kill the enemy, saying that this was an opportunity for the Liao army to make achievements. If they could persist until the reinforcements arrived,
Come and defeat the Liao army, the emperor will definitely give you a heavy reward.
An Shenqi deeply understood that in such a critical situation, maintaining the morale and morale of the army is more important than anything else. If the stronghold resists, there is still hope, and even defeat can be turned into victory. If the morale and morale of the army are lost, it will be doomed.
No matter what, after excluding the casualties from the half-day fighting, the remaining Han army in Nankou still has nearly 60,000 soldiers and civilians who can fight. As long as they maintain their will to fight, it will not be easy for the Liao army to easily eat them.
An Shenqi's measures to stabilize people's hearts have achieved good results. Due to the high level of security, morale has dropped somewhat, but it has not fallen into chaos. Under the leadership of senior officers, the shaken military morale has even gradually It settled down.
Ordinary soldiers may not have that understanding, but upper-level generals and experienced soldiers all know that if they form an organized resistance, they may still have a chance to persist until reinforcements arrive. Once defeated, it is likely that only the Liao army will pursue them. .They are mainly infantry and cannot run on four legs. Many officers use this to inspire their soldiers.
In order to boost morale, An Shenqi ordered his people to raise his flag high and personally beat drums to show his determination to resist to the end.
Of course, what An Shenqi ordered to release was also true, and the messengers asking for help had already been sent. In fact, when the Liao army launched a large-scale attack, An Shenqi sent two Xinqi, one to Niu Lanshan, one branch goes to Youzhou.
However, his original intention was not to ask for help, but to invite troops to annihilate this Liao army. The 130,000 elite Liao army came out together, which was a God-given opportunity. If the army gathered together and annihilated them, it would cause heavy damage to the Liao Kingdom. It will be even worse than the Battle of Luancheng back then. By then, it can basically be declared that this Northern Expedition has been a complete victory, and the Yanyun states can recover calmly, like flipping pancakes.
However, during the fierce fighting in the front village, An Shenqi sensed something was wrong, so he sent people again and flew away. This time he really asked for help.
The two lines of reinforcements, on the other side of Niulan Mountain, were the main force of the Han cavalry led by Gao Huaide, combined with iron cavalry, Long Jie, Yan cavalry and Fan cavalry, with more than 23,000 men and horses. The reason why they were stationed at Niulan Mountain was It was to be in the center to meet the two attacking Han armies, and Niulan Mountain was only about eighty miles away from the south entrance.
As for Youzhou, there are still 70,000 troops left. Although more than 20,000 people are newly recruited Yan people, they can still dispatch about 50,000 mobile troops.
Because he was trapped in the predicament of being besieged, An Shenqi failed to send the third wave of envoys seeking help, but someone did it for him. It was Han Hui who was stationed in Changping City and was responsible for military supplies and logistics.
When the war broke out in the north, the entire county was on alert. Han Hui personally wore armor and saber, and sent people to the camp to ask An Shenqi for instructions. An Shenqi's reply was that he should stick to the city and protect the people in the city. Do not let the Liao army take advantage of military supplies.
There are more than 15,000 people in Changping City. Except for 3,000 auxiliary soldiers and Hebei Prefecture soldiers, the rest are civilians. The fighting ability of these people cannot be overestimated.
However, Han Hui was a very knowledgeable man, and he had concerns about the large-scale deployment of the Liao army. When he learned that Yelu Wuzhi had led an army to outflank the south entrance, he knew that the south entrance was in danger.
Without any hesitation, Han Hui sent messengers to two places to report the critical situation. At the same time, Han Hui did not stop in Changping City and took some positive measures.
While sending warriors to inquire about the battle situation at Nankou, they also gathered the civilians in Changping City, provided each with weapons, and organized them into battalions. Although the combat strength was difficult to guarantee, these people also conducted some training every year when they were in their hometown. Fifteen thousand people may be able to play a big role at a critical moment.
Not to mention the progress of the reinforcements, after Yelvuzhi led the army and launched the attack, even if the generals persisted in resisting and remained unwavering, they still inevitably fell into a critical situation.
From the beginning of the confrontation, the Liao army did not give the Han army much chance to breathe. The fierce battle continued until noon, and the Han army was already very tired. The first thing that could not be stopped was the cavalry battle outside Zuo Zhai. The Hebei frontier cavalry was not unheroic.
, also fought stubbornly and held down more than 10,000 Liao cavalry, but in the end they were outnumbered and were eventually killed and scattered. Only a thousand cavalry were left. Some of them were withdrawn to the Hanzhai, and some were driven to Changping.
After defeating the Han cavalry that was in the way, Yelu Cong once again mobilized his troops, adding 20,000 troops to the Zuo stronghold, and launched an attack directly towards the Zuo stronghold. In fact, Yelu Cong and Yelu Wuzhi originally planned to attack San Que and Yi, with the left side to the west.
The stronghold was the "escape" gap left for the Han army.
However, the Han army showed no signs of retreating. Sensing its firm will to resist, Yelvcong did not spare any effort and simply besieged the Han army on all sides and crushed the Han army. At this point, the Liao army, which had directly participated in the siege of the Han stronghold, combined from all four sides,
It has reached 130,000, twice as many as the Han army.
Yes, the Liao Army also left a lot of reserve troops, especially the most elite Pishi Army, in order to prepare for the reinforcements of the Han Army. For this encirclement and annihilation war, the Liao Army was indeed well prepared in all aspects.
.
Soon, the battle at Nankou progressed to the most exciting and cruel stage. The autumn wind howled, murderous intent boiled, and the killing sounds of Han and Liao soldiers shook the mountains and forests, frightened birds and animals, and the thin clouds in the sky were almost shaken away.
The Liao army's attack followed a concept, regardless of casualties. The Han army's camp seemed to be no longer intimidating to them. The Liao army attacked frantically, and the Han army defended tenaciously. In the life-and-death struggle, reason, fear, etc.
All the other emotions were thrown away, leaving only the instinct to kill.
The first one that could not withstand it was Nanzhai. Under the supervision of Yelu Wuzhi, it was defeated. The Han army in Nanzhai, mainly Yan soldiers and some auxiliary soldiers, plus most of the civilians in the camp, were all placed.
In Nanzhai.
Under the attack of the elite Liao army, they finally failed. As far as the Han army was concerned, the defeat of the southern stronghold was more dangerous than the previous stronghold. The Liao army surged forward and the Han army collapsed in panic.
An Shenqi was prepared for this. When the front camp was in crisis, Liu Tinghan and Wang Yin stepped forward to turn the tide. The fall of the south camp was even more dangerous, and it was Luo Yanxu who stepped forward.
As soon as the Liao army broke through the stronghold, he led the Shun'an army to meet them and fought to the death. An Shenqi also followed the previous example and personally led his men to collect the defeated soldiers of the southern stronghold and reorganize the formation.
, deployed defenses. The bloody battle of the Shun'an army also aroused the bloody spirit of some of the Yan army.
The fall of Nanzhai was also related to the Yan army's lack of determination in fighting. The one who stood up was the Yan general Gao Yanhui, who completely gave up all thoughts of preserving strength for the King of Yan. In this case, life and death were the same, and the Han army had already done that.
At this level, how could the generous and tragic people of Yan and Zhao not be infected?
Gao Yanhui took the initiative to collect the defeated soldiers and Minzhuang, and led his men to rejoin the battle, to meet Luo Yanxu who was struggling to support and buy time. In order to stop the advance of the Liao army in Nanzhai, An Shenqi set off another fire.
There was a big fire, and there was a lot of fodder and wood in the Nanzhai, and a lot of the grain transferred to the camp from Changping was also stored in it.
Therefore, the fire burned very vigorously, and many people were burned to death on both sides of the Han and Liao Dynasties. However, it did play a role in cutting off the Liao army.
Seeing that the front stronghold was in danger, the southern stronghold was destroyed. Although the left and right strongholds held firm, Shi Shouxin and Dong Zunyi also fell into a hard fight. Under such a situation, An Shenqi once again ordered the abandonment of the outer camps, and the entire army moved closer to the central army and contracted.
Guard with troops.
This was also done out of desperation. Under the attack of the Liao army, it was unable to maintain the defense of such a large camp, so shrinking was a necessary choice. Similarly, the result was that the close combat between the offensive and defensive sides became more intense.
The remaining Han troops were gradually compressed into a small area of three or four miles around the central army.