As the night progressed, Yelu Sagui was ordered to withdraw, quickly broke away from Gao Huaide's army, retreated to the south entrance, and strengthened the siege and defense of An Shenqi. It was dark night again, and a large number of reinforcements from the Han army arrived again.
Under such a situation, dividing the troops into the field is not a good choice.
Gao Huaide, who had been struggling with Zuo Pishi's army under great pressure, also relaxed and stopped mentioning pursuit. He took the remaining 17,000 Forbidden Army cavalry and moved closer to Changping. 20,000 were left before departure.
Among the three thousand cavalry, except for the thousand cavalry who were assigned to the party and the soldiers who died in the battle, the rest were all Fan cavalry. They were defeated and fled in all directions. Among them, less than two thousand people reunited and found Guo Chongwei...
...
On the Liao army's side, after excluding casualties, there were still about 160,000 troops left, and 120,000 were besieging the south entrance. Counting from the beginning of the attack, the officers and soldiers of the Liao army had worked hard for a whole day and night, so they all took advantage of the opportunity.
Rest, even some indulgence.
Because before the war started, they did not expect that the battle would go this far. The Liao army was well prepared strategically and tactically, but it also had shortcomings, such as tents for camping and other materials.
Fortunately, there were still some captured and well-preserved Han camps that could be used for shelter. Even so, many Liao soldiers could only rest on the ground, lighting bonfires and sleeping with pillows on their arms.
However, the cold nights of late autumn are not so easy to endure. In order to keep out the cold, it is common for people to strip clothes and armor from dead bodies. In fact, the Liao army's arrangement at the south entrance is actually very dangerous.
There are still nearly 50,000 Han troops in the central stronghold. It is hard to predict how many soldiers there are to fight. Although it is surrounded on all sides and has defenses around it, if the elite troops are concentrated and attack one side, it will be difficult to resist.
The Yelüsha army marching south to Changping played a very important role in providing support. The Liao army commander also rarely took a moment to rest. After learning that another Han army reinforcements had arrived in Changping, he was a little surprised.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Yelu Cong stood in the tent, hesitating and anxious, looking at Yelu's house, and said: "With the strength of the Han army near Youzhou, it is absolutely impossible for the Han army to attack the enemy in such a short time.
Within, more than 100,000 troops will be mobilized for reinforcements!"
Taking a deep breath, Yelvcong said: "I have carefully investigated and calculated that, excluding the troops and horses on the east route, the garrison in various places, and the transportation of soldiers and civilians, the soldiers and civilians that the Han Dynasty in Youzhou can mobilize are only about 300,000, and no more than 300,000 at most.
fifty thousand.
Now, Tanzhou has contained more than 100,000 of its troops, and 100,000 of them have been trapped at the southern entrance. In one day, more than 100,000 of them came to the aid of infantry and cavalry. Did the Han army in Youzhou fail to defend? Doesn't their emperor need to be defended?
The reinforcements from the Han army must be deceitful!"
At the end of the sentence, Yelu Cong's tone became very certain. Regarding his judgment, Yelu Wuzhi also agreed with him and said calmly: "The Han cavalry from Niulan Mountain are just bluffing. I'm afraid the two groups of reinforcements will follow suit.
, to confuse and frighten our army!"
"Are the reinforcements entering Changping fake?" Yelvcong asked.
Yelu Wuzhi shook his head and responded: "I'm afraid one is false and the other is true. According to Yelusha's report, if the judgment is correct, the former is false and the latter is true. In any case, tens of thousands of Han reinforcements have indeed arrived!"
"Even if these tens of thousands of troops are added up, we still have the advantage in strength!" Yelu Cong said.
Looking at Yelu Cong, Yelu Wuzhi sighed: "That's true, but after nearly a day and night of fierce fighting, our soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and most of them were exhausted. The Han army at Nankou still held on to the stronghold and could not retreat.
The Han army was lurking in the south and did not attack, which actually formed a pincer attack on our army. Although the situation is still under our control, the battle situation has already tilted towards the Han army..."
"I don't agree with what King Beiyuan said!" Listening to his analysis, although he agreed with some of the truth, Yelu Cong disagreed with his analysis of Yelu Wuzhi's battle situation and said: "The Han army marched hundreds of miles to come to the aid, and the same
Weary, otherwise why would we go to Changping to rest and recuperate? The Han cavalry, after being attacked by the Zuopi Shi Army, was almost defeated. Facts have proved that we still have the advantage over the Han army.
The remnants of the Han army at the south entrance are at their wits end. Even with the support of reinforcements and lack of food and supplies, it is difficult for them to continue resisting for long. As long as we can break through the south entrance, our army will win this battle!"
Yelvcong's idea was good, and the analysis was based on the military situation and battle conditions, but the question came, could the Han army in Nankou be defeated? Will the reinforcements in Changping watch helplessly as they annihilated An Shenqi's army?
"Right now, what I'm worried about is not the Han army in Changping, but other reinforcements. With the strength of the Han army, it is not impossible to continue to mobilize troops for reinforcements. And the nearest Tanzhou division, with the decisiveness of the Han army, will be ready tomorrow.
To the South Privy Council, I'm afraid it will be difficult to contain them! If Han reinforcements are allowed to come in a steady stream and gather here, our army may be in danger!" Yelvuzhi expressed his worries.
Hearing what he said, Yelu Cong couldn't help but said: "Is this what Yelv Xiezhen proposed?"
Yelvuzhi sighed: "This is something we have to worry about!"
Hearing this, Yelu Cong couldn't help but twist his face, and the anxiety on his face was beyond words. After a long time, Yelu Cong looked at Yelu Chong: "The King of Beiyuan is an important minister of the country, the backbone of the country, and he is always able to decide important matters. Your Majesty.
How should we make a decision at this time?"
Seeing Yelu Cong kicking the ball to him, Yelu Wuzhi pondered for a while and said seriously: "Time is in favor of the enemy and is not in our favor. There is not much time left for us. If we persist for a long time, we will lose. We cannot let the war continue to drag on. Otherwise,
The strength of the Han army will continue to increase, but we will be unable to succeed!"
Saying that, Yelu Wuzhi and Yelu Cong looked at each other: "For the current plan, we can either choose to fight at night and continue the fierce attack before the Han army's follow-up reinforcements arrive, trying to break through the south entrance. Or... withdraw the troops!"
Hearing the word "withdrawal", Yelv Cong immediately became anxious and said: "For this attack, we have assembled 200,000 troops and raided the south entrance. If we retreat due to the cowardice of the enemy, how will we explain to your majesty and the people of the country? Besides,
The soldiers fought hard for a day, were so afraid of casualties, and saw that the work was about to be accomplished. To give up like this would definitely dampen morale and sadden the morale of the army. How could the soldiers be willing to do so?"
Hearing Yelu Cong's remarks, he was probably the most unwilling person. After all, he was the one who advocated the attack, but if he failed, even if he returned without success, he would be the one who took the main responsibility.
After thinking about it, Yelu Cong said: "The soldiers have been resting for a while. Let Yelusha keep an eye on the reinforcements of the Han army. We will lead the troops and continue to attack the Han army. I don't believe how long they can hold on after their blood is cold."
!Perhaps launching an attack at this time can also have the effect of a surprise attack, and it may not be impossible to achieve success in one fell swoop!"
After hearing what he said, Yelu Wuzhi frowned, how could he rely solely on gambling, and immediately said: "Since the former chose to stop fighting and rest for a night, if he drives the soldiers to attack again, there will be complaints, and the soldiers will not be motivated to fight!
"
Yelucong couldn't help but pace again, his pace much faster, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Then rest for the night, wait for the morning, feed the soldiers, and then attack the stronghold. Tanzhou's reinforcements may not come back, even if they come
Even so, we may not be without the strength to fight!"
Seeing Yelu Cong's performance, Yelu Congzhi was completely angry. He stood up and cursed: "We are not gamblers. How can we be so careless about military and national affairs? Now that the situation is getting worse, we should change according to the situation and act randomly.
How can we insist on having our own way? Your Majesty has paid 200,000 people to help us. Many of the country's elites have gathered here. If there is a big attack, don't you know what serious consequences it will have?"
After being scolded like this, Yelu Cong couldn't help but was shocked. He calmed down and looked at Yelu Chong, who had a stern and majestic look on his face. He hesitated for a while and said, "Your Majesty, the situation has not yet reached such an urgent and critical moment. If you retreat rashly, all your previous efforts will be wasted.
, It’s a great pity. It’s better to wait a little longer, and the two of us will report the current situation to His Majesty urgently, and let His Majesty make his decision!”
When Yelu Cong said this, Yelu Wuzhi thought about it and said, "Let's leave it like that for now!"
Although Yelu Wuzhi was no longer optimistic about the prospects of this battle, he was unwilling to let Yelu Wuzhi retreat directly. How could he not have any hope in his heart? In one day's offensive, defensive and blocking operations, they suffered nearly 40,000 casualties.
Due to the stubborn resistance and counterattack of the Han army, more than 20,000 people were directly killed. This casualty was too heavy for the Liao army.
In fact, as reinforcements from the Han army arrived in Changping, the battle situation between the Han and Liao forces at the south entrance became interesting. The Liao army's 120,000 troops surrounded less than 50,000 Han army remnants in the middle stronghold at the south entrance. Changping's various branches
The total strength was more than 80,000 troops, which could cope with the 40,000 Liao army in Yelusha.
If the Liao army wants to win, it needs to defeat the Han army in Nankou while resisting the reinforcements of the Han army. If the Han army wants to rescue, it may break the containment blockade of the Yelusha army.
In fact, a balanced situation has been formed between the two parties. If you want to break this balance, you must either use internal force or rely on external force.
When the commander-in-chief of the Liao army felt that it was difficult to advance or retreat, it took about two hours after midnight for Han Emperor Liu Chengyou to gallop to Changping at night. Knowing in advance that the emperor was coming to the front line in person, General Changping could not help but be shocked. Gao Huaide hurriedly gathered three thousand soldiers
They stopped riding and went south to meet them. Only after escorting Liu Chengyou into the city did they feel relieved.
Regarding the arrival of the emperor, the generals on the front line felt a little complicated and felt more pressure. When Chai Rong saw Liu Chengyou, his expression was extremely serious: "Why do you need His Majesty to come to the battle in person?"