Chapter 276 The War at the Southern Foot of Yinshan Mountain
To the north of Yunzhou, the Yinshan area outside the Great Wall is its eastern foothills. The mountains are still densely packed vertically and horizontally. Although the terrain is not as high as in the west, it still plays the role of isolating the north from the south and cutting across the plateau.
This area is located at the junction of Fengzhou and Fengshengzhou in the Liao Dynasty. The landform is complex, with mountains, hills, and ravines. There are also several plains in between. The hydrological conditions are good. Compared with the bitter cold Mobei, this area is also known as
It’s a good place for nomads.
In this land, there were originally a large number of Khitan tribes living. However, with the beginning of the Han-Liao War, decades of peace were instantly broken, especially after the Liao army retreated northward.
A large number of soldiers from the Yunzhou Basin fled northward, bringing crisis, tension and chaos. As the Liao Emperor hurriedly returned northward, he left behind even more chaos.
Knowing that Yunzhou was being besieged by hundreds of thousands of Han troops, even two hundred miles away, one could still feel the edge and danger. During the process of going south to resist the Han, these soldiers were also recruited and sent out large numbers of troops, but
Very few can come back, which adds to the fear.
After surviving the cold winter and entering spring, it was originally a time for horses, cattle and sheep to recover. In previous years, they could rest and recuperate safely, but now, this stability no longer exists. The Khitans have dominated the southern and northern deserts for decades, and for decades they have been stable.
, and also made the people under his rule lose their wildness and fierceness in the early years.
No matter how brave a person is, they will inevitably degrade after being at ease for a long time. And the military capabilities of the Liao army are no longer solely reflected by the bravery and warlikeness of the grassland people.
Therefore, when the 20,000 Han troops on foot and cavalry, led by Shi Shouxin and Guo Chongwei, left the Great Wall to the north, the Khitan tribesmen living in this plain and river system were completely panicked.
With heavy casualties in soldiers and depleted animal power, and faced with the Han army's attack, most people chose to follow their leaders and clan elders and continue to flee deep into the Yin Mountains, hoping to avoid the Han army's attack.
Faced with the reaction of the Khitan tribe, Shi Shouxin and other Han generals were a little surprised. In any case, the Khitan was also the overlord of the grasslands and had been powerful in the north for decades. Even during the Northern Expedition of the Han army, they suffered heavy trauma and losses.
It's not like he's so cowardly.
Of course, the few doubts in their hearts did not hinder the Han army's military operations. They drove, killed, and plundered the Khitan tribe mercilessly, and in a short time, they made a lot of gains.
In this dangerous situation, the Liao army was not completely helpless. Yelu Xianshi, who was appointed by Yelv Jing to lead the southern military operations, was also a capable nobleman of the Liao Kingdom. He was ordered to stay in order to unify the Yinshan and Hetao areas of the Liao Kingdom.
military strength to support the Yunzhou war.
However, when the Han army divided its forces to attack, Yelu Xianshi could no longer take care of Yunzhong. How to deal with Shi Shouxin and Guo Chongwei's 20,000 Han army infantry and cavalry was the first priority.
Yelv Xianshi did not dare to make such a decision head-on. Faced with the burning, killing and looting of the Han army, he decisively gathered all the young and strong laborers of the remaining tribes in the name of resisting the invasion of the Han army, and there was no objection from various ministries.
.
Then, they adopted harassment and movement tactics to contain the Han army, which achieved good results. Facing the enemy head-on, with the strength of the Han army's infantry and cavalry, coupled with Guo's united battle ability, he was able to completely defeat Yelvxian at the right time.
A gathering of rabble.
However, Yelu Xianshi also knew his own disadvantages. He strictly avoided direct confrontation with the Han army, focused on harassing and tiring the enemy, and conducted a marathon with the Han army at the southern foot of Yinshan Mountain. Moreover, he lured a small group of Han troops.
Attack, concentrate your forces to annihilate, or surprise the Han cavalry who are plundering the soldiers alone. If reinforcements arrive, retreat decisively and give up all efforts. Therefore, over a period of time, the Han army also accumulated considerable losses.
During this entanglement between the two sides, the remaining Liao army tribes were given time and space to evacuate safely and were able to avoid the battlefield without causing greater losses.
Of course, this is also the reason why the Han army focused on Yelvxian's military fitness. Although the Han army's infantry and cavalry marched out of the fortress, although their overall mobility was weakened, especially when they had made a lot of captures and needed to be guarded,
It further loses flexibility. However, with the coordination of foot and cavalry, and the integration of offense and defense, one can basically remain invincible.
After suffering several losses under Yelv Xianshi's tactics, Shi Shouxin discussed with Guo Chongwei and decided to counterattack. This area is rich in water and grass and is a good place for natural grazing, but after all, it belongs to mountainous terrain and is plateau-oriented.
The transition zone of the basin is not boundless, so the Liao army is also subject to certain restrictions when fighting in this area, and the Han army is not that uncomfortable.
At that time, news was received that there were many Khitan people staying in the Baishui River area at the eastern foot of Daqing Mountain. Shi Shouxin immediately judged that this was a trick of the Liao army, and immediately decided to use the trick and use Guo Chongwei to lead three thousand cavalry.
, went to conquer. Sure enough, when Guo Chongwei arrived at Baishui River, he faced an ambush from the Liao army. After achieving some small results in succession, Yelv Xian wanted to do something big.
In order to deal with this partial division of the Han army, Yelv Xian gathered more than 17,000 Liao troops and launched a siege. Although the combat power was not strong, if the Han army was not prepared, so many people could be piled up to death, even if they were not all.
If the army is destroyed, there will be heavy losses.
Of course, Guo Chongwei, who was confident in his heart, led his troops to fight, retreating while fighting, looking for favorable terrain to resist, and waited for Shi Shouxin's reinforcements. In order to avoid being discovered by the Liao army, Shi Shouxin followed behind and hung up sixty miles away.
.It wasn’t until the news came that he led his troops to press forward.
When Shi Shouxin arrived with the main force, Yelv Xianshi realized that he had been tricked. This man was also decisive and without any hesitation, he ordered the retreat before engaging the main force of the Han army.
The Liao army wanted to leave, but the Han army could not let them go. Guo Chongwei and his men turned from defense to attack, and Shi Shouxin also led his men to intercept and kill them. In the Battle of Baishui River, the Han army killed more than 3,000 Liao soldiers at the cost of more than a thousand casualties.
The army took nearly two thousand prisoners.
This is the result of Yelv Xian retreating quickly and decisively, and escaping in scattered ways. Otherwise, if he had been entangled with the Han army for a while longer, he would have suffered more damage.
After the Battle of Baishui River, Yelv Xianshi was severely wounded and fled to the Jiujiuquan area in the southeast of Liaofeng Prefecture to rest and recuperate. This was the assembly point he set up to gather the defeated troops and continue to explore the movements of the Han army, but he did not dare to act rashly again.
Already.
Although the Han army won a great victory, Shi and Guo were not satisfied. They could neither completely annihilate the Liao army nor kill the Liao army's general Yelv Xianshi on the battlefield. In the battles before and after,
, and also discovered that he was a formidable opponent, cunning and alert, sizing up the situation, exploiting his strengths and avoiding weaknesses.
However, after missing such a rare opportunity, it is not that easy to find it again. Therefore, Generals Shi and Guo were somewhat helpless. They wanted to obtain another big opportunity when the barbarians fled north one after another.
Harvest is also difficult. As for continuing to go deep into the Liao territory, the two of them just thought about it. One was unprepared, and the other was taking risks if they went deep into the territory rashly.
Of course, this was also Shi and General Guo who were a little dissatisfied. After all, the task given to them by the camp was only to contain the Liao army to prevent them from affecting the war in Yunzhong. In this regard, the two of them had already completed the task beyond the standard.
"This Yelu Xianshi is really cunning. The scouts have searched the surrounding area for hundreds of miles, but there is still no trace of him. He is completely hiding!" In the military tent, Generals Shi Shouxin and Guo Chongwei were sitting cross-legged, eating meat.
While drinking, Guo Chongwei couldn't help but sigh.
"In the battle at Baishuihe, I beat him so hard. Now, this man is like a hamster, snake, and insect, hiding in the foothills of the mountains. I'm afraid he won't escape easily!" Shi Shouxin chuckled: "However,
There is no need to be anxious, veteran general. Since leaving the fortress, we have made a lot of gains, and we have an explanation for our camp!"
Guo Chongwei shook his head: "I'm just a little unwilling! If you give me 20,000 cavalry, it's not impossible to drive the Khitans completely out of Yinshan!"
"Having said that, the imperial court is unable to continue the Northern Expedition!" Shi Shouxin shook his head.
Guo Chongwei actually understood this truth. Take the 20,000 cavalrymen who accompanied them out of the fortress as an example. Many of the soldiers had lost most of their fighting spirit and had no intention of fighting again. They were eager to return home.
"I wonder how the battle is going in Yunzhong? More than 200,000 troops are besieging it. The enemy army shouldn't be able to hold on for long!" Guo Chongwei said again.
They were afraid of talking about everything, so in the afternoon, a messenger came from the camp to report the battle situation in Yunzhong. At the same time, they received an order to withdraw the entire army to the south. After receiving the order, the two of them had no objections and led the army back south the next day. The accompanying people except
In addition to the seizures and prisoners of cattle, sheep, horses and camels, there were also some Han people who were forcibly moved north. These people were very happy to return to their hometown in Yunzhou. In total, there were more than 2,000 people.