Chapter 785: Eight Hundred Miles to Pass the Gold Medal
"As expected of Yelu, he was able to retreat in an orderly manner."
On the battlefield littered with corpses, the rural soldiers and warriors began to skillfully clean the battlefield, take off their armor, gather their equipment, and count their harvests.
Li Yan first ordered people to place the wounded, collect the dead soldiers, and then summarize the gains and losses of the battle.
This time the Liao army was severely defeated, with more than 10,000 casualties, and only a few hundred soldiers and brave soldiers were killed. It can be described as an overwhelming and brilliant victory.
But despite such a victory, more than 30,000 Liao troops still retreated. It must be said that this was the skill of the general.
Winning a battle is of course what every general pursues, but victory or defeat is a common thing for military strategists. Except for a very small number of military gods, no one can guarantee that they will never lose a battle. How to maintain the military formation and preserve strength during retreat will especially test the general's ability.
.
The most typical example is that when the Northern Expedition army led by Zhuge Liang retreated, they were able to set up an ambush to capture fierce generals like Zhang He. The two battles in the late Northern Song Dynasty are classic negative teaching materials, the Battle of Yanshan by Liu Yanqing,
In the battle of Tongguan at Baigou River, when they were defeated, there were corpses scattered for hundreds of miles, trampling on each other along the way. It was simply too horrible to watch.
In comparison, Yelu Dezhong was certainly not as strong as Wuhou, but under such strong and weak pressure, it was really not easy to ensure that the main force was not defeated and safely retreated to Zhuozhou City.
"Not only the troops led by the Khitan generals, but also the Han generals, although their fighting spirit was exhausted, they still had a strong will to preserve themselves, and they retreated in a disciplined manner."
"So the Liao army retreated to Zhuozhou City and was still able to hold on to the city and hinder our attack. This is troublesome..."
The generals were talking among themselves, but Li Yan was looking at the land of Zhuozhou.
Most people know about Zhuozhou, either because the ancient Emperor Xuanyuan and Huangdi fought against Chiyou in the wilderness of Zhuolu, Zhuolu is Zhuozhou, or because Liu Guan and Zhang became sworn brothers in the Taoyuan of Zhuozhou. As for the ancestral home of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Zhuozhou is a misinformation, but it is actually in Baozhou.
Zhou Qingyuan.
Li Yan, on the other hand, was more concerned about Zhuozhou's grain production.
Even though Yanyun Land only occupies a very small proportion of the entire Liao Kingdom, it is an alluvial plain with fertile land and is rich in grain. This grain-producing area has been the most troublesome grain for ethnic minorities since ancient times.
The problem was solved.
So, what proportion of Zhuozhou's grain output in the land of Yanyun, the specific situation of each county and township, and how the people live, requires first-hand intelligence analysis.
Fortunately, Shi Qian was very efficient. In just one day, the specific situation was sent back. After Li Yan read it, he passed it on to everyone. After the generals circulated it, they all felt shocked, but not surprised: "The Han people living here are really
How miserable!"
Li Yandao: "Zhuozhou is located on the border after all. The number of registered households is far less than that of the hinterland of Yanzhou and Jizhou. Its output is only self-sufficient. Ordinary Han people have very little food in their homes. Even if there is a disaster, the Khitan people must ensure that they can survive first."
Eat enough..."
"Since the war broke out in the Liao Kingdom in the past six months, the burden of food and grass ahead has been on Yan Yun's shoulders. Yanzhou and Jizhou were originally rich places, and both produced a large number of disaster victims. Zhuozhou, which was originally living in poverty, was even more
Adding insult to injury."
"The slogans I taught before can be shouted by the army officers and soldiers. I sent out instructions to lead the team and traveled throughout the counties and villages to let the Han people living in Zhuozhou know that the savior who changed their lives was here!"
…
"The morning seeks promotion and the evening seeks unity. It is difficult for the Han people to survive these days, so they open their doors early to pay homage to the local army, and all the disciplines are happy."
"Kill the cattle and sheep, prepare wine and liquor, open the city gate to welcome the rural army, but the rural army will not pay food when they come..."
At the top of Zhuozhou City, Yelv Dezhong could hear the nursery rhymes below, and his face was as gloomy as water.
The second son behind him, Yelv Zongsheng, hurriedly said: "Father, in a short period of time, the untouchables in three counties in Zhuozhou have caused chaos. Let the Song people easily take them down. We must not let these troubled people continue to sing!"
Yelu De said seriously: "How is the situation in the city? Is there enough food?"
Yelu Zong paused for a moment: "It's barely enough, but those unscrupulous people are greedy. I'm afraid they have to kill a lot of them before they can live in peace for a while..."
Yelu Dezhong turned around angrily, glared at his son, and cursed: "Kill, kill, kill. All I do is kill all day long. You are a member of the Khitan royal family. You are a general of an army, not a butcher and executioner! You can kill ten people, kill a hundred people, kill a thousand people."
, can you kill ten thousand people, one hundred thousand people?"
"This is our land of Daliao. The Song people are trying to win people's hearts, but we are raising the butcher's knife against our own people. The land of Yanyun will be completely lost!"
Yelv Zongsheng shrank his neck, not understanding that his father, who had clearly killed Han generals before, suddenly became merciful again.
Yelu Dezhong was not benevolent at all, but he knew that the way to make the Han people surrender through killing was no longer feasible.
He could kill three leading Han generals, but it was impossible for him to massacre the Han generals, let alone millions of Han people in the Yanyun land.
Of course, the Jin Kingdom in history dared to do this. They washed Yanyun into ashes, burned, killed, looted, and moved the living people to Shangjing. The rest were only bones or bones, and then sold them to Song Ting for millions, and then kept them.
Xiapingzhou and Luanzhou serve as springboards for the southward attack.
But at that time, the Jin army was at its peak, and 20,000 people were killed while the 700,000 Liao army fled. The weak and incompetent Song Dynasty also began to sharpen its swords against pigs and sheep. Today, the Liao Kingdom has lost in the frontal battlefield. How can it be generalized?
"We were defeated at the hands of the Song people in the Battle of Baigou River, and the situation took a turn for the worse. Now we can no longer hope for victory. We can only guard the important city and wait for reinforcements from the rear!"
Yelvde said sternly: "In this process, we must stabilize the people's hearts. Even if you try to coax and deceive, you still have to help me calm the people down and survive this most critical moment!"
Yelu Zongsheng opened his mouth, subconsciously wanting to say that the military had intensified its abuse of the Han people recently, and the Khitan nobles vented their grievances for the defeat on those people. However, he thought that the person who had made the bad start was undoubtedly his father.
He still changed the topic and whispered: "Father, the key now is that there is no food. Those unscrupulous people want food, otherwise they will cause trouble. This clever woman can't make a living without rice..."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Yelv was breathing heavily and stared at his son fiercely.
As a superior, when should you worry about these specific little things? If you have any difficulties, you should solve them yourself!
Yelv Zongsheng's head quickly dropped.
It was obviously impossible to appease the people, and they could only hope for victory. The young prince rolled his eyes and said: "Father, don't worry, reinforcements from the rear are coming, and the leader is Wu Yanguang, who also has thousands of husbands."
Inappropriate bravery is no match for Lin Chong. Without that fierce general to lead the charge, the Song army will never be a match for our Khitan warriors!"
Yelu Dezhong's brows moved slightly: "A mature woman has a straight face..."
Jurchens in the Liao Kingdom are divided into mature Jurchens and unborn Jurchens. The former is the official population of the Liao Kingdom, and the latter is a vassal who regularly pays tribute to the Liao Kingdom. To put it bluntly, it means divide and rule. The mature Jurchens are used to oppress the unborn Jurchens and cause civil strife in the nation.
.
Wu Yanguang was Mature Nüzhen, a serious Liao native who also made a name for himself in the army. When Yelv had to go south again, he had already heard someone calling him the best warrior in Liao.
Considering the situation of the Jurchens in the Liao Kingdom, for Wu Yanguang to receive such praise, it is obvious that he is not just a little ahead of other generals in terms of force, but must have a crushing advantage.
In the past, Yelu Dezhong would not put the victory of the war on a strong general, but the appearance of Lin Chong obviously changed his mind. If this Wu Yanguang can really break the opponent's undefeated myth, then there is indeed a lot to do!
Taking a deep breath, Yelv clenched his fists tightly: "So we must hold on even more. The battle situation is changing rapidly. If we delay it, unexpected changes may occur. We must not lose the land of Yanyun, otherwise
When this king commits suicide, you must not stop him!"
…
"Eight hundred miles urgent! Eight hundred miles urgent!"
Riding several fast horses, they rushed into the Daming Mansion as fast as thunder.
The guards guarding the city had not yet recovered from the tense atmosphere of the Liao army's siege, and subconsciously wanted to stop them, but they saw from a distance the golden light and shadow in the hands of those people, swaying all the way, dazzling.
When I got closer, I realized that it was a long wooden sign, covered in vermilion paint, with eight large golden characters engraved on it: "Imperial writing, no entry into the shop."
The guards suddenly took a breath of cold air and quickly moved out of the way.
This is a gold medal issued by the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs. The so-called "imperial writing" refers to official documents and letters sent from the hands of officials. "No entry into the shop" means that when delivering letters, post officials are not allowed to hand them over in the post station.
, but can only be passed one by one on horseback.
Even saving this effort shows how anxious they are, and those guarding the city gates are naturally even more unstoppable.
The knights on horseback rushed into the city, went straight to the Yamen, and began to shout: "Hurry up and let the prefect Cai Jing come out to receive the order!"
Liang Shijie came out to welcome him. He was shocked when he saw the gold medal. He looked at the dress of the chamberlain and said hurriedly: "I don't know if all the angels have arrived and are not far away to greet you!"
The chamberlain who delivered the message said: "Don't say more, Cai Daizhi is here, let him come out to receive the order!"
Liang Shijie replied: "My father is ill and is resting at home..."
Cai Jing was indeed ill. During the battle to defend the city some time ago, he also worked hard. When the attack was the most intense, he did not dare to sleep for two days and two nights.
Got sick.
When the news came out, there was an endless stream of visitors, and some people even kowtowed from a distance outside the mansion, praying for the recovery of health of this loyal minister who protected Daming Mansion.
But the disease is actually not that serious. After all, Cai Jing is only in his early fifties, not yet in his seventies or eighties. After more than ten days of treatment, he has recovered his health. Now he is staying in the mansion to recuperate and consider the next situation.
When he heard that a messenger from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came with a gold medal to convey the message, Cai Jing's expression changed slightly and he immediately ordered his surroundings: "Quick, quick, quick! Help me lie back down!"
Less than half a quarter of an hour later, Cai Zhongchen, who was guarding Hebei Province, was already lying on the bed, with his eyes closed and his hands on his chest. He was more peaceful than the previous prefect Li Qingchen.
This is what the chamberlain saw after being brought into the inner house.
Faced with such a Beijing garrison who had great achievements in defending the city and was seriously ill and lethargic, the chamberlain holding the gold medal had no choice but to wave his sleeves angrily: "Go north quickly to find the Imperial City Secretary to lift Gao Qiu and convey His Majesty's decree!"