Accompanied by the roar of war drums, two figures were fighting in front of the formation.
Riding on the silver-maned horse is Xiao Yongtai, the Khitan general of the Liao Kingdom, wielding a pointed steel spear.
Riding on the jade suanni was Zhengsun Li of the local brave army, wielding a nine-edged spear.
The two fought for more than twenty rounds. Sun Li's uncanny spear skills made Xiao Yongtai increasingly frightened. Finally, after thirty rounds, he reined in his horse and left after losing the will to fight.
But when he ran towards the Liao army formation, he saw a lifeless silence.
The two sides faced off at Baigou, and the fighting general was proposed by the Southern Dynasty. The Liao Kingdom, which had always been proud and brave, naturally would not hide in the army.
However, the opponent did not send Lu Junyi, Hua Rong, and Suo Chao, who had already emerged and had a certain reputation in the Liao Dynasty. Instead, they only sent a group of unknown captains.
Just now, two young generals who looked like hunters, Jie Zhen and Jie Bao, defeated the generals of the Liao army and killed a Khitan general. Another Han general fled back to the formation in embarrassment. Xiao Yongtai
In anger, he asked for orders to go out to fight. Unexpectedly, the Sun Li he replaced was even more difficult to deal with!
What was going on in the Southern Dynasties? Why did the regular army collapse in one battle, but fierce men among the rural soldiers and rural warriors emerged one after another?
"Damn it! We must not let the people of the Southern Dynasty look down upon us, let alone the Han generals of Yanyun look down upon us Khitan warriors!"
Xiao Yongtai knew that if he left at this time, he could return to the formation, but his morale would drop to the bottom, so he immediately chose to go around the formation.
"Where to run?"
It had only been a few days since Sun Lichi joined the Rural Heroes Regiment. The Liao army in Shandong Province had already finished attacking Zengtou City and was completely wiped out. Now that he finally had the opportunity to make a contribution, how could he not miss it and chase after him?
"Well done!"
Xiao Yongtai secretly thought of a plan, he held the gun on his horse, picked up the bow with his left hand, picked up the arrow with his right hand, nocked the arrow, pulled the bow full, looked back at Sun Li and shot an arrow.
Sun Li was on guard for a long time, but he deliberately slowed down his shot. When the arrow hit his chest, he fell back, and the arrow missed him dangerously.
From Xiao Yongtai's point of view, he couldn't see it clearly. When he saw Sun Li fell on his horse, he was overjoyed and turned his horse's head: "I'll capture General Song without hesitation!"
It was too late, but it was too late. He clapped his horse forward, and just as he was about to capture him alive, which would increase his prestige, he saw Sun Li's legs suddenly exert force, he stood upright from his horse, shouted, and stabbed him with a spear.
: "Liao dog suffers death!"
Xiao Yongtai was shocked, knowing that he could not avoid it, so he used all his strength and pointed the steel gun at Sun Li's chest as hard as he could.
Sun Li didn't panic, he straightened his chest, and the tip of the spear reached his armor, slightly to one side, and the spear tip poked through his ribs. Xiao Yongtai screamed, and the nine-edged spear pierced his armor and inserted it.
Chest and abdomen.
Sun Li reached back to his waist with his left hand, pulled out a tiger-eye steel whip, and whipped Xiao Yongtai on the head.
Snapped!!
The helmet was dented, and suddenly the red and white smeared together. The Khitan general's body swayed, and his body fell under the horse.
Sun Li laughed loudly and raced back.
When he came, the chief instructor told him that Xiao Yongtai's martial arts skills were much weaker than his own, and he was a Khitan, so he could kill him on the spot. If he was a Han general, he should try to spare his life.
The same was true for the previous fighting generals. On the premise that there was a certain gap in martial arts between the two sides, the Khitans were all killed and the Han generals were left behind.
Seeing that the battle between a fierce general and a group of soldiers was settled and the winner was determined, in the Liao army formation, the drums stopped and the birds were silent. It was obviously difficult to accept. The Song army formation burst into cheers.
Except for Shi Cong, who ran back to the formation smelling the smell of the silver-maned horse and felt it was a pity, Li Yan also expressed his appreciation for Sun Li's strength: "Wonderful!"
Sun Li's ranking is also quite controversial in the original work. Among the eight people in Dengzhou, Sun Li is the strongest in martial arts and has the greatest contribution. As a result, he is ranked in Disha. Jie Zhen, who has no sense of existence, is ranked in Tiangang.
In the end, it was really a bit baffling.
Seeing Sun Li showing off his talents and returning victoriously, he had already shown his majesty in Jie Zhen and Jie Bao. Normally it would have been Sun Xin's turn, but Aunt Gu couldn't bear it and came to Li Yan to ask for a fight: "General coach, I would like to go to the slave family."
, I also cut off a Khitan dog head to show off to the three armies!"
Not to mention that Hu Sanniang, who followed Mrs. Gu to the front of the battle array, was jumping for joy and excited. All the generals also looked at her with interest.
Regardless of the fact that Sister-in-law Gu calls herself a young woman, this tough woman has shown quite a bit of prestige recently. No one will think that she doesn't have the strength to challenge for a fight, but if the Liao general really can't defeat a woman,
Then there will be something good to watch.
Li Yan also smiled and said: "Captain Gu is very brave, but if you go to ask for a fight, the Liao army may have to pay for it and retreat... You might as well give it a try!"
Sister-in-law Gu was dubious. She held a male and female tiger-head knife, clapped her horse in front of the battle, and shouted: "Gu family is here. If you don't have the guts of the Khitan, do you dare to fight?"
There was a commotion among the Liao army and they couldn't stand it anymore.
"It's too much to bully others! How dare women and children come to call for formation?"
"The general is willing to go. If you can't kill this cheap maid, come and see her!"
"Beating this woman and child to death is nothing, so we'd better not show up..."
Yelv Dezhong looked at the Khitan generals who were all indignant and enthusiastically participating. Then when he looked at the Han generals, their eyes met and they did not show any signs, and his face darkened.
After all, the Khitan people's character was no better than that of the Han people. It was understandable that they would be the first to kill someone regardless of their gender when they were provoked. It was not that they bullied the weak and feared the strong, but the cowering attitude of the Han generals made him quite unhappy.
Thinking again of the fall of Yingzhou, Pingzhou and Luanzhou, the news of the Liao army's defeat on the front line was spread, and then the Han people were driven to Jizhou. By the time they reacted to stop it, it had already spread in the land of Yanyun.
If it was simply to publicize the news of the defeat, that would be fine. The South Branch also responded quickly and immediately sent people to spread the news that the Song emperor was incompetent and the front line was unfavorable, so the Imperial City Department's spies could only spread rumors and cause trouble in the rear.
People always believe what they want to believe, and the Han people in Yanyun land will prefer the latter one, but there is a prerequisite, and that is to drive out the Liangshan Bo army, which is just around the corner.
After all, no matter how well he boasted, the enemy became arrogant and domineering right in front of his eyes. The fool also knew that something was wrong, but when facing the army led by Lin Chong himself, Yelv Dezhong did not dare to divide his troops too much. After thinking about it, he could only
I arranged for all the confidants to be clean and dispatched 20,000 troops from the rear. As a result, the three states have not been taken back yet...
Originally, he wanted to wait for the return of the main force of the Liao army, but after receiving accurate military information, His Majesty actually ignored the attack on Yanyun and continued to move south deeper!
The bad news came one after another, and Yelu Dezhong frowned. Faced with the generals' request for orders, he thought about it again and again, but still did not dare to take the risk.
It doesn't matter that the opponent lost a female general. If his side loses another general in the hands of a female general, it will be a bolt from the blue. He could only shake his head and ordered: "Song people are good at conspiracy and deceit, so they will use any means necessary to send out female generals."
, to destroy the morale of our army, don’t fall for this trick, and withdraw the troops with gold!”
"The chief coach is truly a god, and everything the Liao people do is under their control!"
When Sister-in-law Gu patted her horse and returned, she saw that the Liao army was really dejected and retreated into the camp. The generals were convinced and even asked for orders.
Li Yan said: "Yelü Dezhong suffered a huge defeat in Shandong. He no longer had the will to win. He just wanted to defend blindly and prevent us from going north."
"But the Liao Kingdom favors martial arts, and the Khitan people believe in force, and he cannot refuse the fighting generals to experience several more disastrous defeats. Taking advantage of Gu Duizheng's identity as a woman, it is logical to deliberately stop fighting..."
"However, even if the battle is won, we should not underestimate the threat of tens of thousands of Liao troops."
Zhu Wu frowned: "Yes, Yelv Dezhong is a man who knows the military. He deployed the Liao army to defend blindly and occupy the geographical advantage. If we want to break through, I'm afraid we will lose miserably in the end."
Just like when Chai Rong regained Mozhou and Yingzhou, he also captured Waqiao Pass and Yijin Pass in the north of the two states, and established Yukou Pass. From then on, three passes were formed to assist each other.
There are similar checkpoints and fortresses there to block the Song people's attack.
Therefore, as long as the commander is reliable, even if the Liao army is indeed at a disadvantage in terms of morale, at least it has not gone so far as to mutiny at Xiaoying, then the ensuing battle will still be tragic.
And after working hard to turn the Xiang Corps and Xiang Yong Regiment into what they are now, not to mention Zhu Wu regarded them as the military foundation for the subsequent dynasty change, other generals did not want to use these soldiers under their command to fight for their lives against the Liao people.
Naturally, Li Yan would not waste it: "When the time secret comes back, let him come to see me in the camp. The generals will be ready to attack the camp at night at any time."
The generals responded: "Yes!"
"Brother, I'm back!"
Shi Qian returned soon and took out a long list and presented it: "These are Yanyun and Han people generals. At present, we have only contacted very few people, less than 10%. Others don't even read the letters and directly
Shut out.”
Li Yan took it and looked at the family of origin, temperament, hobbies, and specific contact time marked on it. After a few glances, he understood clearly: "It's done well, but it is really not easy to persuade them to surrender directly now."
Shi Qian said: "Not only now, but also in the future, it may be difficult to instigate rebellion. These promoted Han people are very loyal to the Liao Kingdom, otherwise they would not stand out in such an officialdom."
Li Yan had already predicted: "So-called compatriots in hostile countries, as long as they are in a high position, in order to prove their loyalty, they will definitely raise a butcher's knife against their compatriots. There are too many such examples throughout the ages."
"However, the situation between the Song and Liao countries is a bit special. Since the signing of the Chanyuan Alliance, the two countries have been at peace for a hundred years. There must be minor frictions, but in a big way, it is really not that hostile."
"If there hadn't been that turmoil in the official family, and if we had encountered Emperor Tianzuo, who was so eager for success and reckless in doing things, this war would not have broken out. I believe that the Han generals in Yanyun Land would not have wanted the two countries to go to war...
"
Shi Qian said slowly: "I understand what you mean, brother. These people have been under the jurisdiction of the Southern Court of the Liao Kingdom since they were young, and have no sense of belonging to the Song Dynasty. If you ask them to defect to the Song Dynasty as soon as they come up, they will naturally be rejected, but you can persuade them to use peace."
, the effect will be much better.”
Li Yan nodded: "Just trust me. As long as they accept it, it will be a great achievement."
Shi Qian had an idea: "Brother, I'll go then!"
During the whole process, Zhu Wu, Lu Junyi, and Hua Rong were by the side. Zhu Wu was thoughtful after listening to it, while the latter two were a little puzzled.
Lu Junyi said: "Of course the Han people's generals hope for peace between the two countries, but now we are going north to Yanyun, how can we have anything to do with peace? They don't understand this..."
Hua Rong also said: "Now that Emperor Zuo will not come back, and he even makes a desperate move to raise his troops and go south, is it possible that the Emperor of Liao, who is so happy about his success, can still be allowed to go back?"
Li Yan smiled: "Zengtou City was defeated. Do you still remember the mistakes that Yelv De made again?"
Lu Junyi said: "Of course, he ignored the contradiction between the Khitan and the Jurchen. We pretended that the attack on the city was disadvantageous, and then claimed that the Khitan people relied on the Jurchen fortress to survive, which intensified the contradiction between the two and finally led them to kill each other.
Harvest profit..."
Li Yandao: "The conflict between the Khitan and the Jurchens is the conflict between the ruling class and the exploited class. If the Jurchens were replaced by Han people in the land of Yanyun, would there be a major change in the relationship between the two?"
Hua Rong thought of the fighting generals in the past few days, killing only the Khitan generals and sparing the lives of the Han generals: "Brother, are you planning to repeat the same trick?"
Lu Junyi felt even more confused: "The Khitan and the Jurchen, the Khitan and the Han people are indeed ruled and exploited! But after such a painful lesson in Zengtou City, Yelv Dezhong will definitely take precautions. Why did my brother let Judge Gongsun deliberately
Let this person go, wouldn't it be easier to fall into the trap if Yanyun Land were replaced by another commander?"
Li Yan said leisurely: "It's different this time. What I want is not that Yelv will fall into the trap, but that he won't fall into the trap!"
"Ignoring contradictions is certainly a big mistake, but knowing the contradictions and how to solve them is often a big problem, and it is even easy to overcorrect."
"The Liao Kingdom ruled the land of Yanyun for more than 170 years, and the relationship between the Khitan nobles and the Han people of Yanyun also lasted for such a long time. The ruling relationship between them has indeed formed a habit, but habit does not mean that there is no resistance.
"
"First, the pressure on grain and grass caused Yan Yun to complain, and then the loss of Yingzhou, Pingzhou and Luanzhou gradually exposed the weakness of the Liao army's external strength and internal strength. Now the Khitan generals who are fighting in front of the battle have been suppressed..."
"If I were to put myself in Yelu's position, I wouldn't know how to mediate the conflict. I can't force the two sides to separate..."
"Under such circumstances, if Yelv Dezhong discovers that Han people are in contact with Shiqian people, no matter whether the topic of discussion is peace between the two countries or defection, the disastrous defeat of Zengtou City is just around the corner. What do you think Yelv Dezhong will do?
"
…
"Thanks to the trust given by Daliao, these Han people still dare to be restless!"
After hearing the report from his personal guard, Yelv had to pull out the sword from his waist, his suspicions aroused, and his eyes became firm: "It's just that Lin Chong is looking down on me. How could I fall down twice in the same place?"