The lights in Prince Qing's palace were brightly lit. Prince Yelusheng of Qing had not yet gone to bed. He was discussing military matters with his confidants. The generals were sitting on both sides. A geographical map of mountains and rivers was hung on the wall. Yelusheng frowned and pointed at the map.
He explained the current situation in Yinzhou to his generals. A beautiful young woman in a white shirt walked into the hall and bowed to Prince Qing. The maids who followed him handed out bowls of midnight snacks to his subordinates.
In front of the generals, Yelu Sheng paused and said, "Okay, let's take a break and eat something."
The generals who were sitting upright immediately relaxed. Some of them cast their big eyes on the graceful and graceful maids, and some even secretly touched their little hands while they were serving porridge and tea. As long as the generals were not in front of him,
Yelusheng did something that was too outrageous. The beautiful young woman in a white dress personally brought the fragrant Japonica rice porridge to him. Yelusheng nodded with a smile.
Prince Qing's Mansion in Yelusheng was the original Yinzhou Defense Envoy's Mansion. Even the beautiful young woman in a white dress was the concubine of the former Yinzhou Defense Envoy Li Guangqi, who took her over after he occupied Yinzhou.
His own original wives and concubines had long been abandoned on the road to escape.
King Yelusheng of Qing fled all the way to the west, bringing only 40,000 tribesmen with him. Except for those who were injured and unable to fight, there were only 30,000 capable warriors. They had no food, grass or baggage, so they relied on plundering prefectural villages to sustain themselves along the way. There were more people behind them.
Brother Yelvxiu was chasing after him hard. If he continued to escape like this, even if he was not annihilated by Brother Yelvxiu, his army would be demoralized and a large number of deserters would appear. So when he arrived near Yinzhou, King Qing didn't want to run away anymore. He had to find someone.
A place to stand, and the only place to stand is Yinzhou City.
Under Li's management for many years, Yinzhou City has a very strong family fortune. After many years of accumulation, there is countless grain and grass in the city, and there is running water. Even if it can be defended for ten years, it will not be a problem. It is suitable as his foundation. However, although Yinzhou is surrounded by
Due to the situation, the main force is placed on the outside to defend against the enemy. Yinzhou City is not as steep and difficult to climb as the capital city. However, he has pursuers behind him, but he does not have the time to fight for a year and a half. In addition, his troops are good on the grassland.
Galloping and fighting are not good at attacking and defending cities, and they do not have the corresponding siege equipment. To capture Yinzhou City, they can only use danger and tactics.
Yelusheng made a plan to seize Yinzhou, but he had no good strategy for the city, so he asked his confidants for advice. Yelusheng also had many civil servants and military generals under his command. They were talented at the time, and one of them was a counselor named Long Xingyi.
After thinking about it, he proposed a plan to King Qing. King Yelusheng of Qing heard the great idea and immediately acted according to the plan. He commanded the army to pass through Yinzhou without entering, and went west in panic, pretending to continue to escape. At the same time,
He ordered a confidant, Yang Danmo, to leave the group with 2,000 dead soldiers and surrender to Yinzhou.
Yang Danmo was also a man of both wisdom and bravery. He was given wings by Longxingyi, and he also made some supplements. He asked Yelusheng for more than a thousand additional soldiers. These soldiers did not need to be vigorous and capable of fighting, but only wounded
The old, weak and dying man, if Yelusheng had not lacked many people from other tribes who followed him in the rebellion and was unwilling to do something that would lose the hearts of the wounded and abandon the wounded, he would have abandoned these burdens long ago. As soon as he heard what Yang Danmo added
I was immediately overjoyed by the plan and immediately agreed to it.
So Yang Danmo led the two thousand men and horses to Yinzhou. He first made the thousand strong soldiers lie in ambush at Wuyangpo, and then personally led the remaining thousand old, weak and sick soldiers, taking the weapons that Yelu Sheng had given him.
A large amount of gold, silver and jewelry rushed to Yinzhou, which is still ten miles away.
, it was a military post on the North Road of Yinzhou, called Wuyang Post. Yang Danmo knocked at the pass and begged for surrender, and offered a large amount of gold and silver. He only said that he did not want to continue to flee with Yelusheng, and he did not dare to return to Khitan to accept the throne.
He died, so he offered gold and silver and begged for acceptance.
The general guarding the gate, Shi Ercan, was originally a general in the family of the new Yinzhou defense envoy Li Guangqi. Because Li Guangqi competed among many cousins, he was lucky enough to be appointed as the defense envoy by Xiazhou Li Guangrui. In order to
To secure this position and suppress the arrogance of his cousins, Li Guangqi appointed private individuals arbitrarily, and all the people in the palace were appointed to official positions. This family general named Shi Ercan got the position of general of Wuyangyi Town.
When Shi Ercan saw the gold and silver jewels presented by Yang Danmo, he was dazzled by the jewels. When he saw that what he brought was indeed old, young, and crippled, he immediately lost all caution and became generous.
The land promised to accept them. At this time, Yang Danmo further said that another tribe had also left King Qing with all its treasures, cattle, sheep, horses and women, but this tribe
He had participated in the Khitan's attack on Yinzhou before. Their clan leader was afraid of being punished by Yinzhou, so he did not dare to surrender and planned to flee to the Tibetan people. If Lord Shi Ercan wanted to recruit him, he would be willing to introduce him on his behalf.
, to eliminate the wariness of that tribe. At the same time, he also told Shi Ercan with great concern that that tribe still retained more than 300 people armed and had a certain fighting capacity.
When Shi Ercan heard that the tribe had brought a large number of cattle, sheep, treasures, and women, his eyes immediately lit up. He was a domestic slave with a short-sighted mind. At this time, his mind was filled with yellow gold and colorful bodies, and his mouth was watering.
Coming down, there is no need to be wary. This time
He went to seek more than just money. Yinzhou was at war with the Tubo people. It would be a great achievement to bring over the tribes who wanted to join the Tubo people. So he immediately agreed impatiently, and then led eight hundred elite soldiers to let Yang Dan
Mo led the way to recruit the Khitan tribe to surrender.
He did not report this matter to Yinzhou, because once he reported it, Yinzhou would send envoys, firstly, to share his credit; secondly, to share his wealth; thirdly, to share his
The woman, Shi Ercan, just wanted to report to Li Guangqi in person after the matter was completed, so she set off happily.
In the evening of the same day, the team came back, led by Shi Ercan. As soon as Shi Ercan entered Wuyangyi, the troops he brought back started to burn and kill. The old and weak soldiers who had already entered the city also worked hard to cooperate with each other, killing the entire city.
Wuyangyi was successfully occupied, and then without stopping for a moment, they escorted Shi Ercan and "escaped" to Yinzhou City.
From the top of Yinzhou city, they had already seen the Wuyang Post fire rising to the sky, and seeing the routed troops fleeing, they quickly went to the city to inquire about the news. Under the pressure of Yang Dan Mo's sharp sword, Shi Ercan had to lie that Khitan King Qing had defeated his troops and attacked Wu Yang Post to seize grain.
, he had a small army and was unable to withstand the enemy, so he wanted to flee back to the city and ask Li Guangqi for reinforcements.
The lamp head turned down the light, and saw that the soldiers and horses standing under the city were indeed Wuyangyi's troops. At the front, Shi Ercan was wearing a small suit, and there were five or six concubines with disheveled hair standing next to them. The defenders on the city couldn't help but secretly
But even though he hated Shi Ercan for being a loser, this official was after all the confidant of the new Lord Defense Commander, so he couldn't offend him, so he had to angrily let the suspension bridge be lowered, open the city gate, and let him in.
If Yinzhou City had not seen enemies approaching for many years, and King Qing's troops had indeed passed through the Yinzhou area and continued to escape to the west, the city guard would not have been so careless.
At first glance, they knew they had caused a huge disaster. As soon as those "wounded and remnant soldiers" entered the city, they shouted and attacked the Khitan soldiers who were caught off guard. They quickly occupied the north gate.
When Li Guangqi heard the news and marched his army to seize the gate, a flaming dragon came from a distance outside the city. King Yelusheng of Qing led the army in a circuitous circle, and then killed them with carbine as quickly as possible. Two thousand people dared to die.
The soldiers defended the gate with blood, using their flesh and blood to protect their only way of survival.
The main force of Yinzhou is fighting the Tubo and Uighur tribes on the outside. There are only more than 10,000 defenders in Yinzhou City. These troops rely on the geographical advantage and can sustain for more than a month against an army of 100,000. However, once the city gate is broken, they will be overwhelmed.
After the attack, by daylight, King Qing had killed Li Guangqi, occupied the magpie nest, and completely controlled Yinzhou City.
The Yinzhou garrison was dying and surrendering. When the Yinzhou army, which was fighting on the outside, learned that its foundation had been lost, it immediately dispersed. Some led their troops to surrender to Xiazhou, and some of their families and clansmen were all in Yinzhou City, and were celebrated again.
The king was tempted, so he simply surrendered to King Qing, and King Yelusheng of Qing became the lord of Yinzhou.
Because at this time, the Li family in Xiazhou was being restrained by Tubo and Uighurs. Although they knew that Yinzhou was at fault, they could not take care of Yinzhou for a while. King Yelu Sanming also had other ideas in going to Beijing, forcing Queen Xiao Chuo to urgently transfer Yelvxiu.
Brother returned to the army, which gave Yelusheng an opportunity. After occupying Yinzhou, he immediately strengthened the city walls, rebuilt the dangerous passes near Yinzhou, deployed troops in strategic locations, and firmly controlled the entire Yinzhou.
in hand.
However, although he occupied Yinzhou with a surprise attack and killed Li Guangqi, he did not dare to say that this man was secure. Empress Xiao of Khitan would not let him go. Once she was freed, she would definitely march westward and remove him.
He was rebellious, so Yelusheng attached great importance to making friends with the nearby Tubo tribes, Uighur tribes and Hengshan Qiang people. At the same time, he strengthened the city and recruited troops. Not only did he have to adapt, he also hoped to fight back to Beijing one day.
Therefore, he needs to continuously increase his strength and accumulate strength crazily to have the capital to compete with Empress Xiao. The attachment of more than 10,000 elite soldiers in Yinzhou has given him a taste of the sweetness. If he can continue to expand his strength, Empress Xiao will not be able to
If you fight him with an army that will overwhelm your country, he will be as stable as Mount Tai in Yinzhou.
The Tibetan, Uighur, and Hengshan Qiang people who are very close at hand cannot be defeated for the time being. Their power is too loose. Now that Yelusheng is consolidating the defense of Yinzhou, it is impossible to conquer the east and west and offend so many troublesome neighbors. So
He then set his sights on the Han Dynasty, which was no longer a country.
Although the Han Dynasty is now like a withered leaf in the wind, mosquitoes are still flesh no matter how small they are. So Yelusheng sent an envoy to see the Han Dynasty's new emperor Liu Jiyuan who had only been in office for just over a year, and generously promised that as long as
Han has formed an alliance with himself, and he is willing to do his best to help Han and establish an offensive and defensive alliance.
After Liu Jiyuan was abandoned by the Khitan, he was worried all day long, fearing that the Song State would send troops to attack. As expected, the Khitan's letter of severance of diplomatic relations was not delivered for more than a month before the Song State actually sent troops. The eldest son of the emperor, Dezhao, personally took command.
The army of Lu was full of murderous intent and assumed a posture of determined victory against the Han Dynasty.
When Liu Jiyuan was frightened, Prince Qing, a benevolent and righteous brother, fell from the sky and floated like a straw in front of him, a drowning man. Liu Jiyuan was overjoyed. The two brothers hit it off and immediately formed an offensive and defensive plan.
Alliance. Yelusheng immediately sent 15,000 elite troops to aid the Han Dynasty at night, fulfilling his promise.
In fact, King Qing did this because he saw that Liu Jiyuan was weak and could not defend his empire under Song's attack. King Qing had no intention of sending his own troops to help him defend the city. He just wanted to be in power.
When the situation is critical, Liu Jiyuan is brought to Yinzhou. As soon as Liu Jiyuan comes, his troops will follow him. When the time comes, he will be able to gradually annex Liu Jiyuan's remnants on his own territory, which will greatly strengthen his own strength.
With Liu Jiyuan in hand, he might be able to use his worthless emperor to make a deal with the Song Dynasty, but he never expected that Zhao Kuangyin suddenly died and the Song army came in like a tide and receded like a tide.
The Hairen did not even pick up any kelp, so they had no choice but to retreat. Immediately afterwards, the new emperor of the Song Dynasty sent another Hengshan Jiedu envoy. His Yinzhou was within the scope of Hengshan. Of course, the Hengshan Jiedushi envoy came.
Not good.
Moreover, even if Yang Hao had no intention of attacking Yinzhou, how could he let Yang Hao go? That was his son-killing enemy. However, in terms of his influence among the Hengshan Qiang people, he, the newly arrived Khitan Qing,
Wang Ke was far inferior to Luzhou, who had already dealt with the Hengshan Qiang people for two years. If he was asked to send troops rashly and pass through the Hengshan Qiang settlement to attack Luzhou, he would not be at ease.
. But if the thorn in Luzhou's side is not dealt with as soon as possible, once Empress Xiao frees up her hands to launch another crusade in the future, and Yang Hao also seizes the opportunity to attack, Yinzhou will inevitably be attacked from both sides and fall into the dilemma of fighting on two fronts.
He asked for help from the Han State, hoping that the Han State would send troops to jointly attack Luzhou. At the same time, he summoned generals from all walks of life to discuss various ways to eliminate the threat day and night.
Yelusheng was eating supper and thinking about the problems in his heart. While he was thinking deeply, a small school suddenly rushed into the hall and loudly reported: "To report to King Qing, Liu Jiye, the guard of the Han Dynasty, has arrived and is waiting in the front hall.
Summoned."
Yelu was so happy that Huo Di stood up and asked, "How many people did Liu Jiye bring?"
The primary school officer said respectfully: "Liu Ji's master has a total of thirteen cavalry, but there is no large group of soldiers and horses accompanying him."
Prince Qing frowned, then smiled with relief and said: "That's right, Liu Wudi has always been cautious in using his troops, so naturally he won't come in a showy manner. I'll go see him."
Liu Jiye was sitting in the hall, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he was thinking about what to say after meeting King Yelusheng of Qing.
When the Han State was in trouble, King Qing generously sent troops to help. Now that King Qing wanted to attack Luzhou and borrow troops from the Han State, Liu Jiyuan really had no reason to refuse. However, when the Song State sent troops to attack the Han State, Liu Duanyuan wished he could wear a pair of trousers with Yelusheng to show off.
He was close to his brothers, but he regretted it as soon as the Song Dynasty withdrew its troops. Now that he had no generals and limited troops and horses, how could he be willing to wade into the muddy waters and send people to support King Yelusheng of Qing's squandering?
But King Qing had just sent troops to help him, and he would have lost his moral integrity if he did not send troops. Secondly, it would be beneficial for King Qing to guard Yinzhou. If King Qing became powerful, he would have a backer. If Khitan or Song wanted to attack
Yinzhou, maybe
He would make peace with him, and then he could imitate Luzhou, sell for a price, and get the best of both worlds. So Liu Jiyuan thought about it, and finally sent people, but the number he sent was a little less, only Liu Jiye and his ten
Three people.
"With such a small number of people, King Qing must be very disappointed. What can I say to maintain the alliance between the two parties without offending him?"
Although Liu Jiye was a clever woman, she could only smile bitterly because she had no rice.
Liu Jiye looked to be in his early forties. His real surname was Yang, and he was the brother of Yang Chongxun, the governor of Linzhou. Because he helped protect the Han Dynasty and won the favor of the Han Dynasty, he was given the surname Liu and changed his name to Liu Jiye. Liu Jiye has a white face and a slight beard. , clear-faced and very elegant. If it weren't for his straight waist and upright military posture, it would be hard to believe that he was the one who still single-handedly supported the North despite the severe shortage of financial resources, military strength, weapons and military pay. The pillar of the Han Dynasty and the invincible general who could not defeat the Han Dynasty under the strong power of the Song Dynasty.
There was a burst of hearty laughter outside the hall, and King Yelu of Qing walked in. He laughed and said: "This is a letter from my king. I didn't expect that your majesty, the emperor, would send a general here so quickly. I am very happy. "
Liu Jiye hurriedly stood up, took a step forward, crossed his hands and saluted: "Liu Jiye, the bodyguard of the Han Dynasty, Yuhou, has met King Qing."
Yelu Sheng hurriedly stepped forward to help him, and said with a smile on his face: "General Liu, please excuse me. I have admired General Liu for a long time for his military might, which is like thunder in my ears. I never thought that we would meet each other today. It is such an honor. Haha, General Liu is all the way." Thank you for your hard work. I just don’t know how many troops your Majesty the Emperor has sent this time. Please also ask the general to inform me that I will prepare cattle, sheep and fine wine and go to reward the three armies in person tomorrow morning."
Liu Jiye showed a slightly embarrassed expression and said, "Prince Qing, to be honest, only Liu Jiye and a dozen or so primary school students are here this time."
Yelusheng was startled, and his face suddenly darkened: "There is only one general? I want to get help from your country and work together to plot Luzhou. Why does the general come alone? The general is said to be invincible. Is it possible that the strength of one general can equal the power of one person?" Tens of thousands of troops?"
When King Qing said this, Liu Jiye's face turned red and his expression became more embarrassed. He took a breath and asked in a deep voice: "As soon as King Qing got Yinzhou, he immediately sent troops to attack Luzhou. He passed through many Qiang tribes, which was not without danger. Why are you so impatient?"
Yelu said angrily: "Don't you understand what I said in my letter? If I am attacked from the north and south by Luzhou and Empress Xiao, how can I defend Yinzhou? Take Luzhou first, then there will be no worries. Your emperor is unwilling to send troops to help, so you know that I If Yinzhou dies, your Han Kingdom will be wiped out in an instant without foreign aid, under the iron heel of the Song army?"
Liu Jiye said: "King Qing calmed down. It's not because the officials refused to send troops. It's actually because the Song army stayed at the border for a long time and refused to retreat. We, the Han army, have few soldiers and no more troops to come to help. Although Luzhou is only one government. However, they are supported by the two states of Linfu. The two states of Linfu will never allow King Qing to get involved in Luzhou and live next to them. If the two states of Linfu intervene in this battle and use King Qing's Huben army, they will also It may not be possible to achieve what he wishes. What King Qing is worried about is that Luzhou and Khitan Empress Xiao will interact with each other, making it difficult to take care of Yinzhou. Liu came to Luzhou on orders from the officials to relieve King Qing's worries. .”
Yelusheng smiled and said: "Haha, just the general?"
Liu Jiye smiled and said: "Yes, it's just me!"
Yelusheng's eyes narrowed and he asked in a deep voice: "How can the general solve my crisis?"
Liu Jiye said: "Yinzhou originally had 10,000 defenders. When King Qing came west, he had more than 30,000 soldiers to fight. If we don't deceive the city, can we capture Yinzhou?"
Yelusheng shook his head and said, "No!"
Liu Jiye asked again: "If King Rongqing prepared calmly, prepared all kinds of siege equipment, and had sufficient supplies of food and grass, would it be possible to capture Yinzhou?"
Yelusheng pondered for a long time and said slowly: "If you give me a year, maybe... I can conquer Yinzhou, but... my men and horses will have been exhausted by then. What's the use of having a Yinzhou city?"
Liu Jiye smiled slightly and said: "King Qing is a hero on the grassland. He is used to fighting on the horseback. He is not good at offensive and defensive skills. It is very valuable to capture Yinzhou in one year. Although Yinzhou has been fighting continuously over the years, wars have happened frequently.
On the outside line, so it is actually outside but not inside. Yinzhou's defense is not tight, and it is not insurmountable. If the siege equipment is prepared and there is sufficient supply of food and grass, it will only take half a month at most for Liu to attack the city.
The state is about to change hands."
Yelusheng opened his eyes and said solemnly: "Is General Liu threatening this king?"
Liu Jiye shook his head and said: "No, Liu just wants to say that the same troops and the same armaments, commanded and dispatched by different people, will have completely different effects. Liu is good at attacking cities and even better at defending them. So,
Although the Lord of our country only sent me
One person, but if I assist King Qing in deploying the defense of Yinzhou, Yinzhou will turn into a copper wall and an iron wall. The Khitan will send out 200,000 troops. If he is given three years, it will be difficult to capture Yinzhou City. They...can send out 200,000 troops.
Can the Wan Dajun fight for three years?"
Yelusheng's eyes were bright and he stared at Liu Jiye, his eyes gradually shining brightly. What did the Han country have? It had neither geographical advantages nor powerful troops, but Zhao Kuangyin was a great hero, no matter how difficult it was to conquer Shu, he could reach the sky.
The Kingdom of Shu and Li Yu from the south of the Yangtze River, who were guarding the natural chasm of the Yangtze River, were all easily captured. There was only one country that he personally conquered: Han. But.
However, they came several times and returned in defeat. Although there was a reason why the Khitan sent troops to help, the Song army had already been besieging the Han Dynasty for a long time before the Khitan troops were sent. If it were the Shu army or the Tang army defending the city, the Han army would have already
After the Song flag was planted, the national power of the Han Dynasty was far less than that of the Shu and Tang Dynasties. How could it be sustained by Zhao Kuangyin's personal whip? Because there was Liu Jiye here.
Liu Jiye's skills were extremely famous even in the Khitan. When the Khitan and the Han were still allies, the Khitan tribe troops often pretended to be horse thieves and went to the Han to harvest grass and valleys. Liu Jiye had only a small army, but he was defeated during the battle.
He has won more than he lost and has repeatedly accomplished extraordinary feats. His title of "Invincible" was given to him by the Khitan people. Could it be that this man really has the ability to turn decay into something magical?
With a confident smile on his face, Liu Jiye said word by word: "Don't you hear, King Qing... Thousands of armies are easy to get, but one general is hard to find?"