Soon, Brother Yeluxiu knew what Yang Hao was doing.
Yang Hao is gathering the army, horse army, infantry, fleet, grain and grass, a large fleet, a large amount of grain and grass, mules, horses and ox carts...
Such a huge momentum had only occurred once before, and that was when Zhao Guangyi marched straight in to attack Youzhou.
The Song Army rarely held large-scale military operations in winter. In addition to the inconvenience of transportation, the main reason was to restrain the Liao Army's cavalry. The Song Army was equipped with a large number of archers, and the bowstrings were mostly leather strings. The cold weather in the north would cause
The bowstring tension was insufficient, which caused the Song Army, whose main force was infantry, to lose its greatest war advantage. Therefore, winter has always been a good day for the Northern Dynasty cavalry to harass the Southern Dynasty's "Grassing Valley". However, now the Song Army has added a large number of cavalry, which has no impact on the bows and crossbows.
With its reliance greatly reduced, the Song Dynasty was able to launch a large-scale winter offensive.
On November 9th, it is in the north direction of monkeys, so it is appropriate to offer sacrifices, dismantle, break ground, raise foundations and raise beams, and have good luck in opening the market.
Yang Hao took Pan Mei as commander, Li Huating, Liu Tingrang, and Tong Yu as generals, and led an army of more than 100,000 people. They left Waqiao Pass in Xiongzhou and attacked Guiyi and Fanyang;
With Li Jilong as commander, Tian Chongjin, Cui Yanjin, and Mi Xin as generals, he led an army of more than 100,000 people and sent troops out of Yijin Pass in Bazhou to attack Yongqing and Anci;
When the two prefectures were conquered, Yang Jiye led an army of his own and marched out of Damao Mountain to capture Feihu and attack Yuzhou.
As for the West Route Army, news of the great victory at Yanmen Pass has just come. Even if there is no news of victory there, Yang Hao is ready to arrange for them to go out. However, the focus of his attack has always been on the South Road. The role of the West Route Army is virtual and real.
True or false, if the enemy can be severely defeated, the feint attack will be changed into a real attack, and Youzhou will be attacked. If the battle situation does not go well, the real attack will be a feint attack, as long as the troops and horses in the western part of the Liao Kingdom can be successfully contained.
Therefore, the troops on the west route were led by Cao Bin, with Luo Ji as the enemy, and Zhang Chongwei as general. They left Yanmen Pass and captured the Huan, Shuo, Ying, and Yun states. Tuoba Haofeng had returned to Xixia and joined forces with Yang Yanpu who was guarding Hengshan.
Cao Bin's soldiers and horses formed a pincer formation to attack.
Yang Hao gave up the offensive and defensive stalemate with Brother Yelu Xiu in the border area, but threw away their army. Taking advantage of the fact that the Liao army was not adapted to the combat characteristics of the Song army's infantry and cavalry melee corps, he attacked Youzhou.
Strength, a black tiger strikes out the heart. If you attack the enemy, you must save it. This is a true conspiracy.
You clearly know my purpose, but you can't help but accept the move. The river is locked and you can't advance or retreat.
Faced with such a situation, no matter how resourceful and strategic you are, there is no other way but to respond. Brother Yelvxiu quickly gathered troops and horses to Zhuozhou to stop the Song army, and quickly reported the situation to Empress Xiao who was guarding Youzhou.
After hearing the news, Xiao Chuo also agreed with Brother Yelu Xiu's opinion and decided to use the strength of the cavalry and the flat and vast favorable terrain to concentrate the main force to defeat the Song Dynasty's Eastern Route Army first, and then move forward to defeat them one by one. He then urgently ordered Wu Gaofei to step up the march and march straight towards
Zhuozhou went to assist, and ordered Yelu Mozhi from Tokyo (Liaoyang) to stay behind and lead his army to assist Youzhou; he also ordered Han Deshou from Linya to move to Tuoluokou to support the reinforcements. At the same time, Yelu Xiezhen was ordered to be the military commander of Shanxi and fully responsible for the war on the west route.
Brother Yelusiu's nightmare has begun.
The bloody battle in Zhuozhou lasted for thirteen days, with corpses lying on the ground and countless casualties. This was a real offensive and defensive battle. All strategies and strategies were of no use. What was fought for was combat power, morale, and human lives.
At countless critical moments, Brother Yelvxiu personally climbed to the top of the city, or fired his bow from left to right, or carried a spear, roaring, roaring, and shouting loudly, fighting like a fierce tiger, boosting morale, and resisting the fierce offensive of the Song army.
Above and below the city, white snow and red blood were as colorful as flowers in the east and west, and by my ears, the sharp cold wind kept whistling.
Another battle was over. Brother Yeluxiu was patrolling the city. Half of his ear protection had been cut off, his helmet was dirty, the cloak on his back was stained with blood and was in tatters, his breastplate was in pieces, and his armbands were full of knife marks.
When the sword was struck, the blood tassel on the big gun in his hand had already been filled with blood, and it was covered with blood and ice and was hanging stiffly.
Fortunately, Wu Gaofei's 80,000 Han troops arrived in time, which greatly supplemented his strength. After the Nancheng was destroyed, Brother Yelvxiu used well water mixed with weeds to build a shiny new building in the middle of the night.
Water has been splashed on the city walls on all four sides. They are as shiny as a crystal city, slippery and hard, and they have barely resisted until now.
Overnight, Zhuozhou City turned into Crystal City, which really shocked Song Jun, especially Yang Hao. Yang Hao remembered that when he listened to the storytelling "Yang Family General" in his previous life, the commander of the Three Passes, Yang Liulang, faced the fierce
The Liao army was so desperate that they splashed the city with life and built an ice city. Then they set up an ox formation and defeated the Liao army. Unexpectedly, the Liao people also knew this method.
In fact, the northern nomads have known how to build cities with ice and snow very early. We don’t know when they first started, but there are records of this in some historical documents from the Han Dynasty. At that time, the northern nomads migrated to a place in the ice and snow.
Wherever they can, they will build a few simple city walls with water, grass and soil to guard against wolves and block the cold wind. When winter turns to spring, they will continue to migrate to other places. When the weather warms up, the city walls will naturally disappear. This is very strange.
Common things.
It seems that the novelist, in order to highlight Yang Liulang's wisdom and bravery, took something common sense to northerners and combined it with Tian Dan's Fire Ox Formation from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and transformed it into Yang Liulang's unique invention.
Although Zhuozhou was defended, Gu'an, which stood side by side with it, was defeated by the Song army. As a result, Zhuozhou became an isolated city. Although the city is still there, it is not known how long it can be defended. Brother Yeluxiu believes that,
We should not argue with the powerful Song army about the gains and losses of a city or a place. At this point, the Queen Mother is a woman, and she is still a bit petty.
The Song Dynasty came to conquer from afar, and transportation was a big problem. Since their goal was Youzhou, they should retreat to Youzhou. In this way, the Song Army's front line was lengthened, and they could use small groups of light cavalry to attack the Song Army's transportation lines. And in Youzhou,
As long as you hold on to Youzhou and do not allow any losses, and this strategically important area is not lost, there will be no threat to the other states. The Song army will eventually return without success, or even suffer another major defeat.
After discussing with the generals, Brother Yeluxiu made a memorial of everyone's opinions, and sent a report to the court, asking the Queen Mother to accept it, and once again urged the Queen Mother to return to Beijing with the young emperor. The contact between Zhuozhou and Youzhou was not broken.
, because the Song army adopted the siege technique of three sieges and one encirclement, cutting off three roads and leaving one road alone. There were no siege troops and horses on the north side.
Brother Yelvxiu knew what Yang Hao was doing. Yang Hao was observing the nature of his general. If he was suspicious, he would confront him with falsehood and reality. He would be reckless and lure him. He would be mature and encircle him. He would observe his uncertainty and take advantage of his lawlessness.
If his army really escapes from the north, there will be ambushes along the way, but knowing is one thing. Sometimes you have to jump into it even though you know it is a trap. This is the power of conspiracy. Once you understand, you can only
If it can be cracked head-on, there is no other way to solve it.
Xiao Chuo received the memorial from Brother Yelvxiu and knew that the situation ahead was very critical. If he didn't make a decision early, he was afraid that Brother Yelvxiu and the army stationed in Zhuozhou would destroy the entire army. If they were transferred back, at least they could retain some effective strength.
After some discussions with Youzhou civil and military officials, Xiao Chuo agreed with Brother Yelvxiu and ordered him to abandon Zhuozhou immediately and return to Youzhou.
However, she did not agree to Brother Yelvxiu's second suggestion. At this time, the upper echelons of the Liao Kingdom fell into fear and panic again. If she took the emperor back to Beijing at this time, no matter how nice she said, it would be a disaster.
Just run away. At that time, the morale of the army is out of control, and there is no doubt that it will be completely defeated. Therefore, she must not leave Youzhou.
Intellectually speaking, there was nothing wrong with what Xiao Chuo did, but subconsciously, she made this choice out of anger. After all, she was still a young woman, and as a politician, she did not have the ambition to be a city official.
After practicing to the point of being as deep as the abyss, she was vomiting her anger with Yang Hao.
Well, when you were desperate, I helped you; when you offered your seal to the Song Dynasty and abandoned the Northern Dynasty, I tolerated you; now that you have conquered the Central Plains world, you will immediately be like that fat black man Zhao Er, shameless
Invading my territory, your son and I are right here. You heartless thing can come whenever you want. At worst, my mother and son are lying dead in front of Youzhou City, and I will never let you go even one step further!
However, the current situation in the Liao Kingdom is really not good. Zhao Guangyi's defeat was very lucky. Many upper-class nobles and officials in the Liao Kingdom later reviewed the Song Dynasty's Northern Expedition and felt that if Zhao Guangyi had not been stunned by anger, he would have chased him regardless.
After leaving the Gaoliang River, it is really difficult to predict whether Youzhou City is still in the hands of the Liao Kingdom. Therefore, as soon as Yang Hao arrived, pessimism immediately became widespread again. If the battle continues, many senior generals of the Liao Army will have a serious lack of confidence.
Under this situation, Xiao Chuo also had to consider whether peace talks were possible. After much consideration, he held a court discussion with the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs. While Xiao Chuo was dispatching troops and generals to carry out the defense of Youzhou, he considered carefully.
He wrote a letter of credence and sent an envoy to deliver it to Emperor Yang Hao of the Song Dynasty. The emperor and the empress started arguing while arguing.
"I am very happy to hear that your Majesty has accepted China as the lord of Xixia. His Majesty the Emperor has always had the ambition to protect the country and the people, and no one in the world can say that His Majesty is a wise man. Liao and Xixia are inherently friendly, and Liao and Song are also friendly.
Since peace, Zhao Jiong went to war, tore up the treaty, and launched a brazen northern expedition. Soldiers and horses from all walks of life were mobilized without any name. The attack lasted for years and years. Therefore, the country sent troops and allocated them for border service, starting from Haidai in the east and Yuyu in the south.
The people living in the Jianghuai River and Huaihe River are all in a state of desolation, suffering from lack of education, and the world is in poverty. Even with China's wealth, what will happen to it over time?
Especially the people on the border between the two countries. Since the beginning of the war, they have built city fortresses, transported millet, and distributed hundreds of branches. They have left the prefectures and counties. More than half of the population has died, the people are miserable, and the imperial court has an empty treasury and a shortage of public and private affairs.
.Your Majesty really cares about the people, please rest the army and bring peace to the people, so as to benefit the world. I sincerely invite you to China, and I hope that our friendship will last forever."
The envoy was none other than Master Mo Henmo of Honglu Temple in the Liao Kingdom, who was familiar with Yang Hao. Yang Hao accepted Xiao Chuo's credentials and replied that he wanted to launch an army for the Northern Expedition, not because of the invitation of the ministers, but because of the Liao army.
Invading the border, the second goal is to target the Youyan lands. If this goal is not achieved, the Xionghuang army will not dare to retreat lightly.
Ink Hen didn't expect that what Yang Hao said was so naked and unabashed, so he hurriedly replied to the Queen Mother, biting Xiao Chuo's angry silver teeth into pieces. However, this man was very powerful now, so he had to hold back his anger before issuing his credentials.
The story of Youyun's ownership is a long and eloquent article with more than ten thousand words. Xiao Chuo is also a person with a strong personality. The letter of credence is just based on reason and does not involve the feelings of children at all.
The Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun sounds big, but how big is it and where is it located? In fact, the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun is part of today's northern Hebei and Shanxi. To talk about its historical origins, it is too far away.
Yu Ding Jiuzhou included this area, but before the Yan and Huang Dynasties, there were also local residents here. If you have to find out its origin from the roots, I am afraid it is not clear.
Let’s just start from the end of the Tang Dynasty. The disputes among the heroes at the end of the Tang Dynasty formed the Five Dynasties of “Liang, Tang, Jin, Han and Zhou” and the Ten Kingdoms of “First Shu, Later Shu, Wu, Southern Tang, Wuyue, Fujian, Chu, Southern Han, Nanping and Northern Han”.
Historical pattern. The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun changed their owners several times, and later fell into the hands of Li Cunxu, a native of Shatuo, Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty. Shi Jingtang, the governor of the Later Tang Dynasty, wanted to rebel and establish himself, so he gave this land to the Liao Kingdom at the cost of it, and was willing to be the leader of the Liao Kingdom.
"Emperor". Emperor Yelu Deguang of the Liao Kingdom agreed to his conditions and led 50,000 cavalry to assist Shi Jingtang.
When it comes to cession, from whom was it ceded? Before the cession, whose sovereignty did it belong to? Later, Han scholar-officials and historians said that Shi Jingtang ceded the territory that originally belonged to the Han to the Liao Kingdom of the Khitan people.
Frankly speaking, in fact, the "Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun" were not in the hands of the Han people, but in the hands of the Shatuo people. It cannot be said that the Tang Dynasty, which had already perished, still had sovereignty over this place, right?
The Song Dynasty inherited the mantle of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Its inherent territory was only Henan. The Shu, Tang, Wuyue, Chu, Southern Han, Nanping, and Northern Han Dynasties that it destroyed all relied on their strong military power.
Those who came down did not see it claiming to be orthodox in the Central Plains and using the banner of "recovering lost territory".
Zhao Guangyi raised the banner of regaining the lost territory of the Han family just to be famous. Yang Hao understood this, and Xiao Chuo also understood. Xiao Chuo believed that the Liao Kingdom was justified in owning this territory, but Yang Hao naturally had Yang Hao's thoughts.
As soon as they saw this letter of credence, Yang Hao's civil servants and generals naturally refused to lose. They were all gearing up to start a verbal war with the Liao Kingdom. Of course, at the same time, the military operations would not stop. Pan Mei was dissatisfied with following the army.
The civil servants were not good at literary talent, so they even suggested to Yang Hao that it would be best to transfer a few bachelors from the middle of the court to play with their pens. The northerners were still far behind.
Yang Hao shook his head and summoned the Liao envoy Mo Wen. In front of him, he said bluntly: "Why did the Sixteen States of Youyun belong to the Liao State in the first place? Why didn't they belong to the Han, Jin, Tang, and Nanping? Because then
It was the Liao Kingdom that won it with its own ability, and we Han people were incapable of taking it back. This is the fact. No matter how high-sounding other words are, they are just excuses to cover up one's own embarrassment.
Now, we have this ability! So we have to take it back.
Who does a place belong to? Whoever occupies it belongs to whom.
Whose world is it? Whoever conquers it will belong to him.
So who belongs to the Sixteen States of Yanyun? If the Northern Dynasty can defeat me, then it belongs to the Northern Dynasty.
Why did I raise an army? Because the land of Youyan can be attacked when advancing or defended when retreating. It is a barrier to the Central Plains. Its success or failure is directly related to the fate of our country. If I don’t capture our strong soldiers and horses today, wouldn’t it bring disaster to our descendants? So I want to fight.
, there is no room for change in this matter."
Yang Hao's words are simply the best interpretation of Zhao Kuangyin's phrase "How can you allow others to sleep soundly next to your bed?"
After hearing this, Mo Sheng's face turned gray and he hurried back to Youzhou in panic. Xiao Chuo felt bitter after hearing this, but he had a new understanding of Yang Hao's strength and calmness. Yes, the two sides were fighting back and forth, but in fact
For what reason? If the swamps here were smoky and worthless, would the monarchs of the Central Plains still be obsessed with seizing Youyan? Today, Yang Hao revealed the truth in one word, and he was considered an upright man.
Xiao Chuo stood on his head with his willow eyebrows, his phoenix eyes widened, and he clenched his silver teeth tightly, tearing Yang Hao's credentials to pieces: "Peace talks are hopeless, then let's fight!"