General Yang Lang, the Great Liao Eagle stationed in Dingzhou, was very depressed. He received a report that the thieves from the Northwest Mountains came out in force and went straight to Suining, a small county 80 miles northwest of Dingzhou Prefecture. Although Suining County is small, its population is
It was only over 10,000 people, but that was where the Dingzhou Army's Liangcao Tun was stationed.
Originally, according to Haili's judgment, Suining County, which has a garrison of 3,000 people, was very safe. Yang Yishan's group of gangsters in the northwest mountains were just a group of beggars. They had no fighting power and would never dare to attack Suining County. On the other side of Suining County
It is the territory of the Northern Han Dynasty, a vassal state of Daliao, and it is even more impossible for the Han army to attack Suining.
Who would have thought that the hungry bandits from the northwest would be so bold as to attack Suining County. The light armor of the Liao cavalry on the person who came to report was in pieces, and the criss-crossed cracks and blood stains on it were enough to prove it.
There was a bloody battle over there in Suining County.
Although he believed that the thieves had no fighting ability, he also believed the messenger's words. The cavalry who reported the news said that Suining County was negligent in its defense, and the hungry thieves fought to the death for a morsel of food. There were three thousand regular troops of the Liao Dynasty who were armed to the teeth.
They were defeated steadily by more than 4,000 bandits.
Haili knew the virtues of the soldiers under his command, and knowing that Suining County was safe, those bastards might have been lax in their preparedness. The person who reported the news said that the bandits had sent people to sneak into the county in the first few days, waiting for a large group of people to kill them.
When they arrived, hundreds of bandits sneaked into the city and seized the city gate with all their strength. A large group of victims rushed in like crazy, burned, killed and looted. The Daliao army, which was not prepared at all, was killed by the bandits before they even had time to mount their horses.
The whole thing is in disarray.
The officer leading the team finally gathered the soldiers and guarded the granary, but was surrounded by bandits from three levels inside and three outside. The messenger said that more than thirty of them rushed out to ask for help, but he was the only one who made it out alive.
Haili knew that the matter was urgent. Dingzhou was eighty miles away from Suining. Even if the cavalry in light armor went into battle and killed them in one go, it would take two hours. It was hard to predict whether the granary could still be defended at that time. But the matter was urgent, and there was not much.
It took time to think of a solution. Although the person who reported the news was seriously injured, Haili still had to let this person lead the way in order to rush for time. The Khitan man bravely nodded and turned around and jumped on the horse. Haili nodded five
Thousands of cavalry rushed towards Suining.
Running all the way, when he saw the thick black smoke rising from the outside of Suining County in the distance, Haili became even more anxious. After encouraging his soldiers, Haili shouted and took the lead in drawing out his machete.
Although the five thousand cavalry were tired, seeing the thick smoke from the fire outside Suining City, a bloody battle was just around the corner. The wolf nature in the Khitan people's bones was brought out, and the wolf cavalry were so excited that they seemed to have been injected with chicken blood.
The saber slapped the horse and it accelerated past.
When they arrived not far outside the city, Haili suddenly noticed something strange. He ordered the cavalry to slow down, and then sent two teams of scouts to check. It was true that smoke was billowing outside the city wall, but there was no sign of a bandit.
.From a distance, the flying wolf war flag of Daliao is still displayed on the Suining County City, and the garrison on the city wall can be vaguely seen, waiting in full formation.
As if he had expected something, Haili's face became even more ugly.
He turned around to look for the messenger who had been following him. Where could he find his shadow? The tiger roared in the sea and asked who had seen the messenger. The soldiers looked around blankly and no one noticed when the man disappeared.
But the Khitan cavalry behind them saw it and replied that just when they saw thick smoke rising from the top of Suining County and the whole army sped up, the man broke away from the team and ran towards the southwest.
At that time, everyone's attention was attracted by the thick smoke outside the city, and they didn't care about the man's departure at all.
Having guessed that he had been deceived, Haili was still unwilling to give in. He sent people to chase the messenger, and then led a large group of people to slowly drive towards Suining County. He couldn't understand that the person lied to him and said that Suining County was attacked by bandits.
What was the intention, and the war was deliberately lit outside Suining County. It was obviously arranged to help that person escape, and at the same time, it was also to convince himself that Suining County was in danger.
What a plan!
But what were they planning? When they arrived outside the gate of Suining County, they saw a lot of burned trees under the city. The trees had obviously been cut down not long ago, and they were made into siege ladders. They were already burned and blurred.
.The raw wood with too much water was ignited, and the smoke billowed. From a distance, it really looked like the flames of war were spreading.
When the garrison in Suining County heard that General Haili was coming, he recognized the flags and armor of his army. The garrison opened the city gate and ran out to greet Haili.
As soon as the guard general ran in front of Haili's horse, Haili couldn't help but whipped him hard. The whip hit the guard's face and body, causing his skin to be torn and his face to be covered with blood. However, Khitan soldiers have always been very disciplined, and the guard general was so tough.
He didn't make any excuses. After more than a dozen puffs, most of Haili's anger was gone.
"Where's the thief!"
Haili asked vehemently.
The guard general wiped a handful of blood from his eyes, clasped his fists and said, "General, a large group of bandits did come three hours ago, and they brought with them more than a dozen ladders. The general sent people out of the city to fight.
, those bandits were brave enough and were not repulsed. So the general sent troops to strengthen the city defense. Unexpectedly, the bandits surrounded the city gate and did not attack. They just waved flags and shouted for a full hour, and then began to burn ladders and baggage, waiting for people to emerge.
After the thick smoke disappeared, he slowly retreated."
Haili whipped him again: "Why don't you chase me!"
The guard general straightened his back stubbornly and said: "It is impossible to see the details of the thieves in the thick smoke. If you pursue them rashly, you may be ambushed by the thieves. The duty of the general is to guard the granary, and you do not dare to leave your post without permission!"
Haili wanted to beat him, but in the end he sighed. He knew that the guard did a good job, and if it were him, he probably wouldn't be able to do better. It's just that it feels very bad to be led by someone's nose.
, I felt like I was being tricked, but I obviously didn’t lose anything.
Such an obscure thing made Haili very angry. After all these years of fighting, he had never encountered such a strange thing. Someone reported to him and deceived him that Suining County was attacked by bandits. In his panic, he would not be able to identify the person carefully.
Whether the injuries on his body were real or not. But after coming all the way, the man didn’t retreat until the last moment. It must be said that he was brave and resourceful. From this point of view, the purpose of setting a fire outside Suining County was nothing more than a cover.
This person just got away.
After such a huge drama, you can't just make fun of yourself, right? No one is so boring and makes fun of his own head. What is the other party's plan?
"Are there any plans for bandits to sneak into the city?"
Haili asked reluctantly.
The guard clasped his fists and said: "General, everything is fine in the city, and Xiaoxiao did not take the opportunity to cause trouble. The common people were ordered not to go out by the general. There were only patrolling officers and soldiers on the streets, and no bandits were seen doing anything."
Haili frowned, what kind of conspiracy was this?
Seeing the guard's hesitant expression, Haili's heart moved. He pointed his riding whip at the guard and asked, "What's your name? Do you have anything to say?"
The guard general said: "The last general is Suining County Bingshou Feiqi Wei Liyao Nayan, general..."
Haili saw that this man's speech was neither humble nor arrogant, and from the perspective of Suining County's defense, he judged that this man was also a general. He also saw his eyes twinkling, obviously he had something to say, so he said: "If you have anything to say, I can
Say, I won’t blame you!”
Li Yao Nayan cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, General!"
He glanced at the cavalry team behind Haili, took a deep breath and said, "General, could it be that you fell into the bandit's plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain?"
These words were like a thunderbolt, shaking the horse's back in the sea. His hand holding the whip was shaking a little, and he pointed at Li Yao and shouted: "Nonsense! You don't know the plot of those bandits, how can you make the tiger leave the mountain?"
Say it!"
Li Yao Nayan bowed and said: "General, I really don't know what those thieves are planning, but they obviously want the general to leave Dingzhou! However, I just saw that the general now has about five thousand wolf cavalry under his command.
There are still 15,000 elite soldiers in Dingzhou Prefecture, so I guess the bandits will not take advantage of their ambitions and decide to take over the prefecture capital. But... what about outside of Dingzhou Prefecture?"
Outside Dingzhou?
Haili's eyes lit up, and then his heart was enveloped by a fear as deep as the ocean. The day before yesterday, Xiao Luan, an aide under King Yeluji of the Nanmian Palace, sent a message from Taiyuan, saying that the Northern Han Dynasty was expected to pay today.
When Dingzhou was under the control of the Zhou Dynasty, the annual tribute from the Northern Han Dynasty would usually be sent to Bazhou diagonally around the northwest mountains. Now Dingzhou has been controlled by the Liao Dynasty.
If the country takes back the country, going to Dingzhou will take several days longer than going to Bazhou. There is nothing wrong with this arrangement.
But why did I forget this?
After thinking about this, Haili Hui's intestines turned green. The bandits were not trying to attack Suining County, which has a tall and solid city wall and thousands of soldiers stationed there. Their target was simply the annual tribute paid by the Northern Han Dynasty!
Li Yao's Nayan judged from Haili's expression what he must have thought of, and he asked tentatively: "General, I heard that the imperial envoy who pressed for confession this year had arrived in Taiyuan a few days ago, and was ambushed by Xixia cavalry on the way.
, I was watching the battle on the top of the city before. Those thieves were all cavalry. They moved around quickly and in an orderly manner. They showed no timidity when fighting the wolf cavalry under the general's command. They advanced and retreated in a measured manner. This was definitely not a quality that ordinary bandits could possess.
"
He tentatively guessed: "Could it be that the thieves who attacked Suining County are the same group of thieves who ambushed the imperial envoy?"
Haili had lost his bearings at this time. Listening to Li Yao Nayan's analysis, he nodded and said: "I received a letter from the imperial envoy Xiao Luan the day before yesterday. He said that the team escorting Sui Gong will arrive in Dingzhou today. It's me...
...Oversight!"
Li Yao Na Yan Jian Haili simply did not cover up his mistake, so he admonished: "General, the thieves who attacked Suining have been far away and cannot be pursued, but if the horse thieves on the other side have already robbed the annual tribute and escorted a large number of
The food and baggage must not move very fast. The general can lead his troops to pursue the northwest mountains. If it is true that Xixia people are pretending to be horse thieves and committing crimes in order to deceive others, they must evacuate to the northwest mountains. The general can now send his own soldiers back to Dingzhou to mobilize troops and horses to follow the pursuit. General
I ordered my wolf cavalry to head to the Northwest Mountains to intercept them. Besides, both Xixia’s cavalry and Yang Yishan’s bandits must go to the Northwest Mountains. It may be too late for the general to rush there now.”
Haili glanced at Liyao Nayan with admiration and said: "You are very good. If I get back the Sui Gong this time, I will definitely transfer you to serve under me!"
He raised his hand and waved his riding crop and said: "Children, follow me to the northwest mountains!" (To be continued)
