Zhao Er wanted to follow Liu Ling to lure the Xixia soldiers over, but Liu Ling firmly refused. He had no choice but to set out overnight with 500 heavily armored cavalry and follow the direction pointed by the scout to bypass Yelu Xiongji's tens of thousands of troops.
After walking for dozens of miles, we returned to the territory of the Han Dynasty. These five hundred heavily armored cavalry are all treasures. Although they are not many in number, they will be good steel that will be used on the blades in the future.
Liu Ling and Hanasanlang took the nine hundred light cavalry and returned by the original route. They marched fifty miles in the middle of the night and set up camp after clearing the way for the Khitan wolf cavalry to go north. In the morning, the scouts from each team came back to report the news. The number of the team was at least thirty to forty thousand.
As expected, the human Khitan Wolf Cavalry stopped near the Tiande Army's station. It seems that the Khitan people are far more familiar with the deployment of Xixia troops than Liu Ling and the others. After destroying the more than 4,000 people left by the Tiande Army, Liu Ling can say
They bumped into each other by mistake. Looking at the marching route of the Khitan Wolf Cavalry, it was obvious that they knew that a Xixia army was stationed at this place.
It's a pity that the Khitan people who were sharpening their swords were still disappointed. They couldn't figure out why the Tiande Army's station was burned down by someone, let alone the people, not even Mao found out.
The leader of the army was indeed the Emperor of Daliao, His Majesty Ye Luxiongji. He could not think of a reason for the destruction of the Tiande army. The emperor was not a god. He could not have imagined that the Han people would have such courage.
A team of a hundred people dared to cause trouble on the Xixia prairie.
However, this man was indeed very powerful. In the darkness of the night, he actually saw the horse manure that Liu Ling and his army had not had time to clean up before leaving. This detail that most people ignored, Yelu Xiongji paid great attention to.
Squatting down, Ye Luxiongji took a closer look at the horse bandit under the light of the torch, and concluded that it was...well, something new.
"Send scouts to search within thirty miles!"
Yelu Xiongji stood up and ordered. The generals under his command responded and turned around to wait.
"There was a group of cavalry that left about half a day ago. The number was not too large, about 1,500 to 2,000. The Tiande army was wiped out early. What do you think?"
The number of cavalrymen could be seen from a puddle of horse manure, and many people worshiped His Majesty even more. If Yelu Xiongji knew what they were thinking at this time, he would tell them seriously, you are wrong, I am not watching
Judging from one puddle of horse dung is based on looking at many puddles. It is not difficult to infer the number of cavalrymen and horses based on the amount of horse dung. For the generals who have led the cavalry in battles on the prairie for a long time, they all
Have this strength.
Of course the generals who led the army knew how His Majesty deduced it, but the civil servants did not know. They felt that just for this reason, Yelu Xiongji was worthy of the title of an emperor. He knew astronomy and geography, and he also understood
The enlightened master of horse manure is a god.
General Han Yanshou said: "This cavalry has only been away for half a day. Could it be that they destroyed the Tiande army? So, in the territory of Xia, do we still have a friendly army?"
General Yelu Yanqi glanced at Han Yanshou with contempt and said: "General Han only saw horse dung, didn't he see the Tiande Army's camp?"
Han Yanshou was stunned for a moment and said: "It has been burned to ashes, what else can be seen? Can General Yelu tell who set the fire?"
Yelu Yanqi said: "I can't tell who set the fire, but at least I can tell that this camp was burned down at least a month ago. And the horse dung was half a day ago. I don't know who killed the people."
After the German troops burned down the camp a month ago, did they watch the flames here for a month?"
Han Yanshou blushed and said, "How do you know they didn't just leave and come back?"
Yelu Yanqi said seriously: "I don't know, so I'm not sure."
Han Yanshou snorted, knowing that he had not observed carefully and showed timidity in front of His Majesty. This was not a good sign. His Majesty has always emphasized that mediocre soldiers can be used, but mediocre generals must not be used. Han Yanshou was afraid of what he had said rashly just now.
, could it be because of Yelu Xiongji’s disgust?
However, Yelu Xiongji did not comment on the argument between the two people. He pointed at the short mountain and said, "Send a few people to the mountain to have a look. Maybe we can find something."
Several Golden Horde warriors immediately ran towards the low mountain. Soon, their figures turned into a few moving black spots in the firelight.
"Perhaps it is the Xixia soldiers. The Tiande army was killed. Chen Tiaoxian would not fail to send troops to check. Moreover, the number of cavalry is too small. The Tiande army will leave at least five thousand troops to guard such a critical place. So.
With more than a thousand cavalry and less than 2,000 cavalry, it should be difficult to destroy the Tiande army's 5,000 troops."
Marching Commander Shi Zhang Zhenfang is an out-and-out Han Chinese, but his status among the Han officials of the Liao Dynasty is second only to Han Zhigu, and he is deeply trusted by Yelu Xiongji. This man is said to be a descendant of the fierce general Zhang Jaw during the Three Kingdoms period.
Although I don’t know whether it is true or not, this man does not have the martial aura of his ancestors, he is gentle and elegant, and he is a standard scholar. This man was once a native of Bianzhou in the Later Han Dynasty. After Guo Wei raised his army to attack Bianzhou, this man abandoned
After leaving his family, he went north alone to Daliao. After visiting Han Zhigu, he was highly praised by Han Zhigu and introduced to Yelu Xiongji. In just a few years, this man became the second most influential figure among the Han people in the Liao Kingdom.
, it can be seen that this person still has some real talent and learning.
Yelu Yanqi said: "What Mr. Chang Shi said is absolutely true, and the last general also believes that this should not be the trace left by the "friendly army". Based on the last general's speculation, it can be killed with lightning speed."
If the Tiande army leaves behind troops and horses, that army must have at least the same number of troops as the Tiande army, ranging from five thousand to tens of thousands."
"Could they be Han Chinese?"
Han Yanshou became smarter again.
Yelu Xiongji frowned and asked: "Do you think the Han people have the guts to provoke Wei Mingxiao? I asked them to send troops, but they didn't dare. They only dealt with the problem with ten consecutive rockets. How dare they?
Did you offend Wei Mingxiao by sending troops here?"
Before Han Yanshou could answer, Yelu Xiongji had already given the answer.
Han Yanshou wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "The last general is stupid!"
Is he stupid? Maybe this straightforward person really gave the correct answer, but the smart people didn't believe him.
"You're not stupid, you're just too lazy to use your brain!"
Yelu Xiongji snorted and said: "You are brave but not clever, just like Fan Kuai. You may be a general, but you can never be a commander. You should reflect on it!"
Han Yanshou responded obediently, not daring to interrupt at will.
Zhang Zhenfang smiled and said: "General Han is extremely brave and has a bravery that is unmatched by ten thousand people. In fact, can Fan Kuai compare? In the fierce battle with Wei Mingxiao a while ago, wasn't it because General Han sent out unexpected troops to attack the flanks of Xia Bing that our army was able to fight?
Will the Xia soldiers be driven back so that the Xia soldiers are huddled at the front line of the Qilian Mountains and do not dare to attack easily?"
Han Yanshou glanced gratefully at Zhang Zhenfang, and his heart felt warm. He said to himself that in Liao, Han people were indeed closer to each other. Although those wolf cubs, the Khitans, were powerful, none of them could become friends.
When Zhang Zhenfang said this, Ye Luxiongji's expression softened a lot: "I don't blame you. If I didn't value you, I wouldn't bother to vent my anger on you!"
Han Yanshou quickly bowed and said: "I will eventually fail His Majesty's grace."
Yelu Xiongji waved his hand and said: "We will wait until the news from the scouts comes back. If there is no trace of this team within thirty miles, then there is no need for us to continue looking. No matter whether the Tiande army was destroyed by the Han people or there was civil strife.
By killing each other, we have saved ourselves some trouble. As long as the old thief Chen Touxian doesn't know that we have come around from behind him, everything else can be ignored."
Zhang Zhenfang said: "Your Majesty is right. Our main purpose this time is to defeat Chen Tiaoxian's 160,000-strong army and bring the Qianli Grassland of Northern Xia under the banner of Daliao in one fell swoop. Although it was strange that the German army was wiped out on this day, for us, Daliao
It’s beneficial and harmless.”
Ye Luxiong said: "Give us the order. We will rest here for one night and one day. We will set off tomorrow evening and march at night to attack the Qilian Mountains!"
Several generals responded and went down separately to arrange for their men and horses to rest. After the generals left, Ye Luxiongji frowned and said to Zhang Zhenfang: "I won't be at peace unless this matter is investigated clearly!"
Zhang Zhenfang bowed and said: "Your Majesty asked the army to rest here for a day and night. Is it because you are afraid of something unexpected?"
Ye Luxiongji glanced at Zhang Zhenfang with admiration and said: "This matter is strange. Although I expected that the Han people did not have the courage to attack the Xixia soldiers, I did not believe that at this juncture there would be fratricide within Xixia. The army rested for a while.
On the 2nd, send more scouts to check the situation within a radius of fifty miles. If nothing happens, I will feel at ease when I go north."
Zhang Zhenfang said: "Your Majesty, it is better to send a general to cut off the rear, so that there will be no worries about the future."
Ye Luxiong said tactfully: "That's what I thought. I only brought 50,000 troops this time. Although the chance of winning by surprise is great when attacking Chen Tiaoxian's rear, we still have to save the rear. I plan to let Han Yanshou
Lead five thousand troops and station them here to ensure that nothing goes wrong. If the war goes unfavorably, returning to Datong from here is the shortest route, so there must be no mistakes."
Zhang Zhenfang thought for a while and said: "Han Yanshou is the best choice to charge into the battle. Perhaps he is not the best person to hold on after the break. General Yelu Yanqi is calm, brave and resourceful. Your Majesty, it is better to let General Yelu Yanqi stay here."
Yelu Xiong said tactfully: "I also know that Han Yanshou is not suitable, but the 10,000 fine armored knights under Yelu Yanqi are the only long-armed cavalry under my command. They are very useful when charging into the formation. This attack on Chen Tiaoxian
, I plan to use the 10,000 cavalry who are good at using long weapons as the main attack. If we stay here, it will be a pity for those good men to fight."
Zhang Zhenfang frowned and thought carefully: "It's not impossible for Han Yanshou to stay, but he must send an experienced person to lead the army with him to ensure that nothing goes wrong."
"How is Xiao Luan?"
Yelu Xiongji asked.
"Xiao Luan? This person is good at planning, so he is a suitable candidate."
Zhang Zhenfang thought of Xiao Luan's trembling appearance on weekdays, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Then let's settle it. Let Han Yanshou lead five thousand troops to stay here, and Xiao Luan will be the supervisor. One of them is rough and less resourceful, the other is timid but steady. The two of them discuss things and fall together.
They also complement each other well.” (To be continued)
