Chapter Fourteen Only the emperor knows the emperor best
Guo Hengchuan did not wait for the bodies of his two sons, but only waited for the head of his nephew Guo Rusong.
He screamed on the wasteland for a whole hour with a knife before slowly calming down. Yun Zheng's unconventional killing behavior made Guo Hengchuan completely lose his mind. He vowed to use Yun Zheng's head to sacrifice
Pay tribute to the three younger members of the Guo family who have passed away.
Guo Rusong's death had nothing to do with the Song Army. At least, that's what Li Chang said in the letter brought back by Guo Rusong's entourage. He said in the letter that this was a sad family conflict and that it was Guo Ruhai who killed his cousin.
Brother Guo Rusong, and this was under the circumstances that Yun Shuai had clearly ordered that Guo Rusong be allowed to leave Yanmen Pass alive.
Xiao Huo'er looked at Guo Hengchuan who was actively seeking a fight in confusion. He was indeed confused. Guo Hengchuan's crazy performance seemed to prove his innocence, but the Guo brothers standing at the top of Yanmenguan City were like a sharp thorn.
Stab in his heart.
After three months of confrontation with Yunzheng in the wilderness, Yelu Hongji, who had been unable to attack Nigu Village for a long time, finally exhausted his last bit of patience and ordered Xiao Huoer to use the fastest speed to capture Yanmen Pass, which was guarded by only a few troops.
Finally, we headed south from the Taihang Mountains and headed towards Tokyo.
In Hebei Province, Hejian Prefecture gathered millions of troops from the Song Dynasty and Liao Dynasty. The huge army groups were fighting each other in a narrow area. There was no longer any tactics to speak of, only the most primitive fighting. Every day
Days are constantly happening in this land, Hejian Mansion - bloody drifting pestle.
This war is different from the previous Song and Liao wars. It was not an accidental event that started the war, but the emperor himself. Therefore, there is no possibility of reconciliation between the two armies. The war on the Song and Liao borders is burning.
It's getting more intense day by day.
It had only been fifty-three days since the war officially started, but these fifty-three days made Di Qing feel like he was living like a year. The three most important strategic locations, Xiaonanhe, Tianjiazhai, and Baigouyi, had changed hands three times, especially Xiaonanhe.
Nanhe Village, filled with three thousand sergeants, would be completely destroyed in less than a day. Even if the Song Dynasty army had weapons such as gunpowder bombs, they could only attack and defend each other with the Liao army. Once the Liao people were
The Iron Armored Army launched an attack, and this stronghold standing on the plain would fall immediately.
The Song Army could only use a powerful trebuchet to throw large gunpowder bombs into Xiaonanhe Village, blowing the village into a sea of flames, so that the Song Army could retake the military village. Now, the effect of large gunpowder bombs has become less and less.
As the war progressed, the Liao people began to use fortifications to deal with such sharp weapons that they had never seen before.
Di Qing stood on the enemy tower and looked at the Liao army on the opposite side from a distance. The outside of the Xiaonanhe military camp was covered with trenches dug by the Liao army. Large groups of Liao soldiers were swimming in the trenches, waiting for the general's order.
Launch an attack.
One or two gunpowder bombs constantly flew out of Xiaonanhe Village and exploded in a deterrent manner above the Liao trenches, telling both the enemy and us that the war was still going on.
The putrid smell unique to the battlefield permeated both sides of the Xiaonan River. Various pontoons on the river were blown into ruins by gunpowder bombs. The Xiaonan River, which was less than five feet wide, was filled with white and bloated corpses that had been soaked in the river water and were broken.
Blocked by the pontoon, the white flowers were exposed to broad daylight and the river was almost blocked.
Di Qing grabbed a handful of the dark city wall. The previously hard city wall became as soft as tofu under his hands. Looking at the crispy mud in his hand that had been burned by the flames, Di Qing sighed and asked Wang Shao, the guard of Xiaonanhe.
"The city wall is no longer strong enough. How will you deal with the Liao army next?"
Wang Shao laughed and said: "If the city wall is gone, it will become a mountain of earth. The Liao people have to capture it again and again, otherwise they will not be able to enter Bazhou. There are swamps on both sides of the Xiaonan River with dense water and grass, which is not suitable for marching.
Only by attacking Xiaonanhe Village head-on can we enter the Song Dynasty Bazhou."
Han Qi sighed and said: "The swamps on both sides were formed after Emperor Taizong's defeat, when the Yellow River was dug up and flooded large fields to prevent the invasion of the Liao people. Now, Duliuhe has become a large
Song's strongest barrier.
Xiaonanhe Village has been lost three times in less than two months. If this continues, Gao Jixuan will probably dig up the Yellow River again to create new swamps."
Di Qing invited Han Qi to walk down the dilapidated city wall and said as he walked: "Actually, Hejian Mansion has too many troops. Too many soldiers and generals is not a good thing. In my opinion, as long as there are enough soldiers and generals, it will be fine. Nowadays,
Six hundred thousand troops gathered in Hejian Mansion, and the daily supply of food and grass was very stressful. Everyone gathered together to eat, who had time to fight.
Yunzheng's troops are too thin, and the large number of troops in Hejian Prefecture has become a burden. Why not add 100,000 troops to the direction of Yanmen Pass? I dare say that once Yunzheng has more than 100,000 troops, he will definitely defeat the Liao Kingdom.
Xijing is the heart of the Liao Kingdom. If such a situation arises, I can say that Yelu Hongji will definitely withdraw his troops from Hejian Prefecture."
Han Qi shook his head and said: "Your Majesty does not intend to force the Liao Kingdom to withdraw its troops. He intends to consume the effective strength of the Liao Kingdom in Hejian Prefecture. Now, your Majesty himself also knows the time to attack the Liao Kingdom and regain the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun.
He was not yet mature, so he wanted to fight against the enemy. Your Majesty's idea was very simple. If you want to plot against Yan Yun, you must find out the details of the enemy. If the Song Dynasty does not have an advantage in this battle against the enemy, then what Wen Yanbo said
The promise of not talking about military affairs for twenty years will be completely implemented.
Yun Zheng's nature is like fire. Once he has a large number of troops in his hands, God knows what he will do. Once the confrontation between Song and Liao becomes a life-and-death battle, I dare to say that within the next ten years, Song and Liao will be
It will decline. Before Xixia is at peace, it is not yet time for us to settle the accounts with Liao with all our strength. Now the more than 50,000 troops and horses in his hands can only stick to it and cannot make progress. This also achieves His Majesty's goal on the other hand.
We want to fully balance consumption.”
"The court doesn't believe Marquis Yun?" Di Qing stopped and asked in surprise.
Han Qi smiled slightly and said: "For an official at his level, he can say whether he trusts or not. He can only say whether it is suitable or not. If the court did not trust Yun Zheng, it would definitely not hand over Yanmen Pass, the choke point of the Song Dynasty.
He came to defend Yanmen Pass, and everyone in the Song Dynasty could rest assured that His Majesty had entrusted the country with the destiny of the country. There is no need to say the word trust again, right?
The biggest reason why he did not send more reinforcements is the supplies you mentioned. Daizhou is suffering the most in the world and cannot feed so many soldiers. If all military supplies are supplied by the capital, it will cost too much. Even if it is based on the
You mentioned adding 100,000 troops to Marquis Yun. When hundreds of thousands of troops are at Yanmen Pass, we can barely supply them. As you said, once Marquis Yun has a heavy army, he will never waste his troops in vain, and will naturally capture Liao.
Xijing, China.
I thought it wouldn't be difficult for him to kill Xiao Huo'er. In that case, the Song Dynasty's strategy would shift from east to west. The war of war has already begun and no one can reverse it. No matter whether the Song Dynasty is willing or not, we have to start.
We have launched an all-out war with the Liao Kingdom."
Di Qing frowned and said angrily: "Aren't we going to fight with all our strength now? Xiaonanhe, Tianjiazhai, and Baigouyi have been killed in mountains of blood. I estimate that the biggest war will happen in Nigu Village, and everyone here will
The battlefield is filled with demonic mouths that devour the living, so don’t tell me that this isn’t an all-out battle.”
Han Qi smiled and said: "Actually, this battle from beginning to end was just a test between Song and Liao. No matter how angry the Emperor of Liao, Yelu Hongji, was, he knew that he could not gain much benefit from Song Dynasty. He could only
Wanting to stabilize its position through war, the betrayal of King Yelu Chongyuan of the Qin State of Liao State has caused instability in the political affairs of the Liao State. At this time, a war will come at the right time, allowing everyone to turn their attention to the battlefield.
He can clean up some people in the country."
Di Qing said in confusion: "There is no need to send your own soldiers to the battlefield to die in order to clean up the traitors in the country, right?"
Han Qi chuckled and said: "The words I just said were not said by me, but by His Majesty himself. We don't understand the emperor's mind. The person who knows Yelu Hongji best in the world should be our Majesty."
"Because His Majesty is the emperor?"
"That's right, the only one who understands the emperor's mentality best is the emperor. Things that we can't figure out have become a matter of course for His Majesty."
Di Qing took a deep look at Han Qi and said: "I am an old soldier who is good at marching and fighting. I am really not good at spying on people's hearts. Anyway, since I am His Majesty's eagle dog, I will wholeheartedly help His Majesty in the battle. I don't want to do anything else.
good."
Han Qi carefully poked his head over the city wall and looked outside. He saw a gunpowder bomb falling into the trench dug by the Liao army. After the explosion, four or five humanoid objects flew into the sky. He nodded with satisfaction and retracted his head.
Following Di Qing back to the camp outside Xiaonanhe Village, Wang Shao yelled at the soldiers to re-reinforce the city defense, and ordered carts to be poured with water and piled on the huge gap in the north village wall.
Once evening arrives, it is time for the Liao army to attack.
Di Qing, who returned to the camp, glanced at Gao Jixuan coldly. The reason why he and Han Qi went to the city wall just now was because Gao Jixuan proposed a night sneak attack plan. He believed that the best way to break the deadlock in Xiaonanhe was to take the initiative.
sneak attack.
"If anyone dares to speak out about the night attacker again, he will be killed!"
After Di Qing issued the military order, he returned to his camp. From the first moment he saw the Liao army formation, Di Qing knew that a night sneak attack was purely a suicidal act.
Not to mention that the Liao army's camp was full of twists and turns and ditches. Even if you did not consider these, just let the army leave the cover of gunpowder bombs and fight hand-to-hand with the Liao army. Such a general should be beheaded in public.
Gao Jixuan looked towards Han Qi in embarrassment. Lao Bao looked over and found that the two men were indifferent to him and were discussing the logistics and supplies of the army. A bad breath rose from his chest and abdomen, and he could no longer stay in the military tent.
He opened the curtain angrily and strode towards his military camp. (To be continued)