The Liao soldiers shouted slogans and stepped outside Tongtai Pass step by step.
The elite Liao soldiers attacking the city were not like the soldiers and horses of the small tribes attached to the Liao Kingdom.
They have a formation that does not belong to the Forbidden Army of the Great Song Dynasty, and they also have armaments that are not inferior to the Forbidden Army of the Great Song Dynasty.
There is no shortage of catapults, siege chisels, ladders, building carts, etc.
After the Liao soldiers advanced to Tongtai Pass.
Xiao Punu, the king of the Six tribes of Xi, decisively ordered the attack on the city.
"Woooooooo..."
The horn blows.
The crossbowmen and slingers among the Liao soldiers used bows, arrows and trebuchets to attack the head of Tongtaiguan City.
Under the cover of arrows and trebuchets, the shield soldiers of the Liao Kingdom began to quickly advance towards Tongtaiguan, guarding ladders, siege chisels, building carts and other objects.
"put!"
Cao Wei stared closely at the Liao soldiers, waiting for the Liao soldiers to enter the battlefield with siege chisels, building carts and other objects.
Cao Wei gave the order.
The artillery fires.
The deafening roar spread throughout the battlefield and beyond.
The Liao soldiers who were pushing siege chisels, building carts and other objects were knocked upside down when bombed.
Artillery is one of the most lethal weapons on the battlefield.
Especially the defensive side, with the help of artillery, will massacre the enemy.
In the absence of corresponding firearms to respond.
When the Liao soldiers encountered artillery, they either found a place to hide, or they rushed forward and relied on luck to avoid the artillery bombardment.
As soon as the Liao soldiers' offensive was formed, it was dispersed by muskets, artillery, and crossbows.
Xiao Punu, the king of Xi Liu tribe, did not retreat because of this, but chose to organize his troops and continue to attack Tongtai Pass.
Within one day.
Xiao Punu, the king of Xi Liu tribe, blocked six attacks and was repelled six times.
The Liao soldiers suffered heavy losses.
The Song soldiers at Tongtai Pass also suffered a lot of damage.
Although the Liao soldiers attacked six times, they never reached the city.
However, the arrows and catapults of the Liao soldiers still caused considerable damage to the Song soldiers and horses at Tongtai.
After nightfall.
Both sides stopped fighting.
After Cao Wei and Lu Yijian inspected the camp where the wounded were located, they returned to the city gate building, which had a corner missing from the trebuchet.
After the two sat down, they remained silent.
It was quiet in the city gate building.
After a long time, Lu Yijian asked: "What does Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu mean?"
Cao Wei shook his head, "I don't know."
When Cao Wei said in the morning that something was wrong with Liao's army this time, Lu Yijian still didn't believe it, but after watching the battle for a day today, he finally believed Cao Wei's words.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty clearly had the opportunity to wait until the remaining 100,000 troops in Tongtai Pass were deployed to launch an attack on Tongtai Pass, but at the most critical moment, he gave up his plan and chose to follow
Tongtai is locked in a deadlock.
Today, those attacking the city are no longer the soldiers and horses of those small tribes, but the real elite Liao soldiers.
Today the elite Liao troops attacked Tongtai Pass and suffered considerable damage.
Under the attack of muskets and artillery, as well as heavy crossbows, bed crossbows and other weapons, Liao soldiers fell in pieces.
The two armies fought, leaving almost no room for life for each other.
Therefore, before the battle, the crossbowmen of both armies would tacitly agree to soak their arrows in the cesspit.
If someone is shot by an arrow soaked in the cesspit, if the arrow is not removed in time and the flesh is cut, 99% of the time he will die.
It can be said that in the hands of crossbowmen, feces is the most primitive poison.
Therefore, the Liao soldiers who fell under the crossbows such as bed crossbows, heavy crossbows, etc. were almost certain to die.
Not to mention the power of artillery.
But with muskets, after firing, as long as they didn't hit the fatal spot, the Liao soldiers might still be able to save their lives.
In short, the number of Liao soldiers who died in front of Tongtai Pass today was not large.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty gave up some of the advantages he had planned and chose to fight with the Song soldiers at Tongtaiguan. This was unwise and completely unlike the style of Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty.
After Cao Wei and Lu Yijian said a word to each other, they fell into silence again.
Just when the two of them were trying their best to guess why Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu did what he did.
A pawn entered the city gate building.
Cao Wei and Lu Yijian frowned when they saw the pawn.
"Who allowed you to come in without a summons? Don't you know that the place where I am is like the White Tiger Festival Hall, and trespassers will die?"
Cao Wei scolded him coldly.
Not only was the soldier not afraid, but he said with a smile: "I have been ordered to deliver a piece of news to the two superior officers!"
Cao Wei and Lu Yijian looked at each other, and both saw the surprise in each other's eyes.
If a soldier dares to speak like this under Cao Wei's scolding, he must have something to rely on.
The two of them stared at the pawn without saying anything, waiting for him to reveal his identity.
When the soldier saw that Cao Wei no longer yelled at him to kill him, he continued to laugh and said: "This villain is from the Imperial City Department and is responsible for helping the officials to find out some news about the army."
While talking, the soldier took out a token and a seal from his arms and handed them to Cao Wei and Lu Yijian.
After Cao Wei and Lu Yijian checked the token and seal, they both frowned.
No one likes to be stared at as a human being.
Naturally, they were even less happy that the people from the Imperial City Department were hiding under their noses.
But the two of them did not open their mouths to rebuke.
The two of them led 300,000 soldiers and horses outside, and they had the emperor's eyes and ears around them. That was as it should be.
Luckily for Zhao Zhen, his whereabouts were not exposed by his eyes and ears.
During the Taizong and Zhenzong dynasties, the emperor's eyes and ears were divided into two types: discerning and dark.
There are spies in the dark and the eyes and ears of eunuchs on the surface.
Some favored eunuchs would even criticize military affairs when they were in the army.
Sometimes, the important task of supervising the army is also given to eunuchs.
It should be noted that the supervision of the army by civil servants is enough to cause harm to people, but the supervision of the army by eunuchs is even more harmful to people.
After Zhao Zhen succeeded to the throne, he made many changes to the military supervision system.
Nowadays, there are no eunuchs in the army to supervise the army. The generals command no more than 50,000 soldiers and horses, and they will not send important ministers to sit in command. The army's counselors, clerks, officials and the like can help to keep an eye on it.
The spies hidden in the army no longer act blatantly. Instead, they hide themselves tightly and will not be exposed until absolutely necessary.
Cao Wei stared at the pawn and said in a deep voice: "What news do you want to tell me?"
Cao Wei understood the imperial court's practice of sending spies to hide in the army, but it did not mean that he had to give the spies a good look.
When the soldier heard what Cao Wei said, his expression straightened and he said in a deep voice: "The spies lurking in the Liao Kingdom sent back a piece of news at noon today."
When Cao Wei heard this, he frowned and said, "We are fighting at noon. Where did he send the news?"
The soldier said in a deep voice: "The news was sent to us by spies lurking in the Liao Kingdom, and then came from behind our backs. In order to deliver this news, they were all buried in the Liao Kingdom."
When Cao Wei and Lu Yijian heard this, their expressions became serious.
The soldier solemnly said: "There is only one sentence in the news. Queen Xiao Bodhisattva of Liao Kingdom is in trouble. She is suspected to have been killed by Xiao Yujin, the concubine of Shunsheng Yuan Dynasty."
After Cao Wei and Lu Yijian heard the news, they were stunned.
In an instant, they understood why Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu acted so abnormally.
Most of them couldn't accept this, so they made an irrational decision in anger.
No matter how powerful Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu was, he could not calm down when faced with this matter.
Brother Xiao Bodhisattva, he was one of the true loves of Emperor Yelu Longxu of Liao Dynasty.
Brother Xiao Bodhisattva is Xiao Chuo's niece. She has known Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu since childhood and can be said to be childhood sweethearts.
The relationship between the two is very deep.
Even though Brother Xiao Bodhisattva looked like a kind Bodhisattva, after Xiao Chuo's death, only she could tame the fierce horse of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu and make him show his short-term tenderness.
Now that she is dead, how can Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu be calm?
What's more important is that Brother Xiao Bodhisattva's death was actually related to Xiao Yujin.
If an ordinary person killed Brother Xiao Bodhisattva, Emperor Yelu Longxu of Liao Dynasty could still kill her whole family and her nine clans to avenge Brother Xiao Bodhisattva.
But it happened to be Xiao Yujin.
Xiao Yujin was not only the daughter of the Xiao family, but also the real biological mother of the Liao Crown Prince Yelu Zong.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty wanted to deal with Xiao Kunjin. Even if he did not take care of the Xiao family, he had to take Yelv Zongzhen into consideration.
Yelu Zongzhen is still young now. If he kills Xiao Kunjin, Yelv Zongzhen will probably hate him. This may mess up his character and affect the inheritance of the Liao Dynasty.
He does have other sons.
But other sons are not eligible to inherit the throne.
Because their mother's surname is not Xiao.
Brother Xiao Bodhisattva and Yelu Zongzhen, one carries the feelings of the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, and the other carries the future of the Liao Kingdom.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty might not be able to make a decision for a moment.
"The current Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu is probably suffering like a burning fire burning his heart!"
Lu Yijian said quietly.
Cao Wei nodded in agreement, "No wonder he chose to fight with us. It turned out that he wanted to end this war as soon as possible and then return the army to the court."
Lu Yijian stared at Cao Wei and said, "What are you going to do?"
Cao Wei said without hesitation: "Continue to fight him until he loses his mind. Once he loses his mind, the outcome of this long war will be decided by us."
Although it is somewhat immoral for Cao Wei to use the pain of losing his wife to deal with others.
But on the battlefield, how can there be so much morality?
As long as you can defeat the opponent and achieve significant results, you should use whatever you can.
This time, it was Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu who showed his flaws first, and was caught and exploited by Cao Wei.
If Cao Wei had exposed his flaw first, Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu would not have hesitated.
Cao Wei glanced at the pawn standing in the city gate building and said: "Do you know how Xiao Yujin, the concubine of Shunsheng Yuan of Liao Kingdom, murdered Brother Xiao Bodhisattva, the queen of Liao Kingdom?"
Cao Wei did not ask Xiao Yujin why he wanted to murder Brother Xiao Bodhisattva.
The whole world knows that Xiao Yujin and brother Xiao Bodhisattva don't get along.
Xiao Yujin is concerned about Brother Xiao Bodhisattva's position, which is known to the whole world.
Xiao Yujin killed Brother Xiao Bodhisattva, obviously because he wanted to replace him.
The soldier heard what Cao Wei said, hesitated for a moment, and said frankly: "It is said to be related to Kou Jinglue..."
Cao Wei was stunned and said in astonishment: "Kou Ji?"
The pawn nodded slowly.
Lu Yijian said with a look of disbelief: "When did Kou Ji become so capable that he could control everything in the Liao harem from thousands of miles away?"
The soldier said: "Kou Jinglue once went on a mission to the Liao Kingdom. During his mission to the Liao Kingdom, he helped the Liao royal family to make some gold and silver jewelry.
Concubine Shunsheng Yuan of the Liao Kingdom once asked Kou Jinglue to help her secretly build something in exchange for a thousand good horses.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty once reprimanded Xiao Kunjin for this.
This matter is not a secret in the Liao Kingdom.
But no one knows what Xiao Yujin asked Kou Jinglue to build.
The Queen of Liao died this time, and it is said that she died on that thing."
When Cao Wei and Lu Yijian heard this, they were shocked.
In order to kill Kou Ji, Xixia mobilized troops and sent nearly a thousand people, but it failed to achieve its goal.
Not only did they not kill Kou Ji, but they also angered Zhao Zhen, who led an army to conquer Xixia.
On the other hand, Kou Ji unknowingly killed a person whose status was several times more noble than his own.
The strength of his methods is far beyond that of others.
Cao Wei and Lu Yijian were shocked in their hearts, but they didn't show it on their faces.
Cao Wei looked at Lu Yijian and asked, "It has been several years since Kou Ji went to Liao as an envoy, right?"
Lu Yijian thought for a moment and said, "Three or four years..."
Before Cao Wei could speak again, Lu Yijian continued to sigh: "Xiao Yujin, the concubine of Shun Shengyuan of Liao Kingdom, has been dissatisfied with Brother Xiao Bodhisattva, Queen of Liao Kingdom for a long time. Xiao Yujin wants to seize Brother Xiao Bodhisattva's throne, which is not the case.
It’s been two days a day.
She could endure it for three or four years before taking action. She must have reached the limit of her tolerance.
This time Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty went on an expedition, which happened to be an excellent opportunity."
Cao Wei said with emotion: "Queen Xiao Bodhisattva of the Liao Kingdom was a virtuous and virtuous queen. She should have died well, but she didn't expect to die at the hands of a villain."
Lu Yijian narrowed his eyes and laughed in a low voice: "Are you saying that Kou Ji is a villain?"
Cao Wei glanced at Lu Yijian and said calmly: "The thing that killed Brother Xiao Bodhisattva might have been made by Kou Ji, but it was Xiao Yujin who did it. It's like a knife-slayer and a knife-wielder.
If a knife-wielder kills someone, is it the knife-slayer’s fault?"
Lu Yijian smiled softly and said, "I just said it casually, but you actually took it seriously."
Cao Wei rolled his eyes and ignored Lu Yijian.
Kou Ji, that kid, is famous for being sure to retaliate for his anger.
Try not to provoke anyone if you can.
If you get grudged by that kid, who knows if that kid will trick you at the critical moment.
Just like the previous incident at Yizijiaozipu.
Therefore, those who participated were more or less severely punished by Zhao Zhen.
The Cao family, who had been warned in advance, were safe and sound, and nothing happened at all.
Not only did he not lose troops or money due to the incident at Yizijiaozipu, but he also made a huge profit from it.
If Kou Ji had not warned the Cao family at that time, the Cao family would have recklessly followed the Gao family to oppose the imperial court.
Maybe the fate of the Gao family now is the fate of the Cao family.
Cao Wei curled his lips and said, "That kid Kou Ji has indirectly helped us a lot."
Lu Yijian let out a long sigh and said in a bad tone: "It's this boy Kou Ji again... Why do I feel that this boy is about to catch up with the gods and Buddhas of the gods?"