Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

The excrement, ointment, mud and rot also exacerbated the deterioration of the injury, but there were too many wounded and fierce fighting ahead, they didn't have many people to look after them, it was chaotic and disturbing.

"General, there are 760 more people today." The person next to him reported with a serious expression, "There are another hundred people missing."

Han Derang looked out, and there was smoke billowing down the slope in the distance. Someone was splitting up dead bodies and throwing them into the fire, and someone was digging a hole dozens of steps away.

In the army of the Liao Kingdom, there was a mixture of people from various ethnic groups, the most being Khitan and Han people. The Khitan people had a tradition of wind burial and cremation, but the Han people were not allowed to burn, and they had to be buried in the ground for peace.

Until now, Han Derang was still physically and mentally exhausted. His eye sockets were sunken, his face was covered with dust, and he no longer had the demeanor of leading the army south alone.

They have been fighting for six or seven days in a row, but they still haven't taken down any of the fortresses, with little effect, but there are a lot of casualties every day.

It rained at noon on the third day of May, and the siege was suspended for a day. From the eyes of the soldiers, he saw the joy of luck and the joy of the rest of his life.

Hande gave way to the camp where the wounded were placed. He stepped on the bloody dark red mud on the avenue with his black riding boots, and looked at the fortresses of the Qin army in the distance. top, looking down at them.

Last night, he just had a long talk with Yelu Xiezhen, who was also exhausted and under great pressure. He drank a few bowls of wine to support himself. The troops in the east suffered even more casualties. Compared with not fighting, he dared not think about How many casualties did they cause to the Qin army? Are they dying meaninglessly?

There were even deserters in the east because of the heavy casualties. Yesterday, five people wanted to swim across the river at night and ran to the mountains in the west. They were finally caught by patrolling soldiers and beheaded for public display.

However, the appearance of deserters made Yelu Xiezhen very nervous. He was afraid that if the fight continued, the army would mutiny.

Han Derang could only comfort him a few words, but he didn't know what to do. The only way was to slow down the attack, but neither His Majesty sitting in the rear nor the prime minister near Beikou would agree. Down.

And the day before yesterday, due to too many casualties, they had mobilized another group of troops near Beikou to the front line, and so far the Beikou troops were almost exhausted.

The two also had some doubts about the effect of Fushui, because the casualties were increasing, but they still didn't stop using it. They always thought it would be a little less, but in fact they didn't know whether it was useful or not. There are too many influencing factors, it is difficult to distinguish clearly.

Yelu Xiezhen did not return to the camp until midnight, but he hardly slept all night, until dawn, the prime minister of the rear, Yelusha, personally came to the front line to encourage the soldiers and urge them to attack.

Yelusha saw that they both showed embarrassment, and also saw the large-scale camp for the wounded. He picked up the horsewhip and patted the dirt on it, and said earnestly, "I understand your concerns, the matter has come to this point, and there is no turning back.

If they withdraw without any results, the people of Qin will feel that our country is weak and can be bullied. Their main force is still alive and well in the south, with almost no damage, but there is no progress in the war here.

They've put their guns down our throats, and if we don't do anything we'll be considered no different than sheep. "

Yelusha said and patted the shoulders of the two men: "I have never agreed to send troops from the beginning, I have fought with Shi Congyun.

Now that troops have been sent out, it is like an arrow shot out, there is no way to turn back, if there is no result, the ambition of the Qin people will be further fueled, I believe we are vulnerable.

Even if there is a victory, they can sit down and discuss with the Qin people. If there is no result, they will only make progress. "

The two young men were deeply moved and saluted one after another, because these days Yelusha kept urging them to march regardless of the casualties, and they thought that the prime minister who originally did not advocate war with Qin had made up his mind to fight to the death.

But now it seems that his philosophy has not changed. He didn't think he could defeat the Qin army head-on at the beginning. What he thought at the beginning was not to fight, but relying on a strong army to maintain deterrence and negotiate peace with Qin in order to win Qin After getting the land of Yan, he retreated, and now that the army has set off, he must win a victory as a bargaining chip to negotiate a peace with the Qin army.

Otherwise, once they dispatch more than [-] troops, but it is difficult to win a game, the Qin army will feel that they are weak and can be bullied, since they are likely to continue to go north.

Yelu Xiezhen and Handerang also gradually changed their minds at this time, they felt that maybe Yelusha was the wise man.

"Your Majesty still has tens of thousands of people in King Xi Yazhang. I will send someone to ask him to move the troops south to support the front line. I will tell His Majesty clearly that I am at a disadvantage in fighting, resulting in many casualties and insufficient manpower. But you must achieve some results. Come." Yelusha continued.

The two were so moved for a moment that they were about to kneel down to thank them, but Yelusha stopped them: "I am old, but you are still young." Without further ado, they rode back to Beikou.

Both Han Derang and Yelusha felt a lot of pressure. After so many days of fierce fighting, they realized the fact that the strength of the Qin army was beyond imagination.

Two thousand Qin troops guarded the valley, preventing their [-] troops from advancing an inch, and suffered heavy casualties. After seven or eight days of fierce siege battles, their casualties could not be counted in detail. The battlefield was too chaotic and personnel changes were too fast. But the two knew it in their hearts, and it was likely that more than ten thousand people had passed away.

This is an unbelievable thing. It is very difficult to keep them from passing through the valley. It is unheard of and unexpected that they can cause serious damage to them with such a small number of people.

On the same day, the last troops were transferred from the north entrance to the front line.

After sieging the city one day, they still found nothing. In order not to cause mutiny among the soldiers, they slackened their supervision a lot. In the evening, Han Derang’s troops left more than 200 corpses on the north slope, and more than 400 more wounded, and then withdrew from the battlefield. , they reached the corner recently and filled the hole with some soil, but it was quickly knocked down.

That night, he and Yelu Xiezhen got together again, the two discussed for a long time, and finally reached a consensus.

Up to now, they have no hope of completely defeating the Qin army. They just want to retreat north after a victory, as the prime minister said, so that the Qin army will not dare to go north easily, and they will explain to the monarch.

As for taking back the lost land in the south, they no longer dare to think about it. A river valley has already been broken up like this. If they want to compete with the Qin army for the city in the south, they dare not think about the price they will pay and how many troops they will need. One hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, 20?Still millions.

In the end, they discussed with more than a dozen senior generals and agreed that these fortresses of the Qin army would not be fought. When His Majesty's Chinese army from the north arrived, they gathered superior cavalry, rushed through the blockade in one go, and went directly to the south to surprise the Qin army and win a battle. Fight and retreat.

It's been so many days, and the only way they can think of is to win De Fei.

Everyone agreed with this suggestion. In fact, the soldiers in the army have long been afraid of the kind of siege that looks like death. In the next few days, some people even couldn't help crying when they found out that they were assigned to siege the city. Morale was already extremely low. Tactics must be changed.

From going south in high spirits, to now just wanting to find ways to win for a while and then rushing away, the mentality of the Liao army has undergone earth-shaking changes in this small river valley for more than a month.

Chapter 535, Choice

It was pitch black at night, and the sound of wind and thunder resounded in the mountains like turbulent waves, and the ferocious wind seemed to uproot the surrounding mountains.

The soaring stream at the foot of the mountain scoured the rocks and made loud noises. The wind and rain, lightning and thunder continued all night long.

The military flag was fluttering in the night wind, being torn and ravaged, although it was only heard but not seen, but everything was in the ears and in the heart, vividly in the eyes.

Ye Luxian heard that someone outside was sheltering from the rain by the big tent. They should be soldiers who were watching the night. They were trembling in the wind and rain, talking in low voices about the war in the south.

Regarding their confidence and expectations, Ye Luxian was speechless for a while.

There was a letter on the table in front of him. At dusk, the horse galloped through the trees and twilight, and covered with shadows and mountain winds, brought Yelusha's letter to him.

The letter stated that because of his incompetence, the battle near Beikou had not progressed much. The battle lasted for almost a month, but it was still impossible to break through.

He dropped an ox horn cup at that time, and once thought about sending Yelusha back to punish him.

After he calmed down, he gave up this idea, suppressed his anger and continued to look down, changing the commander just before the battle is a big taboo for military strategists.

Yelusha said that near the north entrance, the two armies fought and suffered heavy losses. He begged the monarch to send elite palace guards and cavalry to support them to defeat the enemy and defend the holy car.

After reading this, Yeluxian's mood eased a little. Yelusha didn't say how many enemies there were, but it must be the main force of the enemy's army that could stop his [-] troops from advancing an inch.

If the main force of the Qin army asked him for help, things would be reasonable.

It's just that the storm and thunder outside were getting bigger and bigger, and he hesitated, walking around for a long time, unable to make up his mind.

He sat in the dark tent, without lighting a candle, listening to the wind and rain in the mountains, and the soldiers outside the tent talking, which was very clear in the dark

Ye Luxian was not an ignorant young man. After experiencing the Shenhuodian Rebellion (Ye Luxian's father, Emperor Sejong, was killed in a mutiny), his family was ruined, and he understood one truth better than many people, that is, there must be military power in his hands.

Now internal and external troubles, the situation is more complicated, he is not only worried about the Northwest, the tribes in the Northeast are not listening to orders, and the situation in the court can not make him feel at ease.

He is not his Taiping emperor, he has his own calculations.

The main force of the Liao Kingdom, the Shan army, was mostly Han and Xi people, and was mainly in the hands of high-ranking Han officials headed by the Han family.

The Pishi Five Armies are mostly controlled by the clan prime minister and senior officials of the Privy Council.

The Six Armies of the Southern Court were almost all Han Chinese, and they were mainly in the hands of Gao Xun, the privy envoy of the Southern Court, and he did not feel safe.

In the entire Liao Kingdom, there is only one army that is most loyal to the emperor, and that is the palace guard cavalry.

It is a personal soldier selected by the emperors of all dynasties, all supported by the royal family, only obeying the emperor, and guarding the tomb of the emperor of Daliao when he is old.

That's why he wants to drive himself to conquer.

To boost morale, because the threat to Shi Congyun was only one of them, and to gather more than 2 elite palace guard cavalry, take them out of Shangjing, and hold them in their own hands.

If the former emperor could be assassinated in Heishan, forty or fifty miles north of Beijing, then he would not be safe in the treacherous Shangjing as a new king when he ascended the throne.

Instead, being guarded by palace guards and cavalry loyal to the royal family made him feel more at ease.

Now that Yelusha asked him for support, he could only let the palace guard cavalry to support him, which made him very disturbed.

Not only is he uneasy about the war, but also because the palace guard cavalry is his greatest reliance

If you support him, you are afraid that if the battle is unfavorable, something like the Vulcan Lake Incident will happen again.

But if there is no support, the battle will be tight, and if the Qin army wins, his situation will be even more dangerous.

The wind and rain outside the tent gradually subsided until the east was white, and Ye Luxian did not fall asleep. He got up and asked people to come in. He ordered people to come in, and then he went out of the tent to watch the sun rise.

The road was muddy, so his fur coat was stained with mud, and water droplets stained his skirt, but he didn't care.

"The time of life and death for the Great Liao Kingdom has come," Yeluxian muttered to himself.

The civil servant who followed and waited for dispatch said: "Your Majesty, since Shi Congyun sent troops, it has been the time of life and death, and it is definitely not the time.

Soldiers, the major events of the country, the place of life and death, must be observed, let alone the king of Qin who conquered from south to north, defeated those who deserved it, and conquered those who attacked him.

Your Majesty should go all out to deal with this existential crisis. "

Ye Luxian glanced at the officials in front of him and didn't say much. The Liao Kingdom set up imperial examinations based on the Han people's imperial examinations, and selected many officials. Most of these people were well-educated and proficient in Confucianism.

It was not until the sun had fully risen and the fog in the mountains cleared away that Ye Luxian returned to his tent and made his own decision. He decided to mobilize the elite main force to support the battle at Beikou. Now there is no way out. Instead of worrying about gains and losses, it is better to let go Shi Congyun will never let him go easily.

In the south of Youzhou City, Emperor Shi stroked the sword lightly and made his own choice.

Let Zhao Shijian fasten his sword belt and armor for him, Wang Shenqi and other soldiers are already waiting on the side of the road in the distance.

The Son of Heaven will lead the main force of the Chinese army, go north to support, and at the same time strive to cause heavy damage to the Liao army in one fell swoop, and hit the royal court in the north.

This is not an idea that came to mind, but a judgment made based on the battle situation on the front line these days.

The battle on the front line was unexpected. The [-] to [-] Liao troops fought for so long but failed to break through the defense line of the Qin army's bastion, and the reinforcements in the rear who were waiting for the battle did not have a chance to play.

Moreover, according to the reports from the front-line soldiers from the waterway, they caused a lot of casualties to the Liao army, but their own losses were minimal, and they could continue to fight as long as they had ammunition supplies.

At this time, Emperor Shi realized that either the Qin army was too strong, or the Liao army was pulled, whichever was a great opportunity.

At the beginning of May, he ordered Li Chuyun in Tanzhou to start gathering the army, and he also gathered the elites near Youzhou, and drove northward to join Chanzhou.

It's time to deal a head-on blow to the Liao army with many casualties and low morale, and it will be detrimental to them if it drags on.

Counting the time, Xiang Xun's army was about to complete the strategic encirclement of the main force of the Liao army.

Zhao Shijian kept persuading him not to go north, but in the end he was stubborn and could only say, "Go early and return early."

Shi Congyun agreed to her, and quickly got on his horse and led the soldiers to disappear at the other end of the avenue. The Qin Army's central imperial guards followed one after another with strict sentences on both sides, and their uniform pace even shook the avenue.

On the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, the emperor's royal car arrived in Chanzhou, and joined forces. The whole army was excited, and generals and schools asked for battle one after another.

On the same day, news came from the front that the Liao army temporarily gave up attacking Lianhua Fort and was gathering a large-scale cavalry unit south of the north entrance.

The Qin army also began to gather to prepare for the battle. At night, they transported supplies along the river to the Lianhua Fort. Both sides had a premonition that a big battle was coming.

On May 8000th, Yelu Xiezhen held a spear and shuttled between the armies in the valley. Their troops had been assembled, and His Majesty sent [-] elite palace guard cavalry for them from the north.

So far, the size of the cavalry unit on the Beikou line has reached a terrifying [-] men. Looking at this mighty army, he has a lot of confidence in his heart.

Originally, the army was assembled yesterday, but there was not enough talisman water. He waited until today, and until now, he had doubts about the role of talisman water, but it was better than nothing, and it would be good if it was useful.

Today they plan to form a mighty cavalry team with no 500 people in one team, and 5000 people in one team. Each road will be separated, and they will rush through the river valley one by one, looking for the decisive battle of the Qin army in the south, and ignoring the strange fortresses that make them helpless .

The sun was high, it was not yet noon, there was no wind in the valley, the sound of horses' hooves was chaotic, and the troops behind were marching forward to line up.

After the fog cleared in the valley, all the cavalry had assembled. On the road in the distance, there were still many rotting corpses strewn about. In the middle of the road, the barren hills on both sides of the road were smelly and flies were flying around. It was too late to restrain themselves. unrecoverable remains.

This invisibly put a lot of pressure on everyone. If they were unlucky, they would end up like that.

Yelu Xiezhen approved the armor, took a deep breath, and prayed for the blessing of the Buddha. Now he can only close his eyes and move forward. The army in the rear stretches all the way to Beikou Village. The people in the front cannot see the rear. Can hide behind to pass.

But Yelu Xiezhen knew it well. After so many days of fierce fighting, the morale of the Liao army was on the verge of collapse. There had been deserters at night for the past few days. If he was still behind, it would be difficult to gather people's hearts.

After a while, the horn of desolation sounded, and the command flag for dispatching troops was also erected on the high slope behind the slope. Yelu's oblique pillar clamped the horse's belly, and led many cavalry to move forward slowly, faster and faster.

With a movement in front, the distance is widened, the sound of horseshoes, the earth trembles, the dust and smoke sweeps up, and it soars upwards, mighty like a long dragon, rushing straight to the valley. in!

Chapter 536: The Battle of Beikou (End)

The wind blew and the horses blew, and the yellow sand rolled in. Countless people and horses crossed the gentle slope and entered the valley.

Yelu Xiezhen kept his eyes on the fortress of the Qin army on the mountain, the horses were galloping, and the sky was blue in the wilderness. Although looking at it from a distance, it still made him feel restless and restless.

Until the loud noise reverberated across the valley, when the cannons sounded full of murderous intent, he had no time to think about it, he kept patting the horse under Yue Yue's crotch to urge him to move forward, the wind whistled in his ears, the horses neighed, and the cannons rang through the valley The sound only came from the front, which already made one's legs tremble with fear, but this time it was even more cannon fire from all directions, not to mention people, and even the war horses that were used to fighting for many days neighed in fear.

Yelu Xiezhen kept comforting it, tried to stabilize it, screamed incessantly, people were shot and fell off their horses all the time, blood and flesh splattered and corpses were scattered all over the field, the last time the shells whizzed by, the soldiers on his right fell off the horse in an instant, blood fog He was left behind in a blink of an eye but still sprinkled his face.

Yelu Xiezhen gasped for breath, tried to calm himself, galloped through the dust and blood mist, all the way south, never turning back...

Finally, when the sky reappeared overhead, the wind was clear and the sky was clear, and the terrifying sound of cannons receded behind him, Yelu Xiezhen dared to look back only after panting heavily. He took a deep breath, like walking through the gate of hell.

Looking up and seeing the usual blue and white sun, everyone was so excited that they wanted to cry. This period of two or three miles, which is usually a quick rush, is just a matter of a moment, but this time it seems like it's never happened, like seeing the sun again.

Yelu Xiezhen immediately began to regroup his troops and marched south.

There must be a lot of casualties, but they can't take care of them at this time.Soldiers are expensive and quick, and we must make quick decisions.

There were more and more people and horses behind them, gathered into a dragon and rushed to the south. Two quarters of an hour later, the sound of artillery was suddenly heard from the top of the mountain in the distance!

"There's an ambush!" Someone exclaimed.

"Go, don't stop!" Yelu Xiezhen shouted, and there was another burst of people running wildly.

"There is still Qin Jun on the mountain! Run!"