One Piece of Song Dynasty

Zhao Liangsi smiled and said: "Ma Xuanzan, why don't you understand the emperor's grand plans and aspirations? To protect my homeland and guard our old borders, why do we need to join forces with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty? Why do we need a maritime alliance?"

Ma Kuo sighed and said: "Hey, I only see the small profits in front of me. If I don't guard against future disasters, I really don't dare to predict what the future results will be."

Zhao Liangsi said: "As for the major policies, the imperial court has already determined them, and they are not something we can modify. Our task is to fulfill our responsibilities and implement them."

The two of them marched and argued all the way. When they reached Qingzhou, they suddenly received an edict from Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty: According to a report from Daizhou, Emperor Wanyan Aguda of the Jin Kingdom had arrived in Fengshengzhou. You don’t have to go to Dengzhou by sea. You can rush directly to Daizhou and cross the border by land to Fengshengzhou to pay homage to the Emperor of Jin. This way the journey is shorter, saving time and effort.

Zhao Liangsi and his party then turned around and headed west again. Wu Xie and Gao Qingyi heard that they could see the emperor soon by land. They were very excited and rushed on their horses.

Tong Guan, Cai You and others were all in Xiongzhou at this time. They issued an order to Liu Guangshi to march to Yizhou on September th, requiring Liu Guangshi to lead the West Route Army to arrive on September th. At the foot of Yizhou City, this is the date agreed between Tong Guan and Master Mingzan.

After receiving the order, Liu Guangshi immediately made arrangements and sent Ji Jing, Zhao Ming, and Feng Xuanqing to each lead a team to form a vanguard army. He and Yang Weizhong led the middle army, and Zhang Sizheng led the rear army.

The Guangxin Army is in the south of Yizhou, and the two places are not too far apart. On this day, the vanguard soldiers and horses quietly entered the territory of Liao Kingdom and advanced towards Yizhou.

It was relatively smooth at first, but on September th, on the road not far from Yizhou, Tan Ma suddenly came back and reported that the road ahead was dusty and he spotted a group of soldiers galloping from a distance. Ji Jing, Zhao Ming and Feng Xuanqing judged that this was probably a team sent by Yizhou Zhizhou Gao Feng to respond, so they did not order any battle preparations.

In fact, this is a bullpen army killed from ancient Yan City. The so-called Niulan Army refers to the army commanded by the Commander-in-Chief of Niulan City. As early as the period of Shengzong of the Liao Dynasty, in order to defend against the Song Dynasty, the Liao State established a "Niulan Du Commandery Division" in Niulan Mountain, which was affiliated to the Nanjing Marshal's Mansion and had jurisdiction over the "Jianjunzhai Commandery Division" and the "Shimen Commandery Division". "The two armies are each other's horns, and the defense range is more than miles east and west along the Baigou River along the Song and Liao national boundaries. Niulanjianjunzhai Commander Division, commonly known as Niulanjianjun.

Now, Xiao Fulu, deputy commander of the Southwest Road, also serves as the supervisor of the cattle pen and commands this team. Xiao Erlu is now the main commander on the Song-Liao front line. He was originally stationed in Xincheng, but was recently ordered to retreat to the ancient city, which is located between Zhuozhou and Yizhou. Hearing that the Song army had crossed the border and headed north, he immediately led more than a thousand bullpen troops out of the city and faced them head-on.

The vanguard army led by Ji Jing, Zhao Ming and Feng Xuanqing was caught off guard by the Niulan Army. They rushed to fight and were eventually defeated. After Liu Guangshi heard the news, he urgently ordered the central army and the rear army to stop advancing and prepare for battle on the spot. He wanted to stabilize the team to prevent the whole army from collapsing.

Feng Xuanqing led part of the vanguard army and moved to the west of Gufengtai, which was very close to Yizhou City. Feng Xuanqing planned to move closer to the city after dark.

Gao Feng and Wang Tai learned that the Song army had arrived at the west of Gufengtai, so they ordered guard Zhao Bingyuan to start massacring the Khitan people in the city according to the predetermined plan, especially those with the surname Yelu. Although the Khitan population in Yizhou City was not very large, it was still full of bloodshed and the atmosphere was terrifying.

Soon, the spies came again and reported that the Song army was defeated by the Niulan Army and retreated south. Gao Feng, Wang Xing and Zhao Bingyuan looked at each other and were at a loss when they heard the news. Master Mingzan was very calm. He suggested: "Now that the matter is over, we can quickly close the city gate and wait for reinforcements. The Song army will come again."

In the evening, Xiao Fulu led the Niulan Army to Yizhou City. He wanted to go into the city to rest, but seeing that the gate was closed, he ordered the soldiers to shout loudly to open the door. However, no matter how he called, the city gate was always closed. Xiao Erlu concluded that internal changes had taken place in the city, and he was very angry. He suspected that the Song army's retreat to the south just now was a false defeat. He was worried that the Song army and the army in the city would join forces outside and attack him from the north and the south. So he hurriedly led his army to leave Yizhou and rush to the ancient city. go.

Gao Feng and others hid on the city tower and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Xiao Fulu leading the bullpen army away. Gao Feng said to Mingzan: "Master Mingzan, I have to do you a favor. Please go to Xiongzhou overnight and report to Tong Xuanfu that I have killed the Khitans in Yizhou City and the Niulan Army has gone north." Ben, ask him to send troops and horses to Yizhou quickly."

Zhao Bingyuan sent more than a dozen cavalry to escort Mingzan out of the city.

Both the vanguard generals Ji Jing and Zhao Ming returned to the central army and apologized to Liu Guangshi. However, Liu Guangshi couldn't help but feel worried when Feng Xuanqing came back after a long absence. He then thought that Feng Xuanqing fought bravely and strategically, so he would not die in battle.

That night, Liu Guangshi issued a secret order to Zhao Ming, asking him to lead five hundred elite cavalry and set out quietly under the cover of night to march towards Yizhou City. Liu Guangshi thought that he must complete the combat mission of arriving at Yizhou City on the th.

Zhao Ming led his army north along the road. On the way, he happened to meet Ming Zan and his party. Both of them were very surprised. So, Ming Zan acted as a guide and led the five hundred cavalry led by Zhao Ming to the city of Yizhou when the sky was dim.

Gao Feng heard the news and hurried out of the city to greet him in person. However, when he went out of the city, he saw that the Song army had only arrived with more than troops. He was a little disappointed. Zhao Ming stepped forward and explained: "Gao Jishi, we are the vanguard army. The army of is still behind, and the troops will be approaching the city soon."

Zhao Ming immediately sent someone back to report to Liu Guangshi: Our army has entered the city and Yizhou has been controlled by our army. Liu Guangshi was overjoyed and immediately reported to Tong Guan.

Tong Guan, Cai You and Liu Yanqing were very happy to learn that the Song army had occupied Yizhou. Cai You said with a smile: "Looking at it from this, it won't take long for Youzhou to be recaptured by our army."

Tong Guan said calmly: "I'm afraid it's not that simple. Xiao Qian and Lin Ya Dashi have not yet appeared. This shows that the main force of the Khitan has not yet entered the battle. How dare you make such an assertion?"

Liu Yanqing said: "The main force of the Liao army is likely to be deployed around Yanjing. Youzhou is an ancient city with very strong defenses. If you want to defeat it quickly, it will probably cost a lot. I think the army should advance cautiously and slowly, and wait for After the Jurchen soldiers and horses enter Juyong Pass, let them capture Youzhou first, and then we can redeem it with more annual coins. This is a sure way to regain Yanjing."

Tong Guan and Cai You did not comment on Liu Yanqing's statement. Because Liu Yanqing was the governor of the capital whom Tong Guan personally recommended to Song Huizong, Tong Guan did not want to interfere too much with how Liu Yanqing marched and regained Youzhou.