March is approaching and the sun is shining brightly, which is a beautiful spring scene in the North.
After entering March, the north that has experienced this long winter has finally ushered in a good season for all things to grow vigorously. Whether it is flowers, plants, trees, or birds and animals walking in the wilderness, they have all come to life and begun a new life. Years of growth and reproduction.
A petite gray-haired rabbit was jumping to a fresh green grass, and was about to open its three-petal mouth to taste the first delicious meal of the day, when a noisy sound came from a distance, which made Already very wary, it quickly looked back, and saw a huge team slowly approaching. The gray rabbit was so frightened that he no longer cared about eating. He jumped up and hid in the dense bushes. In an instant, he couldn't even find his shadow.
Naturally, the little rabbit's escape could not be noticed by the guards at the head of the team. The targets they needed to be wary of were not these little beasts that could be seen everywhere in the wild. These people's eyes were just scanning the woods on both sides with vigilance, just in case something happened. The enemy suddenly burst out of it.
The reason why these Song Army soldiers are so alert is because there are too many people in this huge team who need to be protected. The people lying half-lying on the wooden carts are all seriously injured and cannot even get to the ground. The army is full of glory. And accompanying them on the road were a group of honest civilians. If there was any attack, this team of five thousand people would only be able to take action with only a thousand people.
This team was the wounded soldiers and accompanying civilians who retreated from the front line of the Song-Liao battle and returned to Yanmen Pass. After a war in which both sides suffered considerable damage, the war between the two countries this time has returned to the previous confrontation. Although the two sides have also conducted consultations and negotiations, it seems that they are still far from reaching a consensus. And stopped at this point.
Because the bottom lines of the two sides were so different, what the Liao people wanted was for the Song army to retreat and pay compensation that would cause heavy casualties to them. The request made by the Song people was even more excessive, that is, to let the Liao people give up the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. Therefore, even though both sides have sent envoys many times, and even the generals of the two sides have met from a distance, the result has not changed much. It is still as tense and a war will break out again at any time.
However, the battle finally stopped, and the Song Army took this opportunity to send some seriously injured soldiers and civilians who were no longer needed back to the south. In fact, this operation has been carried out four times. Because there were too many wounded, the Song Army transported the wounded back in batches as a precaution, and this team was the fifth and last batch transported to Yanmen is closed.
What many people don't know is that in addition to wounded civilians, this team also includes more than a hundred people with hidden identities - Sun Tu and his personal guards. They separated from the army and retreated south this time just to go to Zhuozhou in a covert manner, trying to persuade Pharmacist Guo to submit to the Song Dynasty, and lead the victorious army to attack the Liao army from the side.
Yes, after more than ten days of consideration and discussion, the two elders of the Zhong family finally made a concession and agreed that Sun Tu would go to Zhuozhou on behalf of the Song Army. Because they also know very well that both Song and Liao are currently in a dilemma, and the only one who can change this situation is the victorious army belonging to the third force. Compared with other military personnel
Sun Tu is obviously the most suitable candidate for this matter. After all, there are few people in the army who can match him in terms of strategy, courage and ability. So even though they were a little worried, they could only proceed from the overall situation and do what he wished.
Originally, according to the meaning of Zhongshi Dao, Sun Tu should of course be allowed to lead thousands of troops to Zhuozhou, but Sun Tu quickly rejected it. Because in his opinion, persuading Pharmacist Guo did not rely on the threat of force, and compared to the tens of thousands of victorious troops under his command, the threat of a few thousand people did not seem to be big. In addition, they had to beware of the Liao people who would counterattack and intercept and kill them along the way after guessing their actions, so they simply took only a small number of subordinates and set off quietly in order to achieve the purpose of hiding from the enemy.
For this reason, Sun Tu and the others even put on the clothes of ordinary people and blended into the wounded soldiers returning to the south. They truly managed to hide it from everyone except the Liao people and their informants. Even the Song army, except for two Except for a few generals, no one knew their whereabouts.
At this time, Sun Tu was not riding a horse, but was walking in the wilderness like other people. To be honest, this is a different experience. Since he became an official, he has never used his own feet to cross the road as well as this time.
But this also gave him more time to think about his future. After the Northern Expedition, it seemed that he would no longer be able to tolerate the Song Dynasty court. Even if the imperial court did not pursue Gao Qiu's mysterious death, just launching a mutiny to seize power during the war would be enough to put him beyond redemption. This crime was too big. Even if the Liao army could be defeated and the Sixteen Provinces of Youyun were captured, it would still be impossible for the court to offset the previous sins.
So, it’s time to put on a tougher face and face the challenges ahead. However, the premise of all this still depends on whether he can win the victory in the northward expedition against Liao. And the group going to Zhuozhou now is the key to the success or failure of the expedition against Liao. Therefore, no matter what means he uses this time, he must convince Pharmacist Guo. , hold the ever-victorious army in your own hands.
Just as Sun Tu's eyes became more determined, a subordinate who was also pretending to be a commoner came over and said, "General, the fork more than ten miles ahead is the only way for us to go to Zhuozhou."
"Hmm." Sun Tu nodded slightly, then looked up at the sun that was gradually turning to the west: "According to the itinerary, after camping tonight, we should leave the team and go on the road alone." Because there are not many cavalry, and there are only a few cavalry in the team. There were also wounded civilians. Their moving speed was quite slow, and they could only cover more than twenty miles a day.
The other party understood, and quickly retreated, contacting the brothers behind him to make everyone prepare. As for Sun Tu, he found an opportunity to approach the leading general and convey his intention to leave.
The general was naturally an insider. He nodded when he heard this: "General, I understand that we have brought a lot of bows and arrows this time, and the general can use them. It's just that there are fewer horses..."
"It doesn't matter, even if we march on foot, it won't delay the important event." Sun Tu smiled: "Also, you have to be careful along the way, maybe there may be remnants of the Liao army nearby." He unconsciously thought of intercepting and killing that day His own family was finally broken up by Xiao Yanping's troops. I don’t know if this Liao army has fled back to the north, or is hiding somewhere, still thinking about something.
When the team settled down in the evening and everyone was busy making fires and cooking, Sun Tu took more than a hundred of his men and left the team quietly. Under the cover of night, he took another fork in the road and headed straight for Go to Zhuozhou.
At a distance of two to three hundred miles, with their pace, even on foot, they can reach it successfully in less than five or six days. Of course, this presupposes that there are no more problems on the road. But, is this possible
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In the Liao army camp, after finishing handling the military affairs at hand, Yelu Xiongge had just stretched his waist when he saw Yelu Dashi rushing over with a solemn expression. This made his heart suddenly think: "Dashi, what happened again?"
"I just suddenly remembered something and felt uneasy, so I came to see you, Your Majesty, for more details." Yelu Dashi replied with a solemn face.
"What's the matter?"
"I always feel that Song Jun's recent reaction is quite strange. Although he is in contact and negotiating with us, there is almost no sincerity at all, and his attitude is always tough, not even leaving any room."
"Is there any problem with this? It is difficult to reach a consensus on this matter... "
"But the key is that they often soften suddenly before they completely fall out, as if to keep us talking. In the end, they are delaying time. In this way, things look a little abnormal."
"Abnormal... Not necessarily. Isn't this the advantage they have always had?"
"But how long can we delay this? Could it be that those kind of master brothers and Sun Tu don't understand this and think they can keep delaying us? What they should know better is that our Daliao soldiers actually also need some time. Once we regain our strength, we will use our troops again, so I think they are definitely not just trying to stall for time, at least our opponents are not that stupid yet."
What Yelu Dashi said made Yelu Xiongge feel a little strange: "It seems that they do have evil intentions, but where does their conspiracy lie?"
"Yes, I have been troubled by this for the past two days, and I can't figure out their purpose. It wasn't until Brother Xiao Qian had someone send a message just now, saying that he intended to come to quell the chaos, that I thought about what the problem was. That's it. On top of that resentful army!"
After waking up the dreamer, Yelu Xiongge's expression suddenly changed: "You mean they will target the Guo Pharmacist in Zhuozhou?"
"They should have started to take action. After all, more than ten days have passed." Yelu Dashi sighed and said: "After all, we still underestimated them and Yaoshi Guo. Once they really join forces, the resentful army will follow from the side. If Fang launches an offensive against me, I'm afraid we will definitely lose this battle."
"This... what should I do..."
"Your Majesty, don't panic. We already have a solution. It can not only solve this problem, but also lead the Song army into a trap that will inevitably lead to defeat." Yelu Dashi suddenly smiled: "To be honest, if it weren't for Xiao My godbrother came in time, we are really in danger this time."
"You mean..." Yelv Xiongge quickly understood what he meant, and the look of surprise on his face was quickly replaced by the red light of anticipation of victory. It seems that this time I, Daliao, am more favored by God!