In the middle hall of the Grand Prince's Mansion in the South Campus of Youzhou City, there were about twenty important officials discussing matters behind closed doors at the moment. Everyone's expressions looked tense and dignified, just because in the early hours of this morning, there was a military report from the front, saying that Prince Xi Qian was defeated in Zhuozhou, and the city was completely captured by the Song army.
Yes, someone had already escaped back to Youzhou ahead of Sun Tu and the others, and reported this emergency military intelligence to Yelu Xiongge's two sons, Yelu Heguang and Yelu Heyuan, who were now in Youzhou. However, the two princes who were entrusted with important tasks were only in their early twenties and lacked experience. In panic, they quickly invited many important officials in the city to the palace to discuss countermeasures. At the same time, they also blocked this news that might disturb the morale of the army and the people, so that the people at the city gate did not know that such changes had occurred on the front line, giving the Shandong Army an opportunity to sneak into the city.
The bigger mistake they made was to gather together today, so that all the guards and horses in Youzhou City were leaderless. Even though the Song Army had entered the city and caused great turmoil, the guards and horses However, the security manpower was still in chaos and could not make the most appropriate response at all, which made the entire Youzhou city even more chaotic. The Song cavalry was seen sprinting and galloping around, killing Liao soldiers along the way, but no Liao soldiers were seen. Can form a decent resistance.
At this moment, a greater crisis has befallen these Liao officials and nobles who stayed in Nanjing. They were in trouble when they suddenly heard the sound of killing coming from the front yard besides the noisy rain. Before they could call for help, the closed door of the hall was blasted open, and several guards shouted with panic on their faces: "Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, it's not good, the Song Army, the Song Army is advancing." The palace is here!"
"What?" Everyone present changed their expressions in an instant and stood up. Xiao Fan, the current Nanjing garrison general, even pulled out the sword from his waist and shouted: "But are the Song spies in the city causing trouble?" With that, he hurriedly walked away. He was about to rush outside.
"No, no, it was the Song Army cavalry who suddenly rushed into the city..." Before this man could finish his words, screams rang out in the yard in front, and then the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Liao Kingdom who had gathered in front of the hall looked at They arrived at a scene that frightened and disbelieved them -
I saw several horses charging towards them from the front yard like a whirlwind. With their spears and short spears stabbing, they actually killed the guards who were blocking their way forward. As soon as one of the soldiers jumped up and wanted to attack, he was pierced through the chest by a sudden spear. His whole body was like being attacked by a heavy hammer. He screamed and was thrown out, and he fell hard on the crowd. , the blood and the rain kept splashing and falling, it was really miserable to the extreme.
At this moment, these people were completely frightened by the terrifying scene in front of them. Whether it is Yelu Xiongge's two sons or other nobles, although their status is noble, in terms of fighting ability and courage, they are obviously far from being comparable to the Liao soldiers on the front line.
You must know that the Liao Kingdom is actually the same as the Song Dynasty. There has been no real large-scale killing for more than a hundred years. For these nobles who grew up in peaceful times, such cruel life and death battles have only been heard of and have never been thought of. It will happen in front of them one day, so at this moment, they were completely shocked by the Song Army cavalry that kept charging in.
Although the guards in the palace barely resisted, they were far from being the match for the best of the Song army, which was so powerful and full of fighting spirit. As a result, they were not the elite of the Liao army. The real elites had long been taken south by Yelu Xiongge and Xiao Qian to fight the Song army. Those who stayed in Nanjing were only second-class soldiers.
Secondly, they were suddenly attacked by a sneak attack, and they still haven't recovered from the shock until now. Moreover, the weapons and armor were not complete, so they could only respond hastily. The infantry formation was naturally unable to withstand the continuous attacks of the Song Army's cavalry. Thanks to the continuous heavy rain today, the Song army's crossbows were unable to use their power, otherwise I am afraid that more than a hundred people here would have been shot dead.
Finally, and most importantly, they are also at a disadvantage in terms of military strength. Although the overall strength of Youzhou City is still 20,000 to 30,000, they are scattered throughout the city. There are only one or two hundred guards in the palace, but the Song army broke through the door and there were five or six hundred. Like wolves and tigers, almost half of the Liao soldiers were killed in one charge. The others could only fight and retreat, and collapse was imminent.
At this time, the Song Army had also seen the nobles of the Liao Kingdom gathered in front of the hall, and their spirits were immediately lifted: "God is really helping me. As long as I capture everyone here, Youzhou will be defeated." The defenders will collapse without a fight, and my long-cherished wish of the Song Dynasty will be fulfilled today!"
Everyone had this thought, and the soldiers' attacks became more and more fierce. Even Sun Tu, who had been reserved before, suddenly lifted the reins, controlled the horse and jumped up. The two swords were curled in his hands. The enemies blocking the road screamed and fell, but he was already about to rush up the steps.
"Song people are so brave, let me come and meet you for a while!" Seeing the critical situation, Xiao Fanqiang suppressed the panic in his heart and felt that he was carrying a heavy burden. With a loud shout, he jumped up to meet you, and the knife in his hand turned into a white light. , splitting the rain curtain in front of him, and slashed straight towards Sun Tu.
Seeing this, the fighting spirit in Sun Tu's heart suddenly burned up. He also shouted loudly, clamped his legs on the horse's belly, and controlled the horse to charge at full speed. The knife in his hand was also swept out horizontally, and he struck directly at the opponent's body. One knife.
At this time, the two people almost collided head-on. Even the angles of the swords were so consistent. The two swords collided hard with a clang, and sparks suddenly exploded. And during this collision, Xiao Fan's lack of strength was instantly exposed. After all, he only relied on his own strength to meet him, but Sun Tu came with the momentum of the horse, and this momentum was his. More than double.
As his arms went numb, the knife in Xiao Fan's hand was thrown high, causing his body to lose balance. He groaned and was thrown backwards like a kite with a broken string. But at this moment, Sun Tu slashed out with another sword while sheathing it, and the war horse under his crotch was still rushing up at full speed, allowing him to catch up with Xiao Fan easily.
Xiao Fan, who no longer had any room to move and dodge, could only watch helplessly as the thunderous knife struck straight into his neck. With a scream, the blade entered his left neck without any hindrance. It penetrated from the right side of the neck, and with a popping sound, its big head was separated from the body.
Desperate and shrill screams erupted from his mouth. Xiao Fan had completely died, but his head was still
An arc was drawn in the air, and with a final pop, it landed in the arms of Yelu and Yuan, who had been stunned by the killing in front of them. A pair of eyes full of fear and pain stared directly at his. On the surface.
"Ah..." After a while, Yelu and Yuan screamed, their bodies softened, and they fell to the ground with a thud. A large amount of liquid accompanied by a fishy smell came out of their lower bodies, and they were directly hit by this. The head was so frightened that it lost control.
The reactions of the others were not much better than his. They were all trembling with fear and turning pale. Not to mention fighting to the death like Xiao Fan, they couldn't even move.
At this time, Sun Tu had already controlled his horse and came to the corridor. The steel knife that was still dripping with blood in his hand suddenly pointed at the people in front of him, and shouted loudly: "Those who want to survive, quickly abandon their weapons and fall to the ground to surrender. I, the soldiers of the Song Dynasty, will not Kill the surrendered troops!"
Other Song troops had also killed or injured the guards in front of them at this moment, and then quickly surrounded them from both sides, shouting angrily: "Those who abandon their weapons and kneel down will be spared death, and those who dare to resist will be killed without mercy!"
After shouting only twice, these people finally reacted. After a brief hesitation, some people's knees weakened and they knelt down with a plop. With the first person kneeling down, the people behind them no longer have any psychological pressure. In the blink of an eye, all twenty people were kneeling on the ground, and in front of them were a bunch of unsheathed weapons. No one among the nobles of the Liao Kingdom dared to resist.
Seeing these people react like this, Sun Tu and others felt relieved and felt no regrets. On the way here, even after they broke open the gates of Youzhou City and entered the city, they didn't dare to think that their next battle would be as smooth as it was now. They actually captured this large group with only a small amount of resistance. There are important members of the Liao army, and judging from their numbers, they should be one of the few people in charge in Youzhou City. Even if there are still fish that slip through the net, they may not be able to cause trouble again.
These existences that everyone regarded as powerful enemies in the past are actually so vulnerable, greedy for life and afraid of death. This kind of gap is really unexpected. Is this still the old enemy of the Liao people that the Song Dynasty has been fearing for hundreds of years and hopes to defeat them one day
Now it seems that not only the Song army has become frighteningly weak, but also the Liao people, who have always used force to build their country. Although the Liao troops on the front line were still fighting so bravely, in fact, except for the tens of thousands of people, the Liao people behind them had long lost the bloody spirit and fearlessness that the Khitan ancestors should have. At this time, they were competing with those greedy people. There is no difference between the nobles of the Song Dynasty who are afraid of death.
No wonder the Jurchens were able to sweep through the entire Liao Kingdom in a destructive way as soon as the Jurchens emerged. In the final analysis, it was not the Jurchens who were so powerful, but the Liao people themselves who were too unsatisfactory. A hundred years of peace have long destroyed the foundation of the Liao people's country!
"Come here, tie them all up, and then take them outside to scare the whole city and help our soldiers capture the whole city of Youzhou as soon as possible!" Sun Tu quickly regained his composure and quickly issued the order. Taking over the palace and its officials is only the first step. If you really want to control the entire Youzhou City, you have to deal with all the Liao troops in the city. Capturing these Liao nobles alive created extremely favorable conditions for subsequent actions.