The fire mixed with thick smoke quickly spread everywhere in the military camp, not only where there was water on the ground, but also on the barracks, watchtowers and other buildings, because they were all covered by the spray of diesel that had been thrown just now, and then some rockets, naturally It burned rapidly, and after drying out the water attached to it, it burned completely.
Countless Liao soldiers who had previously hidden in these buildings screamed and ran out. Some of them fell to the ground due to the pushing and crowding between each other, and were trampled to death by their own robes. But those who were more lucky and ran out of the building faced an even more desperate scene.
The entire military camp was filled with spreading flames, and countless soldiers had turned into burning men. They were screaming and running around the originally empty military camp, spreading the flames they carried to every corner. Go inside. These people had no time to enter the house or held up shields to resist. As a result, they were contaminated with a large amount of diesel. If they were caught in the fire, their end would be extremely miserable.
This Liao army that was still able to fight in Youzhou City was completely doomed. Looking at the fires rising from all directions and constantly surrounding them, they had completely lost their fighting spirit. They only had one thought left, that is, to escape from this sea of fire. Even if he surrendered to the Song army, it would be much better than being burned alive in this military camp. Even if Stranger Xi shouted loudly and drew his sword to kill two soldiers who wanted to rush out, it could not change the situation at all. Those Liao soldiers who had not been injured by the fire all fled out in one fell swoop. , and kept shouting slogans that he was willing to surrender.
Outside the military camp, the entire Song army was actually surprised. They really didn't expect to be able to use fire attacks under such circumstances, and the fire attacks this time were far more powerful than they had seen before. They actually completely ignited the military camp, which looked like a small town, with just a burst of rockets. , just looking at the Liao soldiers inside who were running around and screaming like headless flies, they knew that this battle was over and the enemy could no longer guard the barracks.
At the same time, this also made the soldiers' awe of Sun Tu even greater. Their general's methods were very understandable, even if a god descended to earth, this was nothing more. So when Sun Tu gave the order again, asking the crossbowmen to step forward immediately to block the gate of the Liao camp and not let anyone out, although they were a little surprised, they still did it without hesitation. Thousands of crossbowmen He stepped forward and aimed at the military camp gate with billowing black smoke constantly coming out.
Soon, there were figures running out from inside, screaming and crawling. But before they could express their willingness to surrender, a hail of arrows flew in mercilessly, knocking the first group of Liao soldiers to the ground. Amidst their screams of fear and despair, arrows flew in like raindrops, completely sealing the cabin door. Anyone who came close to the door would be shot into hedgehogs in an instant.
As people continued to die from arrows, the corpses of Liao soldiers were piled high in front of the door. The Liao soldiers who were still running towards the camp gate found in despair that their only way of survival had been completely cut off. For a time, screams, cries, and curses continued to echo in the camp. They knew that they were in a certain death situation. They were either killed by the dense rain of arrows or burned to death by the spreading fire...
Even Stranger Xi had a miserable look on his face at this time. Seeing the fire getting bigger and bigger, he wanted to kill everything he had.
The high platform he was standing on was about to be swallowed up, and he shouted loudly: "Is it true that God is going to destroy me in Daliao? You Song people are so cruel. I, stranger Xi, swear here that even if I die, I will die. I will take revenge on you even if I am a vicious ghost!" As he said this, he raised the knife to his neck. After taking one last look at the scene around him that was like purgatory on earth, he strangled it with force. The blade had cut into his throat and blood spurted out. , committed suicide on the spot. At least this way, he can die a little more comfortably...
Screams continued to be heard from the camp, and even the soldiers of the Song Army, who were the enemy, felt their expressions change at this moment, and they couldn't bear it in their hearts. After a while of hesitation, Lin Chong and Yue Fei came to Sun Tu's side one after another and whispered: "General, is this a bit too harsh? Such killing is really harmful to the peace of the world..."
Sun Tu's eyes only glanced in front of everyone, and finally fell on the Liao prisoners who were so frightened that they were weak and pale: "I said, kill one to serve as a warning to others! Otherwise, you will not be able to truly control Youzhou City. Here. Both the army and the people are our enemies, and we should use the most brutal means to suppress their hostility. Especially the people in the city. I think many of them should be watching everything here from a distance now, so that they know that we are powerful. Song Tianjun’s methods!”
Sun Tu's words were so cruel that when they reached the ears of the generals, they even shuddered. The prisoners were even more frightened and trembled, and they did not even dare to breathe. Some people were even secretly glad that they knew the current situation and surrendered quickly, otherwise they would have ended up as miserable as the current battalion of soldiers.
Yue Fei also understood Sun Tu's good intentions at this time, and immediately responded in a low voice without saying more.
In fact, Sun Tu was not a person who liked to kill. He did not want to kill all these thousands of Liao soldiers unless necessary. But their current situation is indeed dangerous. Even though they have successfully captured Youzhou and have many officials and generals under their control, in fact, once the soldiers and civilians in the city fully resist, a mere few thousand of them will not be able to cope with it.
Although more than 80% of Youzhou City is now Han Chinese rather than Khitan, these people have long regarded themselves as people of the Liao Dynasty, and they only have hatred for the soldiers of the Song Dynasty and have no attachment at all. This can be seen from the fact that Sun Tu led his troops all the way into the city, the people ran away without any cooperation, and the hostile looks on some people's faces. The so-called statement that the Han people in the north were looking forward to Master Wang to rescue them every day is just a lie, or the beautiful imagination of later generations of scholars.
Now that he has seen through the truth, and facing reinforcements from the Liao army that may come at any time, Sun Tu naturally cannot spend too much effort to appease the people, so he can only use some extraordinary means. When dealing with these people who are fearful of power and have no morals, the most effective way is to make them feel afraid, so that they are so afraid that they dare not resist. At present, this battalion of thousands of Liao soldiers has become a chicken to be killed for the monkeys in the city.
The truth is just as Sun Tu thought. At this moment, countless pairs of eyes are paying attention to the war in the Xicheng area. After seeing that the Song army had massacred this battalion of Liao soldiers with such cruel methods, these people were too frightened to have any hatred and resistance. They could only hide in their homes and silently pray to the Buddha for blessing. God bless them.
As for those who are under guard
The Liao soldiers were completely honest. They had no intention of dying, and now they only wanted to survive. As for being captured by the Song people, it was nothing compared to dying tragically on the battlefield.
After the fire burned for half an hour, almost no screams could be heard in the military camp. The thousands of Liao soldiers were completely annihilated, leaving no one alive. However, it is not easy to extinguish this fire. I am afraid it will have to wait until dawn.
Seeing this, Sun Tu no longer stayed here, but looked towards the east wall. The flag poles were more than ten feet high and reached straight into the sky. Above, there is the flag of the Liao Kingdom flying high.
Less than half an hour later, Sun Tu and his party had appeared at the top of the city. He personally handed a large flag embroidered with Song characters to Shi Qian: "Shi Qian, replacing it with our Song Dynasty military flag means that We have captured Youzhou City!"
"Don't worry, General, I will get the job done." Shi Qian immediately took the flag, which represented the military power of the Song Dynasty, with a solemn expression. He only spat into the palm of his hand twice, and then quickly followed the flag like a dexterous monkey. The flagpole, as thick as a human waist, climbed straight up.
Although there should be other ways to lower the flag and change the flag, Sun Tu decided to use this fastest and most convenient method. After all, with Shi Qian's ability, it is not difficult to change the flag up to a height of more than ten feet.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for Shi Qian to reach the top of the flagpole. After hooking his feet on the flagpole to stabilize his body, he pulled out a short knife with one hand and cut the rope tied to the Liao flag in just two strokes. .
As the flag representing the Liao army's occupation of Youzhou fell, many soldiers, including Sun Tu, showed excitement on their faces, but no one spoke up. They all held their breath and waited for the last moment to arrive.
Shi Qian was actually quite excited, but his hand movements were still steady. He quickly took out the Song Dynasty military flag from his arms, shook it open, and then tied it to the top of the flagpole.
After all this was done, he relaxed slightly and slid straight down the flagpole. In just a blink of an eye, he had fallen back to the ground without even breathing.
At the same time, as a gust of wind blew by, the newly hung military flag of the Song Dynasty flapped and flapped, and the big Song characters on it moved in the wind.
After a moment of silence, a burst of cheers rang out from the top of the city: "Youzhou City belongs to us, the Song Dynasty!"
Then, there was a burst of thunderous jubilation from the city: "Youzhou, is the Youzhou of the Song Dynasty!"
"Youzhou is the Youzhou of the Song Dynasty!" The roars spread quickly like thunder, reaching the ears of everyone in the city, announcing to them the arrival of this historic moment.
For hundreds of years, many Han monarchs, ministers, soldiers, and people have been looking forward to this day, hoping that this important city in the northern part of the Central Plains can be returned to the control of the Han people. How many battles started because of this, how many soldiers shed their blood and buried their bones in foreign lands.
And this wish finally became a reality today, at dawn on the fourth day of May in the seventh year of Xuanhe's reign in the Song Dynasty. From the moment when the flag of the Song Dynasty fluttered high above the city of Youzhou, this great city that had been away from the Han court for hundreds of years finally returned to the embrace of the Han people!