On the evening of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, thirty miles south of Youzhou, at the head of Miaoyin County.
Until this time, Yelu Dashi, who was standing at the top of the city and looking into the distance, could still faintly see the black smoke still lingering over Youzhou City in the distance, which made the worry on his face become heavier.
In the middle of the night, when it was confirmed that there was such a fire in Nanjing City that could be seen by him from dozens of miles away, Yelu Dashi knew that something big had happened there, and he did not dare to lead hundreds of people into it. When they are about to go up, they can only lead their troops to garrison this small county nearby. At the same time, they can send out a few groups to explore the situation or go to Nanjing to investigate the situation, or go to various surrounding cities to mobilize as many available soldiers and horses as possible.
Although the Liao Kingdom suffered from attacks from the north and the south, internal and external troubles, and the two armies that went south had all the soldiers and horses in the Nanjing Road area mobilized, but with his identity as Yelu Dashi, he wanted to gather tens of thousands more soldiers and horses to overthrow the Liao Kingdom. It may not be too difficult. Of course, for him, the top priority is to first find out what happened in Nanjing.
As a horse came from the north, Yelu Dashi's expression changed again, and he hurried down the city tower and went straight to the city gate to greet him, because it was the subordinates who had been ordered to go to Nanjing to investigate the news. And his move naturally brought with him several subordinates accompanying him, as well as Zeng Kuan, the magistrate of Miaoyin County. Everyone waited at the city gate full of doubts.
Before the cavalryman jumped off his horse, the anxious Yelu Dashi took a step forward and asked urgently: "How is it? Why is there a fire in Nanjing City? Is there anything wrong?"
The detective horse hesitated for a moment, then staggered off the horse and reported: "Back to Linya, I went to the front of Nanjing City and found that the flag of the Song Dynasty had been replaced. In addition, the words "Sun" were inserted all over the city. The banner was indeed... indeed captured by the Song Army early in the morning!"
Even though he had prepared for the worst, Yelu Dashi's face turned pale when he heard the bad news. He even staggered and was unable to speak for a long time. Others were even more trembling, especially the county magistrate Zeng Kuan, who even exclaimed: "How is this possible? I have never seen the Song army pass by here. How could they attack so easily?" Is it possible to fly to Nanjing?"
Others also expressed that it was difficult to accept such a result: "They defeated King Xi and occupied Zhuozhou for only a few days. How could they seize my city of Nanjing so quickly? This is completely unreasonable..."
"Yes, there must be something weird in this. Could it be an illusion caused by the sudden rebellion of the Han people in Nanjing?"
These people all talked about one thing, that is, they did not believe that Nanjing would fall into the hands of the Song Army in such a short period of time. You must know that they had already rushed to warn and rescue them as quickly as possible. However, after a period of silence, Yelu Dashi laughed miserably, pressed his hands to stop everyone's groundless speculation, and said in a bitter voice: "If the Song army drives at full speed with light cavalry and attacks Nanjing by surprise, they can enter before us. In the city. After all, Zhuozhou where they are located is closer to Nanjing."
"Qingqi? Where did the Song army get these many horses?" A general understood the words as soon as he spoke, and his face was full of annoyance: "King Xi's cavalry was all used by them..."
"That's exactly the case, but the number of their surprise troops must be small. Only in this way can they get to Nanjing before us.
Captured the city with prodigies. "Yelü Dashi nodded. Then he calmed down and said: "So we still have a chance to take back Nanjing. We just need to gather troops and horses before their main force arrives, and attack the city immediately while their troops and horses are insufficient and the city is empty! "
Yelu Dashi is indeed a rare general in the Liao Kingdom. Even though he was hit by such a change, he did not really surrender and was still thinking about how to win back the city. At this point, the light in his eyes flashed again: "Heita Ge, Yelu Zhen, Qi Sihai..." As he announced a series of names, some of his trusted generals stepped forward and looked at their generals expectantly: "I Just follow Lin Ya’s orders!”
"Now take my order and quickly mobilize all available troops and horses from the nearby prefectures and counties. I will gather at least 30,000 troops within two days to recapture Nanjing." Yelu Dashi solemnly ordered. He knew very well that leaving There is not much time left for you to save yourself, so you must use extraordinary measures: "If there is anyone who dares to delay and ignore it, you can kill it first and then report it, don't have any worries!"
"Obey the order!" These subordinates also knew that the situation was urgent. Without any hesitation, they all saluted and agreed. Then they followed him back to the county government office, and after getting his personal order, they each took only a few guards with them. Hurry out of town.
Just like Sun Tu and the others had galloped through the rain to capture Youzhou City before, Yelu Dashi and his men also had to race against time to get the upper hand.
Three days passed in a blink of an eye, and it was already the seventh day of May in the blink of an eye.
Under the pressure of Yelu Dashi's reputation, his subordinates gathered 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers and horses from many surrounding cities. Of course, this also completely emptied the defense power of these cities. This time, not only the Liao and Han soldiers from various prefectures and counties, but also the officers and men in charge of public security matters in the yamen, and even ordinary young and healthy people were forcibly requisitioned by them, making almost everyone in Nanjing Road become a crowd. The empty city also means that once this battle is lost, all of Nanjing will be completely lost. It can be said that this time Yelu Dashi put everything on the line.
After noon, this piece of Liao army had arrived at the gate of Youzhou City, and was immediately noticed by the defenders on the city. They reported to Sun Tu who was stationed in the city to prevent any changes in the city. And when he learned that the enemy's flag was the Yelu Dashi, not only was he not surprised, he actually laughed: "He didn't come too late. Let's go, follow my previous instructions, set up defenses, and fight with us." Let’s meet our friends from the Liao Kingdom.”
His subordinates immediately got busy, and Sun Tu, accompanied by Lin Chong and others, quickly climbed to the top of the southern city and watched condescendingly as the Liao army formed a formation outside the city, putting on a very impressive look. He was about to attack the city, but there was no trace of nervousness on his face.
Naturally, the movements on the city were soon noticed by Yelu Dashi. Looking at the sparse arrangement of soldiers and horses on the city head, he felt a little reassured. Sure enough, as he thought, this Song army was insufficient. , as long as you seize this flaw, you will be sure to take back Nanjing!
But just as he was arranging his troops and planning which side would be the most advantageous to attack the city, a greeting came from the top of the city: "Outside is the military envoy of the Liao Kingdom, Yelu Dashi? My General Sun wants to fight with you. When we meet to talk, would you dare to come forward?"
Hearing this shout, Yelu Dashi was obviously
He was stunned for a moment, but the subordinates around him hurriedly persuaded him: "Lin Ya, Song people are so insidious and cunning, it's better not to take risks..."
"No, since he has said so, I have to go forward and see him. Otherwise, I am afraid it will damage the morale of our army." Yelu Dashi shook his head. Then, he glanced at the seemingly huge team behind him, but in fact it was not very powerful. He knew that morale was the first priority for this improvised Liao army, so he must not A little bit of flinching.
After making up his mind, he only ordered a few of his generals who were good at using troops to make preparations for the next attack on the city, then he rode his war horse and slowly headed towards the city wall. Of course, the Liao soldiers quickly formed a large shield formation in front of the city to prevent the Song army from suddenly dropping cold arrows without regard for face.
When Yelu Dashi came to the moat, the two sides were no more than ten feet apart, and they could at least have a normal conversation. Sun Tucai said: "Dashi Linya, we haven't seen each other for many years. I never thought that you and I would meet again in Youzhou City. Yes, we have such a great fate. I wonder if everything is going well for you these past few years?"
"Huh, General Sun, there is no need to say such false words. If you are trying to use such false tricks to delay time, I advise you to stop worrying about it. I, Yelu Dashi, will not be deceived by you." Yelu Dashi snorted back with disdain.
"Okay, since Dashi Linya said so, let's skip these pleasantries." Sun Tu smiled disapprovingly, and then said: "Seeing that you came in such a hurry with your troops, you are planning to take advantage of our army. Do you want to take back Youzhou by force before the main force arrives and before your footing is stable?"
"It's good that you know. If you are wise, there is still a chance of survival if Kaicheng surrenders now, otherwise..."
"Haha, Da Shi Linya, the tone of your words is really the same as that of Xiao Qian before. But do you know what Xiao Qian's fate is now? I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. He is in Zhuozhou City and becomes our Song Dynasty general. prisoners of war."
"So General Sun is planning to fight us to the death? But in my opinion, you have few soldiers and horses here, and it is extremely difficult to defend Nanjing!"
"Whether we can defend Youzhou depends not only on the number of troops, but also on whether we can make full use of the city's own advantages." Sun Tu's tone was full of confidence: "I invite you to come and speak today. , just to tell you this, so as to avoid unnecessary casualties. Again, since you are a step too late, it is impossible for Youzhou to be captured by your Liao army again. "
"Absurd, do you think you can scare me away with just these bluff words? In that case, let's see the real deal with my subordinates!" Yelu Dashi's heart became tense for a while, and he felt that the other party really had some terrible tricks. He wanted to use it, but he refused to give in. At the same time, he kicked his feet and lifted the reins, intending to turn around.
But Sun Tu refused to let him leave, and immediately shouted: "Wait a minute, Dashi Linya, don't you want to see what advantage I am relying on? Look over here!" As soon as he finished speaking, there was a scene beside the city wall. On the way, many people were pushed over.
Yelu Dashi looked over subconsciously. At this glance, his face changed suddenly. His body was shaken and he shouted loudly: "Sun Tu, you are so despicable!"