After two rounds of fighting, sharp shouts could be heard from the bushes and streams from time to time. After the last battle, the Khitan cavalry did not turn their horses around, but fled directly to the north.
The Zhou army crossed the stream and gradually reined in their horses. Someone said: We can't catch up.
The tenth general's eyes widened and he let out a long sigh. His heart was still pounding. Everything that had just happened seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. He hadn't recovered yet, but the flashes of swords and shadows were still flashing before his eyes.
The ten generals listened to the sound of horse hooves gradually fading away and turned back and said: Count the casualties and spoils.
Five of my men were injured and one was killed. Three Khitans were killed, the deputy general shouted.
The casualty ratio was double, and the ten generals looked grim, and said: Fortunately, we won.
The deputy general said: If General Wang Shi had not been unwilling to abandon his wounded soldiers and lead his troops to fight to the death, the situation just now would have been very dangerous.
The ten generals said: Cut off the heads of the Khitan soldiers, take away the wounded and the bodies. Send someone to report to the higher authorities the location and facts of the conflict.
Get the order
Li Chuyun's right camp was on the north side of the Wenyu River. Military camps were set up on the river bank, surrounded by wooden fences, and each camp had a simple arrow tower. The water was flowing slowly on the river, and the water had been unsealed, so many floating bridges were built on it.
A military officer walked into Li Chuyun's tent, clasped his fists and said: The scouts ahead reported that we encountered the Liao cavalry for the first time, captured three heads, and have driven the Liao cavalry northward.
Li Chuyun hurriedly asked where they were. After a while, he asked how many casualties Zhou Jun had.
The general's voice was not as loud as before, and he said: Five people were injured and one person died, which is indeed a tragic victory.
At this moment, Shi Yanchao, who was sitting below, snorted coldly: It's expected.
Li Chuyun waved his hand to let the general who reported leave, thinking to himself that Shi Yanchao had a head-on confrontation with the Liao army at Xinkou during the first Battle of Jinyang during Chai Rong's time. During the first Northern Expedition to Youzhou, he also served as the vanguard and fought head-on with the main cavalry of the Liao army. At least he had some experience.
Li Chuyun didn't care about Shi Yanchao's dislike for him at the moment, and said calmly: "General Shi, what do you think?"
Shi Yanchao seemed to be very pleased with Li Chuyun's attitude and said: "A small group of cavalry clashes, what matters is the proficiency of horsemanship and horse fighting. No matter how much the Zhou cavalry trains, they can't compare to the horses raised by the barbarians in the Central Plains who ride horses and herd sheep on the grassland all day long. The same breed of horses will be slightly inferior to the grassland horses. It would be strange if they could get an advantage."
Shi Yanchao disagreed and said: "But General Li, don't be afraid.
Li Chuyun looked unhappy and frowned: When have I ever been afraid? What am I afraid of
Shi Yanchao said: "We will be at a disadvantage if we fight in a small group, but if there are tens of thousands of cavalrymen, the Zhou cavalry will not be afraid of the Liao army." He patted the plate armor on his chest. This kind of armor is owned by every elite cavalryman, and the Liao army's equipment is not as good as ours. In addition, the Zhou army's training focuses on battle formations and charging formations, while the Liao army's cavalry is relatively loose in comparison. In a head-on confrontation, military discipline and battle formations are more important than martial arts, and the same is true for cavalry and infantry.
This time, Li Chuyun nodded thoughtfully, appearing to be more humble.
At this time, a general said: The Liao army is approaching Shunzhou. Should we gather troops and march north to fight
Li Chuyun said: No rush.
He looked down at the picture on the chopping board, staring at a thick line with the word Wenyu River on it for a while, then looked up again and could just see the winding river in the distance outside the tent.
Wait until the information from the secret scouts and the Privy Council spies reaches the right wing center army to determine the number of Liao troops, Li Chuyun said.
The main force of the Zhou army arrived in Youzhou first, and then surrounded the Liao army in Youzhou and killed them in the city. Compared with the Liao army coming from Shangjing, the Zhou army was well rested and had an advantage in that they could arrange spies and secret sentries in advance; both sides were cavalry, and there were mobile cavalry everywhere, so it was difficult to find out more detailed information about the other side at the last minute.
Li Chuyun said: "I guess that the Liao army is in a hurry to rescue Youzhou, and the main force will go straight to the north gate Gubeikou, but the war is of great importance, we can't underestimate the enemy and advance rashly based on speculation. Once the deployment of their main force is determined, we will first transfer Han Tong and Luo Yanhuan's troops on the left to the east, so that they can respond to our troops from north to south, and then launch a war with superior forces."
The general said: The Liao army has come from afar, if we attack now, we can take advantage of their fatigue.
Li Chuyun shook his head and said: "The Liao army is approaching Shunzhou, but the baggage must still be in the north. If we attack directly now and then run away, it will not have any effect. Wait for Luo Yanhuan to attack quickly, and then outflanking from my left wing, and attack from both sides, then there will be a chance to fight."
He immediately said: "Pen and paper are at my disposal. I will report this to Your Majesty."
Outside Youzhou City, cannons roared, and the table in front of Guo Shao was shaking. Fortunately, they lived in a tent. If they were in a tiled house, the tiles might have been shaken off the roof.
After reading Li Chuyun's report, Guo Shao asked his attendants to pass it to his generals.
The dispatch and daily affairs of the entire army were the responsibility of the Youzhou Front Camp Military Headquarters. Almost all reports and military orders were handled by the Military Headquarters, so Wang Pu, Zuo You and others already knew about it in advance.
At this time, Wang Zhang, the commander of the Tiger Guards, read the report and muttered: "I am of low rank and my words are not taken seriously. I am not as smart as Li Dianjian. But why do I feel that he is so good at planning and still uses the ideas of infantry to use cavalry?"
Guo Shao said nothing.
Wang Pu said: General Wang's words make sense, General Li is a little cautious. But I think that in this situation, General Li's approach is not wrong.
In the early stage of this campaign, the purpose of the Great Zhou army was to capture Youzhou City, and this was the key point; it was not to destroy the first batch of Liao army reinforcements. Li Chuyun was not greedy for merit and did not act rashly. As long as the strength and deterrence of the Great Zhou cavalry were preserved, the Liao army reinforcements were limited in strength and could not save Youzhou.
The Liao army was in the north of Shunzhou, while Li Chuyun and Luo Yanhuan were in the east of Wenyu River in the north and south, maintaining their mobility and forming a pincer attack. It was extremely difficult for the Liao army to break through the Wenyu River defense line. Once they approached the battle, they would face attacks from both sides of the Great Zhou army. Even if they broke through, they would be trapped in the encirclement of the Great Zhou army. There were also rivers in the north and south that prevented the Liao army from moving back and forth quickly.
Wang Pu glanced at Wang Zhang and said, "The elite soldiers of the Central Plains have been fighting in the interior for many years, while the Liao army is in the grasslands. They are not as flexible and cunning as the Liao army. Why should we use our own weaknesses to attack their strengths?"
Guo Shao agreed greatly after hearing this. In his philosophy of life, he really cannot follow the rhythm of others. He must take the initiative to choose a rhythm of rules and let the opponent follow his pace. He immediately said: I have always valued the opinions of the generals on the ground in the front. Unless there is an obvious mistake on the front line, we should try not to interfere with the judgment of various forces.
He also urged the various troops in Youzhou City to speed up the siege. At this time, what Guo Shao was most concerned about was the attack on Youzhou City.
At dusk, Jingniang reported that the undercover agents in Shunzhou and Tanzhou had brought news of the Liao army, and their number was roughly the same as the number of people sent out from Shangjing. Guo Shao judged from this that the main force of the Liao army's reinforcements almost all took the Gubeikou Road.
Sure enough, the next day Li Chuyun also made such a judgment and wrote a letter requesting an imperial decree to transfer the main forces of Han Tong and Luo Yanhuan's left wing to cross the Wenyu River to the east, and encircle the Liao army in Shunzhou from the north without stopping.
The Youzhou Front Camp Military Office efficiently issued military orders and coordinated the deployment of various armies in an orderly manner, and a major battle was deployed. The command system of the Zhou army has evolved and improved from Guo Shao's messenger soldiers a few years ago. At this time, it is becoming more mature, from the establishment of written military orders by the central staff group to the verification and filing of commanding officials, to the organization of messengers, military orders are transmitted in all directions to form the 200,000-strong army into a controllable whole.
Of course, there were also weaknesses. Although the transmission of military orders by fast horses was considered fast, it was not real-time information like radio. Compared with the extremely fast-changing situation on the battlefield, it was too late to rely on the central army to make decisions. Therefore, Guo Shao would add a sentence to the military orders given to the generals in the front, allowing them to make decisions on the spot. This made up for the weaknesses of the command system.
The battle was launched when Luo Yanhuan was ordered to lead the main force on the left wing to the north. This was because Luo Yanhuan would directly attack the Liao army's flank after crossing the Wenyu River.
Amid the roar of artillery fire, even people had to speak louder to be heard clearly. Guo Shao rubbed his temples hard and stared at the large picture hanging above.
A major battle involving nearly 100,000 cavalrymen from both sides was about to break out. Guo Shao's attention could not help but shift from the equally important siege battle to the upcoming cavalry battle.
Wang Pu said behind him: The Liao army might run away. Since they are fighting on horseback, it will be difficult to stop them if they want to run away.
"Hmm." Guo Shao groaned. He took the brush and drew three arrow arcs on the picture.
If the Liao army fled north, it would not affect the battle situation. But if the Liao army fought a decisive battle, it would not be at a disadvantage. The total number of cavalry deployed by the Zhou army on the left and right routes was 53,000. The cavalry that could be deployed in the battle on the north bank of the Wenyu River was almost equal to the Liao army's reinforcements.
But strategically, the Zhou army had the upper hand. The two armies of Li Chuyun and Luo Yanhuan were not far apart, so there was no possibility of being defeated one by one. Once they came into contact with the enemy, they could quickly form a pincer attack.
At this time, Guo Shao was very confident about this battle, but also a little nervous.
Wang Pu's voice said again: The Great Zhou Army still has a great chance of winning.
Guo Shao said without turning his head: Envoy Wang is right.
But the waiting process is still very uncomfortable, waiting is the most exhausting. A well-prepared event, but it is made up of countless details. Before the results are revealed, Guo Shao will worry that if something goes wrong in any aspect, it will affect the overall situation.
He turned and sat down at the rough wooden desk.
The rumbling sound of cannons beside his ears made his eardrums ring, and there was an unpleasant smell of gunpowder in the air; Guo Shao's head was also buzzing, and in the rumbling sound, he seemed to see thousands of horses galloping and hear the loud sound of horse hooves.
This is not just imagination. At this moment, Luo Yanhuan's troops are galloping along the arrow on the map, and Li Chuyun's troops are also heading north to fight at the same time.
Guo Shao took a deep breath and sat there motionless, unable to control his turbulent mood. ...