The wooden ladder was suddenly pressed against the wooden stakes on the wall. A Zhou army soldier hurriedly went to lift it, but unexpectedly, an arrow hit him in the face. The soldier's center of gravity was in the front when he tried to lift the ladder, and his body went limp and he fell off the wall.
At this time, a row of Zhou army soldiers stepped forward with crossbows in hand. When they heard the shouts of "fire", the enemy soldiers gathered under the wall screamed in pain. The people were at most ten steps away, so they could be hit by stones.
The row at the back heard the order and came forward, picking up their firearms and firing wildly at the people below, smoke billowed up from the walls. Arrows flew overhead, clanking and hitting helmets and shoulder armor, occasionally injuring people.
The Liao soldiers under the city dropped the wooden ladders and turned around to run, jumping straight into the ditch. The two who had just climbed a few steps looked back and hurriedly jumped down to run, but they ran a few steps and met the crossbowmen who had replaced them. All the crossbow arrows were shot at the backs of the two men. The two enemy soldiers fell to the ground with several crossbow arrows stuck in their backs.
The Zhou army soldiers on the wall were busy rustling gunpowder and lead bullets, and the crossbow arrows were also making a loud noise. After training for several months, they went to the battlefield of Southern Han again. As expected, the performance of the local soldiers was very different after being on the battlefield. They were much more agile. Moreover, everyone was on the wall, and the Liao army could not reach them. No matter how powerful their martial arts were, they were no different from targets in the eyes of the Zhou army soldiers.
At this moment, he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves amidst the noise. Yu Liang looked back and saw a glow of fire in the distance behind him, like a sky full of stars. The imperial guards stationed in Jinzhou had come to reinforce him.
The Liao army soldiers struggled to climb out of the ditch, while the cavalry behind them had already turned around and retreated.
Dong Zunhui led 3,000 cavalrymen from Jinzhou to the west overnight, heading north along the Sanggan River west of Jinzhou, and estimated that it would take half an hour to march and then outflanking eastward. Half an hour later, it was already dawn. They saw a few lights ahead.
Dong Zunhui ordered the whole army to throw away their torches and led them to charge forward. The Liao army could not have too many people to attack at night, otherwise they would move too slowly and be too big a target to attack by surprise.
The main force of the Liao army moved north, while Dong Zunhui's troops moved east. The horses galloped and soon approached each other. Without saying a word, Dong Zunhui drew his bow and arrow, and shot an arrow at a torch slightly below. Sure enough, a scream was heard in the distance.
The Zhou army's horses accelerated and rushed eastward. The dark mass of horses swept in like a torrent. Bang bang, horses neighed and people screamed behind Dong Zunhui. The Liao army's vanguard hit the Zhou army's flank, and the middle road was suddenly in chaos. Swords and guns swung together with the flames, and the sound of killing shook the sky.
Dong Zunhui then turned his horse around and led the vanguard to detour to the right wing of the Liao army, charging in the opposite direction and shooting from the side. Among the surging herd of horses, arrows were like locusts, and his shouts shook the earth and sky.
The Liao army was blocked in front, and the troops behind it turned to the right wing, because the left wing was full of Zhou cavalry coming from the west. On the right wing, there were Dong Zunhui's personal soldiers and troops turning south, and the two armies fought fiercely. The Liao army was obviously outnumbered by the Zhou army. In the whirlpool of the galloping horses, the side with more people had more arrows, and the Liao army suffered heavy casualties.
At this moment, Dong Zunhui heard someone shouting, and saw a messenger running towards the big flag here, shouting: A large number of Liao troops in the north are supporting
Dong Zunhui immediately gave the order: Blow the whistle and retreat!
The Zhou army blew whistles and fought while circling to the southwest. Dong Zunhui ran for a long time, and when he looked back, he saw a black line on the horizon, with fine ups and downs in the middle. It was the shadow of a large group of soldiers.
After daybreak, the Liao army did not continue to attack Jinzhou; the Zhou army did not take the initiative to attack either. The short night of fighting soon died down.
At the Xiongzhou Palace, the military commander Lu Chengyong, along with Wei Renpu and Zuo You, hurriedly walked in from the courtyard. When they reached a hall, Lu Chengyong bowed and said, "Please wait a moment, His Majesty will be here soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Shao walked in from the side door. He was not wearing a hat and was wearing a round-necked robe.
Wei Renpu said: Your Majesty, last night the Liao army attacked the Jinzhou fortress. Dong Zunhui reported victory, killing more than 300 enemies and repelling the Liao army, winning the first battle.
Guo Shao was delighted after hearing this. Although the gains were not great, winning the first battle was a good sign. When people are under extra pressure, they sometimes really believe in these mysterious things. There is no harm in believing anyway. Most people in ancient and modern times should believe in God in this way.
After a moment, Guo Shao said in a deep voice: The Liao army should be testing and harassing. It is impossible for them to bring hundreds of thousands of troops as soon as they arrive.
Wei Renpu said: After hearing the alarm, Dong Zunhui took the initiative to attack and encircle the Liao army and almost annihilated them all. It was only when a large number of Liao troops came to support from the rear that Dong Zunhui was forced to retreat.
Oh, I did not let him attack Guo Shaodao in this way, and sent someone to reward Dong Zunhui.
Wei Renpu said: “As you wish.”
Guo Shao paced a few steps and couldn't help but think about Dong Zunhui. According to his previous performance, this young general was a person who obeyed military orders, and he probably always served under the generals. This time he was in charge of the imperial cavalry of Jinzhou alone, and he showed his bold side. After all, he was young and would not be as cautious as Li Chuyun.
Wei Renpu said: "We will defend the defense line, and the Liao army will start from Jinzhou. Once winter is over, the waterway from Jinzhou can reach the confluence of Wenyu River and Sanggan River. Jinzhou should be an important stronghold for this battle."
Guo Shao did not comment. He walked to the chair above, sat down casually, and looked at the map on it for a long time without saying a word.
He picked up a ruler and measured the picture, pinched a mark on it with his thumb, and then measured another place, doing some trivial actions. Wei Renpu and Zuo You stood below, and did not say a word.
Guo Shao pondered and said: If I were to attack this line of defense, Jinzhou would not be easy to fight. With Xincheng to the west and Xiongzhou to the south, the Great Zhou army could quickly gather most of its troops to fight a decisive battle with the Liao army.
Wei Renpu said: The elite troops of the Great Zhou have gathered in Hebei. If the Liao army is really willing to take the initiative to fight a decisive battle with me, we are not afraid of it.
Guo Shao nodded and said, "That's right. The Zhou army has 200,000 or 300,000 troops, more than twice the Liao army. If we can choose an open field for a decisive battle, why would I be afraid of him? If we can't win in a field battle, we don't need to attack."
He changed the subject and said: But the main force of the Liao army is cavalry. If the Zhou army wants to seize the initiative, it has to dispatch the cavalry. But in a cavalry battle, our more than 50,000 elite cavalry are no match for the Liao army. I don't think they will fight a decisive battle with us.
Guo Shao took a deep breath and said solemnly: Do not change the strategy for the time being, let all troops deploy according to the original strategy; the news from the secret scouts in various parts of Youzhou, the Military Department must immediately report to me where the main force of the Liao army is currently deployed.
Wei Renpu and Zuo You looked at each other, and they said one after another: The Liao army has just arrived, and I don’t know yet, but they should be near Youzhou city.
Youzhou is not far from Xiongzhou, even in the dead of winter, the pigeons should be able to fly back. Guo Shao pondered. He paced a few steps and said: Pick a general to go to Jinzhou to replace Dong Zunhui's military power and call Dong Zunhui back to Xiongzhou.