Bang, bang, bang, bang. It's as if there are strings sounds everywhere and the air is shaking.
Yelu Xiuguo rode his horse close to the canal, his head thrust forward, his face full of murderous intent, which made people very scared. He said nothing, but his eyes were very sharp, and he could see at a glance that there were several boats on the river that looked strange and were parked there motionless.
Even if there was no wind, the boats would still sway on the water, but those boats were very stable.
There are several shallows on the canal. I know there is one nearby. Yelu Xiu'ge pointed there with his whip.
The generals took a closer look and agreed.
Yelu Xiu'ge was a little hesitant for a moment. The army could go east from this shallow beach or retreat to the northwest. The cities such as Guizhou where they came were located in the back of Youzhou, and the garrisons there included not only Han people, but also some Khitan, Xi and Jurchen people.
Yelu Xiuguo is a decisive and straightforward person. He makes decisions based on his own judgment. He is currently weighing how to make a decision.
Soon, a Liao general came to report, holding a letter in his hands: The Han garrison in Danzhou reported urgently that a large group of Zhou cavalry had been discovered, heading west.
In the west, Yelu Xiu'ge frowned and thought.
Immediately, a tribal noble said with fear: The Zhou army wants to seize the floating bridge on the Sanggan River and cut off our retreat.
Yelu Xiuguo snorted and said nothing. He thought that the Han general's words could not be fully trusted. Moreover, according to his intuition that he had been through many battles, the Zhou army's encirclement from the upper reaches of the Sanggan River was too roundabout and too conservative.
But soon, the garrisons of Shun and Ru states also sent people to report the whereabouts of Zhou cavalry. They all said that Yelu Xiu'ge, who went west, was skeptical. Although it was a report from a Han general, it could not be agreed upon.
Soon, another general came in a hurry and said: "General, Xiao Siwen's men came to report that the main force of Zhou's elite cavalry went to attack Guizhou."
Yelu Xiuge said: How can Xiao Siwen know the military situation in Youzhou City
The general said: "They are Xiao Siwen's men, Abudiguan's scouts, and they have the token, no doubt."
Yelu Xiuguo believed it 80% of the time. Xiao Siwen did have a trusted confidant named Abudi. A real man should not dwell on trivial details. Yelu Xiuguo trusted his own judgment: Zhou cavalry would follow and intercept from Guizhou.
As soon as Yelu Xiu'ge arrived today, he discovered that the Zhou army was burning their own food and grass, and that there were a large number of soldiers on the food ships on the river. The route of their cavalry was even more bizarre. Everything was strange.
Yelu Xiu'ge's left eyelid suddenly twitched non-stop and everything went wrong. The messy situation made him very upset.
He glared with fierce eyes, jerked his head to one side, his neck made a snapping sound, and looked coldly at the stranded sailboats on the river, and said: Send people to attack and kill all the people on the boats, leaving no one alive.
Yes, sir.
In the northwest and south of Guizhou and Youzhou, a huge fire was burning on the Sanggan River, and smoke filled the sky. It was unknown who had set the fire, and the floating bridge and boats were all on fire. In the smoke, a large number of people and horses were shouting and running on the river bank.
A group of disorganized Han soldiers of the Liao army fled on horseback on the south bank, with Zhou army cavalry chasing them from behind, shouting and killing in the chaos.
Those Han people wore Liao army uniforms and armor and spoke Khitan with a strange accent. The Han people spoke Khitan with that sound. Someone shouted: Run! The Zhou people are coming to kill us.
Guizhou wants to surrender
The Khitan scouts, holding bows and arrows and watching the scene warily, walked around and watched.
There were seven or eight Khitans riding together nearby. A general shouted at a man who was running over: "Useless thing! The Zhou army crossing the river are just cavalry."
The man glared and said loudly: We will cross the river in a moment.
How many people
Haner said: I don't know, the whole mountain is full of elite cavalry.
The Khitan general asked: Did you see it with your own eyes
Haner nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: Too many, at least a million people
The stupid Khitan general cursed after hearing this. The Zhou army, including infantry and cavalry, had less than one million civilians.
At this time, the Zhou cavalry gathered in a group on the flat ground in the distance and rushed towards this side. The Khitan general slapped his horse and left, and several cavalrymen also turned around and ran away. The Khitan general said: "Send one person back and report to the superiors that the main force of the Zhou cavalry is in Guizhou. Our people have burned the floating bridge.
On the canal north of Jinzhou, densely packed Liao cavalry waded to the center of the river. The water level reached the horses' chests. There were too many horses in the river, stirring up the silt underneath, making the water as turbid as the Yellow River.
Corpses appeared from the muddy water from time to time, and there were shouts and arrows flying from top to bottom of the boat.
The sharp sword slashed against the side of the boat, and with a scream, the Khitan soldier who was holding the side of the boat and trying to climb up immediately let go and fell into the river screaming. A moment later, the Zhou army soldier who was holding a sword also dropped his sword, covering his face with both hands, the tail feather of an arrow was still trembling, and blood seeped out from between the soldier's fingers.
The ship was surrounded by people and horses, as if it was floating in the crowd.
Some Liao soldiers waded to the other side of the river in the water between the ships, and surrounded the Zhou army's sailboats on both sides and shot arrows. The sails of the Zhou army's sailboats were full of holes, and arrow feathers were nailed to the wooden boards of the hulls, just like Zhuge Kongming borrowing arrows from a straw boat.
The Zhou army fought desperately, but they could not withstand such a strong attack and were almost killed or wounded. The Khitan soldiers were very fierce after attacking the ship. A cavalryman climbed aboard on foot and moved very sharply. He swept the iron sword in his hand and accurately cut the opponent's throat. The sound of the sharp blade touching flesh was short and powerful. Blood immediately splashed out, and a Zhou soldier in iron armor fell to the deck with a clang.
The bodies in the water were still bleeding, and blood on the side of the boat was dripping down along the wooden boards. The muddy river water exuded a stagnant and fishy smell, and the brown mud was tinged with dark red.
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came faintly from the opposite bank.
The Khitan nobles and generals who were watching the battle on the west bank of the canal all stared in amazement, and Yelu Xiu'ge's attention was also focused on the cavalry approaching from afar.
Damn, just when we were about to take control of the ferry, reinforcements arrived
Many people were surprised and worried, but Yelu Xiuguo remained calm. The two sides of the canal were flat and the sky was bright and clear, with a wide view. Yelu Xiuguo found that there were not many horses coming.
The general was worried: Could it be that the Zhou army is in the vanguard, and a large number of cavalry are still behind
They might be Zhou's cavalry infantry, Yelu Xiu said coldly.
On a battlefield, especially this kind of fast and mobile short-term combat, it depends on decisive and accurate judgment. One or two key and effective attacks do not leave much time to look ahead and behind.
Yelu Xiu'ge was having a bad day today and was in a bad mood, but his mind was still clear: the Zhou cavalry was near Guizhou, intending to cut off their retreat and advance; in the front, they wanted to rely on rivers and cavalry and infantry to delay the Liao cavalry, and thus implement a encirclement strategy.
But can these mounted infantrymen stop the Liao cavalry
Yelu Xiuguo said decisively: Order the front troops to cross the canal, attack the Zhou army reinforcements at all costs, and stand firm on the other side.
As expected, the Zhou army cavalry approached the river bank and immediately dismounted and formed a battle array. Yelu Xiuguo snorted when he saw this.
At this time, the generals of the scout camp came to report: The main cavalry brigade of the Zhou army attacked the Guizhou floating bridge, and our people burned the floating bridge.
Yelu Xiu'ge was even more convinced that the Zhou cavalry had gathered on the road northwest of Youzhou where the Liao cavalry was retreating westward.
If Yelu Xiu'ge's Guo Shao was there, he would build a bridge across the river between Youzhou and Xuanren City and cross the river, quickly approaching the Liao army; if that were the case, Yelu Xiu'ge would have to fight a field battle if he wanted to leave, which would not be easy. But that was not the case. With the facts before him, Yelu Xiu'ge didn't bother to care about Guo the blacksmith's weird brain.
Yelu Xiu'ge observed the Zhou army on the other side of the river and, based on his experience, was sure that he could defeat them without paying any extra price; but this price was negligible for an army of tens of thousands of cavalry.
The Zhou cavalry was still far away in Guizhou and it would take time for them to arrive. Yelu Xiu'ge judged that the Liao army could easily cross the canal and escape to the north from the east.
After a while, another situation was reported.
A large group of Zhou cavalry crossed the floating bridge ten miles southeast of Youzhou and rushed straight towards them. The Liao cavalry on the left wing went to probe and harass them, and the Zhou army hurriedly dismounted and formed a battle array.
Yelu Xiuguo almost laughed when he heard this: "The Zhou army lacks real horse warriors, so they use infantry and horses to pretend to be cavalry. Last year, I defeated them at the first blow, and now they dare not use them as cavalry. I have learned a lot."
The generals were very nervous: the Zhou army surrounded us on three sides, the infantry approached us first, and there were rivers all around, so the situation was not good.
Yelu Xiuguo thought carefully again and sneered: "You are even less courageous than the southerners. Let's just open this place, no need to rush. The southerners are busy everywhere, making a terrifying scene. I want to see what they can do."
Yelu Xiuguo gave the order: "The tribal army on the left wing is approaching the Zhou army. If they form a square formation, our cavalry will stand in formation and wait and see; if their formation moves, we will mount our horses and rush forward, and seize the opportunity to attack."
Yes, sir.
On the other side of the river, some Liao cavalrymen waded across the river and rushed towards the advancing Zhou army formation. They were immediately shot into a hornet's nest. The people and horses on the ground were full of arrows, and the corpses were scattered all over the ground.
In the middle of the river, countless Liao soldiers stood in the muddy water, shouting and pushing their boats towards the other side. The shouting was earth-shaking, and even the boats were pushed towards the shallow river bank.
The Liao army gathered on the deck of the ship, and the palace army cavalrymen, holding round shields and spears, gradually gathered in formation in the shallow water behind the ship. Other Liao cavalrymen followed one after another, riding their horses and shooting.
After several captured boats were pushed to the shore, there were more people and horses on the river, like a large group of people struggling in the mud. A Liao general rode to the west bank and shouted to urge the front army.
Ah, the Liao cavalry screamed and rushed to the shore again, killing the generals in a disorderly manner, and more cavalrymen continued to jump into the river behind them.