Boom boom boom The cast iron mortars roared to the point of shaking the heavens and the earth. The large-caliber siege cannons were loaded with more gunpowder, and their explosions were even louder than those of the bronze cannons. The rows of cannons on the artillery array seemed to be spurting flames, and rocks weighing nearly 100 kilograms were thrown into the air and rolled in the sky. Earth and rocks flew from the city walls in the distance.
Outside the city, a large group of soldiers and militiamen pushing wheelbarrows spread out towards the moat outside the city wall, and their huge shouts seemed to destroy everything.
Guo Shao opened the carriage and looked at the scene of thousands of troops gathered outside. General Gao Huaide was encouraging morale in front of the battlefield, shouting something passionately, and the soldiers shouted in response. The exciting battlefield made Guo Shao miss his military career, but now he didn't need to go to the front of the battlefield. As an emperor, controlling the situation was what he should do. He only needed military generals to fight.
Guo Shao waved to Lu Chengyong, who hurriedly rode his horse closer to the carriage. Guo Shao then said, "Send someone to tell Gao Huaide to capture Jinzhou within 15 days."
Lu Chengyong clasped his fists tightly and replied.
Guo Shao patted the wooden board of the carriage and said: Return to the central army.
A team of cavalrymen escorted the carriage back to the military camp. Guo Shao walked into a tent inside the fence, and soon the eunuch Yang Shiliang and the civil servant Lu Duosun came in.
The sound of cannons continued to rumble around, as noisy as a thunderstorm. Guo Shao sat down under a table covered with files and papers, glanced at the two of them, and asked: Is there any news from the Liao Kingdom
Yang Shiliang bowed and said: Your Majesty, not yet.
Lu Duosun said: The military headquarters of the front camp has ordered the scouts of each unit to report to the military headquarters immediately if they encounter any suspicious persons.
Guo Shao said in a deep voice: Waiting for the result in speculation and worry, waiting is always the most difficult time.
Lu Duosun bowed and said: I will go to the military headquarters to ask Deputy Envoy Wei if there is any new news today.
Guo Shao nodded slightly, moved an inkstone off the chopping board, and pulled out a crude map with some circles and arrows drawn on it with a brush. The Qi Wang Division of the Liao Army was marked in the upper left corner; an oval was drawn in the northeast with the Liao Royal Tent written on it, and a question mark was also placed because the exact location of the Royal Tent was unknown and it was moving at any time. The Yalu River and other places were also marked. A rough map allowed Guo Shao to observe the situation at this moment more intuitively.
He raised his head, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. Yang Shiliang looked at him with a sidelong glance, and was more respectful, not daring to make any noise to disturb him, even though the sound of artillery outside was deafening.
This time the Northern Expedition was very loud and clear, and the whole world was informed. Grain and men were transferred from countless states and counties. The total number of soldiers was less than 100,000, but it seemed as if a war was launched across the country.
This was a deliberate strategy by the Daxu court, because the strategic goal was to force peace.
In addition to the needs of national policy, this was also an important part of Guo Shao's plan to target Xiao Siwen. Last autumn and winter, Guo Shao pretended to be sick and used Yang Ye to lure Xiao Siwen into a trap. The siege of Yanmen caused Xiao Siwen to lose his power to preside over the government. If he forced peace at this time, and Xiao Siwen could be blamed again, Guo Shao believed that Xiao Siwen was finished.
The key is to make the Liao monarchs and ministers believe that they must seek peace.
At this moment, Lu Dosun walked quickly into the big tent. Guo Shao opened his eyes and observed his expression. He thought that he had received news from the Liao royal tent, so he calmed down and waited for Lu Dosun to speak.
Lu Duoxun saluted and said: Your Majesty, the front camp military headquarters has an urgent report that the Liao Kingdom Qi Wang army suddenly changed direction and marched south to Jinzhou.
Guo Shao immediately showed an expression of surprise and reached out to rub his forehead a few times.
Lu Duosun said: It must be the Liao royal tent that forced Yansa Ge to come and relieve the siege of Jinzhou.
There are usually all kinds of uncertainties in planning and strategy, and this is one of them. Guo Shao thought about it for a while and said: Send Wei Renpu, Shi Yanchao and Dong Zunhui to see the emperor.
Soon, the light in the tent dimmed slightly, and a huge body blocked the light. Shi Yanchao said impatiently: "The man surnamed Gao was fighting fiercely in front, and I was watching him, and I felt uncomfortable all over."
Then Wei Renpu and Dong Zunhui also walked in. The three of them saluted together and wished the emperor a long life.
Guo Shaodao: The Liao Qi King Yansa Ge led his troops south.
After hearing this, Shi Yanchao, who was originally bowing to salute, almost jumped up and glared, "Sir, this guy was so scared that he retreated when he heard my name. If he saw my real body on the battlefield, he would be scared to death!"
Dong Zunhui was stunned, Shi Yanchao suddenly took a half step forward and blocked Dong Zunhui behind him. Dong Zunhui took a step to the right to avoid Shi Yanchao's body, but Shi Yanchao took another step to the right.
Guo Shao said: Yansa Ge temporarily moved south, and their morale is not high. If we can use cavalry to repel Yansa Ge's troops at this time, Gao Huaide will not have to dismantle the siege deployment. What do you think of the Wei deputy envoy
Wei Renpu frowned, as if he was desperately thinking and weighing the pros and cons, and replied a little lacking in confidence: If Your Majesty decides to do so, we can give it a try.
Guo Shao understood Wei Renpu's concerns. This siege tactic would disperse the troops. If a strong reinforcement attacked from outside, it would be very disadvantageous.
Dong Zunhui and Guo Shao made a prompt decision and shouted.
Dong Zunhui hurriedly squeezed out from behind Shi Yanchao, clasped his fists and said loudly:
Shi Yanchao's face looked anxious as if he was about to cry.
Guo Shao said: You lead your light cavalry to support General Shi. Shi Yanchao, I order you to lead the main force of the cavalry to attack north to find Yansa Ge and defeat him.
Shi Yanchao was overjoyed, clasped his fists and said with great vigor: Your Excellency, please wait for the good news.
Shi Yanchao and Dong Zunhui led the cavalry to the north of Xunling River and Daling River. The next day, they reached the west side of Yiwulü Mountain and encountered most of the Liao army.
At that time, the Daling River on the west side of the troops gradually changed from flowing north to south to flowing east to west. On the east side was the Lushan Mountain Range, which gradually became higher and steeper. The Xu army in the south was in a narrow terrain, while the Liao army in the north was in an open area. Dong Zunhui rode up to catch up with Shi Yanchao and advised him: "Mr. Shi, please do not rush forward. If the Liao army waits for Mr. Shi to cross the river mouth, they will cut off your retreat. The terrain in the south is narrow and I will not be able to rescue him in time."
Shi Yanchao sneered: Even your uncle fought like that, kid, you are a teacher. Watch carefully from behind.
After he said that, he patted his horse's buttocks, raised his lance and shouted: Kill him. Then he led his personal soldiers and heavy cavalry in the lead, and without saying a word, he led the troops to the front.
Unexpectedly, a small group of light cavalry ran faster than Shi Yanchao. Shi Yanchao was using his elite cavalry to lead a large group of cavalry to jog, preparing for a big fight. Seeing this, he immediately became angry and cursed: Damn it, whose people are those
The general shouted: General Dong's men are not under our jurisdiction.
There were many flags around Shi Yanchao, and the big flag with the word "Shi" on it could be seen from a distance. Thousands of cavalry were following the movement of the big flag and moving northward. Shi Yanchao was too lazy to care about that small group of people and continued to lead his troops northward.
Many soldiers and horses rushed over the sandy soil on the river bank, and even on the eastern hillside there were horses climbing up the slope. Looking around, the whole mountain was filled with surging herds of horses.
The Liao army gathered in several large formations in the north, and the horses in the middle moved south. A group of Xu's troops rushed to the front of the formation a hundred steps, and suddenly raised their arms and shouted: The world's best general Shi Yanchao is here, if you don't flee, you will die.
Shi Yanchao was very pleased to hear the shouts. The two armies were only two hundred steps apart. He kicked his horse's belly, roared, and began to charge forward at an accelerated speed.
The Liao army, deployed from east to west, counterattacked and outflanked. For a while, the mountains and rivers were filled with the roar of horses' hooves and the sound of shouting and killing. Soon, arrows rained down from the sky. Shi Yanchao's heavy cavalry took the brunt of the attack. They did not carry bows and arrows, but braved the arrows and rushed forward, completely ignoring the soldiers who were injured by arrows.
The cavalry on both sides approached at a visible speed like a torrent, and the brown sand on the river beach was swallowed up by the dark horses. The heavy cavalry threw iron spears at the Liao cavalry as soon as they met, and there was no sign of slowing down in the close combat. Shi Yanchao shouted and knocked two cavalrymen off their horses and rushed forward. A team of heavy cavalry pierced through the Liao army's vanguard at a speed like a huge arrow.
The speed of the Xu army's heavy cavalry's non-stop advance exceeded the imagination of the two armies. After the vanguard rushed out, it left space for the troops behind to sprint, and more soldiers and horses broke into the Liao army's formation.
Shi Yanchao's troops were invincible and unstoppable, clashing left and right among the Liao army. He rushed to the front, swinging the black lance in his hand lightly and flexibly, as if it was a wooden pole, but in fact it was made of iron. A Liao soldier swung his iron bone dagger towards Shi Yanchao, and Shi Yanchao pulled out the iron dagger that had pierced the chest of a cavalryman next to him, and with a whoosh, he swept across to block the iron bone dagger. With a loud clang, sparks flew, and the iron bone dagger was hit straight into the air. The iron dagger swept the earmuff of the Liao cavalryman with a strong wind. With a horrible click, the cervical vertebrae broke, and the man's head drooped down, and his whole body fell off the horse.
Shi Yanchao's chest and shoulder armor were covered with arrows. He reached out and broke off all three layers of armor, including the plate armor and locks. Even if the arrows that could penetrate the three layers of armor could hurt him, in his eyes they were just like tickles.
Xu's army was heavily armored and had elite cavalry. All of them were covered in blood. They were extremely brave and terrifying, and their shouts were deafening.
However, Xu's army was not able to expand horizontally enough, and Shi Yanchao rushed too fast, turning the entire group of cavalry into a long dragon formation. The Liao army's two wings rushed to the sides of Xu's army, quickly cutting the relatively thin formation in half. Xu's army was split in two, and the front and back could no longer coordinate.
Dong Zunhui's eyes were filled with running cavalry and dust. He observed that in the distance, groups of Liao troops were galloping to the east and west without any signs of stopping. He knew that Shi Yanchao was surrounded in front.
Damn it Dong Zunhui cursed loudly. In front of his men were all Xu Jun's cavalry. The river mouth was flat and very narrow, and it had been blocked for a long time.
Dong Zunhui looked to the left and saw some horsemen stuck in the mud by the river, struggling to get back. And on the hillside in front of him on the right were horsemen going up and down. This place was at the foot of Lushan Mountain. The higher the mountain went east, the mountains in the distance seemed like dark clouds pressing down on the horizon.
Shi Yanchao said anxiously, "Stop it, Dong Zunhui."