Han Shizu

Chapter 123: You Yan is in trouble
Because of the Youyan incident, communication was not smooth, although the spread of the news was delayed, it finally reached Liu Chengyou's ears clearly.Although it can be seen from the reaction of the Liao army on the southern front that Zhao Yanshou must have made a major breakthrough in Youzhou and hit the sore spot of the Liao army, but the result still surprised Liu Chengyou and his assistants.

Youzhou City was really captured by Zhao Yanshou, was it that easy? How wasteful is Yelujie?
The news was somewhat distorted in the process of transmission. It is probably that Zhao Yanshou's magical soldiers descended from the sky to the city of Youzhou and launched an attack brazenly. They were invincible and the defenders could not stop them. The news moved, and people rushed to vote. Zhao Yanshou had tens of thousands of people in Youzhou.

Those useless information have been removed, but one thing is certain, the most important and most difficult goal of this Northern Expedition, Youzhou City, has been won.

Then, a question was posed in front of Liu Chengyou, what should he and Long Qijun do?
A group of generals who stayed behind really decided to fight again, looking at the faces full of eagerness and impatience, Liu Chengyou felt that he had to think carefully.Most of the Longqi army was basically cast out, and the generals were mainly the third army, basically middle and lower rank officers.

The news of Youyan spread quickly. If they had been sent four or five hundred miles to fight Youzhou beforehand, no one would have confidence. , just take it down.It turns out that Youzhou is not that easy to fight, so the officers and soldiers who are so determined can't sit still, and they want to make contributions.

Naturally, Liu Chengyou would not look at things so simply like ordinary soldiers, thinking that Youzhou was really so easy to fight.To his surprise, Guo Rong and Xiang Xun couldn't sit still anymore, their appetites grew, and they lost their composure. They encouraged Liu Chengyou to go north to support Zhao Yanshou and bring the land of Youyan back under the rule of the dynasty.

But this time, Liu Chengyou was extraordinarily calm as usual.For a moment, he was really tempted, but he restrained the impulse.The feats that seem to be within reach are often worth pondering over and over again.

"Your Highness, since Youzhou has come down, we will have a foothold in Youyan. Relying on the fortified city, we can compete with the Liao army and drive them out completely." Gao, still can't help persuading.

"With our current strength and strength alone, is it enough to compete with the Liao army? You know, we have tried our best to send troops this time, at the cost of sacrificing the defense force of Chengde Zhenzhou!" Liu Chengyou glanced at Xiang Xun, indifferently asked rhetorically.

Guo Rong took the initiative to say: "You can make Zhang Du command and lead the first and second armies to go north."

At first, Zhang Yanwei was ordered to ride east with [-] paces to intercept Xiao Han's army returning from the north, and intercepted the last Liao army at the junction of Decang and Cangzhou on the lower reaches of the Yellow River River.Xiao Han's army of more than [-] soldiers fought conservatively or cowardly due to the morale of the army. Zhang Yanwei and Ma Quanyi, with the cooperation of local warlords and rebels, fought fiercely with them for more than [-] days, and finally achieved results.

Xiao Han woke up at the end. He might not be able to wait for Youyan's support. He led the remaining [-] riders, abandoned all "burdens" and left desperately. Murong Yanzhao was always on guard when fighting in Mozhou. With Xiao Hanjun.Zhang Yanwei captured a lot. In the final analysis, Xiao Han was so persistent before that he was still reluctant to part with those beauties who bothered to search.

Zhang Yanwei's return to the teacher was not fast, and the large and small carts were still in Jizhou.

Listening to his words, Liu Chengyou said directly: "The first and second armies have returned after fighting fiercely for nearly a month, and they will be exhausted. It is time to show compassion to the soldiers. Can they work hard to fight north?"

"Your Highness can send troops from towns and prefectures in Hebei to the north, and then recruit warriors from Yanzhao." Xiang Xun's voice became softer.

Liu Chengyou couldn't help looking at him and didn't say anything, but his eyes were full of words.As if wondering, this suggestion was really made by Xiang Xun.Recruiting soldiers may be useful, but after several wars, how many young men are left, even if 20,000 people are recruited, is it enough?If you want to continue to invest in Youzhou, what you need is immediate combat power.As for the towns in Hebei, the newly attached warlords in these places are already burning high incense if they can not rebel and cause chaos.

Thinking of these, Liu Chengyou's thoughts became clearer.Gently shaking his head, he stretched out his hand to stop Guo Rong, who was about to say something more: "With our current strength, it is already difficult to control the Chengde states and defend the northern border. In the past, I strongly advocated the Northern Expedition of Yan Bing , all the lords expressed their opposition, why are the opinions so different today? It is all because of the city of Youzhou. The Northern Expedition was originally based on the idea that if the enemy is strong, it will be disadvantageous and advantageous. Youzhou is empty, that is the opportunity given to us by the Khitan people!"

"It's gratifying that King Yan won Youzhou, but how easy it is to win, the Liao army's counterattack will be so fierce."

"How many soldiers and horses, how many armors, how much food and grass are needed for hundreds of miles of conquest, how to ensure the supply in the back road, and also need to make meritorious deeds. The two of you will not be unaware of the difficulties during this period. Although the time for this mobilization is not long , but it has reached the limit of our army, and the treasury of Xia Harvest has already been consumed by more than half. Next, we need to raise both soldiers and people, and we still need to prepare for emergencies. If we invest more power in Youyan, I am afraid that the Deep in it, there is no result in Youzhou, and we are about to collapse."

In fact, what Liu Chengyou said, with the talents of Guo Rong and Xiang Xun, they couldn't realize it, but the huge temptation was in front of them, which was too unbearable.

The reason why Liu Chengyou was able to hold back was that his expectations were not that high, and Zhao Yanshou messing with Youyan was his real purpose.And suddenly found that there seemed to be a chance to take back Youyan, and Liu Chengyou became more vigilant.

After Liu Chengyou expressed his attitude so solemnly, the two of them calmed down and looked at each other. Guo Rong said: "Your Highness, as you said, if Youzhou is lost, the Liao Army will definitely fight back with all its strength. If there is no us Zhao Yanshou may not be able to resist the support."

At this time, Wei Renpu, who had been silent for a long time, said, "Youzhou city is strong, and we only need to gather the Han people to defend it. If we only use the remnant soldiers in Youyan territory at this time, it will be difficult to take it back in a short time. However, the people who came out of Lingbei If the main force of the Liao army returns south, it will be hard to say."

"I can only hope that the Khitan infighting can last longer and buy Zhao Yanshou more time!" Liu Chengyou said.

After such a discussion, the tone was set.However, Xiang Xun was still a little unwilling, and sighed: "What a great opportunity, what a pity!"

With a sullen face, Liu Chengyou said, "Now that you have Long, look back at Shu?"

"The Liao army has shrunk its forces to Youyan, so why don't our troops do anything?" Xiang Xun asked.

Touching his chin and thinking for a while, Liu Chengyou stretched out his hand and scratched the map on the case, and said: "The right to fight independently with the two armies, but there is one thing, the Longqi Army is no more than Yishui!"

From the beginning to the end, Liu Chengyou was very calm.

The mood is naturally good.In fact, as long as Zhao Yanshou takes Youzhou, no matter how the situation develops next, his goal of chaotic Yan will be achieved.In his opinion, with Youzhou in his hands, even if he did nothing on his side, it would be absolutely impossible for the Liao army to take it back from Zhao Yanshou without paying a certain price.

According to Liu Chengyou's script, the best next step is for Zhao Yanshou to occupy the strong city, gather the strength of Youyan, and fight against Khitan, seesaw, and fight hard, day after day, year after year.

Of course, judging from Zhao Yanshou's past experience, it might be impossible for him to face off with the Khitan people.This person may have the idea of ​​swinging between the north and the south, and being both right and left.But when it came to a life-and-death crisis and couldn't bear the pressure anymore, it would not be difficult to surrender Khitan again, even though Liu Chengyou had used many means to avoid this possibility.

However, Zhao Yanshou had to have that opportunity.

As the protagonist of the discussion between Liu Chengyou and his subordinates, Zhao Yanshou is actively making progress.After winning Youzhou, more than half of the hanging heart fell, and the confidence was strengthened.

All the Hu soldiers in the city were driven to death by his order. Yan soldiers entered the city, and the situation was reversed.Zhao Yanshou quickly mobilized tens of thousands of men from the city, and at the same time sent people to declare Tan, Ji, Zhuo, Yi and other counties, calling on the Han people to fight against Khitan together.

Zhao Yanshou really has some prestige in the land of Youyan, and there are many old ministries working in prefectures and counties, and there are indeed many responses.Khitan's northern and southern bicameral system, with the Han governing the Han, although it had a positive effect on its development, but when the Han people turned against it, the sequelae were exposed.

Of course, the Han people in Youyan responded to Zhao Yanshou. In addition to his unquantifiable prestige, the decline in the strength of the Khitan people after the Luancheng War and the contradictions between the Hu Han also promoted the resistance of the Han people.

Entering Youzhou, taking inventory of the government treasury, gathering heroes, arming soldiers, and appeasing the hearts of the people, Zhao Yanshou was exhausted.

In contrast, Yelu Jieli, who took the initiative to go south, was in an embarrassing situation.As far as Gu'an, the county town that was besieged by the northern chasing Liao army was crumbling.There was nothing to be happy about, and then the news came that the Yan army was approaching Youzhou City by water.

Anger and hatred started from the heart, and under the shame and anger, he still had the mood to order Gu'an to be broken, killed all the hundreds of Yan soldiers in the city, and left a blood debt before leading the army back north.

Youzhou, Yelu Jieli must take it back, otherwise, not only will he lose face, but he will not be able to explain to Yeluruan.Don't look at him as Yeluruan's cousin in terms of seniority and blood, but if you really lost Youzhou, even if Yeluruan was praised as "generous and generous", he would not let him go.

Urgently ordered Ding and Mo's Liao army not to entangle with Longqi army, gave up the prefectures and counties and went north, and then retreated in two ways. Dingzhou Jiedu Yelu'an was beheaded by Li Yun.Yelu Jieli also gathered the Liao army on the Yishui line of defense and its surrounding areas, and fiddled with more than 10,000 people, returning to Youzhou in the north.

However, when the soldiers approached the city, they realized that he no longer had the advantage in troops.As far as Yelujie is concerned, the fortification of the city is not terrible, what is terrible is that there are still enough troops to garrison it.Don't think that they are mobs. In this kind of world, you Yan Haoshi who takes up arms can teach people how to behave.

With a fever in his head, Yelu Jieli brazenly ordered an attack, and then he was hit on the head and bloody, and hundreds of soldiers were lost.After calming down, Yelu Jieli simply set up camp and stationed troops under the city, ready to wait for reinforcements.

However, you want to regroup, but the Yan army in the city refuses to let you go. Zhao Yanshou saw the opportunity and sent Yan cavalry out of the city to attack and harass the Liao army.It is impossible to fight nomads without cavalry. As long as there are cavalry, we will not be completely passive.

Under such circumstances, the morale of Youyan's Liao army was extremely low, and they even stopped obeying orders.For the Liao army staying at Youyan, there were not many fighters from the Khitan tribes, but there were more miscellaneous soldiers such as Xi Ren, Shi Wei, and Bo Hai.But Yelu Jieli was not very popular in normal times, and he was headstrong, and made several wrong judgments, which led to the corruption of Youyan's situation.

In this situation, Yelu Jieli directly lost control of the army, and was almost defeated directly under the city.Even Zhao Yanshou noticed something was wrong, until Xiao Han led the remnant soldiers from the north of Tokyo.These two were brothers in difficulty, and when they got together, Xiao Han directly seized the power.Regardless of official position, status, or seniority, Xiao Han is better than Yelv Jieli.Although Yelu Jieli was angry on the surface, he was actually relieved in his heart, he was not purely stupid.

After some discussion, they realized that only relying on the soldiers under the city would not be enough to counterattack Youzhou. If they stayed too long, it would be easy for them to take advantage of them.Therefore, everyone voted to withdraw to the north to rest and make plans.

Before retreating, a group of Hu people thought about it and planned to deal with the remaining Yan generals in the generals, such as Yang An, who was guarding Mozhou before.But Yang An is not the master of mermaid meat, he learned the news in advance, decisively led the crowd to rebel, rushed out of the Liao camp, surrendered to Zhao Yanshou, and reported the truth of the Liao army.Now, Xiao Han and Yelu Jieli were very decisive, led the people to retreat, and ran very fast, finally did not find a chance for Zhao Yanshou.

Although the treasury of Youzhou is not full, there is still a lot of surplus, especially food.The retreat of the Liao army eased the tension in the city and gave Zhao Yanshou more time to prepare and respond.

He pulled out his weapon and pierced through a sack, a lot of newly harvested summer grain flowed out, grabbed a handful and held it in his hand, a smile bloomed at the corner of Zhao Yanshou's mouth.

But soon, his smile froze.From Youzhou City, a killing sound suddenly erupted and spread at an extremely fast speed.His expression changed drastically. You know, the city has been under martial law all the time, so why the sudden killings.

"What's going on, what happened?" asked angrily.With the guards, he left the treasury.

Soon, a general under his command hurriedly came to report: "King Yan, the soldiers in the city are killing Hu people."

"What!" Zhao Yanshou's face turned green this time: "Nonsense, who told them to do this?"

"The soldiers shouted for revenge." Seeing Zhao Yanshou's anger, General Yan explained: "King Yan, there are nearly [-] barbarians in the city. Keeping these people is a hidden danger, which is not good for the city guard. Besides, food is used on them. , It’s too wasteful. Especially those Khitan people have a lot of surplus in their families, if they can use it for military use.”

After listening to what General Yan said, why is it so reasonable?However, Zhao Yanshou always felt that something was wrong, and angrily scolded: "Why did you act without authorization? Pass the order of Gu, and all the troops will stop immediately, and the generals will be assigned to the soldiers who are lonely."

However, Zhao Yanshou's order did not have much effect at this time.The city has become completely chaotic, not only the Yan army, but also the Han people in the city joined their ranks, killing their people, occupying their houses, and seizing their food. Zhao Yanshou simply took his pro-army troops to defend the northern city. Just in case.

When Youzhou City calmed down again, the city walls were stained with blood, as if responding to Xiangzhou's death.

Zhao Yanshou was exhausted physically and mentally arranging the aftermath, cleaning up and burning the corpses, and clarifying the confiscation.No matter how upset he is, one thing is for sure, the wealth of the barbarians in the city, gathered together, is enough for him to defend Youzhou for more than half a year.
After everything was dealt with, Zhao Yanshou investigated the matter with a cold face, and found that the matter was led by several Yan generals, who acted together.

As for the reason, Zhao Yanshou couldn't help turning his eyes to the south, and sighed in his heart: "It's so ruthless!"

After something like this happened, Zhao Yanshou basically had no second choice.
　Thanks to the book friends who have something to say, and the goose feather in the snow for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)