Han Shizu

Chapter 1290 Marching to Liaoyang

The offensive and defensive battle of Jinzhou ended with the overall victory of the Han army. It began in early April and ended in mid-June. It took more than two months. For this, both Han and Liao suffered huge casualties.

The deployment of the Liao army in Jinzhou was initially only 70,000 soldiers, and [-] soldiers were added in the middle. After the Battle of Yaozhou, Yelu Xiezhen added another [-] troops, plus some auxiliary soldiers and civilians. The Liao army invested in the defense force before and after Jinzhou There are nearly [-] people, and a large amount of food, supplies, and weapons.

However, in the end, the Liao army who successfully escaped from the pursuit of the Han army with Brother Yeluxiu had less than [-] cavalry.The rest, except for a few scattered and missing, most of them were killed in battle, and there were not many prisoners.

Excluding the previous entanglement and fighting, as well as the fierce offensive and defensive battles, the day when the city was broken caused the most casualties, the Liao army was the same, and the Han army was the same.Of course, when the Han army was fully in control of the situation, there were some unnecessary deaths and injuries. Many soldiers were unable to get rid of the cruel battle, and they did not have time to withdraw their swords. Drift oar.

In the end, it took a full three days to clear out nearly [-] corpses from the city. They piled up into mountains and were buried and burned collectively. The stench full of evil spirits polluted the air in Jinzhou.
The Liao army suffered all casualties, and most of the casualties were the elite of Liaodong. An ordinary army could not stand in such a fierce offensive and defensive stalemate with the Han army for so long.

Of course, the battle losses paid by the Han army were also high. In the Battle of Jinzhou, more than 6000 corpses were left behind. On the day the city was destroyed, there were more than [-] soldiers.Moreover, those who participated in this battle were all the elites of the Forbidden Army and Frontier Army. The Longqi Army, Xiaodi Army, Holy Guardian Army, Pinglu Army, Shimen Army and other armies all suffered injuries, especially those led by Ma Renxuan. The Pinglu army is injured.

If some fights outside Jinzhou were added, even more soldiers died in battle.Because Jinzhou's attack and defense were too fierce and brutal, and the death rate was extremely high, the proportion of casualties far exceeded any war initiated by a big man in the past.

According to the final statistics, by the time Jinzhou was breached, the casualties of the Han army on the western front had exceeded [-], not including those who supported the front.There are still many wounded soldiers who died before they could be treated in time, and there are also many who died of serious injuries. This is because thousands of military doctors have been transferred to the camp and a large amount of wound medicine has been prepared.

The cruelty of the war is vividly reflected in Jinzhou. The price paid by the Han and Liao parties for the battle of Jinzhou also profoundly interprets the saying that one will succeed and ten thousand will die.

However, although the price paid was high, it was worth it for the Han army, not to mention that the damage of the Liao army far exceeded that of the Han army.With the size of a big man, it is nothing to lose tens of thousands of people. As long as you want to, you can make up for it at any time, and you don’t even need to fall from the rear. Among the various types of troops on the front line, there is sufficient reserve force for Replenish.

Tactical victory has already been achieved, but the strategic value is even greater.After breaking Jinzhou, and further east, there is a flat river with no danger to defend. The distance to Liaoyang is less than two hundred miles away. Except for a few rivers, there is no obstacle. Entering Liaodong is naturally a smooth road.

The gains and losses of Jinzhou are related to the entire Liaodong war situation, and even the victory or defeat of the entire Northern Expedition.Once hundreds of thousands of Han troops are allowed to enter Liaodong unobstructed, the situation facing the Liao army will be more than just bad.

Liaoyang, the political, military, and economic center of Liao in the Northeast, will be directly exposed to the attack of the Han army. If Liaoyang loses, then Liao's rule over the entire Northeast will be shaken.

During the period of the Han-Liao War, the Great Han had been secretly communicating with some tribes in the Northeast, such as Jurchen, Shiwei and even Bohai people. Those who were dissatisfied with the rule of the Liao Kingdom, although they made some moves, they always maintained a simple attitude. Shrewd, did not get involved rashly.This includes not only Yelu Xiezhen's vigilance and suppression, but also the fact that the Han army has not made much progress before.

When the Han army entered Liaodong, there was no need for more actions. As long as the soldiers approached Liaoyang City, it would send a signal to many foreign races in the northeast that the Liao Kingdom was dead.It is foreseeable that under such circumstances, those tribes who wait and see how the situation develops will find it difficult to restrain their restless ambitions.

It is the greatest significance of the battle of Jinzhou to move the whole body with one hair and take the initiative and completely control the situation of the Han and Liao wars.

After conquering Jinzhou, under the command of Zhao Kuangyin, the Han army did not make too many moves, neither rushed nor rash, and did not march rashly. They pretended to break the city and advanced into Liaodong.

On the contrary, seek stability again, just like when we first went north, rectify the soldiers and horses, recuperate the soldiers, replenish the military equipment and food, and at the same time repair Jinzhou City, turning it into a new base for advancing into Liaodong.

The reason for this approach is also very simple. After the bloody battle in Jinzhou, the soldiers really need some time to rest and recover, and the hot weather in midsummer also needs to be taken into account. The huge loss before needs to be supplemented.

More importantly, with Jinzhou in hand, the gate of Liaodong has been blasted open, and the strategy is in the hands of the initiative. All the pressure and anxiety before have dissipated invisible, and Zhao Kuangyin will be more calm and comfortable in using troops.

Therefore, within half a month after Kecheng, all the troops of the Northern Expedition on the East Road entered a period of rest. After the two major battles in Yaozhou and Jinzhou, the battle situation in Liaodong returned to silence.

During this period of time, Zhao Kuangyin only sent a few groups of cavalry to the east of Liaodong, the farthest reached the Liaohe River, and directly connected with the navy on the eastern front.In Liaodong with the door open, the Han army can easily gallop.

Compared with the calmness of the Han army, the Liao army was extremely sad.The fight in Yaozhou has achieved miraculous results, reaped the fruits of victory, and eased the dangerous situation.

However, this joy only lasted for [-] days before being mercilessly fought back by the Han army.You fight in Yaozhou, I fight in Jinzhou, it is still a powerful fatal blow.

Even Yelu Xiezhen, after the battle of Yaozhou, couldn't help being optimistic, and even generously sent [-] reinforcements to Brother Yeluxiu. Given the previous situation of Jinzhou's attack and defense, many nobles, officials, and generals of the Liao Kingdom were very optimistic. He was relieved to defend Jinzhou, and even felt that he could plan to launch a counterattack against the Han army.

Therefore, when the news of Jinzhou's fall came, even Yelu Xiezhen couldn't help knocking over his teacup in a gaffe, and it took him a long time to recover.

Before that, it wasn't that Jinzhou had fallen, but it shouldn't have fallen like this, and it shouldn't have fallen at this time.The unexpected fall caught Yelu Xiezhen by surprise and disrupted all his arrangements for the Liaodong War. In comparison, Yaozhou's previous victories seemed bleak.

While the Han army was resting, Yelu Xiezhen of course did not sit still. Even though the Han army did not continue to exert pressure, he had a sense of urgency and made urgent dispatch adjustments.

All the defenses were focused on Liaoyang City in Tokyo. He knew that the Han army did not have much time left for him, and he would not leave him more time.

As for brother Yeluxiu, the defeated general of Jinzhou, Yelu Xiezhen didn't punish him severely, but just demoted him and stayed in his post, making him take the blame and make meritorious service.On the contrary, for his previous performance, he was also praised in private.

After autumn, after resting in Jinzhou for nearly 300,000 days, with the addition of [-] cavalry recruited by the imperial court to the front of the army, [-] cavalry marched eastward and marched into Liaoyang.

The shift of the center of gravity of the battlefield to Liaoyang also represents the climax of the Liaodong War and the Northern Expedition.

(End of this chapter)