Han Shizu

Chapter 1330 The siege in the cloud
In late autumn, northern Xinjiang is already withered and yellow everywhere, and the autumn wind is howling, sweeping inside and outside the Great Wall, accompanied by rising beacon smoke.Since mid-September, the Liao army launched an attack on the border defense of Hanguan. For a while, Hanguan along the Great Wall was warning everywhere.

In the north of Shanyang, along the line of the Great Wall, there were a total of 24 large and small towns and forts before and after the Han Dynasty. They were distributed in various important road passes.

These garrison points, for the long Great Wall along the line, really do not have much defensive effect, the most important function is to guard.In the past ten years, the control and influence of the Han Dynasty on the north of the Great Wall has been increasing day by day, so the defense construction of the fortress has slowed down.

But this time, the Liao army aggressively invaded the south, and these fortresses naturally failed to play much of a deterrent role.However, in times of emergency, all the fortresses received only one order, to stand firm and wait for help, not to give up, not to retreat.

Obviously, the intention of the imperial court is very obvious. It intends to prevent and slow down the southward invasion of the Liao army as much as possible through these fortresses. Even if it can only provide some meager strength, it must do its best.

Even the Hu-Han tribes and herdsmen north of the Great Wall became bait for the Liao army, and the smart ones fled back to Senan early on, perhaps hiding in the city or deep in the mountains.

And more people became the initial victims of this war. Those Zhendian pastures led by the Shanyang government and built by the people of Hu and Han did attract the attention of the Liao army.

The Liao army marched westward, and it took a full seven days to sweep and loot the people in northern Saibei who were too late to react. For the Liao army who was driven to the brink of desperation by the war, let alone those livestock, grain, tea, salt, and ironware , Even tents and fodder are worth looting.

And these seven days are also very precious to the Han army.Because the situation had deteriorated so badly, even though the big man had reacted quickly enough under Emperor Liu's instructions, it still took time.

Whether it is the transmission of orders, the mobilization of soldiers and horses, the raising of military supplies, and the accommodation of the people, it will take time.For example, the farthest transfer order to Toyosu will take six or seven days even if it is rushed and sleepless. If you add the time to prepare the Eastern Aid, it will be even more.

Therefore, the extra six or seven days are still thirsty.However, as far as the big man prepares for the battle, even if it takes half a day or a day longer, it is still earned.

At least, during the period when the Liao army was sweeping Monan, the Fengyi army sent Tian Zhongjin to lead five thousand troops back to Yunzhong, and the nearby Ningyuan, Dingxiang, and Yongning reinforcements also arrived one after another. Jiuyuanhou Li Wanchao hurriedly arrived regardless of his boss In Yunzhong, he began to coordinate the Shanyang armies.

On Shanyang's side, the Liao army was not too relaxed when it was full of clockwork, and the Liao army was not too relaxed. Ye Luxian ordered in time to restrain the looting Liao army and continue their journey southward.

This time, Yeluxian's goal was very clear. He didn't make any temptations, and he didn't manage the pass fortresses of the Han army along the Great Wall. Instead, he went directly to Jiaoshan Town, about a hundred miles north of Yunzhong.

Jiaoshan Town, the main road from Dangmonan to Shanyang, is also the main road. Yelujing's army retreated from the cloud to the north, which is the route they took.In the past, there were 200 soldiers stationed by the Han Dynasty here all the year round. Because of the Northern Expedition and Li Chuyun's rescue of Liu Tinghan, most of them were mobilized, leaving only [-] people.

Of course, Ye Luxian chose to break through from Jiaoshan Town, not because he saw the emptiness of this pass, but because he thought this road was easy to walk. As the main military and commercial traffic arteries in the south and north, the Shanyang government has The ones that have been built and widened are now being used by the Liao army.

On Shanyang's side, due to the lack of a backbone, the reaction could not keep up. It was Tian Zhongjin who returned to the cloud and went to Jiaoshan Town to add [-] troops first, but this [-] troops were also exhausted.

After catching up with the Jiaoshan defensive battle, they faced dozens of times the enemy. The Liao army, driven by Ye Luxian, was very determined. The cavalry was used as an infantry army to pick out elite dead soldiers and dismount to attack the village. , regardless of casualties.

As a result, the Han army resisted for three full days, and Jiaoshan Town was breached. The Liao army suffered more than 3000 casualties, while the defending Han army of more than 1000 died in battle. The people were not spared, and all died.

At that time, after Li Wanchao took office, he learned that Jiaoshan Town was in danger, and urgently sent Tian Chongjin to lead [-] troops northward for reinforcements. Halfway through the journey, he learned the news that Jiaoshan Town had fallen.

The fall of Jiaoshan Town was like an opening in a dam, and the Liao army rushed into Shanyang along the breach like a flood.On September [-], Jiaoshan Town was broken, and on the evening of September [-], Wanqi, the forward of the Liao army, had already gone south to knock on the pass.

By September 10,000th, nearly [-] Liao troops, under the personal leadership of Liao Emperor Yeluxian, approached Yunzhong City and besieged Yunzhong City.At this time, in Yunzhong City, there are less than [-] soldiers and civilians, and only [-] taels can fight. More reinforcements are either on the way to help or are still in the process of urgently recruiting weapons.

Fortunately, Li Wanchao, Marquis of Jiuyuan, presided over the military defense. The veteran general had a high prestige.Yunzhong City was rebuilt by Song Qi when he was in office. The city is very solid. Although there are only more than 10,000 soldiers in the city, it is composed of several frontier troops, and the combat power is still guaranteed. A large number of military supplies prepared for the Central Army.

The troops were slightly weaker, but there was no shortage of food, grass and weapons. In order to make up for the shortage of defensive manpower, Li Wanchao directly organized all the strong men in the city and distributed them weapons to assist in defending the city.Men who live in Daozhou on the border have always been a good source of soldiers, and many of them belong to the village soldiers. If you give them weapons, you will be brave fighters.

Probably also felt the difficulty in the cloud. Although the Liao army besieged the city tightly, the order to attack was delayed.By the 21st, the Liao army, which had rested for a day, simply and clearly stated that it would give up its attack on Yunzhong, but chose to divide its troops into four fields and attack and plunder other counties.

Yunzhong may be solid and difficult to conquer, but other prefectures and counties in Shanyang may not be so. The Liao army may not have the courage to attack Yunzhong, but for those small towns and small towns, it is obvious that they still have to take a bite.

So in the second ten days of September, the large area south and east of Yunzhong became a racecourse where the Liao army raged. More than [-] Liao troops split up and attacked from all directions, besieging cities and looting, burning houses and fields.

Although the Shanyang government has done the work of fortifying the wall and clearing the wilderness, there are always people who are not as good as the fleeing people, and the property and food that are not as good as the shelters. These are the targets of the Liao army.

The most insane Liao army even crossed the Sanggan River and attacked Jincheng County, the city of Yingzhou. However, this is a state city after all. Bloody head.

Of course, not all Seoul cities have that defensive ability. For example, Huairen City in the south of Yunzhong, which was the garrison of Fu Yanqing during the Northern Expedition, was besieged by more than 10,000 Liao troops. Although they resisted desperately, the result was still broken. people die.

Changqing County, east of Yunzhong, has not been established for a long time. It is a young county newly established in the east of Yunzhong.

As time went by, the situation became a little clearer. The Liao army went south in a big way this time, and even resolutely broke through the Great Wall and entered Sainan. Destruction is the goal.

In this case, with the limitation of insufficient strength, what the Han army can do in a short period of time does not appear to be so much.When sending additional reinforcements, one has to be careful, so as not to be taken advantage of by the Liao army on the way. The conspiracy of besieging the city and fighting for reinforcements must always be guarded against. The Han army used to use it, and so did the Liao army.

The defenders in Yunzhong are strong enough, so they can only retreat to the city for the time being. After all, there are still more than [-] Liao troops besieging and watching outside the city.Even if this is the case in Yunzhong, the people in other states and counties can only rely on themselves.

Historically, in defensive operations, defenders have often fallen into this predicament. If you defend a city for a long time, you will lose if you defend it for a long time. This not only tests the general's command and dispatch ability, as well as the morale of the army, but also needs reinforcements to see the hope of defending.

In fact, the situation facing Yunzhong was much better. Although he was trapped, he was safe from self-defense. Reinforcements from all walks of life were also dispatched under overall planning. What needed to be done was to cooperate with the subsequent battle.

It's just that the feeling of being besieged and watching the enemy troops gallop across the border, wreak havoc on the territory, and infringe on the hometown is not so pleasant.

(End of this chapter)