Han Shizu

Chapter 435 The surprise came too suddenly

When the Huoshendian Rebellion broke out and the Khitan situation changed drastically, the Northern Han Dynasty was fully prepared for war.Yelu Ruan Bingfeng has already passed Kouyouyan Pass, so how can Liu Chengyou lag behind the enemy.

To unify the Chinese and military thinking of the dynasty, it was decided to send troops to reject the Liao Dynasty, and to conquest in person. Tokyo sent an army of 200,000, and went north to join Hua, Chan, and Yedu garrisons. The total number was also [-]. Army, as well as the commanding garrison troops on the front line of Younan, [-] Han troops, not much difference.Among them, the Tokyo Forbidden Army and the Northern Front Guards are well-trained and worthy of a battle.

A large amount of grain, grass, and military equipment were sent from Zhucang one after another. As Liu Chengyou's appointed envoy to transport grain and grass by land and water in Hebei, Li Zhu had already recruited hundreds of thousands of civilians in Heng, Ji, Shen, Zhao, Bei, Cang and other states.

It can be said that after receiving the clear news that the Khitan army was going south, Liu Chengyou did his best to deal with it, and all the troops he could use were mobilized.

On the main side of the Han army, in addition to He Fujin, the frontier commander on the northern front, who was deployed as the marching capital of Jibei Road, Liu Chengyou also used Murong Yanzhao, the Marquis of Yu in front of the palace, as the commander of the left wing of the battalion, and Xiang Xun, the commander of the Jingjiang army capital. Deploying for the waterways, Wang Jun, the deputy commander of the guards, deploying for the battalion, originally planned to let the old man Gao Xingzhou go out, but the old man's health was a bit broken and he couldn't stand the army, so he just gave up.

On the contrary, the other father-in-law, Wei Wang Fu Yanqing, was in good health and was appointed as the deployment of the Hebei camp, commanding the first line of soldiers and horses along the Yellow River, and had been ordered to send a soldier and horse to go north first.

On the Tokyo side, the Dianqian Division and the Guard Division, with [-] cavalry, have already marched northward to the target location under the command of the commanders of the various armies.Yu Jia will also set off, and then, the news from the north came.
The inside and outside of Tokyo have long been dyed yellow, and at the end of autumn, there is more bleak atmosphere everywhere. Taking advantage of the tail of autumn, the cold wind blows to its heart's content, curling up the dead grass and falling leaves.

To the southwest of the imperial city is the left wing of the Silongqi Army in front of the palace. Thousands of soldiers, led by the commanders of each army and battalion, entered from outside the city and returned to their own battalions.

All the soldiers had doubts on their expressions.Among them, there are young ones who have already bid farewell to their families, prepared rations and weapons, prepared for a big battle, and were ordered to march to Chanzhou.However, as soon as he left the city, he turned to the north, and within ten miles, he received another order from the privy army, and each army returned to the barracks by itself, waiting for the order later.

After such tossing, everyone was full of puzzlement, but due to military discipline and the marching process, they did not dare to whisper and discuss in private, but after returning to the camp, the discussion started.

After several times of reorganization, the Longqi Army has a total of twenty battalions under the jurisdiction of the four armies on the left and right sides. Counting officers at all levels, the entire army has more than ten thousand troops.

As the battalion commander of the Second Battalion of the First Army in the left wing of Longqi, Shi Shouxin was also thinking about it after arranging the return of his soldiers to the camp.

"Brother Shi!" In the barracks, Shi Shouxin stood with his sword in his hands, and while he was meditating silently, he was awakened by a greeting.

Looking up, it was an officer who was also young, walking towards him, and bowed his hands in return: "Brother Han!"

The visitor's name was Han Chongyun, although his appearance was not as straight as Shi Shouxin's, he still possessed a heroic spirit.But like Shi Shouxin, he is also the best among the young military officers promoted by Emperor Liu Chengyou in recent years.

"I don't know why the army went out but came back again?" Because they entered together, the two were naturally close. Han Chongyun had always admired Shi Shouxin's talent and insight, so he had doubts and asked directly.

"One movement of soldiers and horses will waste thousands of gold every day. The emperor has always attached great importance to military orders. If there is no major change, it will certainly not be changed overnight." Shi Shouxin glanced at Han Chongyun and pointed to the north: "I think carefully, only the north has major military changes!"

"I know it too!" Han Chongyun said, "The question is, what happened?"

Hearing this, Shi Shouxin spread his hands and said with a light smile, "This is not something we can know, but I guess it must be good news. Otherwise, I am afraid that what I will receive is a military order to speed up the march, not something like this." Return to Tokyo!"

"Tossing back and forth." Shi Shouxin said with a bit of emotion in his tone: "Our Longqi Army is okay, and we will be the last to march. Those troops that have already gone north will be even more uncomfortable!"

"Hey! I've been preparing for so long, and I'm ready to go to battle and kill the enemy, and cut off a few more Khitan heads." Han Chongyun looked eager to go to the battlefield.

"There is still a chance!" Shi Shouxin said with certainty: "Since this year, the imperial court has been preparing for war for almost a whole year. It will cost a lot of money, and it will definitely not end without a problem!"

Like most of the young generals in the Imperial Army in Tokyo today, Shi Shouxin is also eager for war, and he needs military merit to prove himself.

In the past few years, Liu Chengyou has reformed the military system, collected military power, and promoted a large number of young officers, rising stars.But there is a bottom line. Even a leader like Shi Shouxin can only sit in the position of battalion commander.Even so, it has attracted the jealousy and rejection of many veterans.

The emperor has summoned them several times, and repeated his words of encouragement. The core has only one meaning: the future will be handsome, and he can only rely on himself to fight on the battlefield. If there is no merit, there will be no reward. If there is a fault, it will be punished, and there will be no preferential treatment. .

It is such a straightforward holy will, but it makes these young generals more passionate about making meritorious deeds.

It wasn't just the soldiers of the Longqi Army who were tormented. As the Son of Heaven, Liu Chengyou was also tossed hard.All the luggage has been packed, and the accompanying personnel have also been ordered, and they will only stay in the north under the escort of the Great Internal Army and the Iron Cavalry Army.

In the shop of Chongzheng Palace, there are more than ten ministers from Zhongshu Menxia, ​​the Three Divisions and the Privy Council.They all stared at the reporter in the hall with piercing eyes. This is a low-level deacon of the Privy Council's Investigation Department. In this hall, facing the eyes of the emperor and court ministers, he was obviously a little nervous, and couldn't help swallowing. Swallow saliva.

Liu Chengyou's expression was more solemn, but seeing that he was cramped, he tried his best to say in a relaxed tone: "You don't have to be so nervous, tell the princes about the situation of Khitan you discovered in Wende!"

"Yes!" As an intelligence officer who licks blood on the tip of a knife, his psychological quality is still very strong, he quickly adjusted, and said in a deep voice: "The Khitan commander has an army of [-], and arrived at Vulcan Lake in the former Wuzhou Wende County four days ago , worshiping heaven and father here, and vowed to go south. The subordinate led his subordinates and sneaked into the Wende territory to investigate, and because of the Khitan horses, they did not dare to approach!"

"However, at that night, the Khitan camp suddenly became turbulent. Even ten miles away, you could hear the sound of killing and see the fire. After interrogation, we found out that the Khitan nobles took the lead in the rebellion."

"On the second day, the humble officer continued to investigate undercover, and found out that Yeluruan, the emperor of the Liao Kingdom, had died and was succeeded by Yelujing, the king of Shou'an. Although the Khitan people blocked the news, it was difficult for outsiders to know the details of the Huoshendian rebellion, but obviously , that is, there was a noble rebellion, and there were a lot of casualties, and the humble official later secretly went to his residence to observe, although it had been cleaned up, the traces of fierce fighting were extremely obvious."

"Currently, the Khitan army has been divided into several branches, and their whereabouts are unknown. The largest one, about [-] cavalry, escorted Yeluruan's coffin and headed towards Tanzhou."

"Humble staff knows that this matter is important, so after sending the letter, I came to Beijing in person to report what I have found and heard."

After listening to his narration, the hall was silent for a long time, and those who knew the news earlier, such as Wei Renpu and Zheng Renjiao, could still remain calm.Feng Dao, Fan Zhi, Li Tao, Xue Juzheng and the others lost their composure. Feng Dao, the old fox, immediately got up and smiled at Liu Chengyou: "Your Majesty, Khitan has undergone such a sudden change. God will bless the great man, bless Your Majesty!"

Looking at his demeanor, he couldn't help but clap his hands to celebrate.Fan Zhi's usually cold and serious face also put on a chrysanthemum-like smile, but he still kept calm: "If this matter is serious, it will be great news for me!"

"However!" Fan Zhi's gaze became extraordinarily sharp, staring at the detective: "Be sure to confirm that this matter is correct!"

After he finished speaking, Zheng Renhui got up and said, "You should do nothing wrong. There are many news from the north, but it's not as detailed as his report. According to the military report, all the Khitan troops in the north have retreated and are in a defensive posture. And the news that the Khitan has changed the emperor has already spread across the border, even if the Khitan people have a conspiracy, it is absolutely impossible to make a fuss about such things!"

"What Zheng Qing said is true, the situation in the north will continue to be reported!" Liu Chengyou opened his mouth, but at this time people can't see his intentions.

"You are in the north this time. You are bold and careful. You have made great achievements in the investigation. You have done a good job!" Upgrade to level three!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" After Liu Chengyou finished speaking, the inspector immediately fell to his knees, grateful.

Taking such a big risk, and working tirelessly, running wildly, and returning to Beijing in person, isn't it for these reasons.After withdrawing respectfully, I was overjoyed, and the adventure was not in vain.

In the Chongzheng Hall, after all the ministers digested the good news, Liu Chengyou narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Nowadays, the Khitan has undergone drastic changes, and I, a great man, should also change according to the trend. The previous battle plan can be overthrown and restarted! But, How to change should be settled as soon as possible!"

With the current situation, no matter how it changes, it is nothing more than two general directions and two choices.Either go north to attack Liao according to the current direction of the chariot of the big man, taking advantage of Khitan's self-disruption; or, follow the strategy of three years, go south to attack Tang.

(End of this chapter)