Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 229 Liao's big move
"The Southern Army is coming!"

"I heard that we will arrive in Youzhou soon. My relatives saw the Southern Army when they were grazing sheep in the south. They have already passed Gu'an, and it is only forty or fifty miles away from us."

"That's not going to happen in a day!"

"."

In Youzhou City, all kinds of uneasy news spread on the streets. Xiao Siwen stood at the top of the city, listening to the people talking about it in the past below, and many people started to pack their things and prepare to go to the mountains to avoid the military disaster. You have to lean on the wall to stand firm.

"If they dare to escape, I'll catch these talkative untouchables! String them up and roast them!" The general beside him said angrily.

Xiao Siwen shook his head and said impatiently: "Let them go, if the Zhou army besieges the city, we can save food."

"Don't wait for them to besiege the city, let's fight south, there is nothing to be afraid of," someone muttered.

Xiao Siwen was very upset, "We don't have many troops, and the opposite is Shi Congyun, a famous Zhou army general."

Xiao Yanyan, who stood on the corner of the wall and looked out, seemed to be aware of the anxiety and uneasiness of these adults. Recently, her mother, Princess Yan, was ill, and the older one was still taking care of her mother. She followed her father when she was young, "Daddy, Shi Who is Congyun?"

Xiao Siwen turned back, gritted his teeth and said, "Our enemy is the biggest villain in the world."

The little girl nodded in understanding
Xiao Siwen really didn't expect Zhou Guo's reaction to be so big this time, not to mention tens of thousands of troops were dispatched, and the leader of the army was Shi Congyun, the most famous general in Zhou Guo's limelight and illustrious military exploits!

There is a great intention to capture Youzhou in one fell swoop.

Just the day before yesterday, the generals of the Zhou army broke Zhuozhou and Gu'an, and their scouts found that the forward scouts of the Zhou army had reached forty miles south of Youzhou city!

It's only been less than a month, and Zhou Jun has hit Gu'an all the way!
When he heard the news, Xiao Siwen was eating, and he was so frightened that he couldn't even hold the bowls and chopsticks. He hurried out and asked someone to write to Shangjing again for help.

In fact, he had already asked for help before. At that time, Zhou Jun had just captured Yukou Pass when he got the news that the generals under his command asked to fight, and he pressed down to refuse to attack, so he rushed to Beijing for help.

But at that time, His Majesty was hunting, and the reply to him was "If the enemy comes, join forces with the commanding army to reject it;

It means to let him mobilize his own troops to deal with it.
When Xiao Siwen got the news, he was angry and horrified, and almost cursed in his heart, if I can solve it, will I ask Beijing for help?
He had three fears in his heart: he was afraid of defecting, he was afraid that he would not be able to defeat Shi Congyun, and he was afraid that his troops would disperse and face tens of thousands of Zhou troops, which would make it difficult to defend the city.

The Sixth Army of the Southern Academy was mainly composed of Han Chinese, not the main force of the Liao Kingdom. He was worried that those Han Chinese troops would defect at the front line.

In addition, he was not a person who knew how to fight. It was because he was not good at military that he couldn't stay in Shangjing, so he was appointed to stay in Nanjing.

When the Zhou people attacked Yangzhou (Southern Tang Dynasty) a few years ago, the superior sent him to follow him. As a result, he dared not enter because of the heat.

And Zhou Guo's general Shi Congyun has been victorious in all these years and has a great reputation in the south of Yanshan Mountain. He has heard of it for a long time.

The last point is that there are not as many soldiers and horses near Youzhou City as Zhou Jun, and if he divides his troops out, he is afraid that Zhou Jun will not be able to defend the city, so he just sits still and doesn't send troops no matter what everyone says. People come to attack the city.

At the same time, he sent envoys one after another eight hundred li to rush northward, complaining that the border situation was serious, and the Zhou army's attack on the city was unstoppable, and he asked His Majesty for help, but so far there was no result, and he hadn't slept well for several days.

Xiao Siwen had a lot of things on his mind, his mind was messed up, and he was very uneasy.

In panic and fear, he ordered: "Send people, and immediately gather all the soldiers and horses of the Sixth Army of the surrounding South Courtyard into Youzhou City. The place in the south is no longer needed. Let the people of Zhou take it. We will do our best to collect it." Just defend Youzhou."

Many generals looked bad, probably thinking that he was too weak and hesitant.

Xiao Siwen became angry immediately, and shouted loudly: "Hurry up!"

The generals then went to do so.

The little girl beside him was taken aback and looked at him timidly. Xiao Siwen was a little helpless. No father would want his children to see such an ugly appearance, so he could only touch his daughter's head to comfort him: "Yanyan, don't be afraid, it's okay." , I was talking to my uncles."

The daughter nodded obediently, took his big hand and stopped asking, as if she understood something.

Seeing his lovely and sensible daughter, Xiao Siwen's heart was full of turmoil. No matter what, Shi Congyun could not be allowed to invade Youzhou, otherwise what would happen to their family, wives and children!
So he hurried back to the mansion, then wrote a letter asking for help, and made the situation in the south more critical, emphasizing that Youzhou might not be safe!

Xiao Siwen is a direct descendant of the Xiao family, destined to be of great power, and he is also a son-in-law.

So he was sent to serve in the Liao Army from the very beginning, but he likes to read books, trim his appearance, and has never liked the vulgar style of the Liao people. As a result, all the assistants around Shengshang said that he was not a general.

So he was found to stay in Nanjing.

He felt that those bureaucrats were ignorant and only slanderers. The Emperor Taizu still used the Han people to build the country. decline.

So after he governed Nanjing, the prosperity of Youzhou has long surpassed that of Shangjing. He has written several times to ask His Majesty to come to Youzhou to have a look. When the time comes, he will receive His Majesty well and let him see the prosperity of Youzhou. He will naturally understand that what he did is right. , can also be his merit.

But although the current Holy Majesty does not like beauty, he is obsessed with hunting and drinking, and likes to kill people. He does not go out in Shangjing, and has no intention of coming south at all, and Xiao Siwen has no choice.

Compared with the previous king of Daliao, the current emperor is less enterprising.

Their Emperor Taizong, Yelu Deguang, crossed the Yellow River and invaded Daliang 13 years ago. He destroyed the Jin Kingdom and proclaimed himself emperor in Daliang. The weather in the south died of illness halfway, and then there were changes in the army.

Although the later Emperor Sejong was lustful and greedy for wine, he also used troops in the Central Plains several times.

Today, the Holy Majesty is completely different. Your Majesty is not good at beauty, good at hunting, and has no enterprising heart.

A few years ago, when Zhou's army invaded the south of Tang, Tang sent envoys from the sea to ask for help. When they got the news, many ministers in the court thought that they should take the opportunity to attack Zhou and seize the land north of the Yellow River.

As a result, His Majesty only asked him to lead Youzhou troops to take the land of Zhou State from the north, and had no intention of sending the army of the Northern Academy at all.

Xiao Siwen is not stupid either. Youzhou has limited troops and unscrupulous generals. He dared not fight without sending troops from the North Court, so he symbolically went south to capture some border cities of Zhou Kingdom, and then used the weather as an excuse to stop fighting. Go south, then report the results to the north.

At first, he was worried that he would be blamed for his ineffectiveness, but His Majesty didn't care at all, and even issued an order to reward him.

From then on, he understood that the current Holy Majesty was greedy for pleasure and comfort, and had no ambition to go south at all.

This is also what he is most afraid of, because of this His Majesty will not bother to pay attention to him. Last time His Majesty said in his reply, "When the enemy comes, join forces with the commanding army to reject it; "Obviously he didn't take it too seriously, which made him panic.

To the south of Shangjing, the sky is high and the clouds are light on the prairie. The lush green trees on the low mountains in the distance are swaying with the wind. Thousands of riders with various flags surrounded the whole mountain from the foot of the mountain.

There are also a large number of armored cavalry in the periphery, more than ten cavalry patrolling as a team. The herdsmen and ordinary people in the periphery are not allowed to approach, and the idlers ten miles away are all eliminated.

This situation is exactly where the palace of Emperor Yelujing of the Great Liao Kingdom is located. Yelujing is obsessed with hunting, and has been hunting here for more than ten days. He doesn't ask about the government, and the accompanying ministers dare not ask too much.

Yesterday, a cook was killed because he was late roasting a lamb, and the accompanying eunuchs and supply officials were silent.

Early in the morning, Yelujing changed into a military uniform and was in high spirits. He was about to go hunting in the mountains when someone hurried over on horseback and brought a letter from Xiao Siwen.

Yelvjing was a little impatient: "Didn't I let him deal with it by himself?"

After speaking, he opened the letter and read it. After reading it for a while, his face gradually became serious. Yelu Talie, the king of the Southern Court who was accompanying the emperor, knew that something serious might happen.

Yelu Talie is 58 this year and is a veteran of the Liao Kingdom.

During his governance of the Southern Academy, he balanced taxation and labor, encouraged agricultural production, and a large number of tribal people were naturalized, and the number of household registrations increased a lot, which contributed a lot to the Daliao Kingdom.

A few years ago, when the Zhou people attacked the Northern Han and besieged Taiyuan, it was he who led his troops to the south and confronted the Zhou army near Xinkou, and then repelled the Zhou people and continued south. Withdrew from Taiyuan, gave up all the occupied land, and burned a large amount of food and grass, which was very embarrassing.

Later, because he was getting old, His Majesty let him go back to Beijing to rest when he was free, and handed over some affairs of the South Court to the younger Nanjing stay-at-home Xiao Siwen to handle.

Looking at His Majesty's expression, as a veteran, he knew that the matter might be serious. Before Xiao Siwen wrote a letter saying that the Zhou people were plundering land in Hebei, His Majesty didn't bother to take care of it at all, and only let him handle it by himself.

This time, he looked serious, as if something important had happened, so he asked, "Your Majesty, what happened to the south? Do you need the old minister to go back immediately?"

His Majesty didn't speak, and handed him the letter directly. Yelu Talie took it and looked that the wind was blowing on the prairie. His eyes were a little dazzled, and he looked struggling. After reading it, he said directly without thinking: "Your Majesty, Nanjing can't be lost! Please Your Majesty allows me, and I am willing to lead an army south to stop Zhou Jun!

This person named Shi Congyun, Xiao Siwen, spoke very badly about him, but he was just a doll in front of the veterans. Xiao Siwen was not good at military affairs, so he couldn't believe everything he said. "

His Majesty didn't speak, which made Yelu Talie feel agitated. What he was most afraid of was that His Majesty was still addicted to shooting, hunting and drinking, and he didn't even care about Youzhou. For a place that has worked so hard to manage, Yelu Talie must not sit back and watch it fall into the hands of the enemy.

After a long while, Emperor Yelvjing finally said, "We won't be hunting today.

I immediately issued an edict to summon soldiers and horses to the north of Youzhou. When the troops and horses are ready, I will personally lead the troops to the south to rescue Youzhou. "

Yelu Talie breathed a sigh of relief. Yelujing was the eldest son of Emperor Taizong Yelu Deguang, who came to power after a mutiny. At that time, Emperor Sejong went to the south for years, wasting the people and wasting money, which caused the chaos. Today, the emperor is the direct blood of Emperor Taizong, so he was supported to take the throne. , Now he feels that maybe the original decision was wrong.
Of course, he only dared to flash such a dangerous thought in his mind.

Yelu Talie immediately said: "Your Majesty, it will take time to assemble elite soldiers from various ministries, and a lot of scheduling is required, and it will also take time to go south. If Youzhou can't support it within this period, it will be a big disaster.

It is better to directly assemble the imperial tent's pro-army and go south.

The old minister felt that while gathering a large army, he could send people to Jinyang as soon as possible, and demanded that the Lord of the Northern Han Dynasty immediately send troops to attack the Zhou army's side to disperse the pressure on Nanjing. "

Hearing what he said, His Majesty nodded in agreement: "You are right, I immediately sent people eight hundred li to rush south, and asked the Lord of the Northern Han Dynasty to send troops to the east to attack the Zhou army's rear."

In the afternoon of the same day, the emperor of Daliao Kingdom, who had been hunting on the grassland for more than ten days, suddenly drove to the south and issued two edicts at the same time, which were issued through the Privy Council of the North Court and Zaifu.

One was for his son, the Lord of the Northern Han Dynasty, and asked him to send troops from Jinyang immediately to relieve the pressure on Youzhou after attacking the Zhou army.

Another edict is to ask Shangjing to immediately assemble the imperial tent pro-army and prepare to go south.

Liao has a population of more than 1000 million, and there are four main types of troops.

Similar to the Central Forbidden Army of the Central Plains Dynasty.

tribal army.

Local township.

Dependent army.

The Central Forbidden Army of the Liao Kingdom is a professional army, dedicated to fighting all their lives. There are both Khitan and Han Chinese. They are elite warriors selected from all over the country. This is also what distinguishes the Liao Kingdom from other nomadic regimes.

The forces similar to the Central Forbidden Army are divided into three parts, the Imperial Tent Army, the Palace Guard Cavalry, and the Sixth Army of the Southern Court.

The imperial tent pro-army - is the elite who followed the emperor to defend the capital and prepared for war all the year round, with a staff of 5.

One is the [-] "Pi Shi Army" founded by Liao Taizong, which is divided into five armies: Nan Pi Shi, Bei Pi Shi, Zuo Pi Shi, Right Pi Shi, and Huang Pi Shi.

The second is the [-] "Shushan Army" selected by the Empress Shulu of the Taizu who selected the elite soldiers of the Han Dynasty.

The palace guard cavalry is the pro-army of the Liao emperors and queens who guarded the palace. After the death of the emperors, they are responsible for guarding the tomb. They can be dispatched immediately during the war. They are the elite of the elite, with more than 1 people.

The Sixth Army of the South Campus—mainly composed of Han people, imitated the names of the banned troops of the Tang and Five Dynasties, such as Konghe, Yulin, Dragon and Tiger, Shenwu, Shence, and Shenwei. The number is about 8000, and they are mainly stationed near Youzhou. , is also a professional army, but the Sixth Army composed of Han people is not valued by the Liao Dynasty.

Excluding the [-] professional troops standing in the central government, the next main force is the tribal army.

The tribal army of the Liao Kingdom is based on tribes, mainly composed of the Khitan tribe, and the armies of the Xi, Bohai, Shiwei, Jurchen, Wugu, Dilie and other peoples who belonged to each other.

These tribes divided the land for animal husbandry, and their armies divided the important areas.The tasks of the tribal armies are to "divide the town's border circle" and "guard the four sides" in peacetime, and to recruit and fight in wartime.

There are a total of 49 tribal armies in the Liao Kingdom. The tribes are different in size, including the Jurchen in the east, and all the tribes on the Mongolian grassland in the west are under the rule of the Liao Kingdom. , with a total force of about 15.

But this part of the force is not the most elite combat force, and there must be warnings in advance during the war, and it will take time for the tribes to lead troops from all over the place.

There are even more local townspeople, and the people composed of people, also known as the Jingzhou Army, are local armed forces in the nature of township soldiers.

The Liao Kingdom implemented a military service system in which all citizens were soldiers. Most of the time, males over the age of 15 and under the age of 50 were enrolled in the military. Most of the Khitan natives were incorporated into the Palace Guard Army and the Tribal Army. Therefore, the Wujing Prefecture Army was composed of young men from other ethnic groups. composition.The number of Wujing Xiangding is huge, with a total of about 110 million.

This is also the source of the millions of armors that the Liao Kingdom later boasted about. There are indeed millions, but these more than 100 million are not the main force, nor are they effective combat power. Most of the time, they are only responsible for the logistics support of the army and local security.

The last is the subordinate national army, which is the army of the vassal tribes and countries outside the Liao Dynasty. There is no customization and no permanent quota.

There are about forty or fifty vassal states in the Liao Dynasty. They are distributed over a vast area and their tribute is impermanent.Therefore, "if something happens, envoys will be sent to recruit soldiers, or an edict will be issued to recruit soldiers; those who don't follow will be punished."

The core combat power of the Liao Kingdom is obvious. The top ones are the imperial tent troops and palace guard cavalry in Shangjing. These [-] cavalry are the top combat power of the Liao Kingdom.

This was followed by 8000 troops from the Sixth Army of the Southern Academy near Youzhou and 15 tribal troops.

But at this critical juncture, Youzhou was at stake, and it was too late to assemble the tribal army. Emperor Yelujing urgently mobilized the imperial tent troops, and even the palace guard cavalry guarding the tomb had no time to call back.

Of course, the emperor also sent envoys, requesting that the 49 tribal armies that were closer to each other immediately send troops to move closer to Youzhou after receiving the order.

For a time, the largest military operation in the entire Liao Kingdom since Yelujing ascended the throne began
(End of this chapter)