Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 235 The Battle of Three Levels ([-])

As the night was getting darker, a large number of bonfires were lit with iron pots at the top of Yijinguan City. The entire city was as bright as day, and the Zhou army defenders also had to take turns at night.

Many soldiers laid the ground directly with tung oil cloth and covered it with thick green linen cloth to rest at the top of the city.

More than 20 temporary tents were set up in the crosswalk behind the first street under the city. The smell of blood was strong. Many wounded soldiers were placed here, and the wailing of injuries was everywhere. Those who were seriously injured were basically able to survive.

Wang Shenqi was a man of few words, so he always acted more when doing things. Dong Zunhui and Xiang Xun set up night defenses at the top of the city, and he never took off his armor at night, patrolling and visiting the wounded soldiers.

Most wounded soldiers need to fight against the sky. If they can survive the fever, there is a high probability that they will be able to survive. If not, they will have no chance.

There are also some seriously wounded soldiers who have been injured in vital parts and can only wait to die in pain.

Sixteen wounded soldiers who were dying were carried out of the camp and placed outside. When Wang Shenqi walked over, the doctor accompanying the army came over and bowed to him, then shook his head helplessly.

Wang Shenqi suddenly understood that when he walked over to see the wounded soldiers lying on the ground, most of them had lost consciousness or fell asleep, and a few were dying and wailing.

"Give them a ride," Wang Shenqi whispered.

The doctor nodded, and then he and several of his apprentices took out a special chisel and small hammer from the medical box. They skillfully chiseled lightly at the back of the wounded soldier's head, instantly piercing through the back of the skull and making them lose consciousness. Then die without a sound.

This is nothing new in the army. The doctor and his few apprentices are skilled, and everyone seems to be used to it.

Wang Shenqi said: "It's a good burial, the weather is hot now, we must bury it as soon as possible."

"No!" The surrounding auxiliary soldiers agreed.

He didn't say any more, but asked the adjutant beside him, "How are the casualties today?"

"Three hundred and one people died in battle, and thousands were injured." The adjutant said as he walked.

Wang Shenqi said worriedly, "This is only the first day, so many people have been lost."

"The thieves lost even more."

He shook his head: "We can't find a solution from them. There are more than 9000 defenders in the city, and they lost so much on the first day. It's not a solution in the long run.

The commander-in-chief asked me to hold this place to wear out the enemy division. We must be prepared to defend it for at least a month. "

"One month's general, with so many Liao soldiers, I'm afraid they won't be able to defend for that long."

Wang Shenqi was unmoved: "It's always right to prepare for the worst.

The news here must be reported to the commander-in-chief every half an hour, without interruption.

Prepare well tonight, the rolling logs, stones, arrows and golden juice must be sent to the city tonight. If the attack starts tomorrow morning, it will be too late, and the guard cannot be relaxed at night, the Liao army may attack at night. "

After explaining a lot, Wang Shenqi didn't go to rest in the big tent until midnight. Many soldiers slept in the street under the eaves, covered with tung oil cloth and covered with thick linen.

Hundreds of people crowded in the narrow streets, snoring like thunder, smell of sweat, smell of feet, mixed with the smell of blood is very strong, but no one cares at all, and the loud snoring can't affect them. Tired, sleep on the floor.

The conditions of war are like this, not only life-threatening, but also very difficult, if not forced, most people are unwilling to fight.

Wang Shenqi was a little better, sleeping in a room on the side of the street. There was a spacious mansion in Yijinguan City, which was the original residence of Liao Dynasty Guard General Tinghui of Yijinguan.

After Wang Shenqi took over, all the generals under his command persuaded him to live in, but he refused, and asked people to use the mansion of the final court emblem as a warehouse for the army to stock up food, supplies, ordnance, etc., while he and his soldiers lived on the side of the street.

Wang Shenqi's explanation is that the mansion of the final court emblem is located in the middle of the city, close to all sides, and the surrounding roads are wide, which can be delivered to the top of the city in time. It's settled.

When he dragged his body exhausted into the room and was about to fall asleep, he suddenly found a figure sitting beside the bed, so he subconsciously held onto the handle of the knife.

When I looked closely, I found that it was a young and beautiful woman.

Wang Shenqi's complexion suddenly turned bad: "Who are you, and who let you in."

The other party Jiao Didi said: "Why do you need to be angry, the general, I am here to serve you, I promise to let the general."

"I'm asking who you are, and who asked you to come." Wang Shenqi's face was calm, he slapped the knife on the table, and pulled it out with his backhand, which startled the woman on the bed, and said with tears in his eyes : "Why are you fierce? My father is Zhong Tinghui, and he asked me to serve you. Otherwise, who would want to come to such a stinking and poor place! Woohoo."

Wang Shenqi suddenly understood that the final court emblem was the guard general of Yijin Pass in the Liao Kingdom, who later surrendered to them, the commander still let him lead the defenders of Yijin Pass and became his general.

Wang Shenqi looked at the beautiful woman crying in terror on the bed, "I arranged a private house for your family in the morning, and I will go back tomorrow morning and tell your father, don't use such tricks, don't use the trick against the Liao people on someone, come here again Throw you out."

After finishing speaking, he turned around and went out, and asked the soldiers to lay a floor under the eaves.

From the area of ​​Ningzhou to Youzhou in the north, this area has been in constant war for decades, with armies from all walks of life coming and going, and the king's banner at the head of the city constantly changing, so these powerful clans have long had a way to adapt to the wind, and the wind blows on both sides The ability to pour.

As far as they are concerned, whether the Khitan people or the Zhou people are good, they will win over whoever is powerful. If the situation is good, they will stick to the fortified city as a loyal minister, and if the situation is not good, they will open the door and surrender. This method was used on him again.

Wang Shenqi kept silent and didn't bother to say much, so he simply slept on the street with all the soldiers, and he fell asleep quickly after a day's fatigue.

At Waqiaoguan, dozens of miles away, Shi Congyun also slept very late. The soldiers from Yijinguan were telling him about the battle during the day and the movements of the Liao army reported by scouts everywhere, so he didn’t go to sleep until very late. .

Lying on the not-so-comfortable bed, I thought it would be nice to have a girl to sleep with.
Indeed, since he occupied Guannan, the governors and generals of various states have hinted to him several times that they wanted money and bribes, but Shi Congyun ignored them. Well, I have to be serious, these people are also stupid, and they don't know how to find the right time. Is he embarrassed now?
Fu Zhaoyuan was his bodyguard, and Shi Congyun told him to wake himself up whenever something happened, no matter how big or small.

Early the next morning, when it was still daylight, someone woke him up, and the scouts in the north sent urgent military information.

It seems that the Khitans were beaten badly by Wang Shenqi at Yijin Pass yesterday. They sent many cavalry to bypass Yijin Pass to try to go south, and also sent a large number of small teams to go south, with the intention of bypassing Jiancheng and heading south directly, probably to explore the way.

Shi Congyun suddenly lost sleepiness and was out of breath when he woke up. He was about to curse but was suppressed. He immediately sent out all the soldiers from the scout battalion to deal with the small Liao army going southward. At the same time, he told Fu Zhaoyuan: "You go Find Murong Yanzhao, quickly."

Guo Ting said he didn't stand aside, his expression was serious: "It seems that Wang Shenqi played too well, the Liao army has other thoughts."

"They must be blocked back." Shi Congyun made a conclusion without saying a word: "The Liao army must be tempting. If there is not much pressure to go south, they will choose to bypass Yijin Pass and divide their troops to go south. Then the overall situation of the battle will be affected. influences.

This time, they had to fight head-on so that they would not dare to bypass Yijin Pass. "

Soon, Murong Yanzhao came. Since the last defeat, he has been blaming himself.

"The commander-in-chief has any orders for the general." Murong Yanzhao said.

"There are more than a thousand cavalry from the Liao army bypassing Yijin Pass and going south." Shi Congyun said straight to the point: "They want to test it out. They were frightened by Wang Shenqi at Yijin Pass. See if the south of us is empty. If it is empty, they can go around directly. Pass the Yijin Pass and divide the troops to go south, regardless of the hard nuts to crack."

As Shi Congyun said, he patted him on the shoulder, "I order you to give the Khitan people a head-on blow and make them return to Yijin Pass. I can give you two thousand horsemen from the Crane Army. Can you do that?"

Murong Yanzhao became excited, he had just lost, and was about to have a chance to show off, so he immediately knelt down on one knee and said, "Please rest assured, Commander, this time the bandits will definitely come and go!"

That morning, Shi Congyun ordered Murong Yanzhao to lead two thousand cavalry from Waqiao Pass to the north to meet the Liao army going south, in order to combat the enemy's intention to bypass Yijin Pass and divide their troops to go south.

At the same time, send out the scout battalion. If you encounter a small group of cavalry from the Liao army who is going south, stop them and confront them.

So from the beginning of June, the Liao army under Yijin Pass stopped attacking the city and turned into a siege. After that, at least [-] Liao troops began to go south from various trails and small groups, intending to find out the reality of the south.

Shi Congyun sent a scout battalion and Murong Yanzhao led 2000 people to the north to deal with it.

In June, the weather was hot, and the war quickly turned from large-scale battles to small-scale fights in the woods and fields between Yijin Pass and Waqiao Pass. One generation cruised to investigate, and then confronted each other.

The woods are cooler than tents, the June wind whizzes past, the leaves rattle like waves, Murong Yanzhao rests under a big tree, and a large number of scouts are sent out to search for the Liao army trace.

Murong Yanzhao took a deep breath in his heart. The loss to the Liao people before was a shameful humiliation for him, and he felt extremely guilty. Of the more than 2000 people he took out, only more than 200 came back in the end. To 500 people), it was almost a devastating blow, and it also had a great impact on the morale of the army.

Zhou Jun had never suffered such a defeat since he entered the north, and it turned out that he started.

Therefore, since Murong Yanzhao led the army to the north, he devoted himself to the major event of fighting against the infiltration of the Liao people to the south.

But this is not a simple matter. The terrain between Waqiao Pass and Yijin Pass is flat, with criss-crossing paths and fields, and there are many fields and woods in the middle, and there are many trails to walk.

Therefore, the Liao army can be divided into small groups and advance separately.

This is the style of play that the Liao people are best at. The Liao people like to form a small team of hundreds of cavalry, and go forward in front of the army to scout and attack in large numbers.

Fight if you can beat it, retreat immediately and report the situation to the Chinese army if you can't.

The current terrain is the most suitable for the Liao army to play. The flat terrain and a large number of trails allow the Liao army to go south from various places.

In order to deal with this situation, Zhou Jun had to find another way.

Murong Yanzhao's response was to stop the main force of the army outside Hanzhuang Village, 25 miles northeast of Waqiao Pass, and at the same time disperse the scout battalion. A group of more than a dozen people formed a team of light horses and went north to investigate. When they found the traces of the Liao army, they returned immediately. Report.

This place is located on the side of the avenue. Since the avenue can be guarded, the large cavalry of the Liao army cannot go south. At the same time, the main force of the Liao army will not move until it is clear where the main force of the Liao army is.

Their main force had been waiting here for a day, and later in the afternoon, scouts came back one after another to report to him that the main force of the cavalry of the Liao army was more than [-], and they had reached about [-] miles north of them along the road.

Murong Yanzhao immediately got on his horse and asked the messengers to gather everyone on the road, and then led them to gallop north.

A few quarters of an hour later, the two sides faced each other on the northern avenue, hundreds of steps apart, and could see each other's face from a distance.

A large number of cavalry met on the avenue, and both sides became nervous for a while, stopped their horses, and it was too late to spread out. The general of the Liao army on the opposite side was wearing a hard leather armor, wearing a bow, and holding a spear. At that time, Murong Yanzhao's eyes were sharp and his hands were quick, and he shot directly with his bow and arrow.

Before the other person finished speaking, the horse under his crotch wailed and fell to the ground, and the leading Khitan general was thrown out directly.

"Kill it!" Murong Yanzhao yelled, and directly led the brigade to cover and kill him.

The Zhou army is an elite soldier in hundreds of battles, and the cavalry of the Crane Army followed Shi Congyun's battle without falling behind. With a command, they immediately moved, and the light and heavy cavalry were separated. Separated, quickly rushed into the fields on both sides from the avenue, and outflanked towards the rear.

The Zhou army not only likes to use Yanyue Formation in infantry and cavalry melee, but also uses it a lot in cavalry battles. The heavy cavalry of the central army charged forward, and the light cavalry quickly surrounded the two wings from the fields on both sides, constantly harassing the enemy's central army with bows and crossbows. .

Soon, the iron cavalry of the Central Crane Commander rushed directly into the center of the Liao army like a torrent of steel.

The Liao army was thrown off the horse by Murong Yanzhao for the first time, and they fell into chaos and couldn't react. Moreover, their armor and weapons were not as good as those of Zhou army. Rush to pieces.

The encounter was too sudden, the front army yelled in horror, and the rear army turned around and ran back ignorantly. Their previous fighting style was "scattered and reunited", and they were never prepared to head-to-head with Zhou Jun.

As a result, the Liao army in the middle was blocked back and forth. Under the trend of survival instinct, they rushed out from the fields on both sides desperately, but the light cavalry of the Zhou army who had outflanked them from the two wings had already cruised in formation, waiting to shoot them with bows and crossbows.

For a time, the entire avenue was filled with dust, a large number of wheat fields on both sides were flattened, many cavalry were running and fighting, and the sound of killing and horseshoes mixed together, which was deafening.

In the confrontation on the first day of the new year, Murong Yanzhao quickly shot down the general of the Liao army; the Zhou army's heavy cavalry rushed forward from the main road, and the light cavalry's outflanking tactics from the fields on both wings completely overwhelmed the Liao army.

After two quarters of an hour of fighting, the cavalry of the Liao Army either threw away their helmets and armor and fled north, or they were all driven into the fields on both sides of the road.

Murong Yanzhao stopped the pursuit of the Chinese army, and the returning soldiers surrounded and strangled the Liao army who had been driven into the field.

Half an hour after the battle, the cavalry of the Zhou army formed two large circles, besieging hundreds of Liao cavalry on each side in the middle. The heavy cavalry was inside, armed with spears and sabers. The crossbow shooting did not mean to engage the Liao army at all, but just kept using the bow and crossbow to kill the Liao army.

It is best to be able to kill people from a distance. This is an important idea in Zhou Jun's tactics. Cavalry can ride and shoot is a very important criterion.

Among the infantry, sword and shield soldiers and spear soldiers generally only account for [-] to [-]%, and the rest are long-range soldiers with bows and crossbows, try to use long-range to kill the enemy.

It's just that the crossbowman is not the slender, elegant, and thinly armored image that people understand.

The elite crossbowmen are all tall and powerful, with excellent armor, and they cannot draw a strong bow if they are not strong enough. Moreover, once the enemy cannot withstand the long-range crossbow and collapses, or directly rushes over, the crossbowman will change to a crossbow. The knife directly fights.

The battle of encirclement and annihilation continued until dusk, and the corpses of the fallen troops of the Liao army piled up into hills and blood flowed into rivers.

The rest cried and knelt and kowtowed. They might have surrendered a long time ago, but because of the language barrier, the soldiers of the Zhou army couldn't understand, so they didn't show mercy.

In the end, the commander under his command excitedly reported to Murong Yan on the road: "General, the Liao army has surrendered! Our army killed 840 thieves and captured more than 270! Do you want to escort the captured soldiers to the south immediately?"

Murong Yanzhao laughed happily, and finally washed away the shame of his previous defeat in Zhuozhou, and immediately said: "Go to the south to report the victory to the commander, tell the whole army not to chase north, and watch out for the Khitan thieves to set up an ambush, they are best at that, If you can't beat it, you can only use tricks."

Immediately he said viciously: "Don't send the captives away, if you send them over, wouldn't it be cheaper for the commander to spare a few? These dog thieves who killed the brothers, killed them on the spot, and told the commander that all the thieves were killed by us."

Under the night, a bloody battle came to an end in the field beside the road, a large wheat field was flattened, and the bloody water once again watered this war-prone land.
(End of this chapter)