Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 243: Frightened and Captured
I don't know when the night became so dangerous and completely different from the past.

The star river in summer night is bright and vast, stretching across the sky and looking down on the common people, it seems that it will pour down at any time, fall from the nine heavens, and overturn the world.

The undulating weeds around are swaying with the wind, and the low woods rustle in the night wind. They are ferocious like living creatures, baring their teeth and claws at people, revealing their hidden malice.

哇哇
The call of an unknown bird in the forest was particularly creepy, and Xiao Siwen was frightened. In the past, he had never noticed that the call of this bird was so frightening.

In the dark woods, the sound of horses' hoofs was chaotic, Xiao Siwen's heart was even more confused, he held on to the rein tightly, and the whole person lay on the horse's back without daring to move, just like holding on to a life-saving straw, not daring to let go at all.

Hearing the slightest noise from a distance would make him tremble with fear.
There are quite a few of his personal guards around him. There are more than 20 people in their team, and they have completely separated from His Majesty.

Xiao Siwen didn't know much about military matters, His Majesty and Yelu Talie commanded the army, and he followed His Majesty the whole time.

The images in his mind flashed like a revolving lantern under the extreme panic. Before the battle, His Majesty Yelu Talie was full of confidence and calm. He vaguely remembered that His Majesty said that the Southerners came to seek death.

He also believed it at the time, and he has a vague memory of the subsequent process. He only remembers that Zhou Jun's cavalry began to move out everywhere, and they began to panic. flee, the Chinese army panicked
Later, he only remembered that there were a large number of Zhou cavalry on the avenue to the west, and the black cavalry of the Southerners came towards them like a surging tide. The infantry of the Sixth Army of the Southern Court tried to resist, but they were easily knocked down and crushed by them, and their flesh and blood flew everywhere.

Afterwards, His Majesty turned his horse around and ran northward, accompanied by a large number of imperial guards. After Xiao Siwen realized it, he was also rushed northward by the guards. Almost all the infantry of the Sixth Army of the Southern Academy he brought were discarded on the battlefield , he could only hear the screams behind him and the begging for him not to abandon everyone.

But he couldn't take care of everything, and he didn't realize until then that they had failed miserably.

Afterwards, the cavalry of the Zhou army quickly caught up. He saw with his own eyes that his own soldiers were shot off their horses, and some of them were cut into two by the Zhou people who caught up from behind.

In order to let him escape, the guards started to separate and disperse the Zhou army's pursuers, and he also separated from His Majesty and others in panic, and ran around in the forest at night, like a frightened bird.

Any disturbance made him tremble with fear, for fear that Zhou Jun would catch up again.

Galloping all the way, he only wanted to return to Youzhou City as soon as possible!

"Who is it!" Xiao Siwen suddenly heard the shouts of the soldiers around him, and he also heard the faint sound of horseshoes behind the woods on the left.

"Shoot him! Shoot him!" Xiao Siwen shouted excitedly.

Panicked, the soldiers opened their bows and set their arrows, and dozens of arrows shot towards the dark forest following the sound.

"My own people" someone yelled halfway in Khitan, and soon there was no sound in the dark woods. Everyone looked at each other, but there was no time to care about anything, and they beat their horses and galloped northward.

The night wind whistled in his ears, and the surrounding vegetation swayed, which made people feel uneasy.

Xiao Siwen was extremely nervous, cold sweat covered his tense back, and the reins in his palms became wet.

After running for a long time under the moonlight, someone shouted, "We are almost in Gu'an!"

Xiao Siwen was overjoyed. Gu'an was not far from Youzhou, and Gu'an was still in their hands. The Sixth Army of the Southern Academy had 8000 people. He only brought [-] people with him when he went south this time, and another [-] to guard Youzhou. He is also gathering towards Youzhou, as long as he returns to Youzhou, Zhou people will not be able to kill him!
No matter how powerful Shi Congyun is, there is nothing he can do about it!He has been in Youzhou for the past few years, and he knows the situation in the south best. He has heard that Shi Congyun is powerful, but he didn't expect it to be so powerful!
Just as they rushed out of a small forest and descended from the hillside, the city of Gu'an, which was lit up in the distance, was already in sight.

"The lights are on in the middle of the night, it should be that His Majesty's army has entered the city!" The soldiers said excitedly.

Xiao Siwen almost burst into tears of joy, and hurriedly said: "Go, go to the city, go to the city!"

Running all the way, many people scattered in the night, Xiao Siwen only had a dozen or so riders around him at this time, everyone was short of breath, some people's faces were bloodstained, and they cried loudly like the rest of their lives after a catastrophe.

Seeing that the way to survive was in sight, even though the horse couldn't run anymore, the crowd still beat the horse hard and headed towards the city wall.

But when everyone arrived at the base of the city full of joy, Xiao Siwen looked at the top of the city and was about to speak when he suddenly realized something was wrong!
He has read poetry and books, is proficient in articles, and knows Chinese characters, so as soon as he got close to the city wall, he saw a big flag at the top of the city with a big "Zhao" on it, and there were crane and dragon flags on both sides.

Xiao Siwen broke out in a cold sweat instantly, and immediately realized that the city had already been occupied by Zhou people!
Just at this time, someone from the top of the city shouted loudly: "Who is under the city? Password!"

Xiao Siwen was horrified, and shouted in Khitan: "Run, they are Zhou people!"

The Zhou people at the top of the city couldn't understand, and they didn't realize it for a moment. The soldiers were shocked, and even followed him and turned their horses. The Zhou army at the top of the city realized it and shouted: "They ran away, they are Khitan thieves!"

Originally they were able to run away, but after running wildly all night, the horses had long lost their strength and could not run at all, and several people were shot off their horses.

Xiao Siwen, who was so frightened out of his wits, just ran back with his head in his arms.

I was even more frightened to the extreme: "How did the southerners get to Gu'an, how could they be in front of us!"

"If the Zhou army occupies Gu'an, what about His Majesty who fled north?" The more Xiao Siwen thought about it, the more frightened he became, his hands and feet trembled involuntarily.

Just when they were full of despair and could not advance or retreat, there was a dense sound of horseshoes in the distant woods, and soon a large group of cavalry appeared on the distant hillside, shouting at them loudly in Chinese.

Many of them couldn't understand at all, so no one answered. Xiao Siwen didn't dare to speak, because the person on the other side was asking for a password, which he didn't know.

Before dispatching troops, there will be secret passwords in the army, which are known only to soldiers and generals. They are used to verify the enemy and us. During the battle, if the personnel are confused, if they do not match the passwords, they will be regarded as the enemy.

Facing the cavalry, seeing that they couldn't answer, the whole team quickly crossed the knee-high bushes and charged down from the small hill to the south.

Xiao Siwen and the others were terrified, and they also realized that it was Zhou Jun who had been chasing after them, but it was too late at this time, their horses ran all night, and they couldn't run anymore.

Xiao Siwen watched helplessly as the cavalry on the opposite side stabbed the soldier next to him off his horse, rolled a few times and fell into the grass next to him without moving. They shouted unstoppably and rushed over, and the guard who protected him was cut off half of his head by a long knife.

His horse was hit by an arrow in the chaos, and the world was spinning suddenly. He only felt the burning pain on his face, his mouth was full of fishy sweetness, and the chaos in front of his eyes. He didn't know what happened. Full of water, painful and shaking.

The voice in my ears became more and more blurred, and the scene in front of me began to fade away.
When Xiao Siwen regained consciousness again, he was awakened by screams. He was completely weak, his hands were tied behind his back, and his wrists hurt but he couldn't break free.

Not far away, he saw many war horses grazing in the grass by the side of the road. Several Zhou soldiers in full armor were pushing their soldiers with their backs tied behind their backs one by one to a pit for beheading. The soil beside the pit was already dyed. color.

The huge shock woke him up in an instant, and he quickly shouted in Chinese: "Don't kill me, don't kill me, I am the left behind in Nanjing of the Great Liao Kingdom! The stay behind in Nanjing of the Great Liao Kingdom!"

His words quickly attracted the attention of the soldiers of the Zhou army. A soldier came over and glanced at him, "Can you still speak Chinese?"

After speaking, he stretched out his hand to grab the clothes on his shoulders and rubbed them, then turned around and said: "Commander, his clothes are made of good fabric, and he looks like a high-ranking official. If you don't want to kill him first, report it to the higher-ups."

Zhou Junjunhan, who was killing people over there, looked back at him, Xiao Siwen was trembling, waiting nervously for the next sentence.

"Send him there and show General Shi. If he is a high-ranking official, we will make meritorious service. If it is not for you, it will not be too late to kill him."

After finishing speaking, he spat and said viciously: "The commander-in-chief has ordered that these Khitan dog thieves have the guts to go south, kill all they can, and don't keep them alive. If he tells lies to waste brothers' time, you will make him die a sad death point."

"promise!"

Xiao Siwen was so frightened that his lips turned white and trembled, and he was speechless. At this time, he could not show the momentum of staying behind in Nanjing, the son-in-law of the Great Liao Kingdom.

Under the escort of the soldiers of the Zhou Army, Xiao Siwen walked towards the east path, and his vision became wider and wider. He finally determined his location, which was outside Gu'an City.

The place of transportation is the camp of the Zhou army. There are many Zhou troops patrolling and cruising. The soldiers patrolling outside stopped them. After the password was correct, they asked them what happened. After the soldiers who brought him explained the situation, they were led to the camp.

As he walked, he said, "Brother, what kind of Liao country official are you? In the past two days, the number of Liao country officials captured by Vice Marshal Shi and General Zhao is beyond count."

"I don't know, I don't quite understand what he said, but it sounds big.

It's not uncommon for the commander-in-chief, he doesn't want to catch as many of these bullshit officials and officials in the Liao Kingdom, but for us, the size is a credit. "

The two talked and laughed.

Xiao Siwen's face turned green and pale, feeling extremely humiliated, but he didn't dare to speak out, for fear of being killed, Zhou Jun slaughtered them at will, still vivid in his memory, so he could only grit his teeth and bow his head.

But as he went deeper, he found that many disgraced people were locked up in an open space circled by Zhou Jun. Xiao Siwen saw many acquaintances, all of whom were generals in the army and His Majesty's entourage, generals and officials.

He was terrified for a while, and after a while he was sent to the big tent of the Chinese army, and a big banner with the word "History" was erected next to the big tent.

Could it be Zhou Jun's coach Shi Congyun!

But soon, he saw a very tall, stern middle-aged man sitting above him, who looked to be in his 40s, obviously not like the young Shi Congyun in the legend.

But he quickly thought of another person, Zhou Guo's number one general Shi Yanchao, Shi Congyun's father!

Shi Yanchao played against them much earlier than Shi Congyun.

As early as Emperor Sejong, the Liao army went straight down to Hezhong Mansion and besieged Jinzhou City. They were repelled by Wang Jun and Shi Yanchao of Zhou State and others. In the Battle of Gaoping, Shi Congyun was also the vanguard who defeated them.

"You said you were left behind in Nanjing, Liao Kingdom." The other party asked coldly, even though he was far away, he could feel the murderous aura on the other party.

And what surprised him the most was that he found Yelu Talie, the great king of the South Court, guarded by two soldiers in the corner of the big tent!

The King of the South Courtyard also found him, and the two looked at each other with sadness and helplessness in their eyes.

"Someone asked you something!" The other party's voice became colder, and Xiao Siwen was so frightened that he regained his senses, but he still insisted and did not kneel down. He only saluted and said in Chinese: "Reporting to General Zhou, I am Nanjing of the Great Liao Kingdom." Stay with Xiao Siwen."

"Xiao Siwen, you are in charge of Youzhou." The other party said and got up slowly, stroking the handle of the knife with one hand.

Xiao Siwen's heart was beating wildly, trying to stay calm, he couldn't help but take half a small step back: "Yes, I am the one who manages Youzhou City, do you have any orders from the general?" Under fear, he involuntarily lowered his posture.

The other party snorted, "If the commander-in-chief didn't want to ask you something, I would have killed you Khitan dog thieves today. You have made a note of it, and you are alive because you are asked to ask questions. If you can't tell me by then, I am the first one willing to kill you!"

Xiao Siwen's face turned pale, and he dared not say a word
Shi Congyun led the main force of the army northward that night.

Clean up the battlefield and deal with the follow-up prisoners of war to the East Route Army of Si Chao, Wang Huan, Luo Yanhuan and others.

At the time of this battle, it was roughly estimated that at least 2 main forces of the Liao army had been captured and killed in the north of Yijin Pass that day, and the results of the battle were still expanding. The various battles are different, this is a battle of annihilation!

Whether the subsequent pursuit and suppression can achieve the greatest effect depends on whether Zhao Kuangyin's troops can capture Gu'an in time and cut off the way for the Liao army to flee north.

However, Shi Congyun received the battle report from the front while he was still leading his army north to Gu'an.

Zhao Kuangyin took the lead in taking a detour from the east of Yukou Pass, ran for more than 120 miles, and arrived at Gu'an on the afternoon of the day of the battle. Before the Liao army fled north, he had captured Gu'an, destroyed the bridge to the north of Gu'an, and then closed the city gate and stood firm.

A large number of Liao troops were blocked in Gu'an when they fled north. Father Shi Yanchao's Long Jie elite cavalry followed and chased them, and then caught up with the Liao army outside the city of Gu'an. People were taken prisoner, and many were driven to the river to be shot and drowned.

They captured 210 and six generals and officials of the Liao army at all levels and accompanying officials. Later, they also captured Yelu Talie, the king of the Southern Academy of Liao Dynasty, and Xiao Siwen, who stayed behind in Nanjing.

But it's a pity that their emperor was not caught. Yelujing, the lord of the Liao Kingdom, still crossed the river and fled northward under the desperate protection of the royal army.

Shi Congyun was overjoyed!
In his opinion, not catching the emperor is not a big deal at all, what he hopes to catch are those generals and officials!
The country is a huge organization, and the emperor is not alone. Although the emperor is important in many cases, he cannot decide the fate of a country. It is the backbone of the civil and military bureaucracy that determines the fate of the country.

Take the Ming Dynasty as an example. Speaking of it, it is polarized. Some people think that the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty is greater than the sky, and the officials and emperors will be killed if they want to; The country is like the Song Dynasty.

The imperial power of the Ming Dynasty seems to be Schrödinger's cat, sometimes it is extremely big, and sometimes it is completely emptied.

In fact, it is enough to use the edge of the Tumu Fort as the dividing line. Before the Tumu Fort, the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty was very large, and it was completely able to control the court and have an overview of the country's power.

After the Tumu Fortress Change, the imperial power began to be gradually evacuated, and in the end it was completely full of factions and factions.The civil servants controlled the government, and the national strategy gradually turned to conservatism and retreat, and the Song Dynasty began.

The biggest problem causing this phenomenon is not any changes in the emperor before and after the Tumu Fortress Change, but that a large number of martial arts relatives were killed during the Tumu Fortress Change, which led to a sharp decline in the political power of the warriors, and the civil servants took the opportunity to rise and control the government , Overhead imperial power.

The death of an emperor does not guarantee to change the fate of a country, what if a new one is elected who is more powerful than the current one?This has happened many times in history.

But if many military generals and ministers of the country's backbone are killed, it can really greatly weaken a country's strength and change the country's destiny.

So when he heard that his father and Zhao Kuangyin had captured more than 200 Liao generals and civil and military officers, Shi Congyun was so excited that he immediately rushed the whole army to the north, and at the same time ordered Wang Quanbin to lead the army to the north to besiege Youzhou.

He himself led his own soldiers to Gu'an to deal with Liao officials in his father Shi Yanchao's front tent.

(End of this chapter)