Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

After Yelv Lage was killed in the Battle of Baideng Mountain, Shi Shucong took inventory of the supplies, and then decisively ordered to move towards Yunzhou.

On the morning of September 22, we arrived at Lizhai in the eastern suburb of Yunzhou.

There are few soldiers in Yunzhou, and the defenders dare not attack, so they can only sit and watch their soldiers approach the city.

In the afternoon of that day, part of the Flying Dragon Army reached the west of the city, and Yunzhou was already beset by enemies on both sides.

Panicking is inevitable, but there is nothing to do. The main force is in Yanchang City.

This city is forty miles north of Yunzhou, on the north bank of Yangshui (silt river).

Tens of thousands of horses from the three towns of Datong, Youzhou, and Hedong attacked day and night, and the city walls were dilapidated, but they still failed to take it.

On this day, Li Siyuan climbed the mountain himself to observe the movement in the city.

At that time, the north wind was blowing strongly, the rain and snow were gradually rising, and the weather was very cold.

It was the first time for Xia and Jin to fight so late in Daibei.

In recent days, as the Xia army has continued to increase its troops, the siege of Yanchang City has actually gradually stopped, and the army has gradually withdrawn to the south bank of Yangshui. The other troops also withdrew, and the siege was effectively over.

In fact, it won't work if it doesn't end.

Relying on the large number of soldiers, the Xia people continued to send cavalry pawns to the south with food and grass for several days, trying to outflank their army.The Jin army naturally sent a large number of cavalry to drive them away.But it is inevitable that morale will be shaken by fighting.

This battle can no longer be fought.

According to Li Siyuan's original intention, the Jin army should have retreated to Yunzhou from the moment they learned of Khitan's retreat.It's better to miss an opportunity than to be wiped out.But Shi Shanyou disagreed, if he suffered a big loss this time, it would be all his fault.

The distance of forty miles, how do you want me to retreat? It is impossible not to drop a large piece of meat.

There was another sound of fighting on the north bank of the Yangshui River.

Li Siyuan only glanced at it for a while, then lost interest.There have been too many cavalry confrontations like this in recent days. They are all venting and killing each other, and they can't fundamentally reverse the situation of the battle.

The wind was even stronger, and there was some rain and snow, which made people extremely cold and damp.

Li Siyuan went down the mountain and rode his horse back to camp.

After a while, the little sleet will turn into heavy snow, making it even more impossible to fight.

"Xia Jun is coming from the south." As soon as he entered the camp, Li Siyuan heard the report from his staff.

This person is very young, from Youzhou.Because he has been an official in Youzhou for many years, Li Siyuan still likes to reward and promote Yan people. Many of his cronies in the army are Yan soldiers and Yan generals.

After the former military judge returned to his hometown in old age, he recommended Feng Dao, whose ancestral home was in Yingzhou, to Li Siyuan's side. He started as a junior staff member, mainly doing clerical work, and was not conspicuous.

But Li Siyuan felt that this person had some skills, and after talking with him a few times, he promoted him to be a judge beside him, dealing with miscellaneous tasks such as food and grass, and also giving advice.

At this time, Feng Dao was reporting to Li Siyuan.

"Tell me carefully." Li Siyuan sat down and said.

"There was General Xia's Uncle Cong, with thousands of troops, who defeated more than [-] Khitans at Baideng Mountain, and killed Yelu Lage." Feng Dao said: "At this time, we have arrived at the city of Yunzhou. There are also Feilong soldiers, among them About [-] people went to the west of Yunzhou City, and they may go north in a few days to prevent our army from returning. The situation in the capital is extremely critical, and there is no delay."...

Li Siyuan silently recalled the geography of the mountains and rivers, and suddenly he slapped the table and stood up.

Feng Dao quietly stepped aside.He knew that this was a sign of Li Siyuan's anger, so there was no need to touch this bad luck.

"Shi Shanyou hurt me!" Li Siyuan said angrily, "It should have been withdrawn a long time ago, what the hell are you doing now?"

Feng Dao also recalled the map, and felt that Shi Shanyou was indeed too deceitful.As soon as Khitan retreated, the Xia army in the direction of Shuozhou freed up their hands. Even if they were worried that some Jin soldiers would leave Ningwu Pass and harass Shanyang and Mayi again, and they had to stay on defense, they could still free up a lot of troops.

Shi Shucong led the army to capture many towns east of Yunzhou, and now he is advancing westward, showing his combat effectiveness, which is also a big threat.

The main force in the front is holding the formation, and the side and rear have detours. Isn't this a routine used by Xia Bandits?
It is often used, and it is really easy to use. If you succeed every time, you will have no temper.

"This battle cannot be fought." Li Siyuan said, "We have to find a way to withdraw our troops, the sooner the better."

Feng Dao agreed with this view, and then added something: "Tou, the thief general Shu Cong first attacked Yun, Wei, Xin, Yi and other states, and then went west, but the two generals Li Cunxiao and Li Siben in Guizhou did not make any progress. You have to guard against it."

Li Siyuan suddenly looked at Feng Dao, his eyes were full of surprise, anger and even killing intent.

Feng Dao lowered his head slightly, avoiding Li Siyuan's gaze.

Li Siyuan looked at him for a long time, then turned his gaze away.

Staff members have the obligation to remind and inform, and Feng Dao has done it, which can be called competent.Believe it or not is the Lord's own business, and they cannot be blamed.

Also, what he said was true.

Li Siyuan didn't believe that Li Cunxiao would rebel, but he had resentment in his heart, and it was possible even if he didn't put in much effort.As for Li Siben, he was even more unpredictable and felt something was wrong.

Thinking about it this way, the idea of ​​​​withdrawing troops became more determined.

"Will Shi Shanyou also..." Li Siyuan lowered his voice and asked.

Feng Dao hesitated for a moment, then shook his head again, and said, "Shi Shuaiying just values ​​the foundation too much. Dutou, if you want to withdraw, you must do so as soon as possible. And you can't retreat in the direction of Yunzhou. Forty miles, you can't retreat. back."

"Why?" Li Siyuan asked.

"Xia Thief Flying Dragon Army comes and goes like the wind, and their combat power is tyrannical. Now that they have reached the west of the city, they can enter the north of the city in a short time, dig trenches and camps. If our army retreats, can we be sure to take down its camps? If we can't attack for a long time, the rear What will happen if the main force of the Xia army comes over again?" Feng Dao sighed: "This road seems to be very close. It takes less than two days for a normal march to reach Yunzhou, but it is very dangerous and may not be able to pass through."

Li Siyuan nodded slowly.Then you have to take other small roads, and you have to discard a lot of supplies. The road is not necessarily safe, and it is still very troublesome.

"I know what's in my mind." Li Siyuan said, "Go, accompany me to see Shi Shanyou. If this guy is still obsessed with his obsession, I can't help it."

"Of order." Feng Dao clapped his hands in reply.

Li Siyuan did what he said, and soon led Feng Dao to Shi Shanyou's Datong army camp.

Shi Shanyou was drinking, and when he saw Li Siyuan coming, he was in a bad mood, so he snorted coldly, obviously the relationship between the two is rather stiff now.

Li Siyuan saw that his nose was not his nose, and his face was not his face. He was very upset, but he still said: "Shi Shuai, this is not the time to be angry. Tens of thousands of people must be beaten back. Yanchang is dead, so he cannot stay for long. Do you have a charter?"...

Shi Shanyou looked at Li Siyuan, then at Feng Dao, and said, "I've already learned about what you know. Why? You're here to persuade me to retreat again?"

"May I ask Shi Shuai, how many people are there in Yunzhou? How many people are there in Weizhou? Who owns Shuozhou?" Li Siyuan didn't want to argue with him any more, and asked bluntly: "After this great battle, what is left?" How much do you want?"

"I know what you mean, there are still a lot of people in Yunzhou..." Shi Shanyou said.

"After this big battle, how much is left?" Li Siyuan asked bluntly.

Shi Shanyou was at a loss for words at first, and then became annoyed, you came to see my joke, right?
"Shi Shuai won't answer, I'll answer!" Li Siyuan said, "There are not many people left! Add up a few thousand households. With such a small number of people, what's the point of keeping them alive? Shouldn't we rely on Xin Dai for relief?"

Shi Shanyou's expression was a little unnatural.

Xin Dai is now Li Siyuan's domain. It is a bit outrageous to eat and use other people's money, and finally get angry with him and quarrel with him.

"Retreat." Li Siyuan said firmly: "every day you stay, it will be more dangerous. If you stay any longer, you may not be able to leave. Shi Shucong is a famous general in Liang. He is brave and resourceful. He led the army to Yun Zhou is not easy to deal with. Why don't you take advantage of the fact that its foothold is not stable, go ahead and kill it first, break its army, and we can escape."

Shi Shanyou sat on the chair, fidgeting around.

"Retreat or not, Shi Shuai will give you a quick word." Li Siyuan asked forcefully.

"Your Majesty ordered me to go north, but now I return without success. Is it appropriate?" Shi Shanyou asked.

"Compared to the king's reprimand, it is more important to lead the soldiers to retreat smoothly. He Dong Erlang, a man who has survived a hundred battles, if he loses all of them, the king will really blame you and me." Li Siyuan directly refuted Shi Shanyou as very clumsy and weak reason, said.

"It still doesn't work..." Shi Shanyou said, frowning.

"Boom!" Li Siyuan directly kicked a maza over, and said angrily, "Shi Shanyou, I have endured you for a long time. I am blinded by greed and don't know how to live or die. Your Majesty handed over the Datong Army to you. I am really blind—uh..."

Having said this, Li Siyuan's tone was suffocated.

Words like "blind" are not popular in Hedong.If someone makes a small report, maybe what will happen.Fortunately, Shi Shanyou is also a rough person, if he didn't say anything, he just pretended he didn't hear it.

"You don't retreat, I will retreat!" Li Siyuan no longer expected to persuade Shi Shanyou, he only heard him say: "I have sent an envoy to report to the king about the battle situation in Chen Yunzhou. Your great king Yingrui will definitely understand my painstaking efforts. Yanchang This side of the city, I won’t play with you anymore.”

After speaking, Li Siyuan lifted the curtain and left.

When he got outside, his mind became clearer after the cold wind blew.

"Quickly prepare food, equipment, chariots and horses, and prepare to retreat." Li Siyuan said, "Send scouts to investigate the marching route in advance."

The first half of the sentence was addressed to Feng Dao, and the second half of the sentence was addressed to the general, and the two took orders together.

"Dutou, I don't know which way to go?" Feng Dao asked softly.

"Go to the southeast and cross the mountains." Li Siyuan said: "It is inconvenient for the bandits to pursue in the mountains, and it can save a lot of trouble. After entering the mountains and getting rid of the pursuers, go south to cross the Sanggan River and enter Weizhou."

Feng Dao knew it in his heart.

If the thief Xia pursued him, would he follow Li Siyuan over mountains and ridges, or follow Shi Shanyou on flat post roads? The answer is obvious.

Dutou has fulfilled his duty of notification, and he did not leave without saying goodbye. He is not Shi Shanyou's subordinate, so there is no need to listen to his command--one thing to say, in theory, Feng Dao thinks that King Jin's arrangement is inappropriate Yes, but in reality, it didn't seem that bad, because Shi Shanyou was already in a daze.

After leaving the Datong military camp, Li Siyuan called all the generals in the army to discuss on the spot, and quickly arranged for a retreat.After a long silence, Shi Shanyou, the envoy of the Datong Army, also heaved a long sigh.

The Khitan retreated and were attacked from the front and back, and the battle was really impossible.