The journey to the heavens starts from the underground station

Chapter 144 It depends on the battle, Song envoys arrive (two chapters in one)

On the morning of the first day of May, Li Yubing arrived in the southwest of Liaoyang City and set up camp ten miles away from the city.

Emperor Yelu Hongji of the Liao Kingdom, who had received the news a long time ago, led [-] palace tents and cavalry to fight at the south gate, intending to deal a fatal blow to the Song army when it first arrived.

Under Yang Ponu's command, ten battalions and [-] soldiers quickly spread out to meet the enemy with line infantry and artillery. Both sides were very confident and wanted to defeat each other in a single battle.

Nearly 10 people fought, and the battlefield stretched for ten miles.

With Yelu Hongji's order, the Khitan cavalry turned into three torrents and began to charge, led by the elite palace tents in heavy armor.

It's a pity that the difference in weapons between the two sides makes any tactics useless. Yang Ponu's command is quite satisfactory. No matter how scattered and concentrated the Liao army is, he is a set of infantry coordination.

Five hundred paces away, the infantry artillery opened fire, and the explosion completely disrupted the charge formation of the Liao army. Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor was behind to supervise the battle. The Liao army did not collapse, but calmed down the horses, and continued to charge forward with huge casualties At 150 steps, the rear-loading flintlock muskets in the hands of three rows of infantry began to shoot in sequence, and with the cannonballs fired by the small-caliber guns of the artillery battalion, the rain of bullets formed by the dense firepower enveloped the Liao army cavalry. An insurmountable line of death was drawn for the Khitan people. The Khitan cavalry turned their backs on their backs, and more and more corpses piled up. The blood flowing out even merged into a stream. The battle then turned into a pursuit battle.

It is a pity that the sound, light, and gunpowder smoke made it even more difficult to control the frightened horses. Yang Ponu immediately ordered the soldiers participating in the battle to form a unit, under the leadership of each bureau, while shouting "Kneel down and surrender, you will not die!" ", while dispersing and chasing the enemy.

The duration of the hot weapon battle was very short, from the time the first cannon was ejected to the time when the Khitan began to collapse, it was only a mere quarter of an hour.But at this moment, the Khitan people paid huge casualties.

Killed by shells, killed by bullets, fell off a horse, trampled to a pulp by his own people, what's more, he was hacked to death by his own people with knives because he blocked the way for his colleagues to escape...

"This is no longer a war, this is a massacre! The era of heavy cavalry is over!" Li Yu was in the heavily protected rear army of two infantry battalions, holding a telescope in his hand, looking at the tragic battlefield in front of him, and sighed with emotion.

"After this battle, the cavalry was reduced from the absolute main force to the auxiliary arms, and the infantry using thermal weapons re-emerged on the stage of history." Li Yu put down the binoculars, and patted the shoulder of a certain army commander beside him: "Write it down, and the children will take the exam later. There is an exam."

In the Khitan rear army, Yelu Hongji was sitting on his horse, as if frightened by the tragic battlefield, he was stunned without saying a word, his eyes full of surprise.

"Your Majesty, quickly enter the city!"

Xiao Wuna staggered and rushed over, grabbed Yelu Hongji and stepped off the reins of the horse, and pulled hard, the horse neighed in pain.

"My, my army..." Yelu Hongji's voice was full of tears.

"Your Majesty, hurry back to the city! Hurry up! Escort Your Majesty back to the city!" Xiao Wuna glanced back at the Song army's pursuers who were less than a mile away, and roared at the surrounding guards.

Fortunately, this place is not far from the city, the soldiers surrounded Yelu Hongji, cut down the broken soldiers who dared to block the way, and rushed to Liaoyang City.

Just after passing the moat, Xiao Wuna didn't care that there were still a large number of rout soldiers who hadn't crossed the river, so he quickly ordered the defenders to raise the suspension bridge to block the pursuers with the water of the moat, but also kept the rout soldiers outside the ten-foot-wide moat.

There is only a river between life and death.

All of a sudden, the blow to the rout was even more severe. With the shouts of "kneeling and surrendering to avoid death" from the Song army all over the mountains and plains, the Khitan people who had completely collapsed never fled again.

This massacre-like war was fought from morning to evening, from ten miles away from the city to the moat, and did not stop until it was almost within the range of the defensive weapons at the top of the city.

According to post-war statistics, more than [-] Khitan cavalry were annihilated and more than [-] were captured in this campaign. Less than [-] Khitan cavalry fled into Liaoyang City, and the rest fled in all directions and scattered in the surrounding area.

Yelu Hongji fled back to Liaoyang City in a hurry, and urgently ordered the city guards to close the city gate and not allow them to go out to fight in waves.After the city settled down, they counted the number of people, and there were only less than [-] soldiers in the palace tent capable of fighting in the city. After hearing this, Yelu Hongji laughed three times and vomited blood and fainted.

The [-] cavalry were beaten and collapsed in less than a quarter of an hour, and they didn't even rush to the Song army!What can we do now with only this little force left in the city?This is not as strong as the Song Army!
On the one hand, strictly guard the city and wait for the king's army.

As for whether King Qin's army could be defeated, no, Yelu Hongji had no hope in driving away the Song army. The [-] most elite cavalry in the country only lasted for a quarter of an hour before the [-] Song army. No matter how many tribal soldiers and village soldiers there are, what is the use of them besides consuming food and grass on the way and building momentum?

Now Yelu Hongji only hoped that the Song army would go on an expedition, and the food and grass were not enough, so he retreated on his own.

On the other hand, Yelu Hongji also received the news that it was King Wu of the Song Kingdom who sent troops, and the Song army at the Liao-Song border did not change. Under the proposal of the courtiers, Xiao Wuna was appointed as the envoy of the Liao Dynasty, and took advantage of the chaos to leave the city. Urgently went to Bianliang, the capital of the Song Dynasty, hoping for peace talks.

Compared with the gloomy Liaoyang City, Li Yu's camp is full of laughter.

The battle was fought very well, with very few casualties and countless captured. The gang leader army dismantled all the horses killed on the battlefield today, and had an extra meal in the evening, and the whole army ate meat to celebrate.

"Your Highness, after this battle, Khitan no longer has any elite soldiers that can be used. It all depends on Your Highness's foresight and foresight to personally train the new army!" In the tent of the commander of the Chinese army, Yang Ponu flattered his face with a smile on his face. One sentence, and then another question: "However, today's battle consumed more than half of the gunpowder and ammunition carried by our army. I am afraid that we will not be able to survive two more such battles. Also, our army has newly added With more than 2 captives, the general may not have enough food for us!"

The army using firearms is more dependent on logistics. The rations brought from Chenzhou in the Liaoyang dispatch this time are only enough for the army for ten days.

"so?"

"So the general thinks whether the Khitan captive can follow the method of dealing with the natives?"

What Yang Ponu said is that when the land is developed overseas, the army can domesticate the natives captured by the army, and the natives who work honestly become slaves in the army; Tun's fertilizer.

Li Yu understood what he meant. I'm afraid that the killing star wanted to learn from Lord Wu'an and kill the captives in order to save food and grass?

"Nonsense! As a general, killing indiscriminately, hurting the peace, you are not afraid of a difficult end?" Li Yu immediately reprimanded: "How many times have I taught you that war is the continuation of politics, and strategy must obey political strategy! Kill this There are more than [-] Khitan people, how do you teach me how to subdue Khitan?"

"The Khitans are different from the natives. The natives don't obey kings, and their wild nature is hard to tame. Hu and Han live together in the north, and they have long been separated from each other. The Khitans have been sinicized for a hundred years, so they must be treated differently from the natives."

"But our food..."

"It's okay, just transfer from the port of Chenzhou. Isn't the troop carrier on the Dongliang River vacant? Order Di Yuan to send the troop carrier back to the mouth of the sea to load grain, grass, gunpowder and projectiles. As for the captives..." Li Yu scratched his head Scratching his scalp, he gave a sly smile: "Build a special camp for prisoners of war, drive all the prisoners in, and send a battalion of soldiers to guard the outside, and deal with them after the war. You don't have to be afraid of them escaping, just take off their clothes Well, just give them one meal a day so they don’t starve to death! If they really have the guts to run away naked, then this king will admit it even if he’s his mother!”

Anyway, they are just a bunch of old men, so it's no big deal to meet honestly, it's already May, if they feel cold, they can do some exercise!
Because the interrogation of the prisoners learned that Yelu Hongji had issued an edict to Qin kings everywhere, Li Yu gave up his plan to siege the city and changed it to a siege to fight for aid.In the next month, Li Yu's troops were divided into three groups, and Lu Qiusuo's troops on the east bank of the Dongliang River surrounded Liaoyang City. They relied on the navy to ensure logistical supplies, and adopted various strategies to defeat Qin Wang one after another. army.

Yelu Hongji seemed to be scared out of his wits. For a month, he had been huddling in the city, and the soldiers and horses who had been sitting and watching for help were defeated one by one by the Song army. The number of Li Yu's prisoner-of-war camps rapidly increased to 15, and the Liao Kingdom was shaken.

Since the dispatch of troops in mid-April, to the beginning of June today, Li Yu led the troops and made a lot of noise in the Liao Kingdom. The officials and gentlemen in the Bianliang Chaotang naturally received the news.

The first thing I received was that the King of Wu, Zhao Kai, sent troops under the banner of the Song Army and attacked Chenzhou in the Liao Kingdom. The voice of disobedience urgently ordered the courtiers to discuss countermeasures.

What strategy can a group of stubborn old party courtiers discuss?Discussions came and went, and the ministers and the little emperor Zhao Xu reached a unified opinion:

Zhao Kai, the king of Wu, kept his private soldiers and plotted against him. He planned to deprive the Liangzhe Road appeasement ambassador and sent him to judge Suzhou affairs. Returning to Beijing alone, the private army under his jurisdiction was handed over to the Song envoy.

Su Zhe, the minister under the order, was appointed as the envoy, and Liang Weijian, the internal servant, was appointed as the deputy. He went to the Liao Kingdom urgently, explaining the whole story to the Liao Lord, and reiterated the policy of repairing the two countries.

Only two days after Su Zhe went out of the city on Chijie, the court once again received the news of the war in the north. The private soldiers led by King Wu Zhao Kai had captured Chenzhou City and were leading the troops to the north. The purpose may be the Liaoyang Prefecture in Tokyo, Liao Kingdom. .

The courtiers were even more terrified when they heard the news, and they all scolded Zhao Kai for being bold and reckless, causing trouble, so why is Tokyo in Liao Kingdom so easy to fight?Zhao Kai was afraid that if he wanted to wipe out the entire army, he would also cause trouble for the Song Dynasty for no reason.While the little emperor Zhao Xu gloated at his misfortune, he hurriedly ordered the Ministry of Households to double the yearly coins for this year, hoping to appease the anger of the Liao Lord.

Sure enough, one ten days later, Xiao Wuna, the envoy of Liao Kingdom, rushed to Honglu Temple. As for the details, I learned that the center of the Song Dynasty was unaware of the fact that the King of Wu sent troops without permission, so he went along with the situation and took advantage of the situation. He met Zhao Xu at the court meeting, and then talked about the Chanyuan alliance as soon as he came up. Tore up the covenant, fought with each other, and threatened Zhao Xu. After this incident, the Liao army will definitely send troops south to teach Song a lesson.

The little emperor and his ministers didn't know that this guy was a strong outsider, and his real purpose was just to intimidate, hoping to make King Wu retreat, but seeing Xiao Wuna's anger, and counting the faults of the Song Dynasty, they quickly calmed down the envoy of Liao with good words , Yan has sent envoys to Liaoyang to explain to the Liao Lord, and ordered the King of Wu to retreat.

Seeing the success of the trick, Xiao Wuna pretended to be calm, took the opportunity to blackmail, and finally accepted Zhao Xu's promise to double the annual currency for five years, and then quit the court pretending to be dissatisfied.

Outside the city of Liaoyang, in the tent of the Chinese army commander, Li Yu was reading Chinese medicine books in his hands boredly, learning the meridians, acupuncture points and other knowledge in it, laying the foundation for practicing martial arts.

In the past half month, fewer and fewer King Qin's troops appeared outside Liaoyang City, and the nearest enemy army was defeated by one blow five days ago.The complicated knowledge in the medical book in his hand made Li Yu's head so big that he couldn't help but wander off. He was thinking about whether he should order the siege of the city, capture the center of the Liao Kingdom, and completely end the Khitan regime. Jin Yi's personal guards came to report, saying that Song envoys had come outside the camp to read His Majesty's imperial edict.

"Raise the account! Please bring the envoy... No, bring it in." Li Yu put away the medical books, smiled playfully, and his own guards beat the drums and gathered the generals.

After the three drums, all the generals put on their helmets and armor, and they all went to the commander's tent. Su Zhe, who was on an urgent mission to the Liao Kingdom, was holding a scepter, followed by Liang Weijian, who was holding a brocade box. Under the leadership of Wei, he walked into Li Yu's handsome tent.

Lameness is normal. His Majesty ordered an urgent mission to the Liao Kingdom, changing horses but not carriages. The bones of the two people who had been jostling on the carriage for a long time were almost falling apart.

Entering the commander's tent, Su Zhe first looked at the generals lined up in two teams on both sides. They were all wearing armor and armor, and they were all in military uniform; only King Wu, who was sitting upright on the couch behind the short table above, was in casual clothes.

Su Che frowned, and raised the scepter in his hand. Liang Weijian behind him took a step forward and shouted angrily, "Your Majesty's edict, King Wu Zhao Kai accepts the edict."

Li Yu sat on the low couch without moving.

Seeing this, Liang Weijian frowned, raised his voice, and shouted again: "Wu Wang Zhao Kai accepts the order!"

"Tsk," Li Yu clicked his mouth, picked out his ear hole with his little finger, chuckled, and said lazily: "Why are you shouting so loudly? This king is not deaf! Lu Xiuyuan?"

As he spoke, Li Yu pursed his lips, Lu Xiuyuan immediately understood, took two steps forward, grabbed the brocade box, opened it, took out a yellow imperial decree from it, and dropped the brocade box on the ground by the way.

"King Wu! Ergan!" Liang Weijian shouted with anger on his face, while Su Zhe stood there without saying a word, staring at Li Yu with complicated eyes.

"Hehe, I heard that this eunuch is all castrated, and his voice is sharp when he speaks, but hearing your roar is full of anger, it's really deafening! It must be because he hasn't been eunuched, right? No, how do you serve the harem? Xiuyuan, take it down and castrate it again!" Li Yu glanced at him sideways and said casually.

Li Yu still remembers that it was Liang Weijian who put the dragon robe on Zhao Xu at the beginning!
"Yes! Come on!"

Lu Xiuyuan smirked, and with a wave of his hand, two burly men walked in from outside the tent, set up Liang Weijian and dragged them out.

(End of this chapter)