Movie: Get Alpha Dog at the start

Chapter 187 Song Jun Dare to Fight Back? (Ask for a monthly ticket!!!)
Yelu Hongji's personal expedition, together with the troops mobilized from the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, has a total force of 600,000, including more than 400,000 cavalry, which is also the largest cavalry army in the world.

In order to take back Youzhou, Yelu Hongji also invested heavily, [-] Pishi troops, this time directly brought [-], and the imperial chariot personally marched, and the chariot of the Liao Kingdom was already running at full capacity.

When the news spread back to the Song Dynasty, the whole country was shocked. No one expected that Yelu Hongji's reaction would be so fierce. The joy of Qin Hao's beheading Yelu Chutai and winning Youzhou disappeared in an instant, replaced by black clouds pressing down on the city of fear.

The psychological pressure caused by the Liao Kingdom to the Song Dynasty was accumulated from generation to generation. Originally, the curse had just been loosened, but now it was cast a shadow.

Youzhou City.

Zhao Yingce's face is also full of worry at the moment, he has witnessed the strength of the Liao army more than once, if the city of Youzhou hadn't been blasted with thunder and fire bombs, I'm afraid he is still drinking the northwest wind outside the city.

Yelu Hongji was also the emperor of the Liao Kingdom, and he came here in person to conquer the whole country, so he didn't know who he was.

"Yelu Hongji's army is estimated to arrive in only one month. What's your opinion?" Zhao Yingce asked in a deep voice.

The British Duke cupped his hands and said: "His Royal Highness, Youzhou City is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Liao Kingdom has no thunder and fire bombs, so it can only be filled with human lives. The general thinks that the most important thing to do now is to strengthen the city's defenses and hoard food and grass. As long as you stick to it for more than a month." , the supplies of the 600,000 Liao army will inevitably be tight, and then we will look for opportunities to win."

This proposal has also been approved by a group of veterans: "The British public and elders have said that this method is the most feasible."

Zhao Yingce nodded, and looked at Qin Hao and Gu Tingye again: "What do the Marquis of Jinghai and Marquis of Ningyuan think?"

Gu Tingye said loudly: "Your Highness, there are [-] cavalry in our army now. If you stick to it, it will be useless. It is better to take the initiative to attack from Zhuozhou, capture Qigou Pass, and take the opportunity to advance west. Not only can it hit the morale of the Liao army, but also It will make it impossible for the defenders in Weizhou, Yunzhou and other places to rush to help."

This proposal was also affirmed by the generals present. Zhuozhou is the retreat route leading to the Song Dynasty. If it is cut off, the morale of the army will inevitably be slackened. On the contrary, taking the initiative to attack can prevent the Liao army in Yunzhou from acting rashly and ensure the safety of the rear food road.

Qin Hao looked at the map in deep thought, and pointed to one of them after a long time: "Juyongguan, as long as Juyongguan is captured, the Liao army from the west will not be able to advance an inch. We only need to face Yelu Hongji's army alone, Yelu Hongji It claims to have a 600,000-strong army, but the real infantry is only 200,000, and the cavalry is almost useless in siege battles. If one goes up and down, our odds of winning are actually very high.”

Although there is an element of consolation in these words, the analysis is still reasonable, and the atmosphere in the Chinese military tent is not as heavy as before.

Cheng Guogong said: "Juyongguan is known as the most powerful pass in the world. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Youzhou is far away. If you divide your troops at this time, if you can't conquer it before Yelu Hongji's army arrives, it will be a disaster."

Qin Hao said with a smile: "It will take some time to rush there by land, but there is a waterway in front of Juyong Pass, and it only takes a fleet of ships to reach Juyong Pass in three to five days. .”

Zhao Yingce also laughed: "Haha, I have forgotten the prestige of the Mingzhou navy, so Duke Cheng led an army of [-] to take down Juyongguan."

"The last general takes orders!" Cheng Guogong readily accepted, this is a good job that can make meritorious service, he has clearly seen the power of thunder and fire bombs in the battle of Youzhou, and he has the confidence to overcome no matter how difficult the pass is.

After discussing the countermeasures, the army began to act. First, according to Qin Hao's proposal, hundreds of thousands of troops started a logging trip, cutting down all the trees around Youzhou City that are suitable for building siege equipment, and making arrows in this way. The materials are also available, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Looking at the barren mountains around, Qin Hao felt a little emotional. The destructive power of human beings is really terrifying. In just half a month, the surrounding area of ​​Youzhou seemed to be plagued by locusts, and there was no grass growing.

After having a large amount of timber, a large number of fortifications were arranged in Youzhou City about [-] steps away, such as horse-rejecting piles and horse-falling pits. Qin Hao also dug a moat specially, and brought in running water from the Gaoliang River. The defensive power has been greatly enhanced.

The only pity is that time is too tight, Qin Hao only had time to dig the moat to a width of 30 meters. If there was enough time, he would definitely dig the moat to a width of 180 meters like that of Xiangyang City. It is estimated that Yelu Hongji would want to vomit blood when he saw it.

In fact, when Yelu Hongji led the army to Youzhou, he almost vomited blood. Is this still the Youzhou in his memory?
The rest of the generals of the Liao Kingdom also had a chill in their teeth facing the strengthened defense of Youzhou City. How many corpses would it take to fill up such a fortification?

However, the emperor of the Liao Kingdom personally marched, and the cowhide has already been blown out. If Youzhou is not recaptured, there will be problems in the internal governance of the Liao Kingdom. Be cohesive.

Yelu Hongji was also very aware of this, so he gave the order to attack early the next morning after the army arrived in Youzhou.

The emperor who advocated Buddhism did not have any compassion because of this. He didn't care about the death of soldiers, and rights were his consistent pursuit.

Of course, the first to charge was not the real Liao army, but some northern minorities attached to the Liao state. Under the pressure of the Liao army's swords and guns, they rushed to the city of Youzhou.

Qin Hao was in charge of guarding the south gate. From a long distance, he saw a group of soldiers wearing fur products rushing towards the city in a disorderly formation.

150 steps, 120 steps.

One hundred steps, just when these soldiers were about to rush to the Juma on the outer line of defense, Qin Hao ordered: "One hundred steps ahead, throw, let go!"

The soldiers on the top of the city raised their bows and arrows to 45 degrees one after another, stretched half the string, loosened their hands, and the bows and arrows shot away like raindrops.

"Ah~~~"

Screams rang out on the battlefield, and those soldiers who were about to lift the horses were instantly shot into a hornet's nest, and the horses, which required more than a dozen people to lift together, fell to the ground again, causing waves of smoke and dust.

This scene was also staged at several other city gates. The Liao army paid a painful price of thousands of casualties just for the first contact.

Yelu Hongji's face was very ugly, and he ordered to increase the attack force, so as to consume the number of bows and arrows of the Song army, and prepare for the real siege later.

And those northern minorities became cannon fodder, and the Liao army didn't care about the lives of these people, and drove them to die.

In the fierce battle on the first day, the Liao army suffered tens of thousands of casualties, but in the end they only broke through the first horse rejection barrier and advanced to an area eighty steps away from the city gate.

However, the Song army did not suffer any casualties. Logically speaking, this should be a happy thing, but everyone in the Chinese army's tent looked very serious.

The determination and madness of the Liao army made everyone realize that this would be an extremely difficult battle, especially the nearly 400,000 cavalry of Yelu Hongji outside the city. I'm afraid that everyone here will not be able to survive.

The ancient cavalry is equivalent to the tanks of later generations, and cannot be stopped by manpower, especially such a large-scale cavalry corps.

Everyone realized that Youzhou City could not be lost, otherwise, what awaited them would be annihilated.

Then, there was a week of offensive and defensive battles in succession. The Liao army had more than 50,000 people killed and injured, while the Song army suffered only [-] casualties. Blocks or even javelin hits, the long-range offensive methods of ethnic minorities can be described as varied.

With such huge casualties, the Liao army finally cleared the obstacles outside the city of Youzhou. At this time, the only thing standing in front of them was the 30-meter-wide moat dug by Qin Hao.

However, there have also been some changes in the mentality of the Liao army. The most obvious is that the leaders of the northern ethnic minorities have begun to feel war-weary. They originally wanted to go south with the Liao to plunder the resources of the Song Dynasty, but they were sent to the battlefield. In the meat grinder, all the young warriors of their tribe died, which posed a huge threat to their survival.

Yelu Hongji also knew that if the persecution continued, there would be a mutiny, so he could only agree to let these ethnic minorities rest and replace them with the Liao army to attack the city.

Compared with those ethnic minorities, the Liao army's military formation is more orderly, and its equipment is more advanced, even using large equipment such as catapults.

However, the catapults of the Song Army occupied a high position on the top of the wall and had a longer range, and as early as when the fourth army was in front of the training hall, Qin Hao trained a group of soldiers who operated eight-ox crossbows and catapults, and taught them The cross positioning method far exceeds the opponent's trebuchet on the head.

In just one morning, more than 20 catapults of the Liao Army at the Nancheng Gate were all destroyed.

Hearing the news, the British public quickly asked Qin Hao to borrow someone to suppress the Liao army at the west gate, and quickly achieved excellent results.

Catapult production is relatively complicated. The Liao Kingdom itself is a nomadic people, and few people have mastered this technology. The number of catapults is very limited. After destroying fifty catapults, Yelu Hongji could only order the catapults to be withdrawn. Out of the battlefield.

Without the cover of large-scale long-range weapons such as trebuchets, the casualties of the Liao army began to increase exponentially. Coupled with the input of the city's eight-ox crossbow, even holding a shield may be shot through, causing damage to the Liao army. Great psychological pressure.

For four days in a row, after dropping more than 5000 corpses, the Liao army filled the 30-meter-wide moat with sandbags, and the Liao army could finally enter the siege battle.

Qin Hao couldn't help sighing, the time was still too short, if the moat could be dug deeper and wider, the casualties of the Liao army would at least be multiplied several times.

Yelu Hongji was no longer as vigorous as before, and it took him more than ten days just to clear the surrounding obstacles, which was an unprecedented failure for the Liao army.

That night, Yelu Hongji held a pre-war mobilization meeting and ordered that no matter whoever can win Youzhou, he can get the title of Marquis of Jianguo County, and if he owns the title of Marquis of Jianguo County or above, he will be directly promoted to one level.

All the generals of the Liao Kingdom were so excited that they screamed and declared on the spot that they would be the first to stand on the top of Youzhou city.

However, it was only when they actually attacked the city that they realized how easy it is to defend and difficult to attack. Just like the difficulties encountered by the Song army at the beginning, the ladders in Youzhou City have almost become a decoration. The soldiers in the city brought some psychological pressure.

By the time they climbed the ladder, they were too tired to hold a knife. It felt as if they had just finished climbing unprotected rocks and would soon be hacked to death by the guards.

However, after entering the siege battle, the casualties of the Song Army also began to increase. Thousands of Song Army soldiers were killed or injured almost every day, and the wounded barracks were already overcrowded. As for the temporary clinic, as for the original nobles of the Liao Kingdom, they were naturally cleaned up. Are they still kept for the New Year?

The casualties of the Liao army were even more terrifying, almost four to five times that of the defending Song army. Under such a terrifying casualty data, Yelu Hongji also became extremely anxious. He had a total of 200,000 infantry, and now he has lost nearly half of them. However, Youzhou City still has no tendency to be captured at all.

If this continues, he can only let the cavalry dismount and attack the city. This is undoubtedly a prodigal behavior, and it is very stupid.

Yelu Hongji could only think of another way: "How come the reinforcements from Yunzhou haven't arrived yet?"

The general's embarrassing report: "Your Majesty, I just got the news that Qigou Pass and Juyong Pass fell one after another not long ago. The reinforcements from Yunzhou were blocked in the Taihang Mountains. I'm afraid they won't be able to reach them for the time being."

Yelu Hongji was furious: "Then recruit soldiers from Jizhou, Tanzhou, and Shunzhou. Regardless of Liao and Han, as long as they are 14 years old, they will all be drawn to the battlefield!"

"promise."

This decree was soon strictly enforced by the Liao army. How strict is it?As long as men over 1.5 meters tall were arrested, many Han people in the north were very angry. As a result, rebellions began to appear in areas that were not originally disgusted with the rule of the Liao Kingdom.

The northern land was originally an environment where Hu and Han lived together. The Han people in the northern land are also quite sturdy, and they are skilled in bowing and horses. The original small judgment is nothing more than a small judgment, but there have been rebellions in the three states, which also caused the grain roads in the rear of the Liao Kingdom to be affected. threatened.

Yelu Hongji could only order the division of troops to extinguish the rebellion. These Liao cavalry who had been idle on the battlefield for half a month finally had a place to use. However, Liao was very brutal and the only way for them to face the rebellion It is killing, and it is indiscriminate killing.

This also means that more and more Han people in the north have joined the rebellion organization. The rebellion that was originally sporadic has completely formed a prairie fire in Jizhou, Tanzhou, and Shunzhou.

Yelu Hongji did not realize the seriousness of the problem. In his opinion, it is impossible to kill all the Han people in the north. People who are not of our race must have a different heart. He has heard this sentence and agrees. .

After that, the offensive and defensive battle of Youzhou entered the bloodiest moment. The Liao army launched attacks almost day and night, and did not give the Song army defending the city any respite.

Even later, the supply of bows and arrows of the Liao army was not available, and they directly picked up the bows and arrows shot by the Song army from under the city gate to counterattack, and the inventory of the bows and arrows of the Song army also decreased sharply due to long-term consumption.

Qin Hao could only organize the people of Youzhou City to participate in making bows and arrows. Although it was only a drop in the bucket, it was better than nothing.

In this way, the two sides spent a month abruptly. The size of the Liao army has dropped from the initial 600,000 to less than 400,000, and the size of the Song army has also dropped from 400,000 to just over 300,000.

At this time, the grain and grass on both sides had problems. Although Youzhou City had stockpiled a lot of grain and grass, the grain and grass not only had to be supplied to the army, but also to the common people. The grain in the warehouse had bottomed out.

The Liao army also has the same problem. The grain roads in the rear are constantly being harassed. In addition, the Liao state itself is not an agricultural nation. Can't get supplies.

What worries Yelu Hongji even more is that the horses have not received good food supplies for more than a month, and they have begun to lose weight. This is undoubtedly bad news for the cavalry. If the horsepower cannot be guaranteed, the combat effectiveness of the cavalry will also decline.

That is to say, Yelu Hongji knew that the Song army had no ability to pursue, or else he would have ordered the withdrawal of the army long ago.

However, on a certain day, a spy came to report that a cavalry unit appeared sixty miles west of Youzhou City, with more than 70,000 people.

At first Yelu Hongji thought it was the reinforcements from Yunzhou, and was about to be happy, but when he saw the flag of the opponent, his eyes widened in fright.

In the distance, I saw the word "Song" written on the big banner with red letters on a black background, and the word "Gu" written on the flag next to it.

Gu Tingye finally came back. After going to Qigou Pass many times and repelling the attack of Yunzhou reinforcements several times, he confirmed that the opponent could not conquer the pass. He left [-] soldiers and led [-] cavalry to the Youzhou battlefield.

Along the way, he was still worried about what to do if Youzhou City was captured when he arrived, but when he arrived, he found that the Liao army was exhausted.

The arrival of Gu Tingye also made Qin Hao see the opportunity to fight back, so he quickly consulted with Zhao Yingce and Cheng Guogong.

"I can order a surprise attack on the Liao army camp tonight."

If it was a few days ago, Zhao Yingce and Cheng Guogong would never agree to this risky strategy, because the cost and benefit are not directly proportional. They are all infantry. No one can catch up.

But when Gu Tingye came back, the situation was completely different, and they had the capital to pursue.

The appearance of a large number of cavalry also made Yelu Hongji dare not attack the city regardless. The Liao army trapped outside the west gate withdrew to the south gate.

It's just that everyone in the Liao army didn't expect that the Song army in Youzhou City had the courage to go out of the city to attack after being besieged for more than a month.

At night, Qin Hao led thousands of soldiers and slipped out quietly through the south gate, and stopped about a hundred steps away from the Liao army camp, waiting quietly for the arrival of Zishi.

(End of this chapter)