The Beacon of Kyushu

After a while, it reached the foot of the mountain.

Under the dim moonlight, Xiao Duli, Li Chonghui, and Yelu Xiuge led the troops out of the camp and quietly deployed their troops at the foot of Gouzhu Mountain. Xiao Duli usually served as an official in Linhuang, and it was a rare opportunity for him to lead the army to fight. At this moment, he was riding on his horse, looking at Yanmen Pass on the top of Gouzhu Mountain, and then turned around to look at the 100,000 troops behind him, and he couldn't help feeling heroic.

He drew the long sword from his waist, pointed at Yanmen Pass, and shouted loudly: "My men! It takes a thousand days to raise an army, but only a day to deploy it. It is time for us to contribute to the country and repay His Majesty! There are only 3,000 defenders in Yanmen Pass, but we have 100,000 people. How can we not win? Come on, follow me to rush up the mountain, capture Yang Ye alive, and seize Yanmen!"

Many people in the Liao army had heard of Yang Ye's reputation, and they knew how easy it was to defend Yanmen Pass but difficult to attack. Although no one dared to complain, they were all worried that they would become lonely ghosts after this battle, and would never see their parents, wives and children again. However, when they heard Xiao Duli say that there were only 3,000 defenders at the pass, they immediately gained courage and rushed to the mountain without hesitation under Xiao Duli's command.

At this moment, the lights at Yanmen Pass were dim, and only a few Song soldiers were patrolling the city walls. The Liao army rushed closer, and seeing the situation on the city walls, they believed more and more that what the commander said was true. They roared like ferocious beasts and rushed to the pass. Xiao Duli, Li Chonghui, and Yelu Xiu'ge also urged their horses to the front of the pass. The three of them were overjoyed to see the current scene. Even Yelu Xiu'ge was convinced that what the Song envoy said was true, and his heart fell heavily in his stomach.

Unexpectedly, just as the Liao army was preparing to set up a ladder to attack the city, Yanmen Pass suddenly lit up, and the tightly closed gate creaked open slowly, and a middle-aged general led his troops straight out. Xiao Du and Li were shocked to see this, and hurriedly looked at this man, only to see that he was wearing iron armor, holding a big knife, and his face was resolute and a bit suave. Behind him, a soldier held a large flag in his hand, and then the moonlight was clearly visible. On the flag were nine large characters embroidered: "Pan, the commander of the three intersections of Hedong".

Although Xiao Duli did not know Pan Mei, he could not help but gasp when he saw the big flag. Li Chonghui had also never seen Pan Mei, so he quickly asked Yelu Xiuge, "General Yelu, is that really Pan Mei deployed at all three intersections of Hedong?"

Yelu Xiu'ge's face looked a little ugly at this time. He nodded slightly and said, "That's right! This person is Pan Mei!"

Xiao Duli had just suspected that the Song army was deliberately using Pan Mei's reputation to scare off his army. But when he heard what Yelu Xiu'ge said, his face turned pale, and his sword-holding hand trembled uncontrollably, "Yeah... General Yelu, didn't the scout say that Pan Mei led the army to guard the rear? How could... How could he appear here? Have we fallen into a trap!"

Before Yelu Xiu'ge could reply, Pan Mei had already picked up his horse and laughed, "Haha, you barbarians, I had already expected you to attack Yanmen, so I secretly ambushed 200,000 troops nearby, just waiting for you to fall into my trap. Now that you have fallen into my trap, do you still want to leave here alive?"

Xiao Duli dared to attack Yanmen, but he relied on the fact that there were few troops stationed in Guanzhong, so he did not take Yang Ye seriously. But now, after hearing what Pan Mei said, he realized how ridiculous his previous thoughts were. He panicked and turned his horse back to the camp. Unexpectedly, when he turned back, he saw a huge fire in his tent, and countless tents, food and grass were instantly reduced to ashes.

"Kill!" Under the dark sky in the northwest, a shocking shout of killing suddenly sounded, followed by the deafening sound of horse hooves. In an instant, countless Song soldiers rushed towards their rear army under the cover of darkness. The leader was an old general wearing golden armor and holding a big knife, and it was Yang Ye. Pan Mei vaguely saw Yang Ye coming with the help of the fire on the top of the city, and immediately swung the big knife in his hand and led the crowd to kill from Yanmen Pass.

Xiao Duli had heard of the reputation of Pan Mei and Yang Ye for a long time, and he could not see clearly how many troops the Song army had. He was so frightened that he could not hold the sword in his hand. It fell heavily to the ground with a "dang". Although Li Chonghui was calmer than Xiao Duli, he was at a loss at this time. He even forgot to lead the people to break through, and let the Song army attack from both sides. He could not say a word.

Among the three, only Yelu Xiuguo remained calm. He waved the long sword in his hand and shouted, "My fellow soldiers, don't panic! Follow me and fight while you retreat. Leave Gouzhu Mountain. Don't lose your composure and give the enemy a chance to take advantage of you!"

Many Liao soldiers had just fled in panic, and some even threw away their weapons, ready to surrender to the Song army. When they heard Yelu Xiu'ge's powerful and steady voice, they calmed down inexplicably, tightened their weapons again, and charged at the aggressive Song army. When the Song army saw that the Liao soldiers had calmed down, they immediately lost their confidence. If it weren't for Yang Ye and Pan Mei who braved the arrows and stones and rushed into the battle array with their two swords, they would have been in a state of panic.

At this time, another army suddenly rushed out from the northeast of Gouzhu Mountain. The leader was a young general with a silver spear and a white horse. He was Yang Ye's son Yang Yanzhao. Yang Yanzhao led his army to the front and ordered the hundreds of archers behind him, saying: "Stop, shoot your bows and arrows for me to disrupt the enemy's formation! Watch how I will charge into the enemy's formation, kill the general and seize the flag!"

"Yes!" Hundreds of archers responded in unison, standing within an arrow's distance from the Liao army, and shot arrows. For a moment, a rain of arrows covered the Liao army, and the mountains and plains were filled with the sound of bowstrings and wailing. The morale of the army, which Yelu Xiuguo had just tried hard to stabilize, was now broken again under the sudden rain of arrows. The Liao army had just been thinking about whether to fight or flee, but now almost no one wanted to fight to the death. Like a flood, they fled desperately in all directions. The Liao army had too many people, and they couldn't help trampling on each other in such a hasty escape. Many Liao soldiers died at the feet of their own brothers.

Seeing that the time had come, Yang Yanzhao did not hesitate, slapped the white horse under his crotch and rushed into the battle. The white horse galloped like lightning, and the silver spear whistled like the wind. No matter whether it was a soldier or a general, as long as they met Yang Yanzhao head-on, they were all shot dead. Blood was spilled all over the ground, and the silver spear shone brightly in the moonlight. At this moment, Yang Yanzhao was no longer the young general who was taciturn and good at using strange strategies. Instead, he turned into a killing god, no matter how many enemies there were, he would kill them with one spear!
Seeing Yang Yanzhao so brave, Pan Mei and Yang Ye also became more energetic. The two swords, one from south to north, and the other from north to south, were everywhere the swords passed, and countless red light and blood mist were everywhere. Xiao Duli's martial arts were extremely mediocre. Seeing the three people getting closer and closer to him, he said to Yelu Xiuge in a trembling voice: "General Yelu, help... help!" (End of this chapter)