The Beacon of Kyushu

Chapter 85

The next day, when the sky was faintly bright, the Song army once again charged towards Youzhou City like an overwhelming mountain.But this charge was no longer just to storm Youzhou, but more to cover Mo Feigong and others to reach the city safely.

The little prince Han Derang was still sleeping soundly at this time, but was awakened by the earth-shattering shouts and killings outside the city, hurriedly put on his clothes and rushed to the top of the city.He looked down and saw that in addition to a group of Song soldiers who were full of fear of death and forcibly attacked the city, there were many soldiers holding leather shields surrounded by a soldier holding a shovel, slowly moving towards the city. come.

Han Derang immediately understood Song Jun's intentions. He pointed at these Song Jun soldiers holding leather shields, and shouted to the soldiers guarding the city: "Quick! Shoot the rockets and shoot them to death! They must not be allowed to dig through the tunnel!"

"Yes!" All the soldiers responded, pulled out the rockets from the quiver behind them, and shot at the Song army surrounded by leather shields at the bottom of the city.In an instant, thousands of arrows were shot at the leather shield like thousands of firebirds swooping down rapidly.The leather shield was instantly ignited by the rocket, turning the city into a sea of ​​flames.

The soldiers of the Song Army did not flinch at all. Even though their bodies were burning with flames, and their skin was burned to charcoal, they were unwilling to stop charging forward.Standing outside the camp, Zhao Guangyi witnessed such a heroic scene, but he didn't feel sad for the casualties of his soldiers. What he cared about was when he could capture Youzhou City, and when he could truly become a generation of saints surpassing his second brother Zhao Kuangyin. host.

Soon, the first group of Song soldiers with shovels arrived at the city under the cover of the crowd and began to dig the tunnel.From time to time, someone was ignited by the rockets shot from the top of the city, threw away the shovel after digging a few times, and rolled on the ground in pain.

Han Derang laughed when he saw this, and continued to direct his soldiers to shoot down arrows.Suddenly, countless Song troops fell outside Youzhou City, and the raging fire burned fiercely, covering the ground with bones and densely packed arrows.

Seeing that the battle situation was not as optimistic as he thought, Zhao Guangyi put on a displeased face and walked into the tent without saying a word, unwilling to watch this endless fierce battle again.Because in his heart, war is nothing more than a stepping stone for him, and it is his capital to surpass his second brother Zhao Kuangyin.He doesn't care about how to win at all, he only cares about how to let more people see his achievements.

At noon, Zhao Guangyi had lunch and was about to leave the camp to check the situation. A small school ran into the tent and reported, "Officials, the spies sent by General Pan have returned and said they have something important to report."

Zhao Guangyi nodded and said, "Let him in."

Following his words, a spy from the Song army in Liao army uniform walked into the big tent, knelt in front of Zhao Guangyi, and said: "The officials, the little ones have already found out that the officials of the Liao Kingdom know that they are powerless to resist the Song army, so why don't you fight against the Song army?" Lord Yeluxian of the Liao Dynasty intended to abandon Youzhou, and retreated to Songting and Hubeikou, relying on the Great Wall to prevent our army from attacking Linhuang."

Zhao Guangyi's eyes lit up when he heard the words, and he clapped his palms and laughed loudly: "Haha, I am still worried about not being able to capture Youzhou for a while, but Ye Luxian has decided to give up Youzhou. God help me Da Song! Go and continue to inquire As for the news, once the Liao Kingdom changes its mind, report it to me as soon as possible.”

After he finished speaking, he said to the junior: "Go and order General Pan to tell him that the Liao Kingdom will not send reinforcements for the time being, and let him lead the team to attack the city with all its strength. After capturing Youzhou, I will make him the prefect of Youzhou!"

The small school gave a deep salute respectfully, and then quickly exited the big tent. Zhao Guangyi also lifted the curtain with a happy face, and went to the city to supervise the battle in person.

The Battle of Youzhou lasted for half a month. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the stalemate remained.However, there are two things that make Zhao Guangyi happy. The first is that the tunnel under the city of Youzhou is finally about to be dug through, and the second is that the Liao Kingdom really did not send a single soldier to help Youzhou. Yelusha and Yelu Xiezhen, the Liao general who was killed by Cao Bin and Pan Mei, even cowered near Youzhou City, not daring to bring troops to reinforce them.Everything seems to be true as the spies said, the Liao Kingdom has completely abandoned the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun with its dangerous terrain and rich resources.

At dusk, the Song army temporarily stopped attacking, and the soldiers returned to their camps with exhausted bodies.At this time, their physical strength and energy had already reached the brink of collapse. If Youzhou City could no longer be conquered, it would be Song's military spirit that would be conquered.

After dinner, the soldiers gathered around in groups of three or four, singing folk songs of homesickness in a low voice.The melancholy and mournful singing echoed over the barracks and lingered for a long time.Whether it was an ordinary soldier or a battle-tested general, they all lamented and shed tears when they heard the sound.

Zhao Guangyi was eating in the yellow tent, when he heard the singing outside, he also put down the bowls and chopsticks in his hand, and hurried out of the tent to have a look.He saw bursts of sobbing singing from every Song camp outside Youzhou City. For a moment, he almost thought he was back in a thousand years ago, in the Han camp that besieged the Western Chu overlord in Gaixia.

But he soon came back to his senses and was shocked!He found that the biggest difference between the situation before him and a thousand years ago was that the elegy of the Han camp a thousand years ago shook the morale of the besieged soldiers, but at this moment the elegy of the Song camp shook his own morale.If they are allowed to continue singing, I am afraid that even if the army does not mutiny immediately, sooner or later they will disobey orders and return to Beijing without authorization.

Zhao Guangyi frowned, and called to the small school next to him, and said in a loud voice: "Go and spread my will, the battle is imminent, you need to recharge your batteries, and all camps should turn off the lights to rest. Whoever dares to sing again, I will definitely kill him!" There were also two lines of tear stains on Xiaoxiao's cheeks, Wen Ting Shengming hurriedly wiped them with his sleeves, then turned around to deliver the order.

Soon, the singing in the camp gradually weakened, and soon came the sound of snoring one after another.Looking at the tall Youzhou City in front of him, Zhao Guangyi sighed, "Hey, you are homesick, don't I miss my hometown? But if Youzhou is not broken, and the sixteen prefectures are gone, how can I return to the imperial court as a teacher? But soon, everything is almost over, and it won't be long before everything should be settled."

Zhao Guangyi thought about it, and went back to the tent silently.He picked up the bowls and chopsticks that he put down just now, but at this moment he was completely out of the mood to eat, so he lay down on the couch and read the book of war, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Before you know it, the sky is gradually brightening, and a new day has arrived.

Zhao Guangyi had been exhausted for days, so he slept very deeply, and didn't wake up until the sun was high.He rubbed his temples, propped himself up and sat up. He wanted to put on his battle armor and fight outside the city, but he saw Cui Han, the Duke of Yu in front of the palace, hurried into the tent.

Seeing that Zhao Guangyi was disheveled, Cui Han was about to turn around and leave the big tent, but Zhao Guangyi stopped him.Cui Han had no choice but to turn around again, and said to Zhao Guangyi: "Officials, Yelusha suddenly rushed to Youzhou from the southwest with [-] to [-] Liao troops. I don't know if he will send the besieging troops to fight?"

Zhao Guangyi nodded instinctively, but then he remembered the scene of Song Ying's tragic song last night, and sighed slightly: "Cui Han, how many people are there in the personal guards around me?"

Cui Han said: "There are more than [-] people in the imperial army."

Zhao Guangyi stood up, put on his armor, and said calmly: "Yelusa is just a defeated general of our army, let the siege soldiers concentrate on attacking the city, and I will personally lead the troops to meet the enemy!"

Cui Han hurriedly said: "No! The official family is the Ninth Five-Year Honor, how can you personally meet the enemy?"

Zhao Guangyi said angrily: "When Emperor Taizu was alive, he often led troops to meet the enemy himself, why can't I do it? Could it be that you underestimated my martial arts skills!"

Cui Han wondered: "Officials, if you have something wrong, what should you do..."

Zhao Guangyi said impatiently: "I've made up my mind, don't say any more! You just need to order all the soldiers and horses, and then hand over Yuntong to me, and I'll go meet Yelusha right now!" Cui Han saw His Majesty's intention It was decided, and he sighed helplessly, so he had to follow his orders.

Soon, Cui Han gathered [-] forbidden troops, and called Yun Zixiao back from the city of Youzhou. Under the command of Zhao Guangyi, a group of troops rushed to the Gaoliang River in the southwest.

Under the scorching sun, the Gaoliang River is as clear as ever, not wide.Zhao Guangyi led [-] forbidden troops to the bank of the Gaoliang River. On the other side of the narrow and shallow Gaoliang River, one could see Yelusha's team rushing towards this side from a distance. Behind the tens of thousands of Liao troops, one could faintly see high hills.

Zhao Guangyi pulled out the long sword at his waist, raised it high, and swung it forward to replace the military order.Then he lifted the reins and rode his horse towards the Liao army on the other side of the Gaoliang River.The iron hoof stepped into the water, arousing thousands of splashes, and at the same time aroused the fighting spirit of tens of thousands of forbidden troops.

Seeing this, everyone shouted in unison, followed closely behind Zhao Guangyi, rushed across the Gaoliang River, and rushed straight to the oncoming Liao army.And Yelusha seems to have changed at this moment, he is no longer as vulnerable as he was at Shiling Pass, he seems to have completely exploded the wildness buried deep in his heart, and his desire for war, he led 2 horses to charge without fear To Song Jun.

In an instant, swords, lights and swords appeared, arrows and arrows were fired, people shouted and horses neighed, and the two armies fought fiercely on the banks of the Gaoliang River.Yelusha deserves to be Yuwen Yanyi's senior brother, although he was defeated by Li Chongjin, but at the moment he swung his long sword, like a tiger descending a mountain, or a dragon raging in the sea, in the blink of an eye, countless Song soldiers became the souls of his sword.

Zhao Guangyi, Yun Zixiao, and Cui Han were also unwilling to be defeated. Each held a sword and charged towards the Liao army.I saw the cold light rise suddenly, the sword light crisscrossed, and the blood burst out. Before countless Liao soldiers could utter their dying wailing, the three men raised their swords and fell, piercing their throats.

In an instant, the river bank was stained red with blood, the murderous intent shook the sky, and the ground trembled slightly under the feet of tens of thousands of warriors, as if mourning for the victims on both sides, and trembling from the fright of this war.The two sides fought from the river beach to the opposite bank, from morning to dusk, until the sun was dim and the world was in turmoil. The Liao army finally couldn't hold back, and under the leadership of Yelusha, they fled in a panic towards the barren mountains behind them.

The morale of the Song army was high and they cheered in unison, and Zhao Guangyi also laughed loudly. Since the attack on the Sixteen States of Yanyun, the two sides have never had a large-scale field battle. Sweep away the gloom in everyone's hearts last night.

Zhao Guangyi raised his long sword again, swung it forward, and ordered: "The rats of the Liao Kingdom are nothing more than this, let me chase after them!" After he finished speaking, he lifted the reins and chased behind the Liao army. Naturally, he followed the cover-up without hesitation.

When the Liao soldiers saw that the Song army was chasing after them, they all screamed and threw down their swords, guns and banners, and ran forward with their heads in their arms.Even Yelusha, who was riding a horse, turned his head while riding the horse, as if he was afraid that he would be overtaken by the Song army and die without a whole body.

(End of this chapter)