The struggle of the reborn prince

The commander-in-chief led the main force to the south to take Beiting, and the supervising army Zhao Li led the rest of the troops to defend the Western Liao Dynasty. Everyone found that the supervising army seemed a little out of tune. He didn't care about military affairs, and he didn't renovate the city to prepare for the war. The personal soldiers went out to hunt in the city, but their skills were not very good. They only brought back some small things like hares and wild ducks, which probably were not enough for them to eat for a meal, but the supervising army was still very happy, and went out every morning. Those who come home late go hunting.

The supervising army doesn't care about the affairs in the camp, everyone herds the sheep, why do you like to go!The Song army was better. After all, they had been strictly restrained by military discipline since the first day they joined the army. Learn to supervise the army and go hunting by the lake.But their allied army was much more courageous. In their view, plundering the defeated was a matter of course. Eating and drinking for nothing, and forceful robbery were nothing but pediatrics, but they were afraid of the harsh military laws of the Song army. Who dares to do those murders, arson, rape and looting, who knows if they will settle their scores after the fall!

For a while, this land of immortals in the desert was made into a mess by the occupying troops, and the locals fled for refuge one after another, hoping that they would leave as soon as possible.The caravan coming and going would rather detour than stay at the top of Yanbo City, but hide as far away as possible.Some "upright men" in the Song Army were deeply worried about the inaction of the Supervisory Army. We should also let everyone relax and not be too harsh.

Some people in the army were dissatisfied with the connivance and violation of military discipline by the supervising army. They believed that it was Zhao Li's lack of experience in leading troops at the grassroots level.On weekdays, it's okay to talk about war on paper, but when it goes to the battlefield, it exposes its weaknesses of incompetence and powerlessness.The only way to win the hearts of the soldiers is to indulge them.But some people don't think so. They think that the supervising army must have other intentions in doing so.Mostly because there is no good fart.The people who made this kind of judgment were basically middle- and lower-level military officers from Datong Lecture Hall and Xijing Lecture Hall, and they still had great trust in the former instructors.

In today's Great Song Army, the prestige of the founder of the new army and the undefeated God of War Emperor Zhao Tun goes without saying. Other than him are Zhao Ren, Zhao Yong, Zhao Sha and others. The lieutenant generals were convinced, but Zhao Li, who could stand shoulder to shoulder with them, rarely went to the front line himself, because at this time, more than half of the middle and lower rank officers in the Song army would call him "teacher" when they saw him.

Zhao Li began to preside over the teaching team in the army after expanding the army in Hedong, and later was responsible for the establishment of the Datong Lecture Hall. After the emperor entered Bianjing, he planned to build the Xijing Lecture Hall and served as the school supervisor.Trained a large number of officers for the New Song Army.But his prestige does not only come from this, he also has a rigorous academic attitude, especially his profound military theoretical foundation and unique insights on the application of new tactics, it is not an exaggeration to call him the number one Confucian general in the Song Dynasty, Naturally, he has also won the respect of the students, and everyone believes that as long as they have the opportunity, their teacher will definitely become a famous player of the generation.

It is only one-sided to say that Zhao Li is inexperienced in front of the battle. It is true that he did not go to the front line in person, but his contribution to assisting the emperor in command cannot be denied.In a series of battles carried out by the Song army.It is often the emperor who sets the question, and many specific arrangements from the initial battle setting to the specific combat plan and deployment of troops are all made by Zhao Li, a high-ranking official. This requires him not only to understand the characteristics of the enemy and ourselves.Moreover, it is also possible to arrange appropriate tactics and deploy troops according to the situation.

It is also based on Zhao Li's extensive "connections" and coordination and command capabilities in the army that Zhao Tong was transferred to Hedong in this personnel adjustment to serve as the town governor, because the backbone of the new army formed after the recovery of Dading and Linhuang Most of them are in the Hedong Army.Too many transfers caused the morale of the Hedong army to be unstable, and he was sent there to stabilize the morale of the army and restore vitality.Zhao Li lived up to the emperor's great trust and completed the task.The establishment of the Western Expeditionary Army with him as the supervisor is not only because most of the troops are from Hedong, but also the prestige of Gao Chong who was airborne here is slightly insufficient.It just so happened that Zhao Li could make up for his shortcomings, stabilize the morale of the army if there were changes, and take on the important task of continuing to complete the Western Expedition.

During the leisurely days, when everyone was guessing whether their supervising army was "convulsed" or incompetent, suddenly the horn of emergency assembly sounded, and the messengers in the commander's mansion also rode their horses and rushed to various places scattered outside the city. The coordinating army camp there, and the leaders of the various armies were notified to come to discuss matters. Suddenly, the air in the city seemed to freeze, and people guessed that the Xiliao people were coming at almost the same time...

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Xiao Hanli, the king of the Sixth Academy of Western Liao Dynasty, once again led the troops out of Alashan Pass and entered Gaochang, but his heart was very heavy. He lacked the confidence to defeat the Song army, but this was not fear, but an instinct.

Xiao Hanli assassinated with Yelu Dashi to guard Nanjing in Liao Dynasty more than 20 years ago, and participated in the battle against the invading Song army. They defeated the Song army with less than 3 horses and 20 horses. They were simply vulnerable.And these years, even though he was far away in the Western Regions, he heard some news about the Song Dynasty intermittently. It not only broke the rampant Jurchen, but also recovered the Central Plains, captured the capital of the motherland, and continued to expand its power to the surrounding areas.

What made Xiao Han even more puzzled was that the Song army was able to launch a western expedition, crossing thousands of miles of Gobi desert, defeating the obstruction of the Bubu and Naiman tribes, and crossing the frozen Altai Mountains in winter.And he walked this road many years ago, and he has a deep understanding of the hardships and dangers.At that time, the [-] cavalry he led went east to the Jin Dynasty in order to restore the country, but encountered a storm in the desert, and a plague broke out in the army. Most of the cattle and horses died, and the supplies were exhausted, so they had to retreat halfway, without even the Jurchen face See.From Xiao Hanli's point of view, the Song Army's successful arrival in Gaochang, although there was an element of luck in it, but the strength and combat effectiveness it displayed was enough to show that it was no longer the vulnerable Song Army in the past.

And now the situation facing Xiliao is also very tense.Yelu Dashi left the Central Plains and decided to set up another sect, established a base in Ketun City and became king.Then develop westward and call it "Ju'er Khan" in Ye Mili, which is the establishment of the country.After the founding of the country, it launched a Western Expedition to expand to Central Asia and West Asia, and finally established its capital in Husiuruduo.But their neighbors did not welcome their arrival and were full of hostility, not only because of their expansion strategy, but also because of differences in beliefs.

The earliest Khitan people originally believed in primitive shamanism. After they came into contact with the Han area, the Khitan upper class gradually accepted Buddhism.However, Islam is prevalent in Central and West Asia, and now a Buddhist country suddenly appeared. All Islamic countries, large and small, were greatly annoyed. Hara Khitan" or "Black Khitan".

During the continuous expansion of Xiliao, Sultan Sanjar of the Seljuk Empire felt a huge and fundamental threat from Xiliao, so this year he prepared to send troops to attack Xiliao on the grounds of helping his vassals restore the country, and called on people with the same beliefs Neighboring countries waged war against Liao.The kings of Khorasan, Sighistan, Ghazna, Mazanland, and Gul from neighboring countries that also felt threatened accepted the invitation and led troops to join the coalition forces of Sultan Sanjar, gathering a team of more than ten A powerful cavalry corps of tens of thousands of people is ready to wage war.

At this moment, Gaochang asked for help, saying that the Song army had crossed the Altai Mountains and entered Gaochang, captured Yanbo City, and went south to attack Beiting.The situation has become more serious, the Seljuk Empire has sharpened its sword, if it is to divide the troops to rescue Gaochang, it will inevitably disperse its forces.If you win, it's okay; if you lose, the Song army will definitely not give up, and will definitely use this as an excuse to send troops to crusade.In this way, Xiliao will face the dilemma of being attacked from both sides. Under the attack of the two great powers, whether it can continue to gain a foothold here will be a problem.

Based on this, at the court meeting to discuss whether to send aid to Gaochang, Xiao Hanli suggested to suspend sending troops to mediate and delay the time, and send troops to expel the Song army after repelling the Seljuks.Some people think that although Song and Liao also had conflicts in the past, there was also a period of hundred years of peace.And now the emperor of the Song Dynasty married the princess of the Shu Kingdom of the Liao Kingdom, and treated the royal family of the Liao Kingdom well, and reused the survivors. The two countries have a common enemy.

But Yelu Dashi rejected the proposal of the courtiers. He believed that in the process of founding the country, the Zubu and Naiman tribes among the Tuque people had given great help, and the Tuque people had great power in the court, especially the military. The soldiers in the army are mainly Tuque people.However, the Song army defeated the two tribes successively on the way to the west, putting them on the brink of extermination. If he insisted on negotiating peace with Song, he might cause the dissatisfaction of the Tuque people and lead to civil strife.

Furthermore, although Gaochang had repeatedly betrayed him, he was weak after all and was not enough to pose a substantial threat to Xiliao.The Song Dynasty is different, whether it was a big country in the past or now, it is even more prosperous after its re-emergence, and its neighbor is always a trouble.At the same time, in the impression of Yelu Dashi, the Song Dynasty is not a good thing. They can destroy the century-old brotherly alliance for their own selfishness and unite with the Jurchens to stab them in the back when the Liao Kingdom needs help most. Now who is strong? Make sure that they did not annex their minds this time.

In the end, Yelu Dashi believed that the Seljuks were still in the stage of mobilizing their troops to demonstrate to themselves, and the cold weather was not good for the two sides to fight for a while.It is better to take advantage of the fact that the Song army has not had time to rest, and the food and grass cannot be replenished. When it is at its weakest, it will fight with it, defeat them quickly, and then concentrate its forces to resist the invasion of the Seljuks.

So Xiao Hanli was ordered to lead [-] troops to the expedition, and according to the news provided by the Gaochang people, the main force of the Song army had left Yanbo City for Beiting, and only some tribal troops stayed behind. Good timing... (to be continued...)