Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 336 Affecting the Account (1)

"Does it really only take 5000 people to stay in Guannan?"

"There are more and more Liao soldiers. If 5000 people are not enough," Zhao Xingde looked down at the small Nanshan City. The enemy's fort is connected. "Adding more soldiers and horses is just a waste of food and grass."

Seeing that he was determined not to increase troops, Wang Xuansu sighed.If Zhao Xingde hadn't been implicitly regarded as the soul and pillar of Nanshan City, he would definitely have asked Ying to stay.He was silent for a moment, and said in a low voice: "Tomorrow morning, [-] Jurchen cavalry and [-] of our army will raid the Liao army's camp to the north. Then the army will retreat to the outer islands. This land in the southern part of Suzhou depends entirely on General Zhao." gone."

Just a few days ago, Liaoyang fell, and all the counties and counties in the south of Dongdong Road in the Liao Kingdom were occupied by the Liao Army. Suzhou Guannan has become an isolated island hanging behind the Liao Army.Wang Xuansu also regretted it a little. If he had listened to Zhao Xingde's suggestion, the Han army commander's mansion would be located in Kaizhou in the north and other places surrounded by mountains and rivers, and he would have built fortresses earlier, moved the people, and cultivated fields. The strength of the southern mountain city may not be irresistible Living in the Liao army, the Han army has much more room for development and maneuvering.It's not like it is now, although the city is guarded, the elite soldiers are trapped in a corner, and the people are displaced thousands of miles away, counting on the winter food from the commander-in-chief's mansion to survive.The savings of the Han army commander's mansion are more consumed than replenished, and they will soon bottom out.If Yelu Dashi had not retreated in Liaodong, and only used cavalry to "harass" the Han people's Jiarong, I am afraid that within three years, the Han army would not be able to sustain it.

Before the fall of Liaoyang, the Jin army split. Wanyan Zonghan and others led hundreds of cavalry and fled northward, while Wanyan Xieye and Wanyan Zongbi led 30 Jin soldiers to surrender to Yelu Dashi.Wanyan Xie was also named the Great King of the Northern Jurchen by Yelu Dashi, and Wanyan Zongbi was named the Great King of the Southern Jurchen.Yelu Dashi freed his hands and led an army of [-] to directly point at Huanglong Mansion.Wanyan Xieye and Wanyan Zongbi were also forced to accompany Yujia.

After the defeat of Liaoyang, the power of the Jin Kingdom plummeted, and the Jurchen tribes were faintly divided.The Han army commander's mansion was deeply entangled with the Jurchen ministries. Whether it was resisting the Liao people or fighting for power internally, they were the targets of all forces competing to win over.In particular, the mountain city of Guannan in Suzhou stood still under the attack of the Liao army, which made the cooperation between the Han army and the Jurchen forces show signs of a change of subject and object.Although the front of the Liao army was mainly directed at Huanglong Mansion, Xiao Tachi and other generals led the Liao army to mop up Kaizhou, Fengzhou, Zhengzhou, Hengzhou and other places. Everywhere they went, they burned and killed. The looting caused heavy casualties to the Han Chinese and various Jurchens who had not yet had time to evacuate.In order to attract the attention of the Liao army, Zhao Xingde suggested that some offensives should be launched from the south of Suzhou Guannan before winter, to show the threat of the Han army here, and force Liao to transfer more troops from the north. , Nanshan City is under even heavier pressure.

Although the name of Zhao Xingde's benevolence was well-known among the Liao people, once the Liao army conquered Nanshan City and other fortresses, there would probably be no prisoners left.In less than a year since the start of the war, almost all the former capitals and cities have been reduced to ruins, and none of the people left behind.The new and old hatred between the Liaodong Han army and the Liao State made the losers of this war have no room to surrender.

During this period of time, in order to attract the attention of the Liao army, they did not divide their troops to attack Han'er who was migrating north.Li Sihai and Zhang Liuge led the navy to attack Liao prefectures and counties.Each ship is equipped with dozens of cavalry, and when they encounter a large Liao army, they will temporarily avoid the front, but if there are villages in prefectures and counties that cannot be guarded against, they will be plundered and rescued if they can. Captive or killed, and then set fire to the village and left.

These places were originally in the interior of Liao, so there was no need for Nanjing Road, Xijing Road, and other fortresses to be garrisoned.Being harassed by the Han army with naval forces, they appealed to the Liao court one after another.In Fuzhou, Ningzhou, Chenzhou and other places close to Guannan, Suzhou, the Han people had already fled, and now the Khitan and Bohai people dare not live there. Within [-] miles of the sea, there is almost no one inhabited.Yaozhou, Jinzhou, Anchang, Xingcheng, Haibin, Laizhou and other places far away from Suzhou have not seen weapons for hundreds of years, and they are even more empty.Although these coastal states and counties in the hinterland of the Liao Kingdom did not produce much food, they had large salt fields and many large slave workshops.Since then, the Khitan nobles have obtained a large amount of money every year, but now they are suddenly "harassed" by the Han army, and the Liao court is full of complaints.Especially after Jinzhou, where the brocade workshops were most densely distributed, was attacked by the Han army and took thousands of weaver households away, the complaints of the Khitan nobles reached a climax.

Ever since Yelu Dashi came to power, the Liao Kingdom regarded the Khitan people as the foundation of the country. Since the Han army rebelled, tens of thousands of Khitan people fell into the hands of the Han army. The Liao government sent people to discuss the exchange of Han slaves for the Han army. The matter of Khitan captives.In order to demonstrate to the Liao Kingdom, the Han army actually imitated the story of the Lumei Kingdom and blinded 100 Khitan people, leaving only one eye for every 200 people. He was led by one person and released from the south of Suzhou.This action made Yelu Dashi furious, and immediately ordered all the prisoners of the Han army to be beheaded. At the same time, he told the whole army that no matter whether they were humans or animals, no one would be left alive if they encountered villages along the way.The rewards for important generals of the Han army have also been greatly increased. For example, Han Ningshuang, Zhao De, Wang Hengzhi, and Zhang Liuge, whether they were captured alive or beheaded, were promoted to two ranks, and 20 slaves were rewarded with [-] guan.

The navy of the Liao Kingdom also tried to intercept the naval ships of the Han army, but was led to the far sea and was bombarded by gunboats, almost annihilating the entire army.Although the North Academy is already rushing to build a boat army, the detailed and stable department immediately imitated the artillery ship.However, how can a sea-going ship be built in a hurry? After the defeat of the Liao navy, the coastal waters were harassed by the Han navy, and all the residents within [-] miles of the coast had to be moved inland.The mighty generals Xiao Tachi and Xiao Yixue led the [-] elite Liao army and monitored the surrender of [-] Jurchens.Along the way, the army rushed to repair roads that could pass [-] catties of iron barrels and cannons, and rushed to the foot of Nanshan City day and night.

At the same time, Yelu Yanshan, the commander of the southern camp, was reprimanded by Yelu Dashi and ordered him to step up his attack on the Han Army Commander's Mansion in Guannan, Suzhou.However, Nanshan City happened to be stuck in the narrowest part of the Liaodong Peninsula isthmus. not open.During the siege, there are only a few thousand people that can be deployed in front of the city, and no matter how dense it is, it will only increase casualties.After the sea water freezes, not only the sea ice near the shore can be used by the Liao soldiers and horses, but also the ice floes on the sea will drive the Han army gunboats far away.

In the past few days, the attacking Liao army filled up the two trenches outside Nanshan City.Because of the lowness of Nanshan City, Yelu Yanshan tried to build a mountain of soil outside the city, so that the cavalry could rush directly to the top of Nanshan City along the dirt hill, but in the end, because of the fierce artillery fire at the top of the city, the Liao army who carried the earth and rocks suffered heavy casualties and gave up.These days, the sea water has shown signs of freezing, and the Liao army's offensive has been slightly relaxed. Once the sea ice can pass, they will detour and go deep into the hinterland of Guannan, Suzhou.

Every day as soon as the sun rises, Vice Governor Guo Baoyi personally inspects the frozen sea ice, and whenever he returns to the camp of the Chinese army, Governor Yelu Yanshan will eagerly ask: "Is the seawater frozen thick enough? How long will it take to pass? Will the freezing time this year not be delayed?"

For more than a month, the Liao army had a general grasp of the shape of Nanshan City. In view of the strength of the Han army's defenses, Yelu Yanshan was dispatched.At the same time, carts and carts of food were also transported from Liaoyang to the foot of Nanshan City to support the army for winter combat.In the past few days, the Liao army's offensive on Nanshan City seems not to be as violent as before. However, in the Liao army camp in the north of Suzhou, all the Liao army troops are building various siege equipment, and they are ready to go.Once the heavy cannons from Liaoyang were transported to Nanshan City, they began to storm Nanshan City.

"Your Excellency Dutong, don't worry," Guo Baoyi said with a smile, "this year is much colder than in previous years. The seawater near the shore is already several feet long, but the area of ​​ice is not large enough to drive the Han army sailors away. That's all." He said as he took off the fur cloak on his waist and hung it in the tent of the Chinese army, and said, "If it continues like this, the general estimates that in another month, there will be three or four feet of sea ice. It’s so thick that heavy artillery can pass through the ice.”

"That's good, that's good," Yelu Yanshan said with a smile, and personally poured a large glass of wine and sweat to Guo Baoyi, "Deputy Commander Guo has worked hard, come, warm up." Come here and drink it all up.Although Guo Baoyi was a Han Chinese, he was one of Yelu Dashi's earliest confidantes. He not only worked hard for the Daliao court, but also was a good official, so he got along quite well with Yelu Yanshan and other Khitan generals.Although the Liao Kingdom has a law that prohibits drinking during wartime, the northern region is bitterly cold, and most of the soldiers on the expedition are addicted to alcohol. As long as the military plane is not delayed, everyone will turn a blind eye.Generals like Yelu Yanshan and Guo Baoyi can drink as much as they want.

Yelu Yanshan said in a deep voice: "When the army captures Nanshan City, wipe out all the rebels, and then build a great city of our Daliao."

Yelu Yanshan poured himself a cup and took a big sip. He felt a warm current rising from his stomach, and he felt refreshed. He stood up and looked at the short Nancheng outside the tent. The haze was gone, and the dark clouds piled on top of each other, as if they were tens of thousands of feet high.The small isolated city in the wilderness ice field looked extremely small.This city blocked the Liao army for a full month, and even the city of Liaoyang fell, but it still stood still.

Zhao Xingde and Wang Xuansu stood at the top of Nanshan City and looked at the Liao army.Looking at the continuous Liao army tents in the north, Zhao Xingde murmured: "Since the Liao army besieged Nanshan City, there have been hundreds of battles, big and small, and we have only defended and not attacked. At most, it was just a bluff. The Liao people should also relax." He raised his right hand slightly, and breathed on the iron wristband, and the water vapor quickly condensed into a thin layer of frost.But the north wind has been blowing hard for the past few days, and the padded jacket is as cold as iron, and the cold air penetrates people's lungs.

"General Zhao's wonderful strategy," Wang Xuansu said with a sneer in his eyes, "Yelu Yanshan counted the days and hoped that the sea water would freeze every day, but he never thought that we would use this ice road first."

"General Zhao's wonderful strategy," Wang Xuansu said with a stern look in his eyes, "Yelu Yanshan counted the days and hoped that the sea would freeze every day, but he didn't expect that we would use this icy road first." In the southern hinterland, near Laotieshan Fortress, there are already hundreds of continuous tents.Among the Jurchen troops who were invited, there were both Wanyan Ci's unshakable subordinates and members of the Yalu River Jurchen Department. More than 1 cavalry is the largest force that the Liaodong Han Army and Jurchen ministries can gather.But this is a needle, a steel needle that can kill a person as long as it is pressed against the soft vital points.