Chapter 219: Decisive Battle with Youyun (10)

The war on the southern front of the Great Zhou Northern Expedition Army was progressing extremely smoothly, or more smoothly than expected. After the Iron Cavalry, the vanguard of the Northern Expedition Army of the Great Zhou Dynasty approached Waqiao Pass, the defending general Yao Neibin did not hesitate and immediately chose to open the door to surrender.

After Ningzhou, Yijin Pass and Waqiao Pass fell into the hands of the Great Zhou imperial guards, Mozhou and Yingzhou, further south of Waqiao Pass, completely lost contact with the Khitans, becoming an isolated island hanging by the Zhou army, and had lost all retreats. Before the Zhou army's vanguard approached Mozhou and Yingzhou, Mozhou Governor Liu Chuxin and Yingzhou Governor Gao Yanhui took the initiative to send people to Waqiao Pass, almost at the same time.

The Crane Control Army led by Han Tong was tasked with seizing the Yukou Pass east of Yijin Guan. The guardians at Yukou Pass were originally Han generals, but the Khitan soldiers in the pass launched a sudden attack, killed the Han generals, and seized the command of the pass. He ordered the defenders to defend the city to death. The battle lasted for two days. When the Khitan guardian was killed by a crossbow, the Han army rushed in and killed all the few Khitans, and then opened the door to surrender.

After the Great Zhou imperial guards seized the Yukou Pass, the south bank of the Juma River was only Yizhou, which was far northeast, and was still controlled by the Khitan Han army, while the rest were controlled by the Great Zhou army.

On the morning of April 27, the Yizhou defenders were on the city wall as usual, and Li Yanshou led all the generals to patrol the city wall.

Li Shili looked a little nervous and said, "Only two of the three groups of spies sent to search and find out that the rest of the spies were probably captured by Zhou Bing. Now Waqiao Pass and Yilu Pass have been lost, and the Zhou army seems to be dispatched in full swing, and a big battle is inevitable." Li Shili has fought many tough battles since joining the army, but he couldn't help but feel a little panicked about such a large-scale battle.

Li Yanshou looked calm. When the Zhou cavalry appeared under Yizhou City, he already knew the result. He intended to let the Khitan soldiers go out of the city to die. If there were five hundred Khitan soldiers in the city, there would be many variables in the battle or surrender, and he could not completely control it.

Looking into the distance, Li Yanshou, with a little white hair, seemed to have seen the streets and alleys in Daliang City again through time and space. Now it is time to give Li Shili a briefing.

Li Yanshou said slowly: "When I was twenty years old, I was the imperial military academy of Shi Chonggui, the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty. When Yelu Deguang attacked Daliang, His Majesty was captured, so I fled back to Youzhou. My first wife died under the Khitan sword."

Li Yanshou's ancestral home is Youzhou. He was in Daliang City. He once married a beautiful Hangzhou woman and had a child. The family was in Daliang City. It was also a joyful place. The Khitans attacked Daliang, and Li Yanshou's wife and children were also killed by the Khitans. He was homeless and the disheartened Li Yanshou returned to Youzhou. Soon after, the Khitan army began to recruit Han people to join the army. Li Yanshou gritted his teeth and joined the Khitan Han army. He was originally a brave military academy in the Later Jin army. He made many achievements in the Khitan Han army and gradually became the governor of Yizhou.

After Li Yanshou was in charge of Yizhou, he often dealt with private salt dealers. On the one hand, he could enjoy the gentle and beautiful women of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and on the other hand, he could get details of various regimes in the Central Plains from the private salt dealers. Therefore, Li Yanshou's information was extremely accurate, and he also had some understanding of the situation in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"The ancients said that it is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge for ten years. I have been waiting for this day for more than twenty years." Li Yanshou said word by word, and kicked the wall stack with his feet. The wall stack was extremely strong, with only some tiny dust falling.

For a few days, Li Shili always felt that Li Yanshou's words and deeds were a bit strange. When the Zhou army was very likely to set up an ambush, he still ordered the Khitan cavalry to pursue the Zhou army, resulting in the annihilation of the entire Khitan cavalry. Li Shili completely understood: sending Khitan soldiers out of the city was completely a premeditated action by Li Yanshou. He wanted to use the Zhou army to eliminate this group of Khitan cavalry stationed in Yi County.

"General. Do you really want to surrender to the Zhou army?" When Li Shili was born, Youzhou had already returned to the Khitans. Although Li Shili was a Han Chinese, he still subconsciously regarded the Zhou army as his enemy. After learning about Li Yanshou's thoughts, he felt particularly suspicious.

"This battle is unusual. The Zhou army's elite troops have all emerged and have captured two dangerous passes, Yijin Pass and Waqiao Pass. Mozhou and Yingzhou have been cut off from retreat by the Zhou army. I guess the two generals Liu Chuxin and Gao Yanhui will surrender soon."

Li Shili said in a little disbelief: "Liu Chuxin and Gao Yanhui are both brave generals who are accustomed to fighting. They surrendered to the Great Zhou without a fight. I am afraid they will be called cowardly for the rest of their lives."

Li Yanshou patted Li Shili on the shoulder and said, "Although Youzhou was occupied by the Khitans for many years, we have become generals of the Khitans, the Liao Dynasty will always be the Khitans. Most Han people can only live on the Khitans' horse whip. How many people can there be like us? Liu Chuxin and Gao Yanhui were both military academies of the Jin army. As long as the Zhou army is strong enough, they will definitely turn against each other."

"The two generals Liu and Gao were both military academies of the Jin army?" Although Li Shili followed Li Yanshou for a long time, Li Yanshou rarely mentioned the past. At this time, Li Shili had already understood that Li Yanshou had definitely surrendered to the Great Zhou Dynasty, otherwise he would not have told him these things.

Li Yanshou seemed to be immersed in another atmosphere, and he whispered: "When the two powerful people of Dazhou and Daliao meet, there will probably be no peace in Yizhou City."

Yizhou is a border city and an important military center. Many good lands were occupied by the Khitans outside the city. In the past, farmland became pastures. The people of Yizhou, with few land and many people, lived a difficult life. Fortunately, the Khitan army was strong, and wars of all sizes were mainly concentrated in the Great Zhou territory. Yizhou avoided the destruction of the war, and the people barely gained a safe living space.

Li Yanshou was about to walk down the city wall, but he heard the heavy horse hooves outside. He hurried to the side of the city wall and rolled up a cavalry from the east. The number was not large, about 3,000 people. The cavalry came under the city wall, and a cavalry officer walked out of the array, took a bow and arrow, and shot a arrow at the flagpole on Yizhou City.

Li Yanshou was very close to the flagpole. He heard a "pop" sound, and a sharp arrow was inserted into the middle of the flagpole. The Han army in Yizhou was deeply influenced by the Khitan army, and many of them were good at using arrows. The arrow was extremely accurate and powerful. Some soldiers couldn't help but shout in a low voice. On the contrary, the Zhou army under the city wall was used to Ma Renyu's magical arrow skills, and he felt that shooting the flagpole was ordinary.

There is a letter on the arrow, and it is naturally a letter of encouragement to surrender, and it is a letter written by His Majesty Chai Rong of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

A bold voice under the city wall said, "Brother Li, I am Chu Xin. The power of the Great Zhou army is unstoppable. Ningzhou, Yijin Pass, Waqiao Pass, Yukou Pass, Mozhou, and Yingzhou all surrendered to the Great Zhou. The Yizhou army could not resist the heavenly soldiers. Your Majesty of the Great Zhou respects the wise and the nobles, and he has faith in his words. After surrender, you are the generals of the Great Zhou. We are all Han families, so don't work hard for the Khitans anymore." Li Yanshou and Liu Chuxin were good friends in the Later Jin army and have been communicating with each other for several years. Therefore, Liu Chuxin knew that Li Yanshou would surrender to the Great Zhou in 80 to 100 years. He bravely asked to persuade Li Yanshou to surrender. It was also to make some contributions in front of the new master.

Li Yanshou had a certain idea in his heart. As soon as Liu Chuxin shouted, he ordered: "Open the door and surrender to the Zhou army."

At this point, the first phase of the Northern Expedition Army was basically completed. The Northern Expedition Army sent troops from April. In less than a month, hundreds of miles of land in Ningzhou, Yijin Pass, Waqiao Pass, Yukou Pass, Mozhou, Yingzhou and Yizhou, south of the Juma River, were all taken over to the Dazhou area, and the territory of the Dazhou area was from Cangzhou to Dingzhou. It was pushed northward to the banks of the Juma River. The second phase of the combat goal was Youzhou, which was Nanjing among the five Liao capitals. It was a military center in the Daliao area. There were 40,000 Khitan troops in the city. The city was strong and easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In Waqiao Pass, Chai Rong built a simple camp, which was called a camp, but it was just a larger tent.

Chai Rong handed Fan Zhi a piece of pretty simple piece of paper. After Fan Zhi finished reading it, he was full of solemnity and handed the note to Hou Dayong, Fan Zhi, Wang Bo, Wei Renpu and Hou Dayong beside him, only Hou Dayong was a military general, and now he replaced Wang Pu as the Privy Councilor, with important military information. After Fan Zhi read it, he was always naturally from Hou Dayong to see this order. Although there were no explicit regulations, it became a hidden rule in the hearts of the four prime ministers.

Below the four prime ministers, there are Zhao Kuangyin, the commander of the Iron Cavalry Battalion, Li Jixun, the commander of the Bianhe Naval Division, and Han Tong, the commander of the Control Crane Commander.

After reading the notes, Hou Dayong handed the notes to Wei Renpu beside him. The four prime ministers took turns to read the notes and handed them to the generals.

After reading the notes, everyone looked up at Chai Rong. Chai Rong smiled coldly and said, "All the dangerous areas south of the Juma River have been thrown away. Yelu Xiaoer has just returned from Qiying Mountain. Now she has started to mobilize troops and her reigns, and her reaction is really slow."

This note was sent back by the Seizuo sent by the Great Zhou to Youzhou. This person was hidden beside Xiao Siwen in Youzhou. He was a soldier with ease. This Seizuo was named Chen Dong, a native of Youzhou. During the Guangshun period, when Chai Rong was still guarding Chanzhou, Chen Dong became a subordinate of Chai Rong. Chai Rong's eyes had long been on Youzhou, so Chen Dong returned to Youzhou as an internal supporter. After Chen Dong returned to Youzhou, he joined the Han army in Youzhou. Among the Han army in Youzhou, Chen Dong had a successful career and actually became a military member that Xiao Siwen trusted very much.

When the Great Zhou captured Yijin Pass, Xiao Siwen, the remaining guard in Youzhou, got the news. In shock, he organized defense while reporting the military situation to Yelu Shulu, the leader of the Liao Dynasty in Qiying Mountain. After Yelu Shulu received Xiao Siwen's report, he ordered the mobilization of elite troops to the north of Youzhou to prepare for a decisive battle with the Great Zhou army in Youzhou.

After Chai Rong received this information, he immediately summoned Hou Dayong alone. After strengthening his confidence in advancing north, Chai Rong summoned the ministers to discuss.

Wei Renpu is a mature and steadfast person. He said with some concern: "The Lord of Liao Yelu Shulu personally dispatched elite troops to reinforce Youzhou. Our army rashly fought against the main force of the Liao army in Youzhou. Once it fails, the Northern Han will definitely move, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to retreat at that time."

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the Tang army conquered the Eastern Turks, and the Khitans affiliated with the Eastern Turks naturally also surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. When Emperor Taizong of Tang conquered Goryeo, he called the Khitans to join the army and used their leader Gu Ge as the general of the Right Martial Guard. The Khitans were strong in nature. Although they were partially naturalized in China and were assigned to the throne of the vassal state, they rebelled and subjugated the Impermanence, which became a trouble and burden in the prosperous Tang Dynasty in the northeast. After the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan gradually became stronger. When Yelu Abaoji emerged, in just twenty years, they not only unified the Khitan tribes, but also destroyed the Bohai Kingdom, seized a large swathe of land in the Central Plains, and formulated Khitan characters and laws, which made the Khitan become a vast and populous country.

Although Wei Renpu was not an expert in specific military command, he knew the strength of the two countries. Although the Khitan was in constant civil strife and the Liao lord was incompetent, the Khitan was above the Great Zhou in terms of population, region, army and other aspects. At this time, the Great Zhou fought a decisive battle with the Khitan cavalry. If he wins, he will win miserably, and if he loses, he will be unable to deal with it.

After reading the note, Wei Renpu was the first to put forward the opposite opinion. Before the decisive battle, Chai Rong disliked hearing opposition the most. He felt a little angry and looked at Wei Renpu, whose face was covered with deep wrinkles.

Although Zhao Kuangyin deeply agreed with Wei Renpu's opinion in his heart, he knew Chai Rong's character well. During the Battle of Gaoping that day, Chai Rong decided to fight in person despite the opposition of the ministers. On the way, Zhao Chao, the commander of the Imperial Army Control and Chai Du, sent someone to advise Chai Rong, as if he was trying to dissuade him from his personal expedition. Chai Rong was furious and imprisoned Zhao Chao in Huaizhou. With the lessons of the past, Zhao Kuangyin did not dare to dissuade Chai Rong. He stepped forward and said, "The Khitan army has not yet gathered. According to common sense, Yelu Shulu rushed from Qiying Mountain to Youzhou, at least in mid-May. There must be not many cavalry gathering in Youzhou now. Speed ​​is the key to victory. Whoever arrives in Youzhou first will get the initiative in the battle."

Hou Dayong secretly praised: Among the ministers, the one who can understand Chai Rong's mind is the one who is the one who is very good at touching Chai Rong's mind and loyal to each other.

Sure enough, Chai Rong was overjoyed when he heard this. He didn't want the ministers to discuss it again. He decided: "There is no need to discuss this matter. Now the 100,000 imperial guards have arrived at Yijin Pass and Waqiao Pass one after another, and the main force of the Khitan is still mobilized. Without ten to fifteen days, the Khitan army cannot gather at all. This is a good opportunity for heaven. If this opportunity is lost, it will be even more difficult to recover Youzhou in the future."

The Northern Expedition of the Great Zhou Army was planned by Hou Dayong with full authority and prepared very well. In particular, Li Chongjin, the former commander of the Guards, recruited the envoys of the Southwest camp, and made a full attack on Western Shu. He also secretly connected to the Yongji Canal, which accelerated the speed of transporting troops and ensured logistics supply.

It was precisely because of this series of operations that the Northern Expedition Army did it unexpectedly. Although it was in the Khitan controlled area, the Zhou army's agglomeration speed was significantly faster than the Khitan army, which had always been known for its maneuverability and flexibility.
Chapter completed!