The division was unsuccessful, the boss died first, coupled with the fact that the front and rear were surrounded, and the grain road was broken, which caused the Empress Dowager Xiao to collapse, and there was no movement for several days, and the ministers were in a hurry. Several ministers took the initiative to find Han Derang and asked him to persuade the Queen Mother that no matter whether she fought or retreated, there must be an action.

Han Derang also knew that he couldn't delay any longer, so he readily agreed. He entered Empress Dowager Xiao's sleeping tent, and the palace maids and guards inside quietly retreated when they saw Han Derang coming in.

"Yanyan, it's been five days, you have to make a decision, otherwise you can only sit still." Han Derang sat down next to Empress Dowager Xiao (chuáng) and said.

"What else can I do now? If you don't cross the river in one go, you are doomed to be surrounded and annihilated, plus the generalissimo died in battle, the morale of the whole army declined, and whether you fight or not is a result. Empress Dowager Xiao sighed.

Han Derang held Empress Dowager Xiao's hand and said, "How can you think so, my Da Liao dispatched an army of 400,000 troops, and in terms of strength, it is no worse than that of the Song Dynasty, why should I be arrogant?" ”

Empress Dowager Xiao shook her head and said: "We have the Yellow River in front of us, and there are chasing soldiers in the back, and the grain road has been cut off, plus Zhao Heng's personal expedition, the morale of the Song army is high, how can we fight them?" ”

Han Derang sneered and said, "Zhao Heng is the royal driver, aren't you?" Although the grain route is broken, the baggage of the army is still enough for ten days and a half months, as long as the battle is quickly resolved, the chance of victory is still very great. ”

Empress Dowager Xiao's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she said: "Yes, he is the royal driver, and so are we, he has 400,000 horses before and after, and we are the same, since the strength is equal, I am a great Liao country, why are I afraid of the Song Dynasty?" ”

"That's right." Han Derang said with a smile: "For today's plan, the most important thing is to first elect a new general to replace Xiao Tzurin, reorganize the army as soon as possible, and prepare for battle." ”

Empress Dowager Xiao waved her hand and said: "You don't have to choose, this palace is the generalissimo, I will fight in person, I want to see if Zhao Heng dares to fight with me." ”

"This is too dangerous, I'm afraid it's inappropriate." Han Derang hesitated.

"It's okay, I'm measured." Empress Dowager Xiao immediately returned to her previous courage and heroism. She immediately stood up (shēn), gave the order, and gathered her troops and horses overnight.

Not long after, the torches in the Liao army camp were bright, and the army lined up neatly, waiting for Empress Dowager Xiao's lecture.

Empress Dowager Xiao wears

一 (shēn) gold armor, heroic posture, majestic (bī) people.

She stood on the high platform and shouted: "My soldiers of the Great Liao Kingdom, now we have been put into a dead end by the Song Dynasty (bī), (shēn) in front of Zhao Heng's personal expedition, (shēn) after the army from Dingzhou, our hometown Shangjing is also occupied by Yang Yanzhao, and the grain route has also been cut off. Now, there is only one road in front of me, and that is to swear to fight a bloody way, rush across the Yellow River and rob the lair of the Great Song Dynasty, where there is money, food and women, which is hundreds of times better than our Shangjing. ”

The Liao army's already sluggish fighting spirit seemed to be burned a little, and there was a light in his eyes.

Empress Dowager Xiao continued: "Our generalissimo has died in battle, and in the future, this palace will be the generalissimo, and this palace will rush to the forefront to fight, because we have no way to retreat, either die in battle, or fight the Central Plains to enjoy happiness." ”

When the soldiers of the Liao army heard this, the fighting spirit in their bodies was all stimulated, and they waved the weapons in their hands and shouted: "Kill, kill, kill." ”

Empress Dowager Xiao saw that the effect she wanted had appeared, so she deployed the generals to be on guard and prepare to face the battle.

Immediately, she specially summoned the first master of the Liao State, Baishan Shuangsheng, and gave them a task, that is, the war will start tomorrow, and there is no need to kill the enemy, just paste (shēn) to protect the queen mother.

次 (rì) early in the morning, without any agreement, but both sides knew that the great battle was about to begin. Zhao Heng was in high spirits, no longer afraid at all, and climbed to the top of the city, ready to beat the drum and cheer in person.

As the drumstick in the emperor's hand fell, the earth-shaking cannon also sounded, the morale of the Song army was high, the army was reorganized, and rushed out of the city of Lanzhou to the Liao army.

At the same time, Wang Chao's army had reached the rear of the Liao army, and after hearing the sound of artillery, he immediately launched an attack.

However, everyone found that the Liao army seemed to be far from being as sluggish as they imagined, and on the contrary, they were extremely brave and ruthless in battle, like a group of walking corpses (ròu) who were not afraid of death.

Wang Chao in the rear found that it was Yelu Nuoyan, a famous general of the Liao Army, who was fighting against them, and after Xiao Tzu Rin's death, Yelu Nuoyan was the well-deserved first general of the Liao State, but he didn't expect the Liao State to put him in the rear, so what should I do in the front?

Wang Chao would not have thought of it, but Zhao Heng, Li Jilong and others saw with their own eyes that at the beginning of the war, a woman (shēn) wearing a golden helmet and golden armor took the lead in rushing to the front line to fight, and the soldiers of the Liao army followed closely, even like a mad cow

Fierce.

"Empress Dowager Xiao, it was Empress Dowager Xiao who personally went to war." Zhao Heng was surprised and delighted, and was so surprised that the Empress Dowager of Liao State personally went to battle, which was bound to drive the soldiers of Liao State to work together, with high morale and a sharp increase in combat effectiveness. Happily, Empress Dowager Xiao is at the forefront and has a great chance to kill her. If Empress Dowager Xiao died, the Liao State would immediately collapse.

He quickly issued an order to attack the Empress Dowager Xiao with all his might, and the person who killed the Empress Dowager Xiao was rewarded with a reward of 10,000 taels and promoted to the fifth level.

For a time, the Song army's arrows rained down like rain, and the soldiers swarmed like a swarm, all rushing towards the Empress Dowager Xiao.

Empress Dowager Xiao also seemed to be crazy, and she didn't care about her own safety at all, waving her long knife and slashing at the ushered Song army. However, with the two saints of Baishan protecting her (shēn) on the left and on the right, the safety of Empress Dowager Xiao is basically guaranteed.

The Liao army was originally brave, but at this moment they thought that they had cut off the back road, and the Empress Dowager Xiao took the lead, all of them were extremely fierce, not afraid of life and death, like a tiger descending from the mountain.

400,000 troops who are not afraid of death, in the face of 400,000 troops who still want to live, who will be better, the result can be imagined.

Zhao Heng stood at the head of the city, his eyes full of splashing blood, his ears full of the sound of puffs and swords (ròu), and the scene of the Liao army rapidly spreading towards him.

Time passed by minute by moment, and both sides were already red-eyed, and the battle was extremely fierce. However, the Liao army clearly had the upper hand, and the Song army retreated step by step.

Zhao Heng was so frightened that his soul was scattered, the soles of his feet were unstable, and he asked in a trembling voice: "Zhong (ài) Qing, what should I do, the Liao army is coming." ”

Li Jilong said to Kou Zhun and the others: "Ladies and gentlemen, escort the emperor back to Nancheng, leave it to me here, and the last will vouch for it with his head, and the Liao army will definitely not cross the river." ”

Kou Zhun also had no idea, so he hurriedly ordered someone to raise the imperial shack, and under the protection of Wang Yingjue, he returned to Nancheng.

The emperor withdrew, and Li Jilong waved his broadsword and personally rushed to the front line to command. He personally saw the ferocity of the Liao army and the Empress Dowager Xiao. felt that this style of play was extremely unfavorable to the Song army, and if it was fought well, it would end up together, and if it was not fought well, it would be defeated.

Therefore, Li Jilong decisively collected his troops, and the army returned to the back of the baggage vehicles that had been laid before, changed the offensive to the defensive, and relied on the baggage vehicles to block the offensive of the Liao army with (chuáng) crossbows, bows and arrows, and spears.

As a result, the two sides engaged in a long standoff around the baggage vehicle.