On the ninth day of the twelfth month of the leap month, Zhang Qi rode on a horse, looking into the distance, his face was heavy. The commanders of the battalions under his command made the final pre-battle mobilization. An army of 50,000 attacked the Khitan in the north today, starting a full-scale counteroffensive of the Song army.

The sun rose in the east, red and red, reflecting the grass and trees next to it with gold edges. The ground was frozen and hard as iron. In the shade of the trees, there are even ice cubes. It's the coldest time of the year, the ice is thick and the roads are hard.

Everything was ready, Zhang Qi looked back at the army, and said in a deep voice: "The time has come, the whole army has set off!" ”

A low trumpet sounded, whimpering over the desert plains, startling countless birds.

The forward troops stepped on the ice of the Juma River, encountered no obstacles, and entered the territory of the Khitan.

At this time, the road surface was icy, and the Song army mostly used mules and horses to transport them, so they did not have to take the existing avenues, but could walk along the paths. Zhang Qi went straight to the northeast and attacked Yongqing, which was a hundred miles away. There were not many garrisons there, and the city was of little use in front of the army's artillery.

At noon, Zhang Qi said: "There is a town ahead, and take a rest and have some tea and rice." Hurry all the way, you can't go hungry. ”

The soldiers received the order and rode to the front to pass the military order.

Zhang Qi took the Chinese army, not in a hurry, to the front of the town. Before they entered the town, they saw people kneeling on the side of the road, about two or three hundred people, all old and weak, women and children. Looking at their complexions, everyone has yellow faces and thin muscles, as if they haven't eaten enough for many days.

Zhang Qi sent his own soldiers forward and asked what these people were doing. At this time, except for some major towns, the Khitan soldiers and horses in Youzhou had already moved south. There was actually no obstacle to the march of the Song army, just moving forward.

After a while, the soldiers came back and said, "Captain, this is a resident of this town." I heard that Wang Shi was coming, and greeted him at the entrance of the town. ”

Zhang Qi nodded, got off the horse, and said, "That is the case, you come forward with me." Yan Yun's hometown, recovering here, not only to recover the territory, but also to recover the hearts of the people. For the local people, do not chill their hearts. ”

In front of the crowd, Zhang Qi stepped forward and said, "I am Zhang Qi, the commander of this march." Which of you is the leader? Get up and speak. ”

An old man stood up tremblingly and arched his hand: "Little old man Yan Shilang, I have seen the captain." ”

Zhang Qi looked at the old man who was sixty or seventy years old, with gray hair and skinny skin, and said, "You're welcome. It has been more than 100 years since the Khitan stolen Youzhou. Sheng Shangnian was originally the homeland of the Han people, and specially ordered us to come here to restore the old rivers and mountains. You are all good people, and do not be dismayed. Be at ease at home, and the soldiers will not disturb you when they cross the border. ”

Yan Shilang arched his hand and said: "Xiaomin looks at the Heavenly Master in the south, I don't know how many days. Today, when the captain came, it was a rain from heaven, how could he be suspicious? It's just that in recent months, the Khitans have looted too much, and everyone has no surplus food at home, and all the young and strong people have tattooed as soldiers. I wanted to slaughter the cow and put wine to welcome the captain. But there really isn't, alas—"

After speaking, he sighed heavily. The people kneeling behind them were all depressed.

Zhang Qi looked at their appearance, his heart moved, and asked, "Most of you have vegetables on your faces, are you not having food at home?" ”

Yan Shilang said: "Which family still has food now?" For two months, I barely survived by going out to dig up some tree roots and the like. Originally, there were more than 400 households in this town, with a population of more than 1,000. Now there are only these people who have been recruited into the army by tattoos. ”

Zhang Qi looked at everyone, thought for a while, and said, "My army is traveling, and there is not much food and grass. In this way, I will give you a few stones of food, and I can barely eat a few full meals. Other things will be talked about when the imperial army arrives. As long as you obey the orders of the court and do not help the Khitans, the court will not ignore you. ”

When he heard this, the people cheered. Since the Khitan army moved south, the people in the vicinity have been looted many times, and the people's grain has been looted, and even the seeds for the next year are gone. When the winter passed, they didn't know what to do.

Zhang Qi looked at the sky and ordered his soldiers to fetch a few stones of grain for these people. At the same time, he wrote a letter of writing, wrote what he saw, and sent it back to Du Zhongxiao. How to relieve, Shuai Si is in charge, he traveled far away with an army, but there is no extra food.

Let the people receive food and go home, Zhang Yu took his own soldiers to sit at the entrance of the town and have some tea and rice. At this time, there are two meals a day, although most of the eunuchs will eat something at noon, but it is not a normal diet. This meal at noon, on one side, is called tea soup, similar to the afternoon tea that came from the west in later generations.

Looking at the town in front of him, Zhang Qi was distracted for a while. The current situation in Khitan, although there was information about Li Zhang before departure, still feels unexpected. The Khitan army of hundreds of thousands has been coming south for a few months, completely squeezing Youzhou dry. Even if the Song army doesn't attack, what are they going to do in the coming year? Perhaps, they just finished and didn't think about it?

Shaking his head, Zhang Qi sighed. After this war, how many people will be left in Youzhou? The longer the large-scale war, the more alarming the scale of the depopulation becomes. Ordinary people, how to grab food from the army? It's not just about what you want.

On the same day, Jia Kui's soldiers split into two routes. More than 3,000 people went all the way to Rongcheng County. The other way is Jia Kui's main force, taking Xincheng County.

These two cities are actually Rongcheng and Guixin two counties of the Song Dynasty, under the rule of Xiongzhou. The two counties of the Song Dynasty were both located in the city of Xiongzhou, and the county seats were in the Khitan. A large number of two losers in Xiongzhou are actually the people of these two counties. But now, the people in the Khitan territory, young and strong, have been tattooed as soldiers to transport grain, and the rest are old and weak women and children.

The county seat of Rongcheng is on the Juma River, and more than 3,000 soldiers and horses cross the river and come to the city. After firing only a dozen cannons, the city gate was opened and the city surrendered.

Xincheng County was dozens of miles away, and it was nearly evening, and Jia Kui's army arrived at the city. Looking at the setting sun on the horizon, Jia Kui ordered the army to camp and attack the city again tomorrow. A small city should not be able to stop its own army.

Before it was dark, they saw the city gate open, and the two rode to Jia Kui's army, which was encamped.

The soldier stepped forward, stopped the two, and said, "Who are you?" Dare to break into the barracks? ”

The two hurriedly surrendered their hands. One said: "Below is Liu Yue, the county lieutenant of the city, this is Chen Linyanei, the son of the county order." On the orders of the county, I have come to discuss with your boss. Please also inform us, we are waiting here. ”

The soldier looked the two of them up and down, and then sent someone to inform Jia Kui. After a short time, he came back and took the two of them into the barracks.

At this time, Jia Kui's handsome tent had not yet been set up, and he sat on the chair next to him, looking at the comers. Thinking in my heart, as soon as I came, there were so many people. What are you here for? Thinking about it, it seems that the city has been retained.

The two stepped forward with their own soldiers and bowed their hands to Jia Kui: "Liu Yue and Chen Lin, I have seen the captain." ”

Jia Kui nodded, looked at the two of them and said, "You go out of the city to see me, just say something." If I wait until tomorrow, when I have set up artillery to siege the city, I will not have to speak. Tens of thousands of soldiers are coming to the city, and the city will be smashed in one day! ”

Liu Yue said: "There are tens of thousands of captains, and the military appearance is neat, which is not trivial. The county commander knew that he could not resist the enemy and intended to sacrifice the city. It's just that I'm afraid that the captain will slip his hand for a while and kill all the people in the city, so he is worried in his heart. ”

Jia Kui smiled, it turned out that this county order was afraid of surrendering himself, but he killed him instead, which is funny. But think about it, the Khitan army has been transferred, and there are only some villagers in the city, and there is not enough food and grass, so this battle cannot be fought.

Looking at Liu Yue, Jia Kui said: "As long as you are willing to sacrifice the city, I will not commit any crimes." This is the homeland of the Central Plains, and all the people under the rule are Han people, so the court naturally cherishes it. This time, the army came only to take the city, and it would not poison the people. ”

Chen Lin on the side hurriedly said: "As long as the Taiwei is kind and does not kill and poke wantonly, my father is naturally willing to sacrifice the city." The city prepared wine and food, and invited the captain to enter the city, and his father took the wind and washed the dust for the captain. ”

Jia Kui looked at the city and said lightly: "It's already dark, why worry." Wait until tomorrow to enter the city again. ”

Chen Lin said: "It's cold now, and it's inconvenient for Taiwei to rest outside the city. Then the gate of the city was opened, and the captain entered the city with his soldiers and horses. There are no soldiers and horses in the city, and there are only more than 100 villagers left, how dare they stop the army! ”

Seeing that the two of them didn't look like they were fake, Jia Kui got up and said, "Okay." The county order is so well aware of the righteousness, I don't go into the city, but it's not beautiful. The two thousand soldiers and horses here are all under the jurisdiction of my commander, so they will go into the city together to rest. Wait a minute, you two, I will give the army an order. ”

Liu Yue and Chen Lin listened and said yes.

The new city is actually an empty city, and there is no condition to stop the army at all. Jia Kui's tens of thousands of troops came, and there was only a dead end if he didn't sacrifice the city. These days, the nearby magistrates are all afraid of the Khitan levy grain, where will they defend the city to the death?