The atmosphere in the imperial tent was very dull, and Yelu Dashi's face was gloomy, like a lion in a trap. He understood the thoughts of the generals of the North Courtyard very well. However, it is also a true fact that Xia Guoanxi was at war with the Roma Turks, and it was extremely difficult to get out in a short period of time. The opportunity to annex the Song State is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, 300,000 troops are surging south, the front is frustrated in Ezhou, and the back is cut off from the grain road, so the army retreats back, which really makes people feel very embarrassed.

"Xia actually sent troops from Shudi, although it was unexpected, but there is no need to make a fuss," after a long silence, Yelu Dashi said to the generals, "For more than 100 years, Xia has the intention to annex Guandong, and most of the soldiers, horses, grain and grass are stationed in Guanzhong. The terrain in Shuzhong is rugged, not conducive to the return of the army, it is a subject country, hundreds of years without swords, there is no major movement in the near future, and the number of troops that can support is limited. And Luoyang is still in the hands of the Song State, and the one who captured Xiangyang is just a lone army. Xiao Lira hastily lost Xiangyang and retreated to Yingchang Mansion, I had already issued an edict to reprimand him, so he immediately mobilized Henan soldiers and horses to go south, attack from the north and south to recapture Xiangyang, and open up the grain route of the army. Before that, Lord Beiyuan, the grain and grass in the army must be within your means, and you must not waste it. ”

Brother Yelu Tiege agreed with a complicated expression. His Majesty was resolutely unwilling to withdraw from the army, and none of his colleagues in the tent wanted to touch this mold. However, the grain and grass in the army are being consumed every day, and if the grain and grass in the back road cannot be helped, and if it continues to be consumed, I am afraid that it will not be long before the food will run out.

"Xiao Lili, this bastard!" Yelu Tiege scolded secretly, and glared at Yelu and Wanyan Zongbi who were standing next to him, these two insisted that the water division was too heavy, and if they divided their troops to capture Xiangyang, they would not be able to compete with the Song country's water division in front. It was clearly to preserve their strength, but His Majesty actually believed them. Only another 50,000 cavalry were divided to the north to recapture Xiangyang, and only the sailors sent a partial division to carry grain and grass to follow. Sometimes, Yelu Tiege even suspected that His Majesty was already confused.

"The one who captured Xiangyang is just a lone army," Yelu Dashi looked at his worried subordinates, "Xiao Lili's main force is not damaged, and if you gather the remaining Henan infantry riders, you will definitely be able to recapture Xiangyang." The people of the Song Kingdom were born to be slaves. The Song State has weakened, and now there is only the last breath left, as long as we defeat them in Ezhou, the entire south will be subjugated, and there are already many merchants of the Southern Dynasty who are willing to do things for us. We have to persevere, the Song Dynasty only has its last breath left! Yelu Dashi finished saying this sentence in an affirmative tone, and there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside, and the general on duty said loudly outside: "Your Majesty, urgent military report." ”

"Come in," Yelu Dashi muttered angrily, "can Shangjing make me feel at ease." "After the southern expedition, the big and small matters in Beijing were temporarily taken care of by Empress Xiao, but there was a matter of the Khitan Eight Parts Conference, and Empress Xiao did not dare to specialize, so she still used fast horses and flying pigeons to send them to the front of the army, and they were judged by Yelu Dashi. A dusty palace tent guard opened the curtain and entered, His Majesty waved his hand with some interest, and said to the generals, "The more chaotic the army's heart, the more you have to look at the people of the headquarters. Then he bowed his head and said to the kneeling pro-army: "Say, what is it?" ”

"Luo, Luo,...... Luoyang! The soldier raised his head, "Luoyang is occupied by the Xia Kingdom!" ”

"What?" Yelu Dashi's eyebrows suddenly erected, and he stared sharply at the kneeling guard, "Luoyang is occupied by the Xia Kingdom?" How did it get down? This shocking news made the entire imperial account silent, but it seemed to be a "boom", generals, you look at me, I look at you, with a face full of disbelief, Luoyang is sitting on a natural risk, and the confrontation between Xia and Song has lasted for a hundred years, and it is so easy to occupy Xia Guo? The Xia State captured Luoyang, and the Xia army in Xiangyang was no longer a lone army, and the soldiers, horses, grain and grass in Guanzhong could continue to drive straight into the Central Plains. "After the southern expedition is over," Yelu Tiege said secretly, "Could it be that the news of the war between the Anxi Military Division and the Roma Turks is simply fake?" The Xia State intends to lead us and the Song State into a defeat and now wants to send troops to annex us in one fell swoop. He looked at Jerodashi in disbelief, and Jerodashi's gaze remained motionless at the guards who were taking the report.

"Yes," the soldier's throat was a little hoarse, "there was no war, and the deputy capital of Xijing in the Song Dynasty deployed Cao Xi to return to the Xia State and seal the Marquis of Dongning." ”

"What?" Yelu Dashi stood up, and the green tendons on his forehead burst out, "Cao Xi has fallen?" His gaze turned to the side, and Brother Yelu Tiege bowed down in fear and said: "Cao Xi hooked up with Xia Guo, and the Northern Courtyard failed to detect it in time, Your Majesty forgives you." "The Cao family will be in Xijing, it stands to reason that the upper and lower are one, and Cao Xi categorically has no reason to betray Cao Di. Not long ago, Beiyuan sent an envoy to Xijing to say surrender, and Cao Xi presented the letter to Cao Di, and the envoy sent it out of the country. Yelu Tiege never expected that he would return to the Xia Kingdom so soon.

"That's it," Yelu Dashi said, waving his hand, "Cao Xi has always been very highly regarded by Cao Di. Cao Di was in retreat and did not accept the Xia army, but he silently dedicated Luoyang to the Xia Kingdom, and even his own brother could deceive him, how could the North Courtyard know about it. His face was pale, and he sat down on the tiger-skin chair in a dejected manner, and waved his hand to let the generals retreat first, leaving only Yelu Tiege, the privy envoy of the Northern Court.

The palace tent guards were guarding outside, and the palace tent was quiet, only the sound of breathing remained. The emperor and the privy envoy of the Northern Court, two of the most powerful figures in the Liao State, fell silent at the same time. The light inside the tent was a little dim, and Yelu Dashi lowered his head, unable to see his expression clearly. Yelu Tiege looked at him with concern, uneasy in his heart, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty? ......" Seeing that Yelu Dashi didn't react, he tried to snort softly, "Your Majesty? ”

"Huh?" Yelu Dashi raised his head, his face was startled, and he seemed to be several years old for a moment, "Withdraw the army," his voice was hoarse, almost inaudible, "The matter of Luoyang, the Xia Kingdom should have been prepared, if it wasn't for the sudden fight in the river, this is behind the plagiarism of hundreds of thousands of Guanzhong troops, the entire army of the Southern Expedition will be destroyed, and the Khitan will be wiped out." He sneered twice, gritted his teeth and said, "One blow will get two tigers, what a shrewd calculation!" There seemed to be a flame burning in his chest, and as if he was pierced in his vest by a sharp knife, and there was a fierce light in Yelu Dashi's eyes, as if he had just been as fierce as he had just come up and down the battlefield, and he roared in a low voice, "Retreat!" ”

"Yes! Your Majesty! Yelu Tiege agreed with relief.

After making a decision, Yelu Dashi closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened his eyes again, he seemed to be calm for a moment, and ordered: "The Khitan brigade retreats first, and when the army retreats, you must monitor the Jurchens and Han people, and let Xiao Chana and Urgon break off." After a slight pause, Yelu Dashi's eyes showed a fierce color, "The grain and grass are not enough, right?" All the departments took turns to beat the grass valley along the way, collected all the livestock along the way, recruited all the strong men and women to sign the army, transported the baggage for us, and killed those who did not want to go, and burned all the granaries, and burned the baggage that could not be taken away. ”

"Your Majesty?" Brother Yelu Tiege looked suspicious, "That's ...... Don't you let the Song people hate us to the bone? And, the speed of the march? ”

Although the Liao army could not be said to have committed no crimes in autumn, the military discipline was better than in Henan and Hebei, and even in the Liao country, and most of the heavy grain and grass were supplemented by the merchants of the Southern Dynasty, and there were fewer cases of grass valley. If you burn and loot all the way back, all the work you have done before will be in vain.

"If we don't do this, the Song people won't hate us?" Yelu Dashi sneered, "Since the Xia State has captured Luoyang, Henan has become a place to use troops, and the Song State is bound to refuse to give up the Central Plains, and they can't be allowed to recover so quickly." Rest assured, the people of the Song Dynasty often say that the northerners are good at riding, and the southerners are good at boats. They did not dare to chase us by land. Walk slower and fight more grassy valleys. He drank the cup of Chinese tea, chewed the tea and swallowed it, "After I go back, try to send all the slaves from Henan to Hebei." ”

"Okay." Brother Yelu Tiege nodded. Hundreds of thousands of warriors in Ezhou, a city of mountains and rivers, the south is hot and humid, epidemics, early let many people complain, to be able to retreat back, to run Hebei and Henan, it is also a good thing.

Yelu Tiege's slightly relaxed expression couldn't hide Yelu Dashi's eyes, sighed, waved his hand, and said, "You retreat, so you can arrange the withdrawal of the army." ”

............

Under the city of Xiangyang, flags were unfurled, war horses neighed, and 20,000 cavalry gathered in an extraordinary formation. The army of Xia couldn't help but watch the people, after these days of buying and selling, the people of Xiangyang also got acquainted with the soldiers, and the people outside the West City Gate were full of people, and there were a sea of people. Watching the lively people more than the number of sergeants, and there are hawkers walking in and out of the crowd, shouting loudly to buy and sell food, it is as lively as visiting the temple fair during the New Year.

"Let's go!" Captain Yang Ren urged lightly with his legs, and the war horse neighed and rushed out first.

The 500 cavalry of the 1st Battalion of the White Feather Army set off as the vanguard of the whole army. Because they want to show the military appearance to the people of Xiangyang, the cavalry are all wearing iron armor, pressing the reins with their left hand, and erecting the horse lance with their right hand. When the people above and below the west city gate saw such a neat and magnificent military appearance, they all applauded loudly when they saw this. The cavalry had to gallop more than ten miles away, and when the onlookers could not see, they would take off their heavy armor and put the horse lance and armor back on the heavy pack horses beside them.

Wu Jie nodded to the onlookers, and said in a low voice: "The Zhenguo Army Brigade is marching south with us, and there are only 2,000 people left behind in Xiangyang...... Do it...... Gift...... His voice was very low, faintly heard in the noise of gongs and drums, and only Sima Xue Bingzhong, the marching soldier who stayed in Xiangyang Xicheng, could hear it clearly. "Admiral, rest assured." Xue Bingzhong nodded slightly, nearly 10,000 people of the Eastern Expeditionary Army stayed in Xiangyang, and he observed the strength of the Zhenguo Army for more than ten days, and there was no problem in subduing only 2,000 partial divisions.