Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses continued to cut down and bring back large quantities of timber from the flat pine forests to the west, and the sleek logs were transported to the construction camps north of the Huang River. Craftsmen worked day and night to build siege equipment, and the entire army camp was a noisy and busy scene.

Catapults were assembled, ladders were quickly piled up, more than a dozen rushing trucks were quickly built, and even soon, the first siege engines were standing in the camp. This is the first time that the Great Liao army has built its own siege equipment, although the Great Liao soldiers and horses have been seeking a strategy for building the army in both field and siege operations, but in fact, there are far from many ways to siege the city, most of them are still primitive ladder siege methods, but they have learned some skins. Having advanced siege equipment is a big progress, and being able to manufacture these siege equipment by yourself is a sign of the maturity of the military industrial system.

On the eighth day of the fourth month, the army finally began. A large number of cavalry crossed the river from the trestle bridge above the turbulent Huang River rapids, and together with a large number of siege equipment vehicles, they began to march towards Linhuang Mansion.

The terrain around Linhuang Mansion is flat, and it is a wasteland area with a radius of more than 100 miles. Under the moisture of snow water, the soil is fertile and the pasture grass is fertile, which is also another practical reason why Linhuang Mansion was established here in addition to geographical factors. The Khitan people originally established a permanent tribal living place, so the fertile pasture and abundant water source were the guarantee for survival and reproduction. Until now, it is still one of the few pastoral areas in Liao. It's just that the Liao State has been in the country for a hundred years, and the foundation for survival is no longer just horse herding and sheep herding, but commercial agriculture and mineral animal husbandry. Moreover, the political and economic center of the Great Liao moved south to Zhongjing and Nanjing, so the location of Linhuang Mansion in the Great Liao has long become less important.

It's almost mid-April, and even in the Northland, it's a time of spring. Although the grass is detached from the wasteland, there are still large areas of gray and long grass, but the whole grassland is full of green. The tender green grass grows rapidly, and in another day or two, the whole grassland will be covered with green grass and flowers, and then the northern grassland will be the most vibrant and unforgettable.

The army marched on the steppe without being confined to the restrictions of the road, there was no need for a road here, and the vast grassland area was full of flat rivers except for some gentle hills and ridges. If it were not for the formation of the large army, the cavalry could reach the city of Linhuangfu eighty miles away in one day on such terrain. However, because it was necessary to protect the siege equipment and the baggage soldiers and horses, it could only travel 20 miles a day, and it took four days to reach the city of Linhuangfu. But this was not a problem at all, and Han Zhang and Han Desui were not anxious because of this, and the two walked side by side in the Chinese army, looking at the green open grassland, admiring the peaks of the snow-capped Great Xing'an Mountains where the flat pine forests were located in the distance. The scenery in front of them made them sincerely admire the beauty of the rivers and mountains of Daliao, and both of them had the ambition to maintain the society of Daliao in the future.

Two days later, the army was halfway there. At the same time, they also arrived at a hill area called Niuwangling. It's also the only place in the prairie area with some undulating terrain

。 In fact, Niuwangling is just a series of gently undulating ridges of less than a few dozen feet, which cannot be called mountains in other places, but it is a highland on the grassland.

As the sun set, the cavalry and horses at the forefront suddenly found small black dots on the Niuwang Ridge in front of them in the afterglow of the setting sun. Soon, the horn of the alarm sounded, and they recognized that it was a cavalry soldier and horse based on the Niuwang Ridge on the west side.

The news was quickly reported to Han Desui and Han Ganghe, and the two rode their horses and galloped forward, holding a pergola to block the dazzling sunset and looking forward. Sure enough, on the continuous mountains of Niuwang Ridge, under the background of the setting sun, there are countless cavalry soldiers and horses on the top of the mountains that stretch for more than ten miles, standing on horseback, looking towards the location of their own army.

"It's the enemy." Han De said in a deep voice: "They are finally here. ”

Han Zhang laughed and said, "What? Could it be that they left Linhuang Mansion unguarded, and they wanted to have a field battle with us on this grassland? Who gave them the guts? ”

Han De then stroked his beard and smiled: "They must know that we are carrying a large number of siege equipment, and they know that they can't hold Linhuang Mansion." But do they have a chance of winning in the steppe? What a joke. ”

Han Zhang smiled: "Father-in-law, how about I lead 50,000 cavalry to meet the battle?" ”

Han De thought for a while and said, "Not for the time being, they don't seem to have any intention of attacking, and it's getting late at this moment, so it's not suitable to fight, so as not to be chaotic." Or set up camp on the spot, so as not to adapt to all changes. Be on guard against their night raids. ”

Han Zhang nodded and said, "It's okay, it's best for them to attack the camp, I'll wait for them to come." If they don't come, they will take the initiative to attack tomorrow no matter what. They are on our flank, we can't ignore them and move forward, otherwise they will find an opportunity to cut into our formation from the flank, and the Chinese army's baggage and grain and grass are afraid of danger, which may be their goal. ”

Han De nodded and said, "That's what I said, just do it according to you." ”

The army set up camp on the spot, Han Zhang gathered 50,000 cavalry to prepare for the opponent's night attack, and a large number of scouts were scattered out to reconnoiter the direction of the opponent without interruption. As a result, the night was uneventful, and the other party obviously did not want to attack the camp at night. However, the results of the scout's reconnaissance also surprised Han Zhang and Han Desui quite a bit. The other party gathered as many as seventy or eighty thousand soldiers and horses under Niuwang Ridge. There were only more than 10,000 cavalry showing up on the mountain ridge, and most of them were hidden in the invisible back. If Han Zhang had to lead 50,000 soldiers and horses to attack before, I am afraid that he would have to suffer their losses.

Hearing this news, Han Desui and Han Zhang also understood one thing, the other party should not intend to defend the city in Linhuang Mansion at all, they have already set out to fight a tough cavalry battle with themselves on the grassland. I have to say that the other party's move is still somewhat wise. Defending the city is definitely not able to hold it, but it loses the advantage of the tribal cavalry, and I am afraid that it will be defeated in the end. Rather than that, why not take advantage of the tribal cavalry's ability to charge on horseback and engage in a field battle. Perhaps this is the only way to defeat the opponent, after all, the tribal cavalry has maintained the characteristics of the traditional cavalry of the Liao State in terms of cavalry archery technology, and

The other soldiers and horses of the Liao State have slowly changed. The combat effectiveness became comprehensive, but it was not as refined as the tribal cavalry in horse archery. That's what the other side wants to take advantage of. Perhaps this could offset the disadvantage of nearly doubling the difference in strength.

Han Desui and Han Zhang scoffed at each other's behavior, and the other party actually thought that they would dare to put on a posture of fighting to the death, which was a kind of contempt for their own side. 140,000 against 80,000, they don't weigh themselves. This is also good, a decisive battle on the grassland is better than the chaos of the bombardment of Linhuang Mansion, in the final analysis, Linhuang Mansion will still be the holy land of Shangjing in Daliao in the future, and its status is irreplaceable. Since the other party is coming to send him to death, what is polite?

The battle began in the early morning, and the tribal cavalry on Niuwang Ridge swept from the mountain ridge like a violent wind and rushed straight to the southern army camp. Han Desui sat in the Chinese army, Han Zhang led 50,000 cavalry to rush directly head-on, and another 50,000 cavalry led by Han Desui's son Han Zongchang was ready to cut in from the flanks once the two sides flanked, cut off the follow-up soldiers and horses of the tribal cavalry, and divide their formations.

But before Han Zhang's soldiers and horses rushed forward, the cavalry of the other tribe divided into two ways, obliquely brushing both sides of Han Zhang's soldiers and horses and went straight to the camp. Their purpose was indeed not to fight, but to launch an attack on the Chinese camp. Han Zhang did not allow them to succeed, and commanded the cavalry to intercept them to the south, intending to intercept the troops and horses of the tribe in the south. Han Zongchang also attacked under Han Desui's order and killed the cavalry of the tribe on the north side.

The other party had no intention of fighting head-on at all, and as soon as the banner changed, the two cavalry gave up attacking the camp, and each turned a big arc and galloped back to Niuwang Ridge. Han Zhang and Han Zongchang only touched the tail of the opponent's cavalry, and after a long-distance exchange of bows and arrows, each left more than a hundred corpses and pulled away again. It was impossible for Han Zhang and Han Zongchang's cavalry to catch up with the mountains, and it was unwise to attack the slopes from the back.

The first battle ended in only half an hour, and the symbolic exchange between the two sides looked like a test of the other's resilience. Both sides had a certain understanding of the capabilities of the opposing cavalry. Overall, tribal cavalry was a bit more agile and nimble, their horses were lighter and faster, and they were more mobile. This may have something to do with the equipment of both sides, the tribal cavalry almost had no armor and heavy weapons, they only wore animal skin longbows and scimitars, and the southern army was fully equipped and slightly bulky, but it was clear that once entering a head-to-head battle, the southern cavalry would have the upper hand.

The battle was not over, and the second wave of the offensive resumed after a short break. This time the tribal cavalry was divided into more formations, and the first to charge down were four teams of 10,000 cavalry, who repeated their old tricks, first rushing towards the main camp, and then moving sideways and speeding parallel to the camp as the opponent attacked. At the same time they took advantage of their mounted shooting. Superb features, sideways to the edge of the camp more than 100 paces away to shoot arrows.

This is exactly the standard tactics of the Liao army, which mainly shoots with bows and arrows at a long distance, uses mobility to open up distances, and shoots the opponent's men and horses as the main purpose. Evacuate immediately when you encounter the opponent's obstruction, and never entangle yourself with the opponent in close combat. In the hands of the tribal cavalry, this tactic was brought into full play.