While the two were talking, the stairs of "knock-knock-knock" sounded, and Gao Bolong pushed open the door and walked in. The three of them said hello, and Wang Xuansu said with a smile: "It's just in time, General Zhao will instruct the enemy camp again." As he spoke, he handed over the clairtelescope in his hand. Gao Bolong smiled and said, "General Zhao has already pointed it out. But he took the clairvoyant mirror and looked at it carefully to the north.

Although Nanshan City was easy to defend and difficult to attack, the narrow isthmus also limited the counterattack of the Han army against the Liao army. The topography here is similar to the "patio" mentioned in the art of war, and the Liao army only needs to guard the front of the section facing the isthmus to seal the passage of the Han army into the interior. Therefore, Zhao Xingde resolutely opposed the Han army's establishment of the Marshal's Mansion here. It is precisely because of this that the entire Liao army camp, except for the direction of Nanshan City, where the camp is firmly entrenched, is very sparse in other places, and the precautions are not strict, especially after the fall of Liaoyang. The fences between the barracks were high and low, and there were stalls and horses everywhere, and even a large open space was cleared on the north side of the camp, waiting for the 90,000 reinforcements led by Xiao Tachi to enter. There was only a low wooden fence between the clearing and the camp, and it was close to the place where the heavy grain and grass were piled up. Almost every few days, a large group of horse-drawn wagons carrying grain would pass through here and enter the Liao army camp. Every time Zhao Xingde looked over with a clairvoyant mirror, he could almost see the defenders shrinking their necks and leaning on their spears to fight Hahe.

The Han army was preparing to cut in from here, along the gap between the Liao army camps, all the way to the depths of the camp, disperse the horses along the way, ignite the grain and grass piled up in the Liao army camp, pass through the camp before the Liao army reacted, and then return to Suzhou Guannan from the east ice road, when Li Sihai's gunboats will fire for them. For the Liao army, the sea ice area had to be wide enough to drive the Han gunboats far away in order to pass through with confidence, while the Han army did not have this problem, which determined that the Han army could use this access road in the early days when the sea froze.

During this time, not only the Liao army was checking the thickness of the ice every day, but the Han army in Nanshan City was the same. In the eyes of the Liao army, this was just the Han army preventing the Liao army from attacking along the coastal ice. Zhao Xingde also dispatched deployments every day to dig through the ice near Nanshan City. But in the past few days, the weather has suddenly turned cold, and the first day it has been chiseled, and the next day it has frozen again. Fortunately, the ice chiseling was only a deceptive move, otherwise the Han army defending the city would have suffered a lot.

Gao Bolong carefully checked the situation in the Liao military camp and was sure that there was no change from yesterday, so he breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Xingde had to collect the enemy's situation in every battle, and repeatedly scrutinized the truth and fiction, which was a somewhat "overly cautious" habit, which unconsciously affected many Han generals. If it was in the past, Gao Bolong would have left after observing the enemy's situation, but today he stayed, as if he had nothing to say, chatting about some details of battle and defense cooperation.

Zhao Xingde and Wang Xuansu both felt the slight difference, and Gao Bolong himself became more and more uncomfortable, and finally spoke: "General Zhao, I have a reluctant request, and please agree." When he said this, his old face was also red.

"Oh?" Zhao Xingde said, "General Gao has something to say, if Zhao can do it, he will do his best." He smiled and looked at Gao Bolong, guessing in his heart that it was probably for the artillery of Nanshan City to open fire for cover, and the camp of the Liao army was outside the range of the artillery position at the head of the city, but most of the field artillery of the Han army was lost under the city of Liaoyang, and it was necessary to move the iron barrel cannon to defend the city and bombard the camp of the Liao army, once the Liao army counterattacked, these heavy guys would not have time to retreat. Nanshan City had to withstand the attack of the Liao army for another three months, relying on the power of artillery, which could not be lost.

"It's not a big deal," Gao Bolong sneered, "The Yalu River Nuzhen also discussed with me in her forehead, and this sneak attack on the enemy camp wanted to borrow the banner of General Zhao." He explained, "The Liao army could not attack the city, and repeatedly lost troops, although they did not say anything, they were afraid of General Zhao. General Zhao also showed benevolence, so many Liao generals were unwilling to fight against General Zhao in private, and even if they met, they would not resist desperately. But if it was under the banner of other Han armies or Jurchens, the situation would be different. Playing the banner of General Zhao can take the lead in winning people," Gao Bolong paused, a little embarrassed, "I'm just afraid of falling into the general's prestige." ”

Zhao Xingde was stunned for a moment, and then nodded and said: "Flags, these things, General Gao will just pick them later, and I can take away as many flags as I want in Nanshan City." Gao Bolong happily thanked him and left, but Zhao Xingde was a little frightened in his heart.

"Deter the enemy, lean on the city? Do I have what it takes? Should it be General Zhang Shanfu, Captain Duan Huaixian, or someone like Li Sihai, Han Ningshuang, and Chen Shaoyang? At this moment, he felt the weight on his shoulders, took a deep breath of cold air, and suppressed the panic.

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

The sky was covered with thick dark clouds, the stars and the moon were dark, and before dawn, it was the darkest time. The cold wind was blowing strongly, and thick shore ice was piled up everywhere on the shore of the Liaohai Sea. Two thick ropes stretched from the shore into the distance, submerging into the darkness, the path that the scouts had carved out for the army. In the most dangerous area, as long as you walk between two thick ropes, you will not risk stepping on the surface of the void ice and falling into the ice cave. Standing behind a reef, Gao Bolong looked back and could only see a few feet around him. The brigade was still struggling to move on the ice. More than 10,000 cavalrymen, with the rank of soldiers, the horse's hooves are wrapped in cloth, the north wind is mixed with fine particles, blowing on the face like a steel knife scraping the face, the wind roars like a ghost crying wolf, and completely conceals the sound of the movement of the brigade of men and horses.

On the shore a few miles away, the lights hanging high above the Liao army were very eye-catching. But nothing could be heard except the howling of the north wind. In the night, more than 10,000 cavalry who attacked the Liao camp gathered in front of a forest. On this night, starting from Guannan in Suzhou, marching on the ice for more than half an hour, many people's faces were frozen and purple, their fingers were frozen, and the mouth and nose were condensed with white frost flowers.

"Gao General,...... General," the pro-soldier's teeth rattled, Bing said, "Big, big, big...... The army is all together, can you attack? He said and looked at the forest in front of him, after dozens of days of fierce battles, this piece of birds and beasts within a radius of a hundred miles is almost extinct, and he is the king of beasts. Only countless crows gathered, pecking at corpses during the day, and landing on the treetops near the Liao army camp at night.

"Take a bite, chew it and swallow it," Gao Bolong took out an old ginseng from his arms, handed it to his soldiers, and then chewed the remaining half and swallowed it. "This cold weather," Gao Bolong said in a low voice, "Prepare to attack, and after informing you, the Jurchen cavalry will follow us closely." ”

The pro-soldier nodded vigorously, and led the war horse away with a deep and shallow foot. This ice surface is extremely slippery, along the way, the Han army is constantly falling on their heels, if it is not for the title in their mouths, no one makes a sound, I am afraid that the Liao army would have been alarmed. On the contrary, the Jurchens often chiseled ice in winter to catch fish, and they were much more accustomed to marching on the ice.

After passing through the darkness, encountering more than a dozen people, and being greeted several times by the Chinese dialect with the Jurchen dialect, Gao Bolong's personal soldiers finally found a good face. His face was much older, his eyebrows and beard were covered with frost, he listened to the report of his own soldiers with an expressionless face, and said in a deep voice: "Tell General Gao, we know." ”

After Gao Bolong's personal soldiers left, he also asked: "The first one is extremely strong, can the Han people really trust it?" There are 100,000 Liao soldiers in front. The Jurchen generals did not immediately follow the order, and some people complained: "Liaogou is still burning and looting near the tribe, why do you come all the way to help the Han people fight?" ”

"In order for the tribe to survive!" He frowned. He has explained countless times, but it is always difficult for the Jurchen generals to understand, to defend the tribe, and the Liao dog is desperate, if you can't fight, you will hide in the mountains, why listen to the Han people, take the Han people's boat to cross the ocean and come over, and fight with the 100,000 Liao army. Although the people who remain under Wanyan's command are his confidants for many years, there are always people who can't understand this truth.

"A large group of wolves circling around the sheepfold, fighting these wolves face to face, or going around behind them and shooting arrows?" After finishing his speech, he waved his hand, as if returning to the time when the Jin army swept through Liaodong, "If they are beaten here and the grain and grass are burned, those Liao dogs who attack the tribe in the north will not stay for long." Wanyan's brows furrowed, "Do you really want to escape, the beasts and wild fruits in the mountains, where so many people can be fed?" ”

"But," whispered in his forehead, "aren't the Han people also on the run?" They took women and children with them and kept fleeing north. We can also migrate to the north where Liao dogs can't beat us. There seems to be a Jurchen over there, too. ”

"Flee north, wherever you flee, the Liao dogs can catch up," Wan Yan sighed without losing his breath, "Livestock lose fat, die, there are not enough beasts and wild fruits, the local tribes will not allow outsiders to grab the territory, and the land can be harvested for several months, and the Han people have ships to transport grain to them, do we have it?" Can you watch your people freeze and starve to death? He coughed heavily, and spat out a mouthful of thick phlegm before he stopped.

The Jurchen generals looked at each other and were silent for a while before someone whispered, "No!" ”

"Then," Wan Yan said without stroking his chest and looking ahead, "wait a while, and you will each lead the team and follow those Han cavalry closely." There are 100,000 Liao dogs in front, and the Han people are more familiar with the road than us, and they follow them closely, and there is still hope for survival. As he spoke, he tightened the leather belt on the horse's belly, turned over and sat in the saddle, and immediately stood taller than the general, took the spear handed by his own soldier, took a deep breath of cold air, and forced down the heart-rending pain in his chest.