"The Liao army's forward has not yet crossed the river, but it has only poisoned Hebei." Zhao Xingde marked on a map of the northern Song Kingdom that the black arrow symbolizing the Liao army reached the north bank of the Yellow River, and a large group of Liao cavalry was found near the Daimyo's Mansion in Shanzhou and the Daimyo's Mansion.

"Yuan Zhi, what do you think of the battle situation?" Li Rui asked in a deep voice, "The river is dangerous, the Liao army's previous invasions have stopped here, and this time it shouldn't be over, right?" His hometown Chen Liu, not far from Bianliang, since Zhao Xingde arrived in Dunhuang, he came to Zhao Xingde every day to inquire about the latest situation, and saw that the situation in the Kanto region had not deteriorated, so he left with confidence. Along with Li Rui, there was also Zhang Zixian, a trade clerk of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and Chen Youyi, who was engaged in the Relief Bureau, Zhang Zixian was a native of Xuzhou, and Chen Youyi was a native of Luoyang, and he was also particularly concerned about the war situation between the Liao and Song dynasties.

Zhao Xingde shook his head and sighed: "But the defense line of the big river is too long, the big river is not as good as the mountains and cliffs, as long as there are boats, you can cross the river everywhere." Six or seven hundred miles of river defense, even if there are 100,000 troops, less than 2,000 people per ten miles. This line of defense is the same as the walled fort in Hebei County, where fortification is passive everywhere. The Liao army was mostly cavalry, and the Song army was mostly foot soldiers. The main force of the Liao army only needs to feint back and forth a few times, and the Song army will be exhausted. The defense line of the big river only needs to break through a little, and after crossing the river, it is the way to Bianliang. ”

"What should I do?" Zhang Zixian said with a worried face, "Isn't there a way to stop the Liao army?" ”

"In the past, when the Liao army entered the Kou, it often withdrew after about a month of looting, and the states and counties held it and went to the top. But this time is different, Yelu Dashi even appointed a local tyrant as a local official in Hebei, which is a long-term plan. Zhao Xingde muttered, "It's just that the Liao army has limited strength, once the brigade crosses the river, Hebei will be empty, and the Hebei camp will go to suppress, so you can copy his grain road and cut off his retreat." Unless Yelu Dashi is crazy and desperate, the Liao army wants to attack Bianliang, and it must solve its worries first. Therefore, as long as the main force of the Hebei camp is still there, Bianliang is still stable. It's just that the wealthy gentry near Tokyo are like frightened birds, and they have fled south with their families. ”

These days, Zhao Xingde has been running for the matter of attacking Liao, but he has hit a wall everywhere. The appointment and dismissal of officials in Hebei touched some captains, but the ensuing rebellion in the Rus' homeland and the harassment of the Roma Turks in the river attracted greater attention, and the Anxi military division was gathering a large army to prepare for the expedition. Fighting on two fronts was taboo, and the proposal to send troops to aid Song was also suppressed. More lieutenants would rather believe that the Liao State would not destroy the Song State so easily, and when the Xia State finished settling the war in the West, and then turned back, it was just when the two tigers bit each other all over their bodies.

Zhao Xingde continued to mark the map, and the other three didn't bother, just watched from the side. According to the report of the Song State, the imperial court has ordered the Xijing camp and the southeast camp to send reinforcements to Bianliang to resist the enemy, and even the Henghaixiang army in Guangzhou was also ordered to go north, and there is a distance of 3,000 miles from Guangzhou to Bianliang, which shows how panicked the Liao army was overwhelmed.

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

Guangzhou Henghaixiang Army Battalion, Zhang Xian, Wang Gui, Yang Zaixing and other generals stood in front of the geographical map of mountains and rivers. Chen Dong, the prefect of Guangzhou, was also in the Chinese military tent, his face was gloomy, and he looked at the Liao army on the map and drove straight in, as if a sharp knife was inserted into the hinterland of the Great Song Dynasty. He has many eyes and ears in the court, and he knows the real situation more realistically. Because Hebei is a horse and a flat river, which is conducive to the gallop of the cavalry of the Liao army, Zhao Zhifu, the prime minister of the dynasty, advocated relying on the natural danger of the river to ensure the stability of the Beijing division and wait for the Liao army to retreat. The privy envoy Shao Wu was at odds with him, not only advocating the recovery of the lost territory, but also hoping that the armies could win a big victory, so that the Liao army would not dare to go south so unscrupulously and plunder. In all fairness, Chen Dong didn't want the Liao army to leave with such a swagger after the looting.

The expedition was imminent, and the commander Yue Fei summoned the generals to arrange the march. The faces of the generals were very solemn, and Yang Zaixing scolded angrily: "Damn, what kind of bird war is Hebei fighting." Wang Gui shook his head and sighed: "There are many counties in Hebei Prefecture, even if there are 200,000 large troops, the defenders of Dayi are only 10,000, and Xiaozhaibao is only a few hundred. Fortified everywhere, passive everywhere. The cavalry of the Liao army moved quickly, and every time they were in a hurry, they concentrated a large army to attack us, how could there be a reason why they could not defeat us. ”

After listening to the generals' discussions, Chen Dong sighed: "It is true that I am a young horse, but do I just watch Hu Qi wreaking havoc?" He turned his head to Yue Fei and said: "General Yue, the Henghai Xiang Army is also mostly an infantry army, I wonder if there is a way to restrain the Liao Army and save the people of Hebei from fire and water?" "The Henghai Xiang Army is also an infantry army, and most of the generals are from the north, and they usually command the envoys as if they were gods, and they all looked at Yue Fei together when they heard the words.

Yue Fei's eyes were slightly cold, and he said in a deep voice: "The Hu cavalry is fast, and the troops are erratic. If you divide your troops to defend, you will be in the hands of the enemy. In this way, the enemy gathers and we disperse, the enemy is the master and I am the guest, and the enemy fights or not, and the enemy fights wherever he fights. Therefore, if we want to ride on foot, we must not defend exclusively without attacking, not only to attack instead of defending, but also to attack and rescue, and force the Liao army to engage us head-on. For example, the Han invaded the Xiongnu and took the royal court directly, and the Xiongnu also had to give up their strengths and weaknesses and fight head-on with the Han army. His words were categorical and unambiguous. All the generals were greatly encouraged, and Yang Zaixing smiled even more: "What the marshal said is that we will send troops to the north and conquer Shangjing." Wang Gui smiled, Zhang Xian shook his head secretly, and glared at him at the same time. The 8,000 Henghaixiang soldiers who went north were less than a fraction of the southbound army of Liao.

Chen Dong's eyes lit up, and he praised: "General Yue is so courageous!" At this time, Yang Yanqing of Hedong was guarding Yunzhou, Wang Yan of Hebei was guarding the Daimyo's Mansion, and none of the generals in the north dared to attack the front of the Liao army, thinking of this, Chen Dong shook his head again.

"The army should support grain and grass along the way, and please ask Lord Chen to bother more." Yue Fei arched his hand.

"General rest assured," Chen Dong said angrily, "everything is arranged by Chen." "Because the winter monsoon and the sea currents are from north to south, the Henghai Xiang army could not go north by sea boat, but by land. Three thousand miles from Guangzhou to Bianliang, in order to speed up the march, the army in the north almost did not carry any grain and grass, in addition to the supply of states and counties along the way, Chen Dong also sent the shopkeeper of Yajiaoxing to buy grain and grass in the market in advance, hoarding on the road and waiting for the Henghaixiang army to use. Because there were too few livestock with the army, Chen Dong deliberately requisitioned more than 10,000 people from the prison camp, and these people were also counted as van soldiers in the books, but they were neither trained in the ranks, nor did they have armor and weapons, and they specially carried carts. Soldiers only need to carry muskets and the necessary ammunition, and the speed of the march is correspondingly faster.

"Even if you march sixty miles a day, it will be two months before you reach Bianliang, I don't know if the Liao army has withdrawn at that time?" Chen Dong looked at the generals of the Henghai Navy with high morale, and secretly thought, "Even if the Liao army retreats, Wang Yanlian of Hebei is quite old, I will definitely recommend Yue Pengju to the official family and the imperial court." ”

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In the Bianliang City Gate, the five hundred palace commanders and crane troops escorted Qin Hui in the imperial history to the Daimyo's Mansion to announce the decree, but they were blocked in the north of the city to seal the Qiu Gate. Although the forbidden army stepped forward to dredge it, hundreds of fully loaded vehicles were crowded on the road, and they couldn't get out of the way for a while. Li Ruoxu rode a horse, and among the envoy's subordinate officials, he also looked magnificent, seeing this scene, he couldn't help frowning, and asked in a low voice: "I don't know which mansion is in front?" ”

"It's the family of Cai Xianggong's mansion." The military academy replied. Although Cai Jing returned to his hometown, in the eyes of ordinary people, he was still a powerful old minister of the Three Dynasties, although he lived in seclusion in Hangzhou, he still had many industries and families in Bianliang. The Liao army entered the north of the Kou River, and before they crossed the river, the families of the powerful and wealthy merchants in Bianliang City left one after another to avoid disaster, and the market was also deserted a lot, and Cai Jing's family also moved south to avoid disaster, a scene of impending disaster.

Li Ruoxu thought secretly: "These people who are worried about the sky, our dynasty still has more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in Hebei, more than 200,000 forbidden troops in Beijing, and the Xijing camp, the southeast camp, and even the soldiers and horses all over the world are coming to help day and night. The Liao army is not more than the river, and once it crosses the river, it will make him unable to come and go. Pay for the lives of the people of my Great Song Dynasty! At this time, the forbidden army had already dredged the city gate, and the team moved forward slowly, Li Ruoxu took a long breath, lightly lifted the reins of the horse, and followed the messenger's car out of the Fengqiu Gate.

The sunlight shone into the carriage through the gap in the bamboo curtain, and Qin Hui's face was cloudy. "When disaster strikes, will the rats flee first?" A mocking smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, but a hint of gloom shrouded in his heart. Although the dynasty has a more military system, but as the border towns and camps become more and more self-contained, the opportunities for the Beijing division forbidden army to go out of the town and the border are becoming less and less. Just look at the Liao army's iron cavalry in Hebei like a bamboo, in case the river crossing soldiers come to the city, how to resist the Beijing forbidden army that usually only knows drills and does not practice fighting?

The messenger's carriage and horses went all the way to the north, and after seeing the Yellow River, they turned eastward, and prepared to cross the river from the Liyangjin pontoon bridge. Along the way, there were no forbidden soldiers on the river embankment, Li Ruoxu felt strange, the imperial court had sent 100,000 forbidden troops from Beijing to garrison on the south bank of the river, so that the Liao army would not cross the river. This section of the river embankment to the north of Bianliang is heavily defended. He inquired with the military academy and learned that patrolling the river embankment was a chore, only a very small number of forbidden troops were on duty on the river embankment, and those with good military discipline stayed in the camp.

Liyangjin is the gateway to the north of Bianliang, here is blessed, there are three hills of Da Ling, Phoenix, Zijin lined up on the broad river surface, the imperial court took these three mountains as the bridge pier, set up a pontoon bridge, it is the most important passage of the north-south traffic of the river at this time, and it is also the gateway to the north of Bianliang. Zhang Shuye, the commander of the Henan Mabu Army, set up a camp in Liyangjin, and Zhang Shuye personally led 20,000 soldiers and horses to camp at the bridgehead of Hebei to prevent the golden soldiers from seizing the bridge, and 10,000 soldiers and horses camped in the bridgehead of Henan with heavy grain and grass.

"With such precautions, why not destroy the pontoon?" Li Ruoxu asked, and the military academies of the Crane Army looked at each other, and no one could answer. At this time, another civil servant who accompanied the decree, Meng Yuan, the supervisor of the Ministry of Industry, coughed and said embarrassedly: "Brother Xian, this bridge is a north-south thoroughfare, which was built by my great-grandfather by order and issued 157,800 people on both sides of the strait, and it took half a year to build. I'm afraid that it will be easy to destroy, but it will be difficult to build it again. ”

Author: Sorry, tomorrow 2 more.