Outside Cangzhou City, Yelu Hongji took a group of ministers, accompanied by Gu Yin, to see the Song army artillery he transported.

Gu Yi pointed to the artillery and said: "The artillery of the Song army is really excellent, and it is not comparable to the artillery of our dynasty. Xia Guan thought that His Majesty was leading an army to besiege the city, and Gu Yu could not attack the front, so he sent these cannons. There are some sharp weapons, how difficult it is to break through Cangzhou City! ”

Yelu Hongji nodded: "Good, very good!" The Song army's artillery was finished and hit accurately, which was really powerful. With this cannon, it should be able to break through the Cangzhou city wall. Breaking Cangzhou, this battle is a big victory! ”

The ministers applauded. It has been a few days since they arrived in Cangzhou, and they were suppressed by the artillery of the Song army at the head of the city, and the Khitans could not go under the city wall at all. Cangzhou is a big city, and the artillery is much more powerful than the mouth of the Great Wall, and the Khitan artillery was smashed in a few days. These days, the Khitan generals are almost stunned by the artillery of the Song army. Gu Yin grabbed dozens of cannons and transported them to the city, which was a great thing for the attack on Cangzhou City.

Leading everyone to the other side, Gu Yi pointed to the pile of artillery shells and said, "These are all found in the camp tent of the Great Song Army, and they are ammunition for artillery." It's just that we don't know how to release it, and we don't dare to try it randomly, so we all send it to Your Majesty. These shells are of different weights, and according to the estimation of the lower officials, those light shells should be the one commonly used by the Song army and will explode when hit. ”

Yelu Hongji stepped forward to take a closer look and said, "It should be." It's okay, wait for tomorrow and let the artillery in the army give it a try. It's all guns, what's the difference? If you try it well, you will use these artillery to attack the city! ”

After reading everything, he sat down next to the marshal, and said to Gu Yin: "In this battle of the Qianning Army, you broke the two battalions of the Song Army in a row, which is an unprecedented victory, and you must be rewarded!" Our army is not good at attacking the city, but the Song army is hiding in the city. Moreover, there are artillery at the head of the city, and the former siege equipment is all useless. Now the Song army is outside the city, and there is only the Qianning army. I'll allocate you another 50,000 soldiers and horses here to fight a big battle with the Song army! ”

Gu Yi hurriedly thanked him. After thinking for a while, he said: "The artillery of the Song army is really sharp, and when the two armies are fighting, if they line up and bombard with artillery, it will be extremely difficult to get close. If they were able to rush closer, they would only use muskets, and they would not be the match for our cavalry. ”

Yelu Hongji nodded and said, "What do you want?" ”

Gu Yin arched his hand: "If you want to break through the defense line of the Song army, it is best to have heavy cavalry." Under the city of Cangzhou, the Song army did not go out of the city to meet the battle, and the heavy armored cavalry was useless here. Weichen dared to ask Your Majesty to send some heavy cavalry to the Qianning Army to help Weichen fight with the Song Army! ”

Yelu Hongji was silent for a moment. The heavy cavalry is the capital of the Khitan country, with only 30,000 people. These 30,000 heavy armored cavalry are the symbol of the great Khitan power, and the nomadic tribes on the steppe easily dare not rebel. However, now attacking Cangzhou City, even the Song army at the head of the city can't see clearly, and the heavy armored cavalry is really useless. Without fighting, are these heavy cavalry still useful here?

After thinking about it again and again, Yelu Hongji said: "Okay, I will send 15,000 heavy horsemen to go to the Qianning Army with you!" This must be a big win! If you win, you will have a great reward, and if you lose, you don't have to come back! ”

Gu Yi was overjoyed, and arched his hand: "Your Majesty is at ease! With the help of heavy cavalry, Weichen will kill the Song army to pieces! ”

After crossing the Yellow River, Gu Yin only felt high-spirited, and couldn't help but let out a long howl. The Song army has been using guns for so many years, and the surrounding forces, especially the Khitan, have noticed the changes. Now they find it most useful to use heavy cavalry to break through the artillery blockade as quickly as possible, and kill the musket infantry at close range. The greatest threat to the attackers was the flowering shells, and the number of artillery of the Song army was so large that it was difficult for ordinary light cavalry and infantry to break through. When it came to the musketeers, there were not enough of them, and they could only be shot by muskets. If it is a heavy cavalry, the fragments of the flowering bullet are not a big threat, and the cavalry can rush to the front of the Song army. When the cavalry approached and was subjected to a volley of muskets, the bayonets of the Song army showed their inferiority. Compared with the spear, the musket with the bayonet was far inferior, and it could not stop the heavy cavalry coming like a wall.

A few days ago, it was finally blocked by Xie Chi's army, and the Khitan army understood that only by relying on their light cavalry, only by relying on surprise attacks, could they fight against the Song army. Now that the Song army is tightly gathered and supports each other, there are really not many opportunities for the Khitan.

Now it's different with heavy riding. You can set up a position and have a good fight with the Song army.

When they arrived at the barracks, Pu Gu and Tu Gu Ci went out to greet them together. Seeing that Gu Yin had brought a large number of troops, they were all overjoyed.

When he arrived at the tent and sat down, Gu Yi said: "This time I went to Cangzhou, and the saint praised the victory of the previous days. Another 50,000 men and 15,000 heavy cavalry were sent, so let's have a good fight with the Song army! ”

Pu Gu looked at Tu Guci and crossed his hand to Gu Yin: "General, you have been going to Cangzhou these days, but we have two bad news here. ”

Gu Yin said: "Now we have an army of 100,000 and 15,000 heavy cavalry, which is enough to crush the Song army in front!" What other bad news could there be? ”

Pu Gu forked his hand and said: "First, the Song army has also increased its troops. It turned out that the 40,000 Song troops who were south of the Qianning Army arrived at the Qianning Military City the day before yesterday. Now the Song army in front of it has as many as 80,000 people. Even though we have an army of 100,000, we don't have much advantage. ”

Gu Yin's face was a little unpleasant. Now the Khitans also know that the combat strength of the two armies cannot be judged only by the number of people. In the past, the combat strength of the armies of the two sides was about the same, and the number of troops roughly represented the combat strength of the two sides. Now the Song army is no longer what it used to be, just looking at the number of people, the Khitans will suffer a big loss. After the Song army increased its troops, there were 80,000 people, and the Khitan army of 100,000 really had no advantage.

After stabilizing his mood, Gu Yi said: "Now that we have a heavy horse, it is different from before, so we don't have to be afraid of the Song army." What else is the news? ”

Pu Gu said: "The day before yesterday, the Song army of Diaoyutai Village in the north suddenly went out of the city and attacked our grain army. was caught off guard for a while, and was won by the Song army, and robbed a lot of grain and grass. Everything they could not take with them was burned. We are here, and the grain and grass are very tight right now. The general brought another 50,000 troops, and the army had food and grass, but it was really not available. ”

Hearing this, Gu Yi stood up all of a sudden, and said sharply: "The grain and grass of the Song army are all in the city, we can't break through the city, and we can't grab a grain of grain." The grain and grass can't be transported at the back, so do we want to drink the wind here? ”

He brought 50,000 troops with him, but he didn't bring grain and grass, and he originally wanted to bring grain over later. Who would have thought that the grain that had been transported would be robbed?

Since the Khitan crossed the border in a big way, it was still very cautious at first, and there were large troops escorting it when transporting grain and grass. After a long time, it slowly relaxed, and often without the escort of the army, the grain transport team came. This time it was like this, it was too lax, and the Song army of Diaoyutai Village seized the opportunity and came out to rob it fiercely. The grain and grass that could not be taken away were burned on the spot.

This time, the Khitan was very difficult. was robbed of grain and grass once, but it was not something that would be sent later. In the area of Youzhou, the grain and grass have long been exhausted, and now they are all transported from the army from other states. I was robbed this time, and I don't know when I can make up for it.

After pacing back and forth in the tent for a while, Gu Yin said: "Now that there is a shortage of food in the army, what should I do?" Without food and grass, let alone war, we can't stay here at all! ”

Pu Gu said: "The last general has already asked, and now there is no surplus food in the rear." It can only be five days before the grain and grass arrive. We still have some grain and grass looted from the Song army's barracks, one meal a day per person, barely able to support it. ”

Gu Yi looked at Pu Gu, and then looked at Tu Guci, his eyes sharp. After a long while, he said in a deep voice: "One meal a day, how can you still fight?" ”

Pu Gu said: "Let's wait for five days for the time being." What's the solution? General, it is inconvenient for us to transport grain thousands of miles. ”

Tugu said with his hands crossed: "One meal a day, it is rare not to starve to death, and it is really impossible to fight." General, wait for five days for the time being, and when the grain and grass arrive, we will kill a ruthless one of the Song army! ”

Gu Yi kept a calm face, shook his head, and was silent for a while. After a while, he said, "If we attack the Song army, can we grab grain and grass?" ”

Pu Gu shook his head: "The grain and grass of the Song army were all transported to the Qianning Military City, and there was no grain in the barracks. Even if you win, you won't gain anything. ”

Gu Yi said: "The Song army cut off our grain route, can't we cut off the Song army's grain route?" ”

Tu Guci sighed: "We think the same way. After inquiring, I learned that the grain and grass of the Song army were transported to Xiongzhou, and then transported from Xiongzhou to Hejian Mansion. The military rations of the Qianning Army here were all transported from Hejian Mansion. From here, there are Song Jun's castles or spies along the way, and they can't hide the Song Jun's eyeliner. There are heavy troops in Hejian Province, and they can't be grabbed. ”