The Song army captured three passes, lost more than 10,000 soldiers, and killed many brothers, which made everyone's heads covered with a thick layer of dark clouds, which could not be dispersed for a long time. Even so, they need to keep going. Because, according to the information that Yan Qing heard back, the Jurchens are attacking Shangjing on a large scale, and the Liao Dynasty will be destroyed at the latest next autumn.

Due to the harsh weather and climate environment in winter, it is not very convenient to continue the attack. If you are a little careless, you will have no return. Unless they were thoroughly accustomed to the northern weather, they could only close the walls and shut up. In order to cope with the arrival of winter, Zhao Gou could only speed up his pace.

Zhao Gou once again personally led the army, this time with only more than 60,000 troops, and more than a dozen generals and other people. How many troops are there in Youzhou, after many investigations, there are about 80,000 troops. Originally, Youzhou had 100,000 troops, but the frontline was tight, and Emperor Liao sent 20,000 soldiers and horses from Youzhou to help, which made Youzhou's troops drop sharply.

Youzhou belongs to Nanjing Road, and Youzhou is changed to 'Youdu Mansion', which can also be called 'Nanjing', and is also one of the five capitals of the Liao Dynasty. It can be said that Youzhou is an important military town of Liao, a transportation center, and a commercial metropolis.

If the army takes Youzhou as its own, it will be a heavy blow to Liao. Liao ruled in Youzhou for more than 100 years, and this place is also a place of trade with the Great Song Dynasty, and it is the core area of the entire Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. Therefore, Youzhou also has the largest number of troops, and it is also the most difficult place to attack.

Now the difference in strength between the two armies of Song and Liao is about half, while the population of Youzhou is hundreds of thousands. Among them, there are Khitans, Han people, etc. If Youzhou is breached, then for Liao, it is to go to the control of the sixteen states of Yanyun, which is why Zhao Gou wants to attack Youzhou.

The Song and Liao had two major battles in Youzhou, the first time was the Song Dynasty attacking, and the Liao Dynasty defending; The second time the two positions were reversed, with the Liao Dynasty becoming the attacker and the Song Dynasty becoming the defender. In addition, there are countless generals who died in Youzhou, and Yelu Xiuge also became famous in the second battle of Youzhou.

Youzhou has witnessed the rise of too many famous generals, and has also witnessed their decline!

"Marshal, we are so anxious to attack Nanjing, if the Liao army takes precautions, I am afraid that this battle will be extremely tragic!" Wu Yong said in a deep voice, "The strength of the Liao army is more than 20,000 people than our army, and Youzhou is the capital, so I am afraid that there are not a few generals who can fight well." ”

Zhao Gou smiled slightly: "What? Scared? ”

"I'm not afraid, I'm just a little worried!" Wu Yong hurriedly said, "I just don't want my brothers to sacrifice in vain!" If our army and the Liao army are both defeated, we will not have any chance of winning in the end, and then the generals of other states will come to help Youzhou, I am afraid that we will suffer from the enemy in the back. ”

Zhao Gou said with a smile: "Don't worry about this, now Jizhou, Danzhou and others have no time to take care of others, according to the report of the spies ahead, they are defending against the attack of the Jurchens." Even if we attack Youdu Mansion, they don't dare to send troops to rescue each other easily, as long as they leave the mansion, the Jurchens will definitely not sit idly by, and will definitely beat the water dogs and capture the city. ”

"As for Yingzhou and the others, don't worry about it, because I have already made other arrangements here. Now we only have 60,000 troops, if we really want to attack Youzhou, we have to take precautions, these people are simply not enough. Therefore, I have asked the imperial court to lead an army of 100,000 to meet us. ”

"Didn't Chong Shuai go back to Beijing?" Lu Junyi looked at Zhao Gou in surprise.

"Let's not talk about this matter for the time being, let's explain it when the shuai meets!" Zhao Gou said with a smile, "The most advantageous way to attack Youzhou is that we don't have to ascend to attack. Because the most common area in Youzhou is the plain area, and now the plateau and other places are occupied by our army. ”

"Even the mountainous areas are not like Yingzhou and other places, and the Youdu Mansion is surrounded by plains. So, this battle is a real big battle. As for the question of life and death in this battle, I don't need to say more, the only requirement is to retreat if you can't fight; If it's evenly matched, go all out. ”

This battle is not only related to the result of recovering the sixteen states of Yanyun, but also related to the key to whether the Jin soldiers can successfully resist the southern invasion of the Great Song Dynasty in the future. If Youzhou cannot be breached, then it will not help to recover more states in this battle, and the strategic location of Youzhou is extremely important to the Song, Liao, and even the Jin Dynasty.

If it weren't for the Jin soldiers being held back by Liao, I'm afraid that the Jin soldiers would also want to capture Youzhou, as long as they occupied Youzhou. It can not only attack Liao, but also go south to attack Song, which is a multi-kill thing, and there is no harm in all benefits. It's a pity that Zhao Gou took the lead.

Zhao Gou has long been ready to go into battle in person, as the commander-in-chief, he personally goes to the battlefield with everyone, which is a relatively rare thing. Moreover, Zhao Gou also reforged his battle armor, increasing his defensive power, and even the weight was larger. In addition, Zhao Gou also made a silver spear for him by a blacksmith in case of emergency.

Although Zhao Gou has always had this plan, he rarely does it himself, so his weapons have not been used for a long time. Now in an extraordinary period, for the sake of this big war, Zhao Gou also gave it a go. If this battle cannot be won, then there is no point in doing more.

The next day, Zhao Gou ordered the soldiers and horses, all the generals were neatly dressed, and marched towards Youzhou; encountered resistance from small forces along the way, but they couldn't stop Zhao Gou's footsteps. Zhao Gou personally took the lead, which made all the generals rush forward with all their strength, where could they care about other things.

After a ten-day journey, Zhao Gou and others arrived at a distance of fifty miles near Nanjing City and set up camp. Zhao Gou ordered to add food, so that everyone could eat and drink enough before going to fight. Because after eating enough this time, I don't know if there will be a next meal.

Since this is the case, Zhao Gou will definitely not be stingy.

"Dashuai, do you really use up all the food?" Wu Yong was taken aback, and everyone also looked at Zhao Gou in surprise, thinking that they had heard it wrong.

Zhao Gou replied affirmatively: "It's all used up, so that the soldiers have enough to eat and drink before they have the strength to do a big job." As for the dry food, all the food was distributed to the soldiers, and if they were hungry, they ate it, and when they were thirsty, they drank it themselves. What I want in this battle is to give it my all, and the result is victory, and there is no room for defeat. ”

Suddenly, everyone's faces showed a solemn look, they already knew Zhao Gou's intentions. This attack on Youzhou is different from other states, and that is Zhao Gou's determination. Previously, Zhao Gou also focused on results and process. It takes a lot of courage to make such a decision, and the slightest hesitation is a recipe for disaster.

If the Liao army comes out to meet the battle, it will be a hearty battle; If the Liao army does not come out, Zhao Gou will storm the city of Nanjing, and he is bound to take the city of Nanjing.

This is Zhao Gou's determination!

Now Zhao Gou has made all the preparations, and he is really ruined. Tomorrow's battle is the last battle to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun, as long as the Youzhou is captured, Zhao Gou will not use any more troops; In a few days, it will be the time of winter, during which time it is necessary to have a good rest, and then stock up on grain and grass and other affairs to prepare for the coming year.

(End of chapter)