The sky is slightly awake, the morning light is faint, the first rays of morning glow are scattered, and the endless grassland is like a golden carpet spread out, welcoming the rising sun.

The sound of the horn resounded in the sky, and as far as the eye could see, the 100,000 Khitan army was arranging troops on the grass, within a radius of dozens of miles, people and horses were moving, drums, horns, footsteps, and horses' hooves were rumbling, and the flags, flags, and flags were blowing in the wind. Wave-like warriors go up and down the gently undulating grassy slopes, gathering and dividing on the flat ground.

On the side of the coalition army, first the Youzhou Army, under Li Congjing's order, rushed out of the camp and assembled in a formation outside the camp, and then the soldiers and horses of the grassland departments next to it also rushed out of the camp one after another, each rushing to the pre-demarcated theater to line up and occupy the grassy slope heights. Because of the large number of people and horses, the terrain is undulating, and the various departments cannot look at each other, at the highest place of the terrain, Li Congjing set up a large commanding building, and set up a war drum array.

This is the decisive situation. It took several hours just for all the soldiers and horses on both sides to go to the battlefield and arrange the troops.

Before noon, the battalions of the two armies were arranged, and on a front that stretched for 10 or 20 miles, the soldiers and horses of the two sides faced each other as if across the river. The first battle formation can be seen by both sides, and after that, the men and horses are tight or sparse, virtual or real, whether it is the soldiers in the front formation, or Li Congjing and the Khitan generals who are sitting in the center, they can no longer see the opponent's array with the naked eye.

In a few days, the Khitan army battle line moved, and a piece gradually protruded from the vast army formation, and in the thunderous sound of horses' hooves, the protruding men and horses finally showed the complete outline of a phalanx.

After a while, the ranger ran up the grassy slope, from far to near, through the commander's array, and finally dismounted in front of the command building, and the knight came to report to Li Congjing, who was leaning on the railing upstairs: "Report!" Commander, the Khitan front army divided a cavalry formation, about 5,000 people, and rushed towards our front army! ”

The Khitan used their most conventional tactics, regardless of their subsequent arrangement, at the beginning of the battle, the advance cavalry army probed the formation to test the depth of the opponent's formation.

At this point, the sun was already shining, and it was in the middle of the day, Li Congjing was bathed in the sun, and the bright light armor was shining. He stood with his sword in his hand and ordered: "Order: Li Yanchao led five thousand Youzhou army elite cavalry to meet it!" ”

"Order!" The herald clenched his fists and took the order. The herald was upstairs, the flag was waved, and the flag was spoken.

The military strength of the two sides is almost the same, and today the Khitan army suddenly provoked a battle, and Li Congjing did not know the other party's intentions, so he responded cautiously with the method of neutrality.

Beside Li Congjing, Mo Li, Wang Pu, Du Qianshu and other major strategists of the General Staff Office, as well as Tatar and other important figures, gathered together and watched the battlefield intently.

Mo Li shook the folding fan lightly and said slowly: "Looking at the Khitan formation, it is the best available soldiers, and it suddenly provokes a battle, is it intended to fight with us for life and death?" ”

Some time ago, the two sides were stable for several days, during which there were no envoys between the two sides, and today the Khitan suddenly attacked, and no one can determine what its purpose is. Mo Li's words kicked off the prelude to the study of the purpose of the Khitan army.

"The Khitan half of the country is smoking, and in my humble opinion, the Khitan does not want to fight for a long time, so it intends to quickly decide with our army." Wang Pu stood with his sword in his hand and said loudly.

"The two armies of the enemy and us have been facing each other for several days, there has been no major battle, and there has been no envoy, if the Khitan army wanted to divide the victory or defeat with a decisive battle, why did it choose today?" Du Qian's writing was solemn.

While everyone was talking, the 5,000 Youzhou horse army led by Li Yanchao had already engaged the Khitan cavalry. The two sides have been recuperating for a long time, and the momentum is very strong, and the meeting is a fierce battle, and the sound of fighting can also reach everyone's ears from a distance of ten miles, which shows the prosperity of the battle.

After the Battle of the Bohai Sea, considering the practical needs of fighting the Khitan, Li Congjing, at the suggestion of the General Staff, temporarily reorganized the Youzhou Army. The integration of the forces of Baizhan and Lulong, especially the Ma Army and the Infantry Army after first integrating and then dividing, there is no distinction between each other on the battlefield, although the establishment is not disrupted, but there are also unified generals. Therefore, Li Yanchao was able to lead 5,000 horse troops to battle.

Li Congjing frowned and pondered, he didn't know what the Khitan army was planning, and he didn't know what extent Yelu Abaoji's current condition had reached, and he was even wondering if Yelu Abaoji had collapsed, but the Khitan was just not mourning.

Li Congjing dared to send troops to Xilou, so that the Lulongbian army went to war in all directions, to disrupt the foundation of the Khitan Kingdom, the most important reason was not that the Youzhou army was strong, nor could it be supported by the grassland departments, but that he knew that Yelu Abaoji died during this time period. Even his overall layout over the years has been built on this foundation.

No matter what the situation of the Khitan is, as long as Yelu Abaoji collapses in the war, there will inevitably be turmoil in the Khitan, and what Li Congjing has to do is to seize the opportunity, tear open this turbulent crack, and use the war to amplify it. If there was no such opportunity, how could he dare to lead the Youzhou army north? If there is no such opportunity, he will unite with Yelubei and the Tatar tribe, hoping to seek the kingdom of Khitan, which is just a joke.

If Yelu Abaoji had been alive, no matter how Li Congjing arranged, the so-called joint Tatar department, the so-called spreading the grassland, and setting off turmoil in the grassland, would not have succeeded. In front of Yelu Abaoji, the founding emperor of the Khitan, Li Congjing's plans are really small and fragile.

"Look, the Khitan army is moving again!" Wang Pu reminded Li Congjing from his contemplation.

"It's a big move!" Mo Li frowned slightly.

The first line of the Khitan army did not move, but behind it was a tide of people and horses, as if a huge storm was brewing. From time to time, the Khitan first-line military formation changed, giving way to a large number of passages, and the Khitan soldiers and horses that could not be seen at a glance rushed out of these passages.

But that's all, far away, what he sees may not be the real face, and the Khitan may be bluffing.

After waiting for a while, the rangers reported: "The Khitan army dispatched a large number of elite cavalry, with a number of between 20,000 and 30,000, and is encircling the headquarters of General Li Yanchao, who is engaged in the enemy!" ”

Li Congjing sighed in his heart, and someone next to him exclaimed: "It's not good, the Khitan army is going to eat General Li Yanchao's department!" ”

Wang Pu was surprised: "This Khitan barbarian doesn't play cards according to common sense, why did he suddenly release so many fine horses?" ”

Mo Li was also silent for a while, he glanced at Li Congjing, and saw that the other party was also groaning. The battle of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, the battlefield alone covers a radius of dozens of miles, and the battle with thousands or tens of thousands of people cannot be generalized at all, in this case, the generals of both sides cannot observe the battlefield with the naked eye, and it is even more difficult to find out the layout of the other side. The battlefield you see and the enemy's military formation are only the most superficial part, and no one knows what is hidden under this surface, let alone what kind of backhand the other party has and what kind of traps have been arranged.

As a result, the intellectual competition between the generals of the two sides is more dangerous and more incisive.

"Military marshal, General Li is facing several times the enemy's encirclement, the situation is critical, please ask the military marshal to help quickly!" The speed of the cavalry was very fast, and there were already those who could not hold their breath at the moment.

At this moment, another ranger came to report: "The Khitan army has just come out, and Yelu Abaoji will lead it personally!" ”

"What?!" Hearing this, everyone was shocked, "Isn't Yelu Abaoji seriously ill?" ”

Li Congjing's face was even more solemn. Others only knew that Yelu Abaoji was seriously ill, but Li Congjing knew that Yelu Abaoji was about to die, and at this time, Yelu Abaoji appeared in front of the battle, which was completely unexpected by him.

However, since the ranger has said this, at least it means that the banner of Yelu Abaoji has appeared on the battlefield!

"Order: Order Li Yanchao to retreat, Guo Wei led the gentlemen to step forward to respond, and ordered Meng Ping's troops to isolate the pursuing soldiers!" Li Congjing's expression was unhurried, and his tone was not abnormal, except that his heartbeat was already disordered.

The appearance of Yelu Abaoji had too much impact on him!

"Order!" The herald hurried to receive the order.

Mo Li looked at Li Congjing again, but saw that Li Congjing also looked at him, others could not see any clues from Li Congjing's face, but Mo Li saw a great solemnity in Li Congjing's eyes, which made Mo Li suddenly feel a sense of pressure. Mo Li knew that the challenge was coming, and he, the first army division, had to play a role.

"Rao is Yelu Abaoji personally fights, and no matter what arrangement the Khitan army has, as long as our army takes a defensive position and fights steadily, the Khitan army can't wait for us!" Mo Li said loudly, his brows were slightly locked, and the folding fan shook slowly and more regularly, which showed that he was thinking carefully, "Although the intention of the Khitan army to fight today is unknown, it may not be for a decisive battle. Moreover, our army is good at fighting, and the foot soldiers are fine, and the Khitan army does not need to worry even if it is attacked for ten days. At this time, it is only necessary to restrain the grassland tribes, and it is not difficult for our army to gain time to see through the Khitan intentions. ”

Li Congjing's mood calmed down a little when he heard this, and he was only because Yelu Abaoji suddenly appeared, and under the surprise of surprise, his mood was a little unbalanced, and after Mo Li's reminder, he was naturally able to maintain his mentality again. It's just that if Yelu Abaoji is really safe, this trip will be extremely dangerous.

"Du Qianshu, Li Shaocheng!" Li Congjing called Li Shaocheng and instructed them: "You two personally take the lead, send capable men, divide the departments, help me restrain the soldiers of the departments, and ensure that the formation is stable and the military orders are smooth!" ”

The Youzhou army can fight in good times and adversity, and what he is most worried about is the grassland tribes, these grassland people have always been disorganized, especially in the face of headwinds, and they really can't expect anything. This time it is a temporary coalition of troops, and the instability factors are not small.

A battle with a scale of hundreds of thousands of people, even if the decisive battle has begun, it is not unusual to fight for a few days, more than ten days, or even dozens of days, Li Congjing is not in a hurry, but he must strictly control all the departments participating in the war.

Du Qianshu was familiar with the grassland, and Li Shaocheng was the No. 2 combat figure in the Youzhou Army, and they immediately took the order.

In less than three moments, Li Yanchao returned to the command building to resume his life because of Li Congjing's order.

From going out to battle, to receiving the order to retreat, and successfully withdrawing from the battlefield under the response of Guo Wei and Meng Ping, Li Yanchao has experienced a vicious fight, and his armor is stained with blood. Li Congjing summoned him to see him, but he asked him about Yelu Abaoji.

"It is indeed Yelu Abaoji who personally led the army to battle, and the last general and soldiers will not be mistaken!" Li Yanchao held a helmet in the crook of his arm, and his words were firm.

Li Congjing asked Li Yanchao to go down to rest, looked at the battlefield with his hands in his hands, and was silent.

Things didn't go as expected. Now, it is impossible for him to feel no less pressure. The point is that he must find a way to deal with it. And in the meantime, there was so much he had to think about.

Only then did Li Yan fight for a while, then retreated and chased the Khitan cavalry to the front of the battle. The Khitan cavalry touched the coalition army formation and divided it into several units, one of which used the method of hunting to attack the Youzhou army's infantry army formation with bows and arrows, and the other parts, each to challenge and disturb other directions of the army formation.

After all, it was the Khitan army that had the upper hand, and because Yelu Abaoji was personally trapped, the morale of the Khitan soldiers was high, and the morale of the coalition army was even worse, especially the grassland departments, and the morale was obviously low.

In the face of the coalition army that took a defensive position, the Khitan army seemed to have made up its mind to fight a decisive battle with it, not only did the 30,000 people who had fought before not retreat, but the Khitan troops also moved one after another. At the end of the day, the Khitan army gathered heavy troops in one place and began to storm the middle of the coalition army, and the strategic intention was obvious: it wanted to tear apart the coalition defense line alive and drive straight in!

From this, whether it is Li Congjing, Mo Li and others, they can already see that the heart of the Khitan decisive battle has been decided!