Chapter 9: Difficult Choices

Several people around He Tengxiao were killed off the city wall, and he couldn't tell whether it was the Zhao army or the Liao army, and he could only hear them cry out in pain as they fell off the city wall. Achiller is still pressing step by step, and He Tengxiao has been forced by Achiller to have no way out. This captive is really vicious! He Tengxiao scolded.

He Tengxiao shouted and rushed towards Achille. saw Achiller take a few steps back at this time and fight with Zhao Jun. It turned out that Zhang Yuyang led the organized Qingzhuang to support He Tengxiao.

Zhang Yuyang's fighting skills are not inferior to Achiller, Achiller has been charging and fighting for a long time, and he has just experienced a grappling with He Tengxiao, and his physical strength is extremely consumed. After the two battled a few moves, Achiller gradually lost the upper hand.

Although Achiller fell behind in the fight, Achiller did not back down and became more and more courageous. Achiller had never encountered an opponent like Zhang Yuyang, and it was rare to encounter such an opponent today, and the more he fought, the more excited he became.

Zhang Yuyang's impression on He Tengxiao is becoming more and more complicated. He always felt that Zhang Yuyang was not a simple person, and there should be many unknown secrets in this person. He Tengxiao speculated. Zhang Yuyang can read and write, is familiar with military affairs, and has superb fighting skills, such a person is a rare general wherever he is placed in this era, how can he be willing to be a small general flag in such a remote small military fort?

Although the arrival of the four hundred young men was undoubtedly a relief for the Zhao army defending the city. The morale of the Zhao army became more and more high, and the Liao army gradually retreated. The horn of the Liao army's retreat sounded again helplessly, and the Liao army reluctantly retreated from the city wall and withdrew to camp.

He Tengxiao ordered to abandon the severely damaged city wall and retreat to the city wall of the urn city to continue to hold on.

Both sides suffered heavy casualties in this battle, and there were only about 130 or 40 soldiers left in Pingshan Fort who could continue to fight, including more than 300 young men who were brought in, and only more than 400 people who could defend the city. These more than 400 people are no longer comparable to the combat effectiveness of the soldiers who originally guarded Pingshan Fort. And the reinforcements that Zhao Jun was looking forward to were still far away - Pingshan Fort was only twenty miles away from Gaizhou, and the reinforcements from Gaizhou would have come early. Outside Pingshan Fort, there were still thousands of Liao troops eyeing them.

This battle became a disgrace for the life of the Liao general Achille, and only more than 300 of the more than 1,000 horses were able to return to the camp alive. In the past, Achiller led the army to capture the flag, and there was no time when the casualties of the soldiers under his command would exceed 100, and there was no Zhao general that Achiller could not kill, and the Zhao army flag that he could not take away.

Back in the camp, Achille angrily untied his saber and threw it on the ground, knelt down and said, "My subordinates are incompetent, I failed to take Pingshan Fort, and I ask the third prince to punish him!" ”

"Get up." Wan Yan Haiya said lightly, "This battle is not a crime of war. ”

"Thank you, the third prince." Achiller was not polite either, and stood up directly to listen to the order.

"I heard that the defenders in Pingshan Fort are the Xiao Cavalry Battalion?" Wan Yan Haiya asked with interest, the Xiao cavalry battalion was the strongest opponent he had encountered since he led the troops, and he was quite interested in this cavalry battalion of the He family.

"The defenders of Pingshan Fort hung the banner of the Xiao Cavalry Battalion, and their subordinates thought that it should be the remnants of the Xiao Cavalry Battalion that had returned from the defeat of Yingzhou."

Wanyan Haiya sighed and was silent. Thoughts drifted to the bloody battle between the Xiaocai battalion and the Xiaocai battalion in Yingzhou a few days ago, the Xiaocai battalion caused nearly 5,000 casualties to the Liao army in Yingzhou. Chen Yankai coughed dryly, and reminded Yan Haiya that there was still something to order.

"I hope that His Highness will still focus on the overall situation." Chen Yankai whispered to Wan Yan Haiya, he has been a gentleman for nearly ten years, Chen Yankai knows Wan Yan Haiya's temperament very well, and with Wan Yan Haiya's strong and competitive personality, he will definitely not allow the Xiao Riding Camp to survive in the world.

Wanyan Haiya had just received an urgent report that a large number of elites from Nanzhao went north to Haimenguan, and after a little repair in Jinzhou, they rushed to the southeast of Liao, aiming directly at the Southern Army of the Great Liao. At the same time, Wu Tingzhen in Liaozhong waved his army south after cleaning up the remnants of the Wu clan, and the destination was also southeast Liaoning. When receiving the emergency report, Wanyan Haiya and Chen Yankai all sighed that the Liao Emperor Wanyan Shengcong was in a hurry.

It was a gamble for the Liao army to rush to the south when it had a stable foothold in Liaoyang and other places. Now the two-way army of Zhao State is heading south, and the southern army of Yan Haiya and the southern army of Yan Fu will face the embarrassing situation of being attacked by the enemy on their backs. The stubborn resistance of the defenders of Pingshan Fort shattered Wanyan Haiya's idea of taking Pingshan Fort and eliminating the remnants of the Xiaocai Battalion. If the overall situation is the most important, what he has to do now is to preserve the strength of the Great Liao Expedition to the south, and the two armies of Zhao Guo are coming, and it has become meaningless for the soldiers of the Great Liao to sacrifice under this military fort.

"Achiller listens!" Wanyan Haiya decisively gave an order, "This king ordered you to lead two thousand iron horsemen." ”

"The subordinates must take Pingshan Fort in one go, and then they can't take the subordinates of Pingshan Fort to see His Highness." Before Yan Haiya finished speaking, Achiller said.

"Bastard! Stupid pig! Wanyan Haiya threw the urgent report on the case on Achille's face, and said coldly, "The elites in the Nanzhao Pass have all been out of the customs, and they will go south from Jinzhou, and this king will give you a chance to atone for your crimes, and lead two thousand iron horsemen to block the reinforcements of Nanzhao and cover my Daliao expedition to the south and return to the north!" ”

Wan Yan Haiya's expression was very painful when he gave this order, and Achiller lowered his head and didn't dare to look directly into Wan Yan Haiya's eyes, and he couldn't see Wan Yan Haiya's painful expression.

The Liao general in the tent also didn't dare to look directly at Yan Haiya, Wan Yan Haiya was angry, and no one would be stupid enough to touch Yan Haiya's moldy head. Only Chen Yankai captured Wan Yan Haiya's painful expression, Chen Yankai thought that the three princes were young and ambitious, and they had never suffered a major setback, and it was not a good thing for the three princes to experience a major setback.

It was the first time Achille saw Yan Haiya in such a big fire, he didn't dare to make a sound, he held all his anger and resentment in his heart, and secretly vowed in his heart that he must completely wipe out the army of the Xiaocai Battalion in the future to relieve the hatred in his heart.

Achille bowed to Wanyan Haiya, received the tiger talisman from Wanyan Haiya, and went out to the north to send troops.

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Wanyan Fushen's attack on Gaizhou did not make much progress. The Liao army did not attack the hinterland of Liaodong all the way as it did a few months ago. The army of the Great Liao Expedition to the south touched a nail in Gaizhou, and the kowtow broke blood.

At this moment, Wan Yan Fushen's worst fear still happened. The elite of Zhao Guoguan was exhausted, and the remnants of the Wu clan in Liaozhong went south. For a time, the form of Liao's conquest of the southern army took a sharp turn.

The Qianshan Mountains in the southeast of Liaodong are trending northwest and southeast, and the western part of the Liaodong Peninsula facing the Bohai Sea is cut into a long and narrow plain by the Qianshan Mountains, and the important towns of Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou are located on this narrow plain. If the road to the north of the Liao army is blocked by the Zhao army, the Liao army will suffer from the enemy.

The He family's resistance was stubborn, and the city defense system of Gaizhou was so complete, it was not easy to attack such a fortified city. Wan Yan Fushen has read the Han people's military books, and in the "Art of War", the commander was clearly warned to "go to the army to fight and plan,...... "The method of siege is the last resort." "It is obviously extremely unwise to continue the attack on the city of Gaizhou.

"We underestimated the He family." Wan Yan Fu cautiously pressed the urgent delivery on the table and sighed. Da Liao was too hasty in advancing into southeastern Liao, underestimating the He family's determination to resist. He and Wanyan Haiya are both famous generals of the Liao Army, one is mature and sophisticated, the other is young and ambitious, and both of them have hit a wall in Gaizhou.

Wanyan Fushen thought of Pingshan Fort, and a whole day passed, and Pingshan Fort insisted on delaying the 5,000 men and horses of the Great Liao Army for a whole day with the power of one fort. As a result, he could not let go of his hands and feet to attack Gaizhou City. What kind of person is the general of the Zhao army who can block the 5,000 elites of the Liao army with the power of a fortress? Wan Yan Fushen really hoped to be able to meet this Zhao army guard.

There was only news from the front that the two armies of the Zhao State were heading south, and the will of the Liao Emperor Wanyan Shengcong did not come with the urgent delivery. This shows that Emperor Liao is hesitating, and Wanyan Shengcong has always acted vigorously and rarely hesitated. Wanyan Shengcong did not give a direct order to the southern army, indicating that Wanyan Shengcong was difficult to give up the southeast of Liao.

Wanyan Shengcong did not give a direct order, so whether the southern army will march south or north next still needs to be decided by him, the commander of the Southern Army of the Great Liao. Wanyan Fushen is now sitting on pins and needles, Wanyan Shengcong is eager to take the three states in the southeast of Liaoning, if Wanyan Fushen's withdrawal causes Wanyan Shengcong's dissatisfaction, it will have a great negative impact on Wanyan Fushen's status in the clan in the future. If Wan Yan Fu is cautious and does not retreat, in case he is attacked by the Zhao army from both sides, the Great Liao Kingdom will also be greatly injured. Whether the southern army should march south or return to the north in the next step is difficult to choose now.

In the military account, the generals of the Liao Army began to discuss in a low voice whether the southern army should advance south or return to the north.

"The soldiers of the Southern Zhao court are weak, what about the two armies? We have an army of 50,000! Afraid that the group of soft-footed shrimp would do much, Gao Guang claimed to have 200,000 troops that day, and released a wild statement that he would sacrifice the head of the Great Khan to the sky at the foot of Changbai Mountain, what was the result? ”

"But what if it's the Qin army who gets out?" An older general replied coldly.

The word "Qin Army" is like a basin of cold water poured on Wanyan Fu's cautious heart. His biggest concern was that the Southern Zhao army that came out of the customs was the Qin army of Peng Chaodong, the governor of Shaanxi, and Peng Chaodong was the number one general of the Great Zhao today. Thirty years ago, when the situation in the northwest of Great Zhao was erosive, Peng Chaodong was ordered to serve as the governor of Shaanxi Province in the midst of danger, exterminate the Liukou in Jin and Shaanxi provinces, suppress the Guanlong rebellion, and even expelled the forces of the Meng people from the Hetao area five times. It has ensured the safety of the northwest border of Dazhao.

Since Peng Chaodong was a native of Longxi, and most of the troops under his command were the children of the Three Qins, Peng Chaodong's army was called the Qin Army. The Qin army and the Eighteen Guards Forbidden Army of the Jing Division were considered to be the only two remaining elites in the Great Zhao Dynasty. It is impossible for Emperor Zhao to send the forbidden army in the center of the Beijing division to aid Liaodong, but it is very likely that the Qin army will be sent to support Liaodong.

The Eighteen Guards and Forbidden Army had not fought for a long time, and its combat effectiveness was difficult to estimate. However, the combat effectiveness of the Qin army Wan Yan Fushen still has a bottom in his heart, the Qin army is not a soldier with weak combat effectiveness, Wan Yan Fushen fought with the Meng Gu army in his early years, and he fought evenly with the Meng Gu army at that time. At the same time, the Qin army led by Peng Chaodong drove the Menggu people out of the Hetao area with the proud record of defeating the Menggu army in five battles and five victories.

The Qin army is the most feared army of the Liao army in addition to the private soldiers of the Liaodong town army and the four major families of Liaodong, and now the Liaodong town army is disabled by the Liao army, one of the four major families has surrendered to Liao, one has been disabled, and the remaining two have shrunk on their respective territories.

The Qin army will become the biggest stumbling block to the further expansion of Daliao in the future!