After a day or so of preparation, on the morning of the second day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar of the twentieth year of the calendar, Yelulong first led the army out of Anyuan Gate of Liaoyang City, and went all the way to Shenzhou in the northeast along the official road.

As the son of Yizong Yelubei, the cousin of Yelu Jing who had just died at the hands of slaves, and the uncle of Yelu Xian who had just succeeded to the throne of the emperor, Yelu Longxian naturally had no problem with his loyalty to Da Liao, but although he was not as good as Yelu Tart Lie in the early years and Yelu Xiu Ge in the recent years, he was more important and cautious than Lao Cheng in terms of marching and galloping the territory. Although the task of supporting and responding to the Son of Heaven was very urgent, Yelu Longxian did not blindly urge the horse to hurry, but took it step by step, quickly and without chaos. On the basis of sending dozens of "distant scouts and horses" to go forward for 20 miles, he took 1,000 Khitan troops as the vanguard and opened the road three miles in front of the army; With a thousand Bohai and Jurchen troops as the rear army, cover and guard three miles behind the army; With 1,000 Khitan troops, 1,000 Bohai and Jurchen troops as the backbone, he personally commanded them, and formed a central army with the 4,000 Han army townsmen, and marched in the middle. In addition, in order to prevent a sneak attack by the Zhou army or the Han army's township Ding was afraid of the battle and left the team, Yelulong first strictly ordered his soldiers and horses to keep the formation tight, even if they had to reduce the marching speed of their subordinates. Fortunately, all the soldiers who went north to support and respond to this time had horses, otherwise, I was afraid that Yelulong's first department would only cross the Dongliang River (Taizi River), and the soldiers and horses of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court had already come to the front.

On the evening of the second day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar in the twentieth year of the calendar, the first department of Yelu Long set up camp fifty miles north of Liaoyang City. Although the distance of fifty miles was still within the reconnaissance range of the scouts of Liaoyang City, at least before Yelulong set out from Liaoyang City, no Zhou army was found near the left of the camp. But the cautious Yelu Longxian still ordered his subordinates to build a camp meticulously according to wartime standards, and sent a large number of scouts to strictly guard the ten miles around the camp to prevent the Zhou army's sneak attack with basically zero possibility.

I don't know if Yelu Longxian's prepared strategy played a role, or if the Zhou army was still two hundred miles away, as some Liao generals who disagreed with their commander's overly cautious behavior said. In short, the night on the second day of the sixth lunar month was very calm, and there were no unusual situations or emergencies.

Early in the morning of the second day, Yelulong's first troops set up camp and continued northward. The army walked ten miles, and a river appeared in front of them.

This river is an important tributary of the Dongliang River (Taizi River) and is a natural obstacle that must be crossed in the direction of Liaoyang to Shenzhou. However, I don't know if Yelulong was lucky first, or God intended to take care of him, or due to the recent high temperature and lack of rain, and the drought of the climate, this river, which should have been nearly 30 zhang wide and 2 zhang deep, is now only about 10 zhang wide and more than 2 feet deep.

Not having to build a pontoon bridge means that a lot of time can be saved, which is very much desirable for Yelu Longxian, who needs to rush to meet the Son of Heaven and at the same time maintain a high degree of vigilance. Of course, joy is joy, and Yelu Longxian did not rejoice because of this, let alone let his guard down. He estimated the number of his men and vehicles, and then looked at the position of the sun overhead, while sending several scouts to investigate within three miles of the upstream and downstream, in case the Zhou army, which had a basically zero probability, set up an ambush in this place and attack himself halfway. At the same time, soldiers who were familiar with the river were sent down to explore the river to find the most suitable area to cross the river.

After receiving the reply that there was no ambush of the Zhou army within three miles of the upper and lower levels, and that the area suitable for wading across the river was quite long, even if the army crossed the river in a horizontal plane two or three miles wide, there would be no problem, Yelulong first ordered the whole army to change formation. Two thousand Bohai and Jurchen soldiers were organized into the first echelon and crossed the river first. After crossing the river, they were divided into two clusters, left and right, and patrolled two to three miles away from the river bank to prevent the Zhou army from sneaking attack; The 4,000 Han soldiers were the second echelon, and they followed the first echelon to cross the river. After crossing the river, form a formation of four chariots as fast as possible to protect the most important thing of the army's journey; After the first two echelons completed the river crossing and were properly arranged, the two Khitan elite cavalry members crossed the river from the left and right sides of the Han army's Xiangding formation, protected its two wings, and prepared for the army's previous marching sequence.

Seeing that the first echelon of Bohai, the Jurchen warriors and the second echelon of the Han army Xiangding had safely crossed the river and had been deployed according to their own arrangements, Yelu Long felt great peace in his heart, waved the horse whip in his hand, and led the right wing of a thousand Khitan elite cavalry to start crossing the river. On his left, a thousand Khitan cavalry on the left flank also began to launch from the upper waters two hundred paces away, under the leadership of his lieutenant.

Since the two Khitan elite cavalry were lined up in a large row of hundreds of people to cross the river, when the first row of Khitan elite cavalry was about to set foot on the beach on the other side of the river, the hooves of the last row of Khitan elite cavalry had been wet by the river, and Yelulongxian and other generals who were in the middle of the Khitan elite cavalry on the right wing had just walked to the deepest part of the river. Of course, the deepest part of the water is only about to reach the belly of the horse, and if the knight on the horse does not want his boots wet by the river, he can simply pull his feet out of the stirrups and lift them slightly upward. Although this posture is easy to lose balance, it does not pose any problem for the Khitan generals who grew up on horseback, and everyone can still easily control the horse forward.

At this moment, the Khitan soldiers who raised their feet and performed balance stunts on horseback suddenly shook for no reason, and a few Khitan soldiers who were not attentive enough were even shaken into the water because of this unexpected accident. And Yelu Longxian, who did not adopt this slightly comical posture in order to maintain the majesty of the coach, although he did not make a fool of himself, he also clearly felt the vibration from the bottom of the river, transmitted to his body through the horse's hooves, horses' backs, and saddles, and faintly heard a low whimper like thunder, like the low roar of countless giant beasts, coming from the upper reaches of the river. The sudden unexpected turn of events made Yelu Longxian a little overwhelmed for a moment, and while he stabilized his mount, which had become a little uneasy due to the vibration, he subconsciously turned his head to look upstream from the sound.

It was morning, and although the sun was not as hot and dazzling as it was at noon, it was still a little dazzling on the sparkling river, and Yelu Long had to squint his eyes. However, the situation upstream made Yelulong's eyes widen for a moment, ignoring the bright sunlight, but his pupils contracted rapidly to the extreme—the originally calm surface of the river suddenly became turbulent, and a wall of water more than 100 zhang wide and more than a zhang high, carrying the sediment and stones that had been washed up from the bottom of the river, pressed towards him with a thunderous force.

"Hit the mark! Get ashore! These were the last thoughts that came to Yelulon's mind before he was swept away by the raging river. It's just that, in the face of the merciless flood, human beings are undoubtedly insignificant. Although almost all of the Khitan horsemen still in the river heard Yelu Longxian's warning shouted with all their strength, almost none of them were able to react after hearing it and successfully get out of danger. In fact, not only were almost all the Khitan elite cavalry in the river swept away, but even some of the Khitan soldiers who had already stepped on the dry ground on the north bank were swept away by the wide wall of water and died.

The sudden change not only almost wiped out the entire army of the 2,000 Khitan elite cavalry, but also made the Han army townsmen Ding, Bohai and Jurchen soldiers who had already gone ashore stunned and at a loss. After a brief silence, the first to react was the Han army townsman closest to the river. Witnessing such a tragic scene at close range, these farmers, herdsmen, hawkers, and men, who were pure farmers a few days ago, were originally resistant to this battle, and were unwilling to work for this foreign court, which was already destined to exist for many days. So, I don't know who led the leader, these 4,000 Han soldiers shouted in unison, threw away the whips and weapons in their hands, or jumped on their mounts, or untied the horses from the carriage as their own mounts as fast as possible, and fled in all directions away from the river.

Although the Bohai and Jurchen soldiers who were on guard from a farther distance shouldered the responsibility of monitoring the movements of the Han army villagers and preventing them from escaping or defecting to the enemy, most of them had not yet recovered from the thrilling scene just now, and it was difficult for them to organize effective bomb pressure and interception in the face of the scattered Han army villagers. Second, their previous attention had been on the opposite direction of the river, and the formation and troop layout were also aimed at threats that might come from the outside, and it was difficult to quickly change formations and adjust the direction of the troops in a hurry. As a result, except for a few unlucky people who were too unlucky to be beheaded by some relieved Bohai and Jurchen warriors, the vast majority of Han military Xiangxi escaped the interception of the former.

Seeing that the four thousand Han soldiers scattered in a hurry, the two commanders and deputy commanders of Bohai and Jurchen were not chasing, nor were they not chasing, and they were in a dilemma for a while. chasing, he only has 2,000 soldiers and horses under his command, and almost all of the Han army villagers who can escape have horses, and it is not easy to chase back nearly 4,000 Han army villagers who fled in different directions and have no less maneuverability than their own; If you don't chase it, it will be a dereliction of duty for yourself who is responsible for monitoring and suppressing the Han army. Moreover, without these Han army villagers, a large number of grain, grass, and baggage could not be transported, so they could only be discarded in place, and the completion of the important task of sending troops to support and receiving the Son of Heaven would be in vain. At that time, even if he can return to Liaoyang City alive, he will become a ghost under the knife because he has not completed the task assigned by the left-behind adults.

However, the two chief and deputy commanders from the Bohai people did not hesitate for long, and they made a decisive decision because of the two Zhou army ambushes that appeared on both sides of their own army formation, each consisting of about 1,500 cavalry, to give up the pursuit of the fleeing Han army townsmen, and fight with the Zhou army ambush with all their might.

Although the banner of the Zhou army indicates that there are a certain number of cavalry of the "Flying Dragon Army" in these two ambushes, if the two chief and deputy commanders who command the Bohai and Jurchen warriors have the intention of fighting to the death, they lead the two thousand elites under their command to carry out a decisive assault on one of the Zhou troops, and after completing the first hedge with the Zhou army, they do not consider their own so-called response tasks that are no longer possible, do not care about their own casualty rate, and do not engage in unnecessary entanglement with the Zhou army, then use the soldiers and horses of the two sides to get too close to each other, and the "Flying Dragon Army" The soldiers did not dare to use firearms at will for fear of hurting their own robes, and their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced, and some of the Bohai and Jurchen warriors might still be able to successfully break through the Zhou army's interception and escape. I don't know if I moved the idea of sacrificing my life for the imperial court, or if I attached too much importance to the grain, grass and baggage that actually had no possibility to be delivered to the Son of Heaven, or I didn't want to lose my reputation as fearless of death, the chief and deputy commanders of the Bohai and Jurchen warriors did not let the soldiers under his command hedge against the Zhou army, but ordered his soldiers and horses to set up camp on the spot, preparing to fight to the death with the Zhou army in order to protect the hundreds of carts of grain and grass.

However, many times things don't work out of people's will. Although the officers and commanders at all levels repeatedly suppressed and encouraged, in the face of the fierce blows of the "Flying Dragon Army" mortars and various infantry light weapons, the two thousand Bohai and Jurchen soldiers, who were known for their courage and courage to fight, quickly fell into chaos, and completely collapsed after the chief and deputy commanders were both sent to the west with one shot.

For the defeated Bohai and Jurchen defeated soldiers, Yan Shiwu, the commander of the Third Independent Cavalry Regiment under the jurisdiction of the Right Route Army, who led the Zhou army to carry out the flooding and ambush mission, was not as hesitant and indecisive as the two Bohai commanders and deputy commanders before, and immediately ordered the whole army to pursue and annihilate as many enemy troops as possible, so as to prevent those stragglers who had fled from gathering in the mountains and forests and bringing trouble to their own local management in the future. At the same time, Yan Shiwu also sent messengers to Zou Zhenyuan, the deputy commander of the Right Route Army, 40 miles to the south, and Yang Kefu, the commander of the pursuit cluster of the Middle Route Army, 50 miles away from the north, to report the battle situation here.

Thinking of Shilihe and Yang Kefu, Yan Shiwu felt some regrets in his heart. At noon the day before, the front army of the Right Route Army, which had just arrived at the foot of Liaoyang City and completed the encirclement of the largest city on the Khitan Tokyo Road, received an emergency rescue letter sent by Yang Kefu, the commander of the pursuit cluster of the Middle Route Army. After learning from the letter that the original Khitan Emperor Yelujing had died at the hands of his slaves, and the newly succeeded Emperor Yeluxian, a group of civil servants and military generals of the Khitan court and 8,000 remnants of the army were walking into the ambush circle set up by Yang Kefu step by step, Zou Zhenyuan immediately made a decision, on the one hand, ordered the cavalry regiment of the Fifth Synthetic Infantry Division under his command to immediately go north to assist Yang Kefu's troops in encircling and annihilating the remnants of the Khitan army; On the other hand, two battalions of the Third Independent Cavalry Regiment and a cavalry regiment of the "Security Army" were sent north to block the so-called Khitan reinforcements that had not been taken into account by him and left the city north before the front army of the Right Route Army arrived in Liaoyang City, so as not to interfere with and disrupt the actions of Yang Kefu's troops - as for the Liaoyang City side, Zou Zhenyuan believed that with the remaining strength of the front army, he could fully guarantee that not a single soldier or soldier would be allowed to escape from the defenders in the city before the first two armies returned.

And it was Zou Zhenyuan's unintentional and accidental arrangement of combat missions that made Yan Shiwu destined to miss out on the encirclement and annihilation of the remnants of the Khitan army, capturing or killing the Khitan Emperor alive, which made any soldier feel honored. Therefore, although he did not know the final result of the siege and annihilation of the Shili River, although he led his troops to travel 60 miles in half a day, rushed to the tributary of the Dongliang River (Taizi River) before Yelu Longxian, and successfully implemented the plan of "flooding the Seventh Army", almost completely annihilating this 8,000-strong enemy army, it is not surprising that Yan Shiwu still regretted it.