On the south side of the city, Zhang Zheng raised his telescope and looked carefully at the dusty place in the distance under the guidance of the soldier who reported the news and his squad leader. At this time, the brigade of cavalry from the north was only two miles away from the south side of Gubeikou Pass, and there were four or five horsemen and one horse in front of the team, and it was not even one mile away from the south side of Guancheng.

At a glance, Zhang Zheng was surprised to find that the knight who followed him at the front was none other than one of the three messengers he had just sent to Juyongguan to deliver the letter. Behind him were two other messengers who had left with him, one of several messengers he had sent to Juyongguan two days earlier to bring in reinforcements, and a man dressed as an officer of the "Flying Dragon Army" that he did not know. Seeing these subordinates, Zhang Zheng was finally able to conclude that the cavalry that was galloping towards Guancheng should be friendly rather than foe, and it was likely to be the reinforcements brought by the last batch of messengers. So, while handing the binoculars to Weng Zhongguan on the side, he ordered his men guarding the southern side of the city to hurry down to the city, preparing to open the city gate at his own order and welcome his comrades into the city - although it was the messenger he sent out to run at the front, Zhang Zheng would not let them into the city easily until the identity of the officer behind them was finally confirmed.

In a short time, the cavalry that was at the forefront of the cavalry came to the bottom of the fortress and swept their mounts. At first, a knight saluted Zhang Zheng in the city and said: "Company commander, the little one is only five or six miles out of the pass, and he meets a messenger sent to ask for reinforcements last time, and the third regiment, seven battalions and one company of the 'Flying Dragon Army' who came back with him. ”

After he finished speaking, without waiting for Zhang Zheng to say something, the officer who followed the messenger came out of his horse, gave a military salute to Zhang Zheng in the city, and then took out an envelope from his bosom and said to Zhang Zheng: "Company Commander Zhang, the inferior position is Song Cheng, the deputy company commander of the first company of the seventh battalion of the third regiment of the 'Flying Dragon Army'. Here is the lowly official certificate and the reinforcement order written by the eighth master himself, please take a look at Company Commander Zhang. ”

Zhang Zheng nodded when he heard this, and then ordered his subordinates to hang a bamboo basket from above the city, and asked the deputy company commander to put the relevant vouchers in it and hang them up to the city.

After careful inspection, Zhang Zheng confirmed that these two vouchers were genuine, and he had no doubts in his heart, so he immediately ordered someone to open the city gate and let his own reinforcements enter the customs.

Bringing the deputy company commander of Song Cheng and Song into the pass, Zhang Zheng didn't care about greeting the other party, and while leading the other party to the north side of the gate, he asked the other party about the reinforcements with great concern. When he learned from the other party that the reinforcements sent to reinforce Gubeikou this time were not only the three regiments and seven battalions and some artillery who had arrived from Juyongguan, but also the main force of the cavalry regiment and the "ranger battalion" that had been led by the 35th master Muttel and had traveled hundreds of miles from outside the pass, the heart that had been hanging finally put in his stomach and completely relaxed - although the main force of the seventh battalion was about 20 miles behind the first company as the vanguard force, the first company of the seventh battalion carried a large amount of weapons and ammunition, which was enough to solve the "wolf's tooth battalion" The problem of the lack of ammunition in a company. With the strength of nearly a company of the "Flying Dragon Army", there was no problem until the main force of the Seventh Battalion arrived.

At this time, Song Cheng didn't have the heart to say polite words to Zhang Zheng, and after answering Zhang Zheng's question, he immediately fired three green signal flares in the south of the city, informing the first company of the Seventh Battalion that was following him that everything was normal, and asking him to enter the customs immediately. When Zhang Zheng heard this, he immediately ordered his soldiers to do the same. There was not much time, and three green flares took off from the south side of Gubeikou Pass.

Although Song Cheng's mind was on how to fight the first battle after arriving at Gubeikou Pass, when he followed Zhang Zheng to the north side of the Guancheng, he saw the bloodstains on and under the city, saw the corpses of the Khitan army on both sides of the official road outside the Guan, and saw the scarred comrades-in-arms guarding the pass, Rao was he had participated in the battle of Baoxingzhuang, but he still had a somewhat shocking feeling - after all, he was the attacker in the first battle of Baoxingzhuang, and most of the time he used the weapons in his hand to kill and injure the enemy from a long distance. I have not experienced close combat or even white-knuckle combat between the enemy and the enemy. …,

On the one hand, he lamented that it was not easy for the "Wolf Tooth Battalion" to guard the pass for two consecutive days, and on the other hand, he also felt that the sky had eyes, so that he could arrive in time when they had already begun to carry out "zuihou preparations". Otherwise, if they arrived one step later, although they were still sure to recapture the Gubeikou Pass, these comrades-in-arms guarding the pass would never have the chance to see the moment when the Khitans were driven out of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.

However, sighing and sighing, now that the enemy is currently coming, when a new round of the enemy's offensive is about to come, there is really no time for Song Cheng to have too much emotion and too many ideas, but immediately began to discuss with Zhang Zheng how to block the new offensive that the enemy will launch soon after the two sides join forces.

At the same time, on the official road north of Gubeikou Pass, more than 1,000 Bohai soldiers, who were known for their bravery and good fighting, under the leadership of a commander of a thousand commanders, lined up in several columns that were not neat but scattered, and gradually approached the Guancheng on the north side of Gubeikou Pass at the speed of small steps.

This scattered formation—what the creator calls it—was also proposed by the deputy commander of the pro-battalion who suggested a tactical siege on wheels, and was said to reduce the casualties inflicted on our troops by enemy firearms. In order to be able to master this new queue, their 2,000 Bohai soldiers spent almost a day practicing, and whether or not it was as effective as Deputy Commander Zou said, can only be tested through today's practice.

However, regardless of whether this so-called "skirmisher" formation works or not, at least the deputy commander Zou is right about one thing, that is, the firearms of the enemy defending the city need a large amount of gunpowder and projectiles to support, and as the war continues, they only consume but do not replenish, and they will soon "sit and eat", and finally have to use their muskets without gunpowder and projectiles that are not much stronger than burning sticks to fight against the broadsword and spear in their hands.

With the use of their own wheel tactics, the frequency and duration of the use of firearms by the defenders in the pass became shorter and shorter, and many times they relied on bows and crossbows and the bravery of the defending soldiers to stabilize the situation at the head of the city. In this way, it is natural that its own casualties are getting bigger and bigger, and the casualties caused to its own side are getting smaller and smaller.

Seeing that the breakthrough is only in front of him, and his army is so lucky to be drawn up to execute This is likely to be a siege operation of Zuihou, the first great credit since the start of the battle of the clouds, this Bohai elite soldiers who participated in the 24th siege offensive are almost all excited, and they can't wait to run to the Gubeikou Pass immediately, and take down this pass that has resisted them for two days and two nights, and enter the eight states in front of the mountain, striving for a meritorious service for themselves, and striving for glory and wealth.

From the time when they were 500 paces away from Guancheng to the time when they were 200 paces away, they turned into a big stride, and while marching in strict accordance with the methods taught by Deputy Commander Zou, these 1,000 Bohai elite soldiers also enjoyed the benefits brought about by Deputy Commander Zou's theory that "firearms need gunpowder and projectile support" -- there was no other means of blocking the attack on the Guancheng along the way, except for a few cold shots.

Just when the more than 1,000 Bohai elite soldiers who attacked were thinking about their exploits and their wealth, there was a sudden terrifying sound of "hissing, hissing" breaking the air that had rarely been heard in the past day. Before these Khitan elite soldiers could react, a huge explosion had already resounded in their ranks.

More than 10 rounds of 60 or 80 mm mortar shells accurately fell into the ranks of the Bohai soldiers, and as the clouds of yellow and black smoke rose, the Bohai soldiers were suddenly blown down. However, this sudden artillery bombardment also made the Bohai elite soldiers verify one thing, that is, the evacuation formation created by Deputy Command Zou can indeed reduce the casualties of their own side when they are attacked by artillery, at least they will not kill and injure more than 10 people in one shot. …,

However, although the casualties were few, the sudden and dense artillery bombardment still confused and panicked this group of Bohai elite soldiers. What is confusing is that, according to Deputy Command Zou, the other side should have run out of ammunition to use -- and the fighting in the past day has proved that Deputy Command Zou expected it well -- and now Weishenme will suddenly throw shells on his head as if he didn't want money. The panic is that if Deputy Commander Zou makes a mistake in judgment, or more seriously, the other party has already arrived with reinforcements, then his act of grabbing credit will become a stupid suicide.

However, no matter whether they were confused or panicked, this group of Bohai elite soldiers did not slow down their progress because of this. On the one hand, they all knew that the artillery attack of the enemy guarding the pass could be far away, and even if they turned around and ran back now, whether they could run to a safe place or not was between them. Instead of being a coward who escapes, it is better to rush forward and be a brave ghost who is brave to move forward. On the other hand, today's siege is the enemy martyr's highness personally sitting, and the five hundred battle sword axes in front of his own army are not decorations. Coupled with the fact that the evacuation formation caused a drop in casualties on their own side, and the wishful thinking that this heavy shelling was just the dying struggle and return of the enemy army. Therefore, even if there was no bottom in his heart and no matter how frightened he was, this group of Bohai elite soldiers still braved the artillery fire and rushed to Guancheng.

The elite soldiers of the Bohai Sea who attacked Guancheng were full of confusion and panic, and Yelu Enemy Lie, who was watching the battle from behind, also felt incomprehensible. Watching his family and horses fall into the attack of the enemy's artillery as the day before, and listening to the loud roar that sounded like a loud bang, Yelu Enemy Lie was disappointed, and suddenly turned his head to look at the deputy commander Zou who had been following him, pointed to the Gubeikou Pass in the distance, and asked: "Deputy Commander Zou, didn't you say that the enemy's ammunition is almost exhausted, and it is impossible to launch such a dense artillery attack again?" But what's going on? ”

The deputy commander Zou was obviously surprised by this sudden change, and didn't know what to say for a while. However, after a little stunned, he reacted and said with great certainty: "Your Highness, there will be no mistake in what I expected before, the ammunition for guarding the enemy, especially the ammunition for artillery, was definitely left from yesterday afternoon to evening. As for why there is so much ammunition today, there is only one reason that can be explained, and that is that the enemy's reinforcements have arrived. The defenders were replenished with reinforcements, and naturally the intensity of the previous artillery attack was restored. ”

When Yelu heard this, his first reaction was that the deputy commander of his own battalion was shirking his responsibility and reasoning that his judgment error was that the enemy army guarding the pass had come to reinforce him. Just as Yelu was about to refute the absurd remarks of the deputy commander Zou, a burst of gunfire suddenly sounded from the direction of Gubeikou Pass. When I looked up, I saw the scene of my besieging troops falling in pieces like wheat that had been cut. Seeing this, the words that Yelu Dilie had originally planned to teach the deputy commander Zou came to his lips and were swallowed back. Although he didn't know much about firearms, and most of his knowledge about firearms came from his own deputy commander of the battalion, the louder and denser the muskets, he understood the reason that the number of enemy musketeers was greater. With the ears of Yelu Lie Lianghaode, he could fully hear the gunfire coming from the direction of Gubeikou Pass far louder than when he attacked Guancheng two days before, and its density far exceeded the density of the enemy's muskets guarding the pass when the siege had just begun. That is to say, what Deputy Commander Zou said was true, and it was definitely not an excuse to shirk his responsibility, and the enemy army really came to reinforce the troops.

It stands to reason that since the Khitan army still did not make significant progress after spending two full days just attacking the Gubeikou Pass that was originally guarded by men and horses, then now that the enemy army defending the pass has been reinforced and strengthened, it is already an impossible task to take the Gubeikou Pass with the Khitan army that has suffered heavy losses. At this time, the best choice for Yelu Enemy Lie should be to collect his troops and return to the camp and then make plans. Even if you think more carefully and cautiously, you should immediately lead the army to retreat and return to Bei'an Prefecture or even Shangjingfu, but Yelu Enemy Lie, who is bent on revealing his skills through this battle of the clouds, is very unwilling. He was unwilling to let the Gubeikou Pass, which was already about to be in his hands, have to give up because of the sudden reinforcements of the enemy, and he was unwilling to let the first victory of the Khitan army slip away from his hands in the battle of Youyun, which was originally about to belong to him. Therefore, instead of ordering the Bohai elite soldiers who were vainly attacking the Gubeikou Pass, which was impossible to capture, to retreat, he ordered the second team of more than 1,000 Bohai elite soldiers who were originally waiting for the first echelon to tear through the enemy's defense line before rushing up to expand the breakthrough, as well as a larger number of Khitan elites, to immediately dispatch to assist the first echelon in attacking the city. …,

Although nearly 2,000 Bohai elite soldiers were not afraid of death, and they rushed to the direction of Guancheng one after another, and even some Bohai soldiers had rushed under Guancheng, but in the face of the huge, insurmountable Jishu gap, their bravery was only exchanged for heavy casualties.

This futile attack lasted for more than an hour, and when Yelu Dilie decided to withdraw his troops and return to the camp under the persuasion of the generals, and then make plans, there were less than 500 of the 2,000 Bohai elite soldiers left, and the losses of the Khitan soldiers who followed were comparable to those of the Bohai soldiers. In other words, just because of the thought of Yelu Enemy Lie, nearly 3,000 elite soldiers under his command were sacrificed in vain in this senseless attack.

His subordinates suffered heavy losses, and Yelu was naturally heartbroken. In particular, the 2,000 Bohai elite soldiers transferred to him by the imperial brother were almost killed and wounded, which made him regret it again and again. It's just that there is no "regret medicine" to sell in this world, and Yelu Enemy Lie can only reap the consequences of his own life now, and he can't complain about others.

With the order to collect the troops, the Khitan army began to change from the rear to the front, turned around and walked back. However, before the army could finish changing formations, a dull shelling could be heard from their northern side. After careful identification, everyone couldn't help but gasp, because the direction of the shelling sound was the location of their own camp.

"The enemy attacked the camp", this was the first thought that popped into the minds of everyone in the Khitan army from top to bottom. Immediately afterwards, everyone became nervous and panicked by this thought - the attack on the camp meant that the enemy's reinforcements had gone around their back, that their own food and grass were likely to be lost, and that their rear roads were likely to be cut off by the enemy. At this time, Yelu Enemy Lie could no longer care about the Gubeikou Pass that made him angry, and immediately ordered the whole army to retreat quickly, and he must rush back before the enemy broke through the camp to keep his foundation.

Just as Yelu Enemy Lie and his generals shouted and roared, urging their soldiers to retreat at full speed, a palpitating sound suddenly appeared above their heads. Without waiting for Yelu Enemy Lie and a high-ranking Khitan general to react, four 75-mm field artillery shells and four 100-mm mortar shells exploded around them, and in the following few minutes, they were subjected to several rounds of artillery fire of the same scale one after another -- the 7th Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of the "Flying Dragon Army," which had just arrived at Gubeikou Pass, set up four 75mm field guns and four 100mm mortars in the shortest possible time, and fired a round of rapid fire at the position where the Yelu enemy's Lie Shuai Qi was located.

When the smoke cleared, the Khitan soldiers were stunned to find that there was no one standing in the place where the original banner was located, or there was no living person. All the high-ranking generals who went to battle, including Yelu Eilie, as well as Yelu Eilie's personal battalion, all fell to the ground at this time, and there was no sign that anyone was still alive. The main general was killed, the battalion was attacked, and the Khitan army, which originally had some combat effectiveness, completely collapsed and fled in all directions.

In the ninth year of the calendar (the sixth year of Xiande), on the afternoon of the 16th day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, more than 30,000 elite troops of the Khitan army were scattered and ceased to exist.