The dignified king of the Southern Courtyard of the Liao Kingdom, with heavy troops in his hands, faced the Song army, which was only 20,000 horses, and chose to retreat fifteen miles.

Why Fifteen Miles?

This distance is that even if the Song army retreats in a hurry, the Liao army with all the cavalry can catch up and bite the Song army within an hour after discovering that the Song army is retreating. Of course, there is a premise for this, the Liao army is not subject to the attack of the Song cavalry.

The number of cavalry in the Song army was not large, but looking at the horses and the equipment on the knights, Yelu Chen Jianu also had to lament: "This is the gap between herdsmen and warriors!" ”

The cavalry of the Great Song Dynasty was expensive.

In the past, there were few in number, and most of them could not be considered cavalry, but only infantry on horseback. The speed of the march is not slow, but if the cavalry really charges, after the four-legged horse is frightened, let alone charge at the enemy, it will already give the master a lot of face if he runs without turning his head. If you don't feed two bean cakes, you will never be able to heal the wounds in your heart.

Such a cavalry is just a pretend existence in the Song army, and even the Privy Council will not care. Because if he went out to fight with the cavalry of Western Xia and Liao, he would definitely die, and he could only stay in the Great Song Dynasty to quell the rebellion.

The cavalry that can really charge and kill, the soldiers are trained enough, and the cavalry with excellent war horses is only twenty or thirty thousand in the entire Great Song Dynasty. Although cavalry training has begun in Qingtang, it cannot be sent to the battlefield in the short term.

It is precisely because of the gold that the treatment and equipment of the Great Song Iron Cavalry are undoubtedly the best.

It is not that there is no army with better treatment than cavalry, only the Upper Fourth Army, which is known as the Imperial Forest Army of the Son of Heaven, as well as the Feilian Army and the Praetorian Guard, can enjoy better treatment and equipment for cavalry.

The cavalry led by Li Yun was the main force of the cavalry of the Feilian Army.

In a sentence that is not an exaggeration, this is the personal guard of the Son of Heaven and the façade of the Great Song Dynasty.

Cavalry armor is all stainless steel armor, after the weight of the armor is reduced, the protection is more excellent, and the strategic resource of stainless steel is usually just a treasure added to the blade. The cavalry crossbow is a carefully selected fine product in the treasury of the Privy Council Ordnance Division; The cavalry's war knife is also a steel knife after steel is mixed with wrought iron and repeatedly beaten.

In the military tent, Yelu Chen's slave stroked a captured Song Dynasty war knife, and his fingers flicked on the surface of the knife, making a crisp sound.

couldn't help but praise: "Treasure knife, really treasure knife." ”

But he understood that the owner of this knife was not a great general of the Great Song cavalry.

Rather, an ordinary soldier.

A soldier is equipped with such a good weapon, which makes Yelu Chen Jianu worried, but also more and more convinced, this is indeed the elite of the Great Song Dynasty that the Great Liao Emperor has been looking for and wants to capture, the only thing that makes him guess is whether Li Kui is in this cavalry.

As is customary, the commander will definitely be with the most elite troops. But Yelu Chen Jianu couldn't guess it, because although the cavalry of the Great Song Dynasty was well equipped, it was so good that it made him red. But if this cavalry wants to swallow his five thousand vanguard troops in one breath and in an extreme time, I am afraid that it will not be able to do it.

This is also a great way out for the Song army who used the 'evil law' described by the soldiers who fled back.

The cavalry was not equipped with muskets, after all, it was very inconvenient for the cavalry to use firearms, and it was not as good as slashing with a large blade.

In the Great Song Dynasty, only Li Kui could command such an elite army.

In the Great Song military camp, Li Kui and the generals in the army also began to prepare for this big battle.

The grain and grass are very sufficient, and now that the Liao army is retreating, there is still one night to transport the grain and grass into the camp. This grain and grass was enough for the Song army to last for a month, or even longer.

The only thing that worries Li Kui is Li Yun.

It's not Li Yun, to be exact, Li Yun's cavalry. Because of the terrain, the Praetorian Guard chose the west of the river ditch, and the Liao army would definitely come from the west, if the cavalry was placed behind the infantry, the cavalry would have no space, and it would be easy for the Liao army to block the way out. Moreover, cavalry combat requires space and distance, and cavalry that cannot be shocked is inferior to infantry.

"Li Yun, your cavalry is going to break away from this formation, and now the battle location I have chosen is no longer suitable for putting your cavalry in. I'm afraid, will your cavalry be able to retreat in the face of an enemy outnumbered by several times? ”

Cavalry battles, even if the cavalry equipment of the Liao State is inferior to that of the Song army.

But the war horses were no worse than the Song army.

In addition, the Liao army is all cavalry, with 60,000 or 70,000 horses, which is nearly ten times the number of cavalry commanded by Li Yun, if such an opponent really ignores it, I am afraid that it will not be easy for Li Yun to get out of the battlefield under the unfavorable situation of combat.

Li Yun groaned for a while and asked Li Kui: "Can I divide the troops?" ”

"Division?" Li Kui nodded and said, "Whatever you want, but your task is to attack and harass, divide part of the attention of the main force of the Liao army, and ...... the other."

Li Kui paused, and said sharply: "Strangled all the messengers who went south from the Liao State Xijin Mansion to death." ”

"Don't worry, don't talk about people and horses, even flies, they won't fly into the Liao army camp from Xijin Mansion." Li Yun probably guessed Li Kui's intentions, it was not enough to scare which imperial grandson of Xijin Mansion would be scared.

Yelu Yanxi will definitely not dare to send a large army out of the city now, if another 20,000 horses die, I am afraid that the Xijin Mansion will not be able to hold it. But if Yelu Yanxi and Yelu Hongji are connected, they will definitely be desperate. Besides, Yelu Yanxi did not have the courage to resist Yelu Hongji's order, and the two armies converged in one place, which was difficult for the Song army.

Li Kui is three heads and six arms, and in the face of hundreds of thousands of Liao troops, he also has to avoid its edge.

Unless the Great Song reinforcements from Hebei can follow closely and unite with the Praetorian Guards. But this one is probably too small.

Renduo Baozhong may want to make meritorious contributions, and may follow the Liao army.

But it's really hard to say......

Only by making Yelu Yanxi, who was hiding in Xijin Mansion, a deaf and blind man, and not knowing what was happening outside the city, can Yelu Yanxi be completely killed in Xijin Mansion.

Because, Yelu Yanxi can't take risks, once the Xijin Mansion is lost in his hands, he, the imperial grandson, will be completely out of touch with the throne.

Even if Yelu Hongji is still willing to give his grandson a chance, the opposition within the Liao State will make him treat it carefully.

In the camp of the Song army, a heavy aura shrouded the camp.

Everyone knew that the big war was coming.

Battle of Zhuozhou.

Battle of Sijin Province.

These battles are not as good as the big battle they are going to face, which is probably a key battle to establish the strength and weakness of Song Liao. Fortunately, regardless of whether it is the Feilian Army or the Praetorian Guard, the former is already a division of a hundred battles, and it has always come out since the Battle of Jinmingzhai, and now it is the army with the strongest will to fight in the Great Song Dynasty.

And the Praetorian Guard, after passing the two wars, also has an elite atmosphere.

It's just that this army has been in existence for too short a time and lacks precipitation. But as long as it goes through another high-intensity war, it will also be reborn.

Liao State Central Army.

Bonfires were scattered between the camps.

A warhorse roared and caught the attention of the night watchmen.

"Who?"

"Xiao Bike, a subordinate general of the Southern Courtyard King, was ordered to send the emergency military situation to His Majesty."

"Is there a token?"

"I have the token of the king of that courtyard!"

Wait—

Soon, the palace people led Xiao Bike through to the outer camp. The camp of fifty or sixty thousand troops, in which people are in it, there are tents everywhere, and after walking for a while, my head is dizzy. If you climb high, it is easy to find a condescending overlook. But is it possible? If there was really no one to lead the way, there would be no way to find the camp of the Liao Emperor. Especially in the middle of the night when you can't see your fingers.

"Chen Xiao Bike, meet Your Majesty."

Xiao Bike knelt down on one knee and lifted the piece he was carrying above his head, and the chamberlain beside Yelu Hongji took the piece in his hand.

It didn't take long for Yelu Hongji to let out a heavy panting sound and asked angrily: "Chen Jianu's army of more than 20,000 people was actually blocked in Qingheyuan by the Song army?" What does he eat? also lost 5,000 soldiers and horses, how can such a cowardly and cowardly person be able to afford the heavy responsibility of the king of my Great Liaoning Southern Academy? ”

Xiao Bike had no experience in fighting with the Song Army's firearms troops, but he would ponder! The Song State is not an infantry, but also a cavalry, in order to get rid of his own king, he thinks that he should say two words to exonerate his own king: "When the vanguard and the Song army were fighting, the Song army had five or six thousand cavalry to attack our army, I am afraid that our army did not investigate and fell into the encirclement of the Song army." ”

"Before the king ordered his ministers to come, he also asked his ministers to bring a set of armor and weapons that captured the Song army."

"Bring it in."

Xiao Changge, who was standing on the side, said calmly, being able to intercept the cavalry of the Liao army in the field with infantry, this Song army gave Xiao Changge a very different feeling.

The first is self-confidence.

The infantry of the Song State had never had a precedent for fighting the steppe cavalry on the plains, but they encountered this infantry.

At the same time it is a provocation.

Provoke the authority of the Great Liao Emperor.

Sure enough, Yelu Hongji's emotions were provoked, he pulled out the golden waist knife at his waist, and shouted: "Thieves who don't know whether they live or die, I swear that I will cut off the heads of thieves, so that the Song people can understand that on the plains, they are as vulnerable as ewes." ”

"Your Majesty, you see?"

Xiao Changge noticed the difference in the armor of the Song army, and immediately looked at Emperor Yelu Hongji.

This feel, as well as the sound of percussion, is absolutely a masterpiece. The corners of Yelu Hongji's mouth showed a hint of pride, and said: "After killing a general of the Song army, Yelu Chen's slave did not disappoint me. ”

If the emperor said so in normal times, if Xiao Bike exposed the emperor's mistakes, I am afraid that there would be more than one luck. But now that it was a time of war, if he concealed the strength of the Song army, the emperor might kill him in a fit of rage on the battlefield.

Xiao Bike hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, this is not the armor of the Song army generals, but the armor of ordinary cavalry soldiers. ”

Xiao Bike had to tell the story of the army led by the king of the Southern Courtyard at that time being harassed by the cavalry of the Song army during the march. The equipment of the cavalry soldiers and captains of the Song army is almost the same, and even the main generals are mixed in the army, if there is no handsome flag to distinguish them, it is impossible to distinguish the main generals and soldiers in the Song army.

In the process of attacking, the defeated troops gathered by the Chongyi army were not the opponents of the Song army at all. In the process of fighting between the two sides, they suffered very much.

This is something that cannot be helped, the soldiers of the Chongyi Army use leather armor. In the face of the Song army's crossbows, there was no power to resist. Even the Song army's war knife could easily cut through the leather armor of the Chongyi army. As a result, Yelu Chen's slaves had to gather the whole army and stabilize the camp with a dense camp.

Both sides were tempted, and each suffered casualties.

However, the casualties of the Song army were almost negligible, while the casualties of the Liao were more than 2,000.

Fortunately, the Liao army did not gain nothing.

They harvested more than a dozen sets of armor of the Song army, as well as weapons. And the owners of these armors and weapons have already died in battle.

Hearing that Song Jun's equipment was so exaggerated, Yelu Hongji's eyes were about to pop out. He had always thought that the Song country was rich and there were many craftsmen. The equipment is better than that of Liao, and it is natural to lose it.

But the Liao State is not called Huazi, it is a powerful empire in the world that is second only to the Song State in wealth. Even if there is a gap in the national strength of the two sides, it will not be so disparity.

The Song army had a cavalry, and all the equipment was armor that could only be worn by the generals of the Liao State. Doesn't this indicate that even if the main force of the leather room army encounters this cavalry of the Song army, the disparity between the two sides in terms of weapons and protective gear will directly lead to the absolute superiority of the Song army in the battle. Thinking of this possibility, Yelu Hongji didn't want to believe this fact in his heart.

"What, the Song cavalry soldiers are all on board with fish scale armor, but they can't do it?"

"How can you be so extravagant. Zhao Xu is too unreasonable, the young emperor actually invested so heavily in cavalry, and he was so reckless in military force, the Great Song Dynasty couldn't grow long! "As the emperor of Liao, Yelu Hongji has been on the throne for more than 40 years, and there is hardly a year without fighting. But he didn't expect that in his lifetime, he would meet a peer who was a loser than him and would toss.

When an emperor is jealous of another emperor, it indicates that the empire under the rule of that emperor is far inferior to that of another emperor.

Yelu Hongji said that he would not admit anything, and he would be jealous of Zhao Xu, the emperor of the Song State.

But the pantothenic look in his heart has been looked at by his courtiers.

It's like a neighborhood, the family property is about the same, the house is about the same, one family is farming, and the other family is farming, and there will be some odd jobs.

But when the two sides had dinner in the courtyard where they could see each other, the family happily rolled up the green onions in burritos and prepared to eat.

Suddenly, he found that his neighbor's burrito had not only green onions, but also braised pork.

Will they be able to eat together in peace?

No!

Actually, you can't blame Da Song.

The main reason is that the Great Song Dynasty made a huge breakthrough in steel smelting, and the small blast furnace of the Iron Supervisor flowed out of a furnace and a furnace of molten steel, and it was definitely impossible for these steels to be used to make kitchen knives.

Changing the clothes of the army has become the best choice.

And the Great Song Dynasty spends 50 or 60 million yuan a year on the military, so much money, if it is not spent, it must be the fault of the privy envoy Li Qingchen. It costs money anyway, so it's better to build a new weapon.

It can not only release the production capacity of the iron supervisor, but also increase the wealth of the Great Song Dynasty.

This is the power of industry.

Agriculture can only create wealth by making more food.

But there is more food, and there is no other use for feeding pigs and sheep. If there is too much food to eat, it will make the grain grown by the farmer cheaper, causing the farmer to go bankrupt.

But industry is different, industry can really increase the strength of a country.

The easiest thing to embody is the army.

Yelu Hongji didn't want to speak, he just wanted to see what the army that Zhao Xu had piled up with money was like?

And he can also be sure that even if the Song army that is blocking in front of Yelu Chen Jianu is not under the command of Li Kui, Li Kui will definitely be waiting for him in Xijin Mansion.

When his grandson Yelu Yanxi had been removed from the list of suspects who had established himself as emperor, Yelu Hongji was not too anxious to rush back to Xijin Mansion.

At the very least, he was still able to fully control the regime of Da Liao, and his throne was as stable as Mount Tai.

Setsu Province.

Head of the city.

Yelu Yanxi came to the city every day, like a child looking forward to going out to work early, waiting for the elders of the family to finish work and go home.

But looking forward to the stars and the moon, he just couldn't wait for his imperial grandfather Yelu Hongji to come back with the army.

However, it was not without any gain, he found that the camp of the Song army was empty.

This should be a good thing on the surface.

Xijin Mansion no longer has to worry about being attacked by the Song army, after all, the Song army's ability to demolish the house made him shudder.

"King Yan, great joy! The Song army camp outside the city is empty, you see the Song army left in a hurry, and even most of the food and the like were discarded. It must be His Majesty who came with a large army, King Yan This is a great opportunity to make meritorious contributions in front of His Majesty. ”

Xiao Ping, the advisor of Yelu Yanxi, the king of Yan, suggested going out of the city.

But Yelu Yanxi didn't want to at all, it was easy to get out of the city, what if he met the Song army outside the city?

At most, in a day or two, the soldiers and horses in his hands will be wiped out, and once the soldiers and horses of Xijin Mansion are damaged, won't Xijin Mansion become an empty city. What use can you use by leaving the old and weak women and children?

When the time comes, the palace concubines in the palace will be taken captive by the Song people, won't Da Liao's face be lost?

In particular, the Song army led by Li Kui was not like a humble gentleman, and the means of burning, killing and plundering were no worse than the Liao people attacking other tribes, and even in Yelu Yanxi's mind, these eccentric Song people were more talented than the Liao people in playing tricks, as if they were born with skills. After all, the means of intimidation and extortion, the upright Liao people will never be able to compare with the Song army.

Yelu Yanxi asked with a tiger face: "What if Your Majesty doesn't come, and it is the Song army who deliberately lured our army out of the city?" Once the city is lost, who can afford to take this responsibility. It's not right, it's not right! ”

"Someone come, send a messenger south to find Your Majesty, and tell Your Majesty all the things about this place in Xijin Mansion."

Yelu Yanxi learned to be obedient, he didn't want to fight with Song Jun. Maybe it's colder, and Song Jun should go back. When the time comes, how good will it be to surrender without a fight?

Now out of town, it's risking your own head.

As for sending scouts and messengers, this is because he is worried that the army will be disadvantageous outside the city, but he will not be distressed if one or two hundred scouts and messengers die.

Two days later.

Qingheyuan, the soldiers on the Song army's sentry tower saw the strength of their sight, a black line seemed to be getting thicker and thicker, took a look at the clairvoyant mirror, and immediately shouted in panic: "Liao army, Liao army is coming!" ”