On the vast plain of Hebei Road, the wind is howling.

If you stand on the wall of Xiongju City and look out, you will see that the world outside the city is barren.

Yellow basil is all over the wilderness, and there are countless dense jungles in the wild, and fallen leaves have fallen to the ground.

The original village and farmland have long been dilapidated, and have not been cultivated for decades.

In the midst of this chaos, there is only an official road in the south of the city, which is still telling people that there are at least people passing by.

After the Battle of Lanzhou, the Song State moved the border people inward to prevent the Liao people from fighting the grass valley. Today's borders have long been devoid of villages and fields, and only cities and military villages remain.

However, this does not mean that there are no people here, and merchants from the north and the Liao and Song dynasties will still come here.

It's just that after the war started, no matter how much they were not afraid of death for the sake of profit, they would have long since scattered and fled from the border.

On December 26, only four days before the New Year's Pass, Di Qing, who was on duty in Xiongzhou City, had already seen several knights flying towards Nancheng from a distance.

He looked at it for a while, and directly asked people to open the city gate - one of the knights he knew, it was his subordinate, Zhang Yu, who was now serving as the defense envoy of Xiongzhou for his military merits.

It is worth mentioning that Di Qing's performance in the war with Western Xia was also very prominent, and he was promoted like a rocket, and he was already under the jurisdiction of Hebei Road soldiers and horses, with 5,000 people under his command, and he had already touched the threshold of the general level, and then he was a general.

Zhang Yu hurriedly entered the city, and after the city gate was opened, he saw Di Qing, and hurriedly reined in his horse and said, "Hanchen, it's coming." ”

"What's coming?"

Although Di Qing had conjectures in his heart, he still had to ask.

Zhang Yu directly turned over and dismounted, wiped the Han water on his forehead, took the water handed by the soldier next to him and poured two sips, and then said: "Yesterday, the prime minister broke the Liao army in Baosai, and their remnants are retreating north!" ”

"Quick, go back and tell Shuaiji!"

Di Qing immediately took a horse, turned over, and went directly to Zhang Kang's mansion in the city.

After a while, Zhang Kang got the news and was in good spirits.

"Great."

He got up and said to Di Qing: "Order the three armies to fight!" ”

"Yes!"

Di Qing also replied sonorously and forcefully.

After a while, the entire Xiongzhou City was excited, and all the soldiers and horses in the city were ready.

Except for leaving 1,000 people to defend the city, the rest of the people all went out of the city to intercept and defeat the Liao army.

And such a situation also occurs in Suicheng, Ansu, Rongcheng, Baoding, Wen'an and other border towns.

If the previous Hebei army, even if the Liao army was defeated, it is estimated that it would not dare to go out of the city to chase and kill like this.

But Lao Fan placed the elite Northwest Army in many cities on the border for this moment.

The morale of the Northwest Army was much stronger than that of the Hebei Army, so it naturally dared to go out of the city for a decisive battle.

These are all the same military feats.

At the same time, after the great rout of the Liao army, it was impossible to reorganize the ranks at all.

Because the Song army has been chasing after the tail.

The cavalry was okay, galloping all the way north, and they were able to escape after all.

But it's bitter for the infantry.

Although most of the Song army was also infantry, the Song army had high morale and desperately chased after it for military exploits.

The Liao army infantry could only flee frantically in order to survive.

Overnight, the two sides chased out hundreds of miles, and the entire 200-mile-long border line of Baozhou, Ansu Army, Guangxin Army, Xiongzhou, and Dingzhou on the Hebei Road was full of soldiers from the enemy and us.

Fan Zhongyan couldn't control his subordinates anymore, because the enemy ran scattered, the Song army chased scattered, and there was even a strange story of a Song army squad of more than 200 people, chasing after the Liao army infantry corps of more than 3,000 people.

So he simply didn't do anything, and after giving the order to pursue, he just took a few thousand people with him and slowly and leisurely went north to Ansu.

The defender of Ansu is Zhao Zhen, the new head of Hebei West Road, who does not have many cavalry on his side, only more than 3,000 people, plus 10,000 foot soldiers, and is actually stationed in Hulu Embankment with swagger to intercept a large number of Liao troops in the rear.

The gourd embankment is located on the bank of the Cao River in the south of Ansu, the Cao River is not the Cao Canal, but the tributary of the Fu River, a tributary of the Daqing River, originating from the Wuhui Ridge in Yi County, Baoding City, which is the only way to cross the river.

According to historical records, this is also an accident-prone place, from the fifth dynasty after the Jin Kaiyun three years to the Northern Song Dynasty Xuanhe five years, as long as 178 years, are the frontier of the imperial Liao.

Wars between the Liao and Song dynasties often took place here.

But it used to be the wolf cottage on the south bank of the gourd embankment to cooperate with the Ansu city to resist the Liao army, and now the Song army went to the north bank to intercept the Liao army, which is quite anti-Tiangang.

The remnants of the Liao State ran around like headless flies, with nearly 200,000 troops, a large part of which followed Yelu Zongzhen to the direction of Dingzhou.

There are troops of Liao's younger brother Yelu Chongyuan there, and Yelu Chongyuan can cover them to return north from Dingzhou.

The rest of the Liao army was not so lucky, they just wanted to escape from the Song Kingdom as soon as possible, and chose the fastest route, which was also the closest route to hell.

Zhao Zhen set up an ambush at the gourd embankment, and once again routed the Liao army when they crossed the river, killing more than 3,000 people and capturing 5,000 people.

The defenders of Suicheng intercepted more than 10,000 Liao troops in Pusancunpu, and also defeated the enemy, killing more than 2,000 people, capturing more than 3,000 people, and the remaining 5,000 or 6,000 people fled back to the Liao border in disarray.

Xiongzhou guard general Zhang Kang personally led the cavalry, all the way to the west, encountered a small group of Liao troops are too lazy to kill, each time only pursue at least three or four thousand more Liao army, just a few days of effort, he killed more than 10,000 enemies, and there are no prisoners.

Originally, the war could still continue to expand, but after arriving at the border of Liao, Zhao Zhen and the others hesitated, and finally did not dare to take the risk to continue the march.

The reason is that after the alliance of Lanyuan, Song Zhenzong strictly restricted the generals of Hebei Road.

First, it is forbidden to provoke border wars.

Second, even if the enemy comes to attack, it is not allowed to fight back immediately, waiting for the order of the imperial court.

Third, defeat the enemy, and do not pursue it.

Fourth, you must not enter the Liao realm.

Sounds outrageous.

But this is actually the reality, this series of restrictions caused the Song army on Hebei Road to be tied and dare not let go.

If it weren't for Fan Zhongyan, they were afraid that even if the Liao State suddenly moved south, they would even dare to stay in the city and watch the Liao army wreak havoc outside, and they would not dare to fight back except for the enemy coming to attack the city.

Fortunately, Lao Fan rushed to Ansu the next day, and after learning about this situation, he slapped his head and immediately issued a military order to chase into Liaojing, and when he encountered resistance.

With this military order, the army of the Song State brazenly entered the territory of the Liao State, scared the Liao soldiers who originally thought they were safe, and continued to flee north directly, and ran to the Xijin Mansion in Nanjing, the Liao State.

Xiao Xiaoyou, the guard of Xijin Mansion, hurriedly gathered the rout, while leading the troops to resist, taking advantage of the Song army in pursuit, he led the cavalry to sneak attack several parts of the Song army, so that the Song army had some casualties, which made the Song army calm down and slowly retreated to Zhuozhou.

There is no way, it is impossible to set up a formation in the process of such a pursuit, and if there is a sudden attack, it will be difficult to respond. also blame those Song troops for being greedy and reckless, otherwise there would have been no casualties.

But fortunately, the Song army won a complete victory in this battle, and this little accident did not affect Fan Zhongyan's mood, he reorganized his troops and horses, and went north to settle in Zhuozhou.

After Yelu Zongzhen ran to Dingzhou, he joined forces with Yelu Chongyuan, reassembled about seventy or eighty thousand cavalry, and fled north to Ulzhou, that is, the area of Lingqiu in the later generations, and then ran back to Xijin Mansion after a big circle from the later Weixian area.

Because there were still a large number of defeated small Liao troops in the Song Realm at this time, if they were not cleared, it would not affect the security of the rear, so Fan Zhongyan did not continue to fight in Xijin Mansion, but mobilized troops and horses to confront.

He gathered 50,000 troops from the Northwest Army, and took about 80,000 foot soldiers to be stationed in Fanyang, Zhuozhou, Liao State.

More than 100,000 troops in the rear, some were responsible for clearing out the remnants of the Liao army, some were responsible for transporting grain and grass to Fanyang on the front line, and some immediately went north from Cangzhou, Baoding, Xin'an, Qingzhou and other places to harass Wuqing, Anci and other places southeast of Xijin Prefecture.

In this way, the Song army in all parts of Hebei Road performed its own duties, and surrounded the Nanjing capital of the Liao State with a pincer offensive from both roads, and some planned to take advantage of this opportunity to go all the way north and recover the situation of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures.

It's just that most of the Song army are foot soldiers, even though Fan Zhongyan's command and dispatch are already very good, but they still lose time due to the long front and the bloated army.

After he arranged it here, it was basically January of the second year, and the soldiers couldn't have a good New Year, only knowing that they were holding knives and guns, killing red eyes, chasing the Liao army fleeing all over the mountains and fields, and they almost forgot about the New Year.

This undoubtedly gave Yelu Zongzhen a chance to breathe.

Almost at the end of December, Yelu Zongzhen had already run back to Xijin Mansion, stopped the transfer again, and arranged defensive lines around Xijin Mansion in Miaoyin, Liangxiang, Yuhe, and Wanping, and started a defensive battle in the city.

For the Liao State, although the border of Nanjing has long been the survival of the Han people, and since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, a large number of Han cities have been left in this place, so that they have the city to guard.

But it is absolutely unprecedented for the nomads to let the farming people fight into the hinterland, and they also need nomadic resources to defend the city.

It can be said that it is quite aggrieved.

On January 13, Yelu Zongzhen stood on the tower of the city tower of Xijin Mansion with a haggard face, and he saw that inside and outside the city, countless Han people enthusiastically joined the army, and he couldn't help but sigh: "The people's hearts are available." ”

Next to Zhang Jianxin said, it was because the Song State himself was too ruthless to the Han people, and the taxes were frighteningly high, and when he heard that the Song army was coming, even the Han people didn't want to be the subjects of the Song Dynasty.

However, he naturally didn't say it, but said: "Your Majesty, there is no way to do this big defeat. The firearms of the Song people are too powerful, and they are not the crime of war, so in the face of the attack of the Song army, they should still think long-term and be careful. ”

Yeluzong said with a sad face: "I regret that I shouldn't have listened to Father Shang's words, I really shouldn't have attacked Song so rashly in the first place." If he had only sent an envoy to discuss with the Emperor of the Song State before, he would not have come to this point today. I'm afraid that from now on, they will cancel the New Year's currency and no longer trade with us. ”

Zhang Jian replied: "Not so much. ”

"Oh?"

Yelu Zong was really busy asking, "Is there any other way for Father Shang?" ”

Zhang Jian muttered: "Although we were defeated in this battle, the losses were basically the men and horses of various subject countries and tribes. And the Song army is good at defense, and it is impossible for grenades to be used to siege the city, but if the cannon is to attack the city, it is not easy to do, but fortunately, the Song army has fewer of these things, and there is still room for maneuver. ”

"Please tell Father Shang."

Yelu Zongzhen said.

"Naturally, we will continue to negotiate peace with Song Jun."

Zhang Jian said in a deep voice: "We can give up the ten counties on the south bank of Laishui, but the Song army must increase the currency by 200,000, and after we have the money, we can appease the tribes, otherwise Your Majesty's prestige will fall sharply, which will be unfavorable to the country." ”

"Just give up so much land. There are many powerful people in the country, I am afraid there are many criticisms. ”

Yelu Zong really hesitated.

Zhang Jian shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, don't the Han people in the city actively join the army to defend the country?" ”

"What is this?"

Jerod really doesn't know why.

"It's because Your Majesty treats them generously and makes them the hearts of the people come together."

Zhang Jian said: "The Song people are harsh on taxes and miscellaneous taxes than tigers, even if they occupy the land, the local people will not be attached, they will flee north to Liao, we only lose land, as long as there is Dingkou, it will not cause too much loss, now the top priority, there are two things." ”

"What two things?"

"The first is to appease the country so that there will be no turmoil in the country because of the war."

Zhang Jian raised two fingers and said: "The second is to do everything possible to get the gunpowder formula of the Song people and create our own grenades and cannons, otherwise we will always be controlled by others, if we continue to fight, we will only lose the people's livelihood and the country, so that we will be defeated." ”

"Hmm."

Yelu Zong really felt that Zhang Jian's words were very reasonable, and nodded slightly.

This battle was too great a loss for him.

Nothing was gained, not only was it a waste of national strength, but also a large number of people were lost.

His headquarters sent 150,000 leather room troops, plus the combined armies of other nationalities in various departments, to make a big deal of 2560,000.

Among them, the leather room army lost 20,000 or 30,000 people, and the combined forces of various tribes lost at least 50,000 or 60,000, which can be said to be a crushing defeat.

Although the heritage of the Liao State naturally does not stop there, his father conquered 500,000 people in the Western Xia capital back then, and now with the soldiers and horses stationed in the northwest of the mountains and the border of the Western Xia, the Uighur border, and the hinterland of the rear, it is not a problem to organize another 500,000 people.

The problem is that after the confrontation in the past few months, the treasury of the Liao State is basically running out. If they could not get supplies from the war, a large number of Liao soldiers would have to starve to death.

So it's okay to organize so many people, but whether you can continue to fight is another question.

Therefore, instead of continuing to use military force and risking the destruction of the country and continuing to fight with the Song State, it is better to get some benefits and simply give part of the land to the Song State, which is equivalent to selling the land.

Anyway, Song Guo is rich and rich, and it doesn't matter if he has this money.

Thinking of this, Yelu Zongzhen sighed and said, "Then let's do it, and then send an envoy to talk to Fan Zhongyan in detail!" ”

(End of chapter)