Just when Chen Ao was wondering, Yao Zhou had already sent someone out of the city to check it out. Not long after, the pawn ran back to the city panting, saw Yao Zhou, didn't have time to catch his breath, and said, "General, the Liao army is still a hundred miles away, and it has not withdrawn. The little ones look at the group of Khitan people huddled together, like the New Year, very lively!"

Chen Ao said strangely: "What the hell is this?"

Zhao Ling frowned, and hurriedly asked, "Do you see what they are doing?"

The pawn replied, "The little ones didn't dare to get too close, but I saw them shouting loudly around a yellow umbrella!"

"Yellow umbrellas?" Chen Ao said with a smile, "Are they all busy grabbing umbrellas when it's going to rain?"

Zhao Ling glanced at him, as if he felt that this person was too uneducated, and it was really embarrassing to be with him. She corrected, "That's not a yellow umbrella, it's the Emperor's canopy!"

Yao Zhou nodded and said, "That's right, how could Xiao Tart Rin use yellow things in the army? It must be Empress Dowager Xiao and the little emperor who have arrived!"

Chen Ao was taken aback, and said in surprise: "Didn't the newspaper say that Empress Dowager Xiao is still besieging Dingzhou and Hejian? Why did you suddenly kill here?"

As soon as he asked, he understood what was going on. Now Jizhou has almost been controlled by the Liao army, and no news has come out at all. The defenders in Dingzhou and other places only defended but did not attack, and they could not retreat. I'm afraid that even if they knew that Empress Dowager Xiao led the army around the city to the south, they would not dare to go out of the city for a decisive battle.

The emperor of Liao actually came, and this news really surprised everyone. Of course, the emperor could not have come on horseback alone, and he could only bring the main force of the Liao army. This time, the Liao army raised 100,000 troops, and even if it was divided into two places, there were at least 70,000 or 80,000 people outside the city. Moreover, the tribes within the Liao State saw that they had achieved such a great result this time, and they would definitely send a steady stream of troops into the war.

Chen Ao calculated an account in his heart, and now his men and the defenders of Jizhou are only about 50,000 people. The Liao army under the city already has 80,000 people, and the number will continue to increase. If you can't shrink yourself, with the abundant ordnance, food and grass in Jizhou City, it should be enough to last for a few months.

But he led the vanguard, the vanguard of the imperial army. If you are trapped in a city by the Liao army, you will lose your vanguard role. And if the Liao army repeats its old tricks, shooting part of the troops to besiege the city, and the others continue to go south, wouldn't it be to kill Zhao Heng by surprise?

Thinking of this, an idea suddenly popped up in Chen Ao's mind, that is, he couldn't continue to defend passively. If you can take advantage of the fact that the Empress Dowager Xiao and the little emperor have just arrived here and have an unstable foothold, they can give the Liao army a head-on blow. Then maybe the whole war will be reversed. At that time, if the defenders of Dingzhou and Hejian can take the opportunity to cut off the back road of the Liao army, then they can completely repel this group of Liao army!

Chen Ao formed a rough plan in his mind. But it was the first time he was commanding a battle, and he didn't dare to make a rash decision, so he stepped aside and told Zhao Ling his thoughts, hoping that she could give him detailed references.

Zhao Ling pondered for a long time before he said slowly: "Take the initiative...... It's not an easy task. Chen Ao, knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent can win all battles. If you decide impulsively, it will only be futile and even dangerous. ”

Chen Ao knew that Zhao Ling was reminding himself euphemistically that this idea was not feasible. It is true that the Liao army now has at least 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers and horses, and there are only 60,000 or 70,000 in Jizhou City. If there are any more soldiers who defend the city, there will be only 30,000 or 40,000 soldiers who can go out of the city to fight. But among these 30,000 or 40,000 people, there can only be a maximum of 10,000 cavalry. With such a small number of manpower, if you want to fight against 70,000 or 80,000 Khitan cavalry, it is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg.

Chen Ao couldn't help but feel a little discouraged, thinking to himself, now that the situation is getting more and more severe, if he can't take the initiative to attack and inflict heavy losses on the Liao army, but is trapped in the city, he can only die a slow death in the end. Calculating the time, Zhao Heng's main army should have been assembled. But an army of more than 100,000 people is much slower to move. Not to mention the weight of grain and grass, just say that the emperor Luan drove with the army, and it would not be fast.

If during this time, the Liao army trapped Jizhou, continued to move south, and finally crossed the river and broke through Lanzhou, then the gate of the Central Plains would really be completely open. The Khitan iron cavalry will no longer be blocked, and they can gallop and trample on the land of the Central Plains at will.

Although Chen Ao has always pursued the principle that people do not destroy the heavens and the earth for themselves. But if this result is caused by himself, then he will still feel very guilty. He thought to himself, Zhao Ling would definitely not agree with his idea, and Yao Zhou and the others would not agree. It seems that everything has to rely on yourself! Zhao Ling said that he knows himself and knows his opponent, so Lao Tzu will personally touch the bottom of the Khitan people!

Chen Ao's eyes rolled, he thought of an idea, and whispered a few words to Long Qingping. Then he took his group of guards around the castle tower, checked the defense, and encouraged the soldiers who defended the city. In the past two days of defending the city, Chen Ao has always been on the front line, and his prestige in Jizhou is already higher than that of a local military general like Guo Wenhui. Everywhere he went, he was greeted by the soldiers. Therefore, after this inspection, it took a lot of effort to stop until noon.

Chen Ao looked at the time, and said to Zhao Ling, since he was free today, he simply invited Guo Wenhui and others back, and it was good to return the favor. Zhao Ling was reluctant to participate in this kind of entertainment, so he wanted to go back to the house to rest first. She has indeed been tired in the past two days, and she is not like Chen Ao, who has a little internal skills and can bear it.

Chen Ao sent her back to the house, and he quietly went out with Long Qingping. He wanted to invite guests on a fake basis, but in fact he wanted to take Long Qingping out of the city secretly to investigate the reality of the Liao army. As the saying goes, knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent is invincible. It is not impossible to win more with less, and the weak to defeat the strong, the key is to find opportunities. Now, he's going to look for such an opportunity himself!

The two changed into civilian clothes, avoided acquaintances, and quietly came to the gate of Xicheng. When the pawn at the door saw Chen Ao, he naturally didn't dare to disobey his orders. So the two of them successfully opened the city gate and slipped out. The reason why Xicheng was chosen was because there were not many Liao troops on this side, and only a few thousand people feinted every day.

The two of them went out of the city and went directly into the green gauze tent outside the city. After all, Long Qingping is very excited about the child's heart, as if she is hiding from a cat. Chen Ao had to remind her of the importance of this critical operation.

Long Qingping said nonchalantly: "I don't understand what you want to investigate. I'm just in charge of keeping you safe!"

Chen Ao had no choice but to let her be as careful as possible. The two walked north along the mountain, slowly approaching the camp of the Liao army. The Liao army is 70,000 or 80,000 people, and the camp covers an extremely wide area, and there are naturally many open and dark posts.

However, Long Qingping has deep internal skills, ears and eyes, and can often find people hiding in the woods from a long distance. Before the Liao sentry could spot her, she was able to clearly point out the location of the other party, so that she could avoid it gently and skillfully.

Tents could already be seen in the distance, and Chen Ao's heart couldn't help but hang. His original intention was to see if there were any loopholes in the Liao military camp. Maybe he can take advantage of these loopholes and organize a sneak attack. And sneak attacks are often the key to defeating the strong with the weak and turning defeat into victory. However, he has only just come into contact with the war in the era of cold weapons, and he is a half-person at all, where can he see the loopholes in the camp layout at a glance?

He was lying on the hillside, and he saw a series of tents, but he couldn't see any clues. In desperation, Chen Ao was unwilling to return in vain, so he could only continue to walk in. After walking a short distance, Long Qingping suddenly pressed his shoulder and whispered, "Someone!"