Chapter 222 Decisive Battle with Youyun (Thirteen)

Youzhou is a city with a long history. Its earliest name was Ji. It was the capital of Yan State in the Warring States Period. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was an important county magistrate or the capital of Youzhou. Former Yan during the Sixteen Kingdoms period was established here for several years. During the Anshi Rebellion of Tang Dynasty, Shi Siming also established his capital here. After Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to the Khitans, Emperor Taizong of Liao Yelu Deguang renamed Youzhou to Nanjing, also known as Yanjing. However, in informal occasions, most people still called Nanjing Youzhou according to the old customs.

Youzhou is located on the northern edge of the North China Plain. It was a center for the exchange between agricultural and nomadic peoples for a long time. It is an important channel to enter the Central Plains and its geographical location is extremely important. The Khitans have had heavy troops in Youzhou for a long time, and generally sent important royal members to serve as the garrison of Youzhou. The current garrison is Xiao Siwen.

Xiao Siwen has always been ignorant. At this time, the war is coming. Under the continuous supervision of the princess, he still appears in front of the generals in a neatly dressed manner.

When he arrived in the conference hall, Xiao Siwen looked up at the neatly dressed generals. For a moment, he was a little confused. He had been in Youzhou for more than two years. In the past two years, Xiao Siwen had never led the troops seriously. These generals were all his friends who were drinking and eating, and they had always been together to have fun. At this time, everyone was like a decent person and sat in the hall seriously, which made Xiao Siwen more or less uncomfortable.

Xiao Siwen's deputy general is Yelu Hongshan, and a member of the Yelu family. He has always been stationed in Youzhou. He is fat and strong, with a thick beard. He likes singing and dancing in the Central Plains the most. He has raised a troupe at home, all of whom are beautiful and talented women bought from the Central Plains and even from Guangzhou. Yelu Hongshan, like Xiao Siwen, plays in it every day and enjoys himself. In the past two years, Xiao Siwen has rarely seen Yelu Hongshan appear in the army, so when he enters the hall, he sees Yelu Hongshan wearing armor, but he doesn't recognize this deputy who often eats, drinks and plays with him.

Yelu Hongshan sat on Xiao Siwen's left with a serious face. Seeing that Xiao Siwen had not spoken for a long time and didn't know what he was thinking, he finally couldn't help but say, "Shuai Xiao, the Zhou army is building a floating bridge at the Gu'an Ferry of the Juma River. Nearly 10,000 people have wade through the Juma River. Whether to fight or defend. Xiao Shuai wants to decide quickly."

Xiao Siwen looked at the serious Yelu Hongshan, stunned for a moment, and said to himself: "This Yelu Hongshan is usually always smiling, but why is he pretending to be a righteous person today?"

Xiao Siwen coughed twice, and then slowly said: "You don't have to rush to fight. Youzhou City is less than 40,000 troops. From the horse surveyors, there are at least 100,000 Zhou troops on the south bank of the Jima River. The enemy is strong and we are weak. We fight rashly. If the main force makes any mistakes, Youzhou City will inevitably be out of protection. Now the best strategy is to stick to the support. Anyway, there is enough food in the city, so it will not be a problem to defend the first half of the year. As long as the cavalry of the Beijing area arrives at Youzhou, the Zhou army will be defeated. What do the generals think?"

When Xiao Siwen saw the generals listening to his speech intently, he sighed secretly: "In the past two years, these 40,000 people have not been trained seriously at all. However, the Zhou army has been fighting south and north. If they really want to fight decisively under Youzhou City, they will definitely not be the opponent of the Zhou army. The generals are also wise people, and there is no need to say it too clearly."

Xiao Siwen's sticking strategy was recognized by many generals, and they all agreed.

Yelu Hongshan stood up and shouted: "The Khitan cavalry is invincible, and the Central Plains army all fled in the wind. Today, the Zhou army fought at the doorstep, but we dared not to meet the enemy. Hiding in the city as a turtle. It really puts shame to our ancestors."

Xiao Siwen did not expect Yelu Hongshan to say such words, and felt angry. He endured it and said, "When the two armies fight, they compare their strength. If they act irritably, they are not far from death?"

Yelu Hongshan had no expression on his face. He said, "Thousands of cavalry of Zhou army have crossed the Juma River. After they crossed the river, they did not fight with our rangers. They all headed north and east. If the generals expected, the two cavalry would definitely go to Gubeikou and Desheng Pass."

Xiao Siwen was shocked. Since he came to Youzhou, he often went out to hunt and was very familiar with the terrain outside Youzhou City. He had visited Gubeikou and Desheng Pass many times. When he heard this, he felt like a wake-up call. He woke up and felt a lot of cold sweats poured out.

Yelu Hongshan's voice was extremely loud and said, "After the Zhou cavalry crossed the river, two more infantry followed. Humph, the Zhou army had a good plan. They must have used cavalry to raid the dangerous pass and then defended the infantry. If these two passes were captured by the Zhou army, the reinforcements from the north would be very likely to be blocked north of Yanshan. At that time, the 40,000 defenders in Youzhou would become a pot of fat for the Zhou army. The last general thought that our army would send a team of 10,000 people, plus 4,000 troops stationed in Qingshuihe to annihilate the Zhou cavalry and infantry in the first place to cross the river."

The last garrison of Youzhou City was Yelu Diwaan, a royal nobleman. He was killed by the Liao Muzong Yelu Shu Law Firm because he participated in the rebellion of Yelu Benddu. The son-in-law Xiao Siwen was sent to Youzhou. The blood flowed too much in the civil strife of the Khitan royal family. Xiao Siwen was originally the queen mother and was deeply tired of the civil strife. After he came to Youzhou, he was immersed in the mountains and rivers and play. He did this at the same time, intending to express his unintentional intention to the country and the country. In the past two years, Xiao Siwen has played in life every day, and Xiao Siwen has successfully portrayed himself as a mediocre talent who is ungrateful and idle.

Yelu Hongshan actually adopted the same strategy as Xiao Siwen, and escaped his life in the massacre.

However, Yelu Shulu, Xiao Siwen and Yelu Hongshan did not expect that they would guard against political enemies, but let the Great Zhou army take advantage of loopholes.

Xiao Siwen quickly recovered his calmness. He thought for a while and said, "What General Yelu said makes sense. Gubeikou and Desheng Pass must not be lost, especially Gubeikou, which is the key to whether we can defend Youzhou."

Xiao Siwen cheered up and his eyes were scattered. He swept away the decadence of two years. When the enemy was in front of him, Xiao Siwen could no longer pretend to be stupid. He said in a silence: "Yelu Hongshan received the order, and you will lead 10,000 troops out of the city and immediately rush to Gubeikou."

When Yelu Hongshan saw that Xiao Siwen had adopted his opinion, he was overjoyed and said, "I will receive the order."

Just as Yelu Hongshan was about to turn around and leave the hall, Xiao Siwen said again: "There are tens of thousands of Zhou troops crossing the Juma River. The main force of the Zhou army is still continuously crossing the river. According to the existing military strength in Youzhou, it is impossible to defeat the Zhou army. Remember, your mission is to defend Gubeikou to the death. If you lose Gubeikou, come to see me with your head."

When the generals heard the two generals' questions and answers, they all showed joy on their faces.

Xiao Siwen was a general of the Palace Guard before coming to Youzhou, but in the past two years, he had never been involved in political affairs or military affairs. Government affairs were handled by Youzhou Chief Shi Hanzhu. Military affairs were handled by the generals of each army themselves, and the generals had never seen him command the troops. As the saying goes: A soldier is a beating, and the generals are in a blink of an eye. Seeing that the war is approaching, the generals of Youzhou are most worried about the commander Xiao Siwen, the guard commander, which has killed everyone. At this time, he was not panicked when he saw Xiao Siwen at the battle. Although he was a little conservative in response to the enemy's arrangements, he was also orderly. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Yelu Hongshan is a veteran of Youzhou and has always been known for his resourcefulness. Although the death of Yelu Dihuan made him feel fearful and lost his former aura. However, he was a well-known general after all, and his powerful enemy was about to jammed his neck. He cheered up and soon led his 10,000 cavalry out of the city from the west gate of Youzhou and rushed towards Gubeikou.

Just as Yelu Hongshan led his troops out of the city, Wang Tengxiang led 2,000 cavalry to reach Gubeikou.

Wang Tengxiang had a beautiful long beard and a heavy date. He was as powerful as a jujube without anger. Just like Guan Erye reborn, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard were originally arrogant and unspeakable. The new border generals transferred to the Imperial Guard were often beaten by the Imperial Guard. However, when Wang Tengxiang first arrived at the Imperial Guard, his appearance made the Imperial Guard soldiers stunned, and the Imperial Guard soldiers dare not contradict this general who looked like Guan Erye. In the army in troubled times, it was a society that particularly valued strength and respected the strong. Wang Tengxiang was originally a veteran on the battlefield. He had a rich experience in leading troops. After winning applause with his appearance, he used three axes in succession. Soon, the Imperial Guard soldiers were convinced and stood firm in the Imperial Guards.

When the cavalry of Wang Tengxiang approached the military camp, the mountain road was already very rugged. In a relatively open and dense forest, Wang Tengxiang ordered all 2,000 cavalry to dismount. After resting for an hour, three hundred people were left to watch the horses, and the remaining 1,700 people hid in the mountains.

"Li San, how long will it take?" Wang Tengxiang watched his sergeant walk through the path that appeared and disappeared, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

There were four surrendered soldiers from Yijin Pass around Wang Tengxiang. They all garrisoned at Gubeikou and were very familiar with the roads and deployments of Gubeikou. Li San, who Wang Tengxiang asked about, was the most lively of the four. Since crossing the Juma River, Wang Tengxiang asked Li San to follow him closely so that he could ask at any time.

Li San was also sweating profusely. His face was a little nervous and said, "It's still half an hour later. People usually walk from this path. At the end of the path is the east gate of the Khitan Military Village. The protective wall of the east gate is a bit damaged, so you can climb up here."

One thousand and seven hundred people were like a long giant snake, walking through the vast mountains. The dozen soldiers in the front, holding a six-meter-high ladder, had approached the gray guardrail of Gubeikou Military Village. These ladders were specially designed to seize Gubeikou Military Village, just the same height as the guardrail.

Wang Tengxiang's men were the first Central Plains army to come to Gubeikou in more than 20 years.

Although Gubeikou is a dangerous place, there is only one Khitan military camp, and there are usually 500 soldiers stationed. Most of these 500 soldiers are soldiers of the Fan Han Dynasty, and they are rotated once every two years.

Compared with the Youzhou defenders, Gubeikou military camp is obviously a chore. However, everything in the world has two sides. Gubeikou military camp is based on a continuous mountain with a lot of wild animals on the mountain. The Khitans originally like to hunt. Han Shixun, the leader of the military camp, even came from a hunting family. He was sent to Gubeikou. He was originally angry. Unexpectedly, after coming to the military camp, he found that this was a paradise. He took his men up the mountain to hunt every few days. Every time he had a harvest, he went down the mountain, as if he had returned to his happy hometown.

Han Shixun, the Gubeikou Gu, was in a very good mood. This morning, he brought more than 20 subordinates to dive into the mountains and wandered around the mountains for a long time. He had a good harvest. Needless to say, he also hunted two wild boars. Although the wild boars and domestic pigs were the same ancestors, the wild boars were not as stupid as domestic pigs. They were strong and strong, with rough skin and fierce personality, and were actually a domineering in the mountains. This time, Han Shixun hunted two huge wild boars, which was a great harvest.

Han Shixun and his men walked through the middle of the dense forest and had already arrived at the mountain opposite the Gubeikou Military Village. Han Shixun and others walked for half a day and sat on the hillside to rest and drink water. A soldier suddenly found a figure moving on the ground on the opposite hillside and said in surprise: "Commander, look at the opposite side."

Han Shixun was drinking water, and he shouted, "Don't make a fuss." Before he finished speaking, he stood up and said, "No, it's the Zhou army." The Zhou army was south of the rebels of Mahe River. Han Shixun knew about this, but Gubeikou was far north of Youzhou. Han Shixun never thought that the Zhou army would cross Youzhou to attack Gubeikou.

Han Shixun is now located on the mountain opposite the military camp, and the Zhou army is approaching the military camp. Han Shixun has no time to return to the military camp. He said to the soldiers with a pale face: "Listen to my order, let's call the Zhou army to attack the camp together." All twenty soldiers stood up, Han Shixun took a deep breath and shouted: "The Zhou army has attacked the camp." More than twenty soldiers shouted neatly: "The Zhou army has attacked the camp."

The sneak attack troops led by Wang Tengxiang, who was the first to hear the shouting, Li San said to Wang Tengxiang: "Oh no, there are Khitans on the opposite mountain. They discovered our whereabouts."

At this time, the vanguard of Zhou army was only one hundred steps away from the side wall of Gubeikou Military Village. Wang Tengxiang made a quick decision, pulled out his waist knife, and shouted: "The first team forced to climb the wall from the side gate, the second team and the third team covered with crossbows, the fourth team went around to the main gate to restrain the rest, and the rest of the troops were reserves." Before leaving, Wang Tengxiang formulated three sets of combat plans, and the leaders of each team kept it in mind. Therefore, after Wang Tengxiang issued an order, the envoys of each team immediately took the order and walked. The army was mobilized in a strict and orderly manner, and soon launched a strong attack on the city wall.

The Gubeikou Army's defenders responded significantly half a beat slower. When the Zhou army had already started climbing with the long ladder, the Khitans who came to hear the news appeared on the somewhat damaged east guard wall. Under the guard wall, two hundred crossbowmen had already aimed at the damage to the east gate. When the Khitans had just emerged, dense feather arrows rushed towards the face. The Khitans who first appeared at the east gate were not in a good way and were all shot to death on the guard wall.

The Zhou army soldiers holding a waist knife in their mouth and holding a small round shield quickly climbed up the guard wall along the ladder, and the sound of horns sounded in the military camp, and countless Khitan soldiers rushed towards the east gate where the battle was taking place.
Chapter completed!