Yelu Hongji's personal expedition, coupled with the troops mobilized by Yanyun's Sixteenth Prefecture, the total force reached 600,000, including more than 400,000 cavalry. This is also the largest cavalry regiment in the world.
In order to retake Youzhou, Yelu Hongji also spent a lot of money, 30,000 Pishi troops, this time he directly brought 20,000, and the imperial chariot was in full operation.
When the news came back to the Song Dynasty, the whole country was shocked. No one expected that Yelu Hongji's reaction would be so violent. The joy of Qin Hao's formation to kill Yelu Chutai and capture Youzhou disappeared in an instant. Instead, there was the fear of dark clouds looming over the city.
The psychological pressure caused by the Liao Kingdom on the Song Dynasty was accumulated from generation to generation. Originally, the curse had just been loosened, but now it has been cast into a shadow.
Youzhou City.
Zhao Yingce’s face was also full of worry at this moment. He had witnessed the strength of the Liao army more than once. If Youzhou City hadn’t used thunder and fire bombs to blow up a hole, I’m afraid he would still be outside the city now. Drinking the northwest wind.
Yelu Hongji was also the emperor of the Liao Kingdom, and he personally came to conquer the country with the strength of the whole country. No one would be sure.
"Yelu Hongji's army is expected to arrive in just one month. What do you think?" Zhao Yingce asked in a deep voice.
The British Duke said, "Your Highness King Huan, Youzhou City is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Liao Kingdom has no thunder and fire bombs, so it can only be filled with human lives. The general believes that the most important thing to do now is to strengthen the city defense and stockpile As long as they hold on to food and grass for more than a month, the Liao army's 600,000-strong army will inevitably be short of supplies. Then we will look for opportunities to win decisively."
This proposal was also recognized by many veterans. "The British master said this. The method is the most feasible."
Zhao Yingce nodded and looked at Qin Hao and Gu Tingye, "Do Marquis Jinghai and Marquis Ningyuan have any ideas?"
Gu Tingye said loudly, "Your Highness, now. Our cavalry also has 80,000 men. If we stick to it, it will be useless. It is better to take the initiative, march from Zhuozhou, seize Qigou Pass, and take the opportunity to advance westward. This will not only damage the morale of the Liao army, but also make Weizhou, Yunzhou and others The ground defenders are unable to rush for reinforcements."
This proposal was also affirmed by the generals present. Zhuozhou was the retreat route to the Song Dynasty. If it was cut off, the army's morale would inevitably be weakened. Taking the initiative to attack could allow Yunzhou to conquer. The Liao army did not dare to act rashly and could still ensure the safety of the food roads in the rear.
Qin Hao looked at the map and fell into deep thought. After a long time, he pointed to one of the places, "Juyong Pass. As long as Juyong Pass is taken, the Liao army from the west will not be able to advance. We only need to face Yelu Hongji's army alone." That's enough. Yelu Hongji claims to have an army of 600,000, but the actual infantry is only 200,000. The cavalry has done almost nothing in the siege. If the situation changes, our chances of winning are actually very good. "
Although there was an element of comfort in these words, the analysis still made sense, and the atmosphere in the Chinese military tent was not as heavy as before.
Cheng Guogong pointed out that "Juyong Pass is known as the most powerful pass in the world. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and Youzhou is far away. At this time, we should divide our troops.", if it cannot be conquered before Yelu Hongji's army arrives, it will be very bad.
Qin Hao smiled and said, "It will naturally take some time to get there by land, but there is a waterway in front of Juyong Pass. As long as a fleet can reach Juyong Pass in less than a day, and bring enough thunder and fire bombs, It can definitely be done in one fell swoop. "
Zhao Yingce also laughed, "Haha, I have forgotten the reputation of the Mingzhou navy. In this way, Cheng Guogong led an army of 30,000 to capture Juyong Pass. "
"The last general takes the order" Cheng Guogong happily accepted it. This is a good job that can achieve meritorious service. He had clearly seen the power of thunder and fire bombs in the Battle of Youzhou. No matter how difficult the pass, he They were all confident of conquering it.
After discussing countermeasures, the army began to take action. First, according to Qin Hao's suggestion, hundreds of thousands of troops began a logging journey, and the area around Youzhou City was suitable for building attacks. All the trees in the city have been cut down, and the materials for making arrows are now available, which can be said to be killing two birds with one stone.
Looking at the bare mountains around him, Qin Hao felt a little emotional, the destructive power of human beings is really terrible, in just a short time. For half a month, it was like there was a locust plague around Youzhou, and it felt like there was no grass growing.
With a lot of wood, a large number of defenses were deployed about a hundred steps away from Youzhou City. , as well as the horse-rejecting stakes and horse-falling pits, Qin Hao also dug a moat to introduce running water from the Gaoliang River. Compared with the previous defense, the entire Youzhou City has been greatly enhanced.
The only pity is that time is too tight. Qin Hao only has time to dig the moat to 30 meters wide. If time is enough, he will definitely dig the moat to 180 meters wide like Xiangyang City. Yelu Hongji probably wants to vomit blood when he sees it. .
In fact, when Yelu Hongji led the army to Youzhou, he almost vomited blood. Is this still the Youzhou he remembered?
The other generals of the Liao Kingdom faced The strengthened defense of Youzhou City was also a bit cold. How many corpses would have to be left to fill up such fortifications?
However, the Emperor of the Liao Dynasty personally conquered the city, and the cowhide had already been blown out. Retaking Youzhou will also cause problems in the internal governance of the Liao Kingdom. The tribes that are attached to the Liao Kingdom will inevitably become disloyal, and a suzerain without strong force will no longer be cohesive.
Yelu Hongji is also very good. Knowing this, he issued an attack order early the next morning after the army arrived in Youzhou.
The emperor, who advocated Buddhism, did not feel any compassion because of this, and he did not care. The death of soldiers and rights are his consistent pursuit.
Of course, the first ones to charge were not the real Liao army, but some northern ethnic minorities who were attached to the Liao Kingdom. Under pressure, Qin Hao was in charge of guarding the south gate, and he saw a group of soldiers wearing fur products rushing towards the city in a scattered formation.
< p>One hundred fifty steps, one hundred and twenty stepsOne hundred steps, just when these soldiers were about to rush to the outside defense line, Qin Hao ordered "One hundred steps ahead.", throw, release."
The soldiers on the top of the city raised their bows and arrows to 45 degrees, pulled half the string, and loosened their hands, and the bows and arrows shot away like raindrops.
"Ah"
Screams rang out on the battlefield. The soldiers who were about to lift the Juma were shot into a hornet's nest in an instant. The Juma, which required more than a dozen people to lift together, fell to the ground again. On the ground, bursts of smoke and dust arose.
This scene also happened at several other city gates. Just after the contact, the Liao army paid a heavy price of thousands of casualties.
Yelu Hongji looked very unhappy and ordered to increase the offensive force to consume the number of bows and arrows of the Song army and prepare for the real siege later.
The northern ethnic minorities became cannon fodder. , the Liao army did not care about the life and death of these people, and drove them to continue to die.
In the fierce battle on the first day, the Liao army suffered tens of thousands of casualties, and in the end they only broke through the first horse-rejection barrier. , advancing to an area eighty steps away from the city gate.
The Song army did not suffer any casualties. Logically speaking, this should be a happy thing, but the expressions of everyone in the Chinese army tent were quite different. Serious.
The determination and madness of the Liao army made everyone realize that this would be an extremely difficult battle, especially Yelu Hongji’s nearly 400,000 cavalry outside the city, if it were not for Youzhou. The advantage of the city's topography is that no one here can survive if they encounter it in the wild.
The cavalry in ancient times are equivalent to the tanks of later generations. They cannot be stopped by human power, especially on such a large scale. Cavalry Corps.
Everyone realized that Youzhou City could not be lost, otherwise, their entire army would be annihilated.
What followed was a week-long offensive and defensive battle. The Liao army suffered more than 50,000 casualties, while the Song army suffered only 3,000 casualties. Most of them were injured by bows and arrows from ethnic minorities, and the rest were hit by slingshots, stones and even javelins. The ethnic minorities Their long-range attack methods can be described as diverse.
With such huge casualties, the Liao army finally cleared the obstacles outside Youzhou City. At this time, only Qin Hao and his men stood in front of them. Which 30-meter-wide moat was dug?
However, there have been some changes in the mentality of the Liao army. The most obvious is that the leaders of the northern ethnic minorities have begun to feel war-weary. They were originally Those who wanted to go south with the Liao Kingdom to plunder the resources of the Song Dynasty were sent to the battlefield meat grinder, and all the young warriors of their tribe died, which posed a huge threat to their survival.
Yelu Hongji also knew that if he continued to press, a mutiny was likely to occur, so he could only agree to let these ethnic minorities rest and replace them with Liao troops to attack the city.
Compared with those ethnic minorities, The Liao army's military formations were more orderly, their equipment was more advanced, and they even used large equipment such as catapults.
However, the Song army's catapults on the wall occupied a higher position and had a longer range. As early as the training hall, the former commanderWhen he was in the Fourth Army, Qin Hao trained a group of soldiers who operated eight-oxen crossbows and trebuchets. He taught them the cross positioning method and their accuracy far exceeded that of the opponent's trebuchets.
In just one morning, more than 20 trebuchets of the Liao army at the South City Gate were all destroyed.
After hearing the news, the British government quickly asked Qin Hao to lend someone to suppress the Liao army at the west city gate, and soon achieved excellent results.
The production of trebuchets is relatively complicated. The Liao Kingdom itself is a nomadic people, and there are very few people who master this technology. The number of trebuchets is very limited. After destroying fifty trebuchets, Yelu Hongji also The trebuchets could only be ordered to be withdrawn from the battlefield.
Without the cover of large long-range weapons such as trebuchets, the casualties of the Liao army began to increase exponentially. Coupled with the investment of eight oxen crossbows at the top of the city, even those holding shields could still be shot. Wearing this caused great psychological pressure on the Liao army.
For four consecutive days, after leaving more than 5,000 corpses, the Liao army filled the 30-meter-wide moat with sandbags, and the Liao army could finally enter the siege.
Qin Hao couldn't help but sigh. The time was still too short. If the moat could be dug deeper and wider, the casualties of the Liao army would be at least several times higher.
Yelu Hongji no longer had the same high spirits as before. It took him more than ten days just to clear the peripheral obstacles. This was an unprecedented failure for the Liao army.
That night, Yelu Hongji held a pre-war mobilization meeting and ordered that no matter who can win Youzhou, he will be able to obtain the title of Marquis of Jianguo County. If he has the title of Marquis of Jianguo County or above The title is directly promoted to one level.
The generals of the Liao Kingdom were all so excited that they screamed and declared on the spot that they would be the first to stand on the Youzhou City.
However, when they actually attacked the city, they realized how easy it was to defend and difficult to attack Youzhou City. Just like the difficulties encountered by the Song Army, the ladder became almost a decoration in Youzhou City. The only thing that can be done is to bring some psychological pressure to the soldiers defending the city.
By the time they climbed up the ladder, they were already too tired to hold the knife. They felt as if they had just finished rock climbing without protection and would soon be hacked to death by the soldiers defending the city.
However, after entering the siege, the casualties of the Song Army began to increase. Thousands of Song Army soldiers were killed and injured almost every day. The mansions of the nobles of the country were all vacated to serve as temporary clinics. As for the original nobles of the Liao Kingdom, they were naturally cleared away. Are they still allowed to celebrate the New Year?
The casualties of the Liao army were even more terrifying. Four to five times. Under such horrific casualty data, Yelu Hongji also became particularly anxious. He had a total of 200,000 infantry, and now he has lost nearly half. Youzhou City still has no tendency to be captured.
If this continues, he will have no choice but to dismount the cavalry and attack the city. This is undoubtedly a prodigal act and very stupid.
Yelu Hongji could only think about leaving"Why haven't the reinforcements from Yunzhou arrived yet?"
The general under his command gave an embarrassing response: "Your Majesty, I just received the news that Qigou Pass and Juyong Pass fell one after another not long ago, and the reinforcements from Yunzhou were blocked. If we are in the Taihang Mountains, we may not be able to reach them for the time being."
Yelu Hongji was furious, "Then we will recruit troops from Jizhou, Tanzhou, and Shunzhou, regardless of Liao and Han, as long as they are over 14 years old. Bring them all to the battlefield."
"Nuo."
This law was soon strictly enforced by the Liao army. How strict it was as long as it was over 15 meters tall. The men were all captured, which also made many Han people in the north very angry. As a result, rebellions began to appear in areas that were not originally disgusted with the rule of the Liao Kingdom.
The Northland was originally an environment where Hu and Han people lived together. The people of the Han people in the Northland were also very tough and skilled in bow and horse. The original small judgment was just that, but judgments appeared in three states, which also led to The food routes in the rear of the Liao Kingdom were threatened.
Yelu Hongji could only order the division of troops to put out the rebellion. These Liao cavalry, which had been idle on the battlefield for half a month, finally had a place to use. However, the Liao Kingdom was already very ferocious. Their only way to face the rebellion was to kill, and to kill indiscriminately.
This also caused more and more northern Han people to join the resistance organizations. The original sporadic rebellions completely formed a prairie fire in Jizhou, Tanzhou, and Shunzhou.
Yelu Hongji did not realize the seriousness of the problem. In his opinion, if it was not possible, he would kill all the Han people in the North. If they are not of our race, they must have different minds. He also said this I heard it and agreed with it.
Then the offensive and defensive battle in Youzhou entered its bloodiest moment. The Liao army launched attacks almost day and night, not giving the Song army defending the city any chance to breathe.
Even later, the Liao army ran out of bows and arrows. They directly picked up the bows and arrows shot by the Song army from under the city gate to fight back, and the Song army's bows and arrows were also depleted over a long period of time. Very obscene.
Qin Hao could only organize the people of Youzhou City to participate in making bows and arrows. Although it was only a drop in the bucket, it was better than nothing.
In this way, both sides spent a month. The size of the Liao army has dropped from the initial 600,000 to less than 400,000, while the size of the Song army has also dropped from 400,000 to just over 300,000.
At this time, both sides have problems with the food and grass. Although Youzhou City has hoarded a lot of food and grass, these food and grass must not only supply the army, but also the common people, and the food in the warehouse has bottomed out.
The Liao army also has the same problem. The grain roads in the rear are constantly being harassed. In addition, the Liao country itself is not a farming nation. In the past, it relied on war to support war. It has been more than a month now. The city was still not conquered, and naturally no supplies could be obtained.
What worries Yelu Hongji even more is that the horses have not received a good supply of food and grass for more than a month and have begun to lose weight. This is undoubtedly bad news for the cavalry, and their horse power cannot be guaranteed.The combat effectiveness of the cavalry will also decrease accordingly.
That is to say, Yelu Hongji knew that the Song army did not have the ability to pursue, otherwise he would have ordered the withdrawal long ago.
However, one day, a spy came to report that a cavalry unit with more than 70,000 people appeared sixty miles west of Youzhou City.
At first Yelu Hongji thought it was the reinforcements from Yunzhou, and he was about to be happy, but when he saw the opponent's flag, his eyes widened in fear.
I saw the word "Song" written on the big flag with red characters on a black background in the distance, and the word "Gu" written on the flag of a general next to it.
Gu Tingye finally rushed back. After repelling several attacks by the Yunzhou reinforcements at Duoxia Qigou Pass, he confirmed that the opponent could not conquer the pass. He left 10,000 soldiers and led 70,000 by himself. The cavalry rushed to the Youzhou battlefield.
He was still worried along the way, what if Youzhou City was captured when he arrived, but when he arrived, he found that the Liao army was already exhausted.
The arrival of Gu Tingye also made Qin Hao see the opportunity to counterattack, so he quickly found Zhao Yingce and Cheng Guogong to discuss.
"We can order a surprise attack on the Liao army camp tonight."
A few days ago, Zhao Yingce and Cheng Guogong would never have agreed to this risky strategy, because the costs and benefits were not equal. Proportionately, they are all infantry. Even if the surprise attack is successful, the Liao army will not be injured. As long as the Liao army is on horseback, no one can catch up.
But when Gu Tingye came back, the situation was completely different. They had the capital to pursue.
The appearance of a large number of cavalry also made Yelu Hongji dare not to attack the city regardless of it. The Liao army trapped outside the west city gate withdrew to the south city gate. The siege that day also seemed a bit anticlimactic.
What everyone in the Liao army did not expect was that after being besieged for more than a month, the Song army in Youzhou City actually had the courage to leave the city for a sneak attack.
At night, Qin Hao led thousands of soldiers to sneak out quietly from the south city gate. He stopped about a hundred steps away from the Liao army camp and waited quietly for the arrival of midnight. Please remember to bookmark the website, the latest, fastest and free to read without anti-theft