Chapter 50 Section IX
At the end of the day, that is, after the Song army captured the Yingchun Gate four times, the Song army basically wiped out the resistance of the Xi and Khitan people in the outer city. The Xi and Khitan people shed all their blood or turned their belts and bones into ashes, turning thousands of houses into rubble, and at the same time, they paid the price of nearly a thousand people.The Xi and Khitan people in the outer city were not killed. They struggled to their deaths and fled to the king city.Yelu Sizhen blocked the thoroughfare for the Song army to advance, but at the same time opened up a channel for his own people to retreat.In this way, the defensive strength of the royal city was increased several times.
In terms of the Song army, apart from the dead in battle, the worst situation happened again.A part of the ever-victorious army, and even a few Jingyuan troops broke into the homes of Xi and Khitan people, or they broke into Han'er's homes at will under the pretext of searching and hiding, and committed robbery, rape, murder, and arson.It is an infallible truth in the army that as long as the pockets are full of other people's property, and the hands are covered with sadistic blood, that part of the army can never again be assembled and ready to be mobilized for battle.When Yang Keshi heard this information, although he tried to catch several criminals and bring them to justice, he still couldn't stop these crimes from happening again.In addition, the 1,600 soldiers guarding the gates of the city could not be transferred.Now, Yang Keshi only has about half of the mobile troops left in his hands.
The scene of the bloody battle on the barricades is still in sight, the number of troops in hand has not increased, and there is no news from the rear army. The military envoys sent either could not find someone to convey, and returned empty-handed, and even the military envoys themselves did not look like There was nowhere to be found, and there was no trace after he went there.At this time, Yang Keshi's position was not good.He hesitated for a while, then turned around and asked Guo Yaoshi:
"How are things going today?"
This is a slightly flinching question that doesn't match Yang Keshi's usual arrogance.The fierce counterattack of the Khitan people, fighting for every inch of land, seemed to have a certain degree of psychological impact on Yang Keshi.Yelu Sizhen, Yelu Huaisha and other war dead would be proud if they knew something after death.
Guo Yaoshi was not happy after killing a few ever-victorious troops, but his characteristic was that he could control his emotions at any time.After listening to Yang Keshi's question, he replied respectfully:
"Listen to the command of the commander."
"Siege!"
Yang Keshi didn't hesitate anymore, he cheered up and issued a thunderous order.He took the lead and led Guo Yaoshi, Gao Shixuan, Zhen Wuchen, Zhao Heshou, Shi Xunmei, Li Yu and other generals and 3,000 cavalry, and headed for the royal city in a mighty way.
Prior to this, the order in the city had been gradually restored, and more and more Han'er rushed out of the house to greet Master Wang.There was also a scribe among them who presented a poem of Qijue on the spot, expressing his own and most Han'er's longing for "after me, later later":
The psychology of the Han children is understandable, but Yang Keshi can't read ten tan of watermelon-sized characters, and when military affairs are hesitant, what he needs is not a literati, but a warrior.He casually stuffed the poem manuscript into the boot, and asked him if he could ride a horse and handle a gun?Poems cannot wash away the fishy smell, but the fishy smell must be washed with blood.Yang Keshi made a statement, and many Han'er who were present at the moment replied together:
"I would like to follow the general whip and stirrup, go to attack the king's city, and wash the dust together."
Yang Keshi was overjoyed, and immediately ordered Zhen Wuchen to stay and take charge of their organization and formation.As expected, the Han sons called for brothers and brothers, recruited friends and mates, and immediately gathered one or two thousand people to form a combat team.At this time, there were weapons and armor all over the street, and they were everywhere, and some of them even led Ben Yi's horse to ride, forming a huge and complex army on foot and amphibious.Among them, the villagers with the strongest combat effectiveness were still the villagers who loaded coal and firewood. Most of them had fought with Zhen Wuchen from early on, showing their mobility and flexibility and making great contributions to the war.
A group of Han sons followed Zhen Wuchen and caught up with Yang Keshi's army to join the battle, and then many Han sons caught up one after another and asked to join the battle.Zhen Wuchen never refuses anyone who comes, the more the better, all of them are incorporated into the team.
After making all kinds of mistakes and missing many opportunities, Yang Keshi formally led his troops straight to the foot of Wang Chengcheng, only to realize that what greeted him in front was a solid wall of iron and steel.Since early in the morning, there have been thoughts of underestimating the enemy. After eliminating the resistance of the Khitan people in the outer city, there have also been some fantasies: for example, the flag has been erected on the head of the king's city, and Empress Xiao opened the city gate. Bi welcomes the surrender; or some Han sons face the officials in the south anyway, and are fighting fiercely with the Khitans in the city, and the city is in chaos, etc.These fantasies are all bankrupt under the hard facts.He knew that a tough and fierce battle was inevitable.
Yang Keshi observed the situation. He first looked at the royal city, the surrounding walls and the gate on the front—it was called the Xuanhe Gate, and it was far away from the Xuanhe Hall in Tokyo. During that period of history, the imperial court advertised the word "harmony" to the outside world, as if they were unwilling to meet each other in arms.Yang Keshi tried his best to find the enemy's weak point, and decided to attack from there.
During the Liao Dynasty, the Yanjing Imperial City was far less majestic than the outer city, but it was also very thick and solid. The city was surrounded by a moat several feet wide, and there was a layer of urn city facing the Xuanhe Gate in Da Nei.Countless soldiers of Khitan and Xi have already stood on the horse faces and battlements at the top of the city, bowing their bows and nodding their arrows, waiting to be filled.All the war tools used to defend the city are also generally available, showing a confident look.One of the majestic generals standing on the top of the tower and supervising the battle pointed there, and all the officers came to ask him for instructions and report, and obeyed his command. It seemed that he was their supreme commander.Guo Yaoshi pointed out: "This is Yelu Dashi." In the battle of Langoudian, Yang Keshi was the main opponent of Yelu Dashi, but it was the first time to meet face to face today.
Avoiding difficulties and attacking flaws was originally Yang Keshi's principle in choosing attack points, but now the image of Yelu Dashi attracted him.In the Battle of Lantaodian, Yang Keshi charged several times and seized the opportunity to win, but Yelu Dashi was persistent and used brilliant strategies and tactics to defeat him. He vowed to avenge his shame.Since Yelu Dashi is here to supervise the battle, he should attack this Xuanhe Gate and this heavy urn city, and fight him out.
With the policy set, Yang Keshi immediately deployed an attack. He ordered the soldiers to abandon their horses and walk across the frozen moat on foot.
The moat is quite wide and deep, and the water is dry in winter. The ice surface is only six or seven feet away from the river bank.The wooden boards brought with the army were limited, and the pontoon bridge could not be built temporarily.Fortunately, the villagers were thoughtful and brought a lot of hay to fill the riverbed, making it much easier to cross the river.
The movement under the city was fast, and Yelu Dashi on the tower estimated that the enemy army had entered the range of the arrow power. He waved the small red flag in his hand, and the arrows that covered the sky and the sun flew down immediately.There are also stones thrown by the stone machine, all of which are the size of a millstone, with a longer range and greater lethality.The Song army who was wading across the river under the city used shields to block ordinary arrows. When encountering a bow with a strong bow, the arrows would shoot through the shield. ice layer.In some places, the hay is thinly filled, and people are crowded too densely. The ice layer cannot bear the pressure, and there will be a terrible cracking sound. The pressure of the ice cube.Sometimes a big rock flew over the city, just hit the ice surface, and opened a big hole. The soldiers sank to the bottom of the river, even armored, before they could escape in time.
But there was only a very short moment to cross the moat. The desperate soldiers risked arrows and stones, quickly crossed this obstacle, climbed up the river bank, and rushed straight to the root of the city.
They are a surprise attack team, and it is impossible to carry bulky siege weapons such as cave houses and goose carts.Heavy weapons such as Lianfa stone machine and Phoenix crossbow could not be carried, and only some light ladders were brought with the army.They immediately leaned the ladder under the city wall, and some soldiers climbed up to the city with a shield and a machete amidst the arrow rain and stone hail.
Under the cover of several layers of cowhide tents, some soldiers rushed to the root of the city, chiseling the city bricks with hammers and large chisels.No matter how strong and thick the city bricks are, once hammered down, there will always be some brick dust flying out. As long as the kung fu is deep, holes can still be dug out.The goal of each warrior is to chisel and extract a brick, and then run away quickly, allowing the warriors coming up behind to take over.One by one they drilled holes and pulled out bricks, and finally they were able to make a big hole for everyone to rush in.
Of course, the main target of the attack was still the front gate of the Urn City.This time it was the militia who made great efforts again. They found a few extremely thick wooden stakes from the rear, facing the gate of the urn, temporarily erected a wooden frame, hung the stakes, and violently slammed into the gate.Dozens of people bumped into each other in turn, and every time they bumped, a large indentation was made on the city gate wrapped in several thick iron sheets, and the city gate also shook violently.
All these onslaughts that pushed into the root of the city were only possible after paying a heavy price.There are regular Jingyuan Army, Changsheng Army, and more Han'er militiamen attacking bravely under the city.Although the militia formed temporarily were not familiar with offensive warfare, a small number of them flinched and fled secretly.However, more and more Han'er came from the rear to make up for the lost personnel, making this reserve militia, which had not been estimated beforehand, gradually become the main force in attacking the city in terms of numbers.Due to their lack of combat experience, lack of self-defense, self-protection equipment and technology, the casualty rate is much higher than that of the regular army.However, most of the people were not intimidated by the casualties, and they persisted in fighting and attacking, and played a lot of courage and role.
The Song army attacked the city in various ways, and the defense of the Khitan army on the city was also designed according to the side and varied.In the early days of the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were several wars in the Liao and Song Dynasties. Until the battle of Chanzhou, the Liao side always attacked more than defended, and did not learn a lot of defensive skills from the practice of war.However, since the Liao and Jin quarrels, the offensive and defensive trends have been reversed. The Liao army has learned lessons from failed battles in Ningjiang Prefecture, Dalu Ancient City, and Shangjing Mansion, and has also learned a set of methods of defending the city.Now take out the whole set to deal with the Song army's attack.When the Song army under the city was attacking fiercely, the Liao army on the city not only used lime bottles, but also used tools such as iron scratches, iron hooks, and wooden blocks to deal with the Song army on the ladder.When they climbed the city wall and were about to climb the city, they would suddenly run out from hiding places and hook them into the city with a hook to kill them, or they would unexpectedly dig a hole in the city wall and throw out wooden blocks to overthrow the ladder together with them. Make the climber fall to the ground and die.They also used fierce oil (fire oil), grease, pine wood, hay and other flammable objects to light the fire and throw it down the city to attack the Song army.The most powerful move is to burn several blazing large coal stoves on the top of the city, throw all the oils that can be obtained, and even metal products into the melting pot for burning. The ground was poured down the city, and the solution was splashed on the human body, and the flesh would rot.
On the one hand, it is to attack desperately, and on the other hand, it is to defend without risking one's life.Sometimes the Song army dug a big hole, shouted, and was waiting for the brigade to charge and attack. The Liao army inside the city wall kept hacking and smashing, but they fought to the death and refused to let the Song army go through the hole and enter the city.At this time, the molten metal in the city was too late to be poured down in barrels, so the large iron pots were simply overturned and poured down together.
The bravest soldier was the one who climbed the ladder first, and had already stepped on the shelf on the city wall, and the Khitan soldiers at the top of the city also grabbed the shelf without fear, preventing him from going to the city.The two engaged in a life-and-death struggle on a shelf less than a foot wide on a shelf tens of feet above the ground.There is no room for turning around or escaping on the shelf. As soon as the weapons are handed over, one of them will fall into the city. The soldiers of the upper and lower armies shouted in unison.
This fierce offensive and defensive battle reached the climax of the Liao War, and both sides showed incomparable bravery.
The days are short in winter, and after fighting hard for two or three hours, I don't realize that the twilight is falling early.The men who came from the rear brought up lanterns, torches, soup, steamed buns, and cooked beef, and let the soldiers take turns to eat and catch their breath.A logistics department that does not wait for the surprise army to organize is naturally formed, meeting the needs of the soldiers as much as possible.
At this time, bright torches were also lit on the city tower, shining brightly from top to bottom.Originally, using the shadows above the city to attack the light below the city, or conversely using the shadows below the city to attack the light above the city, are favorable conditions for the dark side.However, at this time, both the offensive and defensive sides have a lot of things to do, and complete darkness is impossible, so the two sides have to fight at night.
In the most conspicuous place on the city tower, lanterns and torches were lit like several long winding dragons. Soldiers flocked to and fro, and important orders were issued from here. Obviously, this was the highest command post of the Liao Army.At this time, a female warrior with plain face and beautiful face and silver helmet and silver armor suddenly appeared. She stood on the tower for a while, pointed to the left and right, gave some instructions, and then slowly patrolled along the city wall.She used a slow speed to express her leisurely attitude.Wherever she went, the voice of "Long Live" sounded.Needless to say, this female warrior is Empress Xiao.
In such a fierce battle, it is not allowed by military common sense to put oneself in such an obvious position to be attacked.It's like Empress Xiao couldn't restrain her urge to show her face between the two armies, and despite Yelu Dashi's repeated dissuasion, she must come out for a tour.In the midst of thousands of bright lights and torches, she fully considered the effect that the silver outfit would have if it shone under the bright lights.This is her moment of smugness.Thousands of soldiers were accompanying her around, and the endless shouting added to the infinitely warm atmosphere. She felt that she had become the central figure in an offensive and defensive battle, and soldiers from both armies, both above and below the city, would all look up to her the holy countenance.
At this time, most of the Song army had crossed the moat and attacked under the city root.Only a group of archers led by Gao Shixuan was afraid that they would not be able to exert the effectiveness of their arrows in the too vertical angle at the foot of the city. The enemy army on the head of the city.I just hate that the cover is far away from the top of the city, and everyone's bow strength is different. Some bows are weaker and cannot reach the top of the city, while others barely reach the top of the city.
This archery team is also on the other side of the moat, looking up at the holy face, and preparing to target her.
The sharpshooter Gao Shixuan, known as "Gao Yijian", never shoots a blind arrow that is not aimed or sure on the battlefield.As soon as an arrow flies out, there must be something to gain. He not only uses this standard to demand himself, but also uses it to train his subordinates, so that they can hit every shot.Since the siege of the city, he had already fixed Yelu Dashi as an obvious target and aimed at him several times, but Yelu Dashi was very alert and he was wearing double armor, so he couldn't attack him.Gao Shixuan was afraid that he would not be able to penetrate him, so instead he threatened the snake, so he had to wait for the opportunity.Now he has found this better target than Yelu Dashi, this silver armor that is only for decoration and has little protective meaning, shining under the candle, in the shooter's mind, it is like a head sent to the door by itself in the enclosure Antelope, it is full of attraction to hunters.Gao Shixuan really called it "happy to see Liexin", he saw that the opportunity had come, he waved his hand to signal his subordinates to stop acting rashly, and startled it away.He flew out and rushed to the moat, taking advantage of everyone's confusion and unpreparedness, he fixed Empress Xiao's plain face, and flew out with an arrow, intending to shoot her with a "blossom between the eyebrows".Gao Shixuan shot the most important arrow in his life as accurately and confidently as usual, but it's a pity that this goal is too important, he was a little nervous, and it was a little higher.As soon as the arrow was released, he realized that he was on target, and he couldn't help calling out "Ah Ya".Sure enough, the arrows were flying everywhere, and the silver helmet with phoenix wings on Empress Xiao's head flew away, and half of her cloud-like temple hair was also brushed away.Empress Xiao only felt that her scalp was hot for a while, and suddenly she was sweating profusely, her whole body trembled uncontrollably, and a small Zhe bow in her hand fell to the ground before she knew it.
At this time, there were thousands of noises from above and below the city, and it was impossible to tell whether it was joy, admiration, panic, or regret.Empress Xiao was still in shock, Gao Shixuan's second arrow had already flown out.Gao Shixuan, who is famous for his high arrow, was annoyed when he saw that the first arrow missed. Even if the second arrow succeeded, it would be regarded as a record of failure for himself.He was anxious and ruthless, he shot out the second arrow in succession, and this arrow went straight to Empress Xiao's face.At the moment when there was no room for fire, Yelu Dashi who was escorting him hurriedly picked it up with his sword, and only heard a "clank", a spark burst out from the edge of the sword, and the arrow was still strong, and it was firmly nailed at once. On the tower behind Empress Xiao, the feathers on the tip of the arrow were still swaying.
At this time, Yelu Dashi had already discovered where the arrow was coming from, and the red flag in his hand pointed directly at Gao Shixuan's location.Tens of thousands of crossbows were fired from the city, and they all focused on one target of Gao Shixuan.Gao Shixuan left the shelter and was too far away from the troops to cover him.When he leaped to the moat, he had made up his mind to sacrifice his life for his life. A silver sheep with dazzling antelope horns was worth his life to win.At that time, he had dozens of arrows in his body, some hit the helmet, some embedded in the seam of the armor, some pierced the armor, pierced the flesh, and a deadly arrow penetrated the collar and hit his throat.This magic arrow general, his ambitions were not fulfilled, unfortunately, both man and horse died on his most powerful weapon.
Empress Xiao was endangered twice and Gao Shixuan's death in battle caused great confusion on both sides.
Yang Keshi was shocked and hurt, anxious and angry, he took advantage of the panic of the enemy soldiers on the city, and attacked again.At a glance, he saw that hitting the city gate with a big wooden stake had achieved results, so he jumped off "one foot of snow", supervised the soldiers on foot, and slammed into the city gate himself.On the wooden frame where the stakes are hung, a "pointed dome" has been built with cowhide and bamboo slices. This is a contingency method that the soldiers came up with temporarily. It acts as a cover for soldiers.
When the generals below Guo Yaoshi saw the main general personally attacking the city, they didn't dare to be negligent, and followed up one by one to attack fiercely one by one.The soldiers did not know where the divine power came from, and riding on a sense of victory, they slammed dozens of times in a row, and they knocked open the two city gates that were riddled with holes.The soldiers uttered an earth-shattering cry of killing, as if they were about to rush into the city.
But the Khitan warriors who were fighting the final defensive battle in the urn city were not overwhelmed by this momentum.They did not lay down their weapons, did not leave the defense line, but created many obstacles in the opened city gate. With their flesh and blood, they built a new dam to stop the flood of the Song army rushing into the city gate like a tide. Drive straight in.
These Khitan fighters who have been tempered for a long time understand what kind of war this is.Empress Xiao's unusual act of kneeling down to them and bowing to them, in terms of Empress Xiao's subjective intention, was to ask them to die for her personally, but their understanding went far beyond this scope, and they thought it was a symbol of the ancient nation. I am appealing to them, asking them to dedicate every life to defend this nation.The national consciousness that exists in the minds of every conscious people is much greater than the significance of the rulers simply defending their regime.But the existence of the regime symbolizes the continuation of the nation.Now their goal of fighting is to exchange their own death for Empress Xiao, Yelu Dashi and others to safely withdraw into the inner city, reorganize resistance, repel the Song army, and wait until the sun and moon shine again.
This ancient nation once had a period of prosperity. After two hundred years of corrosion, rust, corruption, and decay since the founding of the People's Republic of China, now when it is crumbling, it suddenly shines brilliantly and brilliantly.
It deserves to be an excellent nation of the motherland.
Veteran general Yang Keshi has fought for half his life, and has never encountered such tenacious resistance in the small area of Wengcheng in front of an enemy whose city gate has been smashed open twice. All the dead and remnants of the enemy were wiped out, and the Wengcheng was restored to "Zhi". It was almost midnight.At this time, Yelu Dashi and Empress Xiao had safely spread to the inner city, relying on this last line of defense, they continued to resist.
Xiao Qian's support teacher is as distant as a yellow crane. Empress Xiao is not sure that one of the several messengers she sent will definitely reach the front line.The reality of the situation forced them to make up their minds that they would rather die than die.Although this mood is tragic, it also shows that the situation has reached an extremely critical level.
Gao Shixuan cured the queen's desire to show off and show off with one arrow.Now she no longer cares about her appearance and decorations, and puts on a clumsy iron pocket with the phoenix-winged silver helmet on. The iron pocket weighs four to five catties, and it feels like a big stone is placed on her head. .Put down a gauze towel, the old blood has formed a purple lump on the gauze, fresh blood still seeps out of the squeezed mouth, the old and new blood coagulate together, the situation is very embarrassing.
Yelu Dashi also lost his usual composure, commanding with certainty.Xiao Wuli, who was in charge of defending the east gate, sent someone to ask for help. Yelu Dashi roared:
"Send a message to Xiao Zhiyuan that there is no one here to send, and when all the people in his place are exhausted, tell him to prepare to die."
At this time, Yelu Dashi's pair of deep eyes were sunken in the middle of the eye sockets, and seemed to have been dug deeper, but they still flashed light from time to time, like lightning flashes from time to time deep in the clouds.This light revealed his inner secrets and heralded an ominous omen.The main commander of a battle has reached the point where his wits are exhausted and he is mentally prepared to die, indicating that the battle is coming to an end.
They feel painfully drained of human power.In the battles in the ancient city of Dalu and in Ningjiang Prefecture, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of soldiers were abandoned on the battlefield, resulting in a tragedy of blood and bones.Now it's the last battle, when one fighter needs to be used for ten or a hundred fighters, they found that there are not many fighters left to defend in the inner city.On some battlements, the lights and candles were extinguished, making the enemy unpredictable. In fact, there was no one there, and even the suspected soldiers could not be sent out.Empress Xiao moved her brains to the palace and asked all the eunuchs to come to the city to help guard.The court ladies also mobilized, carrying a door panel on their bodies as a shield, and passing military supplies back and forth on the footpath at the top of the city.But the military supplies that can be sent are very pitifully scarce at this time.With nowhere to move the stones, the stone machine stopped roaring and lay down on the battlements to rest.What's worse is that the bundles of arrows have been shot, and there is no more stock in the arsenal, so the maids have to pick up the arrows shot up from the city to return to the original owner.If you can't find the arrow, you have to draw the bowstring in vain to frighten the enemy.Manpower and material resources are all at the end of the mountain, Yelu Dashi is furious, and is brewing a dangerous plan.If they didn't last until Xiao Qian's reinforcements arrived, he was going to gather all the existing troops, dig a secret door, charge out suddenly, pounce into the middle of the enemy formation, and die with them.Yelu Dashi has the decisive character of a gambler when using soldiers, and he is not afraid to put all his eggs in one basket when necessary.
However, his opponent is now in the same predicament as him.
Even if it is continuously supplemented by Han'er, the Song army at this time is far from being abundant.Yang Keshi lost most of the 3,000 men in the battle of fortifications. Now he has very little regular army left, and his generals are also scattered.Deputy generals Shi Xunmei and Li Qie of the Jingyuan Army died of Shishi when they crossed the moat and attacked the city at the beginning, and general Gao Shixuan was shot to death.The generals of the Changsheng Army also lost a lot of people, and now they are hesitant to command them to attack the city. Although Han'er's militiamen are large in number and brave in battle, after all, they have not gone through a formal battle formation, so they can fight bravely. For a while, it will be difficult to last for a long time.Zhen Wuchen, who was in charge of commanding them, lost a group of generals and sentry officers. At this time, there was no one to send, resulting in a situation of loose organization and chaotic formation, unable to undertake the most difficult combat tasks.
As the war drew to a close, the fighters on both sides were so exhausted, physically and mentally, that they both believed that they could not hold out till the end of the war, that they were broken and helpless.They pinned their hopes on the helper, and the hope of the helper was so slim. At this time, only a miracle could save them from the doomed defeat.
In the offensive and defensive battle of the Imperial City of Yanjing, neither side lacked courage and was not afraid of death, but after a long period of fierce fighting, they were defeated by each other in terms of fighting will.
Yang Kesheng and Yang Kebi, the guards stationed at the Yingchun Gate, first brought the light of hope. They found that a night march was galloping from the southwest.Yang Kesheng, who was cautious, notified his brother of this news, which might be good news, but it might also be bad news, and at the same time sent several people to investigate.
Then Wang Duanchen, the guard of Xiangxi Gate, came to report in person that Liu Guangshi's support army was approaching the outskirts of the city, and he had sent someone to contact the army.There is no doubt that an army has crossed the border and came to the capital, which has been reported by two parties.However, there is no solid basis to determine that it is Liu Guangshi's rear army.The people sent by Wang Duanchen did not come back, and this army did not send advance troops to contact the former army as usual, and because it was on the morning of the 25th (it was already past midnight, and it was entering the early morning of the next day) like a string Under the bright moonlight, apart from the sound of galloping horses' hooves, the rest was pitch black, and the number of people, flags, and armor could not be seen clearly at all.Experienced generals may be able to tell from the sound of horseshoes whether it is our army or the enemy's reinforcements, but the distance is far away, and Wang Duanchen couldn't figure out the truth for a while.He just assumed subjectively that this must be Liu Guangshi's support army.In fact, not only Wang Duanchen, but other generals, including Yang Keshi himself, also think the same way. Subjectively, they urgently need reinforcements. At the same time, judging from morality, personal interests, and common sense in marching and fighting, they all think that Undoubtedly, this is Liu Guangshi's rear army. He must have rushed to help after he lost contact and regained the news that the former army was fighting hard in Yanjing City.They use the level of ordinary soldiers to measure Liu Guangshi's actions.
According to Wang Duanchen's report, Yang Keshi immediately ordered Wang Duanchen to lead a hundred cavalry to take a shortcut to meet Liu Guangshi, and guide him to enter the city from the nearest city gate to come to help.
No one knew the whereabouts of the hundred cavalry since then, they were like a lonely boat swallowed by the ocean in the thick fog.
The galloping light cavalry were the advance troops of Xiao Qian's reinforcements, they rested on the new tomb in Yeluchun outside the city, and the 40,000 cavalry led by Xiao Qian had also arrived.After the two armies joined forces, they did not move closer to the outer city. Instead, they swept past the city and headed straight for the south secret gate behind the royal city.The secret door is a city gate disguised by the coat of the city wall. On the surface, it looks like an ordinary city wall, but in fact there is a city gate hidden. When needed, just dig out a layer of bricks on the surface to reveal the city gate.Its role has long been mentioned in the ancient "Art of War".Xiao Qian rushed here according to the agreement in the emergency letter. Yelu Dashi had already sent people to make preparations, and quickly brought 40,000 troops into the city. Xiao Qian met the queen and Yelu Dashi, and quickly deployed them. He opened all the doors in the direction of the enemy in the inner city, and rushed into the Song Army's position like a tiger.
Not to mention that the Liao army has an overwhelming majority in numbers.Xiao Qian and Qiayi arrived at this time, and dealt a heavy psychological blow to the Song army, making them terrified and completely unable to resist.This support army played the role of the final blow. It completely defeated the Song army and made a decisive battle.
Since then, there has been no more face-to-face fighting.
Now Yang Keshi has only one way left, which is to pack up the remnant soldiers and defeat the generals, and take the road to escape, but it is very difficult to do this.
While escaping, they were intercepted and chased in all directions.Guo Yaoshi's horse was shot down by Xi Jun, and he fell to the ground, almost becoming a prisoner. Fortunately, Yang Keshi flew up and grabbed Guo Yaoshi on the spot, repelling the pursuers, and he was able to secure his life. life.
In the scuffle, they joined up with brothers Yang Kesheng and Yang Kebi who came to meet them with a remnant soldier.Yang Kesheng has basically understood the situation in the whole city.At this time, the Yingchun Gate, Xiangxi Gate, and Lihui Gate were all taken away by Xi Jun. Although the fate of the other gates is unknown, Yelu Dashi has ordered Xi Jun to take advantage of the victory to seize the gates and cut off the Song army. The way to escape is to make them a turtle in the urn, and none of them can escape.Now in all thoroughfares and streets, Xi's army is densely packed, and they are chasing the scattered Song army everywhere.It is simply impossible for a few of their defeated generals to rush out of the many traps and grab the door to escape.Yang Kesheng suggested to his elder brother, taking advantage of the unpreparedness of the Liao army, immediately rushing to the top of the city, and taking the risk to go down the city, is the only chance to survive from death.
As soon as Yang Keshi thought it was right, he immediately took several generals including Guo Yaoshi and some remnant soldiers to rush to the top of the city.Sure enough, among the disordered army, the Liao army did not find it in time.They chose a remote place, first took off their armor and pockets, and then threw them into the city together with their weapons, and then tied them to the battlements with several ropes, and descended down the city one by one. .It was pitch black at this time, and their hearts were flustered again. Once they were lowered to the ground, they seemed to have taken a life.He dropped the armored weapons at the foot of the city and fell into the bushes. If he couldn't find it for a while, he didn't have time to search carefully.Taking advantage of the dark night when no one was around, he hurriedly fled.
Yang Kesheng's estimate was correct this time. The Liao army searched and killed the city, focusing on the various gates, but they couldn't prevent someone from taking the risk of leaving the city.They were the only ones who could escape from the city at that time.Later, some Song soldiers also escaped one after another. It was because the Han children hid them at home regardless of their own life and death, and escaped one after another in the next few days.The remaining 6,000 officers and soldiers, including major generals such as Zhen Wuchen, and one of Yang Keshi's horses, Yizhangxue, were all sacrificed in the battle.
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Notes: