Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 43 The Khitan Queen
The vanguard of the Liao army sent scouts to cross the river first, but they searched around and found no ambush, so they sent a signal to the army on the other side of the river.Yelusha wanted to rush to Jinyang before the city wall of Jinyang was repaired, and also wanted to make the first contribution before the King of the South Court and the King of the North Court. Arranged to block the Khitan cavalry's men and horses, overjoyed, they did not wait for the rear army to arrive, and immediately ordered to cross the river.

Unexpectedly, just as his army was halfway across, he heard a loud noise in the valley. The mud, sand, gravel and raging logs came roaring, cutting the Khitan troops in half.

Yelusha and Yelv Dilie, who had already crossed the river, were stunned. Liao general Yeludeli, who was leading the Chinese army across the river, was smashed to pieces by a row of wood, men and horses. The dead frogs and countless Khitan soldiers who were crossing the river were washed away.

Generals Lingwen Dumin and Xiangwen, who were waiting to be adjourned, arrived with their troops. They could only rein in their horses and stand on the bank of the river, watching the Prime Minister of Nanyuan and the King of Ji on the other side of the river being killed by Pan Mei and Guo Jin. Shenge led a group of soldiers and horses to kill from left and right. First, there was an impenetrable row of arrows, shooting and killing countless warriors, and then they showed their knives and guns, and started a one-sided massacre...

In the Battle of Tongtianhe, Pan Mei and Guo Jin won a complete victory, killing more than [-] enemies. Yelusha, the Prime Minister of the Khitan Southern Academy, and Yelv Dilie, the King of Ji, were awarded the leadership, and Wen Dumin and Xiangwen Tang led the army to fight against Pan Mei and Guo. Enter the confrontation across the river, and dare not enter rashly.

The battle report was sent to Zhao Kuangyin, who was about to take the initiative to lead troops to support him. The latter was overjoyed, and immediately notified the whole army, ordered rewards, and raised the heads of the Khitans sent back from the front line on high poles to improve the morale of the army.

At the same time, according to the strategic plan discussed with the generals in the past few days, he took the initiative to meet the Khitan army.Be sure to keep the battlefield as far away from Jinyang City as possible.

In addition, because the recent war has been going well, it can be said that there are many happy events, Zhao Kuangyin is full of spirits, and even thinks that if the line of Yunling in the northwest can also inflict heavy damage on the enemy, maybe after repeated defeats, the new Khitan emperor will be criticized by all officials, At that time, the Khitans were not united, and they were even overwhelmed. Not only did they drive the Khitan army back to the north, but they might also take the opportunity to severely injure and weaken the Khitan army, making preparations for the next step of capturing the Sixteen States of Yanyun.

With this idea in mind, Zhao Kuangyin immediately issued an order, ordering Li Jixun to lead the [-] forbidden army, and Cheng Shixiong to lead the [-] Zhejiafan army to support He Jiyun's troops in Chayunling who resisted the Khitan West Road army.

When Li Jixun and Cheng Shixiong arrived at Chayunling, they happened to catch up with Khitan South Court King and North Court King and came together to attack Chayunling.The three armies converged, and the Song army was good at defending, but the Khitan cavalry could not be used on this majestic mountain, and it was useless. As a result, Li Jixun, He Jiyun, and Cheng Shixiong led the army to kill them. After a fierce battle, Khitanwu was captured alive. Wang Yanfu, the state governor, beheaded more than 560 people, obtained [-] horses, and captured more than [-] Khitan soldiers.

At this time, Zhao Kuangyin had just brought the headquarters of the [-] forbidden army to the northeast of Jinyang City, a hundred miles away. Hearing the joy, he was full of ambition for a while, and was thinking about whether to take the opportunity to go north and burn the flames of war to the Khitan territory.Take the opportunity to seize the Khitan city.Unexpectedly, he just summoned a group of officials to discuss a big plan, and suddenly a scout horse galloped to report, and the Khitan people suddenly appeared in the mountain trail a hundred miles away, and the vanguard of more than a thousand cavalry was rushing here, the exact number of the enemy is still being investigated .

Zhao Kuangyin was shocked when he heard the words, and immediately dispatched the three armies to fight.

Zhao Kuangyin regained his composure on the face, while secretly startled in his heart: "Where did this Khitan army come from? Is there a sudden change in Tongtian River and Chayunling, or did the Khitan people come from another secret road?" No matter what, if the Khitans bring a large number of cavalry to the headquarters of the Chinese army, and if the army led by themselves is defeated, they will even retreat to Jinyang City, but the Jinyang city wall has only just begun to be built, and it cannot be defended at all. At that time, hard work After nearly four months of painstaking efforts to lay down a large area of ​​land, there may be variables, and if you are not careful, you will make wedding dresses for the Khitan people.

On the one hand, Zhao Kuangyin sent a fast horse messenger to order the east and west armies to lead half of the troops back to aid.At the same time, they were ordered to dispatch slowly, prepare to retreat, and defend the line of defense to prevent the Song army from falling into a difficult situation of being surrounded, especially the grain road being cut off again.

And at this time, Guo Wuwei suddenly rushed from Jinyang City to the army, met Zhao Kuangyin, and said: "Officials! I am proficient in the art of watching the sky. A few days ago, Ye Chen was the reincarnation of the auspicious star in the sky. When the great battle is approaching, the officials gathered this son by their side, so that they will be able to increase their luck and keep our army undefeated."

Guo Wuwei took great pains this time. He received an order from his master Zhang Wumeng, and he knew that nothing would happen to Ye Chen at this time, and when the army was in chaos, his personal ability was too small, and there was really no difference between the death of a person and the death of an ant. .And the safest place is naturally next to Emperor Song.That's why Guo Wuwei made this suggestion.

However, he didn't say enough, lest Zhao Kuangyin blame him for Song's failure to defeat Khitan, so he only said that the army was undefeated, but he didn't say anything like victory.

In the past, such suggestions would have been regarded as nonsense by Zhao Kuangyin, but Ye Chen gave him a special feeling. After thinking about it for a while, he really sent someone to the saltworks to summon Ye Chen.

Guo Wuwei secretly heaved a sigh of relief seeing that his goal was achieved, and hurried back to Jinyang City.

At this time, the Khitan cavalry climbed over Mount Xiaoting, came out of Coal Kiln Valley, and came out slowly towards Jinyang City.The three thousand cavalry in the vanguard could already see the Song army, and the ten cavalry brigades of the former army had already set up a formation outside the coal kiln valley, and the Chinese army guarding the main general was slowly coming out of the valley.Be ready to hit the battle at any time.

The general of this Khitan army is an indigo robe with a collar and narrow sleeves, a chain mail with fine scales on the outside, a shiny heart mirror on his chest, and a long bunch of pheasant feathers fluttering on the silver helmet on his head. With a face like a crown jade, red lips and white teeth, a very charming and enchanting young and handsome female general and female commander in a heroic spirit.

That's right, this young and beautiful female general is the famous Khitan empress Xiao Chuo Xiao Yanyan in history—Empress Xiao.

I saw her bright eyes and white teeth, a little red between her brows, a sword under her ribs, a bow on her shoulder, and a pot of carved feathers behind her.

On the left and right sides of her, there are two generals who are inseparable, they are two famous generals in the history of Khitan.

On the left is a burly man with a vicious look, just like Zhang Fei. It is the Khitan Kingdom's power official who stayed behind Yelu Longyun in Nanjing.

And on the right side of Empress Xiao, there is also a young and fierce general, with starry eyes and bright eyes, full of heroism.This person belongs to the Khitan royal family. He is brave and resourceful. He is a well-known Khitan warrior. He has just been promoted to be the Great Tiyin Division.A few days ago, the new Khitan emperor ascended the throne and entrusted him with an important position. This person has devoted himself to serving the new emperor. His name is... Brother Yeluxiu.In history, the Khitan Emperor was seriously ill and it was difficult to manage the government. As a woman, Empress Xiao was able to overwhelm the powerful ministers and successfully eliminate dissidents several times. This person is indispensable.

Yelu Longyun and Yeluxiu are not yet qualified to lead the army alone, they are just the young generals who obey Empress Xiao's side, the real commander of this army is in the ten formations outside the valley, and the whole army is on standby immediately.This person is Yelu Talie, a Khitan veteran general and chief military officer.

Yelv Talie has always distinguished rewards and punishments, and is good at field battles. He has a high prestige in the army and has won the hearts of the soldiers. He is a famous Khitan general.

The Chinese army came out of the valley in an orderly manner and formed a large army formation outside the valley. Yelu Talie galloped to Xiao Chuo's side. Xiao Chuo asked, "General Talie, how is the situation in Northern Han now?"

Yelu Talie clasped his fists and bowed immediately and said, "Reporting to the queen, the Song army was short of cavalry, and the Song Emperor himself led the army, intending to conduct field battles far away from Jinyang city. Obviously, the Jinyang city wall has not been repaired. Our army If we can defeat the central army of the Song army and capture Jinyang before the Song army's east and west armies come back to help, the situation will be reversed, and the land of the Northern Han Dynasty can be easily obtained. But if the Song army cannot be defeated in a short time, and our east and west troops If the two armies can't break through the Song army's defense line, then our army must withdraw as soon as possible, because our food and grass are only enough for five days now, and we are going deep alone, and we will be surrounded by the Song army soon."

Xiao Chuo raised his brows slightly, his extremely charming eyes scanned the army formation slightly, and asked casually: "The King of the Southern Academy and the King of the Northern Academy attacked Yunling, and the Prime Minister of the Southern Academy Yelusha and the King of Ji Yeludi attacked Tongtianhe fiercely. What's going on?"

Yelu Talie sighed: "Queen Qi, the King of the South Court and the King of the North Court were defeated in attacking Yunling. Yelusha and Yelu Dilie recklessly fell in the Tongtian River, and more than half of them were injured. However, these two armies They have successfully restrained Pan Mei and Li Jixun according to the plan."

Xiao Chuo smiled slightly, like a lotus flower in full bloom, charming and holy: "Very good, don't care about them, I, Khitan Erlang, was more terrifying than anyone in field battles, and now it is a great opportunity for Song Emperor to personally lead the army. Hurry up and send troops immediately, To defeat the Song army, you can also form five thousand death-defying elite cavalry, and rush to the Song emperor together, if you can capture the Song emperor, the Song army will collapse without fighting, no matter how big the sacrifice is, it is worth it."

"The last general obeys!" Veteran Yelu Talie flicked his gray beard and returned to the main formation. He personally selected [-] deadly elite riders and patrolled outside the battle formation, looking for opportunities to attack the camp.

Then, he raised the flag, the horn of desolation and agitation was raised, and groups of Khitan troops began to move forward slowly.

Trampled by iron hoofs, groups of cavalry first moved forward slowly, and then galloped lightly after they separated from the rear, like moving steel jungles, with swords and guns raised at the same time, no one shouted, no horses neighed, and a rush was set off in the solemnity. Xiao's killing intent...

(End of this chapter)