The rise of the late Song Dynasty reigns supreme

Chapter 514
The Song army captured the three passes, lost more than [-] troops, and killed many brothers. This made everyone's heads covered with a thick layer of dark clouds, which could not dissipate for a long time.Even so, they still need to move on.Because, according to the information obtained by Yan Qing, the Jurchens are aggressively attacking Shangjing, and the Liao Dynasty will definitely be destroyed next autumn at the latest.

Due to the harsh weather and environment in winter, it is not very convenient to continue the attack.If there is a little carelessness, there will be no return.Unless they fully adapt to the northern weather, they can only close the city walls and stay behind closed doors.In order to cope with the coming of winter, Zhao Gou can only speed up his pace.

Zhao Gou once again led the army in person, but this time there were only more than [-] troops, and there were more than a dozen generals and others.How many troops are there in Youzhou? After many investigations, there are about [-] million troops.Originally, Youzhou had [-] troops, but the battle on the front line was tight, so Emperor Liao dispatched [-] troops from Youzhou to help, which caused Youzhou's troops to drop sharply.

Youzhou belongs to the Nanjing Road, and Youzhou was changed to "Youdufu", which can also be called "Nanjing", and it was also one of the five capitals of the Liao Dynasty.It can be said that Youzhou is an important military town in the Liao Kingdom, it is also a transportation center, and it is also a commercial city. Youzhou is very prosperous, so there is no need to travel to Beijing.

If the army takes Youzhou as its own, it will deal a heavy blow to Liao.The Liao ruled Youzhou for more than a hundred years, and this place was also a place for trade with the Song Dynasty, and it was also the core area of ​​the entire Sixteen States of Yanyun.Therefore, Youzhou has the most troops and is also the most difficult place to attack.

Now the difference in strength between the Song and Liao armies is about half, and Youzhou has a population of hundreds of thousands.Among them, there are Khitan people, Han people and so on.If Youzhou was breached, then for Liao, it would mean losing the control of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures, which is why Zhao Gou wanted to attack Youzhou.

Song and Liao fought twice in Youzhou. The first time was that the Song Dynasty attacked and the Liao Dynasty defended;In addition, countless generals died in Youzhou, and brother Yeluxiu also became famous in the second battle of Youzhou.

Youzhou has witnessed the rise of too many famous generals, and also witnessed their decline!

"Marshal, we are so anxious to attack Nanjing. If the Liao army takes precautions, I'm afraid this battle will be extremely tragic!" Wu Yong said in a deep voice, "The Liao army has more than [-] troops than our army, and Youzhou It is the capital, I am afraid that there are not a few generals who are good at fighting."

Zhao Gou smiled slightly and said, "What? Are you scared?"

"I'm not afraid, I'm just a little worried!" Wu Yong said hastily, "I just don't want my brothers to sacrifice in vain! If our army and the Liao army are both defeated, we will have no chance of winning in the end. At that time, other state generals will come to help Youzhou. I'm afraid We are the enemy."

Zhao Gou said with a smile: "Don't worry about this. Now Jizhou and Tanzhou have no time to take care of other things. According to the report from the spies ahead, they are defending against the Jurchens' attack. Even if we attack Youdu Mansion, they will not dare to take it lightly." If they send troops to rescue them, as long as they leave the mansion, the Jurchens will definitely not sit idly by, and will definitely beat the dog in the water and capture the city."

"As for Yingzhou and others, you don't have to worry too much, because I have made other arrangements here. Now we only have [-] troops. If we really want to attack Youzhou, we must take precautions. These people are simply not enough. Therefore, I I have already asked the imperial court to ask the commander-in-chief to lead an army of [-] to meet us."

"Didn't Zhongshuai return to Beijing?" Lu Junyi looked at Zhao Gou in surprise.

"Let's not talk about this matter for the time being. Let's explain it when the generals gather!" Zhao Gou said with a smile, "The most advantageous way to attack Youzhou is that we don't have to climb up to attack. Because the most seen in Youzhou is the It is a plain area, and now the plateau and other places are occupied by our army."

"Even if it is a mountainous area, it is not like Yingzhou and other places, and Youdu Mansion is surrounded by plains. Therefore, this battle is a real big battle. As for the issue of life and death in this battle, I don't need to say more , the only requirement is to retreat if you can’t fight; if you are evenly matched, then go all out.”

This battle is not only related to the result of recovering the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, but also the key to successfully resisting the barrier of Jin soldiers from invading the Song Dynasty in the future.If Youzhou cannot be breached, then no matter how many states are recovered in this battle, it will not help. The strategic position of Youzhou is extremely important to the Song, Liao, and even Jin dynasties.

If it wasn't for Jin Bing being restrained by Liao, Jin Bing would also want to capture Youzhou, as long as he occupied Youzhou.It can not only attack Liao, but also go south to attack Song.It's a pity that Zhao Gou got there first.

Zhao Gou had already made preparations to go to battle in person. As the commander-in-chief, it was relatively rare for him to go to the battlefield with everyone in person.Moreover, Zhao Gou reforged his battle armor to increase its defensive power and even increase its weight.In addition, Zhao Gou also asked blacksmiths to make silver guns for him in case of emergencies.

Although Zhao Gou had always had this plan, but he rarely did it himself, so his weapons have not been available for a long time.Now is an extraordinary time, for this big battle, Zhao Gou is also giving it a go.If this battle cannot be won, then doing more is meaningless.

The next day, Zhao Gou ordered his soldiers and horses, and all the generals were dressed neatly, and marched towards Youzhou mightily; encountering resistance from small forces along the way, none of them could stop Zhao Gou's footsteps.Zhao Gou personally took the lead, which made all the generals charge forward with all their strength, and they couldn't control other things.

After a ten-day journey, Zhao Gou and others arrived at a place fifty miles away from Nanjing City and set up camp.Zhao Gou ordered another meal, so that everyone could eat and drink enough before going to fight.Because after eating this time, I don't know if there will be a next meal.

That being the case, Zhao Gou will definitely not be stingy.

"Marshal, did you really use up all the food?" Wu Yong was taken aback, and everyone looked at Zhao Gou in surprise, thinking that he had heard it wrong.

Zhao Gou replied affirmatively: "Use up all the food, let the soldiers eat and drink enough before they have the strength to fight hard. As for the dry food, all the soldiers are also distributed. If you are hungry, you can eat it, and if you are thirsty, you can drink it yourself. This time What I want in the battle is to go all out, the result is victory, and no failure is allowed."

Immediately, serious expressions appeared on everyone's faces, and they already knew Zhao Gou's intentions.Attacking Youzhou this time is different from other states, and that is Zhao Gou's determination.Before, Zhao Gou also paid attention to the result and the process.Now it is completely desperate, there is no way of retreat, if you fail, you will succeed. It takes great courage to make such a decision, and a little hesitation will lead to eternal doom.

If the Liao army came out to fight, it would be a hearty battle; if the Liao army stayed behind closed doors, Zhao Gou would storm Nanjing and was about to take it.

This is Zhao Gou's determination!

Now Zhao Gou has made all the preparations, and he is really desperate.Tomorrow's battle will be the last battle to recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun. As long as Youzhou is captured, Zhao Gou will not mobilize any more troops; It is necessary to take a good rest, and then store food and other matters to prepare for the coming year.

(End of this chapter)