Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 933 Reclaiming the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun

The red-coated cannons were finally used. Dozens of cannons were fired from the fire formation in the south, shooting diagonally into the sky. These cannonballs traveled three hundred paces and landed precisely in the middle to rear waist of the Khitan cavalry.

boom! Boom boom!

The cannonballs exploded with tremendous force. Many Khitan cavalrymen were charging forward when they saw the black smoke coming and the explosion. Some were blown away along with their horses, blown to pieces, their flesh and blood mangled and torn apart.

People nearby were injured by the projectiles and metal fragments from the cannonballs, falling off their horses. Some warhorses were also startled, becoming out of control and crashing to the ground.

In an instant, the Liao army's charging troops were sliced ​​in half, as if cut apart in a vacuum.

This effectively cut off the continuous stream of Liao troops charging into battle, thus weakening the momentum of their advance. It's like cutting off a torrent upstream, reducing the flow and impact downstream, or even stopping it altogether.

They had already deployed 30,000 to 40,000 cavalry, intending to overwhelm the Wu army's Five Elements Infantry Formation with overwhelming force. However, the constant bombardment with artillery blocked the Khitan cavalry from sending reinforcements, leaving the 30,000 to 40,000 Khitan cavalry in front isolated.

"Kill!"

Wu Jun's morale soared immediately. The Liao army at the front, affected by the sound of artillery fire, was seeing this for the first time and did not know what it was. Their civilization was backward and their people were relatively barbaric. They had never seen gunpowder before. At this moment, the continuous explosions were like thunderclaps, which made people uneasy and affected their morale.

The infantry phalanx began to encircle and annihilate the cavalry. Without the constant momentum of their attacks, the cavalry, once they stopped, were essentially rendered useless.

With 100,000 infantrymen covering the mountains and plains, they were still able to gain the upper hand even after killing 30,000 to 40,000 Khitan cavalry.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!" The long sword flashed like a rainbow, slicing off one hideous head after another, sending a spray of blood flying, and the corpses fell to the ground.

"Crack!"

The iron cavalry was merciless, trampling the bodies of the soldiers beneath their horses. The white bone fragments and scarlet blood were particularly glaring and chilling.

"Smell!"

Bloodstained spears and lances pierced the flesh and blood of enemy soldiers, spraying bright red blood, making the battlefield indescribably bloody and tragic.

It must be said that Wu Jun's Mo Dao formation was very strong. He charged forward with his swords, and with a series of sharp, cracking blows, blood splattered everywhere. The Khitan cavalrymen screamed and fell from their horses one after another.

On a high hill about two miles away, Empress Xiao and Han Derang silently watched the battle. They saw Yelü Xiuge lead his troops to attack. Originally, the cavalry had the initiative and overwhelmingly suppressed the Wu army's infantry formation. However, who could have imagined that the Wu army would suddenly use artillery to cut off the Liao army's subsequent attack, which affected the cavalry at the front line and led to their counterattack.

"This can't go on. We need to bypass the artillery fire zone as soon as possible and attack from both flanks to support the cavalry at the front. Otherwise, tens of thousands of men at the front will collapse." Han Derang saw the crux of the problem. Without reinforcements, the number of men charging forward from the front would not be enough. Without the momentum, the cavalry would be of little use.

Normally, the advantage of cavalry is their mobility, allowing them to charge back and forth, with one wave going down and another rushing up, while the first wave can temporarily retreat, making a detour and repeating the attack.

Wu Jun's current formation blocks the flanking maneuver and cuts off the subsequent attack, which is not conducive to the Khitan cavalry's combat. Even if the cavalry at the front turn back to buffer the distance, they will still face the range of artillery bombardment, putting them in a very passive position.

Empress Xiao said anxiously, "General Yelü has been put on the defensive and can only rely on General Han to launch a two-pronged attack."

Han Derang nodded and went down to mobilize his troops, selecting 30,000 soldiers and dividing them into two wings, each with 15,000 men, intending to bypass the artillery firing zone in front and attack from the flanks.

Shortly after the Khitan cavalry charged out from the flanks, Wu's 40,000 iron cavalry split into two groups and attacked from the rear of both flanks to meet the Khitan cavalry.

The Wu cavalry were well-equipped and heavily armored, consisting of a portion of heavily armored cavalry followed by light cavalry, working in coordination.

Click!Click!
The two sides' cavalry charged and fought like two torrents surging across the grassland, causing the earth to tremble.

"Kill! Kill!" Both sides suffered severed limbs and blood, creating a raging inferno.

The Wu Kingdom's heavy cavalry was not numerous, numbering three thousand on each side, but they were all clad in bright armor, providing astonishing defense. Although they were not invulnerable to swords and spears, their defense was several times stronger than that of the Khitan's leather armor. On average, Wu's heavy cavalry could kill an enemy with three strikes, while Khitan cavalry needed seven or eight strikes to kill a single heavy cavalryman. Under such a fierce battle, even the Khitan cavalry on the flanks could not withstand the onslaught.

As the battle drew to a close, the Khitan forces collapsed on both the front and flanks and began to retreat.

Xiao Chuo's eyes showed helplessness, but she could also see that the Liao army's elite troops were no match for the Wu army today. The Wu army's endless methods and weapons made the Liao army feel powerless, which was much more difficult to fight than the Song army.

Tens of thousands of Liao soldiers retreated, leaving behind corpses and wounded horses, which they had no time to spare.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

As the bugle sounded, Wu's cavalry launched a pursuit, advancing victoriously for dozens of miles.

The Liao army was forced to flee back to Zhen Ding Prefecture and regroup. However, this was, after all, the Central Plains, and the Khitans had no foothold here, so they could not recruit soldiers and their forces could not be replenished.

Wu Jun continued his northward advance and began to recover lost territory.

Cao Bin and Pan Mei each led 50,000 troops, a mix of cavalry and infantry, and split their forces to advance northward. They coordinated with the main army of Su Chen and Lin Renzhao in the central army and fought several more battles with the Liao army along the way, but on a much smaller scale. The Liao army had lost more than half its number and was no longer able to organize large-scale confrontations.

Soon, Qizhou, Baozhou, and Xiongzhou were successively recovered, and the Liao army was forced to withdraw back into Liao territory.

But Su Chen was not satisfied. He once again mobilized troops from Bianjing City in the rear, forming an army of 300,000. Taking advantage of the victory, he attacked into Liao territory, aiming to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in one fell swoop.

The so-called Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, also known as the Sixteen Prefectures of You and Yun, refers to the sixteen prefectures in northern China centered on Youzhou (present-day Beijing) and Yunzhou (present-day Datong, Shanxi).

In 936, during the first year of the Tianfu era of the Later Jin dynasty, Shi Jingtang raised the banner of rebellion against the Tang dynasty in Taiyuan. Although his army was powerful, it was no match for the encirclement and suppression by the Later Tang army. In order to survive, he sent an envoy to Shangjing (present-day Taijing) to submit to Emperor Taizong of Liao, Yelü Deguang, and willingly "swore an oath of father and son"—the Liao emperor as the father and Shi as the son. The Khitan cavalry then marched south, their banners obscuring the sun, and the Later Tang army suffered a crushing defeat.

Two years later, in the third year of Tianfu (938), Shi Jingtang fulfilled the humiliating treaty, ceding the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun—You, Ji, Ying, Mo, Zhuo, Tan, Shun, Xin, Gui, Ru, Wu, Wei, Yun, Ying, Shuo, and Huan—along with the strategic passes of the Great Wall, to the Khitan. From then on, the Liao Dynasty's territory extended all the way to Yanmen Pass, and its iron cavalry could drink from the Yellow River at any time.

This vast land stretching for thousands of miles, backed by the Yanshan Mountains to the north and controlling the Hebei region to the south, possessed both formidable passes and fertile fields, as well as the advantages of horse grazing. Losing it left the Central Plains wide open and indefensible. For more than 160 years thereafter, the Northern Song Dynasty felt utterly insecure whenever it heard the howling winds of the grasslands—without the recovery of Yan and Yun, they could not eat or sleep in peace.

This time, Su Chen personally led the expedition, bringing with him superior weapons and elite troops, and invaded the Guannei region occupied by the Liao Kingdom.

Some of these cities had garrisoned over ten thousand troops, while others had only a few thousand. As long as tens of thousands of Liao troops were defeated at the checkpoints, these sixteen prefectures would not be difficult to capture.

These sixteen prefectures are divided into two regions: one is the North China Plain, which has seven prefectures and is called the Seven Prefectures in Front of the Mountains; the other part is the mountainous region, which has nine prefectures and is called the Nine Prefectures Behind the Mountains.

These sixteen prefectures are located near the Yanshan, Yinshan, and Laotushan Mountains, forming a region that borders and separates the grasslands from the Central Plains.

Taking advantage of artillery, and with the support of infantry and cavalry, Su Chen, united in purpose and driven by a shared hatred of the enemy, used his numerical superiority to repeatedly defeat and force back Yelü Xiuge and Han Derang's troops. He first captured Zhuozhou, Youzhou, Shunzhou, and Tanzhou, and also occupied Huangyaguan and Juyongguan.

Subsequently, Pan Mei was left to guard Youzhou, while the rest of the troops stormed into the nine provinces behind the mountains, capturing Ruzhou, Wuzhou, Xinzhou and other places.

"Empress Xiao, thirteen of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun have been lost. Apart from Zhangjiakou and Yunzhou in the distance, all the other thirteen prefectures have been lost. We can no longer stop the Wu army." Yelü Xiuge said with some shame, explaining the current situation.

Xiao Chuo's beautiful face was frosty, her elegance captivating, yet she was helpless. Of the 100,000 cavalry she had brought, more than half had perished. The local garrison, composed of both Khitans and Han Chinese from the north, had failed to hold their cities; almost all had fallen to the Wu army. If they didn't leave soon, they would be surrounded in the Zhangjiakou area, unable to return to the grasslands.

"Enough. Wu's army is at its peak, with advanced firearms. No wonder the Song Dynasty perished so quickly. It was indeed difficult to resist. Our defeat this time has made us realize the gap between us. Let's send someone to negotiate peace, abandon the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, and return to the grasslands. As long as they agree to open markets and trade with each other, and do not attack the grasslands, we can negotiate peace and make peace with Wu. This way, we can stop the damage in time."

Empress Xiao was a wise woman who could assess the situation and see the disparity in national and military strength between the two sides. She was no longer upset. She could not bear to give up the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. If she continued to stay there, she would only be dragged into a quagmire. At that time, she would not even be able to suppress the conflicts in the Liao capital. It would be a loss for her.