Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 687 Returning to Beijing to Debrief
The first line of defense of the Song army outside Loufanguan has been captured by the Liao army, and the second line of defense has also been captured by the Liao army. The forward of the Liao army is only [-] steps away from the city of Loufanguan, and the troops are approaching the city.

Successive victories greatly inspired the fighting spirit and confidence of the Liao army. The main general Yelu Wanshan sent an army of [-] to concentrate the army to attack Loufan Pass.

Shut up and down, the arrows rained down, and the rolling wood and rocks smashed down on the siege enemy, but the Liao army did not retreat. A siege ladder was built on the top of the city. Hundreds of fierce Liao soldiers and the Song Dynasty soldiers above The army was fighting fiercely, and people kept screaming and rolling down the city. Behind the siege enemy, the valley was filled with densely packed Liao army soldiers. More than [-] people were surging forward like a black tide. The strong pressure As if to crush Lou Fanguan City.

But the soldiers of the Liao army never dreamed that a 300-man Song army scout team had appeared above their heads. They quickly deployed and divided them into fifty points, one point every fifty steps. On the hundred-step front.

This is a bold and risky plan by Yang Ying, the defender. He used the strategy of luring the enemy to go deep to attract a large number of enemy troops into the canyon, creating opportunities for the Song army scouts on the top of the canyon. Loufanguan is not as condescending as Niangziguan. The terrain is dangerous and the defense is more difficult, so we can only use all favorable conditions to attack the enemy.

The slender canyon is undoubtedly a potential hidden danger, and there is a path to the south that can go around the top of the valley, but the north can't get through. This is their terrain advantage.

With the red flag of the brigade commander waving down, the soldiers lit the fuse of the iron fire thunder with fire pockets, and as the flames sneered at the burning pot mouth, everyone threw a hundred iron fire thunders into the canyon one after another.
A hundred iron fire mines exploded one after another in the crowd of [-] soldiers. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, and limbs were shattered. The soldiers of the Liao army were screamed and wailed. , the valley was instantly filled with gunpowder smoke, as if it had become a Shura field.

After the explosion stopped for a while, the soldiers of the Liao army rushed out of the valley and trampled on each other, causing countless casualties. Taniguchi quickly withdrew to Guancheng.

In this battle, only one hundred iron fire mines exploded in the crowd, killing and injuring more than 8000 people. In addition to trampling each other and the Song army chasing and killing, the Liao army killed more than 8000 people in the first battle. He was so terrified that he led his army back dozens of miles away, not daring to attack easily. The order given to him by the emperor was not to fight to the death, but to go south to rescue Jingxing at the lowest cost. He was killed [-] people in one battle. Where is this the smallest price.

The battle at Loufanguan was temporarily suspended, and the siege of Jingxing was still going on. At this time, an imperial edict was sent from the capital, and Xuan Fanning returned to Beijing to report on his duties.

Just after dawn, an official ship of three thousand shi slowly sailed into the capital, with a dozen soldiers standing on each side of the official ship, a triangular yellow dragon flag was planted on the boat shed, and two lanterns were hung on the bow, which read " Xianggong Fan' three big characters.

This official ship of three thousand shi was Fan Ning's boat. He received the edict from the emperor Zhao Xu declaring him to return to Beijing, and returned to the capital directly by boat.

The boat stopped at Jinshuiqiao Pier, it was still early, Fan Ning went ashore, and under the escort of dozens of soldiers, rode to the palace.

I learned from the eunuch Xuanzhi that Zhang Xiaojie, the special envoy of the Liao Kingdom, was negotiating with the Song Dynasty in the capital, but Fan Ning knew that the emperor announced him to the capital not for negotiation, but to understand the direction of the entire war situation. With more than [-] troops and thousands of warships, the spread is indeed very large. All of these are in the hands of Fan Ning. From the perspective of outsiders, it feels a bit foggy.

Fan Ning came all the way to Ziwei Palace, and said straight to a guard on duty: "Quickly go and report to the official's house, and tell Fan Ning to see you!"

The guards hurried to the imperial study room, while Fan Ning was waiting in front of the steps. At this moment, someone suddenly called him, "When will the son-in-law come back?"

As soon as Fan Ning turned his head, Ouyang Xiu was behind him. He hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "See father-in-law!"

"Don't be too polite, when did you come back?"

"Just arrived, before I had time to go back to the house, I came directly."

"No wonder I didn't hear Qian'er mentioning you. She brought her child to visit me yesterday and said that it might take some days before you come back."

"It was originally planned like this. I was going to keep an eye on the battle of Jingxing myself, but I had to rush back after receiving the emperor's edict."

Ouyang Xiu nodded, and asked again: "How about the battle of Jingxing? Everyone is paying attention, but the report is unclear, which makes people worry!"

Fan Ning sighed slightly: "I can only use the word 'tragic' to describe it. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the situation is still under the control of the Song Army."

"Can that be resolved through negotiation?"

Fan Ning shook his head, "It's been up to this day, and the negotiations can't be resolved. You're the only one who dies."

"Hey! Now the negotiations have reached an impasse."

At this time, an eunuch ran out, bowed and said, "Fan Xianggong, the official has summoned you!"

Fan Ning smiled at Ouyang Xiu: "The son-in-law went first."

"Go! Come to my house when you have time later, let's have a good chat."

"Be sure to come back!"

Fan Ning saluted Ouyang Xiu, then followed the eunuch into the side hall in a hurry.

Ouyang Xiu looked at the back of his son-in-law walking away, and sighed softly. There is no reason for the son-in-law to be in the same court. Some people have questioned it a few days ago. This Ouyang Xiu knows that he will face it sooner or later. His son-in-law has a bright future. You should resign. You can't let people take advantage of you and gossip.

When Fan Ning came to the imperial study, the eunuch went in to report, and he came out after a while and said, "The official please come in!"

Fan Ning tidied his clothes and hat a little, and then walked into the imperial study room. Seeing the emperor Zhao Xu sitting in front of the imperial case reviewing the memorial, he hurried forward and said, "Minister Fan Ning sees Your Majesty!"

"Mr. Fan is free from courtesy, please take a seat!"

On each side stood an ottoman, a chair for the aged minister, and Fanning sat down on the left.

"Your Majesty summoned my ministers to Beijing. Is there any urgent matter?"

Zhao Xu hesitated for a moment and said, "I have announced that I have summoned Mr. Xianggong to Beijing, will it affect the battle situation in Hebei?"

Fan Ning shook his head, "The Battle of Jingxing was under the command of Deputy Commander Di, and I just went to inspect the progress, and it will not affect the army's operations."

"How is the battle of Jingxing going?"

"Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Liao army had more than 3 casualties, and the Song army had no less than [-] casualties. However, the Song army had many wounded, and the actual casualties were only more than [-]."

"The two sides have been fighting fiercely for almost 20 days! The Liao army has not run out of food?"

Fan Ning smiled slightly: "Before Wei Chen came back, the Song Army patrol captured a Liao Army soldier who was looking for a way out through the mountains. From his mouth, we learned about the Liao Army's food situation. They took 20 days In order to save dry food, they peeled bark everywhere, dug grass roots, and killed horses to cook soup. When Weichen came back, their dry food was less than five days old, and more than [-] sick and weak horses were killed."

"How long do you think they can last?" Zhao Xu asked worriedly.

"In terms of the number of horses, it can last at least half a year."

"Is it still half a year?" Zhao Xu exclaimed.

"Actually, it won't take half a year."

Fan Ning shook his head lightly and said: "Your Majesty, the Jingxing offensive and defensive battle is actually a contest of will and combat power. The Liao army's combat power is indeed very strong, and its will is also very tenacious. In the past 20 days, the attack on Niangziguan has not stopped for a day. But our army's will and combat effectiveness are stronger. No matter how desperately the Liao army attacks, the soldiers of the Song army still hold Niangziguan firmly. Wei Chen feels that the battle of Jingxing is actually no suspense. If the Liao army wants to break through for three months, then we will Hold on for three months until all the enemy troops are wiped out."

"How's Lou Fanguan?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Liao army at Loufanguan killed more than 8000 people in a fierce battle. The attack has been suspended, and the Song army has also suffered nearly 500 casualties."

"8000 people were killed in the First World War?"

There was some interest in Zhao Xu's eyes. "Tell me, Mr. Xiang, how did you fight this battle?"

"Your Majesty, Yang Ying, the chief general of Loufanguan, lured the enemy deep, and at the same time sent a scout team of 300 people to the top of the cliff. When the Liao army attacked aggressively, they threw hundreds of iron fire mines from the top of the mountain. The Liao army suffered heavy casualties and had to withdraw from the canyon overnight, daring not to attack again. Afterwards, the Song army cleaned up the corpses of the enemy soldiers who died in battle, and burned a total of 8000 or [-] corpses, not including the wounded escaped from the canyon. soldiers, if the total number of casualties is no less than [-]."

"This general is amazing! He has made great contributions. His surname is Yang. Could it be that he is also the nephew of General Yang?"

"Your Majesty is right, he is the descendant of the general of the Yang family."

(End of this chapter)