The Beacon of Kyushu

It was night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

The mountain wind whistled down from Gouzhu Mountain and blew into the Liao army camp. Many tents were blown by the mountain wind and made noises. It was already late, and except for the patrolling soldiers who were still carefully patrolling the camp, most of the other soldiers were asleep. From a distance, the Liao army camp was pitch black, except for the bright fire in the commander's tent, like a shining star in the night sky.

At this moment, three generals in military uniforms and short weapons were sitting in the Liao army's tent. The one sitting in the middle was a man in his thirties, dressed in gorgeous clothes and with a short beard under his chin. He was the imperial attendant to the emperor's wife, Xiao Duli. On his left sat a middle-aged general who looked majestic and intimidating without even getting angry. He was Yelu Xiu'ge, the Privy Councilor of the Northern Courtyard. On his right sat a general with a rough face and a fierce look that revealed a bit of shrewdness. He was the commander of the cavalry and infantry, Li Chonghui.

Xiao Duli sat in the middle, looked at Yelu Xiu'ge, then looked at Li Chonghui, and said: "You two, Yanmen Pass is the best pass in the world, and it has always been a place where one man can hold the pass and ten thousand men cannot break through. Now Yang Ye has been ordered to guard this place, how do you think we can seize Yanmen Pass and march to Jinyang?"

Li Chonghui smiled disapprovingly and said, "Sir, although Yang Ye is invincible, the main force of his Song army is basically stationed in Jinyang, and the number of troops at Yanmen Pass has always been no more than about 10,000. On the other hand, our Great Liao has a full 100,000 strong soldiers, and we have you, General Yelu and I as commanders. I don't think Yang Ye, a mere gray-bearded man, can be our opponent? Don't worry, sir, we will have a good rest tonight, and tomorrow morning, I will cut off Yang Ye's head and present it to you!"

Yelu Xiu Ge shook his head slightly and said, "General Li, I met Yang Ye several times before the Northern Han Dynasty was destroyed. He is very brave and dares to fight to the death. Now he has Yanmen Pass as a support. He is definitely not someone who can be bullied. If we just attack blindly, I am afraid that in the end we will not only fail to take Yanmen, but also suffer heavy casualties and lose our edge!"

Li Chonghui was a little dissatisfied and was about to refute when someone outside the tent suddenly shouted, "Reporting to the three generals, our scouts captured the Song army envoy in the south of Gouzhu Mountain and found an important official document on him. It is urgent for the three generals to deal with it."

Xiao Duli smiled and glanced at Yelu Xiuge. "General Yelu, a few hours ago you suggested that I send people to the south of the mountain for scouts, and I said it was unnecessary. Unexpectedly, we actually gained something so soon. It seems that I really need to ask you for advice on everything in the future."

Yelu Xiu Ge stood up and saluted, saying, "I dare not. I have only been a soldier for half my life, and I have some experience, which is not worth mentioning."

Xiao Duli smiled again and said, "Well, bring the Song army envoy and the letters they found to this general."

"Yes!" The soldier outside the tent responded, lifted the curtain, and pushed the Song envoy into the camp. Xiao Duli glanced at the Song envoy, then took the letter and read it carefully. After he read the letter in its entirety, he couldn't help laughing, "Hahaha, I thought there were at least 10,000 Song troops stationed in Yanmen Pass, but I didn't expect there were only 3,000! Now Yang Ye sees that our army is so powerful, and intends to abandon Yanmen Pass and flee to Jinyang. God is really helping me!"

Xiao Duli handed the letter to the other two and said, "It is better to share happiness with others than to enjoy it alone. You can also take a look at it and have fun. Hahahaha!"

Li Chonghui and Yelu Xiu'ge read the letter one after another, and their faces were also filled with excitement. Li Chonghui immediately slapped his thigh and said, "There are very few troops stationed at Yanmen Pass now, and the army is demoralized. I am willing to lead a group of people to seize Yanmen Pass. What do you think?" Xiao Duli nodded and said, "This pass must be attacked, but there is no need for General Li to fight alone. In my opinion, we can simply mobilize 100,000 troops and attack together at night. We can definitely take Yanmen Pass in one fell swoop and capture and kill Yang Ye! Don't worry, the two generals, after this battle is over, I will not only not steal your credit, but also speak well of you in front of His Majesty!"

Li Chonghui rubbed his hands and said, "That's good. We should send troops now. Otherwise, once Yang Ye escapes from Yanmen, not only will Jinyang City have one more general, but the military merits of the three of us will also be greatly reduced. There is no time to lose. I think we should send troops now!"

"Wait a minute!" Yelu Xiu'ge waved his hand, staring at the Song envoy, and said in a deep voice: "Tell me! How much of the content in the letter is true and how much is false? Is it a deliberate trick by old man Yang Ye to lure the enemy?"

The Song envoy had originally intended to deliver the letter to Jinyang safely, but he did not expect that something unexpected would happen during this time. When he saw Yelu Xiu'ge looking at him like this, he was frightened and said, "General, everything in this letter is true. General Yang Yang does intend to abandon Yanmen Pass and flee to Jinyang. But he has not yet received Lord Pan's approval, so he has not left yet."

Yelu Xiu'ge sneered and said, "Nonsense! Others may not know how brave and good at fighting Yang Ye is, but how could I, Yelu Xiu'ge, not know? If he only had 3,000 soldiers under his command, he might be able to fight our army for a few days by relying on Yanmen Pass. But if he abandons Yanmen Pass and flees to Jinyang, isn't he afraid that our army will take advantage of him and kill him from behind, turning those 3,000 soldiers into dry bones!"

The Song envoy shook his head and said, "General Yelu, this important matter was decided by General Yang himself. How can I know why General Yang would do such a foolish thing? If you don't believe me, just lead your army to attack. You have a hundred thousand strong troops in the Liao Dynasty. Even if you fall into the trap, why are you afraid of a mere three thousand enemy troops? Is it because General Yelu is afraid of General Yang and dares not to fight?"

Li Chonghui slammed the table and said, "General Yelu, this guy is right! Even if we have 100,000 men, what can we do? Can't we kill 3,000 Song soldiers? When the time comes, we can capture Yang Ye alive and seize Yanmen. Wouldn't that be a great achievement and serve His Majesty?"

Xiao Duli also said: "General Yelu, the opportunity is rare and will never come back. Yang Ye is a good leader. If you expect Yang Ye to withdraw from Yanmen by himself and we attack him from behind, we will most likely be ambushed on the way and it will be too late to regret it!"

Yelu Xiuguo pondered for a moment and said, "Since Lord Xiao and General Li both think that we should attack now, I have no reason to disobey. However, we should still split into two groups, the front and the back, to support each other. Otherwise, if we really fall into the trap, we won't even have room to maneuver."

Xiao Duli shook his head and said, "No! Our Liao Dynasty was founded on horseback, and we are known for our cavalry. Now, our cavalry is useless in attacking Yanmen Pass. We can only ensure safety if we attack together. Besides, if we are divided into two groups, it will be meaningless if we are too close, and it will be easy for the Song army to take advantage of us if we are too far away. It is better to gather them together to strengthen our prestige. I believe that the 3,000 defenders in Yanmen Pass will be in chaos when they see our 100,000-strong army attacking the city. The natural barrier of Yanmen Pass can be taken in one go!"

Yelu Xiuguo sighed slightly and said nothing more. He thought to himself, "The last time we attacked Mancheng, the King of Yan didn't listen to me, which resulted in the loss of so many soldiers. Now the Prince Consort Xiao Duli also doesn't listen to me. I hope God will bless us and don't let any more accidents happen!" (End of this chapter)