Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

In the spring of the fourth year of Jianwu, it seemed that everyone north of Bianliang was taking to war.

In the west, the Western Region Uighurs suffered invasions by grassland tribes. Their army was defeated in succession and received no response when they asked the Liao Kingdom for help. They had no choice but to ask for help from the neighboring Western Xia and Uighurs.

The two countries were also worried that the grassland people would be intent on snatching the land, so they agreed without hesitation. Western Xia took advantage of the fact that the elite Western Army of Song was out on an expedition and assembled 30,000 troops to support their neighbors, barely holding off the invading troops.

In Yanyun, the 100,000 Song troops led by Zhong Shidao encountered the Xi people and the Yuan army led by Xiao Gan. During the fierce battle, the eunuchs supervising the army frequently appeared at the front line and asked the Western Army to maintain the benevolent image of the Song Dynasty.

Several fierce generals in the army were so angry that they wanted to draw their swords and kill people, but they were stopped by their comrades and dragged out of the central army tent, only to receive the sneers of several eunuchs. They did not care about the generals' disgust towards them, as long as the Taifu was still in charge of the military power, they had nothing to fear.

No matter how experienced Zhong Shidao was, he had no way to deal with such a situation and had to restrain the army's movements. The vanguard Yang Keshi, who led his troops to fight, was ordered not to move forward.

"How can we fight like this?"

Yang Keshi looked at the opposite side helplessly, then turned back to look at the soldier who came to deliver the message: "What else did General Zhong say?"

The messenger looked at him and hesitated for a moment: "General Zhong didn't say anything, but the military supervisor ordered the general to persuade the Liao army to surrender first."

"Bullshit!" Yang Keshi took off his helmet and threw it to the ground with a bang. He pointed in the direction of the Liao army and said, "Who over there looks like they can surrender to us? They won't fight or kill us, but just talk us into surrender. There is no such thing in the world!"

"That's the logic." The general who came forward shrugged and handed the paper with the words of persuasion to Yang Keshi: "But the military order is another matter. Here, take it."

The wind blew, and the flags fluttered overhead, making a familiar rustling sound.

After taking a look at the contents of the paper, Yang Keshi had no expression on his face. He turned his eyes dully towards the Liao army, stretched out his hand and shook the paper in his hand, then waved it forward faintly: "Someone, go and call for surrender."

Several commanders under his command looked at each other in bewilderment. Yang Keshi saw that no one moved, and he was furious, but he couldn't vent his anger. He continued to issue orders in a toneless voice: "This is a military order, go now!"

Several people looked at each other. No one wanted to step forward for such an embarrassing and even shameful thing. Yang Keshi knew what they were thinking. However, he was the vanguard at this time and had to obey the orders from the army. He pointed at one person and said, "You go!"

The commander suddenly looked sad as if his mother had died, and took two steps hesitantly.

Yang Keshi's eyes moved: "Come back!"

"what?"

Yang Keshi shook the paper and said, "Take this donkey chewing thing and shout according to what is written on it."

The man walked over and accepted his fate, then turned around to look at the people behind him. His colleagues, who he could normally rely on on the battlefield, now didn't even give him a sympathetic look. Instead, they clenched their fists and pressed them down, trying to encourage him.

"What a bunch of bastards!" The selected commander walked forward, cursing: "No loyalty, no loyalty..."

Walking to his own camp, the commander did not want to lose face, so he sent a few soldiers to run to the front of the battle line and shout while beating and kicking.

Under the banner of the Liao army, Xiao Gan constantly mobilized his troops to prepare for the coming war. When he was sending out the messenger, he saw dozens of figures running out of the Song army formation in the distance. He frowned, wondering what these Song people were doing, when he heard shouting.

"Soldiers of Liao, listen carefully! Your ruler is stupid and often abandons government affairs to hunt everywhere, letting his hawks and dogs devour the people under his rule. Now, our Song Dynasty speaks for you, avenges the people and punishes the criminals. We will hunt in Yanyun, and 200,000 troops from the east and west will surround the four fields. Wherever we pass, everyone surrenders.

However, some of you are former Khitans or remnants of the Han Dynasty. Taifu Tong is kind-hearted and cannot bear to see you being slaughtered. He is willing to treat you with sincerity and exchange your true heart with benevolence and righteousness. If you surrender now, I will definitely ask the Holy Emperor to grant you fame, wealth, land, houses, beautiful wives, glory and wealth.

If you are stubborn, the Grand Master will not blame you. He will still regard you as the people of the Song Dynasty. Moreover, you have lost three of the five capitals. How can you stop our army? I hope you will not be stubborn and surrender as soon as possible!"

The resounding voice echoed in the two armies. Yang Keshi on one side lowered his head in shame. Several generals of the Western Army nearby either looked up at the sky or silently looked at the palms of their hands. Suddenly, they had the experience of palm reading.

In the Liao army formation, Xiao Gan's eyes widened and he looked around: "But did I hear it wrong? Are these Song people trying to persuade us to surrender?"

His nephew Yishi Bajin was beside him. Hearing this, he touched his chin and said uncertainly, "That's what I heard, but why does it feel a little weird?"

"How can I not blame you?" Xiao Gan just felt amused for a moment, and now he calmed down and said, "Those softies in the Southern Dynasty want to surrender us without a fight. They are dreaming too much and can't tell whether they are awake or not."

The warhorse kicked its four hooves, and Xiao Gan pulled the reins to calm it down: "Order the resentful army to attack and attack their vanguard.

He ordered Alu to lead the cavalry to roam the left wing, waiting for an opportunity to cut into his army.

The rest of the troops, follow my flag, wait for the right moment and defeat the Song army ahead!"

Woohoo——

A desolate horn sounded in the rear, and the flags of the resentful army began to advance forward. Figures holding shields walked in front, and figures holding guns and bows followed behind.

There were more than a thousand cavalrymen marching slowly behind the formation. These were the elite cavalrymen of the Yuan Army, the precious spark that had been preserved after the war with the State of Qi. Now, Yaoshi Guo was unwilling to send out these cavalrymen easily, fearing that they would all be killed.

The wind blew between the two armies, and the flags facing each other stretched out in the same direction, fluttering in the wind.

Yang Keshi raised his arm, but before he could issue an order, the sound of horse hooves came from behind, and a shrill voice shouted: "Pass the order to the military supervisor, the Western Army camps are not allowed to kill or injure any Liao soldiers. Those who disobey the order will be executed!"

"Send the military supervisor's order, the Western Army..."

The clear shouts reached his ears, and his hot blood instantly cooled down. He helplessly dropped his outstretched arms, looked up to the sky and sighed: "How can we beat these whores who are suppressed by tens of thousands of people!"

The sound of the order echoed in the Song army's formation, but the roar of the approaching Liao army's footsteps could not be heard clearly. Guo Yaoshi, who was in the center of the army, had a puzzled look on his face. They had already come within a hundred feet, but the Song army on the opposite side still had no reaction. Were they planning something bad?
His face was uncertain for a while, then he turned around and said, "Order the entire army to be alert. Once the Song army launches an attack, immediately resist it on the spot.

Tell Zhen Wuchen to prepare the cavalry in case the Song cavalry moves out.

After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fight for me! Don't feel sorry for the warhorse. At worst, I'll find a way to replenish him after the battle!"

Then the horn sounded, and the commander of the resentful army roared "Forward!". He was in the center of the army, staring at the Song army in front of him, holding the reins tightly, feeling inexplicably nervous.

The number of people on the opposite side was several times larger than his own, and they had made some gains along the way, which made him a little nervous as it was his first time facing them alone.

"kill--"

Shouts were heard, and under the banners with birds of prey patterns, soldiers ran and charged forward with shields and spears held high. In the field of vision, the Song army soldiers in the front row "boomed" and put down their large shields to hold them up, and no spears protruded from the shields.

Pharmacist Guo suddenly felt his heart beating faster. When something is abnormal, there must be something wrong. What are these Song soldiers thinking?
An archer from the resentful army shot an arrow, and the crackling sound rang out among the western army, and many people screamed and fell down.

Xiao Gan, who was watching from behind, tapped the reins lightly with his fingers, frowned, and looked more and more strange. The reaction of the Song army in front was different from any army he had seen before. Even though he had been in the army for a long time, he had never seen a team that did not move when it entered the range.

"Pass the order, have all the commanders keep an eye on the Song army. If anything happens to the resentful army ahead, quickly withdraw..."

Before he finished speaking, the front line of the resentful army's infantrymen crashed into the large shield that was being pushed up over there. The soldiers roared and stepped forward with all their might, pushing the front line of defense back. The resentful army's spearmen and archers thrust their spears and shot arrows from behind. For a moment, only the screams of the Song army could be heard from time to time.

Guo Yaoshi in front and Xiao Gan in the back were both stunned, and then they woke up at the same time. Without time to figure out why the Song army allowed them to slaughter without fighting back, they turned around and shouted to the messenger beside them: "Send a message to A Lu (Zhen Wuchen), lead the cavalry to charge into the Song army!"

Xiao Gan even pulled up the reins and said in a high-pitched voice: "Order the whole army to attack, defeat the Song people, and kill——"

Then he raised his sword and led the cavalry in the center of the army to charge forward.

In the middle of this month, Zong Shidao's army was ordered not to retaliate against the Liao army, and could only flee in panic, retreating hundreds of miles to the rear to rest. They were then urged by the military supervisor to continue marching towards Xijin Prefecture, leaving the generals in the army unsure whether they should continue fighting.

Xiao Gan, who was chasing behind, took advantage of the Song army's hesitation, abandoned the infantry, led 20,000 elite cavalry, and attacked the flank of the Western Army, causing the Western Army to retreat one after another. At night, he set fire to their camps, and the border troops were killed and cried out in pain after several attacks.

Seeing this, Zhong Shidao wanted to fight back but was ordered not to. He had to distribute giant wooden sticks to the soldiers. Although the sticks could not kill people instantly, when used with large shields, they caused many casualties to the cavalry under Xiao Gan's command. It was under this difficult resistance that the remaining troops of the Western Army retreated into Xiongzhou.

This month, the Song Dynasty's Western Route Army suffered heavy losses.

Zong Shidao counted the casualties and found that less than half of the 100,000 troops returned. He was speechless looking at the reports of casualties among his subordinates. However, one of his generals, Liu Yanqing, led the troops back early, leaving his troops intact. Zong Shidao didn't know whether to punish him or praise him.

"The Song army's western route has collapsed." Xiao Gan held the reins and sat upright on his horse, looking eastward to the distant plains: "Follow me eastward to help Dashilin Ya."

"Wan Sheng——"

Cheers came from the Liao cavalry, and smoke and dust followed the trampling of horses' hooves all the way to the east of Zhuozhou.

……

On the other side of Yanyun, Song, the Eastern Army.

The sound of shouting and killing rang out in the wilderness. The cavalry kept retreating, and the army holding the vanguard flag marched quickly in pursuit.

The roar of footsteps continued to ring all around. Wu Yong looked worried, leaning against Song Jiang and yelling, "Vanguard, the military order forbids killing or injuring any Liao soldiers. We didn't obey the order and fought with them before. Didn't that just give the commander and the military supervisor a chance to punish us?"

"I don't care about that." Song Jiang had a sullen face and pointed his whip sheath at the Liao soldiers in front of him: "Their army is brave and strong. If I obey the order and don't kill them, I will definitely die in their hands. Now I can survive for a while by disobeying the military order. As for how to deal with them later..."

He whipped his horse whip hard and said, "We'll talk about it later!" He turned to the messengers who followed him and shouted, "Order the leaders of each unit to charge forward bravely and catch up with the Liao people in front. As long as we defeat them, we can all survive by passing on our merits."

He then said to Song Qing who was following the army, "Go to the rear and report to the commander-in-chief that the Liao soldiers were repelled by me and ask them to come up quickly."

Song Qing bowed, turned his horse and left.

Song Jiang looked ahead, his dark face trembling: "I'll give you a share of the credit, if you don't believe me, you don't want it."

Among the cavalrymen in the distance, Xiao Telie turned his head and looked at the Song army vanguard behind him. He snorted, then turned to Yelu Fuding and shouted, "The Song army is chasing us relentlessly, and they will not turn back easily. Go find Dashilin Ya and tell him that we have followed his orders to lead the Song army to pursue us."

"Yes."

Xiao Telie watched him and dozens of his personal guards riding away, then turned his head to look at the flag of the Song army again, snorted coldly, and then shouted an order: "Speed ​​up, we will reach Baigou River within two days!"

What responded to him was the sound of countless galloping war horses.

Looking down from the sky, the Song and Liao armies were running and chasing each other, but they kept a certain distance between them and neither side could get rid of the other.

Xin Xingzong, who was in the rear, was furious when he heard that Song Jiang disobeyed military orders. However, when he learned that the other side was chasing the Liao army and fleeing, he calmed down and ordered the entire army to pursue them without thinking.

However, he didn't know that his comrades in the west had already retreated and were just following the trail ahead.

Yelu Dashi, the reinforcement, had already led his troops to stop in the area further west of the Baigou River, which was also the ambush site he had chosen after careful consideration.

Not to mention that this place is located between Xiongzhou and Zhuozhou, just say that this place was the front line of the confrontation between Song and Liao more than a hundred years ago. He felt that if the Song army was defeated here, it would have great significance for the Liao army.

"Commander-in-chief, Yelu Fuding is here."

The voice made the pensive figure stand up, and Yelu Dashi waved his hand: "Please come in."

The sound of footsteps came from outside the tent, and the general who came in bowed to him and said, "I greet you, Commander."

Yelu Dashi smiled and asked, "Where is General Xiao?"

"We will be there by noon today." The general who was walking forward was a little tired. Yelu Foding walked to the geomancy map and took a closer look. He pointed his hand downwards and said, "The army that has left here will go first. General Xiao and Wuzhi will lead the army to attract the Song army."

Yelu Dashi went over to take a closer look and narrowed his eyes. “Okay, you take a rest first and don’t go back later. Just follow me and move together.”

Yelu Fuding bowed and responded.

"Someone come here." Yelu Dashi turned around and shouted outside the tent. A personal soldier in armor walked in, bowed and pretended to listen attentively.

"Pass on my command, the army will move camp immediately. As previously instructed, all troops should prepare for battle."

"Yes."

However, not long after, the news that Xiao Gan had defeated the Western Route Army and was heading here to join them reached him, which made Yelu Dashi very happy.

Unknown to the two generals, troops from Danzhou were advancing rapidly on the Xijing Road, with countless horses galloping. Alichi, sitting on his beloved horse again and holding the White Pear Blossom Spear, persuaded several cities along the way to surrender.

The troops holding high the banners of Qi and Du marched forward with great triumph. Far away in the capital, Datong, was startled three times in one day, and cavalrymen rushed to Xijin Prefecture for help. (End of this chapter)