The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 529 Life Lessons
More than [-] cavalry Zhou troops retreated toward Tang Jiaoxian County, with the Khitan cavalry in hot pursuit.

While Shi Yanchao was galloping on his horse, he looked to the left and right and saw that his cavalry had been completely destroyed, leaving only a few men and horses.

He gritted his teeth with hatred, but he didn't expect that despite being careful, he was still ambushed by the enemy.

The cunning Khitan general Brother Yeluxiu had planned to use the more than a thousand Khitan soldiers as bait from the beginning, in order to eat him, the only elite cavalry of the Eastern Route Army.

When did the enemy's decoy war begin?
Could it be that starting from the attack on Chitang Pass, the Khitan people's purpose was to lure the main force of the Zhou army to Xinkou?

The Khitan people probably never thought of going deep into the hinterland of Hedong from the very beginning. The battlefield they chose for the Zhou army was in Xinkou!

Thinking of this, Shi Yanchao broke into a cold sweat.

Suddenly, he remembered what Zhu Xiu had said to him when Luzhou was leaving.

On this trip to the north, be careful not to advance alone and lose touch with the rear army!
His current situation is exactly what he said!

Shi Yanchao wished he could slap himself twice, but at the same time felt very grateful.

He didn't take this advice seriously at first, but after all, it was conveying the holy will of the emperor, so he dared not take it to heart.

Because of this, Shi Yanchao was very cautious from the time he pursued Brother Yelvxiu at Chitang Pass. While maintaining contact with the infantry led by Pan Mei, he controlled the pursuit distance to ensure that he would not advance alone.

What was hateful was that Brother Yelvxiu was always wandering not far in front of him, like a piece of fragrant meat, tempting him not to let go.

Shi Yanchao was filled with regret. Even though he guessed that the enemy was deceitful, he still couldn't help but pursue him all the way to avenge that one shot.

Less than half a mile behind them, the Khitan cavalry howled excitedly. Judging from the sound of galloping horses, their number was probably no less than three thousand!
Shi Yanchao looked forward and saw that the southwestern remnants of Wutai Mountain, namely Zhoushan, stood in front of him like two east-west horizontal barriers. The towering ridge lines were winding and undulating. Under the gloomy sky, the mountains appeared hard and black.

At the foot of Zhoushan Mountain, to the north is Tangmo County!
"General, look!" From behind, the deputy general shouted in surprise.

Shi Yanchao hurriedly looked over, and saw a large flag with the word Zhou flying on a spacious grassy slope in front of him, and a pioneer flag with the word history next to it!
Running closer, a dark infantry formation suddenly appeared at the end of the line of sight!
"Hahaha! Damn Bearded Pan has finally arrived! Brothers are saved!" Shi Yanchao's eyes were burning and red, and he laughed wildly from his chest.

The Zhou army's cavalry cheered and roared loudly, and some even howled loudly on the spot. They tightened their reins and ran away, howling and laughing at the same time, as if they were crazy!
Only those who see hope of survival in the desperate situation of death can understand their mood at this moment.

Most of the Zhou army's cavalry died in the battle at the foot of the rocky slope, and only they managed to break through and escape.

Seeing that the Khitan people were chasing them closer and closer, they would have to be overtaken by the Khitan cavalry before they could escape back to Tangmo County. Once they were bitten, there would be no hope of breaking out!

The pawn Pan Mei appeared just in time!

On the hillside, Pan Mei stood with her sword in her hand, her face full of solemnity, her long beard blowing gently in the wind.

In front of him, more than [-] infantry soldiers formed an array, [-] paces from east to west, about [-] meters away. The soldiers in the array held different weapons, including halberds, swords and shields, and many holding long-handled hemp. Knife.

Around the square array, military flags surround the formation, and a flag soldier is paired with a pressure soldier to ensure that the formation is tight and complete.

Seeing that the remnants of Shi Yanchao's troops were about to rush up the grassy slope, Pan Mei ordered people to raise flags, signaling Shi Yanchao and his troops to avoid both sides of the military formation.

A hundred steps away, Shi Yanchao understood what he was doing, and he and his deputy generals each led a group on the left and right, bypassing both sides of the infantry array.

Behind him, brother Yelvxiu saw the Zhou army's reinforcements from a distance. He hesitated for a moment, raised his saber high and roared: "My sons! Follow me and charge into the battle! Kill the Zhou army!"

The Khitan cavalry roared in response, their sharp sabers reflecting a white light.

Pan Mei sneered, waved and ordered, and the orderly soldier immediately waved the flag, and the infantry array shouted: "The general has an order, spread the wings!"

As the orders were issued, the soldiers in the front row of the array dispersed from both sides with a crash, and a huge gap suddenly appeared in the originally complete formation.

Looking from a distance, it looks like the infantry of the Zhou army fled in fright under the charge of the Khitan cavalry!
Brother Yelvxiu was overjoyed. The Zhou army's infantry were so timid. Isn't this a good opportunity for him to defeat the enemy?
"Charge at full speed!" Brother Yelvxiu roared, and the Khitan cavalry increased their speed again.

The formation of the Zhou army collapsed, causing Brother Yeluxiu to ignore the unfavorable situation in which his side was in an upward attack. He wanted to rely on the speed of the horse army's charge to disperse the Zhou army in one go. The army can launch another charge.

Brother Yelvxiu took the lead, leading more than [-] horsemen to roar up the hillside.

Although the slope was gentle, it still greatly slowed down the charge of the cavalry.

Looking down from a high altitude, the black tide-like Khitan cavalry, like ferocious beasts, plunged into the Zhou army's wide-open formation!

Brother Yelu Xiu rushed up the hillside and found that in front of him, in addition to the Zhou army's banner, there were rows of neatly arranged horses. He quickly yanked the reins to rein in the horses!

Some Khitan cavalrymen had no time to slow down and collided head-on with Juma. Both men and horses were pierced by spiked lance heads!

On the hillside, Pan Meihong yelled angrily with her eyes: "Recover the two wings! Take the halberd!"

The flag bearers beside them changed their flags repeatedly. On the east and west sides of the broad hillside, the Zhou army infantry that had been scattered regrouped and formed a flying geese formation to close towards the central gap!
The Khitan cavalry had all rushed into the depths of the Zhou army's position, but because there were rows of horse and spear formations blocking the way on the hillside, the momentum of the charge was interrupted, and a large number of cavalry were crowded into piles!

The Zhou army's infantry surrounded them from all sides, and the halberd soldiers in the front row extended their hooks and halberds to hook the horses' legs, or chop down the Khitan soldiers on horseback!
Pan Mei yelled again: "Use the Maza knife! Give me a hard slash at the horse's leg!"

The first row of halberd soldiers retreated quickly after the first wave of attacks, and the soldiers in the back row holding long-handled knives followed closely, wielding mazha knives specifically to chop the horse's legs!

When the Khitans fell from their horses, a third wave of sword and shield soldiers rushed forward and hacked them to death. Many of them were directly crushed to death by the wailing and neighing fallen horses, or died from the chopping of hook halberds and maza knives. Down!
The three waves of infantry cooperated with each other and advanced from all sides, gradually reducing the room for maneuver of the Khitan soldiers!
Brother Yeluxiu jumped off his horse, grabbed a Mazha knife, and waved it to fight with the Zhou army.

His physical strength was astonishing, he was brave and fierce, and even though he was covered in blood, he led hundreds of Khitan soldiers to block the attack direction of the Zhou army from the west.

Pan Mei was on the hillside and had a clear view of the situation in the formation, secretly sweating.

That Khitan general was truly ferocious, like a tiger driven to the brink, unleashing astonishing fighting power.

Pan Mei used her bow and arrow to shoot this man, but she killed several Khitan soldiers, but did not hurt Brother Yelu Xiu at all. She cursed angrily.

Although the Khitans suffered heavy casualties, they gradually stabilized their position under Brother Yelvxiu's tenacious resistance.

Pan Mei shook his head. If he continued to fight like this, it would be detrimental to his own side. Even if he could annihilate all the Khitan soldiers, his more than 5000 infantry would have to pay a heavy price.

The flag was waved again, and a gap opened in the northwest corner of the hillside. Brother Yelvxiu got on his horse, roared several times in Khitan, and fled in panic with the remaining cavalry.

On the hillside, a few hundred meters away, there were corpses of Khitan soldiers. The grass was moistened with blood, which would make the land more fertile in the coming year.

The Zhou army soldiers cheered for victory and then began to clean the battlefield.

Shi Yanchao and Pan Mei stood on the top of the hillside, overlooking the direction of Xinkou. There was a little smoke and dust. It seemed that the Khitan cavalry army that had broken out of the encirclement was escaping back in embarrassment.

Shi Yanchao fell down on the grass tiredly and said with a wry smile: "Pan Huzi, I, Shi Yanchao, have recorded this life-saving kindness, and I will repay you in the future!"

Pan Mei stroked her long beard and said with a smile: "General Shi wants to thank you, let me thank Zhu Xiu!"

Shi Yanchao sighed: "It's also thanks to Zhu Xiu who conveyed His Majesty's instructions, allowing me to pay more attention to the Khitan people.

Otherwise, once you fall into the trap and get into Xinkou, you will probably be dead. "

Pan Mei said leisurely: "Your Majesty's great fortune is certainly important, but General Shi really thinks that your Majesty would have expected that the Khitan troops would be so cunning this time?" Shi Yanchao was stunned, "What do you mean?"

Pan Meidao said: "Your Majesty aims to be east of the river. Although he has taken precautions against the Khitan, he is inevitably a little careless. What Zhu Xiu told you was actually his own intention.

It's just that he knew that General Shi was a veteran on the battlefield and had a fiery nature. He was afraid that the general would not listen to his advice, so he pretended to say it was His Majesty's will! "

Shi Yanchao was stunned for a long time before he let out a long sigh, his face full of shame.

"Zhu Xiu knows me! This boy saved my life!" Shi Yanchao sighed.

Pan Mei smiled and said nothing more.

He didn't know whether Zhu Xiu really saw the danger in Shi Yanchao's appearance and wanted to save his life, or whether he wanted to take this opportunity to win over Shi En.

In short, judging from the process of this trip to the north to fight against the Khitan reinforcements, it is very close to Zhu Xiu's previous inference.

Pan Mei's trust in Zhu Xiu rose to a new level.

"Mom, when you go back, you have to ask Zhu Xiu to help me look at my face and see if I will have wealth and a long life in this life." Pan Mei muttered in her heart.

"By the way, does General Shi know who is the leader of the Khitan cavalry?" Pan Mei asked curiously.

He clearly remembered that the guy was shot by him with arrows more than a dozen times and still didn't die.

Shi Yanchao stood up and gritted his teeth and said: "A young general named Brother Yelvxiu, from what I heard, comes from a noble family in the B-room, and he became the leader at a young age. It's not easy!"

Pan Mei silently kept this name in her heart.

"Let's go and retreat to Tangmo County. Queen Wei's army is almost here."

The two gathered their troops and horses, buried the corpses of Zhou army soldiers, and retreated to Tangmo County to rest and recuperate.

On the top of the hillside, facing the direction of Xinkou, nearly two thousand Khitan heads are placed neatly, and a brand-new Jingguan is built, as if telling the Khitan people in the north that this is what will happen if they cross Yanmen Pass.
Xinkou, bypassing the mountain pass, on the flat land on the east side of the Yunzhong River, a series of military tents are arranged in an orderly manner, and small Khitan cavalry troops enter and leave the camp from time to time.

Brother Yelvxiu led the remaining troops back to their base and stood hesitantly at the entrance of the king's tent.

His face was covered with blood and stains. He took off his iron helmet with a wolf head, and a lock of dry and knotted hair was torn off. After hesitating for a while, he opened the curtain and walked in.

"Brother Yeluxiu was defeated, and he came here to lead him to death! Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

He knelt on one knee, a soft felt rug under his feet.

The arrangement in the tent is simple, with horse-oil lamps burning in the lamps, and a huge map of Yunshuo hanging.

In the lower right corner of the map, there are a few blurry words: Supervised by the Ministry of War in the fourth year of Qianning in the Tang Dynasty

A middle-aged man wearing a cloth robe, with a string of jade beads hanging around his neck, and his hair braided stood in front of the map with his hands behind his back.

He is Yelu Talie, the king of the Southern Academy, the commander who sent troops to rescue the Northern Han Dynasty this time.

"Let's tell the truth about how we were defeated and how many casualties there were." Yelu Talie turned around, his voice was calm, and his face was neither sad nor happy.

Brother Yeluxiu gritted his teeth, and whispered his experience of this humiliating defeat.

Yelu Tarlie frowned and said in a deep voice: "Listen to what you said, the general of the Zhou army is very good at dealing with our Daliao cavalry!"

Brother Yelvxiu said bitterly: "The infantry of this Zhou army are closely coordinated and march in an orderly manner. Once formed into a formation, it will greatly limit the impact power of our cavalry!"

After a pause, Brother Yeluxiu suddenly stroked his chest and lowered his head and said: "No matter how many excuses you make, it can't hide the fact that the general is defeated. Please punish me, your Majesty!"

Yelu Talie looked at him with deep eyes and said calmly: "You underestimated the enemy and were surrounded, causing the Khitan son to die in humiliation. It is indeed a heavy crime!"

Brother Yelvxiu was filled with regret, lowered his head and gritted his teeth.

Yelu Talie said: "I will punish you not to be in charge of the army for three years, but also to study Han military books and learn more from hundreds of schools of thought! After you return, you will go to Youdu Mansion every three months and I will personally test you!"

Brother Yelvxiu was stunned for a moment, then kowtowed and said, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty, for sparing your life!"

Yelu Talie smiled slightly, "Now, I punish you to go back to the place where the death battle broke out not long ago, and take a good look."

Brother Yelvxiu asked in confusion: "What did the king want me to go back to see?"

Yelu Talie said: "Go and see those Khitan men who died in the battle! Their heads are placed like high tombs, facing the north. Because of your negligence, they will never be able to return to their hometown."

Brother Yelvxiu's strong body shook violently, his eyes turned red, revealing endless anger and shame.

Yelu Tarlie said calmly: "You don't need to hate the Han people. This is their country. After all, we are the invaders!"

After a pause, Yelu Talie smiled again and said: "But so what? The Khitan ancestors have lived among the white mountains and black waters for generations, and the eight Khitan tribes were dominant for a while. How majestic is that?

The Governor's Mansion of Jiansongmo in the Great Tang Dynasty implemented the rule of restraint on the Khitan people. For almost 300 years, the Khitan people have always been the slaves of the Han people.

It wasn't until Holy Lord Abaoji came to this world that he unified the Khitan tribe!
The Khitan people have ushered in the most glorious and prosperous era. If they want to dominate the world, they must compete with the Han people of the Southern Dynasties!
This actually has nothing to do with hatred, but a life and death struggle between two ethnic groups.

The Han people want to drive us back to the cold Liaoze to be with the wild beasts in the mountains and forests, but we also want to live a stable life with no worries about food and clothing like the Han people.

Just look at it, the Khitans and the Han people will be at war for a long time. "

Brother Yelvxiu listened silently, his clenched fists gradually loosened, and he said softly: "I understand, the king asked me to go back to the battlefield where the Khitan son was buried, not to make me remember hatred, but to let me remember this. The lessons of this failure are engraved in my bones!”

"Yes, as long as you understand. Go ahead and think about why you failed this time!
If you think about it, you will have a chance to win next time! "Yelü Talie stood up and said.

Brother Yelvxiu took a deep breath, lowered his head and caressed his chest, and exited the tent.

After he left, Yelu Talie opened the last letter planned, which was an urgent letter.

Zheng Chuqian, the state defense envoy of the Northern Han Dynasty, suddenly sent troops to block Yanmen Pass, changed the flag of the Zhou army, and declared his surrender to the Zhou Dynasty!
Yanmen Pass is the retreat for the Khitan army and there is no room for failure.

But Yelu Talie didn't panic, although Zheng Chuqian betrayed the Northern Han Dynasty, he still had other chess pieces to deal with.

However, this incident made Yelu Talie wary.

He knew that the Khitan army could not continue deep into the hinterland of Hedong and could only stay at Xinkou to confront the Zhou army.

Taiyuan City can only seek blessings for itself.

(End of this chapter)