Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 741

It turns out that the garrison commander of Wen'an County was Kangli Ding'an, the elder brother of the Empress of the Liao Kingdom. He was not only powerful but also brave. He had two vice ministers under his command guarding Bazhou.

These two men were named Jin Fu, the Vice Minister, and Ye Qing, the Vice Minister. Although their martial arts skills were only average, they were adept at governing the people. Taking advantage of their geographical location, there had been no major conflicts between the Song and Liao dynasties for over a hundred years, and Bazhou was well-governed.

When Tong Guan invaded, the emperor's brother-in-law Kangli Ding'an asked Bo Jin, the general guarding Tanzhou, for help. He sent his subordinates Aliqi and Chu Mingyu to assist in guarding Dacheng County in front of the pass.

The world of the Liao and Song dynasties was formed, and the emperor's brother-in-law Kangli Ding'an only guarded Wen'an County.

In Dacheng County, Aliqi and Chu Mingyu were killed. Zhang Qing seized the opportunity to capture Yijin Pass and Wen'an County. The emperor's brother-in-law Kangli Anding, Vice Minister Jin Fu, and Vice Minister Ye Qing were all taken prisoner.

In this battle, more than 5,000 Liao and Han soldiers were captured.

After confiscating weapons and armor, Zhang Qing dispatched troops to have Wang Bing come to their aid.

Upon hearing this, Wang Bing left 1,000 men to guard Dacheng County, and after passing Yijin Pass, he left another 500 men to guard the pass walls. Only then did he lead the remaining 3500 cavalry and infantry to take over the defense of Wen'an County.

Interrogating Kangli Anding, Vice Minister Jin Fu, and Vice Minister Ye Qing revealed that the Baoding Army was unmanned.

Zhang Qing left behind 500 elite cavalrymen and drew 500 imperial guardsmen from Wang Bing's troops. After a day's rest, they marched towards Baoding Army.

The Baoding Army consisted of only two fortresses, Taohua and Anning, with a little over a thousand households and a population of less than three thousand. The Liao army, having captured Xiongzhou and Mozhou, then easily took over the Baoding Army.

Zhang Qing left behind Wang Lin, nicknamed "Black Second Brother," to guard Yijin Pass, and led Su Ding, nicknamed "Double Swordsman," Gong Wang, nicknamed "Flower-Necked Tiger," and Ding Desun, nicknamed "Arrow-Struck Tiger," with two thousand cavalrymen to attack Anding Army.

Although the Anding Army only has two forts, it is adjacent to Guixin County in Xiong Prefecture. Once it is occupied, it can directly attack Xiong Prefecture and cut off the Liao army's return route to the south in Mo Prefecture.

They still had Su Ding, the "Double Swordsman," lead the way with Vice Minister Ye Qing. Two thousand cavalrymen quietly occupied the second fortress, which was guarded by less than five hundred men.

After Zhang Qing divided his troops to guard the two fortresses of Peach Blossom and Anning, he sent [Jade Dragon] Xu Jin to send a message to the infantry led by [Blood Monk] Guang Hui, who was providing support from behind.

At the same time, Shi Wengong and his five men, commanding three thousand elite cavalrymen, also marched westward into Mozhou. The three thousand cavalrymen reached Renqiu, the only county town in Mozhou, the next day.

The general guarding Renqiu is a Liao general, the two brothers Yelü Guozhen and Yelü Guobao, who are both brave enough to withstand ten thousand men.

Seeing that there were only three thousand cavalrymen outside the city, Yelü Guozhen was about to muster his troops to leave the city.

Yelü Guobao said, “Brother, the banners outside don’t belong to the Song army. Be careful, they might be reinforcements invited by that eunuch Tong Guan. Furthermore, the Minister of the Eastern Immortal Palace, Bo Jin, is leading 10,000 troops to attack Hejian Prefecture. This army is very suspicious. We should focus on defending the city while sending out scouts to report to Hejian Prefecture and Xiongzhou.”

Yelü Guozhen said, “Brother, you are being too cautious. Even if Prime Minister Bojin’s 10,000 troops are defeated, not a single one of them will escape. This army is coming from the east, which means that Hejian Prefecture is in dire straits and the Song troops stationed in Qingzhou are coming to its aid. This is to disrupt Prime Minister Bojin’s army.”

"Although the banner is not Tong Guan's, the armor is genuine. It is still in the style of the Song Dynasty's Imperial Guard. Although there are many cavalrymen, I have eight thousand soldiers here. Brother, lead the troops to defend the city and hold the line for me. Watch as I lead the troops out of the city and break through their defenses."

Upon hearing this, Yelü Guobao looked around and, seeing that there were indeed only three thousand soldiers below, nodded in agreement.

The southern barbarians were weak and no match for the Liao warriors. They could only rely on their strongholds and the advantage of their bows and crossbows to keep their guard up. But in mounted combat, how could they possibly be a match for the Liao's Imperial Guard Cavalry?

Defeating this army would relieve the threat to the [Dongxian Attendant] in the south, who was now facing attacks from both sides. Yelü Guozhen ordered the city gates to be opened, and three thousand Liao [Palace Guard Cavalry] followed him out of the city.

The two armies arrayed themselves in battle formation. Yelü Guozhen stepped forward, wearing a gilded and jeweled three-pronged purple-gold crown and a golden chainmail armor with brocade trim and pearl inlay. A white jade belt cinched his waist, and a tiger-head plaque adorned his back. A carved bow was tucked into his left pocket, and a quiver of hard arrows filled his right. He carried a twelve-foot-long green-haired spear and rode a nine-foot-long silver-maned horse.

Upon emerging from the formation, Yelü Guozhen shouted, "Yelü Guozhen is here! What kind of southern barbarian dares to provoke us?"

Upon hearing this, Su Yi spurred his horse, brandished his halberd, and charged straight at Yelü Guozhen.

Yelü Guozhen, a young general, was of upright character. Upon seeing someone fighting, he laughed heartily, raised his steel spear, and charged straight at them.

The two horses clashed, spears and halberds raised side by side. Amidst the dust and shadows of battle, and the murderous aura, the two fought for more than twenty rounds. Su Yi, feeling weak, turned his horse and fled.

Upon seeing this, Yelü Guozhen did not give chase, but laughed loudly and said, "You southern barbarian, do you know how powerful your grandfather is?"

This had already angered General Shi Bao of Nanli, who immediately charged forward on horseback, slashing down with his wind-splitting blade. Yelü Guozhen also spurred his horse forward and raised his spear to meet the attack.

The two were evenly matched, exchanging blows with swords and spears, fighting for fifty rounds without a clear victor.

On the city wall, Yelü Guobao, seeing that his brother had been fighting for a long time and was afraid that he was running out of strength, started gonging from the city wall.

Yelü Guozhen was in the heat of battle when he heard the gong sound. He tried to escape, but was tripped by Shi Bao and could not get away in his haste.

Yelü Guozhen was busy and his spear technique was a bit slow. Shi Bao swiftly swung his sword and cleaved him off his horse.

On the city wall, Yelü Guobao saw his brother fall from his horse. He shouted and charged down from the wall, riding a horse and carrying a spear, to rescue him.

Shi Bao picked up Yelü Guozhen from the ground and slowly walked back. Yelü Guobao shouted, "Southern barbarian, leave my brother here."

The horse galloped straight towards Shi Bao, and just as the spear tip was about to reach him, Shi Bao dodged to the side. The horse then swung its concealed meteor hammer at Yelü Guobao's head, smashing it down with a single blow. Yelü Guobao was thrown from his horse.

With a single thrust of his spear, Shi Wengong summoned four men: Sun Xin (Little Yuchi), Su Yi (Peach Blossom Gentleman), Jin Zhuang (Flowery Arms), and Duan Pengju, who led their troops in a charge.

Shi Bao also abandoned Yelü Guozhen's corpse and turned to charge at the Liao army's cavalry.

Without their commander, Shi Wengong and his four men were like tigers among sheep, leading their cavalry in a fierce battle. The Liao army was thrown into chaos and scattered in all directions.

Take advantage of the situation and occupy the city of Renqiu.

The people in the city were all Song people. When they saw Shi Wengong and his group, they spread the word. The gentry in the city took the initiative to help maintain order, conscript able-bodied men to assist in guarding the city and protecting the prisoners.

After pacifying the people, Shi Wengong immediately dispatched Su Yi, the "Peach Blossom Gentleman," with a cavalry unit to Hejian County to report the news and arrange for Tong Guan's army to attack the isolated force that had penetrated deep into Hejian Prefecture and was attacking the troops of Bo Jin, the "Dongxian Attendant," in Shucheng County.

(End of this chapter)