Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 744

Upon hearing this, Yelü Zonglei rebuked, "Tianshan Yong, you are also a brave warrior of Liao. Today, after your defeat, you have lost all your ambition and courage. You don't even dare to look the southern barbarians in the eye."

"If it weren't for the fact that you shot the Song general, I wouldn't have spared you today after losing territory and troops."

Upon hearing Yelü Zonglei's loud rebuke, Tianshan Yong's face flushed red.

Before further discussion, Yelü Zonglei said to Yelü Zongdian, “Brother, Minister Bojin has captured three prefectures in the Song Kingdom, forcing the eunuch Tong Guan to dare not fight. We have lost our army and territory. When Father hears of this, he will not only punish us, but also make countless people in the country look down on us brothers.”

Yelü Zong telegraphed, "What do you intend to do?"

“Brother, the Song army has won a great victory and will surely pursue us. Why don’t we mobilize all the troops in Jizhou and ambush them? In open field battles, when have we ever been afraid of the Song army?”

Yelü Zonglei said, "That's true. Our horses are fast. If we can win, we'll fight; if we can't, we'll run. However, this Song army also has more than four thousand cavalrymen. I'm afraid they won't be easy to deal with."

"Let's go back to Jizhou City and send a message to my eldest and second brothers, and see what they say."

Yelü Zong telegraphed: "Brother, go back and report. I will lead a thousand cavalrymen to investigate."

At that moment, the three men each gathered their troops. Yelü Zonglei led Tianshan Yong back to Jizhou City, while Yelü Zongdian led his troops straight to Yutian County.

Back in Jizhou City, Yelü Zonglei, along with the Tianshan warriors, recounted the events at Yutian County. Upon hearing this, Yelü Zongyun and Yelü Zonglin were both furious. "When have we ever suffered a loss in our battles against the Song army? This time, not only did we lose a general, but we also lost Yutian County!"

Yelü Zonglei said, "My fourth brother led troops to scout out Yutian County. Should we ambush him in the wilderness?"

Yelü Zonglei laid out his thoughts, and Yelü Zongyun listened and said, "Our Liao army consists of brave warriors on horseback. The Han army is best at both defending and attacking cities. The Song army was only able to break through Yutian County because of its superior numbers. Here, most of our Han army has been drawn away by Prime Minister Bojin. If we want to defend the city, we must defeat them."

“Indeed, the worst thing to do when defending a city is to hold out indefinitely. Our forces are weaker than the Song army's. If we simply stay put and do nothing, the Song army will only become more arrogant. If the Song army is allowed to deploy siege equipment and troops at their leisure, the soldiers in the city will inevitably become demoralized, and the city will not be able to be defended.”

"We should ambush them for a while, or even build a strong fortified village outside the city, forming a defensive triangle with Jizhou City, so that we can defend the city with ease."

Yelü Zonglei asked, "Brother, should we ask for reinforcements?"

"This is bad! The Song army has dared to invade Jizhou. There must be something going on with Minister Bo Jin of Tanzhou. Quickly send troops out of the city, one to Mozhou to gather information and the other to Youzhou to seek reinforcements!" Yelü Zongyun shouted upon hearing this.

The two cavalry units quickly left the city and headed to two different locations.

Yelü Zonglin asked, "Brother, should we still ambush the Song army?"

Tian Shanyong, who had remained silent until now, said, "Young generals, the troops attacking Yutian County, judging from their armor and flags, are no different from the Song army. However, the flags they are flying are those of the Liang Kingdom."

Yelü Zongyun rebuked, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"It seems that this force is not the Song army led by Tong Guan. I'm afraid there must be some trouble in Mozhou. Send another troop to inform the commander-in-chief of this news as well."

After thinking for a moment, Yelü Zongyun said, "I have never heard of this Liang Kingdom. Let's wait for my fourth brother to return and see if there is any news before we make a decision."

Immediately, everyone split up to allocate troops, weapons, and provisions, and to conscript able-bodied men from the city to defend it. Around noon the next day, more than a hundred cavalrymen, the remnants of the defeated army, fled back to Jizhou City. Yelü Zongyun immediately questioned them and learned from the fleeing soldiers that Yelü Zongdian had challenged them to battle at the city walls, but was knocked off his horse by a barbarian who hurled stones and was killed by a spear.

The army charged forward, and the Liao army was no match for them, suffering heavy losses.

Upon hearing this, Yelü Zongyun shouted, "Gather the troops and avenge my fourth brother!"

At that moment, the three Yelü brothers were all armed. They were dressed similarly, wearing iron hats and helmets with arrows, fine armor with round mirrors and willow-leaf patterns, and broom knives hanging at their waists.

Tian Shan Yong also donned his armor and mounted his horse. Yelü Zongyun shouted, "Second brother, you guard the city. Third brother and I will lead the troops to fight him. Tian Shan Yong, I'll give you a thousand cavalrymen. You will be the vanguard to scout ahead and redeem yourself through merit. You must not dampen the morale of our army."

The brothers Yelü Zongyun and Yelü Zonglei led 4,000 cavalrymen out of the city, and the army marched in a mighty force toward Yutian County.

As for Youzhou, this was where Commander-in-Chief Wuyan Guang was stationed. The battles with Tong Guan and the selection of enemy states were all handled by Wuyan Guang.

The Liao Kingdom's four prefectures had a combined army of nearly 100,000 Han and non-Han troops

After defeating Tong Guan's army in Tanzhou, Wuyan Guang mobilized his troops, ordering Bo Jin, the "Dongxian Attendant" of Tanzhou, to attack Song territory. Wuyan Guang led another army back to Youzhou, precisely to guard against Tong Guan's invasion, which would leave Youzhou unprepared and vulnerable to attack.

One winter, the two sides remained at peace. Wuyan Guang obtained a scroll that allowed him to teleport to a place he had previously visited. After arranging military affairs and handing over power to his eldest son, Wuyan Yanshou, and Deputy Commander He Zhongbao, Wuyan Guang returned to the Liao Kingdom.

In Wuyan Guang's view, Tong Guan's army was not a concern at all; a single [Dongxian Attendant] could wipe out Tong Guan. He Zhongbao was guarding Youzhou, and the imperial nephews Yelü and his brothers were all skilled in martial arts, archery, and horsemanship, and were also capable of protecting the region.

Returning to the Liao Kingdom is of paramount importance.

Therefore, after the spring, when Wuyan Guang saw that Dongxian Shilang had won a series of victories, capturing three prefectures of Song and killing and capturing two Song generals, he returned to Liao and planned to find a way to reconnect the world of Liao and Song with the world of Liao.

Yelü Zongyun sent out two groups of cavalry to seek help. After inspecting the situation, Wuyan Yanshou and Deputy Commander He Zhongbao beat the drums to gather the troops.

Before long, the four generals guarding Youzhou—Taizhen Xuqing, Li Ji, Qiong Yaonayan, and Kou Zhenyuan—gathered at the commander's mansion.

Wuyan Yanshou spoke first, saying, "The army has been defeated in Jizhou, and Yutian County has been captured. The emperor's nephews, Yelü Zongdian and Baomisheng, have been killed. Does anyone have any ideas?"

The imperial son-in-law, Taizhen Xuqing, asked, "Jizhou has the most generals, how come they couldn't even stop a eunuch?"

He Zhongbao listened and then explained the situation in Jizhou.

Tai Zhen Xu Qing said, "Isn't it possible that there is also danger at the place of [Dongxian Attendant]?"

"I have already sent scouts to Mozhou. News should arrive tomorrow."

Qiong Yaonayan said, "According to Yelü Zongyun, this army is on good terms with the Song Dynasty, and its weapons and armor are no different from those of the Song army. I wonder which army they are from?"

He Zhongbao said, "Who cares where their troops are from? We have strong and well-equipped soldiers, what are we afraid of? We should send reinforcements, we absolutely cannot let this army occupy all of Jizhou."

(End of this chapter)