Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 752 Abandoning the City
With Wuyan Yanshou entering the city, the morale of the Liao army in the city recovered somewhat.

Wuyan Yanshou opened the treasury again and generously bestowed rewards, greatly boosting the morale of the Liao army in Jizhou.

The next day, Li Ji led three thousand cavalrymen out of the north gate, circled half the city, and came to the south gate to challenge them to battle.

The south gate had long been destroyed by Gao Ang and his men with cannons. It was only by filling the gate opening with bricks, stones and mud that the Liang soldiers were able to break in.

Although the east and west city gates were not destroyed by cannon fire, they were still bombarded. Only the north gate was not besieged by the Liang soldiers.

Three thousand cavalrymen left the city, and scouts spotted them and immediately reported back to Zhang Qing.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qing ordered the Shenji Battalion to retreat back into their formation to avoid being ambushed by the Liao army.

By the time Li Ji arrived with his troops, Zhang Qing had already formed his battle formation.

Li Ji arrived, but did not challenge them to battle. Instead, he led three thousand cavalrymen to attack Zhang Qing's main force.

The volley of crossbow fire slightly slowed the Liao army's advance.

After the three arrows, the Liao army crashed into the seemingly weakest link in the formation of 5,000 imperial guards led by Liu Guangshi.

In an instant, men and horses were thrown into chaos. Liu Guangshi shouted loudly, mobilizing his troops to prevent the army from collapsing.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Qing, who was stationed in the central army, immediately urged his cavalry to charge towards the Liao army's cavalry formation.

The two, [Blood Monk] Guanghui and [Precious Light Tathagata] Deng Yuanjue, split into two groups, flanking from the left and right.

After Zhang Qing's cavalry charged through, they cut the Liao army into two parts.

The vanguard charged into Liu Guangshi's army formation, while the rear was blocked outside the town.

Guanghui and Deng Yuanjue then surrounded the troops.

On the city wall, Wuyan Yanshou was shocked to see this and exclaimed, "Are the Liang soldiers really this elite?"

Tai Zhen Xu Qing said, "Little Commander, this group is far more elite than the Song army. Their cavalry is no less than ours, and they have the advantage of firearms. Their armor is strong and their weapons are sharp. The elite troops of Jizhou have all been transferred to Tanzhou, so naturally they are no match for them and have suffered repeated defeats."

"The Liang army is in high spirits now, and even with the elite troops of the Junior Commander coming to their aid, they will not gain any advantage. Li Ji's troops are few and cannot win, so it would be better to sound the retreat. With the city's strong defenses, Jizhou can still be defended."

Seeing the situation below the city, Wuyan Yanshou was at a loss. Upon hearing Taizhen Xuqing's words, he immediately ordered, "Sound the retreat."

Having said that, Wuyan Yanshou descended the city wall with a grim expression.

On the city wall, soldiers began to beat gongs.

Upon hearing this, Li Ji immediately rallied his soldiers and charged out of the enemy lines.

After a long and arduous battle, Liu Guangshi saw that the Liao army was about to retreat, so he shouted loudly for his soldiers to advance.

Seeing Li Ji brandishing his spear and fighting left and right, Liu Guangshi drew out a powerful bow, held his breath, and shot at Li Ji.

Li Ji, who was charging left and right, fell off his horse.

Liu Guangshi shouted, "The Liao general is dead! Kill him!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers' morale soared, and they charged forward with all their might.

Taizhen Xuqing, seeing this from the city wall, closed his eyes and sighed, "It's over."

With Li Ji's death, the Liao army collapsed. Zhang Qing led his cavalry in a counterattack, and more than half of the three thousand Liao soldiers were killed in battle, while the rest were captured.

Liang Jun returned to his camp after beating the victory drum, while Tai Zhen Xu Qing hurriedly returned to the Jizhou government office.

"Young Commander, General Li Ji has died in battle." "What?" Wuyan Yanshou exclaimed in shock.

"Young Commander, now we can only hope that the Deputy Commander can defeat the Liang army and come to our rescue. Alternatively, we can take advantage of the Liang army's retreat now and break through to return to Youzhou."

"We don't know when we'll be able to defeat He Zhongbao. If the Liang army is this elite, even if He Zhongbao has magical powers, we don't know how long it will take for him to come to our rescue."

"How much longer can Jizhou City hold out? What does Your Highness think we should do?"

Tai Zhen Xu Qing said, "Young Commander, although the walls of Jizhou are sturdy, they cannot withstand the daily attacks of the Liang army. The Deputy Commander is unaware of the situation, so we should retreat to Youzhou instead."

"Firstly, the Liang army occupies Jizhou, so we need to divide our forces to guard it. Secondly, the Liang army is heading to Youzhou, and with artillery and supplies tied up, it won't be able to attack the city in a short time."

"In this way, we will have more time to maneuver. Even if the Deputy Commander cannot win, the month will have passed, and we can still hold Youzhou."

Upon hearing Taizhen Xuqing's words, Wuyan Yanshou hesitated and said, "If we return to Youzhou, I'm afraid the Liang army's cavalry will launch a surprise attack all the way. If the army collapses, it's uncertain whether we can even return to Youzhou."

"If this plan is carried out, someone will have to cover the rear."

Tai Zhen Xu Qing nodded and said, "The young commander is right. We can't just abandon Jizhou as soon as we return to Youzhou."

"General Yelü Zonglin is wounded and cannot move about. He should stay and defend the city to buy some time for our army."

Wuyan Yanshou frowned and said, "Yelü Zonglin is the emperor's nephew. All four of his brothers died in battle. I'm afraid that the future emperor's younger brother, Yelü Dezhong, will make things difficult for us."

"Young Commander, we can't worry about that now. The Imperial Nephew is seriously injured. If he rushes back to Youzhou from Jizhou, he will probably die. It would be better to defend Jizhou. Perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope there."

Upon hearing Taizhen Xuqing's words, Wuyan Yanshou said, "Alright, the two of us will go to Yelü Zonglin's residence now."

Upon hearing that Wuyan Yanshou and Taizhen Xuqing had come to visit, Yelü Zonglin left despite being ill.

After exchanging greetings, Yelü Zonglin asked, "What brings you here, Junior Commander and Imperial Son-in-Law?"

Tai Zhen Xu Qing said, "Young General, Li Ji went out of the city to charge into battle today, but unfortunately died in battle. All three thousand elite cavalrymen have been lost. I'm afraid we can't hold Jizhou City."

Upon hearing this, Yelü Zonglin asked, "Is there no reinforcement in Youzhou?"

Taizhen Xuqing explained the situation to Yelü Zonglin. After listening, Yelü Zonglin sighed and said, "Since we must protect Youzhou, we might as well give up Jizhou."

When should we leave the city?

Taizhen Xuqing said, "Could the young general possibly be traveling on horseback?"

Yelü Zonglin said, "I was hit by a stone by barbarians outside the city, which shook my internal organs. I'm afraid I can't run for long."

Looking at the two men, Yelü Zonglin sighed, "So be it. Jizhou was entrusted to my father by the King of the State. Now that Jizhou is about to fall, I am the only one of my four brothers left. I have no face to see my father. I will stay and guard Jizhou."

Wuyan Yanshou said, "I will leave you 5,000 soldiers in the city. You can use any able-bodied men in the city to go up the city walls. If the Liang army pursues us, I will need you to lead the troops to intercept them."

Yelü Zonglin said, "Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief. With me here, I will never allow the Liang army outside the city to divide their forces to pursue us. After today's great battle, the Liang army must be exhausted. Tonight, I will lead my troops to raid their camp. Regardless of victory or defeat, you will lead your troops and take advantage of the chaos to return north to Youzhou."

Taizhen Xuqing said, "In that case, young general..."

"Alright, no need to mention it again. I know what I'm doing. If I can protect Youzhou, I will naturally have my day of revenge."

The three men in the city mobilized their troops, and around midnight, Yelü Zonglin donned his armor, mounted his horse, and led two thousand elite soldiers out of the city, secretly heading towards the Liang army camp south of the city.

Wuyan Yanshou and Taizhen Xuqing led an army of over ten thousand men out of the city. Only three thousand elderly and weak people remained in the city to guard it.

(End of this chapter)