first-class champion

Under the urging of Li Ye, with the full cooperation of the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, coupled with the initial preparations for the first Northern Expedition for Zhang Jun, Wei Zhaodu and others, it took only one month, and thousands of mortars were fired. , Millions of arrows will be sent to the front line, and all the preparatory work will be completed. Duan Mingyu, king of Zhao, will be the commander in chief. Go straight to Khitan country.The structure of the 26 horses is very complicated, the most important one is the Shence Army. The original Left and Right Second Route Shence Army had 30, and Li Ye specially transferred 23 Shence Army from Luoyang and Chang'an, the companion capital, for a total of 11. Luoyang, the capital, is already an empty city at this moment, followed by 3 soldiers and horses in Hedong. During the Northern Expedition, there were nearly [-] casualties in Zhenzhou, and only [-] remained, which was considered a considerable force. In the end, there were [-] troops from Jingnan. Able to exert some strength.

As soon as the entire war machine of the Tang Dynasty was in operation, money was spent like water. The three armies made up their minds, so they convened all the ministers to discuss it. It is located in the southeast of the northern branch of Taihang, and the rest of Kyushu is in the northwest of the mountain.Youzhou is in the middle, and it is the most dangerous place. Duan Mingyu's idea is to move his army to the north and take Youzhou directly. If he captures this point, he can expand to the two wings, connect with the Jurchen in the east, and then use the Jurchen and other ethnic minorities to connect with each other to form a whole world. Khitan jaws.

The officials of the Khitan Dynasty were shocked when they learned that the Tang State was launching a large-scale military campaign to the north, and the news spread to the palace. Yelu Abaoji couldn't help being furious when he heard the news.

Khitan Emperor Yelu Abaoji immediately summoned civil and military officials to discuss countermeasures, and all civil and military officials discussed in the palace for half a day.A series of edicts to levy food, soldiers and horses flew out of Shangjing.Shangjing is the capital of the Khitan Kingdom, but Youzhou is also another administrative center, which can be regarded as an accompanying capital, because Youzhou City is located in the center of Yandi and is the core of the entire Yandi, so the Khitan Kingdom attaches great importance to it , so the Khitan Kingdom also called Youzhou Yanjing, which together with Shangjing was called the second Khitan capital.

Khitan Emperor Yelu Abaoji ordered the whole country to quickly gather troops to prepare for the Northern Expedition of the Tang Dynasty. A heavy army consolidated An and Zhuozhou. Controlling cranes, Yulin, Xiaowu and other armies dispatched under the command of the king of the North Courtyard; and the clan tent armies of Khitan, Nine Nu, Xi, and Nanbeipishi all listened to them.At the same time, soldiers and horses were mobilized from Shangjing non-stop, and the total strength is expected to reach 25.

With such an arrangement in the military, there is also a war of words to be fought. Yandi Han'er, who served the Khitan Kingdom, also issued a crusade.

At the end of August, under the scorching sun, Duan Mingyu, king of Zhao in the Tang Dynasty, led the elite Shence Army Forbidden Army to leave Zhenzhou. Six days later, they arrived in Jinrutun. Mahe brazenly entered Khitan territory. Due to the decline of several generations of monarchs in the late Tang Dynasty, the strength was not as good as that in the early and middle Tang Dynasties. The foundation was weak. After the defeat of the first Northern Expedition, [-] troops were burned, so it was not enough to support a whole army. In fact, sending troops to the Northern Expedition in August is already a strategic mistake, because the weather will turn cold soon, the river will freeze, and the transportation of military supplies will be inconvenient. Moreover, the Han people are not resistant to severe cold, and the weather factor is relatively large. It is precisely because of this that this war cannot withstand consumption, and there is only a chance to buy and sell with a hammer. Once Datang is deeply involved in the quagmire of the war, the consequences will be self-evident, but fortunately, due to the weak foundation of Datang, it will not survive. Therefore, the generals are not prepared to fight a long-term war. In general, it is four words: quick battle and quick decision.

In terms of the quality of individual soldiers, both the Shence Army and the local vassals and towns of the Tang State are well-equipped and well-trained, while the Khitans are tough and natural fighters, and both sides have their own advantages.

The Khitan army is dominated by cavalry, with strong mobility, but the initiative in this war is not in their hands. The Khitan nation has been established for several years, and has gradually learned to transition from a nomadic civilized society to a feudal civilized society. In fact, during Wu Zetian’s time, The Khitan people gradually began to reflect on the feasibility and long-term adaptability of the nomadic society.

From the time of Wu Zetian, the Khitan Kingdom began to try to break away from the high-handed rule of the Tang Dynasty. Basically, all the people are soldiers, and it is easier to win. However, in the early and middle Tang Dynasties, the Tang Dynasty was extremely prosperous and had a solid foundation. After one failure, they could come back again, but the nomads can’t do it. Once they fail once, they will be destroyed. hit.

Therefore, in the late period of Wu Zetian, the Khitan people began to build their own cities, and they continued to invade the south, and won the city by plunder. The brothers fought fiercely, which gave Khitan an opportunity to take advantage of. Later, Emperor Zhu Wen of the Liang Kingdom offered land, so that the Khitan people obtained the sixteen prefectures of Youyun at a very small price, and possessed a large number of cities and settled urban people. If there is a city, it must be defended. The Tang army’s Northern Expedition is to force it to abandon its strengths and make it short. In terms of city offensive and defensive warfare and positional offensive and defensive warfare, the power of cavalry cannot be displayed at all. Tang Ren's Bingfeng?

So Duan Mingyu entered the territory of the Khitan Kingdom and attacked the city and pulled out the villages all the way. Liu Fang, the governor of Khitan Yizhou, and Fan Weiqi, the judge of Zhuozhou, saw that the Song army was strong, and suddenly lost all will to fight. They offered Yizhou and Zhuozhou to Tang one after another. Boosting the morale of the Tang army, Duan Mingyu accepted the surrender of the Khitan army and incorporated them into his own team, while continuing to march north without stopping. Ten days later, he arrived at the foot of the city of Youzhou and stationed in the ** temple in the south of the city of Youzhou...

The Tang Army's 30 troops arrived at the foot of Youzhou City in just ten days, and captured two big cities in the middle. Such a marching speed was simply appalling in that era. The news spread back to the Tang Kingdom, and everyone cheered in the streets and alleys , it seems that victory is within reach.No one thought that the powerful Khitan from Shixiang would be so vulnerable to a paper tiger.