The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 329 The troops are approaching the city
As Yao Shimin rode on his horse, watching the retreating Liao army, his thoughts were in turmoil, but he ultimately suppressed the urge to pursue them.

He longed to press his advantage and advance straight to the walls of Miachuan, or perhaps launch a full-scale attack on Miachuan, which was not a formidable city and could be captured directly.

But after much deliberation, he remained silent. The military order instructed him to attack the Liao camp, but it did not specify that he should attack Miechuan after taking the Liao camp.

If disobeying orders results in victory, that's fine, but if they fail to capture Mie River and suffer casualties, they won't be able to explain themselves.

Even if he felt that capturing Miechuan was a piece of cake, he couldn't afford to gamble on the possibility of something going wrong in the first battle against Liao!

Yao Shimin took a deep breath, ordered his soldiers to report the news to the rear, and then ordered them to clean up the battlefield and reorganize their troops.

At this moment, a boy next to him said, "Seventh Uncle, why not pursue the Liao soldiers? Even if we can't capture Miechuan City, a chase would surely inflict heavy losses on them."

Yao Shimin turned his head and saw that it was his cousin Yao Youzhong. Yao Youzhong was Yao Gu's son, and he was fifteen years old, a few years younger than Zhe Yanzhi. He had already joined the army and was fighting.

"Military orders cannot be disobeyed, and there must be some hidden reason for this sudden war against Liao. Without knowing the specific situation, it is not advisable to act rashly."

Yao Youzhong nodded upon hearing this: "Nephew understands."

After a while, the army slowly advanced from the rear. The front was full of cavalry, with the Dragon Elephant Army in the middle carrying the commander's flag and surrounding Zhao Ti, while the rear was made up of infantry.

Yao Shimin hurriedly went over to pay his respects, and Zhao Ti nodded: "Well done. Remember this merit, and we will discuss and reward you together in the future."

Yao Shimin said anxiously, "Your Highness, I have some questions..."

Zhao Ti asked, "What is it that you don't understand?"

Yao Shimin said, "I originally wanted to press my advantage and take Miechuan, wouldn't that be even better? But Your Highness has not given any orders, so I dared not..."

Zhao Ti smiled upon hearing this and said, "You're right. The fact that you were able to control your temper and not act rashly shows that you are resourceful and steady. You are capable of taking on important responsibilities in the future."

Yao Shimin was delighted upon hearing this, knowing that Zhao Ti would surely have thought of pressing his advantage and advancing. There must have been some details he was unaware of, and it was right not to rashly pursue him.

After Zhao Ti recounted the events on the other side of the Yellow River, Yao Shimin exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness, does this mean there must be reinforcements at Mi'e River?"

Zhao Ti nodded: "I don't know if the reinforcements have arrived or are still on their way. If they have already reached Miechuan City, even if you are not ambushed while you are chasing them, you will definitely suffer losses if the enemy army launches a surprise attack when you reach the city."

Yao Shimin couldn't help but feel relieved, and then said, "Your Highness, now..."

Zhao Ti said, "Scouts have already been dispatched to explore the surrounding areas. The army can advance slowly. Even if reinforcements arrive at Miechuan, the troops will be prepared."

The army then slowly advanced, with dozens of scouts constantly returning to report news. When they reached about seven or eight miles from the city, one scout team returned wounded, having lost two men.

Zhao Ti inquired about the situation and learned that they had encountered a large Liao army in the direction of the Mi'e River to the east. They had to be quick to return, otherwise they would all be left behind.

Zhao Ti pondered for a moment and asked, "How many people do you estimate there are?"

The scout captain reported: "Your Highness, there are more than ten thousand men."

"More than 10,000 people?" Zhao Ti nodded.

Just then, two more scout groups returned and discovered traces of the Liao army, one in the northwest of the city and the other in the west, each numbering in the tens of thousands.

Yao Shimin said, "Your Highness, the Liao army camp originally had only 10,000 to 20,000 men, and the city had about the same number. Now, at least 30,000 men have been discovered outside, so reinforcements must have arrived."

Zhao Ti nodded. The garrison at the two military posts was about the same size. At this point, the troops outside couldn't possibly abandon the city and all run out.

“Your Highness, I think it’s not advisable to continue advancing so easily. We should set up camp here,” Zhe Keshi said from the side.

Zhao Ti smiled slightly: "This time of year is different from other seasons. With so many troops and horses, it would take a long time to set up camp. The enemy will definitely send people to scout, and they will inevitably take the opportunity to harass and launch surprise attacks."

Zhe Keshi said, "Your Highness means..."

Zhao Ti said, "Since the scouts have alerted the enemy, let's pretend to set up camp and lay an ambush to see if they take the bait."

Yao Shimin said, "Your Highness's plan is brilliant. The enemy will definitely not expect it and will surely launch a surprise attack."

Zhao Ti said, "Although our army is not yet exhausted, we have been on the move and have just experienced an attack on a camp. It is not advisable to start a major battle. Let's arrange our weapons properly and make more use of crossbows and arrows."

Zhe Keshi said, "Your Highness is quite right. I will arrange for someone to go and make the arrangements immediately."

Yao Shimin glanced at him, thinking to himself that he was a sycophant who had no opinions of his own, and said, "Your Highness, I am willing to lead a troop of soldiers to hide in the distance and launch a surprise attack on the Liao army after they are defeated."

Zhao Ti laughed and said, "That's fine, but most of the grassland is flat, and now that the grass is withered, there's not much to hide behind. Be careful not to be discovered by the other side."

Yao Shimin bowed and said, "Your subordinate understands." After saying that, he turned around and went to muster the troops.

The Song army then stopped in place, pretending to set up camp. The soldiers appeared to be busy digging, pulling ropes, and banging on things, but in reality they were inspecting cannons, crossbows, and other equipment.

After about half an hour, a scout came galloping from afar. Before he even arrived, he was already making hand signals from his horse.

Upon seeing this, Zhe Keshi immediately ordered his men to be on guard. He then ordered his soldiers to lie down and listen for any sounds. A moment later, the soldiers shouted, "They're here! They're here! Lots of horses are moving!"

Another soldier said, "There's one over there too, the sound of horses' hooves."

Zhao Ti raised an eyebrow: "Get ready."

His side consisted of half cavalry and half infantry. After giving the order, all the cavalry mounted their horses, while the infantry prepared their bows, arrows, and weapons, getting ready for battle.

In just over ten breaths, large numbers of Liao troops charged in from two directions in the distance. They were all light cavalry, mostly carrying scimitars, bows and arrows, and a few even had hammers and axes.

The Song army, which had initially appeared disorganized, suddenly formed a battle formation. Then, the formation shifted again, with the cavalry moving to the side and revealing their siege weapons and archers.

The Liao army moved like the wind and arrived in a short time, while the Song army's artillery and crossbows fired in unison, rushing in with a whooshing sound.

Arrows rained down, immediately halting the Liao army's advance.

Although the Liao army consisted of cavalry, they were all light cavalry. While the leather armor of the light cavalry offered some protection against arrows, they were not heavy cavalry covered in iron armor. Too many arrows would be unbearable, inevitably leading to injury. And if an arrow hit a warhorse, the horse would also be unable to withstand it.

At this time, the surrounding countries no longer had heavy cavalry. The Liao's heavy cavalry, the Iron Forest Army, had been wiped out years ago, and the Song's heavy cavalry, the Jing Sai Army, had also been disbanded before the Battle of Chanyuan.

As for the Iron Falcons of Western Xia, they were all decimated in the war to destroy Western Xia. Zhao Ti was willing to rebuild the Iron Falcons, but this matter was different from others. First, it required Zhao Xu's approval, and second, it needed to be discussed and debated in court.

Secondly, the cost of the Iron Falcons is simply too enormous. Thousands of layers of cold-forged armor and matching weapons are not only astronomical in terms of money, time, and effort, but the warhorses are also hard to find. The Iron Falcons' warhorses are not ordinary warhorses, and training them takes a lot of time after selection.

In addition, there is the selection of soldiers. The Iron Falcon has extremely strict requirements for the height and weight standards of soldiers.

The iron hawks of the Western Xia also had another name, called the Pingxia Iron Hawks, and there were matching infantrymen known as the Hengshan Infantrymen.

Both sides have fixed sources of soldiers in one place and a few fixed ethnic groups. From a young age, the soldiers practice cooperating with each other and fighting in armor.

The Hengshan Bubazi are almost entirely composed of Tangut people from Hengshan. From a young age, they have been trained to climb up and down hills, enter and exit streams, and are able to travel high and far. They are light-footed and good at walking, and can strike and attack enemies in deep and dangerous valleys.

Even if qualified soldiers were selected, this was not something that could be done in a short time, and training would take a long time. Therefore, Zhao Ti temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​rebuilding the Iron Falcon Heavy Cavalry.

At this time, the Liao soldiers were all light cavalry. After a volley of arrows, many of them fell. The catapults and crossbows were even more lethal. They attacked unexpectedly and immediately disrupted the Liao army's formation.

The Liao army had already reacted, but having galloped this far, it was not easy to turn back. The commander shouted angrily and ordered them to take a roundabout route, dodging the arrows as they continued forward.

But after two more volleys of crossbow bolts, the Liao army could no longer hold out. No matter which way they tried to flank them, they were met with arrows. So they shouted loudly, turned their horses around, leaving behind a field of corpses, and ran back the way they came.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Ti raised his eyebrows and immediately ordered his cavalry to give chase.

Once cavalry gains momentum on the grasslands and fires arrows from behind, it is very difficult to reverse the situation unless they are numerous, fast-moving, and extremely powerful. However, the Liao army at present is clearly not like that.

The Liao army was in a state of panic, and their horses were not much faster than those of the Song army. As for their combat strength, the Liao state had hardly fought any wars against foreign powers in recent years, and at most they had only quelled internal rebellions.

However, the Liao Dynasty had a vast army, with a regular strength of around 400,000 to 500,000, and the ability to mobilize 1.7 to 1.8 million troops in times of war, a number that the Song Dynasty could hardly match.

With so many soldiers, most wouldn't even get a chance to quell a rebellion. Besides, where would there be so many rebellions to suppress? Yelü Hongji had been in power for over forty years, and there was only one major rebellion in the ninth year of the Qingning era. In recent years, there had been two or three minor rebellions, but during the Dakang and Da'an eras, a force of over ten thousand men was easily dealt with.

Therefore, the Liao army had not actually fought a real battle for many years. Even when Yelü Duanqing led his troops south to capture Miechuan Military Command, not a single sword or spear was fired. At that time, a prince of Western Xia was stationed there, and when he saw the Liao army arrive, he surrendered the entire city.

Although the Liao army often trained and hunted on the grasslands, and their combat strength surpassed that of the Song imperial guards in the Central Plains, the Song soldiers in the Hetao region at this time were all Western Army soldiers.

The Western Army was skilled in mountain warfare but relatively unfamiliar with plains. However, they pressed their advantage and, taking advantage of the situation, the Liao army, which had almost no combat experience, routed the Liao forces, causing them to flee in panic.

After chasing for five or six miles, Yao Shimin suddenly appeared from the side and led his soldiers to attack directly.

The Liao army was caught off guard by the ambush and panicked. Like startled birds, they made no attempt to fight back. Yao Shimin and his men intercepted them and slaughtered them. The Liao army left behind a trail of corpses and fled in a different direction.

The two groups chased each other for another mile or two before turning their horses around and heading back.

After a while, Zhao Ti saw the pursuing troops return to report, thought for a moment and smiled, "Now we can set up camp."

Upon hearing this, Zhe Keshi immediately went to relay the order, and the soldiers sprang into action, setting up camp by nightfall.

Then, the various arrangements were made, cooking was done, the soldiers ate and rested, and Zhao Ti held a meeting in his command tent.

At this moment, the lights were on full display, and the generals sat on both sides. Scouts returned in waves, and Zhao Ti listened to the news one by one before pondering for a moment.

Zhe Keshi said, "Your Highness, the Liao army has suffered a great defeat and will surely retreat into the city. May we launch an attack on the city tomorrow?"

"Hide in and not come out?" Zhao Ti slowly shook his head: "The Liao army has no fewer troops than ours, and may even have more. How can they possibly defend the city? Defending the city is a strategy of using fewer troops to resist more. They were quick-witted before and dared to launch a surprise attack. They may be thinking of some other way."

Yao Shimin said, "Your Highness, will the Liao army... come to raid our camp again tonight?"

"A sneak attack?" Zhe Keshi said, "Does the Liao army have such audacity? They suffered two defeats during the day, and now they dare to launch a sneak attack at night?"

Yao Shimin said, "That's hard to say. After Yelü Duanqing left, the general guarding Miechuan was Xiao Zhen. He was calm and steady, but it's hard to say who the commander who came to reinforce the troops is."

Zhe Keshi said, "Judging from what he did during the day, he seems to be a very quick-witted person."

Yao Shimin said, "The Liao Kingdom has not experienced war for many years. Since they are so active, they must have read military books, but they are probably just armchair strategists. If that's the case, then the possibility of a surprise attack on their camp is very high."

Zhe Keshi thought for a moment and looked at Zhao Ti: "Your Highness, if we follow the military strategy, there is a slight possibility."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "Do you mean to simply copy everything that's written in the military treatise?"

Yao Shimin said, “Your Highness, the Liao soldiers took advantage of our army’s unsettled arrival during the day to set up camp and launch a surprise attack on us, only to be ambushed. They must be filled with regret. Now that they have discovered that our army has indeed set up camp again, they will be even more furious. Putting themselves in their shoes, they might think that our army is exhausted after the day’s victory and will be unprepared at night, so they will launch another surprise attack.”

Zhao Ti clapped his hands and said, "Well said! In that case, let's hurry up and make the arrangements."

Upon hearing this, everyone rose and bowed, saying, "As you command."

Watching the generals leave, Zhao Ti picked up a book from the table and began to read. After more than half an hour, Zhe Keshi came in to report. After listening, Zhao Ti returned to his tent, blew out the lamp, and lay down.

As midnight approached, Zhao Ti gently opened his eyes in bed, a smile playing on his lips.

He could already hear the sound of horses' hooves in the distance, heading straight for Mi'e River. It seemed that the Liao army had indeed come to raid their camp.

A moment later, a commotion arose outside; it was the sound of horses kicking the tents. The enemy had actually entered the camp.

Zhao Ti sat up from the couch. At that moment, shouts of battle arose in the camp, and the ambush troops were revealed on all sides, beginning to snipe at the Liao army.

He listened for a few breaths, and was about to get off the bed when he raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at the top of the wall on one side of the tent.

Then, the tent wall made an extremely faint hissing sound, and then suddenly cracked open to reveal the night outside. A figure moved with incredible speed, as if chasing the wind and lightning, and flashed in.

Zhao Ti squinted his eyes on the bed and said calmly, "Who is it?"

A cold glint flashed in the shadowy figure's hand; it was unclear whether it was a sword or a dagger-like weapon. Without answering, the figure charged directly at him.

Hearing the commotion, the soldiers outside rushed in, running forward to try and stop them, shouting in shock and anger, "Where did this assassin come from? What a coward!"

But the shadowy figure moved too fast, and in the blink of an eye, it was on the bed, its cold light pointing directly at Zhao Ti.

(End of this chapter)