I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 193: Thought he was in the game again, but was completely dumbfounded.
...

Yelü Yanxi sent someone to test Zhao Yu's resolve to withdraw his troops.

After Zhao Yu learned of this, he instructed Han Zhongyan to tell the envoy sent by Yelü Yanxi directly that his conditions had not changed and that if the annual tribute and interest were returned, the two sides could negotiate peace.

Moreover, Han Zhongyan specifically reminded the Liao envoy that the Liao Dynasty now had enough horses, cattle, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys, and should first return the interest to show its sincerity in negotiating peace.

Furthermore, the missing portion of the tribute should be retrieved from Liaoxijing, Liaozhongjing, Liaodongjing, or even Liaoshangjing. Both sides should expedite the delivery of the tribute and initiate peace negotiations.

Finally, Han Zhongyan, representing Zhao Yu, warned the Liao envoy that the Zhao Song Dynasty would never make peace or withdraw its troops without receiving annual tribute and interest, and that the two sides would have to continue fighting.

Soon, the Liao envoy relayed Zhao Yu's attitude to Yelü Yanxi.

Since the Liao army, which came to the aid of the emperor, gathered from all directions, the Song army withdrew to the Wanping and Xijin line to set up defenses and prepare for the great battle.

Even Zhao Yu's camp began to strengthen its defensive fortifications.

It is worth mentioning that the palace servants who served Zhao Yu, such as Li Chun and Cui Nianyue, as well as Xiao Sese, the three Khitan princesses, the twenty-four Khitan noblewomen who came with them as dowry, and the three hundred beautiful girls from various ethnic groups, except for ten who were particularly good at riding horses and were kept by Zhao Yu, were all escorted back to the Xiongzhou Palace by Zhao Yu's trusted men.

Zhao Yu even considered bringing Zhang Chun and Li Lin, both heavily pregnant women, back to Xiongzhou as well.

However, Zhang Chun and Li Lin did not want to leave.

Secondly, Zhang Chun and Li Lin are still useful.

Thirdly, if it were just Zhang Chun and Li Lin, both heavily pregnant women, no matter how chaotic the front lines were, Zhao Yu should be able to take them away. After all, Zhao Yu had several elite armies under his command, so escorting them back to Xiongzhou shouldn't be a problem.

In addition, Zhao Yu also withdrew all the officials of the Zhao Song Dynasty who had been sent to Yanjing City, including Su Zhe, leaving only Zhao Liangsi and Lü Yihao to negotiate with the Liao Dynasty and watch the Liao Dynasty pay annual tribute and interest.

This gave Yelü Yanxi and his ministers the wrong impression, making them believe that Zhao Yu was afraid of the Liao army that came to the aid of the emperor, that the Liao was back in power, and that Zhao Yu had gained enough benefits and was preparing to run away.

Because of this perspective on the Song army's strategic retreat, Yelü Yanxi was no longer so enthusiastic or eager to repay the annual tribute and interest to the Zhao Song Dynasty. Furthermore, the Liao Dynasty never mentioned the 50,000 horses that Yelü Yanxi had later promised, clearly indicating their intention to renege on the debt.

In fact, from the Liao Kingdom's perspective, their refusal to pay their debts was not unreasonable.

The gold, silver, silk, and other treasures and precious stones already delivered by the Liao Kingdom, along with various jewels and antiques collected from the people, horses, cattle, sheep, camels, mules, donkeys, soldiers, strategic materials, and provisions, have a total value exceeding the annual tribute extorted by the Liao Kingdom from the Song Dynasty.

Not to mention, they also sent Xiao Sese, Xiao Puxian, three Khitan princesses, twenty-four Khitan noblewomen as dowry attendants, three hundred beautiful girls from various ethnic groups to Zhao Yu, as well as rare birds and beasts, incense, tea, brocade, wine and fruit, and other dowry items.

In Yelü Yanxi's view, Zhao Yu's personal expedition this time was already worthwhile. They had extorted the Zhao Song Dynasty for over a hundred years and only obtained so much wealth. Zhao Yu took it all back in one go. What more could they ask for?
As for the Khitans' previous raids on the Central Plains dynasties, there are no records of those raids, so how can they be included in the calculation?

In short, Yelü Yanxi didn't want to spend any more money.

The most direct manifestation of this was that Liao officials who were plundering gold, silver, silk, jewelry, and antiques from the common people stopped, and the caravans transporting silk and various treasures to the Zhao Song Dynasty also stopped.

In response, the conservative faction, led by Han Zhongyan and Su Zhe, believed that the Zhao Song Dynasty should seize the opportunity to negotiate peace with the Liao Dynasty and secure victory.

However, the radical faction led by Zeng Bu and Cai Bian believed that since they had led hundreds of thousands of troops here and had won many battles, the Liao state still wanted to deny it. They argued that once the Liao state withdrew with these hundreds of thousands of troops, the Liao state would have to immediately send troops to reinforce the Western Xia.
Moreover, the radical faction, led by Zeng Bu and Cai Bian, believed that this was a golden opportunity to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. If they missed it, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun might never be recovered, and the Zhao Song Dynasty might never be able to achieve unification.

Zhao Yu discussed it with Zhang Chun and Li Lin.

Zhang Chun said, "His Majesty's personal expedition this time is to restrain the Liao Kingdom and prevent them from interfering with the Western Army's reconquest of Western Xia. The war to reconquer Western Xia is at a critical moment. How can we give the Liao Kingdom an opportunity to cause trouble?"

Zhao Yu also felt that, having witnessed the power of the Song Dynasty, Yelü Yanxi and his ministers, unless they were foolish, should never allow the Song Dynasty to recover Western Xia. Otherwise, once the Song Dynasty had assimilated Western Xia, it would surely turn around and destroy the Liao Dynasty, thus achieving true unification.

This is a very simple principle.

Therefore, withdrawing troops now could very well allow the Western Xia to rise again with the help of the Liao Dynasty.

Therefore, the troops must not be withdrawn before Zhang Jie and his men have recovered Western Xia.

Li Lin then said to Zhao Yu, "Why bother with all this trouble? Our Shenji Army is well-equipped and can directly engage the Liao army in a decisive battle, completely crush them, and then they will never dare to provoke our Great Song again."

Li Lin's words also make a lot of sense. As long as the Liao Kingdom is completely defeated, given Yelü Yanxi's cowardly nature, he will definitely behave himself and never dare to provoke the Zhao Song Dynasty again.

What you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get at the negotiating table either; you'll have to fight another war.

After making this decision, Zhao Yu summoned Guo Cheng, Zhong Pu, and other generals, and said to them, "There is no need to consider political factors. Just wait for the right opportunity to fight, and there will be rewards for victory..."

Having received Zhao Yu's orders, the Song army, which had long been eager for a good battle, began active preparations for war...

……

As the elite cavalry of the Han and non-Han peoples from Tiande, Yunnei, Shuo, Wu, Ying, and Wei, the Jurchen elite troops from the Northeast Pacification Commission, the Wugu Dilie Tribe Commandery, the Shiwei Royal Palace, the Jurchen Kingdom of Hesuguan, the Southern Jurchen Kingdom, the Northern Jurchen Kingdom, the Jurchen Kingdom of Shunhua, the Jurchen Kingdom of Huanglong, and the Jurchen Kingdom of Yalujiang, along with the elite Jurchen soldiers led by Wanyan Yingge and his son Wanyan Aguda, all arrived at the gates of Yanjing, the Liao army had exceeded 700,000, half of whom were cavalry.

The loyalist armies from different places gathered outside Yanjing City, without any unified command system, and the various armies would be unable to cooperate in battle.

Yelü Heluwo felt that things couldn't continue like this, so he submitted a memorial requesting Yelü Yanxi to issue an edict ordering all the loyalist armies to be under his command. He said to Yelü Yanxi:
"The army that has come to the aid of the king is very large. Military strategists avoid division. Only by unifying the forces can we achieve victory. I wish to order Xia Mo and others to submit to my command."

Yelü Yanxi issued an imperial edict saying, "The Imperial Son-in-Law is old but knowledgeable in military affairs, and his position is already high. He can serve as the Deputy Imperial Uncle."

Yelü Heluwo believed that Yelü Yanxi intended to appoint Xiao Xiamo as deputy marshal, under his command.

Yelü Heluwo secretly admired Yelü Yanxi's wisdom and the appropriateness of his decision.

However, things soon changed.

Xiao Fengxian told Yelü Yanxi that this arrangement was inappropriate. Yelü and Luwo should not be allowed to wield too much military power, lest they become autocratic. He reminded Yelü Chun that Yelü and Luwo were fathers of Yelü Chun, and that their excessive military power would threaten the imperial authority. Military power should be appropriately separated to check and balance each other.

Yelü Yanxi felt that Xiao Fengxian's words made perfect sense.

Therefore, Yelü Yanxi divided the loyalist army into two groups: one led by Yelü Heluwo and the other by Xiao Xiamo. Finally, Yelü Yanxi also put a small group under the command of Xiao Fengxian's younger brother, Xiao Sixian, to counterbalance Yelü Heluwo and Xiao Xiamo.

In addition, there were the Pishi Army, Shushan Army, and Gongfen Army, all personally commanded by Yelü Yanxi.

The Liao army was then divided into four main parts.

The Liao army led by Yelü Heluwo and his son Yelü Chun was stationed in the southeast of the city, the Liao army led by Xiao Xiamo was stationed in the southwest of the city, and the Liao army led by Xiao Sixian was stationed in the north of the city. Yelü Yanxi continued to be stationed in Yanjing City.

To prevent the other three Liao armies from fighting for power, Yelü Yanxi repeatedly issued edicts to Yelü Heluwo, Xiao Xiamo, and Xiao Sixian, forbidding them from interfering in the affairs of the region.

However, the military power of the Liao Dynasty was divided into three parts that were not unified. When the three parties planned to take action, they often used secrecy as a pretext and did not inform the other two parties.

This resulted in Yelü Heluwo's ​​title of Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces becoming a mere figurehead after the separation of military power; in reality, the person who held this power was Yelü Yanxi.

From the perspective of maintaining imperial power, Yelü Yanxi's actions were not entirely unreasonable.

However, from the perspective of commanding troops in battle, this is a major taboo in military strategy.

Yelü and Luwo were very disappointed. They had devoted themselves to the Liao Dynasty, even giving their unmarried daughter-in-law to the enemy, yet they were still suspected.

This dampened Yelü Heluwo's ​​spirits, and he spent his days drinking and composing poetry in the army, leaving the command of the troops to Yelü Chun.

Yelü Yanxi had no idea that things would go wrong if things continued this way. Seeing that his own army was strong and well-equipped, his cowardly and timid mentality changed.

Later, when Yelü Yanxi heard from the envoy that the Song Dynasty would never negotiate peace with the Liao Dynasty without paying the full annual tribute and interest, and would continue to fight, he was furious and suddenly began to consider using force.

At the subsequent imperial conference, the pro-war faction, led by Yelü Heluwo and his son Yelü Chun, along with Xiao Xiamo, clearly gained the upper hand and received strong support from Yelü Yanxi.

The meeting initially determined that the Song army should be defeated to save face for Yelü Yanxi and the Liao Dynasty, and even made corresponding military deployments.

However, the peace faction, represented by Xiao Fengxian, had many doubts about using force. They believed that sending troops to attack the Song army was a very risky move. If they failed, all the previous efforts in peace talks would be in vain, and the country would face the danger of being lost.

A serious disagreement arose between the generals and ministers regarding national policies. This should have been a top secret of the Liao court, but strangely, the matter quickly spread throughout the Liao court. Liao officials and sensitive individuals in Yanjing City discussed it extensively, expressing their opinions and arguing endlessly.

In fact, the reason why the Liao Dynasty was indecisive about war and peace was due to Yelü Yanxi.

Previously, due to insufficient military strength and repeated defeats, Yelü Yanxi was trapped in Yanjing City and could become a prisoner at any time. To avoid being captured, out of fear and apprehension, Yelü Yanxi adopted the advice of Xiao Fengxian and others and was keen on negotiating peace. He tried every means to plunder gold, silver, silk, jewelry, and antiques, hoping to buy peace with money. Now, the Liao army has sent more than 700,000 troops to defend the capital, twice the number of the Song army. In particular, the Liao army is mostly cavalry, which can fight if they can win and retreat if they can't. As long as they are careful, they can remain invincible. Yelü Yanxi feels that he can stand tall again. Therefore, he is now keen to wage war against the Song army, hoping to drive them out by force, regain his lost face, and stand up like a true emperor.

Yelü Yanxi's rapid shift from seeking peace to being solely focused on war, while swift, did not defy human nature or basic logic. Previously, to save his own life, he had even given away his pregnant concubine and personally pleaded with Han Zhongyan—a truly humiliating act. Now, with the opportunity to regain his honor, he was undoubtedly eager for war.

However, what was unexpected was that Yelü Yanxi was too eager to regain his honor and stand up again. He actually sent people five times in one day to urge Yelü Heluwo to send troops as soon as possible.

Despite his disheartened state of mind, Yelü Heluwo remained calm and composed. He insisted that they absolutely could not engage in a decisive battle with the Song army, not even a major battle. They could only use the mobility of their cavalry to wage harassment and non-contact warfare. Otherwise, the Liao state might suffer a crushing defeat that they could not afford.

Yelü Yanxi was very disappointed by Yelü Heluwo's ​​performance, so he placed his hopes on Xiao Xiamo.

Xiao Xiamo believed this was a golden opportunity for him to replace Yelü Heluwo in taking control of the Liao Dynasty's supreme military power, so he declared: "Your subject is willing to personally lead a large army to raid the Song Emperor's camp at night, capture the Song Emperor alive, and avenge the previous humiliation!"

Yelü Yanxi was overjoyed and immediately promised Xiao Xiamo, "If you succeed, I will grant you the title of king."

Yelü Yanxi even planned with Xiao Xiamo that if the raid failed, Xiao Xiamo would take full responsibility, saying that it was all his own decision and had nothing to do with Yelü Yanxi.

Yelü Yanxi was deeply moved and believed that Xiao Xiamo was the most loyal minister and the mainstay of the Liao Kingdom.

To ensure the success of the raid, Yelü Yanxi specifically consulted a shaman to divine an auspicious day.

As a result, the shaman divined that October 11th would be the day of victory.

Xiao Xia then decided to raid the Zhaigong camp three nights later.

Three days later, in the dead of night, there was no moonlight and the night was pitch black.

Following the pre-arranged plan, Xiao Xiamo led 20,000 elite troops to secretly raid the imperial camp at the Zhaigong Palace, intending to capture Zhao Yu and reverse the course of the battle.

However, Xiao Xia's forces raided both strongholds and found them empty.

Upon reaching the third stockade, the Song army was already fully armed and waiting for the Liao army.

Before Xiao Xia could react, three thousand Jing Sai soldiers charged toward twenty thousand Liao soldiers.

In the early Song Dynasty, the Zhao Song Dynasty lacked horses and was unable to form a large-scale cavalry corps.

Later, Zhao Guangyi's northern expedition yielded 40,000 horses, and he personally oversaw the construction of the strongest cavalry force in the history of the Song Dynasty—the Jingse Army.

This army had a full strength of three thousand men, each with five horses. The knights were all from Yizhou in the northern frontier, capable of drawing a bow weighing two hundred catties, and were exceptionally fierce. The horses were all fine steeds, and both the soldiers and their warhorses were heavily armored. In addition to bows and arrows, all their weapons were long spears with hooks and grappling hooks.

Although this cavalry force was small in number, it had never been defeated in its battles against the Liao army, and had repeatedly defeated the Liao's strongest elite army, the Iron Forest Army, in direct combat.

But this elite army has long since disappeared into the annals of history.

This time, Zhao Yu extorted a large number of fine horses from Yanjing City, especially Yelü Yanxi's three thousand precious steeds that could travel five hundred li a day, and also obtained equipment from the Liao Iron Forest Army.

Therefore, Zhao Yu revived the Jingse Army with a wave of his hand, and appointed Yang Keshi, a fierce general of the Western Army, as its commander.

This battle marked the first battle for the Jingse Army.

Then, led by Yang Keshi, the Jingse Army began to run, and the earth trembled as a result.

There were no war drums, but the sheer power was far more awe-inspiring than any war drum could muster; the thunderous roar was like tens of thousands of thunderclaps exploding at once!
The thunderous roar of hooves kicked up clouds of dust that obscured the night sky, as if merging heaven and earth into a state of chaos.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Xia was greatly alarmed. He never expected that the Song army would have such elite armored cavalry, let alone that they would be on high alert at this time and place.

Xiao Xia hurriedly ordered the Liao army to retreat, but it was too late.

The Jingse army, like a sharp blade, instantly pierced through the Liao army's ranks, unstoppable. A forest of spears, intertwined and linked, felled the Liao's elite cavalry one after another. Blood splattered everywhere, screams rose and fell, and the night was stained crimson.

Xiao Xiamo struggled to wield her long sword, trying to regain her footing, but the Liao army was already in chaos.

Xiao Xia knew in her heart that the battle was lost and if they did not retreat, their entire army would likely be wiped out.

Xiao Xiamo then shouted loudly, ordering the remaining Liao troops to retreat.

However, the Song army would not let this rare opportunity slip by. The Jingse army pursued relentlessly, like a cheetah chasing a weary antelope.

The Liao soldiers were terrified, wishing they could grow wings and fly away from this land of death.

What made the Liao army even more desperate was that after a drumbeat, the Shenji vanguard and Shenji rearguard, who were lying in ambush on both sides of the road, suddenly used weapons such as the Shenbi crossbow, the tiger crouching cannon, and the thunderclap to inflict heavy casualties on the Liao army.

Xiao Xia died in this attack by the Song army.

In this battle, the Liao army suffered a major defeat. The Song army pursued them to the front line, but stopped when they saw the Liao army under Yelü Yudu coming to meet Xiao Xiamo.

In this battle, the Song army beheaded 9,000, captured more than 7,000, and seized more than 10,000 horses.

Do you think this is over?

No!

At the same time, under the personal leadership of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zhong Pu, more than a dozen Song cavalry units circled around for nearly a hundred miles overnight. Just before dawn, they circled around to the side of Xiao Xiamo's army camp, which was leaderless. At the same time that Xiao Xiamo launched a surprise attack on Zhao Yu's imperial camp, they also launched a surprise attack on Xiao Xiamo's army camp.

Zhong Pu ordered Song scouts to infiltrate Xiao Xiamo's military camp and set fire to the rear of the camp.

Upon seeing the flames, the Song army beat drums and shouted, launching a full-scale attack.

Xiao Xiamo did not consider that his raid on the camp would fail, nor did he expect that he would die in battle, so he did not make proper arrangements for the Liao army under his command.

Yelü Yudu, the deputy commander of his troops, led 30,000 elite cavalry to the front line to support Xiao Xiamo.

This resulted in Xiao Xiamo's military camp being without a commander-in-chief.

More importantly, the Liao army was divided into four parts by Yelü Yanxi, each independent of the others, and the other three Liao army parts had no intention of supporting Xiao Xiamo's Liao army.

As a result of the surprise attack, Xiao Xiamo's army camp was thrown into chaos due to the lack of unified command. The soldiers were panicked and fled in all directions, confused and disoriented. Flames raged, licking at the tents and illuminating the night sky as if it were daytime. Smoke filled the air, carrying the suffocating smells of burning and blood.

Zhong Pu led tens of thousands of Song light cavalry like tigers descending a mountain, unstoppable. They stormed the gates, setting fires while engaging the chaotic Liao army in hand-to-hand combat. The flashing swords of the Song army in the firelight were like the scythe of death, reaping lives one after another. The Liao army, having lost its command, fought independently and was utterly unable to withstand the Song army's fierce offensive.

In an instant, the hundreds of thousands of Liao soldiers were thrown into chaos, fleeing in disarray and losing their fighting capacity.

The Song army then launched a counterattack, relentlessly pursuing the Liao army.

Zhong Pu had only one goal at this moment: not to give this Liao army a chance to breathe, but to pursue them relentlessly, to completely defeat and even annihilate them!
The Liao army fled in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons, to the Gaoliang River.

Unexpectedly, the Song army had also set up an ambush at this location.

Upon seeing the Liao army fleeing, Zhe Keqiu, the young master of the Zhe family in Fuzhou, gave an order, and the ambush troops sprang up from all sides.

The Liao army had no will to fight and only cared about desperately trying to escape.

In this battle, Zhe Keqiu's 3,000-strong army killed more than 5,000 people, and the waters of the Gaoliang River were stained red with blood.

Zhe Keqiu had no intention of cleaning up the battlefield. Stepping over the discarded spoils scattered everywhere, he ordered his soldiers to take shortcuts and pursue the enemy in parallel.

Upstream of the Gaoliang River, Zhe Keqiu's troops outflanked the Liao army once again.

Unfortunately, Zhe Keqiu's forces were small, and he was powerless to wipe out the large, fleeing Liao army.

The Zhe family army did their best to pursue and kill, chasing for over a hundred miles until the horses could no longer run, before sounding the retreat...

……

(End of this chapter)