The prince is more stable

Chapter 408 Offensive and defensive changes
Zhao Xiaoqian's attack order today is of great significance and impact.

It can be said that the actions of the Song army today will definitely be recorded in history books by historians.

Because it represents the end of an era of peace. The Treaty of Chanyuan has now disappeared, and the decision to tear up the treaty was made by both parties at the same time.

The Liao army took the initiative to provoke the war, which was a strategic breach of contract.

The Song army took the initiative to launch an attack while the main force of the Liao army had not arrived, which was a tactical breach of contract.

There were many conflicts of interest between the two countries. The Song Dynasty needed the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and the Liao Dynasty coveted the wealth of the Song Dynasty. The peace between the two sides could not last long.

Now that both parties have broken the agreement at the same time, it is probably the last tacit understanding in the peacetime.

After the call of the troops, the soldiers of the Dragon Guard Camp were all a little excited.

As members of the Song Dynasty's imperial guards, they all knew very well what today's action meant. They never expected that they would accidentally make history.

After the tents were dispersed, the camp suddenly became noisy.

The generals came out of the tent and reorganized the troops under their command. There were vulgar curses and insults mixed with various orders. Swords, guns, firearms, horses and armor were quickly integrated and assembled under the military orders.

An hour later, it was already midnight.

Zhe Keshi led 10,000 soldiers out of the camp and rushed towards the Liao army camp dozens of miles away.

At the same time, Zhang Rong led two thousand soldiers and horses to take a detour from west to north, blocking the retreat route of the Liao army where it might be defeated.

Half an hour later, Zhong Jianzhong led 10,000 soldiers and horses northward, heading straight for the Feihu Pacification Office.

"Feihu" is a place name, roughly located in Yi County, Hebei Province in later generations. The Liao Dynasty established the Southwest Road Pacification Office here, which was a large military region of the Liao Dynasty and was mainly responsible for dealing with the Song-Liao border defense in the south.

The 40,000 Liao troops under Yelu Chun are still on the way. If the 10,000 Liao troops on the border are completely wiped out by the Song army, the Feihu Pacification Office of the Liao Kingdom will inevitably respond when the news gets out.

Zhong Jianzhong's 10,000 troops marched north to respond to the Feihu Pacification Office's reaction.

All the troops had left the camp, and only 8,000 soldiers from the Dragon Guard Camp were left behind. Zhao Xiaoqian felt a little uneasy. Although the Liao army was one step ahead and the probability of a surprise attack on the Song army camp was low, he was a son of a wealthy family and did not want to build a dangerous wall. 8,000 troops were not a small number, but he still felt very insecure.

He wanted to take Chen Shou and his men back to Zhending City, but the soldiers had already set out for the battle. As the commander-in-chief, it would be fine if he didn't go with the army, but it was a bit too much for him not to even guard the camp.

As a last resort, Zhao Xiaoqian had to stay in the camp, but sent out hundreds of scouts to closely monitor all directions outside the camp.

After sending out the scouts, Zhao Xiaoqian finally felt relieved.

He is a different kind of firework. It doesn’t matter if he loses the battle on the front line. What’s important is his own safety. No matter what accident happens, the leader will escape first.

After Zhao Xiaoqian, who stayed behind in the camp, relaxed, he began to think about how to make bear paws.

When peeling the bear paw, it is important to remove the fishy smell. There is no strong liquor these days, so we can only use rice wine and salt to marinate it. It takes two days, during which time we keep changing the rice wine and salt. Only after we are sure that the fishy smell of the bear paw is almost removed can we start cooking it.

At this time, Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but miss Su Shi. Such high-quality ingredients can only be enjoyed with like-minded people.

Thinking of Su Shi, Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned. Counting the days, Su Shi had been on a diplomatic mission to the Liao Kingdom for several months, but there was no news from him.

Of course, as an envoy, Su Shi had to send memorials to Bian Jing every few days, but the memorials could not have passed through Zhao Xiaoqian's hands, and now he didn't know what Su Shi's situation was in the Liao Kingdom.

I'll have to ask Zhen Qing from the Imperial City Administration to find out. Zhao Xiaoqian changed history and also changed Su Shi's life, but if his changes led to Su Shi being killed by the Liao people, it would be a serious crime.

Missing his old friend, Zhao Xiaoqian felt melancholy and decided to eat only one bear paw, and pickle and dry the remaining one to eat together with Su Shi after they met again.

As a close friend regardless of age difference, this is all Zhao Xiaoqian can do.

…………

After a night of rushing, Zhe Keshi led his troops to five miles away from the Liao army camp at 2:15 am.

The weather was very bad and the heavy snow had stopped, but the road was rugged and difficult to travel on. Although they had to ride all the way, the war horses were really tired. In order not to miss the opportunity to fight, Zhe Keshi's troops lost hundreds of war horses, and horses fell to the ground from exhaustion from time to time on the road.

The soldiers were also freezing cold, wearing only thin clothes inside and armor outside. In the freezing weather, only they knew the pain. Fortunately, Zhe Keshi finally arrived outside the Liao army camp before dawn.

The Liao army camp was built on a very vast plain area, surrounded by wide wilderness and flat terrain, which was extremely suitable for cavalry charges.

Five miles away from the Liao army camp, Zhe Keshi ordered the entire army to dismount and wait on the spot.

A moment later, scouts came hurriedly to report that there was no movement in the Liao army camp. The enemy soldiers were sleeping in the tents. Outside, there were only routine sentries and patrol teams cruising outside the camp.

Zhe Keshi's personality is not very good. He is a typical Northwestern man with a very bad temper in life. But when facing the enemy in battle, he is extremely calm and composed. After all, he is a descendant of the famous Zhe family army in history. He comes from a family of generals and is born to be on the battlefield.

After the scout reported the incident, Zhe Keshi remained calm, his eyes fixed on the faintly visible torchlight in the distant Liao army camp.

The enemy has 10,000 troops, and my own troops are also 10,000. 10,000 against 10,000, the advantage is mine.

This battle is a favorable one. The more favorable the situation, the more cautious one must be. If one makes a mistake, Zhe Keshi will be too ashamed to face anyone. The elders of the Zhe family far away in the northwest will have to expel him to avoid embarrassment.

Duke Zhao personally appointed him as the general and transferred him from the northwest. He also gave him the first battle after the Song-Liao Chanyuan Alliance. This was a great trust and honor. Zhe Keshi could not let Duke Zhao down.

While the entire army was on standby, scouts arrived one after another, all reporting on the movements of the Liao army camp. Even if there was no movement, the scouts' reports were updated in real time so that the commander Zhe Keshi could weigh and judge.

Not only the Liao army camp, Zhe Keshi also ordered scouts to investigate the area around the camp until all the scouts came back and confirmed that there were no ambushes or abnormalities around the camp.

These ten thousand Liao soldiers were truly ten thousand Liao soldiers, and they were all sleeping in the camp.

The blood in Zhe Keshi's body finally began to boil.

After confirming the intelligence, in his eyes, these 10,000 Liao troops were just 10,000 pigs waiting to be slaughtered.

"It's time to get started." Zhe Keshi murmured.

Looking up at the dark sky, it is the darkest period before dawn, and the light is about to come.

"Send the order, send out 3,000 soldiers and horses, go around five miles north of the main camp, and block the retreating route of the Liao army. I will take care of all these 10,000 people, and not leave any soup for Zhang Rong!" Zhe Keshi gritted his teeth.

"The remaining 7,000 men, mount your horses and continue forward. When you are two miles from the Liao army camp, there is no need to hide your tracks, as you cannot hide anyway. Form a full army formation two miles from the enemy camp and advance forward."

"set off!"

After the military order was issued, the three thousand soldiers of the Dragon Guard Battalion quickly left the team and headed north.

The remaining 7,000 soldiers mounted their horses and galloped away. At this time, the soldiers no longer needed to hide, and the rumbling sound of horse hooves immediately spread in the silent night.

Zhe Keshi rode his horse in front, his eyes fixed on the Liao army camp that was getting closer and closer.

A moment later, countless torches suddenly lit up in the Liao army camp, which was visible to the naked eye. Then there was a burst of rapid and hurried gongs and horns, and the whole camp was boiling.

Perhaps the unusual sound of Song army horses' hooves finally alarmed the Liao army patrolling outside the camp, so they hurriedly issued an early warning. The Liao army sleeping in the camp were awakened by the angry generals and hurriedly grabbed their weapons and went out of the camp to fight the enemy.

At this time, Zhe Keshi's 7,000 soldiers and horses had already arrived two miles away from the Liao army camp at a rapid speed. The soldiers dismounted and calmly formed up under the command of their generals. They calmly took out their flintlock rifles, loaded their gunpowder, and loaded their bullets...

After everything was ready, a Liao army of about two thousand soldiers hurried out of the camp. The leading general saw a large black crowd in the white snow in front of them.

Looking at the armor they were wearing and the flags with white background, red edges and black characters, the Liao general's heart sank. He had recognized that this was a Song army!
Judging from their posture, they are actually planning to take the initiative to attack the Liao army camp?

For nearly a hundred years, the Liao and Song dynasties had been on both sides of the offensive and defensive, with the Liao attacking and the Song defending. This was no exception after the Treaty of Chanyuan.

Today, at this moment, the Song army suddenly arrived without any warning, heading straight for the Liao army camp. Are they planning to take the initiative to attack?

How dare you!
The exasperated Liao general didn't bother to think about the pros and cons. He just felt that Liao was insulted. The Song, which had been weak for a hundred years, had the guts to attack the invincible Liao!

"Form a battle array and prepare for battle, and wipe out all the invading Song bandits!" The Liao general raised his sword and shouted.

(End of this chapter)