The prince is more stable

Chapter 568 Burning the Liao Camp
Zhending City was not an empty city. In fact, it was still guarded by more than 10,000 troops under the command of Shao Jing and Feng Sheng.

But the fighting power of the Xiang army is ultimately...

Moreover, the Xiang army was not equipped with firearms. If the Liao army attacked the city, the Xiang army could only defend the city with primitive means. The Liao army could even use a trick to trick the city gates open.

After all, there were Han troops among the Liao army. They were authentic Han people and there would be basically no problem for them to enter the city wearing ordinary people's clothes.

If Yelu Otera really intended to capture Zhending City, it would not take much effort and could be captured within a few hours. He would not even have to climb the city wall with a ladder and fight a bloody battle with the Song army. Hundreds of Liao soldiers who looked like civilians could sneak into the city in batches, find the right time to seize a city gate, and Zhending City would be broken.

It has to be said that Di Zi's guess was very accurate and timely, saving Zhao Xiaoqian and the Song army guarding the border from a big trouble.

Di Zi himself didn't expect that he even saved the lives of Zhao Xiaoqian's three wives inadvertently.

If the Liao army really broke into the city, the first place they would look for would definitely be Zhao Xiaoqian's mansion. One can imagine how miserable the fate of the three women, Nian Nian and Niaoniao, would be.

Now Zhao Xiaoqian was extremely glad that he had brought Di Zi into the border defense army. He was even more glad that when his wife Di Ying carefully asked him for help, Zhao Xiaoqian agreed without any hesitation.

If I had refused at the beginning, I would not have been able to avoid the catastrophe that Zhending City is facing today.

Zhao Xiaoqian once remembered the information revealed by Xiao Guangjing that after the Liao army broke into Zhending City, Yelu Hongji vowed to massacre the entire city.

Every bite and every drink has cause and effect.

Zhao Xiaoqian agreed to something casually, but he didn't expect that it would not only save himself, but also save the officials and people of the entire city.

"Zong Ze's troops have changed their route to the west and are guarding the road to Zhending City, preparing to intercept the Liao army led by Yelu Otera?" General Xu asked.

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded. "Zong Ze abandoned Daming Prefecture. He believed that with the garrison there, the 30,000 Liao troops were unlikely to attack it. This was a correct decision. If it were me, I would also decisively change my route."

"Zong Ze's actions violated my military orders. If the Liao army really attacked Daming Prefecture, Zong Ze would be held responsible for a serious crime. He must have been under considerable pressure to make this decision."

General Xu stroked his beard and sighed, "Not only is Zi'an exceptionally capable, but even the generals under his command are both brave and resourceful. I've heard of Zong Ze before. I think he was a fellow Jinshi in the Yuanyou era, and was later assigned to the task of river management..."

"I never thought that an official in charge of river management, whom you had the foresight to recruit into the army, would actually have such ability. This person is a natural military talent, but he was previously overlooked."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled. Wasn't it natural for his grandfather, the one whose name went down in history, to do this job? It wasn't that he had a keen eye for talent, but rather that he had been lucky enough to have brought him into the army and allowed him to shine.

Zhao Xiaoqian shouted, "Chen Shou!"

Outside the main hall, Chen Shou appeared.

"Send a fast horse eight hundred miles to tell Zong Ze's troops that I have no objection to his decision. Tell them to intercept Yelu Otera's Liao army. I also grant him the authority to make decisions on the spot. He does not need to consult me ​​for temporary deployment of troops. He can decide his own actions, attack and defense, based on the situation. I will take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

Chen Shou clasped his fists and left in a hurry.

General Xu looked at him with a complicated expression: "Zi'an treats the generals under his command with sincerity. No wonder the soldiers of the Dragon Guard Battalion are so devoted to you."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled indifferently and said, "Aren't leaders just there to take the blame? They're just rambling on about nothing all day long, letting their subordinates take the brunt of trivial matters. Leaders like that aren't even worthy of being human. I have connections and a strong background, so taking a few responsibilities won't kill me..."

As he spoke, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly put his arm around General Xu's shoulder without any respect and winked at him.

"Besides, Mr. Chong Yuan is the deputy envoy. We share the good and bad. Even if I take the blame, Mr. Chong Yuan will help me share some of it. Otherwise, it would be too inhuman, right?"

General Xu was stunned, pointed at him and laughed: "Zi'an, you are..."

Zhao Xiaoqian continued with a smile, "I am a man of great integrity. It is a great honor for you to know me."

After looking at the military report sent by Zong Ze, Zhao Xiaoqian frowned and pondered for a long time, then suddenly said, "There are still two thousand defenders in the camp. Mr. Chong Yuan, I must lead the troops to Zhending City, otherwise I will feel uneasy."

General Xu was stunned and said, "If the two thousand soldiers left behind are taken away, won't this camp become empty? The other side of the Juma River is the territory of the Liao Kingdom. If they send troops to retake the camp..."

Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head. "This place is a plain, and it's backed by the Juma River. There's no strategic location to defend, and no way to retreat. The Liao army wouldn't do such a foolish thing. Even if they recapture this camp, we can recapture it with just a few volleys after we're done. There's no need to defend such a shabby place to the death."

This was once the Feihu Bingmasi, but from a military perspective, the location of this camp was not ideal. From the attacker's perspective, this camp was a bridgehead for attacking the Liao Kingdom. As long as they crossed the Juma River to the north, they could march straight into the Liao Kingdom.

But from the defender's perspective, this camp was completely vulnerable. Even without a single shot, as long as it was surrounded, the enemy would have to jump north to escape.

So Zhao Xiaoqian gave it up temporarily with peace of mind. Anyway, he could take it back at any time if he wanted.

If the Liao army generals on the other side of the river were not stupid, they would not do the stupid thing of retaking the camp. If the news got to Shangjing, they would lose their heads.

"There is no time to lose, let's gather our troops and set off now!" Zhao Xiaoqian said decisively.

General Xu also nodded: "Military and national affairs cannot be delayed. There is no need to pack my luggage. I will go with you now."

"Chen Shou, gather all the soldiers in the camp, bring all the firearms, ammunition, and rations, and set off in half an hour!"

…………

Datong Prefecture in the west, on the border between the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the Song Dynasty.

A brutal, one-sided massacre had been going on for most of the day. At the stroke of noon, the Song army's main camp beat drums, and Zhe Keshi's 20,000 soldiers and horses slowly advanced towards the Liao army.

Xiao Wuna originally had 30,000 soldiers under his command. In order to preserve the last strength, he temporarily withdrew 10,000 Liao soldiers and hid in the rear. Xiao Wuna led 20,000 Liao soldiers to defend the camp and made all preparations to fight against the Song army's firearms.

Twenty thousand against twenty thousand, but the Song army had the upper hand, armed with firearms, and the outcome of the battle was actually already decided.

The morale of the 20,000 Liao soldiers had already dropped to freezing point before the battle began. When the Song army was still ten miles away from the Liao army camp, many soldiers in the Liao camp had already thrown away their weapons, turned around and ran out of the camp, fleeing to the north.

The Song army marched all the way and when they arrived at the Liao army camp, they found that the Liao army inside the camp had already taken sufficient defensive posture.

They piled up high sandbags and even created a temporary trench. They hid behind the trenches and did not send a single soldier out of the camp. When the Song army got close, the Liao army shot arrows, and when the Song army withdrew, the Liao army did not pursue them.

In short, I would never leave the camp even if I were beaten to death, and would never expose my body to the guns of the Song army.

This tactic was quite novel, and even Zhe Keshi was amazed.

Although Xiao Wuna was resisting passively, it must be said that his passive resistance was actually quite effective. If Zhao Xiaoqian were present, he would have to become sworn brothers with Xiao Wuna, because in the era of hot weapons a thousand years later, sandbags and trenches would still be the effective way to deal with hot weapons.

I didn't expect that in this era of cold weapons, Xiao Wuna could actually come up with this method. As long as people don't show up, firearms can't cause any damage to the Liao army.

Of course, there are disadvantages to doing this, which is that you can only hide in the trenches and passively take the beating, especially if your own side has no firearms at all and will be killed in seconds if you show your head.

Zhe Keshi went to the front line with great interest and observed the Liao army's trenches for a long time before returning with satisfaction.

The Liao army was still a little naive. Although such defense was effective, it was impossible to launch a counterattack.

Although firearms were the Song army's strong point, they were capable of more than just firearms.

It’s just that in the past, firearms were convenient and quick to kill the enemy, so there was no need to consider using other methods.

Now that firearms are no longer effective, it is necessary to find other ways to deal with them.

So, at Zhe Keshi's command, the Song army collected a lot of kerosene and requisitioned countless pottery jars from nearby farmers, and put the kerosene in the pottery jars.

The artisans accompanying the army improvised and built several small catapults. The general waved a small flag in his hand, and a barrage of kerosene pottery jars were thrown into the Liao army camp, landing on the ground, the tents, and the soldiers.

The pottery jar shattered and kerosene splashed everywhere. When the Liao army soldiers smelled the kerosene, they realized something was wrong. Before the mood of despair could spread in the camp, the Song army coated their arrows with oil and set them on fire, shooting them into the Liao camp.

The Liao camp caught fire and was engulfed in flames in the blink of an eye. Countless soldiers were on fire, jumping and rolling around miserably, and gradually became silent.

More Liao soldiers had to rush out of the camp and were shot and killed by the Song army who were waiting for them from a distance.

Looking at the fire rising into the sky, Zhe Keshi sneered.

"The method is effective, but not much. I have taken care of these 20,000 people. I'll leave you 10,000 to report to and use for promotion." Zhe Keshi muttered to himself.

Outside the Liao camp commander's tent, Xiao Wuna looked at the fire around him with a pale face, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

He was not surprised by the failure, as he had been mentally prepared. However, the defeat was so tragic, and his soldiers died so miserably, one can imagine how Xiao Wuna felt.

He was a nobleman of the Liao Dynasty, but also a traitor to the Liao Dynasty. These two identities were combined in one person. At this moment, the conflicts and struggles in his heart were repeated, and Xiao Wuna's spirit was about to collapse.

At this moment today, he had to confirm once again that the rise of the Song Dynasty and the decline of the Liao Dynasty were inevitable trends that could not be stopped.

From a practical point of view, it is understandable that he became a traitor to the Liao Kingdom. After all, without a firm will to face death, no one would want to stay on a sinking ship and drown. Abandoning the ship and seeking survival is the right choice.

But from an emotional point of view, looking at the Liao army soldiers who were on fire, rolling on the ground, struggling and crying, Xiao Wuna felt as if his heart was being torn by a knife, as if he were being tortured to death by slow slicing.

The Liao camp fell into chaos, the sandbag trenches had lost their meaning, and the Liao soldiers fled everywhere to survive. The basic organization was completely disrupted, and the soldiers did not know their generals, and the generals did not know their soldiers.

The Song army had already begun to assemble and line up, slowly advancing towards the Liao army camp.

The uniform footsteps, like the soul-catching god of death, dragged the living Liao soldiers into hell and then into reincarnation.

Outside the general's tent, Xiao Wuna looked up to the sky and sighed.

Even if he did not secretly cooperate with the Song army in this battle, the Liao army would definitely not win.

He tried every possible method he could think of, but to no avail.

After the pain, Xiao Wuna's eyes quickly regained clarity.

People ultimately have to live for reality. What is reality?
Reality is "alive".

"Order all soldiers to abandon camp and retreat north," Xiao Wuna closed his eyes and said painfully, "Escape for your lives and retreat to Datong Prefecture to regroup."

After saying this, Xiao Wuna turned around, mounted his horse, and fled the Liao camp first under the protection of his personal guards.

(End of this chapter)