King of Song

Chapter 715 The Magic Power of the Throne

From the perspective of geographical location, the Yanyun Sixteen States can be divided into two parts, the seven states in front of the mountain and the nine states behind the mountain.

The core of its strategy is the land of seven states south of Yanshan Mountain, of which Youzhou is the main one. As long as it controls these lands, it can guard the front line of Yanshan Mountain and ensure that the Central Plains will not be invaded by grassland nomads.

The Song army's main attack direction was also the seven prefectures in front of the mountain. After the defeat in Qingzhou, the situation of the Liao army was very bad.They no longer have the strength to defend all the cities. Dividing troops for guarding will only disperse the troops, and they will be defeated one by one in the end.

After thinking about it, Yelujun made a decision to withdraw all the troops to Youzhou.To the south of Yanshan, even if all the other six states and counties fall, as long as Youzhou can keep it, it will be considered a major victory.As long as the Song Dynasty army withdraws, it can make a comeback.

Youzhou is the core and the strongest city, and its defense is unmatched by other cities.Just like Song Taizong's conquest of Yanyun a hundred years ago, as long as Youzhou is defended, Song people can only catch up.

Yelujun did not return to Shangjing, but stayed in Youzhou. As the emperor, leaving at this moment will undoubtedly affect the morale of the army.He must assume the responsibility of defending the country and commanding at the front.At the same time, he regards Youzhou as very important, and he is not worried about other generals coming to guard it. He can only feel relieved if he sits in the town himself.

Most importantly, Yelujun was a little unconvinced.The failure of Qingzhou made his self-esteem very frustrated. If he wanted to take the initiative to defeat Zhao Zhao, he had no chance for the time being. But as long as he defended Youzhou and let Zhao Zhao return disappointed, it would be considered a victory and he could save some face.

As for Shangjing, Xiao Guanyin was always his mother, even if he had a grudge, the Empress Dowager of the Liao Kingdom, and the Liao Kingdom also had a tradition of being ruled by a queen dowager.Therefore, the function of Shangjing affairs was handed over to his mother Xiao Guanyin, and Yelujun himself stayed in Youzhou City to recuperate from his injuries and resist the attack of the Song army.

On August [-]th, it was the time when the autumn was high and the air was crisp. After the Song Army rested for several days, the three armies jointly launched an attack on Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures.

The first is to clean up the prefectures and counties around Youzhou. Among the seven prefectures in front of the mountain, including You, Ying, Mo, Zhuo, Shun, Tan, and Ji, Mozhou and Yingzhou were recovered in the early Chai Rong era. After the war, the army took advantage of the situation to recover Zhuozhou, the ancestral land of the old Zhao family, and then mainly captured Shunzhou, Jizhou, Tanzhou and other places.

Due to the active withdrawal of the Khitan army, the cleaning process was easy, but it took seven days to complete.On August 27, more than 20 troops of the Song Dynasty arrived at the foot of Youzhou city, and the water around the city of Youzhou was blocked.

As the south/Beijing of the Liao Kingdom, Youzhou has a developed economy and is very rich, with sufficient food and grass in the city.Yelujun also rectified 10,000+ troops stationed in Youzhou, plus the strong men in the city, there are definitely not a few troops.

Moreover, Youzhou's city walls are tall and strong, and the moat is wide. It is the so-called majestic city in the art of war, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack.Will you be able to defend Youzhou in this way?Yelujun was asking himself.Maybe he would have been absolutely sure before, Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi had already verified it a hundred years ago.

The disastrous defeat in that battle was at the Gaoliang River. The infantry of the Song Army blindly went to chase the cavalry of the Liao Kingdom, but were ambushed by Brother Yeluxiu, and successfully counterattacked, leading to the defeat.But in fact, before that, Zhao Guangyi's soldiers surrounded Youzhou for a long time, and it was still difficult to conquer, which led to the fluctuating morale of the army and the frustration of morale.

Zhao Guangyi's formation back then actually surpassed Zhao Zhao's today, with a force of more than 30.But facing Zhao Zhao today, especially the Song army after the Qingzhou War, Yelujun was very disturbed.

Especially the mysterious firearm that can explode. That thing has the effect of breaking mountains and cracking rocks. If it can attack the city wall, will it...

What reassured Yelujun was that the Song army did not use this weapon at first.The main methods are conventional methods of warfare, such as three male bed crossbows, swords and arrowheads, and ladder siege methods.Yelujun secretly guessed that maybe Zhao Zhao didn't have many firearms in his hands.

Indeed, gunpowder has just been born in the Song Dynasty, and its texture, production efficiency, and effect are very limited.The Battle of Cheongju was just a rehearsal and test.And this time, the firearm is more like a grenade, using iron filings and shrapnel to hurt people.

To use it on the city wall, the blasting effect must be good.At present, there is no such thing as a cannon. Using a catapult to throw gunpowder shells out is more about hurting and deterring people. After the explosion on the surface of the city wall, it is difficult to knock down the solid city wall.Unless it is possible to dig a tunnel and bury a large amount of gunpowder under the city wall.

This trick is a common trick used by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in later generations, but it is quite effective.However, digging tunnels is a commonly used method in ancient siege warfare. The guarding side must be prepared, and it is not easy to be effective.

On the one hand, Zhao Zhao asked to strengthen the production of gunpowder to increase its power, and at the same time dig tunnels under the city of Youzhou.It's a pity that the effect was not good, and was discovered by the Khitan people, so there was no progress for the time being.

The time of the war cannot be dragged on for a long time, but it is not possible to capture Youzhou overnight.Attacking Youzhou is only one aspect, and more importantly, it is to divide the Khitan nobles.

Yelujun's southern expedition did not receive the support of the Khitan nobles, and the opposition was louder and louder.After the defeat in Qingzhou, the voice of opposition became even louder, and the city of Shangjing was already in turmoil.

But Yelujun himself stayed in Youzhou, and now he was trapped in the city, unable to suppress him at all.Zhao Zhao realized that this was an opportunity, and he could take advantage of it.

"Li Cheng, what's the situation in Shangjing?"

"Relax the officials, the action has already begun!"

"Well, in order to cooperate with the action, there needs to be more noise in Youzhou!" Zhao Zhao asked, "How is the gunpowder situation?"

Li Chengdao: "A batch has already been transported, but the quality is relatively poor. Master Shen Kuo made a new batch at the Daming Mansion, and it is said that the power has been improved. Afraid that the gunpowder will be damp, so we did not use water, but transported it by dry road, and it took a little longer. "

"Okay, first use the stock, use the Sangong bed crossbow with gunpowder, and make some noise on the city wall of Youzhou."

"Yes!"

Zhao Zhaodao: "Shangjing speeds up a little bit, and Jurchen's side, even though they were defeated by Yelujun, are still strong. Hearing that Wan Yan's losses are relatively small, he sent someone to Liaodong with Aguda through Goryeo. He should have It belonged to the young master of the Wanyan Department, who persuaded the Jurchen with his identity, and then promised to make a lot of money to cause trouble. But one thing, after the war is over, A Gu must be beaten back to Bianliang, so that he can study hard!"

"Yes!" Li Cheng only said that Zhao Zhao had raised Wanyan Aguda for many years and already had feelings, so he asked to be kept by his side.

Little did he know that what Zhao Zhao was more worried about was that if history showed a fateful trajectory, the consequences would be disastrous.The Jurchens can exist only to contain the Khitan people, and they must not be allowed to rise up and become another wolf on the grassland.It's okay for them to bite each other, but they must not threaten Da Song.

"Also, tell King Koryo to use all his strength to attack Liaodong." Zhao Zhao said, "Otherwise, if the Great Song Navy sets out, there will be no Koryo Kingdom in the future."

It's a good feeling to be the emperor, Zhao Zhao couldn't help but sigh, the feeling of issuing orders is cool, domineering!No wonder so many people are desperately trying to become emperor, life and death are at stake, the feeling of dominating the country is really cool!

Zhao Zhao had this feeling, and Yeluta also had the same idea.

He is the king of Song in the Liao Kingdom, the son of Yelu Renxian who is older than Yue Yelu.His father had great status and power in the Liao Kingdom. He made great contributions in quelling the Yelu Chongyuan Rebellion. He was honored as Shangfu by Liao Daozong Yelu Hongji. Prestige is very important.Because of his existence, although Yelv Yixin was powerful and ambitious in the early stage, he never dared to be too arrogant.

Until two years ago, Yeluren was ordered to conquer the Tatar rebellion in the northwest. He was old, and coupled with the long-distance expedition, he died shortly after returning.From then on, Yelu Yixin felt less oppressed by others, and began to expand more and more, doing whatever he wanted, becoming a powerful minister for a while, and finally had an irreconcilable conflict with Yelu Jun, and was defeated and killed for his rebellion.

After Yeluren died first, his son Yeluta also inherited the title and some related powers.In the suppression of Yelu Yixin's rebellion, it can be regarded as a lot of credit.

However, after Yelujun ascended the throne, the Khitan nobles, who held heavy troops against their opponents, were afraid of them and refused to reuse them.On the contrary, he cultivated Yelujie, who was not very well-born but quite talented.It's a pity that in the battle of Qingzhou, in order to cover his escape, he died gloriously on the battlefield.

This kind of behavior of Yelujun made Yeluta not quite dissatisfied, thinking that the emperor deliberately neglected and suppressed him.Because of his relatively good family background, this person is quite proud. After all, his father is the second Da Yue after Yeluxiu a hundred years ago.

Yeluta, who is defiant, doesn't even look down on the crown prince sometimes, but he is not stupid and knows how to hide his ambition, so he has never been suspected.

This time Yelujun hurriedly led troops to crusade against the Song Dynasty. He had the same attitude as most of the Khitan nobles and did not quite agree with it.But Yelujun insisted on going his own way, and there was nothing they could do.

As a result, the frontline soldiers were defeated and were besieged in Youzhou by the Song Dynasty counterattack.When the news was sent back to Shangjing, there was an uproar.Most of the Khitan nobles are disappointed and angry. The Iron Khitan is so powerful, how has there ever been such a defeat?What a disgrace.Not to mention the defeat, now even Youzhou is in danger.The young and energetic emperor made a mistake and refused to listen to advice, which offended the public.

Here the Khitan nobles are discussing to gather troops and go south to rescue Youzhou.But Yeluta also had other thoughts, Yelujun made mistakes repeatedly, is he a qualified emperor?If not, is it possible to consider a replacement?

The Liao Kingdom has a tradition of rebellion in recent years, so most of the Khitan nobles have a heart that is about to move, especially when the emperor is away and the capital is empty, that heart is even more restless!

　I didn't update yesterday, and I apologize to all paid subscriber readers, sorry!As for some of my friends who watch pirated versions, I can only complain a few words.You didn't spend money to read books, I have no obligation to you, and you don't have the qualifications to curse people, please respect yourself!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)