Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 788 Where did the Hundred Thousand Liao Army Go?
In Zhenxi Fort, Wang Chao led the remaining personnel of the Suzaku Legion to work desperately for three days, and the defense system of Zhenxi Fort was basically completed.

Because Yelu Hanye was the main force of the two Liao rebels, Yeluxiu, the commander of the Liao counter-rebel army, led the team to pursue them.Leading [-] troops, all of them are leather troops.

For the Xiangfu Kingdom, although Xiao Dage, the great king of the South Court of the Liao Kingdom, invaded the country with a hundred thousand cavalry, it was expected, but for ordinary people, the war came suddenly and was imminent.And it is no longer limited to Zhenxi Fort and Zhenbei Fort outside the borders, but Ningbian County and Fuzhou area close to Xiajing City.The upper and lower levels of Xia Jingcheng can no longer stay out of the matter, and regard the war as something thousands of miles away.Because once the Liao army broke through the barrier between them and Xia Jingcheng in Fuzhou, only the Yinzhou area was left.

For this reason, Han Xizai and Ma Wentao once suggested setting the capital in the hinterland of Huaizhou at the beginning of Xiangfu Kingdom, but Ye Chen did not accept it in the end.

When Ye Chen returned to the harem in the evening, the harem also heard the news early on. During the meal, Yu Qingyan couldn't help asking a few more questions.
"Relax, the front line of Fuzhou, the Black Wolf Army, the Zhelan Army and the Xuanwu Army had already confronted the [-] troops led by the King of the South Court of Liao Kingdom three months ago. Now the general Yang Jiye has gone to Fuzhou in person. If he sits in town, the Liao people will inevitably have to suffer. You must know that the imperial court has made preparations for this battle for half a year. Armor, bows, crossbows, and gunpowder are transported to the border every day. If the Liao people don’t come, the warehouse will not be able to hold them.”

Ye Chen knew that tomorrow, some wives who had a good relationship with Yu Qingyan would go to the palace to inquire about the news and spread the word through their wives to appease the hearts of Xia Jingcheng, which is not a bad thing.

After eating, he used the digestion time to play with his precious daughter for a while, and in the rest of the night, Ye Chen came to his special study in the harem as usual.

Sitting at the table, leaning against the back of the chair, looking at the things piled up on the table, Ye Chen was a little lazy and didn't want to move. With Han Xizai and Ma Wentao, he didn't have many things to deal with every day, but he had to consider There are too many things to do, and I am a little tired mentally.Although all kinds of predictions, plans and preparations have been fully done, he is still a little worried about the border war. Empress Dowager Xiao is definitely not a kind person.It is not a lie that the Liao Kingdom's iron cavalry has amazing combat power.As for the disastrous defeat in Xiangfu Kingdom during the hostage exchange half a year ago, it was purely caused by Xiangfu Kingdom's gunpowder package that surprised almost all the war horses of the Liao Army.

...

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Since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the eleven forts in Fuzhou and the twelve villages in Linzhou have never changed.

After Fuzhou and Linzhou belonged to Xiangfu Kingdom, more than half of the Eleven Forts and Twelve Villages under their jurisdiction faced the Liao Kingdom and the Song Kingdom respectively, so they became the most important military villages and military forts in the Xiangfu Kingdom.For this reason, [-] soldiers of the Black Wolf Army were stationed in Fuzhou.And at the beginning of the civil strife in Liao three months ago, in order to contain the army of the King of the South Court of Liao, Ye Chen asked the military branch to drop the Xuanwu Army to the Fuzhou area to help defend.The Black Wolf Legion's garrison is next to the Zhelan Army's garrison in the Ningbian and Jinsu areas, which also face the Liao Kingdom.

Therefore, this time Xiao Dage, the great king of the South Court of Liao Kingdom, sent troops to Xiangfu Kingdom, he will face the sniper attacks of the three legions of Heilang, Xuanwu, and Zhelan.The first thing to face is the three military forts facing the outermost periphery of the Liao Kingdom under the jurisdiction of Fuzhou.Among the three military forts, Zhangjiabao, which is at the forefront, has three battalions stationed, and the other two military forts have two battalions.

Speaking of which, these three military forts have been repaired like iron barrels in the past six months since Fuzhou was returned to Xiangfu Kingdom. If the guards are determined to stick to it, the Liao army will not lose 7000 to [-] people in any of the military forts, and none of them will It will be difficult to attack for more than a month, and during this half a month, the other three military forts, as well as the army of Fuzhou City, have already sent troops to support.This point has been deduced by the staff of the Black Wolf Army.In view of this, not only is Xiangfu Kingdom not afraid of the Liao army coming to attack the five military forts, but once the war starts, it also hopes that the Liao army will attack here.In fact, if the Liao army wanted to enter the territory of Fuzhou, they could only capture these three military forts first.

On November [-], Yang Jiye had come to Fuzhou to sit in town.At the same time, the Liao army has appeared outside Zhangjiabao.

"Brigade Commander Han!" The magistrate of Zhangjiabao followed closely behind Han Tao, his pale face frantic, "there are more than ten thousand Liao troops outside the city! How can they fight?!"

"I know." Han Tao, who had already changed into a suit of armor, strode forward, and the officer in military uniform approached him. As soon as he saw Han Tao, he immediately stepped aside and gave a military salute.

Because of its particularity, although Zhangjiabao is only a military fort, its administrative level is a county, and the county magistrate is the largest chief executive. According to the latest administrative regulations of Xiangfu Kingdom, the chief executive has restraint and control over all military actions of the chief military officer. The right to suggest, but because Han Tao is an old man from the former Huaxia Weifu, and even Ye Chen's personal soldier, he lived in Yefu in Kaifeng for a while.They don't seem to have any special background, but they are the group of people His Majesty trusts the most.So although the county magistrate had control over Han Tao, he never dared to put on any civil servant airs in him.What's more, Xiangfu Kingdom is different from Song Dynasty, and civil servants do not have a superior position.

"Brigade Commander Han! The Liao division is aggressive and vigorous. There are more than [-] troops visible right now, and there may be more in the future. Our troops are far from enough to stop them. Since they haven't attacked the city with all their strength, We can't fight!"

"I know." After stepping through a heavy black-painted gate, there were even more officers and soldiers in front.The screen wall behind the winding door is opposite the wide courtyard, and the military council hall is in front of you.

The magistrate was panting, he was about the same height as Han Tao, and Han Tao's stride was not too big or fast, but he was sweating profusely after chasing him, "I also read the initial combat readiness report. That's it."

"I know." Han Tao finally turned around and said, "But the situation at this time is different from that in the strategic plan. The Liao army's whereabouts are secretive, and it is obvious that they did not do their best to attack our castle. There is something wrong with the Liao army outside, not like a regular army. I always feel that something is wrong, and the Liao army may have other plans. We are the front line and have the responsibility to clarify this matter." Stride into the military council hall , glanced left and right, the hall was overcrowded, and a circle of people stood around the central sand table, all officers above the company commander were here.In addition, there were several civil servants mixed in, and the blue official robes were particularly conspicuous among the group of military officers.

All the officers saluted Han Tao, Han Tao returned the salute, and then stood at the top of the sand table, with the county magistrate at his side.Han Tao looked down at his family's territory, and asked in a deep voice, "Have the people from Huanggou Village come back?"

A young company commander immediately replied: "Brigade Commander, I even escorted the people in Huanggou Village just into the city, and neither the people nor our people were damaged."

"Which one hasn't come back?" Han Tao lowered his head and frowned again.The small red flag belonging to the Black Wolf Legion on the top is no longer visible to the north of Zhangjiabao.

"In addition to Huanggou Village, there are already four companies escorting the people back today. Except for Zhoujia Village and Shihezhuang, which were determined to be captured by the Liao army, some people were injured, the people in other villages and our army have already withdrawn. "A staff officer reported loudly.

A battalion commander couldn't help but said: "It's all because these unruly people don't listen to the government and the army. If they withdraw early, how can there be any damage."

The magistrate said: "The people have always been like this, and they are absolutely reluctant to evacuate their belongings until the end."

Han Tao looked cold and said again: "The population in the city has been counted?"

An official dressed as a civil servant immediately replied, "The lower officials have just been ordered to count the city. Including women and children, there are a total of 570 and [-] people. Those who are entering the city have not been counted yet, but it will not exceed a thousand."

Han Tao heaved a sigh of relief. He sent a company to take charge of the retreat of the people, which was considered timely.Of course, this is because they knew in advance that the Liao army might be coming and were prepared.Otherwise, if the Liao army attacked suddenly, it would be impossible to retreat so thoroughly.

Holding the sand table in his hand, Han Tao stood up straight, his eyes were sharp as he swept across the hall: "I think you have all read the latest analysis report of the General Staff Department! The strategic plan issued by the Liao Army and the General Staff Department has many Big discrepancy. The number of people does not match, and it is possible that they went to Ningbian and Jinsu counties where the Zhelan Army was in charge. But after the Liao army came, they only tried to attack the city once, and obviously did not try their best, and then they were busy It is very abnormal to grab things in the village that we have evacuated. The most important thing is that I have just observed with a telescope for a long time, and found that the Liao army outside does not seem to be the Jingzhou army under the command of the King of Nanyuan, but like The tribal army, after they came, what they did would be the same as the tribal army who likes to fight grass valleys. If so, where did the [-] Jingzhou army under the command of Xiao Dage, the king of the South Court of Liao Kingdom go?"

The hall fell silent, waiting for Han Tao's next words.

Han Tao pointed to the sand table: "But this is just speculation. We must send troops to test their combat strength, and then find a way to capture prisoners for torture!"

At the end, Han Tao's eyes were sharp, and the reactions of the generals were quite calm. Even some young ones showed an eager expression, but a few civil servants turned pale and worried.

The county magistrate hesitated, and objected: "Brigade Commander Han, now that the Liao army is strong outside the city, it is important to be able to defend the city."

"That's true, but the situation is special now." Han Tao paused, "What's more, since their main force will come to our Zhangjiabao, we can't let the Liao army run wild. The troops and armaments are all ready. Worry."

(End of this chapter)