In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

Fan Zhongyan adopted the strategy of clearing the fields and relocating border residents to the south to defend the city at the Song-Liao border.

The Liao Kingdom's strategy of fighting to support the war was completely ineffective.

So Emperor Xingzong of Liao ordered Xiao Xiaoyou to provide backup in Nanjing, and Yelu Chongyuan led 20,000 cavalry to feint at Wangdu, while he personally led 80,000 cavalry to besiege Gaoyang.

But the real purpose of the Liao Kingdom was actually Baosai in the middle, so Xiao Hui led 50,000 troops to attack Baosai.

To the north of Baosai were Suicheng and Ansu, to the east were Rongcheng and Xiongzhou, and to the west were Beiping and Wangdu. It was the center of the front line of the border. According to the investigation of Liao Kingdom spies, most of the supplies, grain, and weapons of the Song Kingdom's front line were stored here.

In fact, Baosai was also the front line of the Song Army because of its location. It had to radiate to the border, and the resources prepared were the most except for the rear center Damingfu. Naturally, it could be regarded as a frontline stronghold of the Song Army.

If the Liao Kingdom attacked other places, the military supplies of Baosai would be able to rush to help immediately. But if the Liao Kingdom took Baosai, the Song Dynasty's front line would be in a dilemma.

Therefore, Fan Zhongyan asked General Wang Deyong to lead 20,000 troops to guard this place, and he personally led 30,000 troops to Yongning in the rear as a backup.

In this way, together with the surrounding Song troops, the Song army alone deployed about 100,000 troops on the front line. There are more than 100,000 troops in the rear, which can be said to have carefully arranged a pocket formation for the Liao army. It depends on whether the Liao army will rush over.

Obviously, Fan Zhongyan's policy of fortifying the walls and clearing the fields has made the Liao Kingdom unbearable, and the internal consumption is serious. Yelu Zongzhen decided that he could not drag it on any longer and had to rush in anyway.

For a time, the border was full of war.

Groups of Liao army squads dispersed, some went deep into the Song territory, trying to plunder the hinterland border villages, some attacked the outer fortresses to eliminate hidden dangers, and some main forces gathered and brazenly attacked the Song Dynasty city.

Anyangkouzhai, located north of Beiping County, probably in the area of ​​Shunping County, Hebei in later generations, had 3,000 Song troops stationed here.

To attack Wangdu, you must first pass through Beiping. To pass through Beiping, you must first pass through more than ten fortresses such as Anyangkou Village, Beiping Village, and Yutaikou Village. Almost when Yelu Chongyuan's troops arrived, the soldiers in the outer small fortresses gave up resistance and retreated to the three large fortresses of Anyangkou, Beiping Village, and Yutaikou.

After all, there were only a few hundred Song soldiers in those small fortresses. Although they could rely on the village walls for defense, they did not have many firearms on hand, and they were outnumbered. Facing the sudden attack of the 20,000 troops of the Liao Kingdom, not retreating would only cause unnecessary casualties.

It is better to concentrate on defense.

Xue Xiang, the new governor and the commander of the Dingzhou cavalry and infantry, was very clear about this. He sent his general Zhang Ying to command the troops outside the city, and he personally supervised the battle on the city.

On December 12, the bleak north wind howled, and the land was as desolate as the northern desert. There are thousands of miles of fertile land on the border between Song and Liao, but the two sides are on guard against each other. Except for the mutual trade, agricultural cultivation has basically stopped, so that even if there are thousands of acres of good land, no one is working.

The young Yelu Chongyuan rode on horseback and looked at the Song army camp in the south. There were several circles of outer walls. The outermost was a rammed earth wall, followed by rows of wooden houses, towers, high towers, and corner towers. There were countless figures on them.

"Kill!"

Yelu Chongyuan raised the spear in his hand.

The Northeast produces iron, and there are a large number of Han craftsmen under its rule, which makes the smelting technology very advanced, and the weapons and equipment are naturally very sophisticated. Except for the firearms that are not as good as those of the Song Dynasty, the rest of the equipment is comparable to that of the Song Dynasty army.

The Liao cavalry also mainly used long spears, with ring-headed curved swords on their waists, wearing armor, and even the horses were heavily armored. It can be said that they were armed to the teeth and very powerful.

At Yelu Chongyuan's command, the army behind him rushed towards the distant Anyangkou Village like a torrent.

The Liao soldiers in the front were not Liao people, but Han people and Bohai people, and even Jurchens and Mongols. They were not riding horses, but infantrymen, holding shields and scimitars in their hands, covering the charge of the anti-ladder troops.

The Liao cavalry in the rear supervised the battle. Once the infantry broke through the wall, they would immediately launch a fierce attack on the gap like bloodthirsty sharks, rushing into the wall and killing at will.

But it was obvious that the defense of the Song army was at its peak. The two sides were still a mile away, and more than a dozen crossbow bowstrings exploded with a loud bang. One by one, the iron-headed crossbow arrows, as thick and thin as tree trunks, fell into the Liao army formation with a whistling sound like ghosts and wolves, splashing tragic blood.

However, the attack of the crossbows only temporarily paused the Liao army's offensive. Then, under the supervision of the Liao cavalry, the infantry continued to charge forward. The distance between the two sides was about a hundred steps, and the dense rain of arrows from the Song army came head-on.

Suddenly, screams continued, and even caused a commotion. Some infantrymen were afraid and wanted to escape. Immediately, dozens of Liao cavalry squads came out of the formation, galloped towards the deserters, and killed them one by one.

Those real Liao soldiers watched all this indifferently. When the Liao Kingdom fought against Xixia, it often used fewer troops because Xixia was far away. Unless the Mongols were recruited, the military strength was often maintained between more than 100,000 and 200,000, and the whole country was not mobilized.

But it was different when fighting against the Song Kingdom.

The centers of both sides were close, and the Liao people gathered troops everywhere. Although their cavalry number was only more than 100,000, there were more than 100,000 recruited infantrymen, so the total military strength of the Liao Kingdom may have reached 300,000.

The Song State already had 200,000 to 300,000 troops stationed in Hebei Province, and another 50,000 elite troops were transferred from the northwest, and another 100,000 were dispatched from Bianliang, bringing the total force to over 400,000.

It can be said that if the more than 200,000 troops currently deployed in Shaanxi Road are included, the Song Dynasty has already dispatched nearly two-thirds of its 800,000 imperial guards for the war between Xixia and Liao, except for the 400,000 wing troops deployed in various places in the south.

Now there are only tens of thousands of troops in Bianliang, which is almost an empty shell.

If Zhao Jun had not traveled around the country in the past two years, punishing evil everywhere, and barely maintaining local stability for the time being, I am afraid that when the war started, the rear uprising could only be suppressed by the wing troops.

After the riot, the Liao infantry pressed forward again. Zhang Ying on the wall looked down expressionlessly. The archers above were still shooting, but in fact, the number of troops in Anyangkou Village was still too small, compared with the Liao army of at least 40,000 to 50,000 in front, it was a far cry.

In a moment, a large number of Liao infantry had rushed outside the wall. After getting close, the Liao army was much easier to fight. They used shield formations outside to resist the archers of the Song army, and then the Liao army fired bows and crossbows at the same time to counterattack the wall.

After all, the Song army's fortresses and camps were not cities. Their height and defense were limited. In addition, they were outnumbered and outnumbered. The archers on top were either shot or could only hide under the parapet.

Without long-range suppression, the Liao infantry rushed to the wall and built a ladder. A strong man at least seven feet tall swung a sledgehammer, his gnarled muscles bulged high, and with a sudden roar, he smashed the sledgehammer hard against the wall. The rumbling sound was like the shaking of the earth and the mountains.

Zhang Ying knew that he could not defend it when he saw this scene. Compared with the Liao army, the Song Dynasty might only be able to defend the city.

Even if there were no newly made grenades, the city might not be safe, just like before the Battle of Chanzhou, the Liao Kingdom conquered Baosai, Ningbian, Qizhou, Zhaozhou, Beiping, Wangdu and many other places.

"Retreat!"

Zhang Ying waved his hand, and the Song army on the wall of the village had no reservations. They pulled all the grenades and threw them out, then went down the wall and ran to the back.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

A large number of grenades roared, almost blowing out a vacuum zone outside the village wall, and even the village wall collapsed.

Yelu Chongyuan had no time to regret the dead infantry. He just wanted to wipe out this group of Song army. With a command, all the cavalry went out to flatten the Song army camp.

It was just that I didn't expect that there was a reason why there were few people in Anyangkou Village. All the people stationed here were elite soldiers of the Northwest Army, and they were all good at riding horses.

The soldiers ran all the way to the back village, and in units of each battalion, they got on their horses one after another. More than 2,000 people filed out of the back door and fled directly to the south according to the route marked by their own Song army.

Yelu Chongyuan did not want to surround the entire Anyangkou Village, but the Song army not only dug trenches, but also dug many horse pits, and all kinds of iron nails and broken iron pieces were scattered all over the ground. In the absence of horseshoes, the cavalry rashly surrounded them from all sides, which would only increase casualties.

The Song army naturally knew the location of the pits they dug and the iron nails and iron pieces they dropped, and found a safe route to escape successfully.

Jintaiyi, located in the northeast of Baosai, was an important stopover between Zhenzhou of the Northern Song Dynasty and Youzhou of the Liao Dynasty. It was outside the East Gate of Baoding City, Hebei Province in later generations. "Continued Zizhi Tongjian Changbian": In the fourth year of Taipingxingguo of the Northern Song Dynasty (979), Emperor Taizong took advantage of the momentum of destroying the Northern Han Dynasty and moved his troops to conquer the Liao Dynasty, passing through here on the way back and forth.

It can be said that this place is one of the outer barriers of Baosai.

At this time, Wang Deyong sent his general Wang Huaixin, the commander of the Hebei Road Army, to station 5,000 soldiers here in the Song army camp at Jintaiyi, forming a corner with Baosai City and attracting reinforcements.

The Liao general Xiao Hui sent the vanguard Yelu Dilugu to launch a fierce attack here.

The attack method was almost the same as that of Anyangkouzhai. The Liao cavalry supervised the battle in the rear and attacked with infantry composed of other ethnic groups. After reaching the outside of the village, they climbed up the village wall with ladders, broke through the village gate, and then the Liao cavalry finished up.

In just half a day under such an offensive, the Song army in Jintaiyi could no longer resist. Wang Huaixin was forced to throw the last grenade, abandon the camp, and retreat back to Baosai City.

If the main force of the Liao Kingdom was not still in the rear, and Wang Deyong in Baosai City sent people to help, I am afraid that this group of Song troops would be in danger.

And such situations are everywhere on the Liao-Song border.

Qijikou, Zhengzhen, Hongchengzhai, Zhuomazhai, Changfengzhai and other border military camps were attacked.

These military camps were basically concentrated evacuations of the Song army in nearby fortresses before the Liao army attacked, and basically there were two or three thousand people.

The fortresses were okay to defend against small-scale Liao army attacks, but facing large-scale Liao army, there was really no chance of winning, so in the first few days after the war, the hundreds of border fortresses that the Song army was proud of were almost all lost.

A large number of medium-sized camps were also raided, and at least seven or eight military camps were breached. Almost as soon as they met, the Song army lost at least seven or eight thousand people.

But the actual casualties of the Song army were less than those of the Liao army.

Because if the Liao army wanted to breach the military camp, it had to fill it with human lives. Under this layer-by-layer attack, although the cavalry of the Liao army did not suffer much loss, the infantry suffered heavy casualties. If it were not for the pressure of the Liao army, I am afraid that those Han people, Bohai people, Jurchens, and Mengwu people would have run away long ago.

At the same time, Fan Zhongyan learned that the Liao Kingdom was attacking, so he personally led his army to Baicheng in the rear. The current situation of the war is very complicated. Many places have been raided by the Liao army, and many outer fortresses and military camps with fewer garrisons have basically been breached.

However, the main cities of the Song army were basically intact, which was a world of difference from the Liao army's continuous breach of several important cities of the Song army before the Battle of Chanzhou.

Outside Gaoyang City, this is already the heartland of the Song army. Baosai, the main attack of the Liao army, is located in the northwest of Gaoyang City, while Baicheng, where Fan Zhongyan is located, is west of Gaoyang City. The distance between the two sides is only 40 to 50 kilometers.

In the camp of the Liao army's main general, Yelu Zongzhen was really looking at the battle reports sent from various places.

He led the main force deep into the heartland of the Song State in order to contain the main force of the Song army, including Fan Zhongyan, so that, together with Yelu Chongyuan's feint attack, it would create a battle opportunity for Xiao Hui to capture Baosai.

However, facing the news from various places that a large number of Song army camps were successively broken, Yelu Zongzhen was not happy at all.

Their infantry casualties were also very heavy.

If this continues, it is very likely that the soldiers of other ethnic groups under his command will be unable to bear the pressure and start a rebellion, which will be a serious problem.

So Yelu Zongzhen put down the battle report in his hand with a heavy face, looked around, looked at Xiao Ying, Xiao Xiaomu, Zhang Jian, Liu Liufu, Yelu Renxian and others below and said: "The Song Dynasty's grenades are really powerful, and our infantry casualties are too high."

Through the spies in the Song Dynasty, he now also knows the name of this thing.

Zhang Jian smiled bitterly and said, "This thing is really powerful in defending the city, otherwise I would not have advised Your Majesty not to start a war."

"But no matter what, we must defeat the Song Dynasty again."

Yelu Zongzhen said in a deep voice: "If the Song Dynasty thinks that it can rely on this thing to resist the Liao Dynasty, then where is the dignity of the Liao Dynasty?"

Liu Liufu said, "Your Majesty, I think that our goal is to continue to conquer the Song Dynasty, demand the ten counties of Nanguan, and force them to hand over the gunpowder formula. If we want to achieve this goal, there is no need to continue to attack with such huge casualties."

He paused and continued, "After all, this is not a war of annihilation. The Song Dynasty is not weaker than the Liao Dynasty. If we fight a war of annihilation, even if the Liao Dynasty wins, it will probably be a fight between two tigers, and one will die and the other will be injured."

"Oh?"

Yelu Zongzhen asked hurriedly, "What do you think? A good plan? "

Liu Liufu said: "The emperor of Song has always been timid. Don't look at Zhao Zhen's toughness this time. In fact, it was only because Fan Zhongyan defeated Yuan Hao in the northwest that his ambition was greatly boosted. However, it only takes one defeat to make him return to his original form and come to negotiate with Liao. So I think it is enough to just break one city. "

"Where?"

"It's Baosai!"

Liu Liufu said: "Baosai is an important town on the border between Song and Liao. If Baosai is broken, the front line of Song will collapse immediately and can only retreat to the south. Although there are still many cities in the south, it is difficult for the Liao army to move forward, but as long as Song is afraid and it affects the peace talks, our goal will be achieved. "

"Hmm"

Yelu Zongzhen nodded after pondering. At first, he wanted to break Baosai first, then attack Yongning, and then drive straight in, threaten Damingfu, and make Song feel terrified.

But it was obvious that the power of the grenade on the battlefield had already surprised him. It was difficult for the Liao Kingdom to attack some military camps now, and if they attacked the important cities of the Song Kingdom, they would probably be in danger of being annihilated.

So they concentrated their firepower to break a city first. As long as Zhao Zhen was scared, everything would be fine when they returned to the negotiation table.

Thinking of this, Yelu Zongzhen immediately discussed tactics with everyone.

In the end, they decided to feint and surround Gaoyang with a large army, and make a tentative attack to put pressure on the Gaoyang defenders, so that they would ask Fan Zhongyan's main force to come to the rescue.

When Fan Zhongyan was mobilized by him, the main force of the Liao Kingdom turned back and pounced on Baosai, joined Xiao Hui, and attacked Baosai together.

This was to use the mobility of their Liao cavalry to create a time difference.

So in the next few days, Yelu Zongzhen immediately dispatched troops and launched a siege on Gaoyang.

After all, the Gaoyang defenders had only more than 10,000 people. Facing the strong attack of more than 100,000 Liao troops, it was still a bit difficult even with grenades.

The most important thing is that although Gaoyang is an important town, it is not equipped with artillery.

At present, the Firearms Department has only made five artillery pieces, and they are all copper cannons. In the era without data, it is too difficult to cast iron cannons, and the risk factor is very high.

So after Zhao Jun's suggestion, a few safer copper cannons will be made temporarily.

Unfortunately, copper is too scarce.

This copper cannon requires more than 2,000 kilograms of copper, which is really unaffordable.

Now two of the five cannons are in Baosai, an important town on the front line, and the other three are in Yongning, the rear base of the Song army.

In addition, Gaoyang's grenade reserves are also limited.

After all, this is a national-level battle. Even if the Song Dynasty has been preparing for two years, this is not the future of the industrial age. Grenade is now completely handmade, and the efficiency is not fast.

The Song Dynasty also experienced the Song-Xia War and consumed a lot of reserves.

Facing the Liao Dynasty, which is more powerful than the Western Xia Dynasty, each fortress, military camp, and city had to divide up a large number of grenades as defensive weapons, and the reserves of the Song Dynasty were already quite tight.

So in this case, the Gaoyang defenders had to ask Fan Zhongyan for help.

Fan Zhongyan led the main force of 50,000 and drew 70,000 to 80,000 reinforcements from nearby to come to support.

Seeing that Fan Zhongyan had been fooled, Yelu Zongzhen left tens of thousands of infantry to delay the main force of the Song army, and led 50,000 cavalry to quickly counterattack and march towards Baosai.

December 18th.

In the early morning.

Outside Baosai City, there were already densely packed, countless Liao soldiers.

As the Liao ruler Yelu Zongzhen and Xiao Hui joined forces, there were already more than 100,000 Liao soldiers outside Baosai City, while there were only about 20,000 Song soldiers in Baosai City.

Obviously, this was a great test for the Song army.

By noon, the Liao army had assembled and surrounded the city on three sides. The Liao soldiers, like a tide, stood in a line outside the city, and there was no end in sight.

Seeing such a scene, Wang Deyong knew that he had to take out the best things in the bottom of the box. With a wave of his hand, dozens of soldiers carried two big guys and slowly pulled them to the city wall. They began to install the base and the gunners were debugging!

At this moment, the Liao army was strengthening its momentum in front of the battle. The vanguard general Yelu Dilugu was more than seven feet tall, with muscular body and strong strength. He rode a warhorse in front of the battlement, waving his sword in his hand and howling like a wild wolf.

At this time, on the top of the city wall of Baosai in the distance, two long copper pipes stretched out from the parapet of the parapet at some point, and the well-trained gunners slowly adjusted the gun positions.

The direction they were aiming at was Yelu Dilugu!