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

On the vast plain of Hebei Road, the fresh wind howls.

If you stand on the city wall of Xiongzhou City and look out, you will see that the world outside the city is desolate.

Withered and yellow basil spread all over the wilderness, there were countless dense jungles in the wild, and fallen leaves fell all over the ground.

The original villages and farmland have long been ruined and have not been cultivated for decades.

In this chaos, there is only one official road in the south of the city, still telling people that at least there are still people passing through here.

After the Battle of Chanzhou, the Song State moved the border people inward to prevent the Liao people from raiding the grass and valleys. Today, there are no villages and fields on the border, only cities and military villages remain.

However, this does not mean that there is no human habitation at all. Businessmen going north to China and businessmen from the Liao and Song Dynasties who come to trade with each other will still come here.

It's just that after the war started, no matter how brave they were for the sake of profit, they had already dispersed and fled the border far away.

On December 26, only four days before the New Year's Eve, Di Qing, who was on duty in Xiongzhou City, saw several knights flying toward the south city from a distance.

He watched for a while and then directly asked someone to open the city gate - one of the knights he knew was his subordinate Zhang Yu, who was now serving as the defense envoy of Xiongzhou due to his military exploits.

It is worth mentioning that Di Qing's performance in the war with Xixia was also very outstanding. His promotion was like a rocket. He was already under the command of Hebei Road Soldiers and Horses, with 5,000 people under his command. He had already touched the threshold of the general level, and the next step was to become a general.

Zhang Yu hurried into the city. When the city gate opened, he saw Di Qing. He quickly reined in his horse and said, "Hanchen, here we come."

"What's coming?"

Although Di Qing had suspicions in his mind, he still wanted to ask.

Zhang Yu immediately turned over and dismounted, wiped the Han water on his forehead, took two sips of the water handed to him by the soldiers next to him, and then said: "Yesterday, Mr. Jinlue defeated the Liao army in Baosai, and their remnants are retreating north. escape!"

"Quick, go back and tell Shuai Si!"

Di Qing immediately took a horse, climbed on it, and headed directly to Zhang Kang's mansion in the city.

After a while, Zhang Kang got the news and became energetic.

"Very good."

He stood up and said to Di Qing: "Command the three armies to go to war!"

"yes!"

Di Qing also answered sonorously and forcefully.

After a while, the entire Xiongzhou City became excited, and all the soldiers and horses in the city were ready.

Except for one thousand people who were left to defend the city, all the others left the city to intercept and defeat the Liao army.

Situations like this also occur in many important border towns such as Suicheng, Ansu, Rongcheng, Baoding, and Wen'an.

If the previous Hebei Army, even if the Liao Army was defeated, they probably would not have dared to go out of the city to pursue them like this.

But Lao Fan placed the elite Northwest Army in many cities on the border just for this moment.

The morale of the Northwest Army was much stronger than that of the Hebei Army, so naturally they dared to go out of the city for a decisive battle.

These are all the same military achievements.

At the same time, after the Liao army was defeated, it was impossible to reorganize the team.

Because the Song army has been chasing after them.

Fortunately for the cavalry, they galloped all the way north and were able to escape.

It's a tough job for the infantry.

Although most of the Song army were infantry, the Song army had high morale and fought hard to catch up for military glory.

The infantry of the Liao army had no choice but to flee crazily in order to survive.

The two sides chased each other for hundreds of miles overnight, and the entire border line of more than 200 miles long including Baozhou, Ansu Army, Guangxin Army, Xiongzhou, and Dingzhou in Hebei Road was filled with enemy soldiers.

Fan Zhongyan could no longer control his men, because the enemy was scattered and the Song army was scattered in pursuit. There was even an anecdote that a Song army squad of more than 200 people chased more than 3,000 Liao army infantry regiments.

So he simply did nothing. After giving the pursuit order, he just took a few thousand people with him and slowly and leisurely headed north to Ansu.

Ansu's guard was Zhao Zhen, the new commander-in-chief of Hebei West Road. He didn't have many cavalry on his side, only more than 3,000 people, and only 10,000 infantry. They actually stationed themselves arrogantly at Huludi, intercepting a large number of people from behind. Liao army.

Huludi is located on the bank of the Cao River south of Ansu. This Cao River is not a Cao Canal, but a tributary of the Fu River, a tributary of the Daqing River. It originates from Wuhuiling in Yixian County, Baoding City, and is the only way to cross the river.

According to historical records, this place is also a place prone to accidents. From the third year of Kaiyun in the Later Jin Dynasty in the Five Dynasties to the fifth year of Xuanhe in the Northern Song Dynasty, for 178 years, it was the frontline of the Liao Dynasty.

War between Liao and Song Dynasties often occurred here.

However, the Song Dynasty once cooperated with the Ansu City to resist the Liao army at Langshan Village on the south bank of Huludi. Now the Song army has gone to the north bank to intercept the Liao army, which is quite rebellious against Tiangang.

The remnants of the Liao Kingdom were running around like headless flies. There were nearly 200,000 troops, and a large part of them followed Yelv Zongzhen towards Dingzhou.

There is the army of Yelu Chongyuan, the brother of the Liao Dynasty, who can let Yelu Chongyuan cover their return from Dingzhou to the north.

The rest of the Liao army was not so lucky. They just wanted to escape the Song Dynasty as soon as possible and chose the fastest route, which was also the shortest route to hell.

Zhao Zhen set up an ambush at Huludi and defeated the Liao army again when they crossed the river. He killed more than 3,000 people and captured 5,000 others.

Suicheng garrison intercepted more than 10,000 Liao troops in Cunpu, Busan. He also defeated the enemy, killed more than 2,000 people, captured more than 3,000 people, and the remaining 5,000 to 6,000 people fled back to the Liao territory in embarrassment. .

Zhang Kang, the defender of Xiongzhou, led the cavalry and pushed westward. He was too lazy to kill the small Liao army he encountered. He only chased the Liao army of at least three or four thousand people each time. In just a few days, he killed more than 10,000 enemies and took no prisoners.

The war could have continued to expand, but after reaching the border of Liao, Zhao Zhen and his men hesitated and finally did not dare to take the risk to continue to advance.

The reason was that after the Treaty of Chanyuan, Song Zhenzong strictly restricted the generals of Hebei Road.

First, it is not allowed to provoke border wars.

Second, even if the enemy attacks, it is not allowed to fight back immediately and wait for the order of the court.

Third, defeat the enemy and do not pursue.

Fourth, never enter the Liao territory.

It sounds outrageous.

But this is actually the reality. This series of restrictions caused the Song army in Hebei Road to be tied up and dare not fight.

If Fan Zhongyan had not come, they were afraid that even if the Liao Kingdom suddenly marched south, they would only dare to stay in the city and watch the Liao army wreak havoc outside. Unless the enemy came to attack the city, they would not dare to fight back.

Fortunately, Lao Fan arrived in Ansu the next day. After learning about this situation, he slapped his forehead and immediately issued a military order to chase into the Liao territory and wait until he encountered resistance.

With this military order, the Song army brazenly rushed into the Liao territory, scaring the Liao soldiers who thought they were safe. They continued to flee north and ran to Xijin Prefecture, Nanjing, Liao.

Xiao Xiaoyou, the garrison commander of Xijin Prefecture, hurriedly gathered the soldiers and led the troops to resist. While the Song army was chasing, he led the cavalry to sneak attack several parts of the Song army, causing some casualties to the Song army. This calmed down the crazy Song army and slowly retreated to Zhuozhou.

There was no way. It was impossible to spread out the formation during such a pursuit, which made it difficult to respond if suddenly attacked. It was also the fault of the Song army for greed and recklessness, otherwise there would not be some casualties.

Fortunately, the Song army won a great victory in this battle. This little accident did not affect Fan Zhongyan's mood. He reorganized his troops and went north to Zhuozhou.

After Yelu Zongzhen fled to Dingzhou, he joined forces with Yelu Chongyuan, regrouped about 70,000 to 80,000 cavalry, fled north to Weizhou, which is the area of ​​Lingqiu in later generations, and then took a big detour from the Weixian area in later generations before running back to Xijin Prefecture.

Since there were still a large number of defeated small Liao troops in Song territory at this time, if they were not eliminated, it would affect the safety of the rear, so Fan Zhongyan did not continue to fight in Xijin Prefecture, but mobilized troops for confrontation.

He assembled 50,000 Northwest Army and brought about 80,000 infantry to station in Fanyang, Zhuozhou, Liao.

Some of the more than 100,000 troops in the rear were responsible for clearing out the remaining Liao troops, some were responsible for transporting food and grass to Fanyang on the front line, and others immediately went north from Cangzhou, Baoding, Xin'an, Qingzhou and other places to harass Wuqing, Anci and other places in the southeast of Xijin Prefecture.

In this way, the Song troops in various parts of Hebei Road performed their duties and surrounded the Liao Kingdom's Nanjing capital Xijin Prefecture with a pincer attack from two routes. They were quite prepared to take advantage of this opportunity to go north and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

However, since most of the Song troops were infantry, even though Fan Zhongyan's command and dispatch were very good, they still delayed time due to the long front and bloated army.

After he had arranged it here, it was basically January of the second year. The soldiers could not celebrate the New Year properly. They only knew to hold swords and guns, kill with red eyes, chase the Liao army that was fleeing all over the mountains and plains, and almost forgot about the New Year.

This undoubtedly gave Yelu Zongzhen a chance to breathe.

Almost at the end of December, Yelu Zongzhen had already run back to Xijin Prefecture, stopped the mobilization again, and arranged defense lines around Xijin Prefecture in Yuyin, Liangxiang, Yuhe, Wanping, etc., and fought a defensive battle in the city.

For the Liao Kingdom, although the Han people had lived on the Nanjing border for a long time, and since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were a large number of Han cities left in this area, allowing them to defend the city.

But the nomadic people allowed the farming people to attack the hinterland, and the nomadic people had to defend the city, which was absolutely unprecedented.

It can be said to be quite aggrieved.

On January 13, Yelu Zongzhen stood on the tower of Xijin Prefecture with a haggard face. He saw countless Han people inside and outside the city eager to join the army, and couldn't help but sigh: "The people's hearts can be used."

Zhang Jian next to him thought that it was because the Song Dynasty itself was too cruel to the Han people, and the taxes were frighteningly high. When they heard that the Song army was coming, even the Han people didn't want to be the people of the Song Dynasty.

But of course he would not say it, he just said: "Your Majesty, there is nothing we can do about this defeat. The Song people's firearms are too powerful, it is not our fault. Facing the attack of the Song army, we should still take a long-term view and be cautious."

Yelu Zongzhen said with a worried look on his face: "I regret listening to my father's advice. I really shouldn't have attacked the Song so rashly. If we had only sent envoys to discuss with the emperor of the Song Kingdom before, I think it would not have come to this point today. I am afraid that they will cancel the annual tribute from now on and stop trading with us."

Zhang Jian replied : "It's not that bad."

"Oh?"

Yelu Zongzhen asked hurriedly: "Father, do you have any other ideas?"

Zhang Jian pondered and said: "Although we were defeated in this battle, the losses were basically the troops of various vassal states and tribes. The main force of the Liao Dynasty, the Pishi Army, is still safe and sound and still has the strength to fight. Moreover, the Song army is good at defense. It is impossible to use grenades to attack the city. Only the cannons are difficult to use for attacking the city. Fortunately, the Song army has less of these things, so there is still room for maneuver."

"Please explain clearly, Father."

Yelu Zongzhen said.

"Of course, we will continue to negotiate with the Song army."

Zhang Jian said in a deep voice: "We can give up the ten counties on the south bank of Laishui, but the Song army must increase the currency by 200,000. After we have the money, we can appease the tribes. Otherwise, your majesty's prestige will plummet, which is not good for the country."

"Giving up so much land like this, I'm afraid there will be a lot of criticism from many powerful people in the country."

Yelü Zongzhen hesitated.

Zhang Jian shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, don't you see that the Han people in the city are actively joining the army to defend the country?"

"What is this?"

Yelü Zongzhen didn't understand.

"It is because your majesty treats them kindly that they have won the hearts of the people."

Zhang Jian said: "The Song people are more ferocious than tigers in their heavy taxes. Even if they occupy the land, the local people will not surrender and will flee north to the Liao Kingdom. We only lose land. As long as there are people, it will not cause too much loss. Now the top priority is two things."

"What two things?"

"One is to appease the country so that the country will not be turbulent because of this war."

Zhang Jian raised two fingers and said: "The second is to try every means to get the Song people's gunpowder formula and build our own grenades and cannons. Otherwise, we will always be controlled by others. If we continue to fight, it will only lead to the decline of people's livelihood and the scarcity of the country, and then we will be defeated."

"Yeah."

Yelu Zongzhen felt that Zhang Jian's words made sense and nodded slightly.

This battle was too much for him.

He didn't get any benefits. Not only did he waste the national strength in vain, but he also lost a lot of people and horses.

He sent out 150,000 Pishi troops, plus the other ethnic coalition troops of various tribes, and the number was about 250,000 to 60,000.

Among them, the Pishi army lost 20,000 to 30,000 people, and the tribal coalition lost at least 50,000 to 60,000 people, which can be said to be a disastrous defeat.

Although the foundation of the Liao Kingdom is naturally more than that, his father had 500,000 people when he conquered Xixia. Now, with the troops stationed in the north of Shanxi and on the border of Xixia, the border of Uighurs, and the hinterland of the rear, it is not a problem to organize another 500,000 people.

The problem is that after the confrontation in the past few months, the Liao Kingdom’s treasury was basically almost exhausted. If there is no supply from the war, a large number of Liao soldiers will starve to death.

So it is okay to organize so many people, but whether it can continue to fight is another question.

Therefore, compared to continuing to be aggressive and risking the destruction of the country and continuing to fight with the Song Kingdom, it is better to get some practical benefits and simply give part of the land to the Song Kingdom, which is equivalent to selling the land.

Anyway, the Song Kingdom is rich and powerful, and it probably doesn’t matter with this little money.

Thinking of this, Yelu Zongzhen sighed and said, "Let's do it this way. Send another envoy to talk to Fan Zhongyan in detail!"