In early March, Yelu Hongji led 300,000 troops and rushed straight to Mayi through Huairen County. The Song army's probe came in like flying horses, and there was a sensation around for a moment. Near Mayi, the Song army began to strengthen the walls and clear the fields and gather the people.

Yelu Hongji was stationed in Huairen County. After dinner, he summoned all the ministers to discuss matters.

The ministers stood in between the two sides, and Yelu Hongji said: "Chongyuan has been acquired by the Southern Dynasties, and Xiao Ge surrendered. Although the north is unified, Song State took this opportunity to conquer cities and plunder land. How could he tolerate him? This battle with Song State had to fight. There were 300,000 troops, heading south from Datong Prefecture to attack Shuozhou. This battle must be defeated by the Song army. Otherwise, there will be endless troubles!"

Yelu Yixin said: "What Your Majesty said is very true. If Shuozhou is occupied by the Song army, Yanmen's natural danger will be unique to the Song Dynasty from then on. Shuozhou to Datong Prefecture will be smooth all the way, and the Song army must be prevented from attacking, which will be extremely dangerous. If the Song army is not severely damaged, it will be difficult to be stable!"

Lin Ya Yelu Fang said: "There are more than 100,000 Song troops ahead, and tens of thousands of Song troops came from the western mountains. This battle is not easy to fight."

King Nilu of Chu said: "In addition, 300,000 troops went south and went a hundred miles forward, making it difficult to get food and grass. All the people of Datong Prefecture were to collect grain transport, and it was difficult to ensure that the front line was not hungry. If the army was sent to transport grain, the number of people would not be much higher than that of the Song army."

Yelu Yixin said: "The southern people are weak, even if there are too many people, what's the use? How can they stop this dynasty's army from the south?"

Yelu Fang said: "King, today is not as easy as before. The Song army is not as easy to deal with. Not to mention that they destroyed Dangxiang last year, the battle between Tanglong Town a few years ago, and this dynasty suffered a lot."

Yelu Yixin heard this and said decisively: "At that time, the Song army had artillery, we were caught off guard. Now we also have artillery, no longer a few years ago, so why should we be afraid of them? I think that as long as the army goes south, the Song army will not last long."

Yelu Hongji said: "This battle must be won in one battle, and the battle will be decided quickly. If it is delayed, food and grass will be difficult and cannot be fought. Therefore, in order to attack Shuozhou, I want to attack Mayi with a 200,000 army head-on. Send 5,000 troops to restrain the east bank of the Huihe River. The remaining 100,000 people will protect the safety of the rear route. If the Song army in the mountains attacks our rear route, stop them and wait for reinforcements to come."

Nilugu bowed: "Your Majesty, Mayi city is small, and the 200,000 troops cannot set up their formation. It is better to use a small number of elite soldiers as the leader and the army follows behind. If the elite soldiers can open the gap in the Song army, the army will advance immediately before they can win."

Yelu Hongji thought for a while and said, "That's good. There is only a few miles in front of Mayi City, and it is difficult to set up a 200,000 army. The Song army set up a formation outside the city, connecting the Huihe River to the west and the mountains to the east, without any flaws. Then he attacked directly with a ten thousand troops. If he gained profit, the army would advance later."

After saying that, he said, "These ten thousand elites are allowed to be selected from the 200,000 army. Be brave. Take the commander as the commander and serve as the vanguard of the army."

Yili Biyelu set out in the row and bowed his hands to sing his promise.

Yelu Hongji said: "It was about a hundred miles from Huairen to Mayi County, and the vanguard arrived within two days. The next day, the army would arrive in front of the formation."

The minister bowed and said that the army was thirty miles a day, which was the normal marching speed. Since leaving Youzhou, the Khitan army has been fighting for half a year. Now the army is exhausted and cannot force it. Moreover, the Liu and his army have been in the mountains to the west, and their whereabouts are uncertain, so the Khitan must be cautious.

In Mayi County, Jia Kui and Zhao Zi sat opposite each other, drinking and eating meat while discussing the war.

Jia Kui said: "Yelu Hongji led an army of 300,000 out of Datong Prefecture and came all the way south. Following the journey, the city will be down in three or four days. I have already informed Liu Ji in the mountains and asked him to send more cavalry to patrol, so that Khitan troops cannot enter the mountains."

Zhao Zi said: "There is a mountain to the west and the Hui River to the east. With Liu Ji and I guarding it, the two wings are the safest. This battle depends on whether you can defend it here. In fact, there are only tens of thousands of people fighting on the front line."

Jia Kui said: "I only have more than 30,000 people, and I'm honest, I feel a little panicked when I fight against 300,000 Khitans."

Zhao Zi laughed and said, "I remember that when Taiwei Du led his troops to Tanglong Town, the total army was only 30,000. In one battle, Yelu Chongyuan was defeated, then killed the Khitan king, and then forced Yelu Renxian away. Immediately afterwards, he swept the two military supervisors of Dangxiang. How powerful was that! As long as the 300,000 troops were used well, 300,000 people were afraid! Taiwei, this is your opportunity to make military achievements."

Jia Kui shook his head: "What you said is light, with an army of 300,000 people who can get up all the time, how can you be careless?"

The straight-line distance of the military formation is only five miles. Jia Kui used 30,000 people on the front line, and 6,000 people a mile away. Seriously speaking, the military formation is already crowded. No matter how many troops there are, the distance cannot be reached. The Khitans can only attack one by one in batches.

Jia Kui has been in the army for many years and has not encountered such a situation. How could he not panic? When Pingnon Zhigao was said to be hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides, but in fact, when the two armies were fighting against each other, it was hard to say that there were more than 10,000 people on the entire battlefield. Due to poor command, most of the troops just stood there and watched. One army collapsed and then the entire army rushed forward, which was a normal war.

After Du Zhongxiao trained troops in Suizhou, the fighting style of the Song army changed and it was no longer the same. When fighting, it was able to launch a large-scale attack with wide frontal conditions, and it could also concentrate its elite forces and make key breakthroughs. The command system no longer relies on techniques that can only be seen and heard, but gave more command power to the generals below. This was the first time Jia Kui had commanded such a war, and he was a little nervous and excited.

When the war in Tanglong Town was in war, Yelu Chongyuan had already been in the hands of the Song army. Most of the generals led by Yelu Zongzhen died in battle. Most of the Khitan generals now have no memory of that time. They only knew that Yelu Zongzhen was killed by cannons, and now there are cannons, which is different from those back then.

Zhao Zi said: "We attack more with less, and the army is one more than the enemy's elite. Another one is the most suitable terrain. When Tanglong Town was in the valley, our army was in the valley, and 30,000 of our army could fully control the situation. No matter how many Khitan troops were, they could only be sent in batches outside the valley. Today, Mayi is still the same. Before Hong Ji entered Datong Prefecture, Du Taiwei decided to only take Shuozhou City, not the rest. I think he was interested in the terrain of this area. The mountains and rivers here are sandwiched together. Although the river is not wide and the mountains are not high, it is difficult for the Khitan to get around in a hurry. Thirty thousand soldiers are enough to guard the place. In addition, my help from Liuji troops, this battle is really a good place and people."

Jia Kui nodded: "I understand. The Khitan civil strife has been in the past for five years. In the past, they were fighting for one city and one city, and they often fought for half a year and stopped for half a year. This time, Hong Ji left Youzhou for half a year, and the army was exhausted. In addition, the difficulty in transporting food and grass, they would definitely not be able to fight for long. This time it was indeed a good time to defeat the Khitan, but it suddenly fell on its head and had to be cautious."
Chapter completed!