Chapter 221 Decisive Battle with Youyun (Twelve)

Waqiao Pass is a small border town. The original defenders had only more than 3,000 people, and more than 10,000 ordinary people. After tens of thousands of Zhou army imperial guards and countless logistics supplies came to Waqiao Pass, the entire Waqiao Pass was like a pot of boiling water, and people were rushing everywhere.

The preparation for the battle is a very complicated task, involving offensive levels, logistics preparations, intelligence collection and other contents. Tens of thousands of people should be effectively invested in the battle to attack Youzhou. The preparations were meticulous and in-depth. Hou Dayong used to prepare for the Northern Expedition as the prime minister. After the Northern Expedition began, Chai Rong ordered Hou Dayong, who was also the Privy Councilor, to be responsible for organizing the troops, and Hou Dayong became Chai Rong's practical chief of staff. Chai Rong was extremely satisfied with Hou Dayong's work. With Hou Dayong being by his side to help, he could concentrate on thinking about the overall situation.

At the Gu'an Ferry, after the brief military meeting ended, Chai Rong had individual conversations with the three generals of Long Jie Army, Zhengfu, and then inspected Long Jie Army. After staying at the Gu'an Ferry for four or five hours, Chai Rong led a 500 cavalry team back to Waqiao Pass despite Hou Dayong and others' response.

The Juma River Basin has been occupied by the Khitans for more than 20 years. At this time, Chai Rong personally recovered the lost land and was in a very good mood. He led 500 cavalrymen to rush back to Waqiao Pass with great enthusiasm. When he returned to the camp, it was completely dark.

Chai Rong led a team of 500 cavalrymen and rode for nearly 200 miles in one day. Although Hou Dayong was healthy, he was very tired after returning to the camp.

While sitting in the tent resting with a smelly sweat, Liu Jiangjie walked in with a wooden basin. She said shyly: "Secret Hou, soak your feet in hot water, which can best relieve your fatigue."

Liu Jiangjie has long been very familiar with Hou Dayong on the top deck on the Youzhou number. In her heart, Hou Dayong is not only the noble Hou Prime Minister, but also a kind, wise and majestic brother.

Hou Dayong sighed, "I am so old that I am not forgiving. You ran with me for a day and I feel refreshed." Liu Jiangjie smiled and said, "Secret Hou, running a hundred miles is the specialty of the Richie tribe. Otherwise, how could I survive on the grassland where the Hu people gather? The little girl can still deal with these two hundred miles."

Liu Jiangjie hesitated for a while. She squatted beside Hou Dayong, carefully took off Hou Dayong's shoes, soaked Hou Dayong's feet in hot water, and then massaged Hou Dayong's soles with her hands. When Richie's first arrived in the grassland, she was not good at riding horses. Every day when she grazed or returned from marching, there were always various adverse reactions. Richie's team tried every means to adapt to life on the grassland. Soaking hot water feet was an effective means used by Richie's team to relieve foot fatigue caused by long-term riding.

Since Hou Dayong came to the Great Zhou Dynasty strangely, except for his early life in Sumo and Marine, the conditions were relatively difficult. After arriving in Cangzhou, he soon became a general of the Great Zhou Dynasty. His life has been greatly improved. Now he has become a corrupt life of food, clothes, and beauty scrubbing his bath. When Liu Jiangjie squatted beside him and took off his shoes, Hou Dayong was a little surprised. However, he did not stop him. He closed his eyes and enjoyed Liu Jiangjie's careful care and said to himself: "After all, girls are different. The young man in the forest, the tiger in the forest, would never think of getting a basin of hot water, let alone having a massage for the soles of his feet."

Liu Jiangjie seemed to treat Hou Dayong's stinky feet as a work of art. She was skillful in her technique, from Yongquan acupoint, Taibai acupoint, Taichong acupoint, Kunlun acupoint to Xingjian acupoint. It was light or heavy, urgent or slow, and in a short while, her forehead was slightly sweating. Liu Jiangjie was wearing military uniform, her face was slightly black, and only a piece of snow-white appeared on her neck. Through a trace of scattered black hair, she suddenly appeared in front of Hou Dayong's eyes. Hou Dayong couldn't help but take another look, but quickly withdrew her eyes.

After Liu Jiangjie massaged it three times, she wiped Hou Dayong's feet carefully with a dry cloth towel. Liu Jiangjie's craftsmanship was quite famous at home. Liu Jiangqing also liked it very much, but after Liu Jiangjie was over fifteen years old, she only massaged her father. Liu Jiangqing was only jealous, and Hou Dayong didn't know the joints.

When Liu Jiangjie straightened her waist, she looked at Hou Dayong who was relaxed and slightly closed her eyes and said softly: "People Hou should rest for a while, and the food will come up later." After leaving the door, Liu Jiangjie's face was as rosy as jade.

After Liu Jiangjie's trouble, Hou Dayong was exhausted and his personal guards sent in a few simple and delicious Sichuan dishes. There were two chefs following Hou Dayong. One of the chefs was given by Zhao Jie, a merchant of Shu. He and another Daliang chef Huang Laoliu followed Hou Dayong and took turns cooking for Hou Dayong.

Hou Dayong was having a meal with relish, and Chen Ziteng rushed over. His face was covered in sweat, dripping down his cheeks, with a little panic, and he didn't care about saluting, and said nervously: "Prime Hou, Your Majesty suddenly fainted."

After Chen Ziteng fell off his brother, he was attracted by Chai Rong for his outstanding calligraphy and was specially allowed to enter the Hanlin Academy. Chen Ziteng is unruly by nature, speaks smoothly, and has good skills in riding and shooting horses and archery. He is quite popular with Chai Rong and often follows Chai Rong. Recently, many edicts have been written by Chen Ziteng. This time at Gu'an Ferry, Chen Ziteng also followed Chai Rong. The siblings of the Richie tribe lived on the grassland and their skills were no less than those of Hu people. They ran back and forth for more than 200 miles a day. Although Chen Ziteng was a little tired, he had a short rest, but he was fine.

Hou Dayong bit a piece of the refried meat and didn't swallow it for a long time. He felt a little surprised, "Is it finally here?"

In another history, Chai Rong suddenly fell ill in the middle of the Northern Expedition, but Hou Dayong was not clear about the specific situation of this history. Now the Northern Expedition is entering a critical period, and the place that should have arrived finally arrived as scheduled.

When Hou Dayong arrived in front of Chai Rong's tent, Fan Zhi also arrived in front of the tent at the same time. Then, another prime minister, Wei Renpu, also rushed over.

Chai Rong had not yet woken up, and two white-haired imperial doctors stood in front of the bed.

"What's your majesty's illness?" Fan Zhi asked anxiously.

An old lady with gray hair said, "Your Majesty's dragon body has always been strong and rarely gets sick. This time it is probably overworked." Running for more than 200 miles a day, this marching speed really made Chai Rong, who had not marched for a long distance for several years, feel a little tired. Hou Dayong nodded and asked, "Are the medicines provided by your company?" The old lady said, "Please rest assured. The medicines are very complete, all of which are good medicines for the imperial doctor's real estate."

Fan Zhi looked at Chai Rong who was unconscious and said, "Your Majesty marched during the day and reviewed memorials at night. You can't sleep for a few hours every day. Your Majesty is tired and sick. It is our ministers' fault to make your Majesty work so hard." At this point, Fan Zhi was covered in tears.

Fan Zhi, Hou Dayong, Wei Renpu and others were waiting in the tent with a frown. After a few hours, Chai Rong suddenly woke up. He opened his eyes and glanced at the three prime ministers standing in front of the bed. He felt dizzy again. He put his head heavily on the bed and held on for a while. Then he opened his eyes and said, "I have something to say." This sentence was extremely hoarse.

"The Northern Expedition has entered a critical period, and I am really in the wrong time. What do you think we should do?" After saying this, Chai Rong stopped again, and the strong smell of Chinese medicine floated around in the tent.

Fan Zhi said with some concern: "The Khitan army is gathering in Youzhou now. The battle in Youzhou must be a big battle, but Your Majesty is not safe, so it is better to withdraw the troops temporarily and wait for the next year." Fan Zhi is the "north first, then the south". He advocated taking Youzhou first, but when he saw Chai Rong was so sick, he probably wouldn't be cured for a while, and he felt like he was withdrawing his troops.

The battle has entered a very critical period. Hou Dayong does not agree to withdraw his troops. He is about to open his mouth, but Wei Renpu has spoken out to echo Fan Zhi.

Wei Renpu was originally a "south first, then north" faction, and was satisfied with obtaining a large area of ​​land on the south bank of the Juma River. He said: "Our army sent troops for a month and has obtained a vast land on the south bank of the Juma River. This is a great victory that has not been fought with the Khitans for decades. Now the south is not yet settled, and he hastily fought the Khitans. I am worried that the south will be unstable."

Wei Renpu clearly said that he was worried about the unstable south, but in fact he implied that the capital was undercurrents. Before sending troops to the north, there were two consecutive wooden signs of great rebellion in the river. There was also a hunting attack, which made Wei Renpu share the concerns.

Chai Rong didn't care about these three things on the surface, nor did he delve into it, but from the bottom of his heart, he attached great importance to these things.

Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou, in just a few decades, after the five dynasties and the change of government affairs, almost all were completed by military generals. Before the Northern Expedition, Chai Rong finally made up his mind to re-transform the imperial guards and the Dianqian commander, transforming the powerful guards and the Dianqian commander into the Iron Cavalry Army, the Hei Army, the Long Jie Army, the Hu Jie Army, the Yulin Army and the Bianhe Naval Division. These six armies were directly led by His Majesty and restrained each other, basically eliminating the possibility of generals seizing power. Therefore, he allowed the Liang Jumping Clown in the capital to fully perform.

At this time, Chai Rong suddenly opened his eyes, then closed it tightly and did not speak. Seeing this, the three prime ministers stopped talking. After a long time, Chai Rong opened his eyes again, looked at Hou Dayong, and asked in a low voice: "What do Hou Lang want to do?"

Hou Dayong said slowly and resolutely: "The arrow is on the string, and I have to fire it." Chai Rong's eyes seemed to lit up, and he said effortlessly: "Continue."

"At this time, the Liao army had not yet fully assembled, and the main force was still north of Gubeikou. Now the Longjie army is ready to seize Gubeikou. Only by occupying Gubeikou, the Liao army in the north will find it difficult to pass Yanshan, and Youzhou is just a turtle in the jar. However, if you easily give up the careful preparation of the Northern Expedition now, if you want to be surprised again, it will be even more difficult."

Hou Dayong's greatest advantage is that he knew the veins of social development over the past thousand years, and was strategically foresighted. In the history known to Hou Dayong, after the death of Sleeping King Yelu Shulu, Khitan talents continued to emerge, quickly resolved internal disputes and consolidated the rule of Youzhou. The Han people in Youzhou finally agreed with the rule of the Khitans. In the Song Dynasty, they were unable to retake Youzhou. The Huma used Youzhou as a stronghold and could leap into the Central Plains at any time.

As the essential prime minister, Fan Zhi had a very comprehensive understanding of the situation of Zhou and Liao on both sides. He knew that Hou Dayong was right, but Chai Rongdi's condition was really uneasy, so he suggested: "Your Majesty can plan at Waqiao Pass and command the army to continue the attack."

Chai Rong always likes to appear on the front line of battle when he personally fought against the Southern Tang Dynasty. During the third campaign, he personally directed the siege of the city several times. Fan Zhi has always disagreed with Chai Rong's approach. Today he took this opportunity to keep Chai Rong in the rear.

Chai Rong raised his hand, feeling that his arms were as heavy as a mountain. His eyes flashed and he said word by word: "Houlang, in the battle against Youzhou, you will be in charge of the full command. The responsibility is as heavy as Mount Tai. You must take care of yourself."

Hou Dayong took a deep breath, with a look of perseverance on his face. He said in a deep voice: "The Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun will be the birthday gift I offer to Your Majesty." Chai Rong is thirty-nine years old this year, and it will be forty in not long before long. He was very satisfied when he heard Hou Dayong's answer and said to Fan Zhi: "I will order the entire army to communicate this proposal."

Among the three prime ministers in Chai Rong's land, Hou Dayong was the only prime minister who led his troops and had been planning the Northern Expedition; in addition, among the generals of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Hou Dayong was the only general who had defeated tens of thousands of Khitan troops; more importantly, although Hou Dayong had a high status at this time, he did not directly command the army. From these three factors, Hou Dayong was the best candidate to replace Chai Rong to command the Northern Expedition.

Hou Dayong knew the weight of this order. If this battle was fought well, history might have a huge turning point.

The imperial edict was soon passed to the commanders of various military commanders. Hou Dayong quickly established a Northern Expedition command post, and ordered it out of the command post like snowflakes.

Tens of thousands of troops arrived at the Gu'an Ferry, the Iron Cavalry Army, the Control He Army and the Yulin Zuoxiang Army successively arrived at the Gu'an Ferry, and part of the Bianhe Navy Division was also urgently transferred from Duliukou to the Gu'an Ferry.

Wang Tengxiang, the deputy commander of the left wing of the Longjie Army, led 2,000 cavalry as the first unit of the Longjie Army crossing the river. The mission in its territory was to use the speed of the cavalry to bypass Youzhou unexpectedly, seize the Gubeikou of the Xiongguan, and block the Khitan reinforcements north of Yanshan.

The Khitan army on the north bank of the Juma River has been concentrated in Youzhou City. All the Longjie army's operations did not avoid the cavalry that reconnaissed on the north bank. They did not wait for the pontoon bridge to be repaired, and wade by the water under the surveillance of the Khitan cavalry on the other side.

The second river crossing force was Wang Shenqi, the deputy commander of the right wing of the Longjie Army. He also led a thousand cavalry, targeting Desheng Pass in the southwest of Youzhou.

The third river crossing force was Yuan Yan, the commander of the right wing of the Longjie Army, who personally led 4,000 infantry troops. They brought enough food for a month and advanced towards Gubeikou.

The fourth river crossing force was Zhao Chao, the deputy commander of the right wing of the Longjie Army, who led 4,000 infantry troops. After they crossed the river, they headed towards Desheng Pass.

The key to Hou Dayong's strategic plan was to seize Gubeikou and Desheng Pass and block the Khitan reinforcements. Gubeikou and Desheng Pass became the highlights of the first phase of the battle. The cavalry crossed the river mainly to use speed to unexpectedly capture the dangerous pass. The task of the infantry was to defend the dangerous pass and block the enemy's reinforcements.

There were only two hundred rangers on the north bank of Gu'an Ferry. They saw that the Zhou army camps on the other side of the river were continuous like mountains, and countless crossbows blocking the north bank of the Juma River. These rangers were scared to death and could only watch the swaying Zhou cavalry waded to the south bank.
Chapter completed!