Tragic...

The corpses of soldiers on both sides were around. Guo Zhiyao had never seen such a scene, and his heart was trembling.

"Your Highness, the enemy has retreated."

The personal army reminded Guo Zhiyao that at this time, he was stunned in place with a sword in his hand, his chest kept rising and falling, and he was breathing heavily.

He didn't think so much about it during the battle, but the scene after the battle will be unforgettable for him.

"How about casualties."

Guo Zhiyao's voice was a little hoarse, and he didn't know if it was tired or something. The personal soldiers shook their heads. It was not clear about the situation yet, but overall, the battle was very tragic.

When he returned to the military camp, the deputy general reported to Guo Zhiyao that although Guo Zhiyao performed mediocrely this time, his courage to live and die together had already convinced some generals.

"Report to Your Highness, this time the Liao army attacked, our army suffered 2,000 casualties, and the enemy left behind 1,600 corpses, and some prisoners!"

"What? So many people!"

Guo Zhiyao was a little surprised. As a link in the northern defense line, there were already many three thousand defenders. They were waiting for their work, and there were such a large number of casualties.

Even though there were cavalry on the other side, they did not give much advantage in confrontation head-on, and the combat effectiveness of the Song army was not low, and the only gap was in the generals.

When studying in the Military Academy, Guo Zhiyao had heard of many classic battles, including examples of defeating the more with fewer and defeating the strong with weak.

Guo Hao habitually avoided too many casualties in war. Guo Zhiyao followed his father and was very dissatisfied with the number of casualties.

"Who is the general of the Liao Kingdom? If you can command it under such circumstances, you are definitely not an ordinary person!"

Guo Zhiyao sent someone to investigate Liao and explain the details, and the Liao army commander was also investigating him.

In the Liao army camp, a big man sat in the middle, with each commander below.

"Have you found out clearly? Who is the young man? The chief general Yang Ye is obviously not in Yinzhou, so why is there anyone who commands the army!"

"When we go back to Terry, we have learned that the young man was Guo Zhiyao, the eldest prince of the Song Dynasty. He was sent to the border by the Emperor of Song to show punishment."

"oh?"

The Liao army general's eyes lit up. This was a god-given opportunity. This time he attacked the south, he brought 10,000 troops, and the three thousand cavalry were just a test.

And this master general is not an ordinary person, but a famous general of the Liao Kingdom, the Khitan royal family, and Yelu Xiuge!

This person is a historical celebrity, and he led the battle at Qigou Pass.

In history, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun have always been a heart-wrenching problem with Taizu of the Northern Song Dynasty. Taizong and the two emperors of Taizong were always trying to take them back from the Khitans by force.

In January 986 AD, Emperor Taizong of Song once again decided to send troops to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

This time, the Song army divided into three groups to launch an attack. The commanders of the three groups were all famous generals at that time. The commander of the Eastern Army was Cao Bin, the commander of the Central Army was Tian Chongjin, and the commander of the Western Army was Pan Mei and Yang Ye.

Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty had a strategic intention of three groups to launch a joint force, Cao Bin's troops stationed troops in Xiongzhou and Bazhou, carried out feints, and made a stern move, and claimed to take Youzhou, attracting the main force of the Khitan army on the east road, so that they had no time to look west, and protect the middle, and captured the states behind the mountain on the west road, and finally joined forces with the three groups to capture Youzhou.

The Song army of the three routes set out one after another. Due to strict confidentiality measures, the Liao Kingdom did not receive news until March 6 of the same year.

In response to the urgent situation of the three large armies of the Song army, Empress Dowager Chengtian, who was smart and good at using troops, took measures to defeat them in each way.

It was decided to concentrate superior forces to deal with the most threatening Song Donglu Army, which was the most threatening, and then try to annihilate it, and then transfer the troops to deal with the weaker Song army of Zhongxi and Western Routes.

So, Empress Dowager Chengtian Xiao Chuo ordered Yelu Xiuge to lead the army to deal with Cao Bin's troops on the east side of the Song army.

General Yelu Xizhen was sent to lead his army to reinforce the states to deal with the Song army Tian Chongjin's troops in the middle and the Song army Pan Mei's troops in the west.

Empress Dowager Xiao and Emperor Shengzong of Liao then led tens of thousands of elite cavalry to fight south.

In early March, the Song army began to attack, and the Song army on the east route defeated the Liao army and captured several cities including Qigou Pass in the Liao Kingdom.

Before the reinforcements arrived, Yelu Xiuge, the governor of Nanjing of Liao, knew that he was outnumbered and avoided fighting with the Song army. He bluffed his power during the day and sent light cavalry to harass him at night. He secretly submerged some of the troops to ambush the Song army, cut off its food route, and exhausted the Song army.

After Cao Bin's Song army occupied Zhuozhou for only more than ten days, he retreated to Baigou because of insufficient food and grass.

Tian Chongjin's troops in the middle line defeated the Liao army at Feihukou, captured the Liao general Dapengyi, and captured multiple cities.

Pan Mei's army on the west road also defeated the Liao army and captured several cities one after another.

At this time, Emperor Taizong of Song believed that Cao Bin's troops retreated was a major mistake, so he ordered Cao Bin to lead his army to march along the Baigou River, raise troops and livestock, and wait for the opportunity to advance northward.

When Cao Bin's generals heard that the two armies of the Chinese and Western countries conquered prefectures and counties, they fought repeatedly and won. Therefore, they were eager to seek merit and advocated fighting.

Cao Bin believed in the opinions of the generals and after replenishing the food, he led his army to cross the Baigou River north and confronted Yelu Xiuge's army.

The Song army formed a square formation and marched towards Zhuozhou on both sides of the trench.

Yelu Xiuge blocked the Song army from the east with a force, causing the Song army to go hand in hand and move slowly, and traveled for twenty days in a hundred miles.

Due to the lack of water on the way, the Song army of Cao Bin's army was in a state of poverty.

After arriving in Zhuozhou, Cao Bin learned that Empress Dowager Xiao and Emperor Shengzong of Liao had already arrived fifty miles east of Zhuozhou, and there was a situation of joining Yelu Xiuge's army to attack the Song army on the east route.

So, Cao Bin ordered his general Lu Bin to take the people in the city to retreat south first, and personally led the main force to cut off the rear.

After discovering that the Song army was retreating, Yelu Xiuge quickly seized the fighter plane and immediately led the elite cavalry to pursue.

At that time, heavy rain fell, and the retreating Song army struggled in the mud, with low morale and "no further troops" and the generals could not control it.

In early May, Yelu Xiuge's cavalry caught up with the fleeing Song army at Qigou Pass. The tired army collapsed in an instant. Cao Bin led the defeated army to cross the Juma River overnight. In a panic, people and horses trampled on each other, and many casualties were killed and injured.

Liu Baoxun, the governor of Youzhou, Liu Lishe, the father and son of Kaifeng military officer, Kong Yi, and others drowned in the river. The remnants of the Song army fled to the south bank of Yishui and were caught by Yelu Xiuge's cavalry, and tens of thousands of people died in front and behind.

Emperor Taizong of Song was shocked when he learned of the disastrous defeat of the Song army on the East Road and urgently ordered the middle road army to retreat to Dingzhou, while the western road army retreated to Daizhou.

Subsequently, the Liao army quickly launched an attack on the Song army on the middle and west routes.

As a result, the Song army in the middle retreated without fighting, leaving only the Song army in the west led by Pan Mei and Yang Ye alone behind the enemy, and the situation was critical.

Wang You, the commander of the Western Army of Song, ordered Yang Ye to lead his troops to attack due to a huge gap in force.

Yang Ye originally did not agree to go deeper alone, but the military commander Wang You ridiculed Yang Ye and said, "You are so arrogant. Now I see the enemy being so funny, don't you have the will of him?"

Yang Ye was forced to lead his troops to fight, but the entire army was annihilated. After Yang Ye himself was seriously injured, he was captured by the Liao army and died of a hunger strike for three days.

At this point, all the three armies of Song Dynasty were defeated, and the prefectures and counties they captured were lost again.

After the Song army suffered a heavy defeat in the Battle of Qigou Pass, the Northern Song regime completely lost its strategic offensive ability and was forced to move into strategic defense. Yelu Xiuge was awarded the title of King of Song for his merits.

From this we can see that Yelu Xiu Ge is definitely a powerful figure. Guo Zhiyao is just starting out, so how could he be his opponent? Guo Zhiyao is already in danger when he is targeted by such a person.

After understanding the situation of the Song army, Yelu Xiuge had already made an idea. They were here to fight Dangxiang this time and wanted to take back the lost land for Li Guangrui.

Since the Li family fled to Liao Kingdom, their lives have not been smooth. The Khitans treat other tribes differently. If Yelu Xian hadn't taken a fancy to the Li family, they might have been abandoned long ago.

Before, Guo Hao invaded Liaodong and took away the land of Liaodong. Just as the Liao Dynasty was in a state of unstable situation, Yelu Xian had to admit defeat.

Now that he has stabilized the situation, Xiao Chuo has also entered the court, and the couple worked together to rectify the administration and finally took control of the situation.

Without internal worries, the two began to become active. Since Guo Hao can help the Jurchens establish the country, why can't they help the Qiang people establish the country?

You want to the northeast, we want to the northwest, only in this way can we balance it, and the Liao court is not unaware of what Guo Hao does in the northwest.

Originally, the Liao Kingdom had no interest in the Western Regions, but now it is different. The sixteen prefectures of Yanyun cannot be overcome. The Liao Kingdom must find a breakthrough. Even if it cannot destroy the Song Dynasty, it cannot make the Song Dynasty too comfortable.

For this reason, Yelu Xiuge was sent to attack Dangxiang, but before contacting the Qiang people, they had to guard the Song army locally!

After the battle started, Langyan was seen by reinforcements. Just as Yelu Xiuge was planning, another five thousand reinforcements rushed over, including three hundred musketeers.
Chapter completed!