On the last day of February, Guo Ziyi worshiped the Horse God and the Road God, left 30,000 troops to guard Pingzhou, and personally led an 180,000 army to march by land and water along the Liaoxi Corridor toward Liaodong.
Among them, 170,000 were infantry and cavalry. Xi Wanli led 30,000 cavalry and thousands of fortification soldiers as the vanguard, entering Yingzhou territory first and heading towards Liucheng.
Wang Xueguo, the general of the navy Hu Benlang, led 10,000 naval troops and 300 warships from the Bohai Sea into the Liao River, blockaded the Liao River, intercepted the Japanese army and the Silla army to support the Khitan.
Wang Xueguo is the eldest son of the former navy commander Wang Xiaoru. Wang Xiaoru has a bad heart and has retired from official service in Chang'an to enjoy family happiness.
The Khitan is currently under the rule of Su Khan, whose name is Yaonanbo. Among the eight Khitan tribes, the Dahe tribe was initially powerful. The Khitan repeatedly invaded the Tang Dynasty, and was later severely damaged by the Tang army. The Dahe tribe has since declined, and the Yaonan tribe has declined.
Instead, he became the Lord of Khitan.
The Yelu tribe did not rise until the late Tang Dynasty, and is currently only a small tribe in the Khitan.
The Khitan headquarters is in the Songmo area, but the Khitan has expanded rapidly in recent years. It not only annexed Yingzhou of the Tang Dynasty, but also surrendered the surrounding Xi tribe and other tribes. It continued to expand eastward and annexed the entire Liaodong including the Liaodong Peninsula.
and Silla are bounded by the Yalu River.
Starting from the second half of last year, the Khitans launched a fierce attack on the Bohai Kingdom. As a result, the Bohai Kingdom lured wolves into the house and was destroyed by the Japanese army. The main force of the Bohai Navy surrendered to the Khitans, and the Khitans withdrew their troops to the west of the Liao River to guard against the Tang Army's Northern Expedition.
There are currently more than 50,000 Khitan troops in Yingzhou. The leader is called Dieci Feng. He is in his thirties and is the second-ranking figure in the Dieci tribe, another important Khitan tribe.
Die Cifeng was very nervous and sent a large number of spies to inquire about the activities in the Liaoxi Corridor. As a result, the Tang army just thawed in Liaodong and the Tang army came in force. Die Cifeng was shocked and sent people back to Songmo King's tent to report to the Khan.
Report, on the other hand, he ordered his brother Die Cizhen to lead an army of 20,000 people to go south to Bailangshui to intercept the Tang army.
In the Tang Dynasty, Liaodong was not as densely populated as it is now. Yingzhou was mainly populated by low hills and hills, with large forests, mountains and rivers scattered across it. Small tribes of Khitan and Xi people lived by the water, making transportation extremely inconvenient.
During the Tianbao period, there were still tens of thousands of Han people, mainly living in Liucheng County, making a living growing grain in the surrounding areas.
A straight official road leads directly from the Liaoxi Corridor to Liucheng. It must cross the White Wolf River. This is the first line of defense built by the Khitan Army. The bridge has been demolished. It is spring, and the Bailang River flows rapidly and the river is six meters wide.
Seventy meters, crossing the river is not easy.
Xi Wanli was still thirty miles away from Bailangshui. He received news from the scouts that a Khitan army camp was found on the north bank of Bailangshui ahead. There were as many as 20,000 to 30,000 troops stationed there, and they were holding Bailangshui.
Xi Wanli ordered the troops to camp and rest on the spot. There was a creek next to it. The soldiers took water for cooking. No one drank directly from the creek. This was the military regulation of the Tang army. It was very strict, especially to prevent the Khitans from poisoning the upper reaches, so Lien Chan
Horses must drink water that has been boiled and then cooled.
In a large tent, Xi Wanli was looking at the sand table map. Since the sand table was popularized in the army, all generals are no longer willing to use paper maps. They must be equipped with sand table maps when going on an expedition.
This is also the legacy left by Feilong. During the Kaiyuan period, he vigorously promoted sand tables. The Ministry of War spent nearly twenty years making sand tables in various places. In the end, it became an important military asset of the Tang Dynasty and was fully utilized by Li Ye.
From the sand table, behind Bailangshui is a hilly area, covered by forests. The mountains are rugged and there is not even a path. There is a long canyon in the middle, and the official road passes through the canyon.
Does Bailangshui have to be crossed by force?
At this time, the soldier said at the door of the big tent: "General, the guide is here!"
"Invite him in quickly!"
The guide of the Tang Army was called Song Kuan, a head catcher recommended by the governor of Pingzhou. He was in his thirties. He was actually a Han native of Yingzhou. When he was young, he was a hunter in Yingzhou. When the Khitans invaded Yingzhou, he took him with him.
His family fled to Pingzhou, and because of his excellent martial arts skills and strength, he was recruited as a policeman by Pinglu County.
Because he was an Orion and was very familiar with the mountains and rivers of Yingzhou, Guo Ziyi simply recruited him into the army and appointed him as a staff officer and guide.
Song Kuan walked into the tent, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "For this humble post, I see General Xi!"
"There is no need to be polite when Song joins the army. Please look at the map here!"
Song Kuan hurriedly stepped forward and looked at the sand table map carefully. He nodded, "It's very detailed and realistic. The terrain of Yingzhou is completely consistent with the sand table map."
Xi Wanli pointed at Bailang Waterway: "I want to go around to the back of this river. Is there a way?"
Song Kuan pointed to the hill and said: "You can go over the mountain, but the cavalry can't go there, and the baggage can't go there either. You can only go by infantry!"
Xi Wanli pointed to the valley and said, "How wide and long is this valley? Are both sides suitable for an ambush?"
"Reporting to the general, this valley is called White Wolf Valley. It is about seven or eight miles long and about a hundred paces wide! There are dense forests on both sides. Of course, you can ambush, but the slope is relatively gentle, and the enemy can easily rush up."
Xi Wanli called in his deputy general Yang Qing. Yang Qing was originally Lei Wanchun's general. Lei Wanchun led the army to guard Youzhou. Lei Wanchun did not participate in the Liaodong campaign this time, but part of his army was transferred and was led by Yang.
Commander Qing, now Yang Qing has become Xi Wanli's deputy general.
Yang Qing quickly walked into the tent, bowed and saluted: "I'm sorry to see you, General Xi!"
Xi Wanli smiled and said: "There is a task for General Yang!"
"Please give me your orders, General!"
Xi Wanli pointed at the White Wolf Valley and said: "You lead an army of ten thousand to the White Wolf Valley to ambush. Song Can's army will take you to take a detour and ambush in the mountains and forests on both sides of the White Wolf Valley. Once I attack the Khitan army on the north bank of the White Wolf River,
They will definitely retreat to Liucheng, and you will ambush them in White Wolf Valley!"
"I humbly obey orders!"
Xi Wanli made a few more special remarks, and Song Kuan followed Yang Qing in a hurry.
Soon, Yang Qing led 10,000 infantrymen southward and walked less than ten miles. Then he turned east and circled to the north bank of Bailangshui. Then, under cover of night, he crossed the Bailangshui about thirty miles away from the Khitan army.
, went directly up the hill.
As the time gradually approached the fourth watch, the Tang army arrived at the south bank of Bailangshui. The Khitan army deployed sentries. When the Tang army was less than ten miles away from Bailangshui, the Khitan sentries discovered it and immediately sounded the alarm.
The 20,000 sleeping Khitan soldiers gathered on the north bank of Bailangshui, and the general Die Cizhen nervously watched the situation on the south bank.
Not long after, the Tang army began to appear on the south bank of Bailangshui, placing hundreds of cyclone cannons in a row. The cyclone cannons were small trebuchets, carried on the backs of camels, which could throw 20 kilograms of iron fire thunder 150 steps away. .
Tang Jun also prepared clay bombs and fire clay. This is a double-layered clay pot. The inner pot contains a kerosene slurry with arsenic added. There is a little explosive in the interlayer of the clay pot. First, the kerosene inside is fully burned, and the sandwich explosive It will explode in the air, and the burning fire oil slime will fall down like raindrops and fall on the skin, which will cause pain to the bones.
Of course, there are also traditional kerosene bombs, which will create patches of burning areas.
Before the enemy could see clearly, Xi Wanli gave an order, hundreds of trebuchets were launched at the same time, and hundreds of iron fire thunders rushed towards the enemy's position, "Boom! Boom!"
Iron fire thunders exploded among the enemy troops one after another, causing the enemy troops to fly with their flesh and blood, corpses strewn all over the ground, and screams and wails resounding.
This was a firearm that the Khitan army had never encountered before. It shocked everyone. Then the clay bombs and fire oil flew out and exploded in the air. Sparks rained down from the sky. It was a spectacular sight. Unfortunately, this was poisonous fire oil. , it will burn to death if it falls on the skin.
There were cries of ghosts and wolves howling on the battlefield, and the general Die Ci was extremely panicked. He had never seen such a weapon. He could not defend the White Wolf Water at all, and would be completely wiped out by the Tang army without blood. It was better to save his troops to defend the city.
Thinking of this, he hurriedly ordered: "Evacuate the entire army and withdraw to Liucheng County!"
The Khitan soldiers were already in chaos. When the order was issued, more than 18,000 troops left their positions in panic and ran towards White Wolf Valley.