Shu Yuan gently drew a line on the cowhide map, heading west from the Bohai Sea against the Haihe River, passing through Wuqing and Yongqing, and then running westward for twenty miles to reach the north of Waqiao Pass, and then turn to the south.
It was the Khitan military camp.
The terrain of Hebei is high in the northwest and low in the southeast, gradually descending in a semi-circular shape from northwest to southeast.
As long as you go around to the northwest of Waqiao Pass, you can get close to the attack.
They are now in a dense forest and are very safe.
Because it was so close to the front line, local people either fled north or hid and did not dare to leave the village.
At the same time, we were behind enemy lines and there were no Khitan scouts around.
They were a group of 3,000 people, and it took them three days to travel day and night and arrive at the predetermined dense forest to hide.
Leading the way were twin brothers, the eldest named Teng Xiang and the second named Teng Rui.
If it weren't for the two of them leading the way, the three thousand brothers under his command would not have been able to get here.
The road was not difficult to walk at night. In order to avoid being discovered, they did not dare to use torches. They just used prepared lanterns and covered them with black cloth to prevent the light from spreading. In this way, three thousand people
Less than fifty.
"The seat is right!" Shu Yuan held the map and said to Teng Xiang: "The next step is just to go this way!"
Teng Rui, who was small in stature and had a smart look on his face, said: "Go back to the general, you can't go wrong. My boss asked my two brothers to run this road more than 20 times. Wherever there is a forest, there is no place to hide. I closed my eyes."
You can find them all.”
Shu Yuan took out a silver nugget from his arms and put it into Teng Rui's hand, and said: "Thank you for your hard work! Teng family brothers, the success of this time depends entirely on your leadership. Take care of this, and you will be able to do anything in the future."
Come look for me, I will remember your situation. Please notify the commander immediately and everything will go according to plan."
South of Waqiao Pass.
late at night!
Luo Youdu got the news of Shu Yuan's arrival as soon as possible.
Looking at the pigeon farmer in front of him, and then at the piece of paper in his hand with the Arabic numeral "1" written on it, Luo Youdu couldn't help but sigh, how amazing the ancients were.
The ancients may have fallen behind in technology due to the problems of the times, but they used everything they could to the key points.
Including homing pigeons.
As the first country to use homing pigeons, there are records of homing pigeons as early as the Qin and Han Dynasties.
However, contrary to imagination, carrier pigeons do not have the ability to find people and deliver messages.
The homing pigeon's unique ability is to return home. No matter where you take it, it has an 80% chance of finding its way home.
Therefore, if you want a carrier pigeon to deliver messages, you have to have the carrier pigeon with you and release it when needed. This is the so-called flying pigeon to deliver messages.
Instead of just throwing it into the sky, the pigeon acts like a navigation system and finds the person who sent the message.
For this battle, he had planned for a long time and had arranged messenger pigeons in both the north and the south.
This "1" means that everything is ready, ready, and yes.
Everyone who understands understands.
"Send the order and prepare to attack Waqiao Pass early tomorrow morning."
Luo Youdu issued the latest order.
Shu Yuan's troops naturally took boats and arrived in Jingu via the Bohai Sea.
At first, Luo Youdu's idea was to lure Xiao Siwen's army out of Youzhou City, and then use his soldiers to directly attack Youzhou by surprise and capture Youzhou in one fell swoop.
However, after many calculations, the chance of success was too small.
First of all, it is impossible for Xiao Siwen to transfer all the troops and horses away from Youzhou. How can he leave only three to five thousand soldiers? In addition, there are still people who can drive them, so they have the power to fight.
But if it doesn't come true, like Wei Yan, he pinned his hopes on the enemy's stupidity.
As soon as the army arrives, does the enemy flee?
Without enough troops, an attack cannot be successful; without enough troops, a surprise attack cannot be successful.
The distance from Jingu to Youzhou is 251 miles. If a large-scale infantry wants to attack the enemy's hinterland for four or five days, the chance of not being discovered is too small.
A large-scale infantry, alone, penetrates deep into the vast land of Youzhou. Any mistake in any link will lead to annihilation.
Luo Youdu thought of many ways, but they were all too risky.
Gambling, how to bet on scores.
This kind of thing with only a 20-30% chance of winning is simply not worth betting on.
Luo Youdu retreated to the next best thing and set his sights on Xiao Siwen.
Defeat him first, and then use the unique characteristics of the Khitan army to capture Youzhou City.
In the early morning, the first ray of sunlight shines on the Guancheng of Waqiao Pass.
"Dong, dong, dong..."
The deafening sound of war drums shook the sky.
On an April day, there is still a bit of coolness in the land of Hebei.
Well-trained soldiers have lined up outside Waqiao Pass.
The best way to attack Waqiao Pass is to cross the river, surround Waqiao Pass, and attack from both front and rear.
But north of Waqiao Pass, the Khitan army is stationed inside. If they cross the river, they will give the opponent a chance to attack halfway across the river. A frontal attack is the only way.
Waqiaoguan Tower.
Xiao Siwen, who came after hearing the news, immediately came to the city tower. Looking at the Zhou soldiers lined up neatly, he couldn't help but sigh: "The soldiers of the Central Plains are really majestic."
The Khitan soldiers are certainly not weak in combat effectiveness, but it would be difficult for them to line up as neatly and act as one as the soldiers from the Central Plains.
"Sure enough, after the fall of Yingzhou, they attacked here. It seems that our 30,000 troops still put a certain amount of pressure on them! Haha! Mr. Song, you are a god!"
Early this morning, he had received the news that Yingzhou had been captured by Han Tong. Shi Gaoyanhui, the governor of Yingzhou, incited the pessimistic soldiers to mutiny, killed the Yingzhou governor, and surrendered the city.
Xiao Siwen had no unnecessary complaints. This easily delayed the process for two days, and he was satisfied.
Glancing at Yelv Xiezhen, Xiao Weiyin, Yao Neibin and Xiao Siwen who were beside them, Xiao Siwen thought for a while and ordered: "Kui Yin, Yao Jun Envoy, you are responsible for resisting the traitors head-on..."
"Han Yin, you personally lead 5,000 cavalry to cross the river to a safe place, find an opportunity to go behind the enemy and harass them, and cooperate with my defenders to repel the enemy."
Han Yin is the Chinese character for Yelv Xiezhen, even though the Khitan people have Khitan language and Khitan writing.
However, a country's writing needs to be derived after thousands of years of accumulation. Even if it is created without a certain foundation, it will be messy and unacceptable.
There are more than 3,000 Khitan characters created by Yelu Turubu and Yelu Lubugu under the orders of Yelu Abaoji based on Chinese characters, but not many people use them even in Khitan. Khitan still uses Chinese culture as its main theme.
Except for his different hairstyle from the Central Plains people, Yelu Xiezhen is no different from the Central Plains Han people.
Yelu Xiezhen immediately accepted the order and left.
Xiao Siwen's greatest advantage was that he was self-aware and did not intend to interfere with the command of Yelv Xiezhen, Xiao Kuiyin and Yao Neibin. He just asked Xiao Kuiyin and Yao Neibin to say that he would send troops when they couldn't hold on any longer.
After receiving support, they withdrew from the pass and returned to the camp to take charge.
Yao Neibin glanced at Xiao Kuiyin beside him and said: "Commander Xiao Du, how about you and me?"
The Khitan Han army basically inherited the military system of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. The Youdu Prefecture was dominated by the Han army, and Xiao Siwen's official position was the commander of the Shenwu Army.
Because Xiao Wei looked down on the hundreds of people under Yao Neibin's command, he raised his head and said, "That's what you should do. If you can't hold on any longer, you can ask me for help."
Yao Neibin forced a smile, but there was a burst of slander in his heart.
Yao Neibin was a native of Lulong in Pingzhou. Before he was born, Lu Ping was taken away by the Khitan.
He grew up under the rule of the Khitans, but all he learned was Han culture and knowledge. He also knew that he was a Han, but he had no ill feelings towards the Khitans.
After all, there are also some Khitans among my playmates.
As he grew older, Yao Neibin gradually noticed something different.
Even though the Han people ruled the Han people, the Khitan people ruled the Khitan people.
But it was the Khitans who really had the power to command the military.
No matter how well-sounding a policy is, it means nothing if it is not implemented in place.
Most of the Han people had administrative power, and only a few Xi, Bohai, and Han people who were appreciated by the Khitan aristocratic group could lead troops as generals.
In history, Yao Neibin was as fearful of Xixia as a tiger. He was called Yao Dachong. He did not dare to invade the frontier for ten years, so he was naturally a rare warrior.
He joined the army with his Khitan friends who grew up together, and together they defeated the enemy outside the Great Wall. It was obvious that he had more merit, but he was rising steadily, and even though he was under his control, he was still two levels behind.
Yao Neibin was naturally dissatisfied and became quite upset.
In the end, his commander, who already commanded an army of 10,000 people, looked down upon him and recommended him to Xiao Siwen, who arranged for him to serve as military envoy at Waqiao Pass, commanding 800 troops.
Yao Neibin had long been dissatisfied with this kind of deviation, but he didn't know the people from the Central Plains at all, so even if he wanted to surrender, he had nowhere to go.
Besides, there are only 800 people, what can they do?
It was not until the Zhou Dynasty went north to capture Ningzhou that Yao Neibin received a letter from Luo Youdu.
Regarding the solicitation in Luo Youdu's letter and the conditions contained in it, Yao Neibin was extremely moved and did not have any doubts.
A person's name, a tree's shadow.
Compared with the troubled times of moral decay, the warriors who kill people are like trivial things.
Luo Youdu's "alternativeness" is well known to everyone.
Wherever his army went, he did not invade, and he treated the surrendered soldiers very favorably.
Even after defeating the Southern Tang navy on the Huaihe River, a scene was staged where the Zhou navy and the defeated soldiers of the Southern Tang rescued people together, which became a good story.
In terms of personal credibility, in the eyes of Yao Neibin, Luo Youdu of the Central Plains was second only to the emperor Guo Rong, who kept his word.
Yao Neibin did not hesitate at that time and planned to directly lead his troops to defect and surrender Waqiao Pass with both hands.
It's just that the other party had other plans and did not agree. Instead, he hoped that as an internal agent, he would switch sides when he saw the three puffs of smoke and count him as a great contributor.
Yao Neibin did not refuse. Wealth and wealth were obtained through danger. It was only natural that the Khitan should treat him like this and charge some interest to serve the new master.
"Hold the banner with the word 'Yao' high!"
Yao Neibin drew out his sword, looked at the soldiers under the city, and shouted: "Kill, kill, kill!"
Xiao Weiyin looked at the enthusiastic Yao Neibin and exclaimed: "What a strong man!"
He also asked people to raise his banner high, came to the top of the city, and shouted angrily in a louder voice: "Kill!!!"
In the distance, Luo Youdu squinted at the flags hanging on the left and right, called the Kang family and his son, and said to them: "The flag with the character "Yao" on the right is for show, but on the left, let me play with it and beat it to death!"