In the fifth year of Xiande's reign, it was May 16th.
Luo Youdu stood on the city tower at the north gate of Youzhou, watching the palace troops and some of the bodyguards slowly evacuate Youzhou City.
This day is the day when Guo Rong officially returns to school.
There were also some minor twists and turns regarding this return to school.
According to Fan Zhi and Wei Renpu's wishes, since they are withdrawing their troops, they should keep a low profile, go directly to Youzhou City, and retreat quietly in one night.
Safe and convenient.
But Guo Rong refused and said angrily: "How can I sneak away unless I am defeated and retreat? I came in an upright manner, and I have to leave in an upright way when I return to the army. If the Khitan wants to stop it, just let them come. For my sake
You are the emperor, why should you fear a battle?"
Faced with Guo Rong's tough attitude, Luo Youdu, Zhang Yongde, Zhao Kuangyin and others naturally cooperated.
Secretly deploy troops and generals to be prepared. If the Khitan really wants to attack, then they will fight for a while and then withdraw.
It just so happened that during this trip to the north, the Dianqian Division did not gain much military exploits and could still have a full meal before leaving.
Best of both worlds!
Especially Zhao Kuangyin was most looking forward to the Khitan coming to fight.
Otherwise he would be too miserable.
Because of Zhao Kuangyin's "little actions" in Bianjing, Guo Rong went north to suppress him and then let him go.
I originally had the idea of starving the tiger for a while so that it can be used more easily.
In the end, I was really hungry, but I just had something stuck between my teeth. Before the meal officially started, I had to withdraw because of Guo Rong's health.
Who can I cry to for this grievance?
But the result was destined to disappoint him.
As soon as Guo Rong moved, Khitan spies immediately discovered the situation and informed Yelujing of the Zhou army's movements.
The Khitan gave Luo Youdu a military stronghold, which made him extremely uncomfortable and no longer willing to attack again.
After three days of strong attack, the Khitan lost more than 15,000 warriors.
On average, five thousand soldiers were lost every day, and Luo Youdu burned the corpses for several days.
How can I bear this?
The offensive and defensive battles rendered their Khitan's unique riding and archery skills useless.
Yelujing decisively gave up this stupid strategy and stopped wasting his own soldiers unjustly.
He chose to send out horse scouts every day to look for opportunities for field battles.
The Zhou army's withdrawal gave them an opportunity to fight in the field, but it also made Yelujing somewhat incompetent.
Judging from the battle situation, the Zhou army in the Central Plains clearly had a certain advantage.
It's really weird to retreat with an advantage.
Yelujing called Yeluwansi, Yelusha, Xiao Qian, Gao Xun, Xiao Abudi and Yelv Xiezhen to ask for their opinions.
Gao Xun said solemnly: "I'm afraid there is a scam! The opposite Luo Youdu is known as Xiao Zhuge, the best at strategizing. It was his idea to take Youzhou City and set up a stronghold with four gates. This side retreated inexplicably because they found that we had seen through their offensive and defensive methods.
The purpose of the war is to consume our army's strength. We will use other strategies to lure our army to pursue them so that they can ambush them."
"Therefore, I think that it is better to stand still if we pursue a rash pursuit. Youzhou City is surrounded by plains on all sides, and there is no danger to defend it. They only occupy Youzhou City, and they can only be beaten. This is how we are tempted to attack..."
"They are the ones who want to attack. They are not in a hurry. Why should we be in a hurry? The initiative is in our hands. There is no need to take risks."
Gao Xun also noticed the previous three days of offensive and defensive battles.
Although the Khitan had acquired many things from the Central Plains, they were still novices on how to use them.
It is really difficult for them to use complicated siege equipment to fight offensive and defensive battles.
Gu Hao
He simply wasted his time and forced the Central Plains to take the initiative to fight in the field.
If you can't win in an offensive and defensive battle, you can't win in a field battle.
Therefore, Gao Xun's performance now is very Buddhist.
Anyway, Youzhou City has fallen. With the Khitan's level of siege, it will not be easy to fight back. Fortunately, Youzhou City only has a high wall and thick walls, and there are no natural dangers to rely on. We simply wait for the Central Plains to be unable to wait any longer and take the initiative to fight with them in the field.
.
This method is not clever, but it is really popular.
Generals such as Yeluwansi, Yelusha, and Xiao Abuti were very resistant to attacking Youzhou City.
After the Zhou army retreated, several people still wanted to ask for a fight to test the situation, but after hearing Gao Xun's analysis, they did not dare to ask for orders rashly.
The withdrawal of the Zhou army was indeed too sudden.
Seeing that the Khitan was not moving at all, Zhao Kuangyin could not help cursing the Khitan for being cowardly, but he could not change the fact that he was traveling to Youzhou City this time.
Luo Youdu, who was on the tower of Youzhou City, felt a little regretful when he saw that the Khitan troops were standing still.
To be fair, Dianqiansi is indeed the strongest elite in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
With the same number of people, the combat effectiveness of the Palace Front Division cannot be compared to that of the Guards and Military Division or the Imperial Camp Division.
If we can take advantage of Guo Rong's leadership of the Dianqian Division to withdraw their troops, and use the remaining heat to give the Khitans a head-on blow in the field, the next war will go much smoother.
As for whether Zhao Kuangyin made meritorious service or not, Luo Youdu didn't care.
Compared with today's Zhao Kuangyin and the historical Song Taizu who wore a yellow robe, the gap is no longer a tiny bit.
The three divisions in history are the Palace Front Division, the Guards and Pro-Army Horse Division, and the Guards and Pro-Army Infantry Division. All of these important positions in the Imperial Army were held by Zhao Kuangyin.
After Zhang Yongde was demoted and Li Chongjin was transferred from Huainan, Zhao Kuangyin became a veritable uncrowned king and the number one person in the military.
Now?
Not to mention his own Imperial Camp Division, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't get involved. He couldn't even fully control the Palace Division where he worked. Not only did he have Shi Shouxin and Han Chongyun, but also some of Zhang Yongde's cronies.
"Check the emperor", these five words are still very intimidating.
Zhang Yongde inevitably guarded against Zhao Kuangyin.
Even if Zhao Kuangyin is allowed to drink more soup, it will not change his situation.
Zhao Kuangyin does not have the prestige of wearing a yellow robe.
The incident of wearing a yellow robe will most likely never happen.
However, the Zhao brothers were indeed a threat, and Luo Youdu did not take it lightly. He specially arranged for Zhao Pu to return to Beijing and asked him to contact Zhang Jin, who was prosperous in Kaifeng Mansion, to deal with emergencies.
After Guo Rong withdrew to the territory of Xiongzhou, Luo Youdu held the first military meeting in Youzhou City.
Luo Youdu naturally occupied the top position, followed by Han Lingkun.
Han Lingkun, as the Marshal of the Guards and Military Division alongside Han Tong, was second only to Luo Youdu in status at the moment.
Next is Murong Yanzhao, the deputy commander of the palace. Second only to Zhang Yongde and Zhao Kuangyin in the palace, he has a beard and a powerful and rugged appearance.
Next came Yuan Yan, the deputy capital commander of the Guards and Military Division, Gao Huaide, the commander of the left wing of Hujie, and Chen Sirang, the commander of the Dingyuan Army.
Then it was Cao Bin and Pan Mei's turn.
After careful calculation, Han Lingkun and Yuan Yan had a total of 30,000 guards and soldiers in their hands, Murong Yanzhao, the front minister, had 10,000 people, plus 20,000 in the imperial camp department.
With the 15,000 soldiers of the Dingyuan Army and the Tianxiong Army rushing to the front line, as well as the 15,000 Zhou Dynasty Navy in Jingu, he can mobilize as many as 90,000 soldiers and horses on horseback, water and land.
Almost two-thirds of Dazhou's troops were in his hands.
Looking at these famous figures in history under the tent, Luo Youdu also felt high-spirited.