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This kind of cessation of air raids finally made the Liao army in the imperial city endure it. Empress Xiao Tali of Renyi had to summon the ministers in the underground secret room to discuss countermeasures. The ministers in front of her were all unkempt, and most of their mansions were burned down. Even if they were not destroyed,
Burning didn't dare to stay inside, so they could only spend the long cold night in the tent, all of them looking pale and sneezing all the time.
"My lords, the imperial city has been burned down by the Song Dynasty, and we must find a way. Now that all the buildings are destroyed and the soldiers and civilians are exposed to the severe cold, what should we do?" Queen Xiao said with a pale face.
"I am reporting to the Queen that not only the houses were destroyed, but most of the grain, grass and military supplies were also burned. The imperial city has been completely defended. I suggest that the Queen and the Prince immediately evacuate the capital and go to Gudalu for a while." Zhang Jian's hair and eyebrows were burned.
Brown, he said tremblingly.
"However, the emperor's brother's army will arrive today. If we persist for two more days, we can counterattack the Song army. I really don't want to retreat at this time." Yelu Kanrong gritted his teeth.[
Zhang Jian said: "General Yelu, can you hold on for two days? The Song people have stopped attacking from the air. Thousands of soldiers are killed every day, tens of thousands of people are displaced, and food and supplies are burned. What can we do with the Song army?"
Fight? I’m afraid that before His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s army arrives, we will all freeze to death. It’s not a pity for me to wait to die, but how can the queen and the prince be in danger? General Yelu should escort the queen and the prince out of the city as soon as possible to avoid disaster.
good."
Yelu Hongji clenched his fists and said: "No, my father is fighting bloody battles on the front lines, and we waiting in the rear can't even deal with a small group of eighty or ninety thousand Song troops. How can we make it through? Originally, we wanted to wait for the emperor.
Uncle's army has arrived, but it seems unlikely now. The Song army only dares to use despicable means to attack, but does not dare to attack directly. I think they are not really strong. I think we want someone to save us, so it is better to save ourselves.
There are hundreds of thousands of civilians in the city, plus 50,000 defenders. We can attack it with all our might. The Han people in Seoul are also my subjects of the Liao Dynasty. As long as we attack, I believe that the people of Seoul will also respond in droves and will definitely defeat the Song Dynasty.
People are wiped out in one fell swoop.”
Everyone said that the little prince was so out of his mind that he actually wanted to drive the Khitan people as cannon fodder to directly attack the Song army. Regardless of whether it was feasible or not, his hard-heartedness was really eye-catching.
Empress Xiao said hurriedly: "How is that possible? By driving the people to attack, doesn't it mean that they are going to die?"
Yelu Hongji said: "Mother, if the Song people attack the imperial city, won't these hundreds of thousands of people still be slaughtered? Instead of enslaving and dying, why not give them a chance to be loyal to the Liao Dynasty. Mother
Have you ever thought about what your father and King Xiao would think on the southern front when the imperial city was destroyed? What would the border soldiers think in their hearts? This is not a problem of a city, but is related to the overall situation of the country; father
Why did the emperor want to mobilize troops from the front to defend Shangjing? It is because the significance of Shangjing is not only a city, but also a symbol of our country, the Liao Dynasty."
Zhang Jian nodded slowly and said: "The prince is right. I was confused and forgot this section. The imperial city cannot be lost. When the emperor's brother mobilized the army to leave, I felt something was wrong. I didn't think about it deeply at the time.
Now that I think about it, it was indeed sloppy.”
Yelu Hongji sneered and said: "How could the emperor know this? As long as he has a large army under his command and can gain military glory and reputation by fighting more and less, he doesn't care whether he can keep the capital. But how can we think like this? I suggest
Send a thousand men and horses to escort the queen out of the city overnight to avoid disaster, and I and you sirs will immediately organize manpower to attack Seoul. This is the capital of our country, the Liao Dynasty, and the Song people can't stand alone, so there is nothing to be afraid of."
Yelu Kanrong looked at Zhang Jian and asked Zhang Jian for his opinion. Zhang Jian said: "The prince is leaving too, how can the queen be accompanied by someone else?"
Yelu Hongji said angrily: "Do you want me to be a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death?"
Queen Xiao scolded: "Your Majesty!"
Yelu Hongji waved his hand and said: "The national crisis is approaching. My father ordered me to stay in the capital. If I abandon the city and flee, how can I explain to my father? Don't mention this matter again. Mr. Yelu, give me an order. The men in the city must be sixteen or above."
All those under fifty gathered in the south square. If anyone disobeyed and ran away, they would be killed immediately. Long Ge, the deputy commander of the imperial guard, escorted the queen and the concubines and princesses out of the north gate overnight to escape to Dagulu. Mr. Zhang Jian and other veterans accompanied him to escort Luan Jia;
This matter has been settled, and no one is allowed to say anything."
Empress Xiao opened her mouth, sighed and swallowed her words. Her son was older, and his eyes already had the ferocious light of hungry wolves on the grassland. He was no longer the submissive little prince. The Yelu family should be decided by his father and his son.
The Liao people didn't know that Su Jin's air raid plan could no longer continue. Firstly, the hot air balloons had an accident and more than half of them crashed. The effect of each dispatch was no longer obvious. Secondly, the remaining fuel oil had been exhausted.
If there is no more kerosene to use, is it possible to risk falling by flying into the sky and smashing rocks?
It is difficult to estimate how many of the main targets of the Liao people were burned. Su Jin's plan was to target important places such as barracks, palaces, and granaries and material warehouses, but after all, there was no specific location to follow, and in the end it turned into a city-wide bombing.
, where there were houses, they were set on fire and burnt down, thus inadvertently injuring many people and making the whole city a mess.
Su Jin had no choice. When things got to this point, it was really difficult to avoid the casualties of the people. But he didn't know the outcome of the battle, so he couldn't make the next plan. Su Jin had originally made a plan to attack by burning the enemy's food and supplies.
After supplies, a strong attack is absolutely feasible. Without arrows and food and drink, what's the use of no matter how high the city defense is or how strong the enemy towers are?
Su Jin hoped to judge whether his goal was achieved by the reaction of the Liao people, so he ordered people to monitor the reaction of the Liao people day and night. He hoped that the best result would be that the Liao people completely withdraw from the imperial city, then he could use the imperial city to powerfully attack
With the defense facilities guarded, even if Yelu Zhongyuan arrives, he will not be able to touch him even a hair.
In the middle of the night, Zhao Hu woke up Su Jin and told him that a scout had come to report that there was movement in the Liao army. It seemed that an army had been sent outside the north gate.
Su Jin quickly put on his horse and braved the cold wind to go around to the wilderness outside the north gate of the imperial city. Ma Han had been waiting here with three thousand cavalry for a long time.
"What's going on?" Su Jin asked.[
"Master, my men were exploring outside the city and found that another group of people left the city and headed north an hour ago."
"how many people?"
"I can't see how many there are, but there don't seem to be many people."
Su Jin nodded. He sent troops an hour ago. Now the city gate is closed. It is obviously a small army. Otherwise, it would not be so fast. Su Jin led people holding torches to survey along the enemy's route. Su Jin walked a few steps and squatted.
He looked carefully at the traces and nodded: "I understand."
Mahan asked: "What's wrong?"
"Look, there are ruts in the middle of the snowy road and horse hoof prints on both sides. It's obvious that the cavalry is escorting the convoy out of the city. At this time, the city is definitely not sending any supplies out of the city, but is definitely escorting someone out of the city."
Ma Han said: "Who are you escorting?"
Su Jin smiled and said: "Ma Han, your opportunity to make a meritorious service has come. I order you and Zhao Hu to lead an army to pursue them immediately. If I guess correctly, the escorts must be the wife, children, concubines and others of the Lord of Liao. They are the only ones escorting them."
Only then can you enjoy such treatment.”
Ma Han slapped his thigh and said, "Isn't that right? This is the capital city."
Su Jin said: "Then what are you waiting for? Why don't you hurry up and chase after you? After you catch him, take a detour. Don't go back the same way, in case the news comes back to the city, and the Liao army sends troops to support you and make dumplings out of you."
Mahan picked up the reins of his horse and said, "Don't worry, Master, I will bring you some beautiful princesses and concubines to be your concubines."
Su Jinyu waved his hand and said: "Don't talk nonsense, treat each other with courtesy, and don't do anything nonsense. They are still of great use."
Ma Han laughed and galloped north with Zhao Hu and three thousand cavalry.
…
It was destined to be a restless night. Before Su Jin could sit down when he returned to Seoul, Jingtai and Pan Jiang came hand in hand. Their cold armors were covered with ice, and their swords made a clanging sound when they touched the armor.
"Commander, I don't know what the Liao people are up to. We didn't bother them, but they themselves are making a lot of noise. The brothers in Beicheng Wang said that there is chaos in the imperial city. Is there a civil strife?"
Su Jin quickly put on his armor and stood up again and said: "Let's go and have a look."
The three of them quickly came to a tall watchtower newly built in the north city. Su Jinjiu patrolled the imperial city. As Jingtai and others said, there was a cry in the city, and there seemed to be armored soldiers walking back and forth in the city.
Running around, I don’t know what tricks I am doing.
Su Jin looked at it carefully for a while, then turned around and said, "You two, I'm afraid we have to prepare to face the enemy."
Jingtai said: "What? The Liao people dare to fight against us?"
Su Jin pointed to the surging crowds in the imperial city and said: "Look, those figures who were driven here should be common people. They are not in civil strife, but in the city. The laws of the imperial city are maintained, and they do not
I am willing to give up, so I must make a last-ditch effort to recruit civilians into the army."
Pan Jiang and Jingtai looked at it closely, and both clucked their tongues and said, "Sure enough, this is going to be really tricky."[