On the evening of the fourth day of the first lunar month, thirty miles south of Youzhou, the head of Miaoyin County.

Until this time, Yelu Dashi, who was standing at the head of the city and overlooking the distance, could faintly see that there was still black smoke curling over Youzhou City in the distance, which made the melancholy on his face more and more serious.

In the middle of the night, when it was confirmed that such a fire broke out in Nanjing City that could be seen by himself dozens of miles away, Yelu Dashi knew that there must have been a big change there, and he did not dare to directly bring a few hundred people to run headlong into the general, so he could only lead the army into this small county town nearby, and at the same time send several probes to Nanjing to investigate the situation, or go to the surrounding cities to mobilize available soldiers and horses as much as possible.

Although the Liao State was attacked by the north and south, internal and external troubles, and the army that went south twice even transferred the soldiers and horses in the area of Nanjing Road, but with his identity as Yelu Dashi, it may not be too difficult to gather tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. Of course, for him, the top priority is to find out what is really going on in the city of Nanjing.

As he rode north, Yelu Dashi's face changed again, and he hurried down the city tower and went straight to the city gate to greet him, because it was the subordinates who had been ordered to go to Nanjing to investigate the news. And his move, naturally, he also brought a few subordinates who accompanied him on the side, as well as Zeng Kuan, the county commander of this small county in Miaoyin, and everyone waited at the city gate with doubts.

Before the cavalry could jump off his horse, the anxious Yelu Dashi had already stepped forward and asked urgently, "How?" Why did the fire break out in Nanjing, and was there anything wrong? ”

The Tanma hesitated slightly, staggered off the horse, and reported: "Back to Linya, before going to Nanjing City, I found that the Song people's flag had been replaced there, and in addition, the city was full of Sunzi flags, which was indeed ...... It was indeed captured by the Song army early in the morning! ”

Even if he had prepared for the worst, when he heard this bad time, Yelu Dashi's face was still pale, and he even shook, and he couldn't say anything for a long time. And the others were even more excited, especially the county commander Zeng Kuan, who exclaimed: "How is this possible? We have never seen the Song army pass here, how could they capture Nanjing so easily, could they not fly? ”

Others also expressed their difficulty in accepting such a result: "They defeated King Xi and occupied Zhuozhou for only a few days, how could they take my Nanjing City again so quickly?" It doesn't make sense......"

"Yes, there must be something strange in this, isn't it the illusion caused by the sudden rebellion of the Han people in Nanjing?"

These people are talking about one meaning, that is, they don't believe that Nanjing will fall into the hands of the Song army in such a short time, you must know that they have rushed to the warning and rescue as quickly as possible. However, after a period of silence, Yelu Dashi laughed miserably, pressed his hands, stopped everyone's groundless speculation, and said astringently: "If the Song army rushes at full speed with light cavalry and makes a surprise attack on Nanjing, they will be able to enter the city before we wait." After all, Zhuozhou, where they are located, is closer to Nanjing. ”

"Light riding? Where did the Song army get so many horses? As soon as a general spoke, he understood again, and his face was full of chagrin: "King Xi's cavalry has been used by them......

"That's right, but the number of their strange soldiers along the way must not be much, so they can rush to Nanjing before we and take the city only by using their geniuses." Yelu Dashi nodded. Immediately, he made up his mind again: "So we still have a chance to recapture Nanjing, as long as we gather troops and horses before their main force arrives, take advantage of the lack of soldiers and horses, and the city is empty, and attack the city immediately!" ”

Yelu Dashi is worthy of being a rare general in the Liao Kingdom, even if he suffered such an unexpected blow, he did not really admit defeat and accept his fate, and he was still thinking about how to win back a city. Speaking of this, the light in his eyes flashed again: "Black Tart, Yelu Chen, Qi Sihai......" As he reported a string of names, some of his cronies and generals stepped forward one after another, looking at their own generals with anticipation: "I'll listen to Lin Ya's orders!" ”

"You will take my warrant and quickly dispatch all the soldiers and horses that can be used to the nearby prefectures and counties, and I will gather at least 30,000 troops within two days to recapture Nanjing." Yelu Dashi solemnly ordered, he knew very well that there was not much time left for himself to redeem, and he had to use extraordinary means: "If anyone dares to delay and ignore it, you can cut it first and then play, and you don't have to worry about it at all!" ”

"Obey!" These subordinates also knew that the situation was urgent, and without the slightest hesitation, they saluted and promised one after another, and then returned to the county office with him, and after obtaining his handwritten warrant, they each took only a few guards and hurried out of the city.

Just like Sun Tu and the others galloped in the rain to seize Youzhou City before, Yelu Dashi and his subordinates also had to race against time to seize the opportunity.

Three days have passed in a flash, and it is the seventh day of the fifth month in the blink of an eye.

Under the strong pressure of Yelu Dashi's reputation, his subordinates really gathered thirty or forty thousand soldiers and horses from many surrounding cities, and of course, this time, these city guards were completely hollowed out. This time, not only the Liao and Han soldiers in various prefectures and counties, but also the servants in charge of public security matters in the yamen, and even the ordinary young and strong people were forcibly requisitioned by them, making almost all parts of Nanjing Road an empty city, which also means that once this battle is lost, the entire territory of Nanjing will be completely lost. It can be said that this time Yelu Dashi gambled everything.

After noon, this patchwork Liao army had already approached the city of Youzhou, and was noticed by the defenders of the city at the first time, and reported to Sun Tu, who was sitting in the city to prevent changes in the city. And when he learned that the banner of the enemy army was Yelu Dashi, not only did he not see surprise, but laughed: "He is not slow to come, go, according to my previous instructions, set up the defense, and meet our friends of Liao." ”

His subordinates immediately got busy, and Sun Tu, accompanied by Lin Chong and others, quickly climbed to the head of the city in the south, condescendingly watching the Liao army set up outside the city, putting on a posture that was about to attack the city, but there was no nervousness on his face.

The movement in the city was naturally quickly seen by Yelu Dashi, looking at the sparse arrangement of soldiers and horses at the head of the city, his heart was also slightly calm, and sure enough, as he thought, this Song army was insufficient, as long as he grasped this flaw, he was sure to recapture Nanjing!

But just when he was planning to arrange his troops and which side was the most advantageous to attack the city, there was a greeting from the city: "Outside, is it the envoy of the Liao State Xingjun Festival, Yelu Dashi?" My General Sun wants to meet and talk to you, I wonder if Your Excellency will dare to step forward? ”

Hearing this shout, Yelu Dashi was obviously stunned for a moment, but the surrounding subordinates hurriedly persuaded him: "Lin Ya, the Song people are so insidious and cunning, it's better not to take risks......

"No, since he has said so, I must come forward to see it, otherwise, I am afraid that it will hurt the morale of my army." Yelu Dashi shook his head and said. Then, he looked at the seemingly huge team behind him, but in fact the combat power was not too strong, he knew that for this improvised Liao army, morale was the first, so he must not retreat at all.

After making up his mind, he only ordered a few generals who were good at using troops to prepare for the next siege, and then he rode his horse and slowly headed towards the city wall. Of course, the Liao soldiers in front of it quickly formed a large shield array, in case the Song army at the head of the city suddenly put down the cold arrows regardless of their face.

When Yelu Dashi came to the moat, the two sides were only more than ten zhang away from each other, at least they could have a normal conversation, and Sun Tucai said: "Dashi Linya, after many years of separation, I didn't expect you and I to meet again in this Youzhou City, it is really fate." I wonder how well you've been doing all these years? ”

"Hmph, General Sun doesn't have to say such hypocritical words. If you want to delay time with such a false trick, I advise you to save this heart, and I, Yelu Dashi, will not be deceived by you. Yelu Dashi snorted disdainfully and replied.

"Okay, since Da Shi Linya said so, let's skip these greetings." Sun Tu smiled disapprovingly, and then said: "Seeing that you are in such a hurry to lead the troops, are you planning to forcibly recapture Youzhou before the main force of our army arrives and has not yet gained a stable foothold?" ”

"It's good that you know. If you know each other, you still have a chance to survive if you surrender in Kaesong now, if not......"

"Haha, Da Shi Linya, your tone is really no different from the previous Xiao Gan, but do you know what happened to Xiao Gan now? I'm not afraid to tell you the truth, he is in the city of Zhuozhou, and he has become a prisoner of war for my Great Song Dynasty soldiers. ”

"So, General Sun is planning to fight us to the death? But in my opinion, you have few soldiers and horses here, but it is very difficult to hold Nanjing! ”

"Whether we can hold Youzhou or not depends not only on the number of troops, but also on whether we can make full use of the city's own advantages." Sun Tu's tone was full of confidence: "I invited you to speak today, precisely to tell you this, so as not to cause unnecessary casualties." is still the same sentence, since you are one step late, then it is impossible for this Youzhou to be taken away by your Liao army. ”

"Ridiculous, do you think you can scare me off with just a few bluff nonsense? In that case, let's see the real chapter under our hands! Yelu Dashi's heart tightened for a while, and he already felt that the other party really had some terrible tricks to use, but he refused to give in to his mouth, and at the same time kicked his feet and lifted the reins, but he planned to turn around.

But Sun Tu refused to let him leave, and immediately shouted: "Wait, Da Shi Linya, don't you want to see what kind of advantage I rely on?" Look this way! As soon as his voice fell, many people were pushed over on the edge of the city wall.

Yelu Dashi subconsciously looked at the past, and at this glance, his face had changed suddenly, and his body was shocked, and he shouted loudly: "Sun Tu, you are so despicable!" ”