At the beginning of March, Yelu Hongji led 300,000 troops, passed through Huairen County, and rushed straight to Mayi. Song Jun's scouting horse flew in, and there was a sense of tension around him for a while. Near Mayi, the Song army began to clear the wilderness and gather the people.

Yelu Hongji was stationed in Huairen County, and after dinner, he summoned all the ministers to discuss the matter.

The ministers stood on both sides, and Yelu Hongji said: "Chongyuan has been obtained by the Southern Dynasty, and Xiao Ge has surrendered." Although the northern land is unified, the Song State took this opportunity to attack the city and plunder the land, how can he bear him! This battle with the Song State had to be fought. Now 300,000 troops are going south from Datong Mansion to attack Shuozhou. This battle must defeat the Song army, otherwise, there will be endless troubles! ”

Yelu Yixin said: "What Your Majesty said is extremely true. If Shuozhou was occupied by the Song army, Yanmen Tianbao would be unique to the Song from then on. Shuozhou to Datong Mansion all the way is smooth, and it is necessary to guard against the Song army from time to time, which is very deep. If you don't hit the Song army hard, it will be difficult to be stable! ”

Lin Yaye said: "There are more than 100,000 Song troops in front, and tens of thousands of Song troops are coming from the mountains in the west, and this battle is not easy to fight." ”

Nilugu, the king of Chu, said: "In addition, the 300,000 army went south, and it was difficult to get grain and grass for a hundred miles. The people of Datong Prefecture were all requisitioned and sent to transport grain, and it was difficult to ensure that the front line would not be hungry. If the army was sent to transport grain, the number of people was not much more than that of the Song army. ”

Yelu Yixin said: "The southerners are weak, even if there are a lot of people, what is the use!" The army of this dynasty is moving south, how can they stop it! ”

Yelu Fang said: "King, this time is not as good as in the past, and the current Song army is not so easy to deal with." Not to mention that they destroyed the party last year, a few years ago in the battle of Tanglong Town, this dynasty suffered a lot. ”

Yelu Yixin heard this and said categorically: "At that time, the Song army had artillery, and we were caught off guard. Now we have the same artillery, not years ago, so why be afraid of them. I thought that as long as the army went south, the Song army would not be able to support it for long. ”

Yelu Hongji said: "This battle must be won in one battle, and it must be resolved quickly. If it is delayed for a long time, the grain and grass will be difficult and cannot be stopped. It was a battle to attack Shuozhou, and I wanted to attack Mayi head-on with an army of 200,000. Send 5,000 soldiers and horses to the east bank of the Gray River to contain them. The remaining 100,000 people are guarding the safety of the back road. If the Song army in the mountains hits our rear road, stop them and wait for reinforcements to come. ”

Nilugu arched his hand: "Your Majesty, the city of Mayi is small, and the army of 200,000 cannot be put in position. It is better to take a small number of elite soldiers as the lead, and the army will follow behind. If the elite soldiers can open the gap of the Song army, the army will advance immediately, and then it will be able to win a big victory. ”

Yelu Hongji thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. There were only a few miles in front of the city of Mayi, and it was difficult for the 200,000 troops to move. The Song army set up a formation outside the city, connecting the Gray River in the west and the mountains in the east, and there were no flaws. Then with an army of 10,000 people, attack directly in the middle, if it is profitable, the army can then march in. ”

After speaking, he said: "These 10,000 elites can be selected from 200,000 troops, and they must be brave." Take the row as the commander, as the forward of the army. ”

Yi left the Biyelu line and sang the promise.

Yelu Hongji said: "It is about 100 miles from Huairen to Mayi County, and the forward will arrive within two days. The next day the army will come to the front of the battle. ”

The minister said yes. The army is thirty miles a day, which is the normal marching speed. Since leaving Youzhou, the Khitan army has been fighting for more than half a year, and now the army is tired and cannot force the march. Moreover, Liu Ji's army has been in the mountains to the west, and his whereabouts are uncertain, and the Khitan must be cautious.

In the county town of Mayi, Jia Kui and Zhao Zi sat opposite each other, drinking and eating meat while discussing the war.

Jia Kui said: "Yelu Hongji led an army of 300,000 out of Datong Mansion and came all the way south. According to the distance, the city will be down in three or four days. I have already informed Liu Ji in the mountains and asked him to send more cavalry to patrol, and not to let the Khitan soldiers and horses enter the mountain. ”

Zhao Zi said: "You have a mountain to the west and a gray river to the east, and Liu Ji and I are guarded, and the two wings are the safest." This battle depends on whether you can hold it here. The Khitan army of 300,000 actually fought on the front line, at most only tens of thousands. ”

Jia Kui said: "I only have more than 30,000 people, against 300,000 Khitan, to be honest, I feel a little panicked." ”

Zhao Zi said with a smile: "I think that back then, Taiwei Du led his troops to Tanglong Town, and the whole army added up to 30,000 people. defeated Yelu Chongyuan in one battle, and then killed the Khitan lord in another battle, and then forced Yelu Renxian away. Immediately afterwards, he swept the two military supervision divisions of the party in a row, what a majesty that was! With an army of 30,000, as long as it is used well, 300,000 people are afraid! Captain, this is your chance to make a military contribution. ”

Jia Kui shook his head: "What you said is light, an army of 300,000 people, capable people come up all the time, how can you not be careful." ”

The straight-line distance of the military formation was only five miles, and the 30,000 people Jia Kui used for the front line had 6,000 people in one mile. Speaking seriously, the military formation was completely opened, and it was already crowded. No matter how many troops there are, this distance cannot be placed. The Khitan 300,000 people can only attack in batches, one by one.

Jia Kui has been in the army for many years and has never encountered this situation, so how can he not panic in his heart. Back then, Ping Nong Zhigao said that it was hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides, but in fact, when the two armies faced each other, it was difficult to say that there were no more than 10,000 people fighting on the entire battlefield. Due to poor command, most of the army just stood there and watched. The collapse of one army's formation, and then the whole army rushes up, is a normal war.

After Du Zhongxiao trained in Suizhou, the Song army's combat methods changed, and it was no longer like that. When it comes to real combat, it is possible to launch a large-scale attack with a wide front, and it is also possible to concentrate the elite and make breakthroughs in key areas. The command system no longer relies on these technologies that can only be seen and heard, but gives more command to the generals below. This was the first time Jia Kui had conducted this kind of battle command, and he was a little nervous and a little excited.

In the battle of Tanglong Town, Yelu Chongyuan had fallen into the hands of the Song army, and most of the generals brought by Yelu Zong were killed in battle, and most of the current Khitan generals did not have the memory of that time. They only know that Yeluzong was really killed by artillery, and now there are cannons in Khitan, which is different from back then.

Zhao Zi said: "We attack more with less, the army is one more than the enemy's elite, and there is another one, that is, the most suitable terrain." When Tanglong Town was in the valley, our army of 30,000 had been able to completely control the situation, and no matter how many Khitan soldiers and horses there were, they could only be sent in batches outside the valley. This is still the case in Mayi today. Before Hong Ji entered Datong Mansion, Du Taiwei decided to only take Shuozhou City, not as much as the rest, and he thought that he also took a fancy to the topography of this area. The mountains and rivers here are sandwiched, although the river is not wide, although the mountains are not high, it is difficult to bypass the Khitan in a hurry. 30,000 soldiers and horses are enough to hold this place. Coupled with the help of me and Liu's subordinates, this battle is really advantageous. ”

Jia Kui nodded: "I understand." It has been five years of civil strife in the Khitan, and in the past, it was fought for city by city, and it often fought for half a year and half a year. It has been half a year since Hongji left Youzhou this time, and the army is tired. Coupled with the difficulty of transporting grain and grass, they will inevitably not be able to fight for long. This time is indeed a good time to defeat the Khitan, but it suddenly fell on the head and had to be cautious. ”

In fact, not only has to be cautious, Jia Kui has not experienced the war of guns, although he has been studying all these years, he has always felt that there is no bottom in his heart. In this case, how can you not be nervous in the face of the Khitan army of 300,000? However, he is thoughtful and can make good decisions, that is, he complains when chatting with Zhao Zi, but he does not dare to relax his preparations for war at all.