When the scout repeatedly reported that all the scout horses of the surrounding Liao army had disappeared, Zhang Kai finally relieved himself that the Liao army had really withdrawn.

Before the war, when the military council of the envoy was formulated, the Liao people predicted that the siege would never exceed three days, and they left after only one night.

If you miss a hit, you will be thousands of miles away, and you can't catch up. This has always been the characteristic of the Liao army's operations. But for now, it still makes Zhang Ji overjoyed. This represents that the Liao army has lost the confidence to win a complete victory in the field battle, and has chosen to accept it when it sees good. The Khitan cavalry, which has no sharp spirit, is not so fearful.

To know that Han Gang even gave him three military intelligence documents written and encapsulated in advance, if Taigu County was really surrounded by the Liao army, let him send it back to Tokyo on time every day. Now it's all gone.

A large number of rangers were released to inspect the surroundings, and Zhang Kai led the front of 4,000 reinforcements and arrived in Taigu County smoothly in one day. The main force in the back is going a little slower, and it will take another day.

Looking at the battlefield outside the city wall that was far from being cleaned up, Zhang Ji was secretly frightened. The arrows on the ground were as dense as weeds, and I am afraid that hundreds of thousands of arrows were shot that night. And the ruins of the prosperous place in the south of the city also made him sigh. Even if you know in advance that you won't be able to keep it, it's another thing to see it with your own eyes.

Zhang Kai took the generals to meet Han Gang in the yazhong.

It's only been a few days, but Zhang Qi is a lot haggard, thinking that he will work hard in the camp, and it will not be easy. And Zhang Qi looked at Han Gang, although his eyes were as sharp as before, his eye sockets were also sunken.

However, Han Gang and Zhang Qi did not have time to greet and sigh. What's next? This must be agreed as soon as possible.

Go to Taiyuan.

This is a natural conclusion.

From Han Gang, who presided over the military meeting, to the commanders and deputies who only stood at the foot of the wall and attended, all of them had no objection to this.

The Liao army will never stop just retreating to Taiyuan at the moment. As long as you have a little strategic vision, you can see that the city of Taiyuan is by no means a decisive battle site that is conducive to the Liao army.

From the Battle of Taigu, it can already be seen that Han Gang's policy of using troops is to suppress people with momentum, and he will never rush forward. It's the kind of caution that when you eat a mouthful, you have to wipe your mouth three times with a hand towel. As long as there is no ability to capture Taiyuan City in a short period of time, forcing Han Gang to move his army forward, the so-called siege of the city and reinforcements will not be successful.

That being the case, how could Xiao 13 waste time under Taiyuan City? Returning to the state and strengthening the state is the best way to change the current unfavorable situation.

"If the Liao thief can go back to Datong directly, it will save us a lot of trouble!" At the military meeting, some people ridiculed. Everyone understood the predicament of the Liao army, and the atmosphere became a lot more relaxed.

"Will the Beiyu give up Shiling Pass so easily? Will it be so simple to cede Daishu? Will it be so simple to give up Yanmen and Xicheng? Han Gang didn't mean to laugh, he shook his head at the school general, "Impossible! Ruoer and the others are Yelu Yixin, wouldn't they want to exchange Daizhou for Xingling? Just for himself, at least he will return to the state before the war, and by the way, he can add a few more coins! ”

Zhang Qi nodded, "Presumably, Yelu Yixin has even sent envoys at this time to force the imperial court to comply!" ”

The relaxed atmosphere in the Daxiong Treasure Hall suddenly became solemn.

Everyone knows that Han Gang had declared in "Imperial Preparation" that he would never let the robbers go back with the stolen goods. Otherwise, if you eat the marrow and know the taste, you will never have peace in the future.

Han Gang would never agree to Yelu Yixin's conditions, and since this was the case, it was imperative to recover Daizhou. Naturally, the reinforcements had to continue north.

But this also means that since entering the east of the Kou River, the Liao army has not failed in the real sense. The failure to capture Taigu County was only because the strategic goal was not achieved, and the loss of troops was actually not large in the overall situation. As long as there are so many soldiers and horses, if you want to recapture Daizhou, you will inevitably have to fight them. In order to capture the famous city of danger, it is necessary to defeat the enemy in the field.

There are not many people who have confidence in this. The Liao army was only defending the city when he forced back the Liao army in Taigu before, and he only looked at Han Gang's march of the reinforcements as slow as a turtle, even if he was not optimistic about the results of the field battle.

"Although the main force of the Liao people still exists, there will not be too many war horses from all departments to go into battle now." Huang Sheng opened his mouth and said, "You can calculate how far their war horses have run in the past month or so. ”

Chen Feng followed: "Two thousand miles, only a little." ”

"It's early spring." Tian Yu added.

The three staff members are skillful in cooperating, which is equivalent to Han Gang speaking in person. But they are not overpowering, they are even commanders who have never been involved in strategic decision-making, and they know exactly what they are trying to say.

After the invasion, the cavalry of the Liao army plundered back and forth every day, and the war horses could not stop, and then they had to carry the looted goods. Every horse of the Liao army, in the past month, has run a distance of no less than two thousand miles, and it is all loaded, and it is in the early spring that has just passed through the harsh winter. Normal war horses can't bear such toil.

This is equivalent to making a person who has been hungry for three months run back and forth every day with a weight of thirty or fifty pounds on his back, even if he can fill his belly with hay and grain, his physical condition will not improve.

"The thieves went south, and the number of horses that died on the road was not small. In the past two days, the Privy Council sent out the scouts to report that at least the bones of more than 200 war horses have been found around Taigu County, not counting those that were discovered by the people and then hidden and privately divided, not including those eaten by the thieves themselves. "

"In the camp of the Liao army, many broken bones and internal organs of war horses were found, which were not completely buried. They're eating dead horses! ”

Actual evidence is much more effective than empty speculation. After Huang Shang and Tian Yu finished speaking, the atmosphere eased a lot.

"It's still less than the total." Han Gang took the tea and made a summary, "But the most important thing is not how about the war horse?" It's about what the thieves think of their mounts. ”

"If you treat the war horse as a consumable and throw it away when you die, then the Liao thief will do whatever it takes to fight me. If you treat it as your own property and get hurt or hurt, it will hurt your flesh and feel distressed. ”

No one will not be unclear that even the palace and leather room, which are like the four armies of the forbidden army, are all equipped with their own armor, war horses and bows. The state is conscripted, and the regular soldiers will prepare their own bows and vests to answer the call.

War horses are their own property, and they are one of the most valuable possessions. The death of a horse is not only a loss of property, but also a loss of animal power to carry the stolen goods. This loss is huge.

Xiao 13 was able to use the property in Taigu County, and even the painting cakes like the Central Plains and Tokyo, to lead the troops under his command to the south. But it's not that easy now. Returning in vain, coupled with the continuous sight of a large number of casualties among the surrounding war horses, will inevitably make a large number of Liao generals choose a more conservative plan and lose the will to fight a decisive battle.

These words must be conveyed so that every soldier understands that they should not be afraid of thieves. Because there's nothing to be afraid of. Just a bunch of robbers. ”

Han Gang looked at the commanders, middle-level officers are the skeleton that supports an army, and without a group of capable and courageous military academies, there will be no strong army.

The generals saluted in unison, and Han Gang's order was a military order.

"Of course, if we can weaken the thief by one more point, it will be easier for us to win. I had already sent an order to Lu Zhong, ordering the soldiers and civilians everywhere to delay the movement of the Liao army as much as possible. If you can't do it for a day, then it's half a day. Half a day is not enough, then an hour. If you can't do it for an hour, then a quarter of an hour. If you can delay for a moment, you can delay for a moment. ”

Han Gang hopes that the balance of victory can shift a little more to his side, even if it is just a little bit, maybe at the end of the day, it will be the key to determining the victory or defeat.

After resting for the night, Han Gang led a group of soldiers and horses and his envoy to Taiyuan in advance. Zhang Ji stayed, he wanted to meet the army in the rear, and then arrange for them to continue advancing.

During the military discussion, Han Gang and his shogunate judged that Xiao 13 had reached this juncture, and it was the best choice for the Liao people to withdraw from Taiyuan as soon as possible, defend the two passes of Shiling and Chitang, and rely on the topography of mountains and rivers to protect Daizhou.

But Han Gang was not wishful thinking about what the Liao people should do, and still released a large number of scout cavalry along the way, so that the few cavalry in his hands would follow the Liao army's long-distance scouts and stop horses, some of them continued to track the movements of the main force of the Liao army, and the other part searched the surrounding area in case Xiao 13 left something behind.

In this process, we have received great help from the remaining local people. With a guide who is familiar with geography, the places where you can hide your troops can be checked one by one. As an outsider, it is almost impossible for the Liao army to ambush a large force in a hidden place, waiting for the opportunity to stab Han Gang in the back.

And the results of the search also prove this. Xiao 13 did not drag the mud and water at all, and the Liao army had withdrawn cleanly. What was searched out along the way was only the out-of-team people who added up to more than two hundred horses, and then they were ordered by Han Gang to hang all the way to the side of the road, regardless of whether they were dead or alive.

After determining the safety of the road, the army going north to Taiyuan moved much faster.

Before that, it was stable, in case it was taken by the Liao. But now, since the Liao army has withdrawn, there is no need to slow down at all. It is only natural that the normal pace of marching should be restored, or even a little faster. It's just that the villages along the way have been completely destroyed, and because of the problem of food and accommodation, there is no way to force the march as fast as possible.

Four days later, Han Gang led his army to Taiyuan, which was stuck within the twenty days he had promised.

There is nothing more than that.

King. Kechen threw his pen and sighed: "The son teaches four religions: literature, conduct, loyalty, and faithfulness. For the five virtues: wisdom, faith, benevolence, courage and strictness. The way of civil and military affairs is all on the same letter. ”

After that, he led the city officials and soldiers and civilians out of the city to greet them.

Han Gang did not enter the city, but rested outside the city.

He had just received news from Han Xin the day before. Xinzhou City is still holding on. And the Daizhou army, which originally surrendered to the enemy, under the instigation of Qin Huaixin's sons Qin Wan and Han Xin, has all gone anyway and sneaked into the mountains of Xinzhou.

"The thief has a heart disease, and he is attacked before and after, how can he be undefeated? Shiling and Chitang are already in the hands of the officials and soldiers! ”