In the northeast of October, it has already begun to snow.

Da'an's Qin army camp is tight and orderly, not at all like the appearance of victory in the war, looking through the gate, between the layers of military tents, pieces of guns and spears is a huge red military tent, although there is a lot of snow on the tent, but the armor outside the tent is solemn and unremitting, in front of the tent is the Qin army's black flying eagle banner, this is the 13th Army Major General Commander Guo Chongtao's Chinese army tent.

At this moment, although the generals in the big tent were seated, there was silence, only a few charcoal braziers crackled. Guo Chongtao, the commander of the Thirteenth Legion, is a minister, he is wearing a set of navy blue full-body armor, a red battle robe, a silver silk cloak tied on his shoulders, and a wolf-headed sharp-beaked pot helmet in his arms, although there are a few wrinkles on his wide forehead and big face, and a big beard on his face, he looks like he is in his thirties, but in fact, what he has never explained to people is that he is actually just twenty this year, ten years younger than the thirty he claims to be thirty. The real age is even younger than those disciples under the throne of King Li Jing of Qin, but he who grew up on the border is indeed a little rough, making it look like he is thirty years old without any flaws.

This time, the 13th Army is completely a new legion, from the Qin army of the army of the cavalry drawn from the formation of the Saiwai cavalry, ten armies of 50,000 cavalry, all of them are the elite of the Qin army, they have the Qin army's well-trained, disciplined, and at the same time have the Tibetan people's natural horseback skills, riding and archery skills. Before the Qin army, many of the Fan cavalry were elite warriors of various tribes, and later they were selected into the Qin army, and after several years of training, they were now reorganized into the Thirteenth Army of the Fan Cavalry. Arguably. On the battlefield outside the Cypriot. They are like fish in water.

Guo Chongtao, with the rank of major general, served as the commander of the 13th Army Corps, leading 10 armies and 50,000 cavalry, and his subordinates were exactly 10 tribal armies. From the first day he received his post, he had been personally received by the King of Qin, and informed him of the reason for the formation of the Thirteenth Legion and the decision to elect him as the commander of the legion. The 13th Army Corps will be responsible for delivering the last blow to the Khitans, while Guo Chongtao will be responsible for commanding the 13th Army Corps. It can be described as full of trust.

Guo Chongtao also lived up to his responsibility, and although many of the cavalry of the Thirteenth Legion were uneasy at first, he still quickly put this legion into a tacit understanding.

On the battlefield of the Bohai Sea, Li Jing, the king of Qin, unexpectedly led his army into the Heishui Valley, defeated the various tribes that forced the emptiness, and led the Heishui army in the Bohai Sea to finally unable to hold on, left Shangjing, returned to Heishui, and was finally defeated by an ambush in front of the fortress of Duli. The surrender of Blackwater led to the chaos of the tribal armies on the Eastern Front without a fight. Immediately afterwards, the Murwei people on the eastern front were defeated and surrendered, and the Khitans on the eastern front resisted. But he was already outnumbered, and was defeated and annihilated after the last.

The rout on the eastern front made it impossible for the Khitans on the western front to continue to hold out.

After the autumn, the Khitans finally began to retreat.

50,000 Khitan elite cavalry gathered and retreated, followed by 30,000 elite cavalry of other tribes such as Murowei, and as many as 150,000 auxiliary soldiers composed of old and weak, in addition to 180,000 people such as Bohai troops and Minfu who were coerced from the Bohai Sea, and the entire breakthrough force reached 410,000.

As soon as the Khitans broke through, the Qin army immediately occupied the territories originally occupied by the tribal army on the Western Front, and began to start the final chase like a wolf chasing a flock.

In the face of the pursuit of the Qin army, the Khitans continued to send a small number of auxiliary troops to lead most of the Bohai naval palace, trying to use these Bohai cannon fodder to block the Qin army's pursuit momentum.

However, the Khitan elite have all fled, and some old and weak auxiliaries who have no horses left, and those Bohai people who have been secretly thinking about surrendering all the time, how can they still block the pursuit of the Qin army at such a time.

The Khitans continued to leave tens of thousands of people behind the palace, but every time the Qin army pursued the troops, they were always able to quickly defeat them. Even many of the Bohai people who were left behind did not wait for the Qin army to arrive, and they had already rebelled in front of the battle, taking advantage of the darkness and waiting for time to besiege and kill those Khitan auxiliary troops.

Escape and pursuit have become the same themes day and night.

It is actually quite difficult for the Khitans to hold on to retreating until this autumn. In the words of the Qin army's intelligence officers, that is, the Khitans have exterminated humanity. Their logistical supply was completely interrupted, and for most of the past six months, except for fishing and hunting to replenish a small part, their largest food supply came from cured meat, and the pickled two-legged sheep were pickled.

The so-called two-legged sheep are the Bohai people in the occupied area, and those Bohai elderly, women and children who cannot help them are directly captured by them, killed and then salted and used as military rations. In half a year, the Khitans killed hundreds of thousands of Bohai people, which were used to flood the army food, which was not only consumed in the army, but also a dry food reserve for the breakthrough. Moreover, many of their battlefields have not had enough hay, and recently only the elite warriors have kept their horses, and only one horse per person has been retained, and the rest have all been killed with cured meat. This made this breakthrough begin, 400,000 people, but less than 100,000 horses, and the rest of the auxiliaries surrendered, all of them became horseless infantry.

From the very beginning, the Khitan high-level has made a decision, and when it is really time to break through, it is impossible for everyone to escape, since this is the case, then retain those elite soldiers to the greatest extent, and abandon those "auxiliaries" such as the elderly, children, and women when necessary.

The new imperial court in the Central Plains, which the Khitans had been hoping for, did not bring them the results they hoped for. The Eighteen Towns attacked Qin for more than half a year, but did not cause any damage to the Qin army. On the contrary, he insisted on it for a long time, but in the end, Dongzhang collapsed on the whole line. The collapse of the Eastern Front made it impossible for the Khitans to continue. They retreated, broke through!

There were 80,000 elite horsemen on the Western Front, with more than 300,000 cannon fodder, but these cannon fodder did not play the role originally expected.

A month after the breakout, the Khitan's more than 300,000 cannon fodder were both dead and lost. If more than 300,000 cannon fodder can be exchanged for the success of the breakthrough of the elite of the Khitan and Murwei coalition forces, they are still willing. It was only more than 300,000 cannon fodder, which did not bring any casualties to the Qin army, and even the role of sluggishness almost did not play.

The more than 300,000 people they regard as cannon fodder are more likely to collapse without a fight. Or the Bohai people rebelled in front of the formation. Or the desperate surrender of the tribal auxiliaries. Or scatter and flee.

Without these cannon fodder, in the following days, they had to face the soldiers and horses of the Qin army who were constantly chasing them, fighting again and again, cutting flesh and retreating again and again, making the 80,000 cavalry less and less. The Khitans even wanted to set up an ambush to ambush the Qin army, but the Qin army's probe horses were very powerful, and they were ambushed several times. In the end, the Qin army saw through it early and caught them off guard. In the end, they gave up the plan of ambush, and they also wanted to have a decisive battle with the Qin army, but in the face of the Qin army, which was not only full of numerical advantages, but even had a large number of firearms and heavy crossbows, etc., they had no advantage in the field in a hasty decisive battle, and after several tentative battles, they also completely gave up the idea of fighting a decisive battle to repel the Qin army, and began to flee without looking back.

The beginning of the XIII Corps. And not on the front line of pursuit. They stayed behind without hurry, maintaining a steady pace of marching. When the chasing troops crushed one tribe after another. They just kept moving on without a sound.

After entering September, the Khitans had already fled to the front line of Nanshui, and their more than 300,000 cannon fodder had already gone, that is, the 80,000 elite horsemen of the Khitan and Murwei, and there were less than 50,000 left at this time.

At this time, the various units of the Qin army that pursued and intercepted were also exhausted, but the Thirteenth Army Corps, which had been marching and had never fought with the Khitans, still maintained a complete structure and full combat effectiveness.

At the end of September, the 13th Army finally began to exert its strength, they first caught up with the tribal army at Yuerluo and attacked the enemy camp at night, breaking the tribal army and beheading more than 10,000 people. The Khitan soldiers who were killed were defeated and fled, and then three days later, they caught up with the soldiers and horses of the Murowei Alliance, which had been scattered with the Khitans and fled, and once again broke the tribal army, and beheaded more than 10,000 people, successfully forcing the remaining elite cavalry of nearly 10,000 tribes to surrender.

Hurriedly leaving a part of the soldiers and horses to escort the prisoners, Guo Chongtao led the 13th Army to continue to pursue the Khitans north, and finally relied on the abundant physical strength that has been maintained, as well as the advantage of their two horses, and once again caught up with the Khitan main force that had been fleeing for months on the shore of the lake, with only one war horse, which had already been exhausted. The two sides fought again, Guo Chongtao led the 13th Army Corps, on the grassland by the vast Luluo Lake, with the iron wall tactics, as well as the long-range support of powerful flying thunder cannons and heavy crossbows, and launched a large cavalry battle with more than 20,000 Khitan iron cavalry.

Exhausted, tired and sleepy, lacking in equipment, especially the Khitan cavalry with a serious shortage of arrows, encountered the thirteenth army with strong bows and crossbows and ironclad armor, and finally the cavalry battle between the two sides only fought from morning to dusk, and half of the 20,000 Khitans were killed and wounded, and the rest were finally defeated.

The Thirteenth Army completely defeated the last of the formed tribal armies, and captured hundreds of Khitan tribal leaders, including the Khitan Ten Yili Jin Tiera, captured more than 8,000 prisoners, and finally counted nearly 200,000 soldiers who came to the Bohai Sea from the Khitan, and 200,000 people including the old and weak auxiliary soldiers who came to fight the grass valley together, and there were no 3,000 people who finally fled from the Bohai Sea.

For the Khitan at this time, even the slaves and other counts are only about one million, this is a catastrophe, after this battle, the Khitan Khan, has not even been able to get together a 20,000-strong elite, even if they recruit the men in the twenty tribes, they can't make up a rabble of 50,000 people. In the entire Khitan, the population was directly halved, and all that remained in the tribe were some old and weak women and children, the disabled, slaves, etc., and the Khitan people relied on preaching the threat theory of the Qin army in recent years, and the tribal alliance that was half forced and half deceptive to gather was completely over. At this time, the Khitan lost not only the soldiers and population, but the biggest loss was the upper echelons of those tribes, which were almost swept away. Especially the Shili family, which is the actual ruler of the Khitan now, the Yelu family that is the most descendant of the Seven Yelu families, and few of them have escaped back this time. Almost all of the most important figures of the Shiliye family remained in the Bohai Sea, dead or captured, without these leaders, and then lost almost all the soldiers and half of the population, the Khitan suddenly went back at least fifty years, returning to the scene before the Khitan rose again in the northeast, and had not recovered from the dismal situation of being attacked by the Tang Dynasty.

Three battles and three victories, with the strength of only one legion, single-handedly wiped out nearly 50,000 elites of the most powerful tribal coalition army, and the thirteenth legion and Guo Chongtao can be described as outstanding meritorious service.

But now he has changed his usual rebellious and arrogant style, sitting by the handsome desk without saying a word, holding a small wooden stick in his hand and pulling out the charcoal fire in the basin, looking at a piece of burning charcoal in a daze.

The generals also looked at Guo Chongtao motionlessly.

After a long time, Guo Chongtao threw the small wooden stick into the brazier. Looking around at the generals of the full battalion: "But the interrogation is clear." What nobles are there among the remnants of the Khitan who have fled? ”

Jun Sima hurriedly said, "Hmm." A certain has been interrogated clearly, this time we almost wiped out the big fish of the Khitan, but in the end, there were still a few fish that slipped through the net. Khitan Yu Yue Yelu Yanmu, Yelu Yu Yue Tart Ma Yelu Abaoji, Yelu Yi Li, the commander of the Jiangong Tent Army, Yelu Huage and other three important figures escaped, but it is also possible that they have been killed in battle, and there is no possibility that their heads will be found for the time being. ”

Guo Chongtao shook his head.

"I've been looking for a few days, but I haven't found it. That means they did flee with the 3,000 men. ”

"Are we going to continue the pursuit?" Marching Sima asked, the battle of the Bohai Sea has finally come to an end, but for the Qin army, the battle is not over. After defeating the main force of the tribe, now is the time to sweep through the nests of the tribes. Just as the King of Qin did in the Heishui tribe, he visited the tribes one by one, and then took away their strong men and boys, and then left some soldiers and horses to build passes and cities in various dangerous places, so as to completely deter the tribes. And prepare for the total domination of these places in the future.

Now it's hit here, and even further. Whether it is to go north to Murowei or west to Khitan, it is a good time to make contributions. The hardest bone has been gnawed off, and all that remains is fatty meat, right next to the mouth.

Guo Chongtao listened to his words, but there was no expression on his face.

He didn't want to take advantage of the victory to march immediately, and it was best to conquer both Murowei and Khitan at once, so that would be a great achievement. But in the Qin army for a few years, he has also become mature, and he is no longer the arrogant Guo Chongtao who was under Li Keyong's tent. He knew very well that this time his credit had been immense. The so-called full moon is profitable, and merit is lost. As a general, he can become the leader of an elite legion, even more than most of the thirteen disciples of King Qin, which is already a matter of jealousy. This time, the 13th Army Corps made such a great achievement, and it was basically achieved through the efforts of all armies in the early stage. If he robs the credit for pacifying Murowei and Khitan again, I'm afraid that he will really be disgusted by everyone.

He Guo Chongtao is not from the descendant of the King of Qin, and the Thirteenth Legion is also a legion composed of Tibetan cavalry, he knows in his heart that after such a war, this powerful but all-composed army of Fan people will never be retained, and no matter how much he Guo Chongtao is appreciated by the King of Qin, it is impossible for him to always lead such a powerful cavalry corps.

"Of course, it's good to continue to send troops, but we pursued all the way here, and the road was all light horses, and now the food and grass in the army are running out, and seeing that winter is coming, it is really unwise to continue to send troops at this time." As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at the generals, "Besides, the military order given to us by the King of Qin is to attack the coalition forces on the Western Front, and now that our mission has been completed, we have not received the order to enter the territory of the Khitan or Murwei tribes to fight. There is no military order, and there is no food and grass, seeing that winter is approaching, every step of our 13th Army Corps of nearly 50,000 troops must be paved with gold and silver, and the grain and grass will open the way, and continue to march."

In fact, Guo Chongtao didn't say a word, according to the information he received, after the defeat of the tribal army on the Eastern Front, a friend in the attendant's room revealed to him a piece of unclassified information. The already triumphant King of Qin will reassemble a cavalry army after a short rest in Yanjing, a cavalry of no less than 100,000 people, mainly with the Qin army as the main force, supplemented by the Yan army, and then directly send troops from the Shanhaiguan and Junduguan lines, all the way through the Yinshan Mountain through the original Xi realm, directly attack the Khitan, all the way along the Shanhaiguan, along the Liaoshui straight up, and sweep the room in the north.

He knew about King Qin's arrangement, how could he go to grab merit again?

Moreover, judging from the arrangement of King Qin, this may be more suitable for the new advance plan and shorter supply routes. But it is also very likely that it is to prevent the exhaustion of the expedition of the Thirteenth Legion, or to prevent the Thirteenth Legion from taking too much credit, although this is only his secret guess, but it is by no means impossible.

"Report!" A report outside the tent interrupted Guo Chongtao's thoughts.

"Come in!"

"Report to the general, the king's military order has arrived!"

"What kind of military order" When Guo Chongtao heard the four words of the king's military order, his heart was relieved. No matter what, he just needs to act according to the orders of King Qin.

"The Great King ordered the general to return to Liaodong with the Thirteenth Army Corps, and before the Liaohai Sea froze, there would be warships at the mouth of the Liaohe River to transport the triumphant soldiers back to Yanjing."

Hearing that they were asked to return to Beijing before the year, Guo Chongtao was a little surprised.

"What's going on?"

"On New Year's Day, the new Son of Heaven will be enthroned in Yanjing!"

"What, you say it again?" Guo Chongtao thought he had misheard, "Tell me clearly, who is the new son of heaven?" ”

The matter of sweeping the Khitan and Murowei had been thrown out of the clouds by Guo Chongtao in an instant, and the generals who were sitting and standing up and down the tent were all stunned. After a long time, Guo Chongtao came back to his senses, paced to the center of the big tent and said in a low voice: "Pass the order, the class teacher will return to Beijing!" (To be continued......)