Across the Water Margin: Officials of Ximen

Page 532

This first achievement in capturing Yanjing City must be my Yang Keshi's, how can Liu Yanqing and his son get involved!

In Yang Keshi's view, the Khitan people in the city fighting against the Song army on their own had nothing to fear. What needs to be completely resolved now is the Liao army stationed in the inner city.

Therefore, Yang Keshi asked Guo Yaoshi and Zhao Heshou to lead a team to attack the inner city and arrest the Empress Dowager Xiao who was in charge of the Liao Kingdom.

The inner city of Yanjing City is the imperial city, which is located in the southwest corner of Yanjing City.After the Song army entered the city, the Liao army and the fast-running Khitan nobles all retreated here, relying on the inner city wall to resist the attack of the Song army.

Empress Dowager Xiao knew that the Song army had entered the city, so she hurriedly led her group of officials to the Xuanhe Gate Tower in the inner city to watch the situation.

In order to boost morale, Empress Dowager Xiao personally put on armor and went into battle, stood on the tower and shot the Song army with a bow and arrow.

Seeing this, the officers and soldiers of the Liao army on the inner city wall shouted long live, and their morale was boosted for a while. They all stood firm on the city wall and fought desperately with the Song army.

Guo Yaoshi saw that the Liao army had died in the inner city, killed and wounded hundreds of troops but failed to break through the Xuanhe Gate, so he sent someone to recruit Empress Dowager Xiao.

Guo Yaoshi's envoy came to the gate of Xuanhe and shouted to the tower: "Empress Xiao, our army from the Song Dynasty has already entered the city, and the defeat of the Liao Kingdom is doomed. It is useless to resist any further!

I order you to let the Liao army in the city immediately lay down their weapons, take off their armor, and surrender to our army.Our army can spare you waiting to die! "

8 Chapter Twenty

After listening to Guo Yaoshi's army under the city to persuade them to surrender, Empress Dowager Xiao hesitated whether to surrender in order to save the lives of the Khitan soldiers and civilians in the city.

However, are the words of the traitor Guo Yaoshi credible?Empress Dowager Xiao was not sure either.

So, Empress Dowager Xiao stepped back from the top of the city to avoid the rain of arrows from the Song army, and consulted the ministers around her for advice.

At this time, a Khitan nobleman cried and advised her: "Queen Mother, the words of Song Jun are not trustworthy!

When the Song army entered the city, many Han people in the city colluded with the Song army.Now the Song army and the Han people are slaughtering my Khitan people in various streets and alleys. They rob property, burn, kill and loot, they do all kinds of evil!

Song Jun and I Khitan have formed a deep hatred.Surrender at this time, and the Khitan people in the city will be slaughtered by the Song army!

Queen Mother, you must not surrender to Song Jun! "

The Khitan nobles and soldiers on the city wall also shouted: "I will avenge my parents, wives and children! I will never surrender to the Song army!"

At this time, although the Khitan city defenders were at a disadvantage in numbers, because the Song army killed innocent people indiscriminately, they saw countless Khitan compatriots brutally massacred.

Seeing the anger of the crowd, Empress Dowager Xiao also said loudly: "Okay! The Song army has no way, and we will never surrender to Song! There is no coward in Daliao who is afraid of death!"

Before she finished speaking, Empress Dowager Xiao walked to the city wall, bent her bow and set an arrow, and hit the envoy sent by Guo Yaoshi to persuade him to surrender, and shot him dead under the horse.

Seeing that the persuasion failed, Guo Yaoshi immediately sent additional troops to storm the inner city, and started a desperate struggle with the Liao army under the sect of Xuanhe.

Empress Dowager Xiao made up her mind to fight to the end. While commanding the Liao army and the family soldiers of the Khitan nobles to defend the inner city, she ordered people to sneak out of the city through a secret door and fall Yanjing City. Army commander Xiao Qian.

In Yanjing City at this time, Song Jun had been dazzled by the temporary victory.The officers were busy leading their men to rob property, rape women, drink and have fun, and they were already in a state of complete chaos.

When Guo Yaoshi saw the scene of Song Jun's corrupt military discipline, he was secretly shocked. He didn't expect Song Jun to be so miserable.

Guo Yaoshi worriedly suggested that Yang Keshi and others would clean up the military discipline and stop misbehaving in the city, but was ridiculed by the generals instead.

Yang Keshi smiled at Guo Yaoshi: "General Guo, this Yanjing City has been renamed Yanshan Mansion by the Holy Majesty, and it is the city of my Great Song Dynasty.

My Great Song Dynasty only wants Han people, and those Khitan people who are not of my race, what is the use of staying?

If we don't take this opportunity to strangle all the Khitan people, how will the country manage this Yanshan Mansion in the future? "

Guo Yaoshi saw that all the generals wanted to indulge his subordinates to cause chaos, so he had no choice but to let out a long sigh, restraining his thousand victorious troops not to kill innocent people indiscriminately.

Guo Yaoshi has served as a general in the Liao Kingdom for many years, and many Khitan nobles in Yanjing City have contacts with Guo Yaoshi.

Although Guo Yaoshi had been forced to vote for the Song Dynasty, he still couldn't bear to kill the family members of these people for no reason.

What the Song army in the city did not expect was that an elite Liao army was rushing to Yanjing City.

Although the urgent report from Empress Dowager Xiao has not yet been delivered to Xiao Qian, the king of the Fourth Army, Xiao Qian has already received information from the scouts that he sent out, saying that a group of Song troops quietly crossed the Lugou River from Gu'an County. Whereabouts unknown.

In order to prevent the rear from being attacked, Xiao Qian left Yelu Dashi to lead the troops to monitor Liu Yanqing's army, and personally led [-] troops to reinforce Yanjing City.

Guo Yaoshi was commanding the army to attack the inner city from the tower of the south gate, when he suddenly saw dust in the distance to the southwest.

Guo Yaoshi frowned, and said to the generals of the Song Army: "A troop ahead is rushing towards Yanjing. I'm afraid it is the Liao army who came to reinforce Empress Dowager Xiao."

At this time, Yang Keshi, Gao Shixuan and other generals came to the south of the city to besiege the inner city.

After hearing what Guo Yaoshi said, all the generals didn't take it seriously.

Gao Shixuan said: "General Guo was too worried. Our army sneaked all the way and didn't startle the snake. Xiao Qian should be kept in the dark and won't send troops here. This must be because Marshal Liu Yanqing knew that we had captured the city of Yanjing. We will send General Liu Guangshi to come for reinforcements."

Before Guo Yaoshi, Yang Keshi and others set off, Liu Yanqing promised to send Liu Guangshi's army as reinforcements.Therefore, after seeing the dust flying in the southwest, all the generals of the Song Army thought it was Liu Guangshi's army who had come.

When the army outside the city approached and everyone looked at it, they saw the words "Xiao Qian, King of the Fourth Army" written on the Chinese army banner of this army horse.

"Xiao Qian is here!"

"Why did the Liao army come so fast?"

"Quickly close the city gate! Don't let the Liao army enter the city!"

"Where is Liu Guangshijun?"

……

When the generals saw Xiao Qian's banner clearly, they realized that something was wrong, and hurriedly rushed to various places in the city to gather troops.

Although Song Jun controlled the eight city gates in the outer city of Yanjing, Xiao Qian knew that there was a secret door in the inner city located in the southwest of Yanjing, leading directly to the outside of the city.

Therefore, Xiao Qian led the army through the secret door and entered the inner city controlled by the Empress Dowager Xiao.

When Empress Dowager Xiao and the Liao army and Khitan nobles in the city saw the army horses brought by Xiao Qian, their morale was immediately boosted, and they asked Empress Dowager Xiao and Xiao Qian to counterattack the Song army and save the Khitan people in the city.

When Xiao Qian heard that the Song army was burning, killing, looting, and raping women in the city, he was so angry that he drew his sword and ordered the whole army to launch a counterattack against the Song army.

Taking advantage of the chaos of the Song Army in Yanjing City and before they could gather together, the Liao Army in the inner city, led by Xiao Qian, suddenly opened the city gate to kill the generals, and started a scuffle with the Song Army on the street.

The Song army in Yanjing City did not expect the Liao army to launch a counterattack so quickly, and was immediately divided and surrounded by the Liao army in various streets, killing people on their backs.

Guo Yaoshi hurriedly led his men to fight Xiao Qian's army, but Xiao Qian's elite subordinates watched him, and greeted Guo Yaoshi, the traitor, with swords and guns.

Wearing heavy armor, Guo Yaoshi escaped a catastrophe, but was stabbed to death by the Liao army's random guns when he stepped off his horse, and fell off his horse.

"Kill the traitor Guo Yaoshi!" A Liao army general beside Xiao Qian shouted.

Seeing this, the Liao army stepped forward to besiege Guo Yaoshi one after another. Guo Yaoshi's personal soldiers desperately protected Guo Yaoshi who had fallen from his horse, but fell one by one under the swords and guns of the Liao army.

At the critical moment, Song Jun's fierce general Yang Keshi brought a group of men and horses to the front, and rescued Guo Yaoshi from the siege, so that he survived.