"I didn't expect the Yingzhou garrison to be so stubborn. It's been more than a month, and there's still no sign of loosening up." Having been dragged under Yingzhou City for more than a month, Pan Mei's mood at this time was very different from the hot pot.

Ants are not much different.

"The city of Yingzhou is so difficult to attack, so what will the Datong Mansion in Xijing be like?" For the first time since the war started, Pan Mei had some intention of retreating.

But he quickly gave up this idea. The more difficult a city was to capture, the more joyful it would be to enjoy success once it was captured.

The question is how to capture Yingzhou City now?

It took more than a month. If the Song army did not capture Yingzhou City at this time, the consequences of a blow to morale and physical strength would be unbearable for them.

At this time, a sergeant came to report: "The siege equipment transferred from Daizhou has been put in place."

"Okay, we have been dragged here for a long time. Now I ask you to take Yingzhou City within three days. With the help of these new siege equipment, if you still can't take Yingzhou City, then take the initiative.

Come and meet."

"The general will obey his orders."

It turned out that Pan Mei did not expect that Yingzhou would be so difficult to capture before going on the expedition, so she only brought traditional ladders, manhole barriers and crash cars.

But he didn't expect that Yingzhou would delay him for so long. He then dispatched siege equipment to Daizhou to quickly support the front line.

There are mainly two types of siege equipment transported from Daizhou to the front line, one is the catapult that can throw bombs, and the bed crossbow.

When Zhao Weiji designed the bed crossbow, in order to be able to use it in sieges, he specially designed another type of arrow, which was to replace the arrowhead with a blunt weapon.

Although the penetration power is greatly reduced in this way, the impact on city walls and gates will be extremely great. As long as you calculate the angle when launching, if you shoot at an elevation angle, the arrow with a blunt arrow will form a natural parabola.

, and finally the arrows blessed by gravity will cause a devastating blow to the city wall.

Then coupled with the power of "artillery", no matter how strong the city wall is, it cannot withstand such an impact.

Sure enough, just after the Song army used these two powerful weapons, the battlefield situation changed drastically. The Khitan army that was defending the city began to be unable to hold it back.

The soldiers on the top of the city kept feeling the strong vibration caused by the bombs thrown by the trebuchets and the blunt arrows fired by the crossbows hitting the city wall. This feeling was no different from an earthquake.

The key is not the physical feeling, but the visual stimulation which has a greater impact on the morale of the Khitan soldiers.

The Khitan soldiers on the city wall just watched helplessly as the bricks on the city wall were being smashed away, and then the rammed earth inside was exposed. This visual impact made everyone's confidence in defending the city begin to waver.

Because the only thought in the minds of all the Khitan soldiers now is whether the city wall under their feet will be smashed down directly.

The general guarding the city of Liao already knew that the city could not be defended, but it was definitely unrealistic for him to abandon the city and surrender. In the end, he made a difficult decision and led all the cavalry out of the city for a decisive battle.

Just when a city wall in the south of Yingzhou was finally broken down, the south gate was also opened, and the Liao defender Xue Wu led all the Khitan cavalry and rushed out.

"Here we come, brother." Seeing that the Khitan guard actually led the troops to rush out, the third child of the Yang family, who had been suffering under Yingzhou City for more than a month, was already extremely itchy.

"I know, Third Brother. Let brothers cheer up, it's finally time for us to show off our skills." Yang Yanping, who was also aggrieved, could no longer hold back.

So the Yang brothers led the Song army's cavalry directly towards the Liao army's cavalry, and the two armies faced each other directly.

Although the Khitan cavalry itself was stronger than the Song cavalry, being besieged in the city for a long time was a demoralizing thing.

In addition, the battlefield situation at this time was completely unfavorable to the Liao Kingdom. All Khitan soldiers were frightened by Song's siege weapons. How could they exert their full combat effectiveness in such a restless mood.

On the Song Army's side, the cavalry had been doing nothing in the siege. They were so frustrated that they finally found an opponent, and everyone was in a state of excitement.

Moreover, now that the Song army has successfully attacked the city and the morale of the entire army is strong, the combat effectiveness of the Song army's cavalry may be 120% of its usual level.

The result of such a battle of ebb and flow can be imagined.

As soon as they met Xue Wu, he knew that the battle was completely lost. The Khitan soldiers under his command were all timid, not knowing where to look, where to put their hands, or who to stab with their spears.

On the Song Army's side, the spirit of the entire team is different. Everyone knows who my enemies are and how I can defeat them.

Moreover, the Yang brothers at the head were all capable of riding a thousand horses, and Yang Dalang was like a god of death, constantly harvesting the lives of Khitan soldiers on the battlefield.

The battle on the battlefield ended soon after. The Khitan soldiers who rushed out of the city for a decisive battle were basically wiped out. The soldiers on top of the city also lost their will to resist after seeing their last hope destroyed, and abandoned their weapons and surrendered one after another.

It took more than a month to finally capture Yingzhou City, and the Song army finally breathed a sigh of relief.

…

"Mo, Yingzhou is still lost." Yelu Xiezhen sighed after seeing the battle report.

"I know, but they have done a good job, because they have bought enough time, and our counterattack preparations have been made. Their sacrifices will not be in vain." Yelumo is also fighting for the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Yingzhou.

feel sad.

But as Yelumo said, Yingzhou's defenders had done a pretty good job, not only delaying the Song Army's Western Route Army's advance for a long time, but also forcing the Song Army to use the most powerful siege methods.

At this time, Yingzhou City was already riddled with holes. Once the Liao army counterattacked, it would be impossible for the Song army to rely on Yingzhou City for defense.

…

"Pan Taiwei, I think our top priority now is to move the people of Ying, Yun, and Shuozhou into Yanmen Pass first. If anything goes wrong in the Northern Expedition, we can at least ensure the acquisition of these people." Yang Ye said before the army.

After entering the city, I immediately suggested to Pan Mei.

"Let me think for a moment." Pan Mei also knew that now was not the time to celebrate. A Yingzhou city had blocked their progress for more than a month. So no one knew what the situation in Datong would be like.

If there is a real possibility, Yingzhou, which is already riddled with holes, must not be reliable. So Yunzhou and Shuozhou are reliable? That is not necessarily the case. After all, these two states have just experienced war, although they are not like Yingzhou.

The losses were huge, but it was not easy to fight and defend. Therefore, once there was a crisis in the Northern Expedition, they could only retreat to Yanmen Pass.

If such a situation really occurs, moving the people of these three states back to the pass in advance may be a way to ensure the basic fruits of victory.

"Okay, as you say. But who is going to do this properly?"

"I recommend Inuzi Liulang Yang Yanzhao."

"Yan Zhao is cautious and smart. He is indeed a good candidate. Just choose Yan Zhao. I have no objection."

After hearing what Pan Mei said, Yang Ye naturally went to find Yang Yanzhao immediately.

Yang Yanzhao naturally felt a little unhappy when he learned that he had to carry out such a mission, because in this way he would not have the opportunity to directly fight the Khitans for the time being.

But he did not show any dissatisfaction because this was also a very important task.

In this way, Yang Yanzhao began to organize the people of Yingzhou to retreat to the pass.

…

"They have begun to relocate the people in Yingzhou City." An intelligence officer reported to Yelumo.

"It seems that the Song soldiers are not stupid. They also know that if they fail, their only retreat is within the pass. But this is better. Although we will lose some people, this way, their large army will not move for the time being.

Yes." After seeing the report, Yerlumo quickly made his own analysis.

"General, what happened to that army?" Yelumo had already begun to prepare for a counterattack.

"No problem, they have arrived at the scheduled location." When Yelu Xiezhen heard Yelu Mo ask this, he naturally knew that the plan was about to enter the final stage.

"Judging from the current situation, Pan Mei and Yang Ye's troops are doomed. Now it depends on the situation on the Yue side. If the Yue side can also win, our Daliao will be a complete victory.

." Yelu Mo was full of confidence in the plan that was about to be implemented. He just hoped that Brother Yelu Xiu over there wouldn't do anything wrong.

On the third day after all the people in Yingzhou began to evacuate to the pass, Pan Mei and Yang Ye decided to continue their march to Datong Prefecture in Xijing.

Seeing this, Yelu Xiezhen and Yelu Mo laughed even more happily.

…

On the battlefield on the east road, after rescuing Cao Bin, Zhao Weiji indeed tricked Cao Bin into joining Mi Xin's troops.

Mi Xin's troops were currently blocked in the new city.

When the Liao army was happily besieging the new city, suddenly a Song army appeared.

The Liao army was caught off guard and suffered heavy losses, and had no choice but to retreat. In this way, Zhao Weiji relied on a sudden attack to end the siege of the new city.

Mi Xin was naturally very happy to see that the siege of the new city had been lifted. After introducing the reinforcements into the city, he discovered that Cao Bin was also inside.

Mi Xin saw that it was Cao Bin who wanted to join forces, and with some deception from Zhao Weiji, he finally agreed to the request to join forces.

Just when Zhao Weiji began to integrate these troops, he began to discover that some of the shortcomings caused by the Song Dynasty's military system began to expand, but at this time he no longer had time to take care of these.

Once the troops cannot be integrated within a short period of time and go north to fight Yelv Xiu Ge, the entire war on the eastern and central front can only be declared a complete failure, which means that all the previous bloodshed will be in vain.

And once Brother Yelu Xiu is completely free, he will quickly support the West Road battlefield. Pan Mei and Yang Ye's troops on the West Road battlefield will be attacked by the entire Liao army. They cannot resist such an attack.

.

At this time, Zhao Weiji did not know that the Liao army had actually sent a surprise reinforcement to the west road. He only had one idea in his mind now, to fight Brother Yelvxiu decisively.

In this way, the battlefields on both sides will usher in the final decisive battle.
Chapter completed!