Chapter 253 Shoot Him!

With the help of the Battle of Shixia, Yang Chang successfully recovered Liaoshan and Heshun.

It has only been five or six days since the attack on Yushe, and Yelu Yudu in Pingcheng has not taken any action yet.

No matter what his purpose was, Yang Chang decided to go to Pingcheng as soon as possible. He had already obtained three of the four counties in Liaozhou, so naturally he had to put them in order.

Pingcheng is an important military defense town for Liaozhou and an offensive bridgehead for the Jin army in Taiyuan. However, due to the complex terrain of Liaozhou, the loss of food and fodder going south from Liaozhou is huge, so it is not a suitable route.

Liaozhou can send a small force, but it is not advisable to send more than the main force.

Yang Chang felt that if he was fast enough, even if Wu Shi intended to send reinforcements from Taiyuan, the Taiyue Mountain between the two states would be able to stop the Jin army for him.

Once the Weisheng Army arrived first, Pingcheng would be isolated and Yang Chang would have to surround and attack the reinforcements.

Taking this into consideration, on the day when He Quan apologized, Yang Chang left Li Ze to continue to be in charge of state affairs, while he led the army to continue fighting northward.

Of course, Yang Changxing did not mobilize his troops to help Li Ze clean up his mess for free. He took Liaozhou into his possession and only let Li Ze temporarily take charge of the state affairs, while his own people were in charge of the army.

Before sending troops from Weisheng, Yang Chang planned to let Lu Junyi stay in Liaoshan. Although Pingcheng had not yet been recovered, it didn't really matter whether he was in the subsequent battles or not.

If Yelu Yudu defends the city, no matter how strong Lu Junyi's martial arts are, it will be useless. It would be better to let Lu Zhishen throw stones at the city wall.

Why not a cannonball?
When Weisheng was fighting against Wulibu, Qiu Qiongying had used up almost all of its artillery shells.

The signal cannons used by Yang Chang in these battles were actually things that could only make noises but had no power. They were hastily made by Ling Zhen during the New Year period.

Without artillery suppression, Yang Chang had no confidence in a quick and successful attack. If the two sides fell into a stalemate, he would not be able to stay in Liaoshan to command for a long time. So he made another preparation in advance, that is, to build a fortress at the location of Zhu Wu's current camp to fight with Yelu Yudu.

Yang Chang wanted Lu Junyi to stay, so he found him to discuss the matter before leaving Liaoshan.

"Li Ze has surrendered to the Jin people before. I don't trust him to be in charge of Liaozhou's military affairs. At least the army should be in our hands. Brother is the commander of Yongning Army. Is it okay for you to stay and take over? After the dust settles in Pingcheng, I will assign a few deputies to brother."

"No. I stay?"

After Lu Junyi confirmed that it was him, he shook his head like a rattle and quickly declined: "I'm really not suitable, Taiwei, please find someone else."

"Right."

Seeing this, Yang Chang nodded seriously and added: "Brother was in charge of military affairs before, but now he is only in charge of the Liaoshan troops. It is indeed a bit of a waste of talent. Then the military affairs of Liaozhou will be simply..."

"Wait a minute!" Lu Junyi interrupted Yang Chang and said righteously, "Lu is not suitable for managing the army or politics. I would rather be a vanguard beside the general. You should lead me to the north to fight."

Yang Chang was startled when he heard this, and asked curiously: "Whether it is Liangshan's second in command, the deputy vanguard of the bandit fight, or the envoy, aren't they all leaders? Why are you so humble now, brother? Are you dissatisfied with this arrangement?"

"No, no, I'm very satisfied." Lu Junyi waved his hand and affirmed, muttering: "It's just that after experiencing the betrayal of my brothers in the Yongning Army, I realized my shortcomings, so I'd better stay with the general and continue to learn and improve."

"I'm just worried that you'll stay in Weisheng, and that you'll feel uncomfortable when an old brother brings up this matter, so..."

"The commander is thoughtful, but I am very comfortable now, and it feels better than in Liangshan. Please don't keep me in Liaozhou."

"Ok."

Seeing Lu Junyi's sincere words, Yang Chang thought that he was just like Liu Tang before, who lost his confidence in being a commander after one battle and was willing to follow him as a younger brother afterwards.

As the saying goes, a forced melon is not sweet. Yang Chang immediately gave up the idea and instead ordered Ou Peng to guard Liaoshan temporarily. As for who would be in charge of Liaozhou in the future, it would have to wait until the end of the war to decide.

On February 28th, the sun sets behind the western hills.

At the camp beside the upstream water route of Liaoyang, Yang Chang arrived first with 2,000 cavalrymen, while Lu Junyi and Lu Zhishen led 20,000 infantrymen, slowly marching upstream from Liaoshan, and it would take a day for them to meet up with the others.

Before Yang Chang approached the camp gate on his horse, a ball of golden light suddenly appeared in the camp ahead and approached the cavalry team at lightning speed.

He Quan, who was traveling with him, was shocked by this and thought he was dazzled. He rubbed his eyes, but the golden light became even more dazzling. He hurriedly reminded Yang Chang: "Captain, be careful. It might be a demon."

"Where did this demon come from? Those are my two wives."

"what?"

He Quan's eyes were wide open at this time, and he swallowed his saliva with an incredible expression, until Zhao Fujin stopped in front of the Zhaoye Jade Lion, and then he withdrew the [Armor Covering Technique] that he had just used to block the wind.

"Officer."

"Yang Lang."

"We will meet in the camp later, why did you come all the way out to meet me?"

"I'm afraid you don't know the way."

Qiu Qiongying stepped forward and stretched out her hand, signaling Yang Chang to pull her onto the horse. She turned her head and joked to Zhao Fujin: "Since you know magic, you're letting me take the position?"

"Anything is fine."

"This horse's back is quite spacious, you guys squeeze in."

Yang Chang pulled Qiu Qiongying onto the horse, leaned over again and handed his hand to Zhao Fujin, and then there was one man and two women riding on one horse.

When He Quan saw this scene, he thought to himself that Commander Yang really knew how to enjoy himself. He always brought his wives with him whenever he went out to fight, and at least brought two wives with him.

At this moment, he was fair and honest. Both women were outstanding in appearance, especially the one wearing a mask and performing magic. Just looking at her exposed eyes and figure, you could tell that she was a great beauty.

He Quan had no idea of ​​the two women's abilities. He was envious and jealous of Yang Chang but did not dare to hate him. Until he followed everyone into the big tent and heard others calling the masked lady "Princess", his mind suddenly went blank.

Yang Chang sensed that he was very emotional, so he briefly introduced the two girls.

The legendary most beautiful woman in the Song Dynasty, the beloved daughter of the emperor, actually secretly married Yang Chang? And the princess actually knew magic?
The emperor called himself the leader, or did he find a master to teach him? This makes sense.

He Quan had surrendered before, so he was naturally afraid of the royal children. He kowtowed to Zhao Fujin and apologized.

"Princess, please forgive me. I surrendered because of Xinzhou."

"Okay, no need to explain to me, my husband will make the decision."

"Ah? Yes, yes, yes."

"Get up."

Yang Chang motioned He Quan to stand up, and then he said to him: "Li Ze made up his mind to recover Liaoshan. Do you know why I brought you to Pingcheng?"

"Persuade Yelu Yudu to surrender? But the situation here is different from that in Liaoshan. I have no prestige among the Liao people. I am afraid..."

Although He Quan understood everything immediately, he didn't have the confidence to get things done, so he took precautions in advance.

“I don’t just look at the results.”

"Yes, yes, I will do my best."

"Find a place to sit."

After Yang Chang responded to He Quan, he gestured to Qiu Qiongying and asked, "You have been monitoring Pingcheng for a few days. Is there any unusual movement there?"

"Two or three days ago, scouts left the city, but we intercepted them halfway. There has been no movement since then. Perhaps they are waiting for reinforcements from Taiyuan?"

"It seems that Gao Qingyi has played a role. If Yelu Yudu wanted to stab him in the back, he would never wait so quietly. Maybe he can really alienate him from the Jin people?" "Grand Marshal."

If they were talking about other issues, He Quan obviously wouldn't be able to get a word in, but now that it involves the situation of the Jin army in the west, as a surrendered general who had "infiltrated the enemy", he has some say.

He was not sure of making achievements like Li Ze, so he immediately reminded him when he found an opportunity: "Although Yelu Yudu has a high position, the Jin people did not give him much military power. At least he cannot stir up trouble in the Western Route Army. Moreover, his family members are all in the former territory of the Liao Kingdom. I am afraid it will not be easy to separate them successfully."

"I don't expect to succeed in alienating them, but it's enough to make them stand aside and watch. By the way, Brother Zhu." Yang Chang spread his sleeves and turned sideways to face Zhu Wu and asked, "Military Advisor, do you have a plan to help me take Pingcheng?"

"Yelü Yudu has not moved, which shows that he is very afraid of the Taiwei. The Taiwei recovered Liaoshan and Heshun by defeating Tuhesu first, which destroyed his fighting spirit, so."

Zhu Wu paused while twisting his beard, then suddenly stopped and his eyes lit up. He happily added, "We have also captured a hundred or so Jin prisoners. Why don't we send them back to Pingcheng to report the situation? When Mr. Lu and Master Lu lead the main force to arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we will go to Pingcheng to besiege the city. We can persuade them first and then attack. Maybe we will have a chance to take it down quickly."

"Use the same tactics as Liaoshan?"

Yang tilted his neck slightly upward, tapped the table with one hand, and said in a deep voice: "Whether it succeeds or not, we have to give it a try. Go and make arrangements immediately and release the man tonight."

"You guys continue chatting, I'll go release them."

Shi Jin stood up to block Zhu Wu, clasped his fists and waved to everyone, then turned and left the central military tent.

Zhu Wu was an expert at deploying troops, but using strange strategies to capture cities was not his forte, so he stopped talking after offering his plan, and the atmosphere in the tent immediately became dull.

Seeing that no one was talking, Qiu Qiongying broke the silence and asked about the details of the recapture of Liaoshan. When Yang Chang mentioned throwing the heads into the city, the girl immediately became excited.

"Throwing heads? I want to try it too!"

"Ah."

Yang Chang smiled and nodded, "It just so happens that we have Tuhesu's head with us, so we'll let you throw it there when the time comes."

"Really? Going tomorrow?"

"The follow-up main force has not arrived yet. There are too few soldiers in the village now, and they can't have a deterrent effect at all. Moreover, even if these prisoners escape, it will take time for pessimism to ferment. Madam San had better wait."

Zhu Wu's "pouring cold water" advice did not reduce Qiu Qiongying's excitement, because her man did not deny it immediately, so she looked straight over.

Although they had won victory after victory in the past few days, the soldiers had been marching at a rapid speed and their rest breaks were very short.

Yang Chang actually didn't want to fight in Pingcheng. Once Wushi sent troops to reinforce Yelu Yudu, the Weisheng Army would inevitably suffer more casualties. He thought it would be best if he could scare Yelu Yudu away directly through intimidation.

Yelu Yudu was a famous figure in the Liao Kingdom. At this time, he occupied the city and had Taiyuan as his backing. Even if Yang Chang gathered all the troops in Liaozhou, he might not be able to scare him away.

How to do it?

While Yang Chang was deep in thought, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a group of soldiers passing by outside the tent. They were patrolling the camp with swords and bows in hand.

Yes, we have archery skills.

I can be Yang Guo, I can also be Guo Jing, shoot him!

Thinking of this, Yang Chang's mouth twitched slightly, and he responded to Qiu Qiongying: "Tomorrow is tomorrow!"

"Okay, sister, let's go back first."

Qiu Qiongying almost jumped up, and then pulled Zhao Fujin out.

In the past few days, the two of them went to Pingcheng for surveillance during the day and returned to the camp to rest at night, and they stayed in the same military tent. Tonight, with Yang Chang joining them, they had to discuss the issue of wartime duty.

Commander Yang’s words were law, and there was no one else in the tent at the time. Zhu Wu licked his lips and did not dare to persuade him. He Quan stared at all this, wondering how could Commander Yang fight so casually?
What about the other third lady? She seemed to think throwing heads was fun? Throwing heads accurately from the bottom of the city onto the wall, is that something that ordinary people can do?

He Quan thought he didn't have the ability to do so and mistakenly believed that she was just curious and wanted to play, until the next day when he arrived outside Pingcheng and saw with his own eyes Qiu Qiongying throwing the head onto the city wall.

At that moment, He Quan's big eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

After reciting the speech of persuading the surrender all night, he was affected by Qiu Qiongying's speech and his tone of voice was obviously nervous.

At this time, Yang Chang rode up to He Quan, motioning him to shut up, and pointed at the people on the city wall and shouted, "Yelü Yudu, you were wise not to send troops before, otherwise you would have ended up like Tuhesu. Now Liaozhou is only one city away from Pingcheng, what are you waiting for?"

"Withdraw? You only have a thousand cavalrymen, and you dare to force me to withdraw? You are so arrogant. Pingcheng is right in front of you. If you have the guts, come and take it yourself. I can stay as long as I want!"

Yelu Yudu had fought with Yang Chang several times. Although he was still afraid of this young man, he had to maintain his prestige and courage in front of others, so he responded tit for tat.

"That's what you said, so don't leave later!"

After Yang Chang finished speaking, he stretched out his right hand, and Qiu Qiongying handed him the bow and arrow.

When Gao Qingyi saw Yang Chang holding a bow, he suddenly remembered Yang's threat that night, saying that he had shot a living woman from half a mile away, but at this time the two sides were not even half a mile apart.

"General, please squat down quickly."

"Squat down?"

Yelu Yudu obviously didn't pause. He had just said something harsh to Yang Chang. He caught a glimpse of a shadow out of the corner of his eye, and then heard a thud.

Yang Chang had just taken the bow and shot the arrow without seeming to aim, but he hit Yelu Yudu's helmet, which was obviously intentional.

Gao Qingyi ignored the difference in status and grabbed Yelu Yudu's calf, pulling him down and warned him in a deep voice: "Yang Chang is an amazing archer. He once shot a woman alive from half a mile away. You must never show your head again."

"Why didn't you say so earlier!"

Yelu Yudu said with a rebuke, and took off his helmet with both hands to check, then sighed: "Yang Chang has such archery skills, if he wanted to kill me just now, I'm afraid he wouldn't have shot the helmet, it seems that he really wants to cooperate with me."

"General's meaning."

"Cooperate? No matter how strong he is, he is only one person. I will definitely not cooperate with him, but."

Seeing Gao Qingyi delivering a message for Yang Chang, Yelu Yudu decisively expressed his attitude, but before he could finish his words he was interrupted by shouts from below the city.

"This general has limited patience. I will give you one day to pack up. If you still haven't withdrawn by tomorrow, I will shoot any general or soldier who comes to defend the city!"

"hiss"

Gao Qingyi was shocked and asked hurriedly, "What should we do now?"

"Let's retreat. If we show our heads, we'll be shot at. I can't defend myself."

Yelu Yudu held his helmet with a helpless expression on his face. He had reminded Wushi not to provoke Yang Chang, but this guy acted on his own and refused to listen to the advice.

Now it's all right, right? You deployed tens of thousands of people in Liaozhou, but you were the only one who managed to escape unscathed. Let's see how you're going to explain this to the Marshal.

"Sir, will this work?"

"I don't know, let's wait and see."

Facing Qiu Qiongying's question, Yang Chang shook his head in uncertainty, then looked at the broken bow and murmured, "It's just that I didn't find good materials, and I didn't make the bow I needed, otherwise I would have killed everyone today. I hope Yelu Yudu won't be stubborn."

"Oh"

Yang Chang's worries were unnecessary, because he had just walked halfway towards the camp when the scouts who stayed behind to monitor Pingcheng came to report that Yelu Yudu had abandoned the city.

(End of this chapter)