Chapter 308 Internal strife
Seeing the enemy raising their shields efficiently and protecting the generals behind them, Yang Chang couldn't help but show a playful expression, thinking, "Are you so scared? I can't shoot all the arrows even if I break the dragon tendon bow."

If you think about it carefully, it makes sense. Although there are tens of thousands of soldiers, there are only a dozen senior generals in the army. Who would be willing to be shot in the throat?
Lu Zhishen was knocked to the ground by the horse just now, but he was not injured because of his thick skin and flesh. In addition, Yang Zhi arrived in time to cover him. Even if Qiu Qiongying and Yang Chang did not take action, Xiao Wu Ge would not be able to succeed in his sneak attack.

Although Yang Chang's shot just now was accurate, it was strictly speaking a cold arrow. If the Liao people in the enemy camp followed suit, Yang Zhi and Lu Zhishen would not only die, but would also be at high risk of being injured by arrows.

In view of this, Yang Chang took advantage of the enemy's adjustment of its formation and rode forward to provide cover.

"Hurry up and get back to the battle."

"Yes."

"Oh"

A white face without a beard, a white horse with golden armor, and a gilded halberd with phoenix wings.

Even though they had never seen Yang Chang before, Liao generals such as Yelu Huaiyi, Yelu Tushan, and Yelu Gaoba all swallowed their saliva when others introduced him.

Yes, in the ancient times when beards were considered beautiful and a symbol of strength, Yang Chang was unique and did not grow a beard, making him look like a weak servant.

Although he is "eccentric", he still makes his opponents feel intimidated. The intimidation does not come from his wild appearance, but from the fear formed by the strong contrast.

Who could have imagined that a body like this could possess the power to throw a thousand-pound stone lion, and also have such astonishing archery skills, making him invincible in both close combat and long-range combat.

With this monster personally coming to the fore, is there any need to continue the fight? Who would think that their life is too long?

The Liao generals looked at each other in bewilderment. Yang Chang suddenly raised his sword and pointed forward, shouting, "A fight between generals must be fair and square. Whether it's one-on-one or two-on-two, we will fight you one by one. But if you send more troops to attack from both sides at the last minute, don't blame me for taking action myself!"

"hiss"

"What does he mean?"

"My understanding is that Commander Yang doesn't plan to play, unless we don't follow the ethics of martial arts?"

Yelu Yudu did not participate in the discussion, but noticed that Yang Chang slowly walked forward, then stopped his horse beside Xiao Wu Ge's body, then held the tail of the arrow and poked it into the ground, picked up the body, took out the arrow shaft and threw it down.

The scene was as easy as piercing a snail with a toothpick and then throwing away the shell.

Yang Chang originally intended to pick up corpses and steal treasures, but the Liao general misunderstood that he intended to intimidate, and the heated discussion suddenly stopped.

"Hmm? You guys keep sending people, I won't do anything."

"Well, they've gone back too. Let's change people and continue."

"I'll go back first."

Even though this guy spoke sincerely, the Liao general on the opposite side did not believe a word he said and had no intention of continuing the fight.

As Yang Chang turned around, Yelu Yudu looked around and suggested, "Yang Chang is well prepared today. With him as the God of Death, it will only increase casualties if we continue to fight. Why don't we withdraw and discuss countermeasures?"

"Makes sense."

"I can see it."

"That's it."

Seeing that all the generals agreed, the military supervisor Pucha Shijianu had nothing to say, but he suggested that Yelu Yudu's troops should cover the rear, which was also agreed by everyone.

So the 50,000 Liao troops came with high spirits, but retreated in an orderly manner before they even reached the city gate. This move stunned Yang Changdu.

"What's going on? Why are they retreating?"

"Frightened away?"

"No way. Only a few people died. There are tens of thousands of them."

"No. I haven't gone yet."

Liu Tang looked at Yang Chang innocently, clasped his fists and asked tentatively: "Brother, we finally meet this once, can you lead us to chase him and kill him happily?"

"We have no plans to attack today, so let's just go back to the city. As the saying goes, don't chase after a desperate enemy."

"Not pursuing them at all? With these three thousand cavalrymen, they will be in for a fight. Would you consider this again?"

"The gap in military strength between the two sides is too great. Once we are surrounded, problems will easily arise. In a war, we can use surprise but not be too reckless. Don't think I am omnipotent."

Yang Chang decisively rejected the pursuit. He was confident that he could escape safely. But it was hard to say about the others. It was not easy to train a cavalry and they could not be sent out to destroy each other at will.

There are 30,000 infantry and cavalry in Yangqu City. Logically, if he mobilizes all the soldiers in the city, he can easily defeat 50,000 enemies. However, the Jin army obviously has other backup plans, and they will definitely not all come from Shiling Pass.

Once the Yangqu garrison is fully involved in the war, it will be difficult to withdraw in time to support other places, so Yang Chang is not in a hurry at this time. He now treats the Liao army as fish and wants to hold on for a few more days.

This will not only stabilize the war in Taiyuan, but also buy time to receive intelligence from other places, so that timely adjustments can be made.

Therefore, after the Liao army retreated, Yang Chang not only sent the Night Owl Army to track and monitor them, but also sent additional scouts to various places to check.

At this time, with Taiyuan as the center, Fenzhou on the left and Pingding Army on the right as wings, it was the northern defense line built by Yang Changxin. Important cities were garrisoned by soldiers and generals, and they were not as afraid of the enemy from behind as before. However, after Fenzhou and Taiyuan were recovered, land was distributed for farming, and people gathered in big cities were encouraged to return to their hometowns to reclaim wasteland and build houses. Not everyone was protected by the city.

Yangqu is the only way for the Western Jin Army to move south, and Pingdingjun is the only way for the Eastern Jin Army to enter Taiyuan. The two places can stop more than 90% of the enemy. Taiyuan borders Xianzhou, Lanzhou, and Shizhou borders Fenzhou. The mountains block the march and are difficult. If you cross the mountains and ridges to enter the hinterland of Taiyuan, you will most likely be limited in supplies and plunder the countryside. This is what Yang Chang does not want to see.

Of course, although these states bordered Taiyuan, they were not conquered by the Jin people due to transportation difficulties. In addition, the officials of each state surrendered decisively, so the people's production was not abandoned and the local military and political system remained almost unchanged. Nianhan only sent a small number of officials to supervise and adopted a tax-farming system for these states.

In short, the situation in these states before Jingkang remained basically unchanged at this time. The previous officials continued to serve, and the people continued to farm and pay taxes.

They can be forced to surrender by force, but they may also be forced to betray by force.

At this time, Yang Chang's reputation had risen greatly, and he could actually send people to take over, and there was a high probability that he could recover the lost territory. However, he had few soldiers and generals and it was difficult for him to deploy them. If he was in a hurry to recover these states and counties, the difficulties he faced at the beginning of the recovery of Taiyuan would be repeated.

How can we expect the people who have never experienced war to support us? It is a blessing that we are not instigated by the gentry and officials. If Yang Chang adopts the Jin people's way of governance, it will lay the seeds of disaster for future governance.

This situation is similar to the founding of the Song Dynasty by Zhao Kuangyin. Due to peaceful evolution, he took over the power of the Later Zhou Dynasty and did not break the original interest structure from top to bottom, resulting in the imperial power being suppressed by the literati for a long time. Even if there was an emperor with great talent and ambition, the literati would have almost no empathy and would only focus on maintaining their power and making money.

After years of accumulation, the country's wealth and land were concentrated in the hands of a few powerful people and vassals at the end of the dynasty. This made it increasingly difficult for the court to maintain its income and expenditure. In order to ensure the normal operation of the country, it could only madly exploit the lower-class people until the people could no longer live and the dynasty collapsed.

Of course, in the end, it was the incompetent emperors and treacherous ministers who took the blame for everything, and their crimes were recorded in history books for future generations to curse.

Yang Chang did not think so far, but the small unrest after taking over Yangqu made him realize that governing a country is not easy. There are always villains in places where light does not shine, but this guy is unwilling to compromise with the villains.

Yang Chang did not intend to use any of the local officials who surrendered in those states, so even though he knew it was muddy water and would consume his energy, he did not plan to wade in so early.

In theory, these selfish fence-sitters are unlikely to provoke me, but there are always unexpected things in the world, so it is better to prepare for a rainy day by holding an umbrella on a sunny day.

Seeing Yang Chang withdraw his troops back to the city, Yelu Yudu finally felt relieved.

He had studied this opponent carefully, especially the battles with Puluhu, where Yang Chang almost always won with fewer troops and his army suffered very low casualties. Even if there were only 3,000 men, their destructive power would not be small.

The vanguard consisted of 50,000 Liao soldiers. Yelu Yudu was able to serve as the vanguard commander because he had 18,000 troops under his command, including Yelu Huaiyi, Yelu Tushan, and Yelu Gaoba, a total of 32,000.

As a general commanding troops, he has a lot of say if he has many subordinates.

Even if Pucha Shijianu's troops were wiped out, he could still use his Jurchen identity and Wushi's confidant to continue fighting as a vanguard military supervisor, and he would be given troops later.

For Yelu Yudu, who was born as a surrendered general, the army under his command is the guarantee of his survival. After they are all defeated, they will become mascots and no one will take him seriously anymore.

He had tens of thousands of soldiers accumulated when he surrendered to Jin and fought against Liao, but some of them were consumed in the war against Song, and even more serious losses were suffered in the war against Yang Chang, so this guy was unwilling to fight hard.

In order to cover the safe retreat of the entire army of five miles, the soldiers of each camp set up camp on the road and soon set up the central army tent.

Yelu Yudu sat facing south, with several generals standing on the left and right of the tent. They were originally planning to discuss how to fight the enemy, but the previous fight was so shocking that everyone bowed their heads and said nothing.

Puchashi's slave looked around and saw that everyone was dejected. He clapped his hands to encourage them and said, "Everyone, everyone? Although we lost a few people today, we also gained a lot. Why is this the case?"

"Harvest? What harvest?" Yelu Yudu asked with a frown.

When Puchashi's slave heard the bad tone, he thought of the other side's loss of two generals today, so he didn't get angry and smiled and responded: "50,000 troops went, 50,000 troops returned, and also found out Commander Yang's strengths and weaknesses, isn't this a gain?"

"Real or fake?"

"Yes, Commander Yang was so arrogant when he used his troops before. He dared to charge into battle with only a few hundred men, but today he sent out 3,000 soldiers and took the initiative to ask for a fight. It is obvious that he lacks confidence. I estimate that the garrison in Yangqu does not exceed 10,000 people."

"Can't you?"

Most of the people present had never fought with Yang Chang, so the only one who raised doubts could be Yelu Yudu, who stared at Pucha Shi's slave with a serious face.

"Have you forgotten the survivors under the eldest prince's command? They recalled the battle at Jiexiu at the beginning of the year. At that time, Yang Chang's side dispatched 20,000 infantry and cavalry, including the navy that did not participate in the battle. Together with the garrisons in Weisheng and Liaoshan, the number is conservatively estimated to be 50,000 to 60,000."

"What about 50,000 or 60,000 people? He has just acquired Fenzhou, Taiyuan, and Pingding. How many counties need troops to maintain order? Especially in Pingding, we need to guard against the Eastern Route Army. Yang Chang must have sent a large number of troops there."

"How heavy are the troops? More than half or more?"

"What do you want to say?"

Puchashi's slave wanted to be tolerant, but when he found Yelu Yudu was too aggressive, he immediately lost his remaining patience.

Seeing this, Yelu Yudu restrained his emotions, held his chin and explained softly: "When Wang Bing was guarding Yangqu, there were only more than 10,000 troops stationed in the city. At that time, the 100,000-man army fought for nine months. Now, even if Yang Chang only has 10,000 men, what can we 50,000 do to him?"

"No need to do anything."

Puchashi's slave spread his hands and said sternly: "The order issued by the Marshal does not require us to break into the city. We just need to contain Yang Chang. Perhaps the breakthrough point is in Pingding."

"If Yangqu has few soldiers, then the pacification must be more. Wouldn't it be more difficult for the Eastern Route Army?"

"Ah this."

"If the Eastern Army's attack is blocked and we are only holding back 10,000 people, what do you think the Marshal will think?"

After Yelu Yudu said this, he finally showed a relaxed expression. He thought to himself, you have only led 10,000 or 20,000 people, and you dare to speak nonsense in front of me.

“The pioneers are right.”

Puchashi's slave was not affected by the teasing. Instead, he seriously thought about the intelligence. After thinking for a while, he said solemnly: "We should play a greater role, but Yang Chang wants to delay by fighting, so we must not let him succeed. If we want to take the initiative in the war, we must adopt other methods."

"what way?"

Yelu Tushan also lost two generals today, and he was gnashing his teeth towards Yang Chang.

Puchashi's slave nodded with satisfaction, then stroked his beard and replied: "Our military strength exceeds that of Yangqu, so perhaps we can directly besiege the city and cut off Yangqu's connection with the outside world. Then Commander Yang will surely panic, and he will make mistakes in a hurry."

"Makes sense."

“I think it’s worth a try.”

"Wait a minute!"

Yelu Yudu interrupted everyone and asked Puchashi Jianu: "Military Supervisor, we only have 50,000 men. If we divide our forces into four groups to surround Yangqu, aren't we afraid that Commander Yang will defeat them one by one?"

"The troops are scattered in four groups, and besides, the west gate of Yangqu is close to the Fen River, and we have to be wary of Yang Chang's navy, so it is just right to surround three groups and leave one group. With an average of nearly 20,000 troops on each group, how can he defeat them one by one?"

"Don't you know how powerful Commander Yang is? We all saw how hard he knocked down the fat monk and his horse. There are many powerful generals like him. How can we dare to besiege the city? We can't underestimate the enemy anymore!"

"Why did we besiege the city? Did I underestimate the enemy?"

The servant of the Puchashi family frowned and repeated, then asked in a deep voice: "Then what should we do? Send someone to deliver tomorrow? What are we here for?"

"There are still many soldiers in the rear, I can't wait."

"wait?"

Before Yelu Yudu could finish his words, Puchashi's slave sneered, "Marshal Wushi is still gathering. How many people do you have to wait for before you dare to go? You are the commander-in-chief of the Liao Kingdom's Eastern Army, and you are scared by Yang Chang?"

"Puchashi's slave, don't go too far!"

"I'm going too far? If you hadn't sent reinforcements, would I have been trapped in the Bear Killing Ridge?"

"Can I save the situation like that? It's inexplicable!"

Puchashi's servant slammed the table and stood up, shouting excitedly: "Okay, okay, I don't understand. It doesn't matter if this military supervisor is not qualified. Do whatever you want. I will go back to Yunzhong to apologize."

"Military supervisor, don't get excited. We are all here to defeat the enemy."

"Yes, that's right. Don't ruin the relationship."

"Hurry up and sit down. Let's discuss this slowly. Internal strife before the war will be disadvantageous to the army."

How could the Yelus be willing to let him go? What if he went back to Yunzhong and started talking nonsense?

Everyone tried to persuade them to make peace, and finally Pucha Shijianu divided his troops into two groups, with Yelu Yudu's troops surrounding the south gate, Yelu Tushan's troops surrounding the north gate, and Yelu Huaiyi and Yelu Gaoba's troops surrounding the east gate.

That afternoon, except for Yelu Tushan's troops who remained motionless, the rest of the troops went around from the east gate of Yangqu. However, as the distance from the city was more than two miles, even [Eagle Eyes Owl Eyes] could not see the specific situation clearly.

Following from the east gate of Yangqu to the south gate, just when Yang was confused, he saw the scout Shi Qian returning.

Huh? Why is there a Hu person beside him?
(End of this chapter)