Chapter 1334: A Voracious Counterattack

"Han Qing, what is this irrecoverable crisis you speak of? Speak frankly, hold nothing back—have you sensed something?" Yelu Xian's brows were deeply furrowed, and his gaze toward Han Derang carried a hint of doubt.

Han Derang wore a deeply aggrieved expression, clasping his hands in salute as he replied: "Your subject has no firm conclusion, only a feeling that the Southern Court is formidable in strength, with ample military and civilian resources to draw upon. Though we took advantage of them this time and seized Shanyang, they will never sit idly by as the situation deteriorates.

The Han army's reinforcements have not arrived—and the more this is so, the more it alarms your subject. Perhaps, while we were not paying attention, the Han army has been secretly mustering troops, approaching in concealment, intending to scheme against us!

Your Majesty, our current position at Yunzhong is far too deep for our army!"

"Han Qing, this is the first time I have seen you show such timidity!" Seeing Han Derang's hesitant expression and speculative words, Yelu Xian sighed.

"Your subject is merely deeply worried!" said Han Derang.

"Am I not the same?" A trace of desolation appeared on Yelu Xian's weary face. After a long silence, he finally made up his mind: "Summon the soldiers outside, the entire army prepares to withdraw!"

Although Yelu Xian had heeded the advice and made his decision, Han Derang did not relax much either, and immediately pressed further: "Your Majesty, it must be done swiftly!"

"Summon the generals at once to decide on the withdrawal!" Meeting Han Derang's grave gaze, Yelu Xian nearly ground his teeth as he spoke.

Withdrawing troops is a technical task for any army; with the slightest carelessness or any unexpected incident, a retreat can turn into a rout.

The Liao army was no different. For Yelu Xian to withdraw north safely, the Liao army itself faced no small number of difficulties. First, the soldiers' will—when no obvious crisis had been detected, many were unwilling to retreat north in apparent cowardice. Second, the forces were dispersed, and reassembling those troops addicted to plundering Shanyang would take time. Third, although the Liao army was entirely cavalry with many horses, the captured money, grain, and supplies would greatly reduce their mobility.

Of course, the most important point was that the Han army would hardly let them leave easily. That was beyond doubt. While the Liao army besieged Yunzhong and ravaged Shanyang, large numbers of Han reinforcements had already been advancing toward Shanyang from three directions. Perhaps they should not be called reinforcements, for the Han army's goal was clearly not to relieve Yunzhong, but to crush this bold and rampant Liao army.

Twenty days was enough time for Emperor Liu to transfer an elite force back from Liaodong, assemble, and rest. More troops, following the continuously refined operational plans, moved into position according to military orders, awaiting only the thunderous strike.

The activity in the Liao army's camp at Yunzhong naturally could not escape the eyes of the Han army in Yunzhong city. Though the old general had not led troops for many years, he was old but vigorous, and having donned his armor once more, he still exuded great authority.

Climbing the northern city gate and gazing into the distance, though he could not see clearly, even from several li away one could sense the bustle and tension in the Liao camp.

"In the past two days, three Liao detachments on plunder raids have returned to Yunzhong. Both the enemy's western and northern camps are packing up and preparing. The situation is already quite clear—the Liao army intends to withdraw!" Pointing beyond the city walls, Tian Chongjin, Deputy Chief Commander of the Shanyang armies, spoke rapidly to Li Wanchao.

"They want to leave? How can we let them have their way?" Li Wanchao's graying beard was tossed about in the cold wind, his old eyes still as sharp as a hawk's.

"Previously there was no movement; the change only came in these past two days. I cannot determine what went wrong to startle the Liao army into fleeing!" Tian Chongjin, around forty years old, brave and skilled in military strategy with rich command experience, spoke with a trace of anxiety in his tone.

This time, seizing the opportunity of the Liao army's southward advance to set a trap luring them deep into Shanyang and encircling them for annihilation—this strategy was first proposed and planned by Tian Chongjin, and only then did Li Wanchao come forward to report it upward and coordinate its execution.

The results were essentially proceeding according to plan—the Liao army had indeed broken through and advanced south, reaching Yunzhong. But the most critical step, the hardest to control, had not yet begun.

Shanyang had already been ravaged by the Liao army, with severe losses to officials and civilians. If the Liao army slipped away in the end, that outcome would be too hard to accept. Though Li Wanchao bore the responsibility above him, for Tian Chongjin, who had first proposed the strategy and assisted in its execution, it would also be a tremendous setback that could affect his career.

"There are capable men in the Liao army as well!" Li Wanchao remained steady, saying calmly: "It is no surprise they are on guard. Without such vigilance, even if given the opportunity, they might not have been able to seize it and break through southward!"

Li Wanchao's aged yet deep voice seemed to soothe emotions, and Tian Chongjin calmed down as well. After a moment's thought, he said: "Now that the Liao army wishes to leave, I wonder where the encircling forces have reached and what progress they have made!"

This was the most difficult part of executing such a grand plan—communication was inconvenient and rarely timely, making perfect coordination among the participating forces even harder. In many situations, commanders of each route could only rely on their own on-the-spot judgment, and any choice could lead to different outcomes, affecting victory or defeat.

And with Yunzhong under siege, coordinating in a timely manner and closely cooperating with the other routes was even more difficult.

Li Wanchao naturally understood this reasoning as well. His expression tightened slightly, making the furrows on his face more pronounced. After pondering for a moment, Li Wanchao said: "Send more men south to contact Kang Yanze, have him advance north as quickly as possible."

As he spoke, Li Wanchao could not help but look toward the northwest, saying gravely: "The actions of the other armies are certainly important, but what concerns me most is Kang BaoYi! Whether we can keep the Liao army here, and how great a victory we can achieve, depends on whether he can seal the northern opening!"

Hearing this, Tian Chongjin nodded in agreement: "It has been this long—Kang BaoYi should have had ample time to come east. Barring any accidents, he should already have passed Baidao Slope by now and can make it in time! My only concern is that his forces are few, and after a long march, they are inevitably fatigued—whether he can cut off the Liao army's retreat route cannot be guaranteed!"

Li Wanchao sighed: "His Majesty once said, men propose, heaven disposes! The situation has already developed to this point; the progress of the other routes is beyond our control. As the foundation of this encirclement and counterattack, all we can do now is do what we can do well, and give our utmost! Issue the order—have the soldiers prepare. Once the Liao army withdraws north, we leave the city in pursuit. We must tie them down and await reinforcements!"

"Yes!" Tian Chongjin answered solemnly.

"Your subordinate has a request!" Looking at Li Wanchao, Tian Chongjin clasped his hands in salute with a serious expression.

"Speak, no need for such formality!" Seeing this, Li Wanchao said with a light smile.

Tian Chongjin: "For the pursuit, let your subordinate lead the troops out of the city. I ask that the old general hold the line at Yunzhong and not personally take the field!"

"Is General Tian implying that this old man is too aged to wield a blade, mount a horse, and slay enemies on the battlefield?" Hearing this, Li Wanchao narrowed his eyes, staring at Tian Chongjin with displeasure in his tone.

Seeing this, Tian Chongjin replied with a grave and sincere expression: "This battle is perilous, victory and defeat, safety and danger are hard to predict. Your subordinate naturally will lead the troops in a death struggle. Should anything go wrong and I fall into it, your subordinate's life is not worth regretting. But Yunzhong still needs the old general to hold it. As long as Yunzhong stands, the battle remains within our control. For the sake of the greater situation, I beg the old general to temporarily suppress his desire to slay enemies and remain in Yunzhong!"

Hearing Tian Chongjin's words, the displeasure on Li Wanchao's face dissipated, and his gaze turned kind. Though they had worked together for less than a month, he genuinely admired Tian Chongjin.

After brief consideration, Li Wanchao said: "Very well, this old and decrepit body of mine will remain in Yunzhong city, sitting here awaiting your triumphant return!"

"Yes!" Tian Chongjin clasped his hands in salute once more, speaking with fervor.

The Liao army at Yunzhong was eager to retreat, and the Han army was equally confrontational. When, after ten days of siege, the Han cavalry first rode out of the city, broke through the Liao cavalry's blockade, and headed south, the Liao army's reaction became even more urgent.

This situation was clearer than anything to Han Derang—that the Han army was plotting against them was now a certainty, otherwise they would not have reacted so strongly to their every move.

For both the Han and Liao sides, this seemed to be another race against time. That very day, Yelu Xian dispatched a light cavalry unit north to protect the retreat route, while the first batch of roughly twenty thousand troops also set out northward. The Han army in Yunzhong city did not move rashly—they were fighting a pursuit battle, and the timing of their sortie had to be chosen well!

By the time the Liao army formally began its northward withdrawal, a great army of several tens of thousands, over a hundred li south of Yunzhong, had already crossed the Sanggan River and was advancing north. High-flying banners, the endless column, the roving horsemen—all testified that this was the main force of the encircling army.

This army numbered over sixty thousand in total, with a rather mixed composition—border troops, prefectural and county soldiers, tribal troops, and large numbers of militia volunteers, but they all basically came from Hedong Circuit. This was the army that Hedong had organized in less than a month.

Though their combat effectiveness was considerably weaker than the imperial and border troops, they were soldiers who had undergone basic training and possessed a degree of discipline—even the militia volunteers among them.

Even so, the assembled army had spent additional time on preparation and organization. The mid- and low-ranking officers were largely drawn from veterans with battlefield experience, and the orderly march north was accompanied by reorganization and training.

When the urgent message from Yunzhong was received, the pace of the northward march immediately quickened. On the twenty-ninth, they were still concealed and resting within Yingzhou's borders; by the first day of the tenth month, they had already entered Huairen's territory.

And Huairen was barely eighty-some li from Yunzhong. The commanding general of the Hedong relief army was named Kang Yanze, who had once served as Yang Ye's deputy commander in the Battle of Baicaokou, striking hard at the invading Liao army. Though this man's name was not widely known, his insight was extraordinary and his command abilities strong—especially his skill in organizing and training troops.

At dusk, the great army arrived at Huairen. By camp unit, each formed defensive formations and rested in place, drinking water and eating. The north wind howled past; the Huairen county seat, ravaged by the Liao army, stood empty and desolate, as if telling of boundless sorrow.

Kang Yanze looked like a scholarly general, ordinarily carrying an easygoing demeanor. But now, gazing at the ruined and desolate county seat, his expression was cold and stern, silent for a long while.

"Chief General, shall we send men into the city to collect the bodies?" a deputy general beside him asked.

"No! Breaking the Liao is what matters!" Kang Yanze's voice betrayed no emotion, but it placed immense pressure on his subordinates.

"The sky is already growing dark—shall I give the order to camp here for the night and advance on Yunzhong tomorrow?"

"No!" Kang Yanze refused again. Turning toward the north, a striking light flashed in his eyes as he said: "The Liao army has already withdrawn north; we can advance with confidence! Pass the order—the entire army raises torches high, makes a great show of force, forms ranks, and marches north through the night!"

"Is advancing through the night too risky?"

"Arriving at Yunzhong is what matters!"