Chapter 900: The Liao Army's Counterattack

After receiving Yelu Cong and hearing his military strategy, the Liao emperor convened another military council with the civil and military officials accompanying him, almost without pause. This time, however, he gave them no room for free discussion—he laid out Yelu Cong's arguments directly and announced his decision to take the initiative and attack the Han army at Nankou.

The Great King of the Northern Division, Yelu Wuzhi, still had reservations about the Liao emperor's dramatic shift in strategy. He acknowledged that Yelu Cong's considerations were grounded in the larger picture, based on long-term vision, and showed foresight—but in the end, the situation had not yet reached the point where a life-or-death gamble was necessary.

Moreover, even if a decisive battle were to be fought, in his view, given the current situation in the Youyan region, it was not suitable to fight within the narrow area of Youzhou—Juyong Pass—Tanzhou.

But in the end, an opinion was just an opinion, and with the Liao emperor having made up his mind, it was difficult to stop him. Besides, if the goal were merely to target the Han army at Nankou, concentrating forces for a surprise strike did have its merits.

And so, in less than a quarter of an hour, the Liao emperor reached consensus with his accompanying civil and military officials: fight them. In fact, the Liao troops summoned to accompany Yelu Jing southward were at the peak of morale, and the time spent assembling and resting at Wende had been a process of building strength. They were largely encouraged by the Liao emperor's choice to take the offensive.

Yelu Jing had arrived at Huailai on the twenty-first, and from that very day, over a hundred thousand Liao troops began intense maneuvering. At the same time, the Liao emperor issued urgent orders for the more than seventy thousand Liao troops stationed at Wende County to move east in full for the battle. Wende was only about a hundred li from the Huailai area, so even with a large army on the move, preserving horse strength, they arrived in less than a day.

By the evening of the twenty-second, the Liao army's two-pronged advance preparations were essentially complete, troop dispositions were arranged in place, and afterward came the final rest before the great battle.

Of the Liao army's two-pronged advance, the Juyong Pass route was the main attacking force, with Yelu Cong as its commander, leading the Right Pishi Army, the tribal armies, the original Han-and-barbarian garrison troops, and part of the vassal tribes from Mobei—a total strength exceeding one hundred thirty thousand.

The outflanking force taking Desheng Pass was personally commanded by the Great King of the Northern Division, Yelu Wuzhi, assisted by Liao generals such as Yelu Sagei and Yelu Sha, with a strength of over seventy thousand, all cavalry, including the Left Pishi Army.

It could be said that to deal with the Han army at Nankou, the Liao army had pulled out everything they had, concentrating their elite forces to deliver a fatal blow.

On Yelu Cong's side, the Liao emperor had also assigned him the Left and Right Tieyaozi Armies. The "Tieyaozi" was not exclusive to Western Xia—in the Liao military system, there was such a force as well, likewise heavy-armored iron cavalry, unmatched in both attack and defense. The Han army had also built up some heavy cavalry, but on a modest scale—only a single three-hundred-rider heavy-armor unit under the Tieqi Army. They lacked neither men nor equipment; the main problem was a shortage of suitable warhorses.

At Nankou, the Han army maintained a kind of tranquility, but in this deep autumn season, with the wind bleak and the dew cold, the killing aura pervading the camp grew ever heavier.

The Han camp was divided into five stockades—front, rear, left, right, and center—each stockade with its own sub-camps, each garrisoning troops. The front stockade facing Juyong Pass was the most strongly fortified and held the most troops. In fact, of the Han forces at the Nankou camp, there were only a little over eighty thousand men; the rest were stationed in Changping city. But in terms of battle-ready troops, their strength was formidable—even greater than the Han army at Tanzhou.

Besides the Fengguo and Xingjie armies and ten thousand Yan troops, the main force of the Hebei border army was also stationed here—all together, that came to about sixty thousand men. This was somewhat stronger than Yelu Cong had estimated.

Within the Han camp, the soldiers of each stockade had also settled down from their busy work—nothing more than the field headquarters distributing winter clothing and bedding ahead of schedule. Winter was approaching, and the weather had already turned cold. The soldiers were grateful for this thoughtful care from the court, and every one of them was greatly pleased. At the same time, taking this opportunity, the Yan army's uniforms were also changed to match the standard pattern of the court's troops.

"Prince of Chenliu, I think something's off with the Liao army!" In the central command tent, Shun'an Army Commander Luo Yangui found An Shenqi and said to him.

Hearing this, An Shenqi's spirits lifted involuntarily, the fatigue on his face receding. He was already sixty-two years old—at such an age, commanding a great army while maintaining abundant energy and a clear mind was no easy feat.

"What have you noticed?" An Shenqi asked.

Luo Yangui replied gravely: "These past few days, although the Liao army hasn't made any major moves, their scattered cavalry scouts have never stopped—especially in the last two days, their intent to probe our camp's defenses has been all too obvious. The sentry cavalry also report that within Juyong Pass, the sound of hammering never ceases, as if they're forging military equipment. Hence, this officer suspects..."

"You suspect the Liao army will take the initiative to attack?" An Shenqi grew even more alert, staring with furrowed brows.

A hint of hesitation appeared on Luo Yangui's face as he said: "This officer dares not guarantee it, only that it feels strange. Since we marched out from Changping, the Liao troops in the pass have sallied forth several times, and we've beaten them back each time. Now that our main army is entrenched here, how would the garrison troops dare to provoke us? Perhaps the Liao army's unusual movements are merely defensive preparations!"

Though Luo Yangui seemed hesitant, An Shenqi took the matter seriously. He thought it over carefully and said: "The garrison troops in the pass are certainly insufficient in strength—but what if the Liao army at Wende also moves out?"

With brows tightly knit, An Shenqi immediately summoned the officer in charge of communications and instructed: "Transmit my commander's order: all camps and stockades are to strengthen their defenses—especially Han Lingkun; tell him to heighten his vigilance. Sentry cavalry are to keep close watch on Juyong Pass city!"

"Yes!"

After pondering for a while, An Shenqi gave another instruction: "Send someone to ask the military intelligence office whether the Liao army at Wende has moved east!"

Seeing that his warning had received An Shenqi's attention, Luo Yangui subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. As he listened to these arrangements, his eyes darted with a sudden thought, and he added: "The mountain passes are treacherous, and message relay through spies is inconvenient. Even if the Wende Liao army really has moved, it may not get through in time!"

To this, An Shenqi merely nodded, ordered his personal guards to don their armor and helmets, and said: "Come, let's go inspect the front stockade!"

With the enemy situation unclear, on the Han side, thanks to An Shenqi's commander's order, the various camps did raise their vigilance somewhat—but only compared to before.

And regardless of how the Han army prepared, the Liao army proceeded methodically according to their established plan. Within those less than two days and nights, the Liao army fully displayed the war prowess of the northern hegemon—their efficiency was very high.

In the early morning of the following day, the Liao troops—having rested in advance, adjusted their schedules, and eaten well—advanced rapidly through the Juyong Gorge under Yelu Cong's command, emerging from the pass and charging toward the Han camp at Nankou.

Though the distance from the pass city to Nankou was not great, the commotion of over a hundred thousand troops sallying forth could not be hidden—especially since the Han army was monitoring the pass city's movements day and night.

Nor did the Liao army intend to fully conceal their movements. They only used elite cavalry to hunt down Han scouts, pressing straight to the stockade front to ensure the road was clear. The rest of the army, under Yelu Cong's command, calmly advanced to the front of the Han camp.

By dawn, one hundred thirty thousand Liao infantry and cavalry had formed their battle lines before the Han stockade, and the assault troops were ready. Then, at Yelu Cong's command, over ten thousand puppet troops pushed and carried siege equipment, launching an attack on the Han stockade.

The moment news of the Liao army's sortie arrived, the entire vast Han camp had already awakened. Though the soldiers were weary, with the enemy attacking, there was no time to worry about that—under their respective officers' leadership, they assembled and prepared. In truth, the timing of the Liao army's attack did achieve a certain surprise effect.

Despite the advance warning, the Han troops before dawn were hardly in good condition. Let alone the drowsiness—their stomachs were empty, and basic bodily needs were all problems.

And so, personally rushing to the front stockade and climbing the stockade tower, An Shenqi gazed at the fully equipped Liao army, well over a hundred thousand strong—dense masses of men, seething with killing intent. His expression was exceptionally grave. This sortie by the Liao army was out of the ordinary; from his understanding, he could judge that they must have gathered their forces in an extremely short time to launch this surprise attack.

Though the Han army excelled at defense, An Shenqi would not be so arrogant as to think that defense alone could make them invincible and fearless. The soldiers' condition was a major problem that had to be faced.

Fortunately, before the Liao army finished forming up and making their final assault preparations, the Han camps, in their urgency, gnawed on dry rations and drank cold water, doing their best to replenish their strength. As for answering nature's call—they could only hold it in, and if they couldn't, they'd just have to let it go in their trousers.

In fact, once the Liao army launched its attack, the fiercely contested battlefield stank to high heaven.