Chapter 907: The Great Battle of Nankou 7

As the night deepened, Yelu Sagei also withdrew on orders, quickly disengaging from contact with Gao Huaide's forces and falling back to Nankou to reinforce the siege against An Shenqi and shore up defenses. With another pitch-black night and a large Han army relief force arriving, splitting forces out in the field was not a good choice under such circumstances.

Gao Huaide, who had been under immense pressure while entangled with the Left Pishi Army, also felt a measure of relief. He made no mention whatsoever of pursuit, instead leading the remaining seventeen thousand-plus imperial cavalry toward Changping. Of the twenty-three thousand riders who had set out, aside from the thousand given to Dang Jin and those killed in battle, the rest were tribal cavalry who had been routed and scattered in all directions. Of these, fewer than two thousand regrouped and found Guo Chongwei...

On the Liao army's side, excluding casualties, roughly one hundred sixty thousand troops remained, with one hundred twenty thousand besieging Nankou. From the start of the sortie, the Liao soldiers had labored a full day and night, so they all took the opportunity to rest, some even indulging themselves.

Because before the great battle began, no one had anticipated the fight would reach this point, the Liao army's strategic and tactical preparations were ample, but there were still shortcomings—such as supplies like felt tents for camp lodging.

Fortunately, there was still a portion of captured goods, as well as a few well-preserved Han camps that could be used for shelter. Even so, many Liao soldiers could only rest on the bare ground, sleeping by campfires with their weapons as pillows.

But the deep autumn night cold was not easy to endure. To ward off the chill, stripping armor and clothing from corpses was a commonplace occurrence. In fact, the Liao army's deployment at Nankou was actually quite precarious.

The central stockade still held nearly fifty thousand Han troops, though it was hard to say how many were fit to fight. Although surrounded on all sides and with defenses prepared against the surroundings, if the enemy concentrated elite troops and struck one face, it would be difficult to hold.

Yelu Sha's army, which had advanced south to Changping, played a crucial protective role in this regard. The Liao commander-in-chief also had scarcely a moment's rest, and upon learning that another Han relief force had arrived at Changping, he was somewhat startled.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Yelu Cong stood in the tent, pacing restlessly with an anxious expression, looking at Yelu Wuzhi and saying: "Given the Han army's strength near Youzhou, it is absolutely impossible for them to mobilize over one hundred thousand troops to come to the rescue in such a short time!"

Taking a deep breath, Yelu Cong said: "I have carefully investigated and calculated. Excluding the eastern route forces, various local garrisons, and transport troops and civilians, the total military and civilian manpower the Han court at Youzhou can mobilize is only around three hundred thousand, at most no more than three hundred fifty thousand.

Now, Tanzhou is tying down over one hundred thousand of them, one hundred thousand are trapped at Nankou, and in a single day, over one hundred thousand infantry and cavalry have come as reinforcements. Is the Han army at Youzhou not defending it anymore? Do they no longer need to protect their Emperor?

There must be deception in this Han relief force!"

By the end, Yelu Cong's tone had become utterly certain. Yelu Wuzhi also expressed agreement with his judgment, saying gravely: "The Han cavalry that came from Niulan Mountain was just a bluff to show strength. These two waves of reinforcements before and after are likely employing the same tactic, to confuse and intimidate our army!"

"The reinforcements entering Changping are fake?" Yelu Cong said.

Yelu Wuzhi shook his head and replied: "I suspect it's one false and one real. Based on Yelu Sha's report, if my judgment is correct, the former is false and the latter is real. Regardless, several tens of thousands of Han reinforcements have indeed arrived!"

"Even adding up those tens of thousands, we still hold the numerical advantage!" Yelu Cong said.

Looking at Yelu Cong, Yelu Wuzhi sighed: "That may be so, but after nearly a full day and night of fierce fighting, our soldiers have suffered heavy casualties, and most are weary troops. The Han army at Nankou still holds its stockade and defends stubbornly, difficult to take quickly. And the Han army watches from the south, drawn but not yet loosed, truly forming a pincer threat against us. Although the situation remains within our control, the momentum of battle has already tilted toward the Han army..."

"I cannot agree with the Great King of the Northern Division on this!" Though he accepted some of the reasoning, Yelu Cong did not concur with Yelu Wuzhi's analysis of the battle situation, saying: "The Han army marched a hundred li to come to the rescue, so they are equally exhausted—otherwise why would they stop to rest at Changping? And the Han cavalry, after being struck by the Left Pishi Army, was nearly routed. The facts prove that we still hold the advantage over the Han army.

The remnants of the Han army at Nankou are at the end of their rope. Even with support from reinforcements, they are short on troops and low on supplies, and cannot hold out much longer. As long as we can break Nankou, this battle is ours!"

Yelu Cong's thinking was sound, and his analysis was based on military intelligence and the battle situation, but here was the problem: could they actually break the Han army at Nankou? And would the reinforcements at Changping just watch idly as they annihilated An Shenqi's force?

"Right now, what I worry about is not this Han army at Changping, but other relief forces. Given the Han army's strength, it is entirely possible for them to continue dispatching troops. The nearest is the Tanzhou force—with the Han army's decisiveness, they could arrive by tomorrow. The Southern Bureau will likely find it difficult to contain them! If Han reinforcements keep pouring in and gather here, our army may fall into grave danger!" Yelu Wuzhi voiced his concern.

Hearing this, Yelu Cong couldn't help saying: "This must have been proposed by Yelu Xiezhen!"

Yelu Wuzhi sighed: "This is something we cannot afford not to consider!"

At these words, Yelu Cong's face also twisted up, his anxiety plain to see. After a long moment, Yelu Cong looked at Yelu Wuzhi: "The Great King of the Northern Division is a pillar of the state, always able to decide great matters. What does the Great King think we should decide at this time?"

Seeing Yelu Cong kick the ball to him, Yelu Wuzhi pondered for a while, then said seriously: "Time favors the enemy, not us. The time left to us is short. Prolonged stalemate will surely bring loss—we cannot let this war drag on any longer. Otherwise, the Han army's strength will keep growing while we run out of steam!"

As he spoke, Yelu Wuzhi met Yelu Cong's eyes: "For now, we must either choose night combat—continue the fierce assault before further Han reinforcements arrive, striving to break Nankou—or... withdraw!"

At the word "withdraw," Yelu Cong immediately grew agitated, saying: "For this sortie, we assembled two hundred thousand troops for a surprise attack on Nankou. If we retreat out of fear of the enemy and cowardice in battle, how do we answer to His Majesty and the nation? Moreover, our soldiers have fought bitterly for a full day, with casualties so terrible. When victory is within sight, to abandon it now will surely wound morale and grieve the army's heart. How can the soldiers be willing?"

Hearing Yelu Cong's words, the one most unwilling was probably himself—after all, he was the one who had strongly advocated the sortie. If it failed, even returning without merit, the primary responsibility would fall on him.

After thinking it over, Yelu Cong said: "The soldiers have already rested for some time. Let Yelu Sha keep watch on the Han reinforcements, and we will supervise the various armies to continue attacking the Han force. I refuse to believe that after their blood cools, they can hold out much longer! Perhaps launching an attack now can still achieve the effect of surprise and accomplish the feat in one stroke—it's not impossible!"

Hearing this, Yelu Wuzhi's brows knitted deeply. How could everything rely on gambling? He immediately said: "Since we chose to halt and rest earlier, before a single night has passed, driving the soldiers to attack again will surely breed resentment, and their fighting spirit will not be high!"

Yelu Cong couldn't help pacing again, his steps quickening considerably. Gritting his teeth, he said: "Then let's rest for one night. At dawn, we'll feed the soldiers well and then attack the stockade again. The Tanzhou reinforcements may not come, and even if they do, we may not lack the strength for a fight!"

Seeing Yelu Cong behave this way, Yelu Wuzhi was thoroughly enraged. He stood up and cursed: "We are not gamblers! Matters of state and military are not to be treated so lightly and carelessly. Now that the situation is growing unfavorable, we should adapt to circumstances and act accordingly—how can we be so headstrong? His Majesty entrusted two hundred thousand men to us, and most of the realm's elite are gathered here. If we suffer a great wound, do you not know what severe consequences that would bring?"

Stunned by this rebuke, Yelu Cong calmed down. Looking at Yelu Wuzhi's stern and imposing face, he hesitated for a moment: "Great King, the situation has not yet reached such a dire and critical point. If we retreat rashly, all our previous efforts will be wasted—a great pity. Why not wait a little longer? The two of us will urgently report the current situation and battle conditions to His Majesty and await his decision!"

At Yelu Cong's words, Yelu Wuzhi thought it over and said: "Let it be so for now!"

Although Yelu Wuzhi no longer held much hope for the prospects of this battle, he too was reluctant to retreat directly—how could there be no expectation in his heart? In a single day of assault, defense, and blocking operations, they had suffered nearly forty thousand casualties. Under the Han army's tenacious resistance and counterattacks, over twenty thousand had died directly on the field. This toll was truly too heavy for the Liao army.

In fact, with the two Han relief forces arriving at Changping, the operational situation between Han and Liao at Nankou had become interesting. One hundred twenty thousand Liao troops besieged fewer than fifty thousand Han remnants in the central stockade at Nankou, while the combined forces at Changping—over eighty thousand men—dealt with Yelu Sha's forty thousand Liao troops.

For the Liao army to win, they needed to break the Han army at Nankou while holding off the Han reinforcements. For the Han army to rescue their comrades, they needed to break through Yelu Sha's containment and blockade.

Between the two sides, a balance had in fact formed. To break this balance, one either had to exert force from within, or rely on an external force arriving.

Just as the Liao commander-in-chief found advance and retreat both difficult, shortly after midnight, after riding for about two hours, Emperor Liu Chengyou of Han galloped through the night to reach Changping. Learning in advance that the Emperor was personally coming to the front, the commanders at Changping were astonished. Gao Huaide hastily assembled three thousand imperial cavalry and rode south to receive him, only relaxing once Liu Chengyou had been escorted safely into the city.

As for the Emperor's arrival, the commanders at the front had mixed feelings and felt even more pressure. Guo Rong met Liu Chengyou with an exceptionally grave expression: "Why must Your Majesty personally come to the front lines?"