Chapter 909: The Great Battle at Nankou 9

On the Liao side, the commanders had made their basic judgments and resolutions and acted upon them, yet it was as if something were lodged in their throats, hearts hanging like boulders, unable to be released. They could not sleep at all, nor had they any mind for it. Yelu Wuzhi personally led men on night patrols, hoping to ease the worries in his breast.

At this time, the battlefield layout at Nankou was like a bronze coin—square within, round without. Several tens of thousands of remnant Han troops huddled in stubborn defense, while over a hundred thousand Liao troops surrounded them in layer upon layer. Though it was in a state of equilibrium, the stockades bristled, blades bared, the atmosphere grim and murderous.

Yelu Wuzhi patrolled the entire camp, dealing with violations and rectifying disorder, when suddenly killing cries erupted from the east and figures surged. He hurriedly sent men to investigate while he himself followed behind. A report soon came back: "Great King, Han cavalry are raiding the camp from the east!"

Hearing this, Yelu Wuzhi's tightly knit brows furrowed even deeper: "How many men?!"

The officer said: "No more than two or three hundred!"

The doubt in Yelu Wuzhi's heart eased somewhat—if it were merely a small band of enemy cavalry circling around to raid, that would explain why Yelu Sha had failed to keep watch over them. Then his face turned cold and fierce as he issued stern orders: "How brazen these Han troops are, daring to attack us with such a paltry force! Order the various units at the eastern stockade to strictly restrain their men, permit no disorder, and remain alert against a sortie from the Han army at Nankou. You must surround and annihilate this audacious band of Han cavalry to the last man!"

"Yes!"

By the time Yelu Wuzhi reached the eastern camp, the killing cries had already subsided and the Liao army's minor confusion had been brought under control. But the rhythm of rest had clearly been disrupted—over twenty thousand troops all forced themselves to stay alert, vigilant for battle, and the disturbance even spread to the other three sides.

As for the two hundred Han cavalry who had launched the raid, they suffered heavy casualties under the Liao army's encirclement and slaughter. Fortunately, they had gained the advantage of surprise, and being a small force making a desperate dash, they still managed to reach the Han army's eastern camp, where the defending commander Dong Zunhui arranged men to receive them, thus preserving their lives. Before the camp, another bout of attack and defense erupted, and only after the Han troops loosed a volley that killed and wounded over a hundred did the Liao army voluntarily give up.

An enemy camp was not so easily stormed—only the outer stockades at Nankou had been severely damaged. Dang Jin had managed to survive, but he had gained four more battle wounds on his body, and fewer than thirty soldiers had lived to be brought into the central stockade with him.

Dong Zunhui had always admired brave warriors. Though it was dark night, he had glimpsed Dang Jin's fierce bearing on horseback and personally came out to greet him, praising him greatly. Dang Jin carried a mission on his shoulders and could not spare much thought for formalities. He directly stated his identity: "I am Dang Jin, Commander of the Dragon Swift Army, sent here by order of His Majesty. Where is the Prince of Chenliu? I have important matters to report!"

Looking at Dang Jin, Dong Zunhui pointed at the wounds on his body: "The Prince of Chenliu is at the central army. General, your wounds are not light—would it not be better to tend to them first?"

At this moment, Dang Jin was like a gourd soaked in blood, drenched all over with gore—some from the enemy, some his own. To this, Dang Jin shook his head: "The military intelligence is of grave importance; I dare not delay. Once I have reported to the Prince of Chenliu, I will make other arrangements!"

Seeing his insistence, Dong Zunhui immediately ordered a junior officer under his command to escort Dang Jin to see An Shenqi. He did not rashly press for details on what grave intelligence it was, but from Dang Jin's coming and his tone, he could guess it was good news.

Outside the eastern camp, Yelu Wuzhi was greatly dissatisfied with the results of the interception, but he did not overly reproach his officers. More than blame, he was concerned with the intent behind this small band of Han cavalry—what was their purpose?

This autumn night was destined not to be peaceful! After arranging for heightened vigilance and defense, Yelu Wuzhi found Yelu Cong, and the two conferred once more. Then news came from the south again—the Han army had sent several detachments of light cavalry to attack, raiding in turns, allowing no peace.

At the Han army's successive proactive raids and harassment, both Yelu Wuzhi and his companion sensed something unusual—a suffocating pressure like the calm before a mountain storm. Though the Han army's movements were not large and seemed ordinary, the signals they released were unsettling to the heart.

At this time, the Liao army was already anxious over the stubborn Nankou stockade that refused to fall, so naturally they could not help but overthink things now.

"On Yelu Sha's front, the Han army's harassment must be meant to weary our forces. The Han cavalry that just stormed our main camp was likely to make contact with the Han army at Nankou—to reassure their hearts and strengthen their will to resist!" Yelu Wuzhi laid out his analysis.

"What the Great King of the Northern Division says is most true!" Yelu Cong expressed his agreement, then asked: "What should we do?!"

Yelu Wuzhi fell silent, momentarily without words. After a long while he raised his head and said with certainty: "This campaign has already inflicted heavy wounds upon the Han army at Nankou. To fail to achieve complete victory is regrettable, but for the safety of the great army, we cannot remain stubbornly fixated here. Now the troops are weary, and Han reinforcements have arrived—there is truly no need to drag this out any longer. I believe we must consider the matter of withdrawing the army!"

Hearing this, Yelu Cong said: "Given the current situation, even if we choose to retreat, the Han army will not let us leave easily!"

Seeing that Yelu Cong still had reservations, Yelu Wuzhi immediately said: "The longer we drag this out, the more disadvantageous it becomes for our army! We cannot know how many Han reinforcements there are—if they mass their forces, the situation will be even more perilous!"

At this moment, Yelu Cong was full of exhaustion. Looking at Yelu Wuzhi, his tone weakened somewhat: "I wonder what His Majesty's opinion is on this matter?"

Yelu Cong's words reminded Yelu Wuzhi—the two of them led the great army on campaign and had the authority to make decisions on the spot, but the true commander-in-chief was still the Liao Emperor. Earlier, they had already sent men riding at full speed to report to Yelu Jing and request his opinion.

They did not have to wait long. Around the second ke of the yin hour, an envoy from the Liao Emperor Yelu Jing arrived, hurrying to the commander's tent with two pieces of news. First, Yelu Jing had personally led troops to Juyong Pass. Second, he had ordered the army to withdraw.

At this, Yelu Cong's expression relaxed slightly, while Yelu Wuzhi hurriedly asked for the reasons. The envoy replied in a grave tone that Xiao Siwen, the Southern Commissioner of Military Affairs, had been defeated at Tanzhou and fled to Ruzhou, and the hundred-thousand-plus Han troops at Tanzhou might move west at any time to support the fighting at Nankou.

Upon receiving this news, Yelu Wuzhi and the other could no longer sit still. There was no need for any other considerations—they quickly reached a consensus to obey the order and withdraw. But since ancient times, retreating in war has been harder than advancing, and all the more so for an army of over a hundred thousand.

Time was also pressing. It could almost be predicted that the Han army at Changping, having harassed them before, would certainly launch a proactive attack at dawn to delay and bog down the great army. And the Han cavalry that had broken into the Nankou Han stockade were clearly also meant to make contact with An Shenqi and relay this news. The intent behind the Han army's actions was now clear.

Having reasoned all this out, the sense of urgency in Yelu Wuzhi and Yelu Cong grew even stronger. It was already the hour of dawn—even though the sky brightened somewhat later in late autumn, the time available to them for withdrawal preparations was no longer much.

Immediately, Yelu Wuzhi and Yelu Cong summoned the commanders of the various units at Nankou, directly announced the news of the withdrawal, arranged the order of retreat, and stated that the Emperor had personally led troops to receive them. The Liao forces on all four sides were to prepare in secret—minimal noise, maximum speed.

The key to a withdrawal lay in ensuring the rear route remained clear. The Liao troops north of the Han stockade were arranged to be in the last wave, with the withdrawal beginning from the south first. At the same time, units were drawn from the armies on three sides, with the Left Pishi Army as the core, to organize a powerful mobile force ready to respond to any sudden developments at any time. Yelu Sha's army to the south was also urgently sent word, told to put on the appearance of being unable to withstand harassment and march north.

Soon, from north to south, from top to bottom, the entire Liao army was in motion. But with over a hundred thousand men moving at once, even following orders and being as careful as possible, the commotion they created was still enormous.

The first to become alert was the Han army at Nankou. At first they thought the Liao were about to attack again, but they quickly realized—the Liao army was trying to withdraw. Having learned from Dang Jin's mouth the overall situation of the Han-Liao engagement at Nankou, An Shenqi and the various generals now had ample confidence.

Upon detecting the Liao army's intent to withdraw, An Shenqi's first thought was that the Liao had also received word of the outcome at Tanzhou. Considering the Emperor's mission to delay and pin down the Liao army, An Shenqi could not help but feel troubled—it seemed no easy task, especially with the Liao army making the first move.

An Shenqi did not dare directly order a sortie. The Han army at Nankou was in truly poor condition at present; a rash attack could easily create holes in their own defense and give the Liao army an opening. When the Tanzhou army would arrive was still a question. Of the three Han armies, his remnant force was the most endangered—and the one that most needed to act with caution.

But watching the Liao army calmly prepare their withdrawal was not something An Shenqi could tolerate. After a moment's deliberation, An Shenqi made three decisions.

First, he had the news of the Son of Heaven personally leading troops to the rescue and the great victory at Tanzhou fully announced to all ranks to further boost morale. Indeed, the effect was excellent—the troops were overjoyed, and though exhausted, their spirits were roused. He also had the entire army shout killing cries at full volume to intimidate the Liao forces, while war drums thundered within the stockade.

Second, he ordered each unit to select dare-to-die warriors who, combined with the mere thousand-plus cavalry remaining in the camp, would be split into several detachments to charge and harass the Liao forces on all four sides, refusing them any chance of an orderly retreat.

Third, he continued to strengthen defenses while selecting from each unit the elite soldiers still fit for combat, having them drink water and eat food to replenish their strength, prepared to launch a sudden assault at the critical moment—numbering seven thousand in all.

An Shenqi's emergency responses naturally had an impact on the Liao army. The blazing cheers and killing cries threw the outer Liao troops into a fluster, and quite a few officers instinctively led their men to prepare for battle on the spot.

Though the Han army's thunder was loud and the rain small, they still disrupted the Liao army's withdrawal arrangements. Combined with the dim visibility of dawn, the confusion they caused was even greater. To this, Yelu Wuzhi and Yelu Cong immediately split up to suppress the disorder and soothe the troops' morale.

At the same time, the Han army's movements proved they had seen through the Liao's intent to withdraw, so the Liao no longer bothered to conceal it and directly ordered the withdrawal accelerated. For a time, the Han army's drums and shouts seemed to be seeing the Liao army off, and gradually, the Liao troops grew accustomed to it.

Under these circumstances, An Shenqi seized his opportunity and gave the order—the dare-to-die warriors all charged out at once, launching desperate assaults on the Liao forces on all four sides. The sudden attack achieved the element of surprise and once again threw the Liao army into chaos.

The Liao army had no choice but to adjust, throwing their full strength into slaughtering these troublesome Han troops. Because the forces sent out were not numerous, they could not hold out long under the Liao army's attacks and were gradually driven back in defeat.

An Shenqi was not surprised. He ordered them to rest and then sent out more brave warriors. And so it went—each time several hundred men sallied out on each side, retreating upon defeat, a shameless tactic that nonetheless proved quite effective. Like a few pebbles, they stirred ripples across the great lake of the Liao army.

Of course, relying on such tactics alone could achieve some effect, but not decisive results. The Liao army's withdrawal proceeded under the command of Yelu Wuzhi and Yelu Cong nonetheless. But An Shenqi's actions still consumed much of their energy and delayed them considerably.

In truth, both sides were racing against time.

While the two sides at Nankou dueled in wit and strength, at Changping, upon receiving Yelu Wuzhi's military orders, Yelu Sha did not hesitate. Already on full alert from the Han army's harassment, he immediately ordered the army to withdraw north.

Yelu Sha's army's movements quickly drew the attention of the Han army at Changping, which made its judgment and decision in an extremely short time. All cavalry was concentrated—adding the five thousand troops who had been harassing, over twenty thousand riders all sallied forth in pursuit of Yelu Sha's army.

After them, Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin led the remaining forty-some thousand infantry who had rested, following behind as they marched out of the city northward to attack. Liu Chengyou was quite well-behaved this time, having no intention of personally going to the battlefield to cause trouble for his soldiers. He only said solemnly to Chai and Zhao: "I shall stand atop the city wall gazing north, hoping my soldiers achieve merit and sound the triumphant song."

Before dawn, when the light of morning was about to come but had not yet arrived, in the dim twilight, the Han and Liao forces once again engaged in their contest of strength. The Liao army withdrew without falling into disorder; the Han army pursued without letting go. Each had their own objectives, neither willing to compromise—this was a great battle, a trial of strength, between three hundred thousand men.