Chapter 910: The Battle Ends Here

Yelu Sha's retreat was not slow, and all his troops were cavalry with strong mobility, but as soon as he moved, the five Han cavalry units that had been harassing him refused to let him go. Especially the veteran general Guo Chongwei, who had participated in the imperial council meeting at Changping and knew the strategic picture—the Liao army's withdrawal maneuver failed to deceive anyone, and was seen through by him directly.

Therefore, while sending men back to report the Liao army's retreat intentions and request troops to attack, Guo Chongwei did not hesitate either—he led his cavalry, turning harassment into pursuit. The other generals, such as Liu Guangyi, Cui Han, Tian Renlang, and Tian Zhongjin, were all outstanding commanders of the Han army, and seeing this, they too changed their tactics and led their men in pursuit.

The five Han cavalry units were like five hungry wolves, biting at Yelu Sha's tail and causing him great trouble in his retreat. In a head-on confrontation, these Han cavalry would absolutely not be a match for Yelu Sha's force, whose main strength was the Right Pishi Army—they might even be easily defeated.

However, constrained by the reality of the situation, Yelu Sha was single-mindedly determined to obey military orders and retreat, which gave Guo Chongwei and the others an opening to exploit, greatly slowing him down. Unable to bear the biting any longer, Yelu Sha simply split off a portion of his force to block the Han cavalry's pursuit, while he himself led the main body north.

To this, Guo Chongwei and the other generals would hardly let him succeed so easily. They decisively concentrated their forces, forcibly broke through the Liao rearguard, and circled around to charge straight at Yelu Sha's main force. Of course, this process cost them dearly, with heavy casualties, and when they finally caught up with Yelu Sha again, it was another round of relentless, tangled combat.

Yelu Sha had a temper too. He was furious at the Han army's brazen harassment, so he simply wheeled his horse around, concentrated his forces, and wanted to completely cripple and rout Guo Chongwei's several thousand troops.

Yelu Sha also understood that these several thousand Han cavalry were so frantically entangled precisely to buy time for the remaining infantry and cavalry at Changping to pursue. Therefore, he had no intention of completely annihilating Guo Chongwei and the others—that was unrealistic. He only wanted to inflict heavy damage and strip them of their ability to keep harassing him.

But this way, the pressure on Guo Chongwei and the others became immense. Although they still had over four thousand men, they had expended enormous energy in the earlier rounds of harassment, and after continuous pursuit and bitter fighting, they now faced the Liao army's powerful strikes.

Thus, under the heavy blows of Yelu Sha's army, they nearly collapsed. However, Guo Chongwei and the others' will to fight remained firm, and they forcibly endured enormous casualties while battling the Liao army.

In fact, Yelu Sha's goal was achieved. In this kind of head-on confrontation, the Liao cavalry had more numbers and greater combat power. Although Guo Chongwei and the other generals had strong wills, they could not make up for the absolute disparity in strength. So after fierce fighting for only a short while, they were routed by Yelu Sha's forces, with heavy casualties.

Likewise, Guo Chongwei's goal was also achieved—he had forcibly delayed Yelu Sha's retreat, preventing him from easily fleeing north to link up with the main Liao force at Nankou.

Because Gao Huaide had organized his troops and set out quickly, by the time Yelu Sha routed Guo Chongwei and the others, before he could even regroup, a large body of Han cavalry was already closing in. To this, Yelu Sha had no choice but to continue fighting.

Dawn was just breaking, frost and wind heavy, and a battle of iron horses and golden spears unfolded on the plains south of Yan. The Liao cavalry were numerous, but their intent was to retreat, and they were weary from prolonged fighting. The Han cavalry were fewer, but better rested, and their intent was to entangle and pin down.

Earlier, Gao Huaide had crossed swords with Yelu Sagei, and now he was fighting Yelu Sha. Through this test, he discovered that this Liao general was no easy opponent either—extremely rich in combat experience and tactical acumen.

Although he wanted to retreat, he did not simply flee north in one direction, for that would only invite wanton attacks from the Han army. Relying on his numerical superiority, he split the Liao army into two parts—one to tangle with the Han cavalry, while he personally led the Pishi Army to harass and attack from the flank.

Gao Huaide had little recourse against this and could only split his forces to resist, but this gave Yelu Sha opportunities. He beat back the Han army several times in succession, yet they were defeated but not routed.

The Han army's intent remained to pin down the enemy, waiting for Chai and Zhao's main force to arrive from the north. Yelu Sha understood this as well, so whenever he defeated the Han cavalry, he immediately led his troops north in retreat.

Gao Huaide was not discouraged either. He adjusted quickly, swiftly regrouping his troops and giving chase once more. Between the two sides' tens of thousands of iron cavalry, in this roaming combat and cyclical entanglement, the battlefield kept shifting toward the northeast.

By the time Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin led the main army along the trail of battle and caught up, dawn had already broken. The two sides were already locked in fierce combat beside a maple grove about five li southeast of Nankou. After getting close to the Liao army at Nankou, Yelu Sha seemed to gain confidence. Under Gao Huaide's relentless pursuit, his ferocity grew even stronger, and he simply threw off all restraint, battling Gao Huaide while firmly holding the upper hand.

After Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin arrived with their troops and surveyed the battlefield situation, they did not hesitate much and directly led their forces into the fight. Over forty thousand Han troops were divided into two massive formations, with Chai and Zhao each leading one.

Zhao Kuangyin led his men to press Yelu Sha's army, rescuing Gao Huaide from his predicament. When the Han army fought with combined infantry-cavalry coordination, Yelu Sha quickly fell into bitter struggle. After all, he could not command every Liao soldier like an extension of his own arm, and under the Han army's oppressive assault, he gradually became overwhelmed. Although the Pishi Army was elite and inflicted no small casualties on the Han army, they were ultimately not invincible—smashing head-on against the Han army's strong soldiers and fierce generals, they too came away bloodied.

The Liao army gradually fell into a disadvantage. In the fierce exchange, some tribal cavalry began to scatter. Had Yelu Sha not been holding things together with the Pishi Army's hard support, they might have collapsed into a full rout.

A messenger requesting reinforcements rushed to Nankou and reported to Yelu Wuzhi.

Over at Nankou, they had not been idle either. The Liao army's withdrawal had already progressed to a certain point—the wounded and sick were being transferred first, retreating toward Juyong Pass, while nearly twenty thousand Liao troops on the southern side had already circled around to the north and begun passing through the mountain pass.

The Liao forces on the eastern and western sides had also shaken off the harassment of the small Han units at Nankou, successfully withdrawing to the north to assemble and form ranks. Under these circumstances, An Shenqi finally made his move. Han Chongyun, Chief Inspector of the Fengguo Army, led seven thousand picked elite troops in a direct assault on the Liao army, while An Shenqi and the other generals led the remaining forces in a tight formation, advancing slowly and steadily in support.

Although the Han troops at Nankou were a weary force, they still numbered forty to fifty thousand. With so many Han soldiers, even at the end of their strength, under intense psychological stimulation, the energy they could unleash was not to be underestimated—the Liao army could not afford to take them lightly.

The Liao army had anticipated this as well, forming ranks to the north precisely to guard against a Han sortie. It was fate, really—the previous day and night, they had attacked with reckless disregard for casualties yet could never break through the Han camp to annihilate them. Now the Han army was taking the initiative to attack, but the Liao army had little desire to swallow them up, instead finding them merely troublesome.

The great battle between the two sides finally erupted at Nankou.

Upon receiving Yelu Sha's request for reinforcements, Yelu Cong could not help but say: "I admonished Yelu Sha several times to withdraw and not tangle with the Han army. Why is he still fighting to the death with them, falling into this perilous situation?"

Compared to Yelu Cong's reproach, Yelu Wuzhi was more fair-minded. He sighed and said: "It must be that the Han army pursued relentlessly, and Yelu Sha had no choice but to give battle! Yelu Sha's forty thousand troops cannot be lost, and the Right Pishi Army must be rescued!"

"Send Yelu Sagei to break the siege!" said Yelu Wuzhi.

Yelu Cong also agreed. In their view, any other army or unit could suffer heavy casualties or even be wiped out—only the Pishi Army could not. This was not merely a matter of face; the Pishi Army was the most solid force by which the Liao emperor ruled the realm and suppressed the various tribes and prefectures. If it suffered a great loss, it would inevitably cause upheaval.

Earlier, the forty thousand mobile troops Yelu Wuzhi had concentrated were precisely for this purpose. Upon receiving the order, Yelu Sagei swiftly led his troops southeast to rescue Yelu Sha.

Even with Guo Rong, Zhao Kuangyin, and Gao Huaide holding the line and the Han soldiers fighting with all their might, against these forty thousand Liao troops arriving, and with the Liao army single-mindedly intent on retreat, it was still difficult to stop them. They could only gather their forces and give chase.

In the end, the battlefield shifted entirely to Nankou, where over a hundred thousand men on each side clashed in bitter battle. The Liao army held the mountain pass, resisting on one side while withdrawing on the other. The Han army split into several units—though each fought independently, their objective was clear: to cling on stubbornly, making the Liao army afraid to strike and unable to leave. Of course, the Han army's main fighting strength was still the various forces from Changping. An Shenqi's army was sizable in numbers but lacked sufficient strength, though it still played a certain role in pinning down the enemy.

Having to fend off the attacks of over a hundred thousand Han troops while also withdrawing smoothly was an almost unsolvable problem. Retreating too hastily would trigger a massive rout; lingering too long, if Murong Yanzhao's main army arrived, would also mean certain defeat.

The only thing to be thankful for was that their rear route was not cut off. As time passed and the autumn sun climbed higher, anxiety gradually filled the hearts of the Liao commanders.

By the si hour, the Liao troops still fighting the Han army at Nankou numbered over a hundred thousand, and most were elite. But these men were completely entangled by the Han army and dared not retreat lightly.

"Great King, we cannot let the Han army keep us entangled like this. We must break the deadlock, or once the Han army from Tanzhou arrives, the entire army will be in peril." Yelu Cong said to Yelu Wuzhi.

"What do you have in mind?" Yelu Wuzhi looked at him.

Yelu Cong pointed at An Shenqi's army on the Han left flank and said directly: "I will lead twenty thousand troops to launch a surprise attack on the Han army at Nankou and rout them head-on. The Han army's formation will surely waver. At that point, Great King can seize the opportunity to gradually retreat toward Juyong Pass!"

From Yelu Cong's eyes and tone, Yelu Wuzhi sensed a kind of finality—he was about to make a move of cutting off one's own arm to save the body.

Noticing Yelu Wuzhi's expression, Yelu Cong said with melancholy: "This sortie was my plan, and it failed to succeed—truly, my command in battle was inadequate. Now that I have placed the great army in peril, it is also my fault for negligence. I am ashamed before the three armies, and have no face to return and see His Majesty and the people. I can only fight to win a favorable opportunity for the Great King to retreat, and I hope the Great King can preserve more of the Great Liao's strength!"

Yelu Cong's words moved Yelu Wuzhi deeply. He said no more, only clasped his fists and replied solemnly: "I dare not fail to exert my utmost!"

Soon, Yelu Cong ordered his great banner raised, took the Iron Falcon Army as the vanguard, gathered twenty thousand troops, and launched a counterattack against An Shenqi's army. On An Shenqi's side, knowing exactly how much his own troops were worth and already stretched beyond their limits, he fought cleverly—only seeking to entangle and pin down.

But when faced with Yelu Cong personally leading a nearly suicidal assault, although they responded actively and resisted hard, they were still overwhelmed. This could not be blamed on the incompetence of the Han troops at Nankou—by this point in the fighting, they could no longer be faulted for anything.

Although the Han troops at Nankou were broken, the Han generals refused to give up, each gathering scattered soldiers and still wanting to fight. As for Chai, Zhao, and Gao on the other side, after An Shenqi was defeated, they unanimously chose to ignore it, instead leading their men to fix their gaze on the main Liao force before Nankou, wanting to nail them down.

On Yelu Cong's side, seeing that he could not draw the other Han forces, he decisively made his choice—splitting his troops in two: one part continued pursuing An Shenqi's army, while the other he personally led to strike at Chai and Zhao's flank and rear.

At this point, they could no longer ignore it. With Yelu Cong's coordination, Yelu Wuzhi finally found his opportunity and arranged for men to withdraw. Throughout the entire retreat, Yelu Wuzhi remained at the very front of the rearguard, personally directing the fighting.

As the Liao army continuously withdrew into the mountain pass, the Han army grew anxious and shifted accordingly—Gao Huaide led his troops to deal with the mad-dog-like Yelu Cong, while Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin led their men, clinging tightly to Yelu Wuzhi.

They entangled and pursued all the way, refusing to let the Liao army retreat. In this process, Yelu Wuzhi continuously arranged and deployed troops to block, buying time for the withdrawal. Although five waves of rearguard forces were successively routed, the retreat actually became more composed.

From Nankou to beneath the walls of Juyong Pass, the corpses of both Han and Liao soldiers nearly filled the road, stained red with blood. In the end, at tremendous cost, Yelu Wuzhi still managed to lead his troops back within the pass. Zhao Kuangyin wanted to lead his men to seize the opportunity to attack the pass, but the Liao army had long prepared their defenses, and the attempt failed.

When the main army from Tanzhou arrived at Nankou, Chai and Zhao's Han army had already pursued deep into the valley road. It was still a cavalry force—by the time the main force arrived, only Yelu Cong's Liao troops remained at Nankou.

Against them, the furious Han army charged like a pack of wolves and annihilated them. Yelu Cong died in battle, and the Liao troops who followed him, some five thousand or so remaining, surrendered.

The great battle at Nankou, thus, came to an end.