Chapter 933: Yang Ye Still Ahead

Shi Yanchao's sacrifice was not in vain—Kang Zaiyu ultimately managed to lead the remnant troops and successfully escape southward. On the Liao army's side, though they had won victory, after such a bitter night battle, they were utterly exhausted and had suffered no small casualties. Thus they did not pursue deeply but withdrew their troops and returned to camp to rest.

The Han army was already at the point of utter exhaustion, their spirit and strength drained to the bottom. Were it not for the drive of survival instinct, they likely would not have even bothered to flee. It was Kang Zaiyu who, perceiving the Liao army's situation, promptly halted, gathered the soldiers, and organized an orderly retreat, lest the Great Han's elite cavalry completely dissolve into scattered stragglers.

They retreated all the way to Changcheng Pass before they could catch their breath in the darkness. Even so, to reduce attention and avoid attracting possible Liao pursuers, they dared not even light a fire. A quick count showed that fewer than a thousand riders had successfully fled south with Kang Zaiyu, most of them wounded.

During this brief rest, several officers and men fell from their horses—simply too exhausted, never to rise again. The rest, beyond a moment of panic, were all drowsy and half-asleep.

Seeing this wretched state, Kang Zaiyu could not help but lament inwardly: since the northern expedition began, had any Han army ever been so miserable as this? At the same time, he silently cursed Shi Yanchao—you went off to your death contentedly, but what face does he have leading these remnant troops back to camp?

Of course, no matter how much negative emotion he felt, he dared not show it in such circumstances. He had to do his utmost to soothe the soldiers and urge them to continue withdrawing south. Changcheng Pass was still too close to the Liao army; it was no place to linger. They must move quickly.

"General, look!" Just as they were about to set out, a low-ranking officer cried out in alarm.

Following the sound, they saw several flickering lights among the mountain paths to the south, bobbing up and down as they approached. The other Han riders were shaken at the sight, instinctively gripping their blades tighter.

"Could it be another Liao ambush?"

"Shut up! If it were a Liao ambush, they'd have attacked long ago! There aren't many of them—more like scouts!" Sensing the instability of morale, Kang Zaiyu barked out, quickly making his judgment, and ordered: "Everyone be on guard, prepare for battle! Listen well—whoever comes, if they dare block our path, follow me and kill!"

Kang Zaiyu's display effectively steadied the soldiers—at least they still had a pillar to lean on. But in the end, their tension was for nothing. Those coming from the north were none other than Yang Ye's army, following behind.

As for Yang Ye, he had departed only about an hour after Shi Yanchao, but by the time he caught up, the delay was far greater. Though Yang Ye was anxious inwardly, he forcibly controlled his emotions, unlike Shi Yanchao who had charged ahead recklessly. Though he increased his pace, he gave his soldiers and horses ample rest every hour. Even so, he had to travel a stretch of night road before finally reaching Jiaoshan Pass.

Yet still, he saw no sign of Shi Yanchao's army, and immediately judged that Shi Yanchao had marched through the night. Yang Ye could not quite understand—what confidence did Shi Yanchao have to dare march at night, crossing the Great Wall and climbing over mountain ridges?

Thus, Yang Ye's outlook on Shi Yanchao's situation grew even more pessimistic. On one hand, he sent scout riders north to investigate, hoping to make contact with Shi Yanchao's force; on the other, he temporarily rested at Jiaoshan Pass. But at that time, Shi Yanchao's army was already locked in a desperate breakout battle.

When Kang Zaiyu led the remnant troops to rendezvous with Yang Ye's army, even these battle-hardened veterans could not help showing the relief of survivors who had escaped death. As for Kang Zaiyu himself, his aged eyes nearly shed tears.

Yang Ye ordered a halt for rest on the spot. He sent men to scout, arranged defenses, and distributed rations and water to replenish the imperial cavalry who had fought through blood. He also had the army physicians and soldiers with basic medical knowledge help treat the wounded.

Yang Ye himself pulled Kang Zaiyu aside, helping tend his wounds while inquiring about Shi Yanchao and the battle situation. That they had been defeated was obvious; what Yang Ye wanted to know was the course of the battle and the Liao army's circumstances.

In truth, facing the inquiries of a young and vigorous general like Yang Ye, an old veteran like Kang Zaiyu felt rather uncomfortable, still mindful of his dignity. But a defeat was a defeat, and regarding military intelligence, he neither should nor dared conceal anything. Thus he recounted the entire sequence of events. However, he said little about Shi Yanchao's reckless advance—though he was the chief culprit, Kang Zaiyu had no intention of kicking a man when he was down.

"You fought the Liao troops fiercely for nearly two hours? The Liao sovereign was also in the rearguard army?" Yang Ye quickly analyzed the intelligence, asking in surprise.

"Had it not been for the Liao sovereign drawing attention, and their numbers being few, General Shi would not have been so rash in pursuit!" Perhaps aggravated by his wound, Kang Zaiyu gritted his teeth and replied: "However, the Liao army was clearly prepared for our pursuit, having set up an ambush in advance, which led to this defeat with heavy casualties!"

"A retreating army cannot be stopped!" Yang Ye sighed.

After thinking for a while, Yang Ye asked: "Do you know where the Liao army is stationed?"

"I don't know! But I imagine it's not far from the battlefield!" Kang Zaiyu replied, then noticing Yang Ye's peculiar expression, suddenly asked: "General Yang, you're not thinking of doing something, are you!"

Hearing this, Yang Ye shook his head, but it was clearly somewhat insincere: "I came north originally to support you. General Shi and the soldiers fell in battle, but having received you, it's time to retreat!"

After resting for about an hour, with no sign of Liao activity, the Han army at Changcheng Pass relaxed. The soldiers who had escaped death mostly slept in their armor, lying on the ground, snoring loudly.

As the commanding general, Yang Ye personally inspected the sentry arrangements until the scout riders returned. Yang Ye hurriedly asked: "What's the situation ahead?"

The several scout riders, skilled in their craft, immediately reported: "The ambush valley is in complete disarray, not a single Liao soldier remains. Corpses litter the ground, and armor and weapons have not yet been collected—perhaps because it was already dark and the Liao troops were exhausted from battle, planning to clean up in the daylight."

"Were you detected by the Liao army? Did you find the Liao camp?" Yang Ye asked again.

The scouts immediately replied: "Rest assured, General, we were careful to conceal our tracks. As for their camp, it lies in a mountainous area about five li north of the ambush valley. No palisade has been erected, only some felt tents, with carts and horses piled about, stretching far into the distance beyond sight. Perhaps because they had just won a victory, their defenses are not particularly tight. Outside the valley, there is another narrow path leading to the Liao encampment, though it is rugged and difficult to traverse..."

Hearing their description, Yang Ye showed a satisfied smile: "You've done well—to ascertain all this in such a short time over such complex terrain!"

"General, this subordinate had previously hidden and scouted along this route!" the scout officer replied with a grin.

"Do you still have the strength? Come with me for another trip!" Yang Ye asked.

"I will follow the General!" the officer replied without hesitation.

Thus, under the cover of thick night, Yang Ye personally headed north, climbing mountain ridges and traversing narrow gorges to secretly reconnoiter the Liao army's situation. After quietly sneaking about for quite some time, he returned to the Han army's position at Changcheng Pass—it was already the hour of the Ox.

The first thing upon returning, Yang Ye ordered the officers to be gathered together. Looking around, he said directly: "While you were all sound asleep, I personally went to scout the Liao camp. It's not far from here—a little over ten li away, reachable in an hour of forced march..."

The moment he said this, a junior officer immediately caught his meaning and asked: "General, you're not thinking of raiding the Liao camp, are you!"

"Exactly!" Yang Ye nodded without hesitation.

Those two resolute words instantly dispelled the officers' drowsiness. Amidst their stunned gazes, Yang Ye said: "I observed the Liao army's deployment—confined within the mountain ridges, riddled with flaws, stretching ten li with no way to coordinate head and tail. Moreover, after the previous encirclement battle, they are weary from marching and their vigilance has greatly diminished. They could anticipate one army pursuing them, but they would never expect that behind the pursuers, there are yet more pursuers—and that we, despite having suffered defeat, would still dare to march through the night and launch an attack."

"This is a battle opportunity—a chance bought with the lives of thousands of Great Han soldiers. We must not let it slip!" Yang Ye rallied his men passionately: "Moreover, the Liao sovereign is also in that army. If we can capture him in this advance, then every one of you seated here will have achieved immortal military merit!"

"In the Battle of Luancheng that year, I had the fortune to follow His Majesty in smashing several hundred thousand Liao troops. Now, once again blessed by heaven's might, we strike at a mere few tens of thousands of weary enemies, a scattered and disordered host—how could we possibly lose! Are you all willing to follow me?"

Yang Ye's words had a remarkably rousing effect. Combined with his long-standing reputation for strategy and valor, his subordinates instinctively trusted him. As for the barbarian cavalry officers, they too had often heard of Yang Ye's fame, so after only slight hesitation, they expressed willingness to follow.

With consensus reached, the five thousand Han soldiers under Yang Ye's command were immediately mobilized, preparing for the sortie with remarkable efficiency. Unexpectedly, upon learning of Yang Ye's plan, Kang Zaiyu greatly admired his boldness and expressed willingness to follow him with a portion of the briefly rested imperial cavalry to assist in the fight.

Kang Zaiyu figured that returning after a defeat would inevitably invite punishment, so he might as well gamble on this. Of course, it was also because Yang Ye's steady demeanor and his analysis and grasp of the battle opportunity were far more trustworthy than Shi Yanchao's.

On the Liao side, carts, tents, and baggage stretched endlessly along the mountain terrain. Just as Yang Ye and the scouts had observed, discipline was lax—partly for the convenience of marching, and partly because after a great victory in ambushing the Han pursuers, they had naturally let their guard down.

Though defenses and sentry posts were placed at narrow and treacherous points, they served only as a warning measure and could not be relied upon for actual defense.

The Liao emperor was sleeping in an ordinary felt tent—his imperial tent simply could not be set up in this terrain. Before dawn, Yelu Jing was sleeping with his arms around a beautiful consort when he suddenly heard the sound of battle cries and was quickly startled awake.

"Someone! Where is that battle cry coming from, what's happening!" During this period, Yelu Jing had been under great mental strain, so upon hearing the commotion, he grabbed his gold-inlaid saber and rushed out of the tent in his undergarments to investigate.

The Pishi Army guards on duty also looked at each other in confusion, not knowing the cause, but they all went on alert, protecting him closely.

In the dim morning light, the battle cries came from the south, growing fiercer and closer with each passing moment. Just as Yelu Jing's expression was turning increasingly grim, word arrived: three columns of Han troops had launched a surprise attack. The front lines were in dire straits, unable to hold against the chaos, and they begged him to withdraw north at once. Yelu Wuzhi, upon hearing of the crisis, had already gone to organize resistance......