Chapter 935: The Great Victory at Duan Yun Ridge

While Yang Ye's army basked in the fine spring weather, clearing the battlefield and gathering spoils, savoring the fruits of victory, Liao Emperor Yelu Jing led his defeated troops eastward in haste. Naturally, it was not out of fear of Yang Ye's army—it was simply that after this setback, the morale of the Liao army, which had been buoyed by their earlier ambush victory, had been dealt another heavy blow, and they truly had no heart for further fighting.

Of the more than thirty thousand Liao troops, over ten thousand had been lost to the ambush and Yang Ye's surprise attack. Though many had simply gone astray in the mountains, those who could still be organized to guard the Liao Emperor numbered fewer than twenty thousand.

Moreover, panic gripped the ranks and morale was at rock bottom. The one saving grace was that the losses consisted mainly of tribal troops; the Pishi Army had suffered relatively few casualties. It was easy to imagine that after this great Han–Liao war, the various Khitan tribesmen would be seething with resentment—they had marched to war and, from start to finish, their casualties had been truly devastating.

As for the baggage trains, valuables, horses, livestock, and everything else that had accompanied the army—there was simply no thought spared for them now.

Great King of the Northern Division Yelu Wuzhi, who had been exhausting himself with worry, could finally have a chance to rest. Yang Ye's arrow had struck with tremendous force, piercing through the armor and burying itself in flesh. Fortunately, it had not hit a vital spot, but after the ordeal of fleeing through the mountains without timely and proper medical care, he had lost too much blood and remained unconscious.

And the reason for Yelu Jing's hasty march eastward was, as Yang Ye had guessed, trouble with the Liao army at Wuzhou. During his withdrawal, Yelu Sha had been pursued and attacked by the Han army, losing more than twenty thousand men...

To Yelu Jing, this was adding frost to snow. He was eager to head east, intending to clean up the mess, and at the same time, he was furious at Yelu Sha's performance, feeling that the man had betrayed his trust—both withdrawals, one at Nankou and one at Wende, had gone wrong.

Of course, in all fairness, Yelu Sha, this great Liao general, had some cause for grievance. When he withdrew from Changping last year, Gao Huaide and the Han army had forcibly entangled him, leaving him no choice but to fight.

And this time, upon receiving the Liao Emperor's orders, he had made preparations to withdraw with great speed. Moreover, he had done an excellent job of deceiving the Han army—the rhythm of his harassment against Murong Yanzhao's main force had not changed in the slightest.

The problem, then, lay with the Han side. Since the campaign began, following the prior arrangements and operational plans, Murong Yanzhao had led the main army forward steadily, and in the face of the Liao army's frenzied harassment, he had even deliberately slowed his pace.

But Murong Yanzhao always kept the initiative firmly in his own hands when commanding troops. Steady and methodical did not mean tying his own hands. Well before the campaign began, he had drawn from every unit those troops skilled at long marches—especially veterans of the campaign that had destroyed Shu.

A total of five thousand men, led by Han Chongyun, entered the Yan Mountains north of Huailai. Guided by local scouts, they looped around in a wide arc, traversing nearly three hundred li of mountain paths, with the aim of striking directly at the Liao army's rear. Li Chongjin had also volunteered to go along, taking the winding mountain route for the flanking attack—a grueling and risky endeavor, but for Li Chongjin, who was serving in a demoted capacity to atone for his crimes, the fact that Murong Yanzhao gave him this chance at all was likely done out of regard for Guo Rong.

Meanwhile, Murong Yanzhao led the main army in a frontal dance with the Liao forces, drawing their attention, and the Liao army remained completely unaware. Thus, when Yelu Sha abandoned Wende and led the more than twenty thousand cavalry that had been pinning down the Han army's attention in a rapid retreat, only to run into Han Chongyun's force at Duan Yun Ridge, twenty li northwest of Wende County—one can imagine his shock.

At that moment, after twelve days of marching, having endured countless hardships and emerged from the twisting, treacherous mountain paths, the Han troops were lying hidden and resting, preparing to launch an attack on the Liao army from behind.

Faced with the movement of Yelu Sha's force, Han Chongyun and Li Chongjin immediately discerned the Liao army's intent—they were still trying to flee. Generals Han and Li naturally had nothing more to say; they deployed their troops to block the way.

Duan Yun Ridge, true to its name, was a place of perilous terrain. With the Yang River cutting through it, and with the Han army seizing the roads and setting up defenses, the Liao army had no choice but a frontal assault if they wanted to pass through quickly.

A brutal encounter battle erupted without warning. The Han army was outnumbered, and their energy had not yet recovered from the grueling mountain crossing, but they held the psychological advantage and the advantage of time.

The Liao army, for their part, had numbers on their side and a desperate longing for home. Driven by the will to survive, they unleashed considerable ferocity. But breaking through the Han army's blocking formation was no easy matter.

On Murong Yanzhao's side, he was immovable as a mountain when still, swift as fire when striking. Upon learning of the Liao army's retreat, he immediately ordered Guo Chongwei to lead five thousand cavalry in pursuit, with Shi Shouxin following up with his troops, while he himself led the main force behind. As for Wende County, he sent only a thousand men to take it over.

Thus, caught between hammer and anvil, Yelu Sha's force of more than twenty thousand was quickly driven to desperation. With no way out, Yelu Sha led his men charging into the waters of the Yang River, and countless numbers drowned. In the end, only a dozen or so riders escaped—a fate no different from total annihilation.

In the Battle of Duan Yun Ridge, prisoners alone numbered over ten thousand. With more than twenty thousand enemies killed, it was a great victory with rich spoils. But people are never satisfied, and especially after learning of the Liao army's withdrawal, they felt it was a pity.

As for the "more than twenty thousand losses" that Yelu Jing received word of—that was because only a little over twenty thousand troops had withdrawn from Wende with Yelu Sha... The Liao army in the east had originally numbered over sixty thousand, and of those stationed with Yelu Sha at Wende, there had been more than forty thousand.

In truth, Yelu Sha had done his part. He had sent twenty thousand troops back ahead of time, through the Wild Fox Ridge and out beyond the pass, while he himself chose to stay behind with his men to tangle with Murong Yanzhao's main force. Otherwise, if they had all been cut off at Duan Yun Ridge, they would likely have shared the fate of total annihilation.

As for the other twenty thousand Liao troops, they were stationed at Huai'an County, west of Wende—that had originally been where the Liao army truly intended to make their stand. Being in the rear, they had received the Liao Emperor's withdrawal order with considerably more composure.

The commander of the Liao army at Huai'an was a man named Han Deshu, the eldest son of Han Yanhui, a founding meritorious official of Liao, and himself a noble of Liao's meritorious aristocracy. Han Deshu was a man of outstanding ability; in his early years, Liao Taizong Yelu Deguang had praised him as a "treasure of the state." After Yelu Jing ascended the throne, he was sent to pacify and govern Liaodong, where his achievements were notable. After relations between Han and Liao soured, he was transferred to serve in the southern theater.

The Liao army's withdrawal appeared sudden, but the only one who truly carried out Yelu Jing's edict, implementing his vision of withdrawing both troops and civilians together, was Han Deshu. Thus, by the time the Han army won the great victory at Duan Yun Ridge and arrived at Huai'an, they found only an empty city—the populace had been relocated, the houses burned, the roads destroyed, and the water sources polluted...

For the Liao army, this large-scale withdrawal ultimately could not be accomplished without losses. In the end, the various Liao forces assembled at Swallow Town, more than thirty li north of Wild Fox Ridge. Excluding the Hu and Han civilians who had accompanied the army, the combined forces numbered fewer than one hundred twenty thousand, and they were mostly battered remnants. Some elite troops had been preserved, but their morale was exceptionally low.

The more pressing problem was that Yelu Jing still had to rely on these very troops to return home and put down the rebellion. Yet after repeated blows from the Han army, these forces were also unstable in their loyalties—the Liao Emperor had many headaches ahead of him.

Fortunately, Yelu Jing still had no shortage of talented Hu and Han men beneath him who could serve him, offer counsel, and help reorganize the army and soothe the people. Even so, after such a devastating blow, Liao's rule had fallen into its most dangerous situation in decades—even more precarious than the situation after the Battle of Luancheng. Beyond the enormous losses in military strength and national power, there was also the Great Han to the south, watching hungrily from behind.

As for Murong Yanzhao's main army, having fully recovered Wuzhou and then taken Huai'an to the west, they now faced a choice in light of the Liao army's large-scale withdrawal northward. Should they follow the original plan—march west through Huai'an to rendezvous with Fu Yanqing and Zhao Kuangyin at Yunzhou—or head north through the Great Wall and out beyond the pass to continue pursuing the Liao army?

This was an adjustment dictated by changing military circumstances, but it touched upon the strategic planning of the imperial camp, and Murong Yanzhao dared not decide on his own. He therefore temporarily halted at Huai'an, sent messengers to Youzhou to request instructions from the Emperor, and at the same time dispatched troops to seize the strategic points such as Wild Fox Ridge and the passes of the Great Wall for defense, while also making contact with Fu Yanqing to the west to learn of his battle situation.

Liu Chengyou was somewhat surprised by the Liao army's decision to withdraw. After weighing the matter, he ordered Murong Yanzhao not to go beyond the pass for now, but to decide based on the military situation at Yunzhou. At the same time, Liu Chengyou also made arrangements to intensify intelligence-gathering on Liao, to determine the true reasons behind the Liao army's sudden withdrawal.