Liu Yanqing ordered the front army to stop advancing, build fortifications along the river, and set up defenses on the spot.

Guo Yaoshi suggested that Liu Yanqing lead his army to control Liangxiang. Liangxiang is an important town, 30 miles south of Lugou, where it is a must-pass place for entering and leaving Yanjing from the southwest direction and an important defensive stronghold of the Liao army.

Liu Yanqing adopted Guo Yaoshi's suggestion and personally led the generals and 100,000 elite troops to leave Zhuozhou and go north to Liangxiang.

Liangxiang is only sixty miles away from Zhuozhou, and it is flat, but in such a short distance, Liu Yanqing actually led his army to walk for two days - he asked to set up camps and camps after traveling thirty miles a day, burying pots and making rice, and building ditch fortresses.

In short, Liu Yanqing's current ideological principle is to take every step and take steady steps.

After the army arrived in Liangxiang, Liu Yanqing and others discovered that Liangxiang had become an empty city.

Liu Yanqing was puzzled by this and then asked Guo Yaoshi: "General Guo, Xiao Gan abandoned the city and left, what is the purpose? Could it be that he is luring the enemy into the depth?"

Guo Yaoshi replied: "This is not surprising. Xiao Gan's troops were insufficient. He retreated from Liangxiang, probably because he was shrinking his defense line. I guess he might have concentrated his troops along the Lugou River and wanted to use the river to block... In my opinion, our army could completely cross the river directly, fight him in a decisive battle, and then face the city and take down Yanjing in one go."

Liu Yanqing shook his head and said, "Xiao Gan set up a formation in the river, obviously tempting me to cross the river and attempt to attack halfway. I can't be fooled, so it's better to be more stable."

Liu Yanqing led the generals to the Liangxiang city wall.

Seeing a small hill northeast outside the city, the flat ground suddenly rose up, and there was a tall tower on the hill, which was very eye-catching. Liu Yanqing asked, "What kind of tower is that?"

Guo Yaoshi replied: "That hill is called Liaoshigang. The tower on the hill is a hollow pagoda, which can also be used to observe military information. Standing on it, you can look north at Yanjing and south at Zhuolu. There are dozens of miles of military information around you, and you can hold it in front of you."

Liu Yanqing pointed to the pagoda and said, "It is a military important place, and military guards should be sent."

Liu Guangshi, who was standing beside him, replied: "There have been arrangements, please rest assured by the commander."

Liu Yanqing then led his generals to the Lugou River to inspect the military situation.

At this time, it was the setting sun, the golden light on the surface of the Lugou River was shining with waves, and a row of weeping willows on the shore were reflected in the river water like an ink painting.

Liu Yanqing pointed at the river with a horse whip and said, "What a great view, it is a great place for fishing."

Liu Guangshi said: "Yes, fishing in Lugou is full of scenery, but I don't know if there are any fish in this river?"

The other generals were silent.

Guo Yaoshi thought to himself: "As the commander-in-chief and deputy commander, he did not plan how to fight with the generals, but he talked about fishing in Lugou here. Besides, the battle is imminent, and it is incredible that the two of them can still have such leisure and elegance in their hearts."

After inspecting the surrounding terrain, Liu Yanqing looked around the generals seriously and ordered: "The enemy situation is unknown now, so we cannot fight in a hurry. We must dig more trenches, dig more trenches, and strengthen walls and camps, waiting for the opportunity."

In the evening, two scouts ran back and reported to Zheng Jianxiong that there was a large forest on the north bank of the river, which stretched dozens of miles east and west. The main force of the Liao army was hiding in the forest, waiting for it.

Zheng Jianxiong asked: "How many soldiers do they have?"

The scout replied: "I can't see clearly, but there is a large horse farm in the east, which has thousands of war horses. According to the horses, they should not be less than five thousand."

Zheng Jianxiong decided to go to Liangxiang in person and report the situation to Liu Yanqing.

So Zheng Jianxiong took more than a dozen personal soldiers and rode his horse to Liangxiang.

Zheng Jianxiong was originally a literati, but later abandoned his pen and became a general, and then went from northwest to southeast. He followed Liu Yanqing to fight south and north for a long time, and his military achievements were outstanding.

When Zheng Jianxiong walked to the northeast of Liang Township, he suddenly found a large group of cavalrymen who quietly bypassed Liaoshegang and headed straight to Liang Township.

Zheng Jianxiong judged that this must be the Liao army that came to attack.

Zheng Jianxiong guessed it correctly. This was a Liao cavalry led by Xiao Gan himself. They tried to go to the south of Liangxiang to sneak attack the Song army's granary.

Zheng Jianxiong made a quick decision to send several personal soldiers to Liangxiang to report the news, while he took the rest of his personal soldiers to shoot at the Liao army.

When the Liao army was attacked, they immediately turned their horses and rushed towards Zheng Jianxiong.

Zheng Jianxiong hurried into the watchtower and met with the defenders in the tower.

Seeing this, Xiao Gan changed his plan and concentrated a large group of troops to launch a fierce attack on the watchtower.

Zheng Jianxiong and the defenders in the tower were eventually outnumbered and all died.

By the time Yang Keshi led reinforcements to Liaoshigang, the Liao army had withdrawn from the battle, and the Song army chased him until the Lugou River but did not catch up with the Liao army.

Yang Keshi wanted to cross the river to pursue him, but was severely scolded by Liu Yanqing.

Looking at the surging river, Yang Keshi was both unwilling and helpless.

When the soldiers of the former army heard that Zheng Jianxiong had died in his country, they all asked for the battle and strongly demanded to kill Lugou River to avenge General Zheng.

Liu Yanqing ordered strictly: "No one is allowed to cross the river without authorization."

actually--

Liu Yanqing had feelings for Zheng Jianxiong. He said to his left and right: "Jianxiong followed me for many years, chasing Xixia and expeditioning Fang La. He attacked the vanguard everywhere, but he didn't expect that he would die tonight. Jianxiong and I had the best relationship. I felt more heartbroken than anyone else for his heroic death. However, the more we are, the more we should be calm. Be rational and not impulsive. All armies must strictly guard their positions, especially strengthen river defense, and always be alert to the Liao army's sneak attack again."

Liu Yanqing's idea was that as long as our army maintains a high-pressure situation on the banks of the Lugou River, the Liao army will not last long, and it will collapse without fighting. Now is the time to compare strength and psychological endurance. When the two armies confront each other, it depends on who can persist until the end.

For several days, the two armies were across the river and confronted each other. No one dared to advance or no one was willing to retreat.

Xiao Gan attacked Liaoshigang at night, and also lost a lot of troops and did not make much advantage.

For the first time, Xiao Gan felt that the combat effectiveness of the Song army was not that bad.

Therefore, Xiao Gan was also hesitating. He had been planning to attack the Song army's ration village in hopes to force the Song army to retreat. However, seeing the Song army's high-level situation in front of him, he really did not dare to act rashly.

Tong Guan was also very sad to learn that Zheng Jianxiong died in Liangxiang.

At the same time, Tong Guan was very dissatisfied with Liu Yanqing's confrontation with the Liao army on the south bank of the Lugou River for many consecutive days and did not take the initiative to cross the river to fight.

Therefore, Tong Guan sent someone to issue an advancing letter to Liu Yanqing: "What is the reason for the army not advancing for a few days after reaching Liangxiang? Can we seek a way to win by surprise? Our army is dozens of times more than the enemy, and its strength balance is very advantageous. I hope the army can advance bravely and reach Yanjing City..."

After receiving the letter, Liu Yanqing immediately convened the generals in Liangxiang to discuss.

Guo Yaoshi offered advice: "At present, Xiao Gan puts the main force on the north bank of the river to block us. The city of Yanjing will inevitably be empty. We can take this opportunity to break into the empty space. I suggest that a light cavalry will be selected to go east quietly, cross the river from Gu'an to Anci, and then go straight to Yanjing. If the Han people in Yanjing City know that the king's army has arrived, they will be the inner support, so Yanjing can get it."

Liu Yanqing asked: "Are you familiar with this route?"

Pharmacist Guo said: "It's like walking from the home yard."

Liu Yanqing hesitated a little: "Can Xiao Gan not set up a defense in Gu'an and Anci?"

Guo Yaoshi replied: "Only 80 miles from Zhuozhou to Gu'an and more than 130 miles from Gu'an to the northeast can you reach Anci. Xiao Gan's troops are limited, so his defense line cannot be that long."

Liu Yanqing asked the generals again, and they all thought this was a brilliant plan to win.

So, Liu Yanqing approved the plan to attack Yanjing.

Pharmacist Guo requested that Liu Guangshi would lead his army to Yanjing to respond.

Guo Yaoshi looked at the more than 500,000 Song troops and finally found that in addition to the few Western troops excluded by Tong Guan and Liu Yanqing, only Liu Guangshi's troops had some combat power.

In addition, Liu Guangshi was Liu Yanqing's son, and this great achievement was given to Liu Guangshi and could please the commander Liu Yanqing.

That's why Guo Yaoshi wanted Liu Guangshi to help him.

Liu Yanqing agreed in full.

then--

Guo Yaoshi led 1,000 troops of the ever-winning army as the vanguard, Zhao Heshou, Gao Shixuan, Yang Keshi and Yang Kebi four generals commanded a total of 5,000 troops as the main force.

On the night of October 23, the fourth year of Xuanhe, six thousand men set out quietly.

These six thousand men were all light cavalrymen. They tied their horses, slapped their flags and armor, galloped eastward from Liangxiang...

...

...
Chapter completed!