[Two-in-one big chapter, less word count tomorrow.]

It has been five days since Wang Hou arrived in Baozhou.

For five days, he held down his main force and waited in Baozhou for five days regardless of the call of his generals.

Although An Su's army was in a hurry and the urgent reports of Tianmen Village being besieged by the main force of the Liao Kingdom came several times a day, Wang Hou was not in a hurry and was not in a hurry to rush to An Su's army.

Li Chengzhi is now in charge of Daming Mansion, and he is doing a lot of work to send various materials and personnel. The military funds transported from the other side of the Yellow River are transported to the border military states starting from the Daming Mansion. Speaking of which, his commander is a large military transport envoy.

Because he was a civil servant and had never been on the battlefield, the army's demand for him was to not cause trouble for the front-line generals, and to arrange the baggage and other matters, not to drag down the enemy. After the war, he could fairly evaluate the credit and give rewards in time. That was enough.

Perhaps because he received a reminder from the Ministry of the Cong or a warning, Li Chengzhi has always abide by these points well.

Wang Hou was different. He was a member of the three yamen, and a high-ranking Taiwei. The requirements of the court and the army were completely different from those of Li Chengzhi. He knew that the enemy was there, but he did not advance. The four words "fear of the enemy" could immediately hit him.

But Wang Hou just didn't move.

At the beginning, it can be said that he would fight the life and death with the main force of the Northern Barbarians who were heading south in Baozhou, but with the information brought back by the scout, the Liao Lord made up his mind to capture Tianmen Village and did not plan to go south at all. Wang Hou's slowness was unbearable.

Many officers and soldiers on Dingzhou Road invited to fight. After seeing the combat power that the Liao people could not even obtain even the Tianmen Village, the temptation of their wives and children to them was much greater than that of the Liao people.

In the past two days, Wang Hou had just sent away a group of generals who came to ask for battle in the morning, and another group came to ask for battle in the afternoon.

Wang Hou sent them away with both soft and hard work. He knew that the secret report to the superiors who accused him of fearing the enemy and not fighting had probably been sent to Li Chengzhi's desk in Daming Mansion.

However, Wang Hou was not in a hurry. He had Han Gang's endorsement, so even Li Chengzhi had to give him some face. Moreover, being cautious is not a bad thing, especially because the strength presented by the Liao army was far lower than expected. On this ground, it was completely possible to convince Li Chengzhi that the Liao people must have treacherous plots, and they need to be vigilant at all times and never act rashly.

Since the morning, Wang Hou has been staying in the hall with a huge sand table. A general came to ask for a fight, so he went out to say a few words. Even if someone came to report that Han Yanei, who was outside the city, had led his troops north along the road, he just nodded and said he knew.

Wang Hou's head of the Shuaisi was placed in a house of a wealthy family in Baozhou. Speaking of which, this family was still related to Wang Hou. The owner was a member of the Yongqin Chamber of Commerce. He came out of SF Express, borrowed from Ping'an, and then traded with the Liao people in Hebei. Finally, he bought a house in Baozhou. He lived a comfortable life with his wife, concubine and son. When Wang Hou took office, he handed out a post to meet him. At the beginning of the war, he also delivered a lot of information about the Liao Kingdom collected in the past. When Wang Hou arrived in Baozhou, he immediately lent the cleaned house to the Shuaisi Yamen.

There are many businessmen like this who are willing to contribute to the country in Hebei, not only Shaanxi merchants, but also Hebei locals. The cause of this war between Song and Liao was at least openly because Yelu Yixin detained merchants and swallowed up commercial goods.

Since the court does not abandon the merchants, how can the merchants not support the imperial court?

From these merchants who had been walking between the Song and Liao countries for many years, Wang Hou received a lot of important information, and even the generals, troops, and equipment in the Liao stronghold near the border had been sorted out in his hands.

In addition to merchants, there were also fine works, traitors, archives, and scouts sent out. Combined with various intelligence channels, Wang Hou determined the number of troops dispatched by the Liao Kingdom early on, and the direction of its main attack was also determined on Dingzhou Road.

The other two sides are not worth mentioning. On Gaoyangguan Road, the Liao people sent a lot of soldiers, but they were all light soldiers of about a thousand people, breaking many villages, but they were also targeted by the cavalry of Gaoyangguan. The recent news has been said that many of them have fled back to the north of the Jiehe River. However, the Zhendingfu Road has a good terrain, and the Liao people have not even sent too many light soldiers to harass.

However, if Wang Hou said that if Yelu Yixin went to attack Zhending Prefecture, he might have a surprise. Because Lingshou County, a prominent Han clan, was released, just like Han Zhong, affected the defense and resettlement of Zhending Prefecture Road. Relying on Lingshou Han's influence in the Korean Empire, there had been no imperial guards in Lingshou County for more than ten years, which means there was no need to provide for imperial guards. If the Liao people did not come, it would be difficult to find a barracks in Lingshou County. As soon as the Liao people headed south, the order to move the imperial guards to defend Lingshou was arrived, and there were gaps in the defense system of Zhending Prefecture Road.

It’s a pity that the Liao people did not seize this opportunity. As for Hedong, west of Taihang Mountain, although Wang Hou didn’t know what was going on there, thinking about the mountains and rivers of Hedong, as long as you don’t make a rash progress, it’s hard to lose.

Looking down at the miniature picture of the border area in Hebei, Wang Hou couldn't help but sigh that the Liao Kingdom had gone from a confidant to a mere border area.

Although Dangxiang was rampant in the past, he could only harass the border. Even if the government army lost three consecutive battles, the Dangxiang people still couldn't even defeat Chang'an. But the Liao Kingdom was different. If the government army lost three consecutive games in Hebei, it would be like Haoshuichuan and Dingchuanzhai, and the Liao army would be able to cross the Yellow River.

The Dangxiang people were only in Shaanxi and did not dare to spy on Kaifeng, but the Liao people dreamed that they could hunt in Bian.

So one is a border problem and the other is a confidant problem.

But now the Liao people can only harass the border. Yelu Yixin led the troops to Dingzhou Road, but they dared not go south. The two countries competed with national strength. Yelu Yixin could send dozens of thousands of teams to attack the villages in the village, but could not capture the city guarded by artillery. If Wang Hou really wanted to evaluate, the Liao Kingdom was over and could not breathe for many years.

Therefore, the key to dealing with the Liao Kingdom this time is not to fight, but to consume.

Just as the Liao people did not go south to Baozhou, Wang Hou would not rashly go north to Ansu Army.

He could be sure that Yelu Yixin was waiting for him to surround Tianmen Village without attacking him.

A qualified commander will never easily step into the decisive battle place prepared by the opponent. Yelu Yixin and Wang Hou are the same. Since both sides are unwilling to fight easily, the rest depends on who has more means and force the other party to come for the decisive battle.

There is a railway behind Wang Hou, and there is no need to worry about food and fodder. Even if you sit in Baozhou, you don’t have to worry about not having enough food, let alone military morale.

So Han Zhong wanted to build a railway, so he had to repair it. An unobstructed railway was equivalent to stabbing the sword of the Liao army. As long as the railway was ensured to be smooth, thousands of people, including people and equipment could be sent to Ansu army within half a day.

Let’s see if Yelu Yixin can continue to stay outside Tianmen Village?

………………………………………

Han Zhong knew that his task was bait.

In fact, he just took the initiative to jump on the fish hook, and it was the second time.

But as a maintenance train began to walk in the wild with more than 500 soldiers and hundreds of railway workers, Han Zhong subconsciously watched around frequently, and raised his head from time to time to confirm whether the Liao army appeared in his sight.

There are wilderness everywhere, and occasionally there are several villages, some of which have closed doors, while others have only broken walls.

The Liao cavalry rages in the countryside north of Baozhou, destroying not only railways, but also dozens and hundreds of villages. Now, looking into the distance, there are several smoke columns located in different locations, scattering towards the sky.

In front of Han Zhong, the damaged railway was almost ten feet long, and the road below was not damaged at all, and the sleepers were still laid on stones. The rails were fixed to the sleepers with road nails. If the sleepers were not damaged, only a special crowbar could be used to lift the road nails.

Han Zhong looked at the traces left by the special crowbar on the sleeper, shook his head and sighed, "If I hadn't known that this was a Baozhou administration, I would have thought it had been removed and replaced."

"I guess I want to be transported away." Chen Liu said.

"It's a pity that these Liao thieves are disappointed. The trunk rails of the Emperor Song Dynasty are not as thin as those of the Liao Kingdom." Han Zhong snorted coldly. The tracks installed on the trunk rails were a single one, and the length and weight could not be easily carried by a horse. He called the left and right and ordered, "The trunk rails should be nearby, go and look for them."

A group of people were ordered to find the stolen tracks, climbed up trees, walked down the river, and burried into the grass, not letting go wherever possible.

Chen Liudao, "The one who followed the morning must be two groups of people."

Han Zhong nodded, "The methods of committing the crime are different, it must be two groups of people."

A section of railway built in the morning, the Liao people directly dug up the roadbed under the rails and filled them with gunpowder under the rails. They didn't know how many hundreds of kilograms were filled. A section of the railway was directly blown into several sections of twists and flowers. One section even flew dozens of steps away and plunged into the tree trunk. The railway tracks that were still on the stones on the roadbed were also deformed for a long time and could only be replaced. The Liao people who were attacking this section in front of them were much more gentle. In comparison, it was probably the difference between robbers and thieves.

As if to prove what Han Zhong had just inferred correctly, he said a few words, and the person sent to look for the railway tracks shouted, "I found it, I lift it up, I found it!"

The Liao people threw the removed railway tracks into the river not far away. The river water was shallow, and you could see the underwater rails at a glance on the river bank. There were many of the eight missing ones.

The railway tracks on the main line railway are all made of iron. If you have free time, the Liao people will definitely drag them back directly. Unfortunately, there are no special railway trucks, so they can't even transport them away.

After the underwater railway tracks were dragged up one by one, the official in charge of the railway maintenance of the Baozhou Branch came up and asked, "Come on, should I change it?"

These sections of the railway tracks that were thrown into the river were soaked in the water for three or five days and did not rust so quickly. If you look at the appearance, they are a little smoother than the new railway tracks brought by Han Zhong. The new railway tracks are covered with a layer of rust everywhere, and at least the front of the old railway tracks that have been crushed by wheels all year round have not had time to rust. Many places have been polished with average smoothness, but they are actually still useful.

Han Zhong thought for a moment, shook his head, "Everything is changed."

Who knows what problems will be if the old railway tracks are soaked in water? It is better to drag them back and return to the furnace. As for saving, reducing the risk in the middle section of the trunk railway is the greatest saving.

Railway workers dragged off the replaced rails from the front carriage and carried them to the installation position. They pounded one foot of nails into the sleepers, stuck the rails firmly, and dragged the old rails to the rear carriage, and dragged them back to the repair shop in the station at night.

On this side, the railway tracks were reinstalled one by one, and on the other side, Han Zhong sent someone to inspect the nearby railways.

Since the Liao people could openly pry the aisle nails and move the railway tracks, they might also be in a dark way, pulling out a few nails, but not removing the railway tracks, so that the railway tracks can only be fixed by one or two nails. If the maintenance worker who inspects the daily routine is careless in the future, the car may be destroyed or killed one day.

Several maintenance workers held long-handled hammers and knocked them all the way to the front and back, and the crisp sound of Dangdang gradually faded away.

The sun above his head was scorching the ground. Han Zhong stayed in the sun for a while and his mouth was dry, and even the sweat behind him was dry. After taking the kettle, he opened it and drank two sips, and then heard Chen Liuluo's urgent voice, "Erlang, Liao Gou is here!"

Han Zhong stuffed the plug of the kettle with a snap. Above the train car, the sentry waved the small flag and pointed at the distance to the west. Han Zhong picked up the telescope and looked over. Almost four or five miles away, a row of cavalry appeared.

In the telescope, the Khitan cavalry from the Pisch Army was heading straight for the stern.

A few wooden flutes suddenly rang out. After hearing this, the busy railway workers immediately dropped all the work they had in their hands and quickly returned to the car. The repairman who had just walked away also ran back with a hammer and jumped back to the carriage to hide.

All the soldiers guarding the construction site stood up and formed three horizontal formations.

This is the most elite commander sent by Shenji Camp to Hebei. Zhang Ji, who has a good relationship with Han Zhong, is ranked at the far left of the front queue.

The commander came over to ask Han Zhong for orders, and Han Zhong said in a deep voice, "I have entrusted all of this to commander."

The commander strode to the front of the queue, pulled out his sword and looked straight ahead, the flag officer followed him, and the drummer and trumpeter stood behind the queue. The commander's sword raised, and the two drum sounds of dong dong, the soldiers began to load the bullets in an orderly manner. The tiger squat gun group mixed in the queue also began to load at the same time.

Han Zhong turned around and called Chen Liu, "Brother Six."

"Here!" Chen Liu had already taken out three long spears from the car and distributed them to his companions. They were all the latest models of rifled rifles, with an effective range of up to 100 steps. In comparison, the range is only half, and it is necessary to fire volleys to effectively kill the enemy's smoothbore rifles, which can no longer keep up with the times.

Han Zhong's palm sweated, and he clenched his fists hard, making himself less panicked, "Sixth brother, stare at the identity-striking hit." Han Zhong reminded.

"Don't worry, Erlang." Chen Liu smiled, "My eyesight is not bad."

When the Liao cavalry reached three miles away, its speed began to slow down, and it seemed that it was necessary to accumulate strength in the war horses for assault.

In just one minute, Han Zhong's command was ready, and even the road construction workers were all armed with a musket.

‘It shouldn’t be running away again.’ Han Zhong thought, and quietly wiped the sweat from his palm on his robe.

When I was building the road in the morning, I just arrived at the ground and the accompanying soldiers launched their defenses and dragged four cannons directly from the car. They were all new 30 field howitzers, which were a little lighter than the three-inch field cannons of the same caliber at the old time. They were not Han Zhong's identity, so they could not get them.

Around the position, more than twenty antlers were placed, all of which were made of just-cut wood and the latest iron wire. The iron wire was produced from Kaifeng Iron Field and was drawn by a steam engine-driven machine. It is one of the latest military funds listed in the list. The distribution amount was very small, but Han Zhong had more than a hundred rolls on his hand.

More than twenty antlers were not placed in a line, but were placed in a row, but were scattered and scattered. Looking at the loopholes everywhere, it occupied a large area of ​​space around it, greatly limiting the direction of the cavalry's attack.

One or two meter-high wooden poles were tied to the ground, and a rope was tied in the middle, straddling the deer antlers. Once the rope was pulled, even those cavalrymen with excellent riding skills would not want to ride horses and jump over the deer antlers. They could only go around through the gap between the deer antlers.

The commander of the Shenji Camp was even loose on the outside and tight on the inside. Even if he was sitting and resting, he still lined up in three rows, carrying the well-loaded flintlocked muskets on his shoulders, and squatted cannons were placed between the queues.

Just as they were halfway through the cultivation, several Liao cavalry squads ran over and looked from a distance for a while. When Cen San and a few people rushed over, they immediately ran away.

Cen San followed behind and walked around and said that there was a thousand-person team of Gongmen’s troops where they went back, which was less than ten miles away.

Han Zhong was full of expectations, but he didn't see the more than a thousand Liao cavalry until noon. The scouts sent to check later reported that the elite cavalry of the Liao Kingdom had long been away from their original positions and had run far away.

Chen Liu privately advised Han Zhong at noon, saying that the camp "is obviously a hedgehog made of steel needles, and no one will come to bite it."

So now Han Zhong is not making such a big battle.

The guards did not place the antlers in advance, and the guards did not look so neat, and people were avoiding the sun in the shade. The cannons were dragged down from the car, but they were also covered with branches. They looked at them from a distance and didn't look carefully, and they could not see any flaws.

Now the Liao cavalry has indeed arrived. Seeing that the Song army was not so strict in defense, it began to approach as Han Zhong wished.

The distance between the two sides became shorter and shorter, until the two sides were only two miles apart, the Liao cavalry suddenly stopped.
To be continued...