Chapter 29: Breaking Through Liao Shi (Part 2)

  Xiao Tienu and Aluwen were surrounded by the Liao army, just as Cao Guangyi arrived. He saw Xiao Tienu and Aluwen charging left and right in the Liao formation, their horses gradually tiring. He said to Zhe Yancong, "I'll go get them out!" With a silver spear leading the way, he led his men to rescue them. The three groups of cavalry converged on one spot and joined forces to break through the encirclement.

  Xiao Tienu ordered the change of horses, and immediately charged again. Zongyong shouted: "Are we really going to lose to our brothers from the Han department?"

  The Jurchen warriors let out a thunderous roar, like wolves pouncing on tigers, brandishing their large knives and wolf-toothed clubs as they charged forward. The right wing of the Liao army showed some signs of fear, but their formation remained unbroken.

  Zong Han looked afar from the high ground and said to A'gu Da, "The left wing of the Liao army has collapsed, but the right wing is still strong. Zong Xiong has used all his strength but cannot gain victory. I will lead my troops to go and assist in the battle!"

  "Agu Da ordered: 'You stay still.' He called his eldest son, Zong Gan, and said: 'Take men to attack the Liao army's right wing, let them not be able to take care of both front and back. But do not go deep into the formation.'"

  Zong Ganda: "I understand!"

  Zong Gan made a false move, and the Liao army's right wing was indeed shaken, thinking that the Jin army's main force had arrived. They rushed forward to defend themselves, and the soldiers and horses in the middle of the right wing were either moving forward or backward, causing chaos for a while.

  Xiao Tienu and others couldn't see the whole situation, but seeing that the resistance in front was slightly weak, they rushed forward. After breaking through the strongest layer of defense, it was easy to advance further. He was covered in blood, with five wounds, and the horses and men following behind him were getting more and more exhausted. Suddenly, he heard Zhao Gang's voice shouting from not far ahead: "Brother Tienu!"

  Xiao Tienu heard the sound and his spirit was lifted. He shouted: "One more step forward, the Liao formation will collapse! One more step forward! One more step forward!"

  Behind them, the Han army shouted in unison: "One step forward! One step forward!" Summoning their last bit of courage, they charged out of the Liao formation. Zong Gan led his troops to meet them and counterattacked. The front cavalry of the Liao army's right wing saw that the Jin army had emerged from behind, thinking that the rear had already collapsed, and were shocked, with countless soldiers abandoning their armor and fleeing.

  Aguda shouted on the high ground: "The Liao people have lost! Children, charge!" Led the central army to come and kill, with a momentum like a fierce tiger going down the mountain. The Liaodong army's will to fight had already collapsed, and when the Jin army saw the soldiers and horses, they fled in all directions without even fighting back. Aguda took advantage of the victory to pursue and attack, stepping on the Liao army's tail all the way to the Liao army's large camp. The Liao general was afraid, and before all the soldiers and horses had retreated inside, he closed the gate, and most people were scattered outside, either fleeing or surrendering.

  Xiao Tienu wanted to go to Chongying Gate, but Zhe Yan Chong held his horse's head and said: "The horse is already tired, let's wait a bit!"

  Di Yu and Cao Guangyi accepted the surrender of over 2,000 prisoners. They distributed red cloth strips, ordering those who surrendered to tie them around their heads, forming a line in front, with Han troops following behind.

  Aguo ordered, Zong Xiong to block the north, Zong Han to block the south, and Agu himself to garrison the west. Zhe Yan Chong was ordered to guard the east.

  Cao Guangyi said to Zhe Yancong, "The Art of War says: 'Surround on three sides and leave one side open.' It's necessary to leave an exit for them, so they have a way out. Otherwise, if we surround them on all four sides and kill them off, the Liao people will definitely fight to the death."

  Zhe Yan Chong immediately ordered, commanding eight hundred elite soldiers to lie in ambush, leaving only the two thousand surrendered prisoners waiting for orders.

  After nightfall, the surrendered soldiers continued to flee, and by dawn only 400 people were left. The Liao people saw that the eastern camp was weak, so they immediately abandoned their camp and rushed out. Those 400 surrendered soldiers saw them coming and fled first. When half of the Liao army had passed, Zhe Yan-chong and Di Gu suddenly rushed out from both sides, the Liao general abandoned his flag and fled, and the sudden battle on horseback turned into a big escape! The Jurchen tribes had been informed in advance and also knew about Zhe Yan-chong's plan, so they got together to chase.

  The Jurchen army's momentum was unstoppable, and they advanced all the way to Alu Tag. Tens of thousands of infantrymen were unable to outrun the Jurchen cavalry, and their entire formation was destroyed in this battle. However, towards the end of the war, the Han troops slowed down their pace, collecting prisoners and weapons. For each prisoner captured, they would tie a red strip around his head, take away his sword and give him a stick, and have him walk ahead to collect the military supplies left behind by the Liao army, while the Han soldiers kept watch from behind. When Yang Kai's engineering troops followed up and entered the camp to collect spoils, they unexpectedly found countless farm tools in the Liao army's barracks.

  Zhe Yan Chong looked at him and said, "The Liao people's purpose in coming here is indeed defense rather than offense! These hundreds of thousands of people are not here to fight a war, but to farm!"

  Cao Guangyi said, "The integration of the military and agriculture is an ancient method. If used well, it can make the border secure without costing the imperial court a single grain of rice. However, in the current situation, using this strategy is clearly not suitable. What the Liao people are doing is tantamount to aiding the enemy! It seems that all the high-ranking officials of the Great Liao are mediocre!"

  Yang Kaiyuan also sighed: "Ying Qi once had the theory of 'dispatching a water buffalo to tame an old tiger', isn't this time's dispatch from Liao army just a big and useless water buffalo?"

  In this battle, Yang Yan-chung captured over 5,000 people, among whom more than 3,000 were fluent in Chinese. These people had been suffering greatly in their hometowns, and at that time the weather was bitterly cold, and Liao did not provide enough clothing. Yang Kai-far brought a large amount of food and clothing, distributed them, and within a few days, the over 5,000 people were all living quite comfortably.

  Cao Guangyi selected 1,200 people from the more than 3,000 to be the seed of the new army. Yang Kaiyuan was about to take the others back to Han Village when Xiao Tienu suddenly pointed at the two thousand non-Han tribesmen and said: "There are many strong and healthy people among them, why not use them."

  "These people are not Han Chinese."

  Xiao Tienu said: "Among the remaining three thousand people, most of them are not Han people."

  Yang Kaiyuan said: "They have been sinicized for a long time and can speak Chinese. We also consider them as Han people."

  Xiao Tienu sneered: "Aren't you always saying that all ethnic groups are equal?"

  Yang Kaiyuan was somewhat disheartened, as the more than 2,000 prisoners were mostly from the Xianbei and Shiwei tribes. The final outcome of bringing them back to the Han village was to exchange them with the Jurchen chieftains for Han prisoners and female slaves. Once these prisoners fell into the hands of the Jurchens, their days would be difficult.

  Zhe Yan Chong sighed and said, "These two thousand people are not that we don't want to settle them, but we can't. Our Han department now has only four thousand people, because our languages are the same, and it's easy to convey orders, so everything is peaceful. If suddenly there were two thousand more people of a different race who couldn't speak our language, I'm afraid it would be impossible to avoid great chaos."

  Di Yu also nodded and said: "That's right. When doing anything, one must act according to their ability."

  Cao Guangyi glanced at Xiao Tienu and said, "To be honest, those two sentences that seemed to lament the heavens and sympathize with men just now didn't seem like your style!"

  Xiao Tienuo snorted and said, "Who's being sentimental? I just think it's a pity!" He pointed at the two thousand people and said, "These are all first-rate warriors! There are at least several hundred top-notch fighters among them. To let them go like this is really unbearable."

  Cao Guangyi shook his head and said, "The combat effectiveness of an army lies in its overall organization, not individual strength! If soldiers don't listen to orders, no matter how skilled they are in fighting, it's useless - if the blade is turned inward, the first one to be hurt is oneself!"

  Xiao Tienuo snorted and said, "What if I can make them obey me?"

  Zhe Yan Chong and others listened, their hearts all moved. They all believed that Xiao Tie Nu had this ability. This grassland wolf king, even the most ferocious Mongolian bandits were afraid of him.

  Zhe Yan Chong said: "If you can guarantee that they will not disrupt the order of the Han village, and learn to speak simple Chinese within a year, then go ahead. Limited to 500 people."

  Xiao Tienu was overjoyed and rushed forward, raising his knife and loudly saying something to the Xi people and Shiwei that Zhe Yanzhong couldn't understand.

  "What is he saying?" asked Cao Guangyi.

  "Perhaps it's the language of the Xianbei people," said Yang Kaiyuan, "or maybe it's Mongolian."

  Only to see the two thousand or so people suddenly surge forward, everyone excited, just like a wolf smelling blood. Xiao Tienu suddenly turned his horse's head and ran, and the two thousand or so people followed suit, some running fast, others slow. The ones in front who were slower were pushed to the ground by those behind them, and the people behind didn't care whether they lived or died, trampling over them one foot at a time! The two thousand or so people followed Xiao Tienu's horse like madmen, with people constantly falling down and being trampled to death. Some people couldn't keep up physically and dropped out along the way.

  Yang Kaiyuan saw this crazy scene and was puzzled, unable to help but say: "What is Tie Nu doing?!"

  No one answered him, but everyone had a vague guess what Xiao Tienu was going to do.