After a bloody battle, this Liao army was annihilated.
However, the Song army also suffered heavy casualties.
Wei Sheng did not stop there, but continued to reorganize the sentries in the vicinity while searching for traces of the Liao army.
A few days later, he had reorganized a force of three thousand men, but the Liao army did not see it.
According to intelligence analysis of these scattered Song troops, the Liao army actually only sent three forces in total. One of them was a main force that launched a surprise attack on the main army, while the other two were small-scale forces that were not a significant threat.
However, some say that the Liao army has indeed come in large numbers and is now planning an even larger-scale offensive.
The intelligence came from multiple sources, some true and some false.
Before he could distinguish between the real and the fake, Wei Sheng remained highly vigilant and continued to recruit people along the way.
His army was circling around here, its movements very erratic, sometimes here and sometimes there.
After a few days of wandering around, the number of people had increased from three thousand to more than five thousand.
At this point, some information about the main force of the Liao army was finally obtained from the troops that were incorporated into the army.
Following the intelligence, Wei Sheng searched all the way and, a few days later, actually found Xiao Duolu's whereabouts.
At this moment, Xiao Duolu was playing hide-and-seek with Wang Gui, and he knew that Wang Gui would not actually attack him.
He also knew that the Song army was not yet aware of his true situation and would never rashly launch a large-scale pursuit.
After all, the Song army's main focus is currently on crossing the river.
Xiao Duolu has now started guerrilla warfare and is playing psychological warfare.
As long as he doesn't reveal the true situation, the Song army will never dare to cross the river with peace of mind.
As long as the Song army does not cross the river, the armies of Ghaznavid and Khwarazmian will gather in large numbers in Suyab.
Furthermore, Yelü Dashi will continue to conscript soldiers from the populace to strengthen the defenses of Suyab.
The Song army is on a long and arduous expedition. As long as the war reaches a stalemate, the Liao Dynasty's victory is only a matter of time.
Xiao Duolu truly lived up to his reputation as the son of Xiao Hanlici and the youngest outstanding general under Yelü Dashi. His tactics were first-rate, and his vision and strategic thinking were also first-rate.
But he also had his oversights. For example, he didn't know that Wei Sheng, who was young and fearless, had already given the Song army a huge boost of morale by reorganizing more than 5,000 men into the sentries.
The rage of these more than 5,000 men was enough to set half the grassland ablaze. Undeterred and with the conviction that they would die, they launched a fierce attack on the Liao army.
In Wei Sheng's eyes, there was no such thing as probing the truth or being hindered.
He just wants to have a good, satisfying fight with the Liao army.
In the afternoon, unlike usual, Xiao Duolu paused and took a short rest.
A scout reported that a Song army was rapidly approaching this area.
If Xiao Duolu does not order a swift retreat as usual, the Song army commander will surely think he is deliberately luring the enemy deep into his territory and will not dare to pursue them relentlessly.
As a result, after Xiao Duolu stopped running for a while, the scouts reported that the Song army was still following behind, and their speed was getting faster and faster.
For a moment, Xiao Duolu felt a bit dizzy.
What's going on? Has the Song army commander figured out the truth?
That's impossible! It's only been a few days!
How many people are there?
"Approximately five thousand men."
Xiao Duolu ran for another hour, but the Song army was getting closer and closer to him.
Damn it!
It seems this Song army is about to start fighting!
Xiao Duolu made a firm decision and began to reorganize the army, giving the entire army a pep talk.
Wei Sheng received news that the Liao army ahead had stopped.
He knew that war was about to begin.
The Song army began to reorganize its ranks, and the officers began to give speeches.
The soldiers mounted their horses and began cleaning their swords and spears.
Soon, the two teams inevitably began to move closer to each other.
The Song army advanced very quickly.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the two sides were able to see each other from afar.
The neighing of warhorses echoed across the grasslands, and a red torrent surged toward the Liao army.
The sword gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.
The two sides quickly clashed.
The battle raged for a full hour and a half, with both sides suffering heavy losses in the fierce fighting.
Xiao Duolu himself was injured.
Despite the situation being in this state, the enraged Song army refused to give up and continued to fight a bloody battle.
Xiao Duolu was caught off guard for a moment.
Song Jun's suicidal tactics pained him.
He was still planning to maneuver for a few more days and find an opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the Song army's main camp.
Unexpectedly, the Song army suddenly became more aggressive and unrestrained.
Finally, Xiao Duolu had no choice but to flee in a sorry state, but Wei Sheng, who was blinded by rage, refused to let Xiao Duolu go easily. He led a group of people to relentlessly pursue Xiao Duolu.
The news quickly reached the ears of Wang Gui, who was playing hide-and-seek with Xiao Duolu.
Wang Gui immediately dispatched Yue Yun with eight hundred cavalry to the scene to investigate.
When Yue Yun arrived, the war had long since ended, and bodies were being cremated on the grassland.
Yue Yun then learned that the troops fighting the Liao army were from the Third Army of the Second Army Corps. These men had previously served as sentries, but were summoned by Wei Sheng after the Liao army was suddenly scattered.
Cui Jin, the commander of the Third Army, has died in battle.
The Third Army, now recovered from the Liao army's surprise attack, is like a pack of angry wolves.
They searched everywhere for any trace of the Liao army, and killed them on sight.
That's why today's war happened.
After obtaining complete intelligence, Yue Yun returned and told Wang Gui the truth. Yue Yun then requested to go into battle, but Wang Gui still refused.
Wang Gui was still worried.
He still didn't know how many Liao soldiers had come, and couldn't be sure.
To date, there is no evidence to suggest that this war was not a case of the Liao army luring the enemy deep into their territory.
It wasn't until late at night that Wei Sheng learned of Wang Gui's whereabouts, and he quickly sent some prisoners to Wang Gui's camp.
After a period of severe torture, they finally learned that the Liao army's surprise attack consisted of only 10,000 men.
This time, Wei Sheng killed nearly 5,000 Liao soldiers. Adding to the 1,000 killed a few days earlier, he killed a total of 6,000 Liao soldiers. Although the Song army also suffered heavy losses, it dealt a heavy blow to the Liao army.
The Liao army had already lost nearly two thousand men when they launched a surprise attack on Niu Gao.
The Liao army now has only two thousand men in total.
To be on the safe side, Wang Gui did not immediately report the news, but instead began a large-scale manhunt for the Liao army in the area.
Several days later, the Song army captured Xiao Duolu alive.
Wang Guicai presented the latest battle report to Yue Fei.
To ensure the safety of the rear, the Song army did not immediately withdraw Wang Gui and Wei Sheng, but continued to investigate in the rear to make sure that what the Liao prisoners said was true.
Although Xiao Duolu was not captured alive, the remaining Liao army either died or were captured.
However, Xiao Duolu did indeed change the course of the battle to a great extent, or rather, increase the difficulty for the Song army.
After all, this matter consumed more than ten days of the Song army's time, and the progress of crossing the river was postponed for several days.
These days are enough for Yelü Dashi to mobilize troops from the west and for even more troops to arrive in Suyab.
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