Zhao Huan immediately dispatched 10,000 troops to the south of the main army to prevent Xiao Hanli from launching a surprise attack from the south.
After securing the southern defenses, Zhao Huan decisively ordered an attack on the city using artillery.
The Liao army on the city wall also began to retaliate with artillery.
The two sides' artillery clashed for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
The city gates had been torn open by cannon fire, and Liao troops were stationed at the city gates, ready to wait for the Song army to enter at any time.
Zhao Huan gave a strict order: Suyab must be captured within one hour.
After capturing Suyab, all officers will be promoted one rank!
The Song army immediately charged into the city walls like madmen, and began to fight the Liao army head-on.
The battle at the city gate was fierce, with both sides refusing to retreat and fighting until their eyes were bloodshot.
The Imperial Guards were, after all, the elite of the Song army. An hour later, all the resistance from the Liao army at the main gate of Suyab was torn apart.
The battle cries were deafening, and the remaining Song troops charged in in a mighty wave.
Next, they began to clear out the resistance within the city.
Two hours later, when the city was completely under control, the emperor entered Suyab surrounded by his generals.
The Song army's flags were planted on the city walls, and arrests were being carried out in many parts of the city.
Zhao Huan went directly into Yelü Dashi's palace.
Upon receiving orders, Duan Zhijie arrested all the nobles in the city, took control of the Liao army's military workshops, and especially seized control of the granaries.
He sat on the rooftop garden of Yelü Dashi Palace, gazing at the vast land in the distance, feeling quite proud.
They finally reached this point again, took control of Suyab, and took another step forward on the Silk Road.
However, he still felt a little uneasy.
The attack on Suyab seems to have gone a little too smoothly?
The thought of a great victory looming before them was fleeting.
They saw that the Song army was controlling the order in the city on the street ahead. Although the people could not understand what the Song army was saying, they recognized the swords in the hands of the Song soldiers. This was the lowest-cost way to communicate.
The streets were stained red with blood, but under the warning of swords and spears, the city was quickly brought under control.
At lunchtime, Duan Zhijie rushed over and said, "Your Majesty."
"Come, sit down, let's eat together."
"Your Majesty, there is not a single grain of food left in the city."
"What!" Zhao Huan was slightly startled and frowned.
"Your Majesty, not only is there no food, but the military workshops are all empty. I even went to check and found that all the Khitans died in battle, and the rest of the people have nothing in their homes."
Zhao Huan took a deep breath, slammed the rice in his bowl on the table, and roared angrily in a low voice, "That cunning Yelü Dashi, he's trying to wage guerrilla warfare against me, deliberately leaving me with an empty city!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Now that we have captured Suyab, we can transport grain and caravans from the east. I believe that Yelü Dashi and his men are nothing but desperate bandits."
Zhao Huan used his chopsticks to put the rice back into the bowl: "First, go and allocate a batch of grain, then send Yue Fei back to me."
"yes!"
At this time, Yelü Dashi had already joined forces with Xiao Hanli's 50,000 elite troops who had retreated westward.
"As Your Majesty requested, I have not had any direct conflict with Han Shizhong."
"Alright, let's retreat to Merv City, stay there for a while, replenish our supplies, let the men rest and recuperate, and then head south to Ghazni City!"
"Your Majesty, I am puzzled. Should we not go to war with the Song army?"
"No war for now!" Yelü Dashi's face was a little pale, it seemed he hadn't slept well for a long time. "The Song Kingdom is about to fall into internal strife, and the dog emperor's supplies will soon be cut off. At that time, he will withdraw his troops on his own. We will advance when the Song army has withdrawn!"
Xiao Hanli was completely bewildered: Was the Song Kingdom about to descend into internal strife?
"Your Majesty, the Song Kingdom is about to descend into civil war, which I was unaware of."
"Judging from the timeline, the Iron Forest Army in Liaodong should be rebelling soon." Yelü Dashi was very confident. "Ghazni supported us with 100,000 troops, which have now all been worn down by the Song army. Ghazni is now empty. We will move into Mulu, head south to Ghazni, and swallow Ghazni first. Sanjar will surely think that we and the Song army have both suffered heavy losses, and he will soon march east. But he doesn't know that most of the troops worn down by the Song army were not our Khitan men."
Xiao Hanli was startled. In terms of leading troops and fighting battles, he was not much worse than Yelü Dashi, and in terms of personal martial prowess, he was stronger than Yelü Dashi.
But in this kind of macro-level game and strategy, it's clear that he's not even a fraction of Yelü Dashi's little finger.
In retrospect, Yelü Dashi first used his prestige to make his presence felt in the Western Regions, and then took the opportunity to borrow troops.
Then, without batting an eye, they pushed the allied forces of the Western Regions to the front as cannon fodder, thereby weakening the strength of the Western Regions states.
At the same time, it created chaos within the Song state, preventing the Song army from advancing westward.
Now, the entire Western Regions are like meat on a chopping board.
Zhao Huan was feeling frustrated that Yelü Dashi had escaped when a messenger brought good news: Wu Jie had captured Ghazni, and the Lanyue Army was approaching Mulu City, where they would soon take this important western town.
Zhao Huan took a deep breath and suddenly felt that sending Wu Jie south to attack Ghazni was a brilliant move.
Once the Lanyue Army captures Mulu City, Yelü Dashi will have lost his last foothold in the west and will have no choice but to go to the territory of Khwarezm in the north.
That place was exposed to Sanjar's iron hooves, with no fortress to defend it. If Yelü Dashi dared to go there, Sanjar would surely avenge Kavanshi.
Two days later, Han Shizhong arrived at Suyab, where his 50,000 Imperial Guards were stationed.
A day later, Yue Fei went to Suyab to report back.
The emperor held a grand banquet at the imperial palace for all the generals who led the western expedition and generously rewarded the entire army for their merits.
For a time, the morale of the Song army soared.
The next day, Zhao Huan discussed with his generals the strategy for pursuing Yelü Dashi.
They split into two groups and advanced towards Mulu City.
During this discussion, Zhao Huan also took into account the possibility of Sanjar sending troops.
If Sai Liuzhu takes advantage of the chaos to send troops, Han Shizhong will be tasked with dividing his forces to suppress Sai Liuzhu.
Zhao Huan did not make any tactical arrangements for them, but only gave them two objectives: to eliminate Yelü Dashi and Sanjar.
September 18th, the fourteenth year of the Jingkang era.
Autumn had already turned cool in the Western Regions, and Zhao Huan had been staying in Suyab for half a month.
On this day, he suddenly received an urgent military intelligence from Gaochang: 100,000 Iron Forest Army soldiers in Liaodong have rebelled!
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