After traveling through time, I became Han Zhang’s grandson?

Chapter 282: Going in the opposite direction

"Sir, we've broken through the enemy lines—!"

Shi Mochago's surprised voice spread throughout most of the dense forest, and his eyes were full of relief.

Xiao Yi, who followed behind and rushed out of the dangerous area in one go, also exhaled heavily, with a hint of relief in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

"We're not out of danger yet. Quickly, retreat from Mount Wutai and return to Daizhou to rest!"

Xiao Yi immediately ordered the entire army to retreat to the northern mountain pass, while the Song army behind him watched the other side leave calmly.

On February 7, the third year of Zhiping in the Song Dynasty and the second year of Xianyong in the Liao Dynasty, the ambush in Hulu Valley of Wutai Mountain was declared over, but the subsequent impact it brought was immeasurable.

The 80,000-strong Liaoxi Jingdao army that marched south suffered nearly 30,000 casualties in Hulu Valley of Wutai Mountain.

Moreover, most of them were elite cavalrymen, which made Xiao Yi and the senior generals of the Liao army very distressed.

Even a grassland ethnic regime like the Liao Dynasty found it difficult to lose so many elite troops in one go.

Thinking about the emperor's ruthless actions after returning home and the many people who would take advantage of his misfortune, Xiao Yi's head was spinning.

However, at that time he had not thought that after losing nearly 30,000 elite border troops, the military defense of Xijing Road would be downgraded to a lower level than before.

This is a good thing worth celebrating for the Song Dynasty. From now on, the border troops and people in Hedong Road can breathe a sigh of relief.

On February 11, the Liao Kingdom's Western Army returned to the Daizhou City area after failing to break through the Wutai Mountain defense line and moving south.

A part of the troops were stationed here and in the direction of Yanmen Pass in order to better prepare for a smooth return to the Liao territory after completing the plan of invading the south.

On the march, Xiao Yi discussed with Shi Mochago and others and decided to rest in Daizhou City for a while, and then consider whether to go south or return north.

As a result, two pieces of news on the road completely made Xiao Yi, who had just suffered heavy losses, so angry that he vomited blood.

The first piece of news: Song army launched a sudden emergency attack from Yangwuzhai and recaptured Gang County which had been lost for half a month; similarly, in the direction of Huangweishan, Song army launched a surprise attack along the Inner Great Wall, recaptured Tudangzhai, crossed Yanmen Mountain, and wiped out all the (Liao) defenders stationed in Yanmen Pass.

The second piece of news: Yelu Hongji urgently ordered Xiao Yi and other Western Army not to move south, to withdraw the troops as soon as possible, and to return north. The breakout route he provided was not in the direction of Yanmen Pass, but in the area around Pingxingzhai.

With the support of Shi Mocha Ge, Xiao Yi looked at the military map tremblingly.

It can be said that neither piece of news is good news. The first piece of news clearly implies that the "retreat has been cut off."

The second one, whether from the inside or the outside, contains one point - the Liao army should retreat.

This means that not only was the Eastern Army unable to break through the Song Army's defense line, but the failure of the Western Army was also expected by Yelu Hongji, Xiao Boyu and others.

Xiao Yi's self-confidence suffered an unprecedented blow. He was not the type who could not afford to lose, nor did he have to fight the Song army to the death.

He just couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart. This war, which cost huge manpower and material resources, not only failed to achieve the expected results, but also caused heavy casualties. In Xiao Yi's opinion, this was really not worth the loss!

"Sir, is the news from His Majesty wrong? Why would he allow us to return home from the northeast of Daizhou when there are four or five Song army camps blocking our way?"

"Even if we break through, there's still Taixi Mountain blocking the way behind us. This is a dead end!"

"Why don't we gather all our troops, fight our way back to Yanmen Pass, and then return directly to Shuozhou from the northwest!"

Shi Mocha felt that His Majesty must have been instigated by that bastard Xiao Boyu to send the Western Route Army through such a dangerous territory. Isn't this going to lead to their demise in Song territory?!

The major military camps on the Yanmen Pass side are all far away, and the northwest is mostly plains, which can easily bring into play the mobility of the Liao cavalry.

It is much more advantageous than traveling through the densely populated military camps and forests in the northeast.

"Don't panic, let me think about it again!"

Xiao Yi was not a reckless person. He also believed that Yelu Hongji and Xiao Boyu, who were so knowledgeable about military affairs, would not casually issue such a reckless order to withdraw troops.

He needed some time to think about the intentions of Yelu Hongji and Xiao Boyu in this move.

"The Yanmen Pass area is indeed a good place to better utilize the cavalry's mobility, and there are few military camps, making it easier to break out..."

"If we can't leave the northwest, it means there are reinforcements there. Although the Hedong Army is capable, it is still difficult to face the Liao Army at full strength..."

Xiao Yi's eyes moved slightly, and he immediately scanned a place in the lower left corner of the map - Shizhou.

"Oh no! The Western Army is heading north!"

Xiao Yi's face changed, and he instantly understood the intentions of Yelu Hongji and Xiao Boyu. The army that attacked Yanmen Pass in the northwest might be the Western Army.

"Then we really can't leave the northwest. If we encounter the Western Army of the Great Song Dynasty now, it will definitely be a difficult and thankless battle."

"Northeast...yes, there's still Northeast!"

Xiao Yi stroked the map, his eyes wandering between Pingxing Village and Baoxing Military Village, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Hahahaha... I finally understand the intentions of His Majesty and Brother Boyu!"

Xiao Yi slapped his thigh, and his pale face regained some color. He immediately ordered: "Urgently order the troops in Daizhou City to abandon the city and advance eastward."

"All troops, prepare military supplies immediately. We need to break out of the Pingxing Village area as quickly as possible."

Shi Mocha's face changed drastically. He hurriedly grabbed Xiao Yi's sleeve and shouted, "Sir, how can you go through the dead end road in the northeast?"

"Hahahaha, you don't understand this. As the saying goes, 'One must face death before they can survive.' Besides, Your Majesty and Brother Boyu didn't choose a dead end."

"Look, to the northeast, to the north is Pingxing Village, behind it is Pingxing Pass, to the south is Baoxing Military Village, and to the east is Taixi Mountain."

"This forms a 'horseshoe' shape, which looks like a dead end, but it's not."

"Firstly, the two major military camps in the north and south are quite far apart, and there's a small plain in between, which is perfect for cavalry mobility against the enemy."

"Secondly, crossing Taixi Mountain is also a deception. Your Majesty's real goal is to break out from Pingxing Pass behind Pingxing Village."

"It would be too easy for the Liao army to fight alone against a military camp blocking the road."

"As for the remaining military camps further north, they are completely unable to keep up with the Liao army's mobility. Even after they break through the bottle-shaped camp, they may not be able to catch up!"

Xiao Yi did not keep the suspense and quickly dissected the entire retreat route and the plan of Yelu Hongji.

But there is one thing he completely overlooked. If going to Taixi Mountain was a deception, at such a critical moment, Yelu Hongji should have said it directly and decisively instead of giving people vague guesses.

This actually contains a misleading concept, and Xiao Yi is now completely "Di-ized" or "officialized".

He brought his thoughts back to his usual state of trying to figure out the emperor's intentions. He felt that Yelu Hongji's plan was actually clearly pointed out in the intelligence - that is, to retreat to Shandong through Taixi.

And he arrogantly regarded it as a deception and went through the Pingxingguan area, so don’t blame Han and the generals of the Western Army for giving him a big gift!!!

"Ah... is this what you mean?!"

Shi Mocha felt that Xiao Yi's analysis was full of loopholes and had nothing to do with the meaning of the order.

"Your Majesty is such a man of absolute power, how could he really let us go to this dead end of Taixi Mountain? There must be some deeper meaning behind this."

Frankly speaking, at this time Shi Mocha Ge felt that it was not impossible to go through Taixi Mountain. After all, according to the previous analysis, the northwest direction of Yanmen Pass was blocked.

Then His Majesty's order becomes particularly crucial. If he has to choose one to believe, Shi Mocha Ge still thinks that Yelu Hongji's intention of leaving Taixi Mountain is reasonable.

After all, considering the cunning of the Song army, it is estimated that Pingxingzhai is now crowded with people.

It’s true that this Pig-headed Sanshi Mocha is quite capable and guessed a small part of the internal situation.

But unfortunately, it was not Pingxing Village that was crowded with people at the moment, but Pingxing Pass, which was less than 20 miles behind!!!