Chapter 4 Chapter 23

April 8th of the seventh year of Shaosheng. Da Song, Hebei Road, Xiongzhou, Baigou Station. Zhao Long, the commander of the three battalions of the Second Army of the Wuwei Army, led more than a dozen soldiers and a cavalry infantry from the capital, and was patrolling this posthouse located in the northernmost part of the Song Dynasty. It's the Liao Kingdom. This is just a routine patrol.The Song army did not have a single soldier in Baigouyi, but only one beacon tower, which was guarded by the Yicheng of Baigouyi.Therefore, the military guards in Xiongzhou must come here to patrol frequently. The usual focus is to check the passing merchants, but now, the focus has become to scout the movements of the Liao people on the other side of the Baigou River.

The situation along the border has been tense since mid-March.The Khitan seemed to be preparing to use a large-scale force against Zubu, and the report from the Zhifangguan showed that almost all the cavalry troops of the palace guards of Xijin Mansion were dispatched.This is unlikely to be aimed at the Song Dynasty. Now is a good season to fight against the Zub rebel tribes, but it is not a good season to fight against the Song Dynasty. Moreover, although the control has become stricter, the Liao people have not sealed off the border, and the business travel has not stopped.Although only merchants went north these days, and almost no merchants came south, this is not too unusual, and there will be such a few days every few months.What's more, the business opportunities are obviously on the side of Liao, which is preparing to fight.

However, the strict orders of the Privy Council must be obeyed. Every day, there must be forbidden soldiers patrolling the boundary river every day. As long as the Khitan has a large number of troops, the Song Dynasty will always be in turmoil.Even among the merchants in Xiongzhou, there were rumors that the Khitan might send troops to the south to commit crimes after the Zubu rebel tribe was wiped out. Zhao Long didn't really believe that Liao people would really commit crimes in the south, especially at this time.But the military order of the Privy Council and Tang Kang's reminder made him dare not take it lightly.Moreover, he always felt uneasy these days, as if he felt that something bad was about to happen.

But this anxiety may be because of Tian Liewu. A few days ago, Zhao Long heard a businessman from Bianjing say that Yangxin Hou Tian Liewu had already served as General Dingyuan, Minister of Wujing Pavilion, and Commander of Yunqi Army a month ago.This news made him both happy and uneasy.The happy thing is that the Yunqi Army is stationed in Hejian Mansion, which is only one Mozhou away from Xiongzhou, which is not too far away.What is disturbing is that he doesn't know what happened to Tian Liewu, he is a close minister of the emperor, so he suddenly went out Most likely something major happened in Bianjing.

Just the day before yesterday, Zhizhou Chai Guiyou told him that Grand Sima <Note 1> Zhang Dun had been impeached and dismissed as Prime Minister, Grand Sikou Han Zhongyan had taken over the Ministry of War, Li Qingchen made a new punishment letter.Among the six ministers, there is now a vacant Ministry of Rites, and the position of General Xu, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, is also in jeopardy.Chai Guiyou said that Shi Xianggong wanted Zeng Bu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, to make the book of rites, while Junshi wanted Liu Zhi, the censor Zhongcheng, to do the rites.Chai Guiyou hinted that Tian Liewu's going out must have something to do with these things.

But for Zhao Long, Bianjing and the imperial palace are all places that are out of reach.The name Chai Guiyou mentioned was also very vague to him.He just hoped that Tian Liewu would be safe and sound.But even this was out of his grasp.Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shook his head and turned his mind to the present. At the moment when he was in a trance, Quying, his deputy Xuanjie lieutenant who joined the army on the march, had already run to the bank of Baigou River, where he was rummaging through a fisherman's bamboo basket, and he could still hear him haggling loudly from a distance.You have robbed someone, how dare you sell it for fifty cents a catty?At most forty wen and forty wen, can you sell it?

In a blink of an eye, I saw Qu Ying walking back with a big fat herring, leading the horse, and said with a smile: Master Zhao, it seems that nothing will happen today.Later, I will go to the posthouse and ask the postman to cook fish.The Yicheng said that a few days ago a merchant who sold wine in the north gave him a jar of good wine. I saw a cow leg hanging from his beam, so I just bought it all.Everyone has worked hard for a few days. We have a good meal today, and we will return to Xiongzhou tomorrow morning. Zhao Long heard cheers behind him.A soldier ran up to Qu Ying, took the herring in his hand, and said with a smile: My lord, I haven't smelled fish for several months.Can I eat some meat every time in the camp, besides mutton or mutton

If you want to despise it, then you just don’t want to eat it.Quying smiled and scolded the soldier, you don't have a share of this fish, such a big fish cost me 140 renminbi, and I will give you some soup then. Zhao Long listened to the soldier and said with a shy smile: "It's okay to have soup."Can't help but also laughed, Qu San, you go ask the fisherman, buy some more fish, and give the boys a change of taste.Whatever it takes is mine. OK!Qu Ying responded loudly with a laugh, and was about to leave when suddenly, his smile froze on his face, and he looked behind Zhao Long in embarrassment.Those soldiers who were still in high spirits just now also fell silent in an instant.

Zhao Long couldn't help but sighed in his heart, turned around, and watched Du Taiqing, Marquis Yu of his camp, walking towards him with a few men leading the horse. In Zhao Long's view, this Du Taiqing, Mr. Du, is really a typical representative of the Heshuo Forbidden Army. He is not without respect.His Marquis Yu, who was guarding the camp, was born as a general in Heshuo.His father, Du Mi, used to be the head of the deputy capital of the Royal Zhongzuo Ma Infantry.Before the restructuring, this was the second rank of the forbidden rank, and it was a senior military officer in the forbidden army.Du Taiqing himself was unambiguous. Originally, with his family background, he could rely on the recommendation of the Yin Guan to take a smoother and faster road to promotion, but he refused to come from the Yin Guan. He was admitted to the Wu Jinshi when he was a teenager. However, at the age of twenty, he has already become a Marquis in the camp, so it can be said that he has a bright future.

However, for Zhao Long, Du Taiqing's proud experience is really just a trouble. The Imperial Army of the Great Song Dynasty established the law of class since Emperor Taizu personally, and what the army pays attention to is the absolute obedience of subordinates to their superiors.In this regard, the Western Army is no different from the Heshuo Forbidden Army.But in Zhao Long's military experience, perhaps it was because the generals were often born and died together. Although the military law was strict, the relationship between the top and bottom of the army he experienced was very harmonious.

He very much hoped that in his own army, he could also have a relationship like a father and son. However, his idea was obviously not recognized by his deputy capital commander Gao Guangyuan and his guard Yuhou Du Taiqing.Gao Guangyuan hopes that all soldiers will be afraid of him, and he is keen on corporal punishment of soldiers to establish his authority.On the other hand, Du Taiqing firmly believed that the biggest drawback of the Heshuo Forbidden Army was lax military discipline. He seemed to have a strange insistence and strictly demanded that Zhao Long and his subordinates strictly abide by every military law. Zhao Long could clearly feel that Du Taiqing looked down on his subordinates in his bones, and felt deeply humiliated that a military attache like him from the Western Army filled the Heshuo Forbidden Army. That's all for Gao Guangyuan, after all Zhao Long is his boss.But for this Du Taiqing, Zhao Long has nothing to do.In the past, Du Taiqing was regarded as the supervisor of the army, and Zhao Long had to be restrained by him. Now the situation is much better, but they are not under each other's control, and when it comes to familiarity with military laws and regulations, Zhao Long is not his opponent at all. His only solution is to find ways to avoid this Du Yanei. This time he didn't bring him to Baigou Station. He went forward wonderingly, Mr. Du, why are you here? Master Zhao.Du Taiqing clasped his fists and bowed, and the next official just calmly Cheng Zhao, what is that? Seeing that he didn't say a word, Zhao Long suddenly changed his face, he couldn't help being startled, hurriedly followed the direction of his finger, looked back, and saw the northern sky with smoke and dust, covering the sky and the earth! His heart sank immediately. Get on the horse!Immediately afterwards, Zhao Long heard himself yelling instinctively, and get on my horse! Immediately afterwards, all the Song people in the south of the Baigou River saw the dense black spots in the north, rushing towards them. Listen to me!Qu San, you take two people to the beacon tower to light up the smoke!Then the people with the post house returned to Xiongzhou.Don't leave a grain of grain in the post house! yes! Cui Dutou, you lead your men and horses, and return to Xiongzhou immediately with Mr. Du.All the way to inform the business travelers and rural people along the way to return to Xiongzhou City immediately.Anyone who dares to violate the order and continue to go north, or delays and refuses to enter the city, will be punished as collaborating with the enemy and will be killed! yes! While Zhao Long gave the order loudly, he actually felt a long-lost excitement in his heart.He didn't need to think about it at all, he just knew what he should do by instinct.Master Zhao, what about you?He heard Du Taiqing, who was about to ride south, ask himself. The rest stay with me! ah?Du Taiqing was taken aback, Mr. Zhao, you only bring ten people?This Baigou can't stop the Liao soldiers. Don't worry, Lord Du.I just want to see clearly how many people have come and who is the main general! That being the case, the next official will also stay with Mr. Zhao.Du Taiqing smiled and said without waiting for Zhao Long's consent, then turned to the people he had brought and said: "You guys all listen to Cui Dutou's orders. Zhao Long glanced at him, didn't say much, but was slightly surprised.But he couldn't control Du Taiqing, he watched Quying and Cui Dutou lead their troops away, and then rode their horses to look around, looking at the surrounding terrain. Since Taizu, the Song Dynasty has painstakingly managed the Hebei defense line.In general, Baozhou, west of Xiongzhou, is the center, west of Baozhou, and north of Zhendingfu, on the one hand, elms and willows are widely planted, on the other hand, common people are prohibited from cutting trees, and ponds and ditches are used as supplementary.This strategy has been effective until the time of Emperor Renzong.The Great Song Dynasty planted hundreds of millions of trees in this area. Over time, the trees were densely packed, and except for the roads deliberately left, most areas were not conducive to the passage of cavalry.And these reserved roads can sometimes only be used by one or two riders.From the west of Baozhou to the east of Xiongzhou, Bazhou, and Cangzhou, ponds and canals are the main areas, supplemented by tree planting.Using the depressions in this area to connect rivers and canals, a pond defense line consisting of countless ponds and paddy fields with a length of more than ten miles and a width of more than 20 miles has been operated, with a total length of more than 800 miles.But this line of defense has its natural weaknesses. At the time of Shaosheng, the water in many places was shallow and unformed, and it was frozen in winter, and there was no water at all during drought.As for the tree planting strategy, there were many times in Xiongzhou that the Song Dynasty planted trees, and the Khitan people entered the country at night and cut down the trees cleanly in half the night.It will take at least several decades for the forest to grow to the size of Baozhou, Dingzhou, and Zhending. Therefore, there has never been such a large-scale forest in Xiongzhou.Moreover, Xiongzhou also has a natural weakness. The most important official road in the Hebei region of the Great Song Dynasty leads to Xiongzhou.Although the official road to Xiongzhou took a detour to the west to Rongcheng, but in the past few years when the Song and Liao dynasties traded, merchants were unwilling to make a detour, and often crossed the river directly from Xiongzhou to Baigouyi, because it could save two or three days of work. The distance, so this matter began to be banned repeatedly, and then I got used to it.In the thirty or forty miles from Baigouyi to Xiongzhou, unconsciously, a road wide enough for two carriages has been formed.As for the willows along the banks of the Baigou and the elms beside the roads, they are of no military value except for providing shade for passers-by. It was April at this time, around Zhao Long, the rice grains were green and the water in the fields was deep.If there are enough troops, this is indeed a favorable terrain that can limit the movement of Liao cavalry.It's just that he looked back at the dirt road behind him that had been trampled out by people in the past ten years, and he couldn't help crying secretly. Three or four miles away, the vanguard of the Liao army can reach the city of Xiongzhou in one day. He sighed in his heart, and went to look at the ten soldiers around him.Although these personal soldiers were carefully selected by him, they had never seen a battle formation after all.At this time, everyone's expressions were numb and their movements were stiff. There were even a few people riding on horses, their calves were shaking non-stop. He will rely on these people to guard Xiongzhou. The towns along the border of Hebei are more politically important than Baozhou, where the tomb of the emperor of the Song Dynasty is located; and militaryly more important than Xiongzhou.The governing place of Xiongzhou was the famous Waqiaoguan in the Five Dynasties, but its importance is more important than the previous Waqiaoguan, because once Xiongzhou is breached now, the Liao people will occupy the official road of Hebei. No worries.To the south of Xiongzhou, the Gentlemen’s Hall is not enough to guard, and Hejian Mansion can be bypassed. It can be said that beyond Xiongzhou, it is the Beijing Daming Mansion! Although, Xiongzhou can actually be bypassed. If the Liao people dare to treat the Song army in Xiongzhou as a dead man. And in fact, they did!A history of the battle between Song and Liao is, to a certain extent, a history of the Liao army treating the Song army in the military city along the border as dead.Before Renzong, 200,000 to 300,000 Song troops were scattered among dozens of cities. They were more than enough to defend the city but incapable of fighting in the field. This was the period when the Heshuo Forbidden Army was at its strongest. The strength of the army is also less than that of almost any Liao army operating alone. As for now, not to mention, after the reorganization of the forbidden army, Heshuo's army has been reduced by two-thirds, and now it has a total of just over one hundred thousand soldiers. on a par.The Privy Council then withdrew its main force to the defense line of the Damingfu Zhao Long didn't know the exact distribution of troops, but he did know that the defense area of ​​their Second Military and Guard Army actually included Xiongzhou, Bazhou, Mozhou, Cangzhou, Qianning Army, Xin'an Army, and Baoding Army, a total of four states and three armies!They only have 15,000 people in five battalions, and there are seven military states to guard!As for the Feiwu First Army on the western front, the defense area includes the four armies of Dingzhou, Baozhou, Qizhou, Shenzhou, Guangxin, Ansu, Shun'an, and Yongning!A total of less than 30,000 forbidden troops accounted for nearly one-third of the Heshuo forbidden army's strength. They might look decent when gathered together, but they were scattered on the plains of the fifteen military states for defense. Zhao Long looked at his subordinates, he really didn't have the confidence to say that the Liao army didn't dare to do this this time. But if they really do this, behind these fifteen military prefectures, apart from the Hejian Mansion and Zhending Mansion each having a horse army in the east and west, and the Yongjing Army also has a little teaching parade army, Zhao, Ji, Xing, En, De, Bo, Di, and Bin, the eight states, can only rely on patrols to resist the Liao army Not far from the beacon tower, the smoke of the beacon has already ignited. Quying has done his thing. It's useless to think about these!Looking at the blazing smoke, Zhao Long suddenly had an idea in his mind, and shouted loudly: Everyone, get off your horses! Master Zhao?Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. Zhao Long had already got off his horse with a smile and asked the horse to rest.Take off the bows, everyone, don't look at so many Liao dogs, the one who comes first is the number 100.They come to die, we are sorry not to fulfill them.Although you guys are riding horses, you are still infantry after all.I don't expect you to be able to shoot arrows right away, let's come down to greet Liaogou! Du Taiqing was stunned, Mr. Zhao, do you want to fight them? Zhao Long nodded and said with a smile: This palm-wide Baigou River can be shot to the other side with one arrow.They want to build a pontoon bridge so cheaply, do they really think that there is no one in Heshuo? Du Taiqing's face turned red all of a sudden, good!The next official will listen to Mr. Zhao's orders! Everyone listen up.Zhao Long stretched out his finger and pointed to a small forest next to the paddy field on the right, where four or five horses were left. All of us went to hide in the forest, gave the horses a bit, and did not reveal whereabouts.From there I could see movement on the other side of the river.Follow my orders later! yes!Everyone suddenly agreed. Zhao Long was finally satisfied to see that his soldiers didn't mess up anything this time.In a panic, the crowd unloaded the saddles of the five horses, and let the war horses gnaw on the grass by the side of the official road.He carefully led the remaining horses, and not long after he hid in the grove, he heard a sound of hooves from the other side. Du Taiqing has good eyesight, looked across the woods, as expected by Zhao Long, it was indeed the Liao army's blocking army <Note 3>.Sure enough, as Zhao Long said, there are only one hundred and ten people.However, he counted casually, and almost cried out in shock: "Explore the Barriers!" He scolded himself inwardly, this was something he should have thought of long ago, he looked at Zhao Long dumbfounded, only to find that Zhao Long was smiling and blinking at him. He couldn't help but quietly walked to Zhao Long's side, and whispered in his ear: Mr. Zhao, you already knew about it, right? Zhao Long smiled and nodded. He couldn't help but asked again: Do you want the ten of us to confront the Yuantan Banzi Army? good! This guy is crazy!Du Taiqing could hardly bear to curse in a low voice.It is impossible for any military officer in the Song Dynasty who has been to Zhuxian Town for a day not to know that the Yuantan Banzi Army is a fierce soldier selected from thousands of miles in the Liao Army!Moreover, everyone knows that wherever the Far Exploring Banzi Army appears, there will be the vanguard army of the Liao Army, and there will be the main force of the Liao Army! But he is the Marquis of the Guarding Camp, and his duty is to prevent the general from retreating, so he doesn't want to be laughed at by these idiots of the Western Army.He glared at Zhao Long fiercely, gritted his teeth and said, "How courageous!" Zhao Long smiled, turned his head to look at the soldiers behind him, and said in a low voice: The first time I met a Xixia person, it was the same.It's okay, just put the first arrow.Just follow me later, it's the same as usual training.Just watch me shoot the arrow. After finishing speaking, he turned his head and looked at the other side. The Liao army had already reached the Baigou River. The ferry of Baigou River has always been operated by Song people.The people at the ferry here have long since disappeared without a trace, but a ferry boat is still parked by the river.Zhao Long cried out in annoyance, for he forgot to sink the boat just now. At this time, the Liao army was getting closer, and they could see it more clearly. They were all in black and armor, and there was no noise when they reached the river. There were only three or four people who looked like leaders. wearing something.On the one hand, someone stretched out his hand to point this way, obviously talking about the ferry boat here and a few good horses that were left unattended. Zhao Long immediately became alert. He already felt that compared with the enemies he had encountered before, this time the enemies were more experienced and more disciplined!If it was the Xixia people or the Southwestern Yi people he met before, he would have jumped into the river desperately and swam over. But this time, after the Liao army discussed for a while, only ten people took off their armor and jumped into the river with their horses.Immediately, it looked like it was still carrying something, most of which was used for erecting a pontoon bridge or something.The rest of the Liao army dismounted and set their bows and arrows, obviously protecting their comrades. Liao dog!Zhao Long couldn't help cursing in a low voice, he knew that the plan could not be sold, he couldn't hesitate anymore, he pulled the horse over, jumped on the horse, and shouted: Kill!Ride out of the woods.Du Taiqing and all the soldiers also got on their horses one after another, and rushed out after roaring. What greeted them was a rain of arrows shot from the north bank of Baigou.A soldier charged too hard and was shot in the left eye by an arrow from the Liao army. He died instantly and fell off the horse beside Zhao Long.Zhao Long fought back with his bow, and kept shouting loudly: Formation!line up!Finally, all the remaining soldiers were not allowed to rush into the arrow rain of the Liao army. A Liao soldier who was crossing the river poked his head out from the south bank, was seen by Du Taiqing, shot an arrow, and shrank back into the river with a thump in fright.A Liao soldier wanted to go ashore by force, but was shot to death by random arrows from several soldiers. But immediately, another 20 Liao soldiers jumped into the river braved the arrow rain. To cross the river by force. That's all!Zhao Long knew that there was nothing he could do.Covering several soldiers, they got on the saddle again, and after loading the corpses of the dead soldiers on the horse, they finally ordered angrily: "Scatter back to Xiongzhou!" <Note 1> That is, the Minister of the Ministry of War, the official name of "Zhou Li".The Da Si Kou and Xing Shu in the following text are other names of the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and the Book of Rites is the abbreviation of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. <Note 2> The irony is that in real history, the line of defense that the Northern Song Dynasty painstakingly managed did not play a big role in actual combat.Because before Zhenzong, the defense line was not formed.When they arrived in Hui and Qin, the Shuzhai pond was abandoned by the Song people themselves because of political corruption.In the end, this line of defense did not cause trouble for the Jin soldiers to go south. On the contrary, in the last years of the Jin Dynasty, the ponds in the Xiongmo area played a part in restricting the penetration of Mongolian cavalry. <Note 3> The Banzi Army is the name of the Liao Army's scout troops, responsible for reconnaissance and military information transmission.Usually consists of a team of five or ten people.The Far Exploration Banzi Army in the following article is an advanced reconnaissance force composed of elites from the army when the Liao army sends out a large number of troops. The number is more than a hundred. The first battle at Baigou Station was unfavorable, which made Zhao Long fully understand that the opponent he will face is not comparable to his previous opponents, and the subordinates he can rely on are not the previous Western Army that can fight well. After returning to Xiongzhou, he ordered the clerk to write a battle report, ordered the generals to count the soldiers' armaments, and spread the soldiers outside the city. At the same time, he went to Chai Guiyou, the Zhizhou, to discuss countermeasures.Although he belonged to the Second Wuwei Army, according to the rules, unless the Privy Council ordered otherwise, the Forbidden Army stationed along the border of Hebei first listened to the orders of the Zhizhou and Zhijun.In fact, Yan Chao, the magistrate of Bazhou, served concurrently as the commander of both the Wuwei and Wei armies.As for the commander of the Feiwu First Army on the western front, Duan Zijie, the magistrate of Dingzhou, also served as the commander.But without the order of the Privy Council, they would not be able to mobilize the forbidden troops stationed in other military states. Such an arrangement was also unavoidable. Take the Second Army of the Wuwei Army as an example. Because of the centuries-old relationship between the Song and Liao Dynasties, Xiongzhou’s diplomatic mission was more important than its military mission.As a result, it is inconvenient for the magistrate of Xiongzhou to concurrently serve as the commander of the military capital, but can only serve as the magistrate of Bazhou.But Yijinguan, also known as Bazhou, is closer to the Liao border than Xiongzhou.When Zhao Long saw Yuan Tan's blocking army, Bazhou had probably already started fighting hard with the Liao army!If the Zhao Long tribe in Xiongzhou is also controlled by Yan Chao, when they are alive and dead, will these subordinates go to Bazhou to help, or not?Sit back and watch the commander die in battle without saving him, according to the Ministry of Military Law, he will be executed.However, the primary task of the forbidden troops in the border towns of Hebei is to guard the military prefectures where they are located. Therefore, the Second Wuwei Army and the First Feiwu Army are quite different from the other Forbidden Army. It can be said that they only share the same designation in name, but they are actually independent troops. Therefore, Zhao Long's boss is Chai Guiyou, the magistrate of Xiongzhou. When Zhao Long saw Chai Guiyou, Chai Guiyou's first words were: General Zhao, this county is a civil servant, unlike Yan Bazhou and Duan Dingzhou, who know soldiers, and now Khitan really betrayed their trust and invaded, and the survival of Xiongzhou depends entirely on the general up! My lord, the lower official Zhao Long leaned forward and cupped his fists, waiting for a few words of humility, but Chai Guiyou was already very anxious, and interrupted: "The general does not need to be humble. Before the Tang Dynasty was inherited from the county, he had told this county in private. He said that Zhao The general is a famous general of the Western Army, Tian Housu loves him, and if something happens in the future, he will ask the county to rely more on him.Looking at it now, what Tang Ducheng said is just for today. While sighing, he hurriedly asked: General Zhao, what should we do now?Just now Hu inspector came to report, saying that the general has already fought Khitan?I don't know how to win or lose?How many people are there in Khitan?Who is leading the army?The patrol inspector Hu he was talking about was Hu Xuantong, the patrol inspector of Xiongzhou, who commanded another armed force in Xiongzhou, who was usually responsible for arresting robbers, public security, and anti-smuggling.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, when the Khitan was at war, some inspectors along the border of Hebei had strong troops, and the Khitan paid a heavy price, even the imperial army was inferior.But now that the peace has been going on for a long time, these inspections are naturally not comparable to those at the beginning of the founding of the country. Hearing Chai Guiyou's series of questions, Zhao Long felt a heavy burden weighed down.At this time, he couldn't say anything more, so he could only bear it silently.Leaning back, he replied, "Returning to my lord's words, today in Baigou, the officer I ran into was the Khitan's Expeditionary Guards." Exploring the blocking army!Chai Guiyou's face turned pale immediately, and then he looked at Zhao Long in disbelief: The general read right?Hu Xunjian said that the general only brought ten people. Could it be possible that the general defeated Yuan Tan's army? Zhao Long felt his throat dry for a while, and when he returned to his lord, it was indeed a long-distance visit to stop the army.Xiaguan confronted them across the river, killed a soldier and shot a Liao man. really?Chai Guiyou stared at Zhao Long for a long time, then nodded slowly after a while, and said with a wry smile: It seems to be true.In this way, what Xiongzhou has to face is the main force of the Liao army. Zhao Long lowered his head, and poured a basin of ice water on the head of Zhizhou who had fantasized that the main force of the Liao army would attack Dingzhou before. According to the officer, most of the black-clothed and black-armored expedition guards were A subordinate of Yelvxin, the Privy Envoy of Khitan North! Chai Guiyou was stunned again, shook his head with a wry smile, and after a while, Fang asked in a low voice: General Zhao, tell me, can we hold it? Zhao Long was stunned and raised his head. Then I heard Chai Guiyou say again: that's all, that's all, I shouldn't ask.Anyway, if you can keep it, you have to keep it, and if you can't keep it, you have to keep it. Your Excellency was right.Zhao Long said in a deep voice: Xiongzhou is the gateway to Hebei, no matter what, we must stick to it. General Zhao is right, although this is a door that leaks from all sides, it is still a door anyway.Chai Guiyou gave a self-deprecating wry smile, so tell General Zhao, what should we do?Early tomorrow morning, Khitan's vanguard should go to Yishui River North.To the north of Yishui, there are Rongcheng and Guixin counties, so what should we do?Now that things have happened, he can only pin all his hopes on Zhao Long. Zhao Long also gave a wry smile. My lord, the two counties of Rongcheng and Guixin can only trust Lord Zhuge and Lord Ren now. Rongcheng is stationed with the second commander, and Guixin is stationed with the fourth commander. With five hundred forbidden troops, Yingcheng defended itself, and it was still worthy of a battle.He can only comfort himself in this way. In my opinion, the first important thing now, besides sending people to report the emergency to the imperial court, is to dispatch troops to patrol the north of the pass, demolish the bridge on Yishui, and move the north of the pass to the north. All the houses and forests in Yishui were burned down, the wells were poisoned, and people and animals moved into the city.The gates of the city should be manned day and night to guard them, and the people should not be allowed to approach them.There is a curfew in the city. Even if the people light a fire for cooking, they must do so within the specified time. They are not allowed to light a fire at will, and it is strictly forbidden to light a fire at night. There must be fine work in the city, if you take advantage of it, big things will go away! Well said, well said.Chai Guiyou nodded repeatedly. The second thing is to issue a notice that all business travelers must enter the city and are not allowed to go south.Offenders will be cut off! Chai Guiyou looked at Zhao Long puzzled: why? Zhao Long explained: Khitan is approaching, although our army set up camps by the water and defended against the river, it is difficult to be safe.According to the subordinate officials, it may not be possible to stop the Liao people from crossing Yishui.Just like what your lord said, Xiongzhou is just a gateway with air leaks on all sides. We have to be prepared for the Liao people to leave a small force to trap us in the city, but the army will detour southward.In terms of past battles, there are many such things.Therefore, no matter how fast the merchants travel south, they cannot escape the Khitans, and they will be robbed by the Khitans on the way, and instead they will use their goods to aid the enemy.Besides, we don't know whether there is any fine work in it.The most important thing is that the merchants going south will block the official road, which is not conducive to the arrival of reinforcements. I see.Chai Guiyou nodded, since that's the case, it will be handled accordingly. The third thing is that Hu Xunjian's subordinates, please give an order from your lord to let him obey the orders of the officials.In addition, the city is short of troops, and the forbidden army dare not recruit soldiers privately. Please order from your lord to recruit brave and capable soldiers to fill in the inspections and assist in the defense of the city.And choose the brave and clever people in this state to go to the people, go to and from Rongcheng, return to the letter, and investigate the enemy's situation. Well, this county will let inspector Hu handle this matter. Fourth, my lord, please order the people in the villages of this state to move to the nearest city or to Guixin and Rong counties, as well as Zhangjia, Muchang, Sanqiao, Shuangliu, Dawo, Qiguyuan, Hongcheng, Xinyuan and Bazhai. , Livestock should be taken away as much as possible, if they cannot be taken away, they must be burned Before Zhao Long finished speaking, Chai Guiyou laughed bitterly.He raised his head in doubt, but saw Chai Guiyou shook his head and said: General Zhao cannot be relied on for this matter. why?This is The county knows that this is a strategy to fortify the walls and clear the fields and weary the enemy.Chai Guiyou waved him off and said shyly, but does the general know how many rich people there are in this prefecture after Hebei has been in peace for a hundred years?How much property do these rich people have?If the government burns his family's grain, how can they agree?Benzhou is close to the Yi and Di, and the folk customs are martial arts, and the common people hide knives and bows in their homes, which is known as difficult to rule.The county didn't want to fight the people before fighting the Khitan. But even if the food is not burned, the Khitan will be robbed when they come. People won't listen to you.As long as they are not robbed by Khitan at this moment, they will be lucky.Moreover, the Khitans robbed them of their food, and they hated the Khitans; if the government robbed their food, then they would resent the imperial court, and these people would move into the city. Complain about colluding with Khitan?General Zhao, in this world, there are many rich people who only care about their own family property, and don't care at all about loyalty to the emperor, patriotism, and defense against the barbarians.Chai Guiyou looked at Zhao Long, and said: "Besides, the Khitan people are going to rob them, they are not their own people, if they resist, they will kill them, General Zhao, can you let this county order the people to be slaughtered?" This Zhao Long also knew that he would definitely not be able to do this, so he was speechless for a while. If not, even issuing this order is useless.Chai Guiyou said again: "This county will issue a notice to inform the people."But whether to come or not is up to his will. Worth mentioning.Governor Zhao Long could only do this, he folded his fists and bowed his body, saying: "If so, the subordinate officials will retire first and go to arrange defense." So, here comes General Lao.Chai Guiyou also clasped his fists, seeing that Zhao Long was about to retreat, he suddenly remembered something, hurriedly called Zhao Long again, and said: General Zhao, there is one more thing Zhao Long was stunned for a moment, stopped in his tracks, and asked the adults to show him. It's about today's battle at Baigou Station.The county will spread the word that today the general led his own soldiers at Baigou Station, defeated the many with less, smashed the Liao army, shot and killed nine Liao soldiers, and wounded more than ten enemies.After the general went back, he reported the names of the soldiers who went to Baigouyi today to the county. All the soldiers who went to battle today will be rewarded with a consistent amount of money!The one who died in the battle, in addition to the court's pension, the county will reward another 20 guan of money and four pieces of silk! This Zhao Long looked at Chai Guiyou fixedly, he was very embarrassed for a while, since he joined the army, he never lied in the battle report. Chai Guiyou seemed to understand his thoughts, and explained: Now that people are in panic, the county has no choice but to use this to boost morale! Zhao Long hesitated for a while, and finally bowed his body and said: I will obey the order. The night of April 8 was Zhao Long's sleepless night. He traveled between Xiongzhou and the two water villages on the south bank of Yishui, dispatching manpower and arranging defenses.On the one hand, they have to send spies to inquire about news everywhere, and on the other hand, they have to devote their energy to distributing weapons to the newly recruited inspection troops in Xiongzhou.Fortunately, Hu Xuantong, the inspector of Xiongzhou, is a capable person. He recruited 300 people in half a night. Ten people also rode their own horses.The joining of this new force really made Zhao Long happy for a while.It's just that these people don't know the battle formation after all. Zhao Long asked Qu Ying to bring out 300 bows and 9,000 arrows from the arsenal and distribute them to them. Those without horses were placed on the city wall of Xiongzhou to help defend the city. People ordered them to follow Hu Xuantong and wait for orders. But even so, his strength is still not enough.He originally had only 3,000 troops under his command, among which there were two commanders, and one-third of the troops were stationed in Rongcheng and Guixin respectively.The troops were stretched, and Zhao Long also realized that if he wanted to defend Xiongzhou, the key was to hold Yishui and prevent the Liao army from crossing the river easily.Therefore, he set up a command and defense in each of the two water villages by Yishui, and he personally led the horse army in the camp and his own soldiers to support him, thus forming the first line of defense. But the situation is not optimistic by any means. Yishui is not a natural danger, and boats can be sailed downstream. However, Yishui in Xiongzhou is deep and fast, and the river is narrow. Boats cannot be used, and the Song Dynasty navy is useless.The Liao army was on the other side of the river, and they could directly attack the water village with only bows and crossbows.The two water villages are both wooden villages. He was afraid of the Liao army's fire attack, so he didn't dare to put firearms in the water villages, but there was no bed crossbow in the villages.As a result, they can only rely on ordinary bows and crossbows to fight the Liao army, which is equivalent to two fixed large formations.The imperial army in the stronghold has low morale and fear.It wasn't until the news of Chai Guiyou's great reward for today's Baiyigou battle that the atmosphere in the water village became more active. In the middle of the night, the spies who went to Guixin crossed the river and came back. The news they brought made Zhao Long feel even more heavy.The spies insisted that he saw Liao camps linked together, with at least tens of thousands of horses.And there are many infantry!These Khitan infantry are now returning to the outside of the city, lighting torches, cutting down trees overnight, and a large number of craftsmen are making siege equipment. This made Zhao Long really unbelievable.He called Wei Rong'er, who was in charge of intelligence, and asked him to cross the river to inquire.But in his heart, he already believed in the information brought back by the spy.He vaguely felt that the Liao army's southern crime was unusual, but he couldn't tell whether it was so. No one in Xiongzhou City had really experienced the Liao country's southern crime. Perhaps this is the difference between Liao people and Xixia people. Zhao Long had already made up his mind to save Guixin without dividing his troops.But when he really heard the news brought back by the spies, he hesitated again, after all, there are five hundred of his subordinates in Guixin City! Leading troops to rescue Guixin is indeed a risky venture, and it may be wiped out by the Liao army under the city of Guixin, causing Xiongzhou to collapse without a fight.But if the Liao people are allowed to take Guixin calmly, they can use Guixin as a base to attack Xiongzhou. It will be even more difficult to defend Xiongzhou in the future. He hesitated until dawn, but still couldn't make up his mind.But even worse news came from Rongcheng City. Rongcheng surrendered to Liao! 容城降遼的具體情況，直到四月十日的中午，才打探清楚。他的第二指揮使江守義在遼軍抵達城下之後，就殺了容城知縣，打開城門，降了遼人。肩負監軍之責的軍法官李月，也一道降了契丹。這件事情在雄州禁軍中造成了極壞的後果，一面是柴貴友、胡玄通等人隱隱流露出來的猜忌與防範，另一面是惱怒的杜台卿幾乎變得歇斯底里，他下令將他的衛隊派到每個指揮的虞侯身後監視，又命令徹查軍中與江守義、李月往來密切之將士，一時之間，雄州之內，人懷猜忌，上下相疑。 趙隆明知這樣是軍中大忌，但他亦無計可施。江守義乃是他一手提拔的，即便是他趙隆，也是懷疑對象。他若再敢替這些通遼的疑犯說話，休說杜台卿不會聽他的，柴貴友只怕就要解除他兵權了。 另一方面，這兩天的時間，一水之隔的歸信城，戰況之慘烈，讓人揪心。 圍攻歸信城的，是三千契丹騎軍與八千渤海步軍，還有大量的漢人工匠。遼軍連夜造出幾十架雲梯，十幾架撞車，自九日清晨開始，就對歸信城發動一波一波的猛攻。歸信知縣任傅良平日治民，素懷恩信，此時親冒矢石上城牆指揮守城，趙隆的第四指揮半日之內，陣亡過半，指揮使、副指揮使、虞侯全部戰死殉國，任傅良斬了前來勸降的遼使，又將自己未滿三歲的獨生幼子扔下城牆摔死，以示必死之意。兵力不足，他就強征城內十六歲以上男女，全部上城牆守城。歸信縣城牆內外死屍橫積，但遼軍上萬大軍，攻了整整一天，傷亡了一兩千人馬，歸信竟然就是攻不下來。 九日晚上，任傅良又募集了三百死士，在夜色掩護下，從城中地道出城，這歸信地道據說乃是名將楊延昭所建，出城之後直達遼軍陣後。這支奇兵出其不意，攻其不備，夜襲遼營，將遼人辛苦造好的雲梯、撞車，燒了個大半。又有十餘人分道奔出，前往各處求援。 前來瓦橋關求援的兩名死士，在柴貴友與趙隆面前聲淚俱下，苦求一日，見二人並無發兵之意，兩人不顧柴貴友與趙隆阻攔，一人繼續南下求援，一人竟然又游過易水河，要與任傅良同生共死。就在易水北岸，趙隆眼睜睜看著他死於遼軍攔子軍箭下。 到了十一日，歸信的戰況更加慘烈。 遼軍後繼大軍陸續趕到，歸信城外，旌旗遍野。遼軍運來兩尊火炮，四架拋石機，還有自容城繳獲的大量震天雷。隔著易水，趙隆都能聽見歸信火炮發時的轟隆聲，瓦橋關內外，氣氛凝重，每個人都鐵青著臉，心事重重。歸信的每一聲炮聲，都像是打在了瓦橋關守軍的心頭。知道日落時分，炮聲終於停下，每個人的心都沉到了深淵之下。 果然，入夜之時，趙隆接到斥候的報告歸信陷落。遼軍用火炮轟開了城門，而江守義與李月帶遼軍找到了雄州地道的出口，遼軍兩道大入，任傅良率軍巷戰失利，自刎於縣衙之內。遼軍旋即縱兵大掠，歸信一城，幾成人間地獄。 紹聖七年四月十一日晚子時左右，雄州瓦橋關易水北岸，一支百人左右的契丹騎軍高舉著火炬，疾馳而至易水北岸列陣。 瓦橋關水寨，角聲大作。戰火，終於燒到了瓦橋關！ 一隊隊武衛二軍三營的禁軍將軍列隊而出，張開弓弩，對準了對岸的契丹人。守衛水寨的指揮使迅速的登上望樓，等待著策馬而至的趙隆的將令。 北岸，一位黑甲騎士越陣而出，張弓搭箭，嗖的一聲，一枝綁著書信的羽箭，正中一座水寨的寨門。 趙隆的一個親兵看了趙隆一眼，驅馬朝著落箭的寨門馳去。 那黑甲騎士策馬來回踱了兩步，目光落在趙隆的身上。 足下可是趙隆趙將軍？這黑甲騎士竟然說得一口純正的汴京官話。 Who are you?趙隆驅馬上前兩步，高聲反問。 在下大遼先鋒都統韓將軍帳下遠探攔子軍隊帥蕭吼，奉令前來下書！ 下書？snort!趙隆望望蕭吼，又望望取過書信驅馬回來的親兵，忽然大喝一聲駕，朝著那親兵策馬疾馳而去。他一把奪過親兵手中綁著書信的羽箭，調轉馬頭，回到本陣，抬眼望著蕭吼，高舉手中之箭，高聲道︰此物便是蕭將軍所下之書？ good!所謂識時務者 蕭吼一句話放說到一半，便見趙隆已摘下弓來，將那羽箭搭在弓上，弓弦響過，一枝羽箭朝著自己射來。他心中一驚，慌忙側身閃避，卻聽趙隆高聲說道︰請蕭將軍回覆韓寶將軍，這便是趙某的答覆！雄州在此，爾等若有本事，只管來取！ the same day. 定州，北平寨。 定州知州、飛武一軍都指揮使段子介率著一眾參軍、幕僚，登上北平寨的敵樓，眺目東望，觀察著東北形勢。在北平寨的東面不遠，就是保州城，而東北方向，則是廣信軍治所遂城。北平寨與保州、遂城正好構成一個三角形，當年真宗皇帝之時，這三座要寨中，都屯集了重兵，皆由名將駐守，形成對契丹的第一道防線。 但如今形勢卻大不相同了。 當年赫赫有名的銅梁門、鐵遂城<注四>，乃是沿邊雄鎮，將領都是田欽祚、楊延昭一流的人物，一城之中，騎兵多則七八千，少亦不下五千之眾，兼之城寨險固，契丹至此，雖有十倍之眾，亦無能為力，每每大敗於城下，不得不繞城而走。 而百餘年後，城雖依舊，然諸城之兵，多者不過三千，少則僅有數百，領兵之將皆寂寂無名，最大不過一致果校尉，官卑者甚至只是區區從八品的御武校尉！ 這一切，讓段子介無法再信賴當年的銅梁門、鐵遂城。 他是在兩天前，也就是四月九日接到的戰報。四天之前，四月七日，遼軍突然犯境，一路突破沿邊城寨，當日便將遂城圍了個水洩不通。而僅僅一日之後，遼軍又出現在北平寨，強攻北平寨，北平寨寨主御武校尉李渾率眾堅守，不料遼軍只攻了半日，呼嘯而來便又呼嘯而去。待到段子介接報，親率麾下兩千騎兵趕來增援，遼軍已經走了兩天了。看樣子，多半是趨保州去了。段子介感覺到，飛武一軍的大半個轄區，已是烽火遍地。 契丹究竟來了多少人？可知道主將是誰？段子介朝著東面與東北面看了半天，只見到處都是滾滾的濃煙。那自然不可能全是烽火臺的，大多倒是遼軍紮營做飯或者故意縱火的痕跡。這讓他心情頓時惡劣起來。 眾人的目光都投向李渾，段大人，此番犯寨的遼狗，應當不足三千。全是黑衣黑甲，看起來像是耶律信的部眾 耶律信？ 聽到這個名字，北平寨的敵樓之上，立時沉寂下來。段子介回頭掃視麾下諸將，除李渾等寥寥數人外，眼見著眾人臉上皆有懼色，他心中一動，故意高聲笑道：若果真是耶律信，我定州無憂矣！ 段大人，這是如何說？幾個參軍立時七嘴八舌的問了起來，段大人，這耶律信可是契丹第一名將啊是啊，段大人，耶律信乃是契丹北樞密副使，契丹南犯，耶律信統率的，必然是契丹主力，如此我定州 段子介面朝眾人，舉手止住眾人，笑道：諸君，諸君 眾人立刻安靜下來，齊齊望著段子介。 段子介笑道：諸君所言，皆有道理。然皆只知其一，不知其二！ 眾人連忙欠身抱拳道：願聽大人賜教。 段子介點點頭，笑道：諸君可聽說過一句話，天下根本在河北，河北根本在鎮、定？<注五> 一名參軍點頭應道：此乃前朝宋景文公<注六>所言。 good!鎮、定控太行之險，絕河北之要。由此舉兵西顧，則太原動搖；興兵而北，則范陽震懾！據此歷清河、下平原、逾白馬，則汴京以北，皆為馬跡踏遍矣！鎮、定即古之鮮虞、中山、鉅鹿之所在。晉得此，霸春秋；趙得此，雄戰國。漢高由此平盧綰、斬陳豨；唐天寶之禍，以鎮、定不能守；至五代之弱，據鎮、定亦足以拒契丹、全河北。我鎮、定二州，既有關山險阻、林寨屯田限隔敵騎，又有河漕可通商賈，況西與河東不過一徑之隔，河東士馬，東下井陘，不百里可至。段子介慨聲而談，舉鞭四顧，高聲道：諸君請看，我大宋百年經營，林寨方成，耶律信若果然舉大兵而臨鎮定，縱有百萬之眾，契丹騎多步少，他又要如何列陣？我定州城高池深，真定、河東援軍，二、三日之內可至。我兵雖少，據城而守，綽綽有餘；彼兵雖多，除了堵塞道路，又有何用？援軍一至，內外夾擊，一戰可定。 是以本郡便怕他來的不是耶律信，若真是耶律信，正是助吾輩封侯！但耶律信並非一勇之夫，本郡敢斷言，遂城、保州、北平寨所遇之遼軍，絕非契丹主力！契丹主力，要麼由雄州南下，要麼自高陽關南下，耶律信調出一兩萬人馬，以兩三千人為一隊，打著他的旗號•一是為了迷惑我們，一是為了牽制我鎮、定之兵。本郡若以為契丹主力在此，則必然龜縮於堅城之內，不敢出城，使我諸城寨陷入各自為戰之苦境。他們便可以四處攻擊試探，能取則取，不能取亦使我軍不敢輕易出寨。 Gentlemen!段子介環顧眾人，厲聲道：吾輩華夏貴胄，豈能讓契丹如此輕我？契丹軍勢雖盛，然亦不過黔之驢。其不能取鎮、定，則不能取河北。縱然過高陽、雄州南下，他們連我真定府、定州都無能為力，又焉能突破大名府防線？其必敗可知。如此不知大勢、窮兵黷武之國，雖強必亡。諸君欲封侯否？ 眾人聽他這一番分析，士氣大振，一齊躬身道：願聽大人差遣。 good!段子介點點頭，道：本郡奉聖命守定州，守城是吾責，護民亦是吾責！契丹以為我軍不敢出城應戰，殘虐我百姓，辱我甚矣！本郡將留兩千步軍與賈通判，令其堅守定州。本郡要親率馬軍、本州巡檢，東援保州。諸君凡善騎者，與本郡往保州；不善騎者，助賈通判守州城，同心協力，戮力報國！ 便聽眾人轟然應道：同心協力、戮力報國！ 四月十二日，清晨。 雄州瓦橋關。 這個清晨簡直稱得上是明媚清新。趙隆登上雄州城樓，極目遠眺，還可以看見樹葉與草莖之上，晶瑩的露珠一滴一滴的反射著朝陽的光芒。在瓦橋關的兩邊，一片片水田裡的青苗，青翠青翠的，像是又長高了幾寸；縱橫相連的池塘、溝渠中，一圈圈的水波蕩漾，那是小魚已經開始在水面下爭食了。 如果不是那一夜之間遍佈易水北岸的遼軍的話，這樣的早晨，即使是趙隆這樣的武人，也會禁不住想要附庸風雅，填上一曲曲子詞，找來歌妓清唱。 但此刻的趙隆，卻殊無這份雅興，只是濃眉深鎖，觀察著對岸的敵情。 他素知韓寶之名，那是遼國中名望僅次於兩耶律的名將。人人都說韓寶勇猛過人，當世無匹，但趙隆未及領略他的勇猛，卻已先領教了他的謹慎與小心。 從天色方明之時開始至今，韓寶已經對兩座水寨發動了兩次試探性的攻擊。 第一次是兩三百名渤海步兵，躲在一塊塊高達近丈的木板後面，分成兩隊緩緩推進到河岸，隔河朝兩座水寨發射火箭。趙隆一面下令水寨守軍用弓弩還擊，一面趕緊派人送去兩車猛火油，二三十名臂力出眾的禁軍將一罐罐裝滿猛火油的陶罐擲向遼軍，水寨守軍趁機發射火箭，猛火油遇火即燃，頃刻間便將遼軍的木盾燒了個乾淨。 這次進攻被打退還不到一刻鐘，韓寶又馬上發動了第二次進攻。這次他派出了百餘名漢軍與三百餘契丹騎軍，繞至易水上游距西水寨約四里左右。那些漢軍背了兩架簡易雲梯，還有十來塊木板，到了河邊，將雲梯一倒架在河上，木板往雲梯上一鋪，轉眼之間就搭成了兩座木橋。三百餘名契丹騎軍，踏著這木橋渡過易水，出現在瓦橋關的西面。他們熟練的操縱著胯下的戰馬，分散著穿過池塘、溝渠、稻田，想要配合著正面恰到好處再度攻出來的友軍，夾擊西水寨。 趙隆連忙下令胡玄通點了三百善射的巡檢出城助戰。他讓這三百名巡檢都帶上強弓勁弩，分成五十人一隊，各帶木盾自由作戰。這些巡檢都熟知地形，穿行於水田池塘之間，來去如飛，結陣方便。見著遼軍，不管是塘壩水田，都是迅速結陣一頓亂射。那三百契丹騎兵進則無法結陣，戰則陷於水田池塘之間，近身不得只能遠遠射箭還擊，騎著高頭大馬，反而成了活靶子，混戰一陣，那邊韓寶看著占不了便宜，便鳴金收兵。趙隆也不敢窮追，見好便收。 此後，便是快半個時辰的寧靜。 趙隆心裡很明白，前面的兩次進攻，只是韓寶在試探對手的能力。 傳聞當中，韓寶一旦發起進攻，便有如雷霆萬鈞一般自九天劈下，無論面前是什麼，都會在他的一擊之中，滌蕩乾淨。 趙隆右手緊緊握住佩劍的劍柄，雙目凝視著對岸，無論韓寶有什麼本事，他都已經準備好了，他鎮守的這雄州，就要學那驚濤駭浪中的礁石，縱是風浪大作之時，能將礁石完全淹沒，但是，只要它一退，礁石依然在此！ coming!趙隆在心裡說道。易水對岸，戰鼓之聲隆隆擂起。緊接著這戰鼓聲傳來的，竟然是群馬踏過地面的轟隆聲。 站在趙隆身旁的杜台卿驚訝的張大了嘴，忍不住問道：遼狗瘋了嗎？韓寶想做什麼？他們在河對岸衝鋒？ 連趙隆一時之間，也搞不清韓寶想要做什麼，他總不至於瘋狂得想讓麾下的騎兵縱馬躍過易水吧！ 他瞪大眼睛，看見一隊隊的騎兵踏著鼓聲，衝到河邊旋即勒馬急轉，便在此時，只見從那些契丹騎兵手中，揮出一坨坨黑色的物什，飛向河邊的兩個水寨！ not good!趙隆與杜台卿幾乎是同時叫出聲來，兩人驚恐的對視一眼，趙隆馬上轉向一個行軍參軍，高聲喊道：是猛火油！猛火油！他話音未落，後面的契丹騎兵已經向著兩座水寨射出一輪漫天蔽地的火箭，頃刻之間，兩座水寨燃起了熊熊大火。水寨之中，一片慌亂。 趙隆尚在權衡水寨是否還能堅守•幾乎沒有片刻間歇，突然間對岸角聲齊嗚，一隊隊漢軍抬著幾十架簡易雲梯、背著木板，朝著易水衝來。他們旁邊跟著上千名渤海步軍，一面向前衝鋒，一面朝著河對岸漫無目的射箭，掩護著漢軍。 withdraw!withdraw!讓水寨的孩兒們撒回關內！趙隆這時再也不敢猶豫，一面聲嘶力竭的高喊著，一面衝下城樓，大聲喊道：馬軍上馬！出城迎敵！馬軍上馬！ 但趙隆的馬軍並沒有來得及出城接應，他還沒跑下城樓，就被杜台卿死命拽了回來。 就在轉瞬之間，城外的局勢已經崩潰，契丹騎兵源源不斷的湧過易水，兩座水寨的守軍潰不成軍，四散逃竄，被契丹人攆在屁股後面追殺，他們中的很多人甚至忘記要向瓦橋關逃跑！而水寨因為無人救火，眼見著就要燒沒了。 他看見蕭吼高舉著一面韓字將旗，疾馳至關下，勒馬急停，一把將將旗插入地中，抬頭高聲喊道：趙將軍！我家都統讓我前來回覆將軍雄州在此，我們來了！ 這是趙隆從軍以來，所受到的最大羞辱。 但此時，甚至連這樣的羞辱也已經不算什麼。遼國既然已經渡河，他就陷入了必須纓城自守的境地。他的耳邊，分明已經聽到了載著火炮的馬車輾過官道的吱呀聲。而最重要的是，三軍不可奪氣可是，瓦橋關自他趙隆以下，在韓寶這樣的打擊下，的確已經氣奪！ 難道這就是我要盡忠的地方嗎？望著城下趾高氣揚的蕭吼，趙隆輕輕按住已經將箭搭在弓上了的杜台卿，那在射程之外。 杜大人，借一步說話。 <注四>梁門指的是安肅軍安肅縣，因五代後周時安肅縣稱為梁門口寨。 <注五>鎮州，即真定府。 <注六>即宋祁，乃仁宗朝名臣，曾經做過定州知州。 遼軍渡過易水，奪了宋軍的兩座水寨後，卻並沒有馬上攻城，而是夾河列陣，好整以暇的壘灶做飯起來。韓寶再次向趙隆展示了他的謹慎，他不僅派出了兩隊騎兵在瓦橋關兩面遊弋，還派出了數千漢軍，在城外砍樹挑土，填平附近的水田。 趙隆從未遇到過這樣的對手。他佔盡優勢，卻依然連半點機會都不肯留給自己。 午後，趙隆終於有機會第一次在實戰中見識到火炮的威力。 五門火炮，每門火炮都由四頭駱駝拉動的駝車裝載，除了對道路有所要求外，若論行軍速度，較之尋常馬車毫不遜色。除了拉載五門火炮的駝車外，同行的還有十餘輛駝車輜重，而護衛這五門火炮與二十五名炮手的，是千餘名契丹精銳騎兵！這支火炮部隊，看起來不像是韓寶的麾下，更像是一支獨立成軍，協助韓寶作戰的部隊。他們渡河之後，在距城約兩里左右的地方，卸去輓具。趙隆看著他們將長達五六尺的銅炮，從駝車上推下來，原來每輛駝車的火炮，都已經事先裝在一個炮架之上，這種炮架，趙隆曾經在河間府見過，都是由堅木製成，裝有四個輪子便於移動。但遠遠看來，遼人的炮架，與大宋神衛營的不同，神衛營的炮架較高，火炮可以上下調整角度，據說如此，發射之火炮能更加精準。而神衛營的炮手，隨身也都會帶著規尺，以計算發炮之遠近。 但趙隆所見的這些遼軍炮架，卻極其低矮。他遠遠看見那些遼人炮手比劃半天之後，方將五門火炮推到各自的位置。然後，讓他大惑不解的是，遼人並沒有馬上發炮，竟然在火炮後面挖起坑來！ 這卻是趙隆從未見過的。