Chapter 372 Empress Xiao of Liao
Lin Hao brought 100,000 cavalrymen to Yanmen Pass. He did not make any changes to the defensive deployment at the border.

Instead, he set out from Yanmen Pass with 30,000 cavalrymen, each with three horses, and directly wandered around the territory of Liao, attacking everywhere in a reckless manner.

Lin Hao's principle is to fight if he can win, and run away if he can't. In short, he does not fight a decisive battle with the Liao Kingdom, and he forcibly adopts the 16-character policy of guerrilla warfare.

A month later, the 30,000 cavalrymen were already exhausted, so Lin Hao immediately returned to Yanmen Pass with 50,000 war horses and a large amount of spoils.

After three days of rest, Lin Hao rotated another 30,000 cavalry and attacked again.

Lin Hao's goal was to consume the Liao Kingdom's manpower and use his unlimited logistical supply capabilities to fight a war of attrition with the Liao Kingdom.

Of course, the Liao Kingdom was not a fool. After three months of competition, the Liao Emperor Yelu Hongji also came to his senses.

Knowing that this was Ming Dynasty's revenge, his confidant Yelu Yixin suggested sending a large army to test the strength of Ming Dynasty as Ming Dynasty had just been established.

If you are as easy to bully as the Song Dynasty, then we will collect annual tribute from the Ming Dynasty. It would be even better if you could cede some land!

However, the Ming Dynasty's retired emperor was stationed at the border. He was a veteran on the battlefield and did not give them any chance at all. He would occasionally take advantage of an opportunity to give them a fierce blow.

At the same time, the Liao Dynasty had just put down the Chongyuan Rebellion (the Chongyuan Rebellion, also known as the "Luanhe Incident", was an event in which the Liao Emperor Yelu Hongji's uncle, Yelu Chongyuan and his sons and their accomplices fought for the throne).

Therefore, it was necessary to consolidate the domestic situation, and since the Ming Dynasty failed to gain any advantage, the army was recalled.

However, no one expected that the Ming Dynasty's revenge would be so quick. In the past few months, the Liao Dynasty's 200,000-strong army was killed by the Ming Dynasty with a knife-like method, causing the Liao Dynasty to lose nearly 50,000 troops.

Thinking of this, Yelu Hongji used his bow and arrow to shoot an arrow at the sheep running around in the woods, and hit them with one shot.

At this time, Yelu Yixin raised his eyebrows, looked at the "sheep" in the woods who had taken off their sheep head covers, and whispered:

Your Majesty, I have thought of a way that may be able to resolve the current dilemma~!

"Speak!" As he spoke, the bow and arrow in his hand kept shooting, hitting a sheep that suddenly stood up and shouted while trying to escape!

"Attack the enemy where they must be rescued!"

Upon hearing this, Yelu Hongji slowly put down the bow and arrow in his hand, looked at Yelu Yixin, and listened carefully to what he said!

Seeing this, Yelu Yixin immediately said with great interest:

"Instead of looking for the 30,000 cavalrymen of the Ming Dynasty, it is better to mobilize 300,000 troops and march directly south to attack the cities of the Ming Dynasty."

"With the weak soldiers of the Han people, they will definitely not be able to resist the Liao army. By then, we can even attack the Han capital of Bianjing like Emperor Taizong did!"

"Good!" Yelu Hongji's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately said happily:
"Your idea is good. Let's do it. Let's go straight to the capital of the Ming people. Maybe we can take over a piece of land and use it as our ranch!"

As he said this, he picked up the bow and shot another "sheep". However, what the king and his ministers didn't know was that a Han guard who was dragging the "sheep" beside him was gritting his teeth.

······
That night, Lin Hao was in a nomadic tribe in Shuozhou of Liao Kingdom, eating hot pot and singing with his soldiers.

Suddenly, a guard came running up to Lin Hao and said:
"Your Majesty, this is the information we just received!"

"Hmm?" Seeing the clear mark on the red sealing wax on the envelope, Lin Hao put away his smile, then tore off the red sealing wax and saw the information on Yu Du.

However, after reading the information, Lin Hao smiled again and said:
"You are still a little naive to play the game of Wei Wei to save Zhao with me!"

Then Lin Hao ordered the soldiers: "We will return to Yanmen Pass tomorrow!"

No one questioned Lin Hao's orders, knowing that a big battle would definitely follow.

Afterwards, Lin Hao took 30,000 troops and took two days to return to Yanmen Pass. After resting for three days, Lin Hao set out again with a large amount of supplies and 100,000 cavalry.

Half a month later, a total of 150,000 troops from Shangjing Linhuang Prefecture (Balin Left Banner, Chifeng City) and Dongjing Liaoyang Prefecture gathered in Zhongjing Dading Prefecture (Ningcheng County, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia).

Later, the Liao emperor, Yelu Hongji, led an army of 250,000 to lead the army in person.

At the same time, Lin Hao had already led 100,000 cavalrymen across the Yellow River to the east, and here he brought the 50,000 cavalrymen he had recruited previously.

Then head north, cross the Yellow River again, and head east across the prairie.

After going around in such a big circle and traveling thousands of kilometers for a month, Lin Hao finally arrived in Chifeng!
In other words, Lin Hao has space equipment that can carry two million tons of food supplies at one time.

If it were an ordinary army, let alone accomplishing such a feat, even if it had to mobilize the whole country to support it, it would inevitably suffer heavy losses.

······
Half a month ago, Yelu Hongji also brought a large army to Xijin Prefecture (southwest of the modern capital). At this time, Yelu Hongji had a total of 350,000 cavalry and infantry.

Afterwards, they launched an attack on Zhending Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty. However, what Yelu Hongji did not expect was that Zhending Prefecture had already received a notice and knew that the Liao army was coming, so they prepared a big gift for them.

You must know that after the Ming Dynasty had rested for two years, Lin Hao had trained nearly 120 million troops, of which 60 were concentrated on the border between the Ming Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom.

"Charge!" The Liao general issued an order!
Amid the rumbling sound of horses' hooves, more than 10,000 Liao cavalrymen galloped towards the city wall. When they were about 200 meters away from the city, they took out their bows and arrows and shot at the city wall of Zhending Prefecture.

However, before they could reach 200 meters, the shield soldiers on the city wall raised shields as tall as a person to block the arrows outside.

"Fire!" With the order, a row of crossbow soldiers behind the shield soldiers aimed at the cavalry team and fired a volley of huge arrows towards the oncoming Liao cavalry.

The crossbow fired giant arrows, which were more simply javelins about three feet and five inches (116 centimeters) long, with a range of 500 to 700 meters.

However, when it reaches 700 meters, although it can kill people, it is already a spent force, so the best distance is within meters for the best effect.

Therefore, when the Liao cavalry rushed to 400 meters, each giant arrow shot from the city wall could penetrate five or six people, with extremely terrifying power!
"Boom boom boom~!" Then a series of explosions sounded.

Because of Lin Hao, the steel smelting level of the Ming Dynasty has improved. The thing that is least lacking is steel. At the same time, the best gunpowder ratio was found to produce high-quality gunpowder.

The combination of steel and gunpowder immediately gave birth to a small thing that is very easy to make.

That's right, it's a grenade!
However, the maximum distance a grenade can be thrown for defending a city is sixty to seventy meters, and this explosion was five hundred to six hundred meters away from the city wall.

At this time, the soldiers on the city wall took out a giant arrow from the wooden box. This giant arrow was very special. Not only was it made of steel, it also had many grooves on the outside, and the inside of the giant arrow was hollow.

The hollow part was filled with three kilograms of gunpowder, and there was a fuse at the tail. The soldier then installed the giant arrow on the drawn crossbow and ignited the gunpowder fuse with fire. "Hiss, hiss, hiss!" The flag officer saw the fuse being ignited and immediately shouted, "Fire!"

"Xiu xiu xiu xiu~!" Another row of giant arrows shot towards the Liao cavalry, and each giant arrow pierced six or seven people in a row.

"Boom, boom, boom!" After killing seven people in a row, the fuse burned out and a violent explosion was heard again in the Liao cavalry camp.

This little thing was actually inspired by the blasting tubes used by our army in "Heroic Sons and Daughters" and "The Battle of Shangganling" that Lin Hao got.

The Ming army then used a winch to quickly pull the bowstring of the crossbow and fired ten rapid shots at them, causing heavy losses to the Liao army!

Before they reached the city wall, only one in ten Liao cavalrymen were left. On the one hand, those in front were shot and fell to the ground, tripping over the cavalrymen behind them, and then being trampled into pieces by the cavalrymen behind them.

On the other hand, there were casualties caused by the explosion, the shock wave and fragments generated, as well as the horses being frightened by the explosion and running around causing casualties.

Such powerful force immediately frightened the Liao army into shock. They knew about fireworks, but they did not expect that the Ming army had such a powerful weapon.

So they dared not send the cavalry to attack again, but the Liao army would not be willing to accept this. Seeing that the cavalry suffered heavy losses, they could only let the infantry attack the city in a dispersed formation.

"Boom boom boom~!"

As a result, when the infantry was attacking the city, countless grenades flew down from the city walls, allowing the Liao army to experience what it meant to have bullets raining down and blood flowing like a river!
After two failed sieges, the Liao army immediately called off the attack. If they continued fighting like this, they would suffer casualties that they could not afford, so they went back to think of ways to break the city!
The Liao army attacked for half a month, but not only did they fail to capture Zhending Prefecture, they also lost nearly 50,000 people, which directly destroyed the morale of the Liao army.

You know, Zhending Prefecture had a full 150,000 troops, with explosive arrows and grenades, like a steel hedgehog, giving Yelu Hongji a head-on blow.

At the same time, after three days of rest, Lin Hao brought an army of 150,000 to the unguarded capital of the Liao Kingdom, Zhongjing Dading Prefecture!
However, Lin Hao's attack on Dading Prefecture was not as difficult as that on the Liao Kingdom.

At this time, on the wall of Zhongjing Dading Prefecture, a Liao soldier reported to the garrison commander:
"General, there is a group of cavalry outside. They look a little strange. I wonder which unit they are!"

The guard looked outside the city and saw a cavalry slowly approaching. He thought that such a large cavalry should not appear here.

Because the enemy had never attacked Zhongjing Prefecture before, the garrison commander was not aware of the danger. However, when he saw the flags and armor of this army, he was startled and felt that he was in danger, so he immediately shouted:
"Enemy attack, go and notify them~!"

After he finished speaking, he thought of something and shouted again: "Close the city gate quickly~!"

However, he was disappointed. At this time, more than a hundred people wearing Liao clothes rushed out from the city, killed the soldiers who were about to close the city gate, and directly took over the city gate.

At this time, Lin Hao's cavalry had already accelerated and rushed into the city gate in less than five minutes.

At this time, the people who seized the city gate shouted loudly when Lin Hao rushed into the city:

"Your Majesty is welcome to enter the city~!"

"Well done, thank you for your hard work~!"

Lin Hao did not stop, but rushed in directly, but shouted a word of praise while rushing in.

Afterwards, Lin Hao easily attacked the capital of the Liao Kingdom, and Lin Hao's army was divided into dozens of groups. When encountering resistance, Lin Hao was not polite and directly ordered to kill without mercy.

Therefore, in less than a day, Lin Hao completely occupied Zhongjing Prefecture, and finally Lin Hao came to the Liao Kingdom Palace.

At this time in the Liao Dynasty's imperial palace, Yelu Hongji's queen Xiao Guanyin, her son Yelu Jun and daughter were all tied together.

Xiao Guanyin was not only beautiful and intelligent, but also charming and introverted. She was also very talented. She often wrote her own lyrics, was proficient in poetry and music, and was good at conversation.

In addition, she was also an excellent pipa player, known as the best at that time. She also wrote poems and was praised by Liao Dao Zong Yelü Hongji as a talented woman.

However, this queen of the Liao Dynasty was also a pitiful person. She was the first queen of Emperor Dao Zong of Liao, Yelü Hongji.

Among the members of the Chongyuan Rebellion, there were many royal relatives and powerful families.

As a result, Yelu Hongji completely lost trust in members of the royal family and descendants. After the rebellion was quelled, he became even more sensitive and suspicious.

The original disguised wise monarch also revealed his true colors, but Xiao Guanyin herself was determined to become a virtuous queen and wanted to assist her husband, the holy monarch, in creating a peaceful and prosperous era.

However, Lu Hongji is addicted to shooting a few times, um~, shooting sheep!
So she often advised Yelu Hongji to focus on handling government affairs. As a result, conflicts arose between the couple, and Yelu Hongji became increasingly impatient with the queen.

Only after she lost the favor of Yelu Hongji, when Xiao Guanyin was 35 years old, did the Liao Prime Minister Yelu Yixin, the Han Prime Minister Zhang Xiaojie, the palace maid Shan Deng, the music troupe Zhu Dinghe and others present "Ten Fragrance Poems" to Emperor Dao Zong of Liao, falsely accusing Xiao Guanyin of having an affair with the actor Zhao Weiyi.

Yelu Hongji's trust in Yelu Yixin obviously far exceeded that of the queen, so Xiao Guanyin was sentenced to death, and then she was stripped of her clothes, wrapped in a straw mat and thrown at the gate of the Xiao family.

What kind of person is Lin Hao? He hates to see this kind of thing. He felt extremely distressed when he saw it, and then ordered his subordinates:

"All of you go out, I want to interrogate Empress Xiao alone!"

"Yes~!" Several soldiers went out immediately and closed the door.

Lin Hao hurried forward and untied the ropes that bound Empress Xiao.

"You, are you the emperor of the Han people? What are you going to do to me?" When Empress Xiao saw Lin Hao's murderous eyes, she unconsciously hid back.

Lin Hao held Empress Xiao's little face in his hands and rubbed it affectionately, leaving her with nowhere to hide.

"Hahaha~! I am indeed the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. I have come here specially to rescue you. Don't worry, if you follow me from now on, I will definitely let you drink delicious drinks and eat spicy food!"

Tsk tsk! The 26-year-old Queen of Liao, just thinking about it makes me happy!

Seeing Lin Hao's look, she knew that something bad was going to happen, so she shouted:

"Don't even think about it~!"

As she said this, she opened her mouth to bite Lin Hao, but Lin Hao quickly withdrew his hand. He was not very angry, but whispered in her ear:

"Queen! You don't want anything to happen to your son and daughter, do you?"

(End of this chapter)