Chapter 794 - 46: The Summer-Liao Bloody Battle, Great Song Unleashes Its Sword

Time passed swiftly.

The whole world seemed to stir with the mobilization of the Western Xia army, akin to stormy winds rising.

After nearly a decade, great war erupted once more.

— In the face of Western Xia’s invasion.

The Liao Kingdom certainly had to resist.

For the Liao Kingdom, although they were weak now, as long as they did not face the Great Song, there was still strength to fight.

A centipede can still wriggle even after it dies.

Let alone a nation.

Of course, the outbreak of a great war at this time was a heavy blow to Liao as well.

But they had to fight!

This was their only chance, though it would further burden the common people.

...

The twelfth year of Longhe, February.

War erupted suddenly.

Faced with Western Xia’s invasion, the Liao Kingdom made every possible response.

Yelv Yanxi issued multiple decrees from Shangjing Linhuang Mansion, assembling the Liao army, and dividing it into two main forces to respond to the attack.

The Eastern army of Liao gathered heavy troops, intending to wage a frontal decisive battle.

With Xiao Wuna as the marshal, leading elite palace guards from Central Capital and Shangjing, as well as six units of Xi cavalry, they moved westward from Central Capital Dading Mansion, deploying along the Tu River, building strong fortifications to directly confront the main force of the Western Xia Eastern army.

At the same time, another detachment was sent south from Qingzhou to threaten the flank of the Western Xia Eastern army, aiming to cut off its connection with the Western Capital base.

As for the Western army, Liao employed a strategy of fortification and attrition.

Yelv Wotela was appointed commander of the Northwest army, leading the main forces from Zhenzhou Koton City and conscripting troops from allied forces like Wugu and Dilie, relying on the Lulun River defense line and desert-edge oasis outposts, to construct defenses layer by layer, not seeking a quick victory, but aiming to hold the Western Xia Western army firmly in place, preventing it from advancing east to join the main force.

Liao’s strategic intention was clear: to concentrate the superior forces on the eastern front, striving for a decisive battle in the relatively narrow Tu River valley with the Western Xia main force, using their advantage of fighting on home terrain to defeat or severely damage the enemy.

On the western front, they maneuvered within the vast geography of the Northern Desert, depleting the morale of the Western Xia detachment.

— This was nothing less than a war determining the fate of the nation!

For a time, flames of war rose on both the eastern and western fronts of Liao.

The twelfth year of Longhe, March.

On the eastern front, upstream of the Tu River, at Bai Shui Lake.

The first battle commenced.

The main forces of the Western Xia Eastern army encountered Xiao Wuna’s forces from Liao here.

Western Xia’s cavalry, relying on the momentum of their charge, broke through three frontline fortifications of the Liao army, advancing to within a hundred li of Central Capital.

The Liao army, taking advantage of the Tu River’s geography, used strong bows and heavy crossbows to blunt their advance, while the Xi cavalry launched several flank attacks. Both sides fought bloodily throughout the day, with corpses strewn all around, staining the river red.

Western Xia had a slight upper hand, seizing the grasslands around Bai Shui Lake, but the main forces of the Liao army remained intact, retreating to defend the line at Huang River Stone Bridge, clinging to strategic positions, causing the battle to stalemate.

This battle, of course, would not end so easily.

News spread rapidly.

The murderous atmosphere throughout the world grew more intense, yet the Great Song remained inactive!

The twelfth year of Longhe, mid-April.

Eastern front, flank, Ma Meng Mountain.

The Western Xia vanguards detected the Liao detachment moving south from Qingzhou, and so set an ambush in the canyon of Ma Meng Mountain with elite cavalry.

In the ensuing fierce battle, the Liao detachment suffered losses of over three thousand men, compelled to retreat back to Qingzhou.

Though this battle failed to fully cut off the Western Xia Eastern army from their rear, it successfully forced the Liao army to abandon a large-scale flanking maneuver, concentrating the conflict more on the eastern front.

The situation was constantly changing.

During this time, countless civilians sought to flee to the Great Song, willing to abandon all their possessions.

— There was no choice, for Liao to fight this war, they had to oppress the people.

The Great Song, although not directly participating in the war.

Still exerted an invisible pressure on them, so much so that they dared not cease their tributes, fearing that the Great Song might take military action.

The annual tribute of one hundred thousand stone of grain would have been manageable in bygone times.

But in wartime.

The weight of this burden was indeed too great.

It was precisely because of this that countless people felt a profound despair, fleeing to the Great Song en masse.

As for this, Gu Rui certainly would not refuse.

He was still awaiting an opportunity, evidently aiming for a decisive blow.

Gu Yi also quietly observed all of this, having no objections to Gu Rui’s choices in this instance.

While it seemed it might affect the Gu Clan’s political credibility.

Compared to the potential benefits, all of this appeared insignificant.

The Gu Clan had long surpassed its former standing.

With a millennium of accumulation, and now beginning to bear fruit, the Gu Clan was no longer just a simple family.

Moreover, the Gu Clan aspired to illustrious later years.

As long as this maneuver succeeded, not only could it reap short-term benefits for Kyushu, but in the long run, it would also bolster the Gu Clan’s achievements.

Why not pursue it?

As for whether this move would bring calamity to the Gu Clan, Gu Yi was not overly concerned.

For the present-day Gu Clan—

Even imperial power found it difficult to threaten their survival.

Unless the Emperor was willing to risk everything.

Of course, such an emperor would not care about political credibility.

As for others...

The Gu Clan need not worry at all.

One could say, whether for Kyushu or the entire Great Song, this was the best decision.

The development of events spoke volumes.

Countless civilians fled to the Great Song; even if Liao managed to stop some, it could never be everyone.