Do you know the long song of laughter?

Ding Yimin was stunned when he heard this, and said anxiously: "Marquis Weibei, I have already written a letter about the mission and sent it back to Bianjing. Now the emperor has not responded yet. How can we take the initiative to provoke a war at this time?"

"The emperor has promised the Duke of Ying the right to act at his own discretion, and does the Liao Kingdom have any attitude towards negotiations? Now the Liao army is completely unprepared, but this is a godsend opportunity, and the chance to fight will be fleeting. How can there be time to consider so many things?" Shen Congxing retorted.

"That's enough!" The Duke of England stopped the two men and said, "Minister Ding is right. It is indeed not appropriate to take the initiative to provoke a war."

"Marshal, if we miss this opportunity and the subsequent negotiations fail, we may not have such a good opportunity again." Shen Congxing said anxiously.

Before this expedition, Zhao Zongquan told him that he must strive to make some contributions. Only in this way could he be arranged to take charge of some military power.

Even without Zhao Zongquan's instructions, as a military general, Shen Congxing was eager to show his strengths on the battlefield.

When he was in Yuzhou before, because he was a member of the Xiang army and because of Zhao Zongquan, he thought he would never have the chance to go to the battlefield in his life.

Now that he has the opportunity, he naturally doesn't want to let it go.

In fact, Shen Congxing had mentioned on the way that the Liao Kingdom would be prepared after learning that the Song Dynasty had increased its troops. If he led the cavalry first, the Liao army would definitely not expect it.

When he attacks the camp in the middle of the night, the Liao army will surely be in chaos.

However, the British did not adopt it.

Shen Congxing thought this was his last chance.

The Liao army outside the city could not have been unaware of the 100,000-strong army entering the city.

However, the Song army had traveled a long distance and was exhausted. The Liao army did not expect that the Song army would send a surprise attack on the night of their arrival.

The Duke of England's face darkened and he said, "Are you the commander-in-chief or am I the commander-in-chief? If you dare to say anything more, I will punish you according to military law!"

Although Shen Congxing was unwilling, he didn't dare to say much.

The Duke of Ying asked some more questions about the Liao army and then let everyone go back to rest.

"They say the British public servants are as good as gods, but that's all bullshit. They let go of such a good opportunity."

After leaving the camp and walking for a while, Shen Congxing saw that there was no one around and said a little annoyed.

"That's right. Even a rough man like me knows that opportunities on the battlefield are fleeting. The Duke of England is too timid!" Lao Geng echoed.

For this expedition, Zhao Zongquan wanted his confidants to take the credit, so except for Xiao Duan who stayed behind to be responsible for the defense of the palace, all the others were sent over.

"Uncle, please be careful with your words!" Gu Tingye quickly advised, "Perhaps the Duke of England has other considerations?"

Shen Congxing proposed to attack the camp twice, but it was not his idea alone, but something they discussed on the way.

Gu Tingye also thought that sending the cavalry ahead and tonight was the best time.

But the Duke of England is the commander-in-chief, and there is nothing he can do even if he disagrees.

It is a taboo for generals to be at odds with each other, and he was also worried that Shen Congxing and Lao Geng would cause some trouble.

"What considerations could there be? I think the Duke of England is just getting old and becoming less courageous. It's ok to ask him to quell a rebellion, but he's afraid to fight the Liao people." Old Geng curled his lips.

"Enough!" Gu Tingye shouted, "The Duke of Ying is the commander-in-chief appointed by the government. If you belittle him, aren't you insulting the government?"

"Okay, stop talking nonsense." Shen Congxing still had some rationality and started to persuade.

……

For several days, the Song and Liao armies lived in peace.

That day, Duke Yingguo ordered someone to call Shen Congxing and Gu Tingye to the tent.

The two men came into the tent and found that only the Duke of England was in the tent, and there was no one else.

"Greetings, Marshal!" the two men saluted.

"Sit down and talk."

Duke Ying invited the two men to sit down and said, "I asked you to come here because I want you to lead the army to attack the Liao camp tonight."

"Commander!"

Shen Congxing stood up immediately after hearing this. There was no surprise on his face. Instead, he said angrily, "General, the art of war says to attack the enemy by surprise and take advantage of their unpreparedness. There were two such good opportunities before, but you didn't agree to send troops. Now the Liao army is already prepared. Isn't sending troops now like walking into a tiger's mouth?"

Shen Congxing has been busy these days and has found out a lot of news about the Liao army.

He learned that when the Liao army learned that the Song Dynasty had sent troops, they did not take it seriously. Instead, they sent additional scouts to patrol in the past few days.

In his opinion, the best opportunity has been missed.

The Song Dynasty was already short of war horses and had few cavalry. If it suffered too many casualties, it would only have infantry left. Once a fight broke out, it would have no choice but to defend the city.

Duke Ying said calmly, "You've already said it. Take the enemy by surprise. Do you think the Liao generals can't think of opportunities that you can think of? Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we win every battle. You suggested that the cavalry go first, but have you ever thought that our cavalry's war horses are far inferior to those of the Liao. How much combat power can they have in a long-distance raid? Can we really hide the Liao army's eyes and ears along the way? Do you know the Liao generals? If you don't know yourself and the enemy, acting rashly is no different from committing suicide."

"I..." Shen Congxing was a little speechless, and retorted: "Then the Liao army did not take any precautions when they arrived in Bazhou that night. With such a good opportunity, why didn't the commander-in-chief allow the troops to be dispatched?"

"No matter how stupid the Liao army generals were, they knew to take precautions when they learned that our army had arrived. If they had not taken precautions, we could say that they were careless. But starting from the second day, the Liao army increased the number of scouts. Would the Liao army generals be so stupid? Although it seemed that we were not prepared on the day we arrived, they had actually dug a trap, waiting for us to jump into it," said the Duke of England.

Shen Congxing said: "Since the Liao army is already prepared, why did the commander let us launch a surprise attack?"

"I have sent out many spies in the past few days and have found out that the Liao army seems to be heavily guarded, but it is just an appearance. The spies got close to the Liao army camp and were not noticed. It can be seen that the Liao army is just doing it for us to see." said the Duke of England.

"Marshal, why are you so sure that this is done for us to see and not a strategy of the Liao army to lure the enemy?" Gu Tingye asked.

"The chief general of the Liao army is Yelu Qing. I have dealt with him before. He is very fond of studying the military tactics of the Han Dynasty, and is somewhat similar to Zhao Kuo of the Warring States Period. He is too rigid and lacks flexibility." said the Duke of England.

Yelu Qing is well-versed in the art of war. If the two armies were to face off in a fair fight, it would be very difficult to deal with him.

The reason why Duke Ying rejected Shen Congxing's plan to attack the camp twice was because he understood that Yelu Qing could think of this.

Because these two time periods are indeed the best time for a sneak attack, Yelu Qing will definitely take precautions.

However, Yelu Qing's determination was just as he said, and he lacked the ability to adapt.

As long as you do the opposite and launch a sneak attack when it is least likely to happen, you can achieve miraculous results.

"If you are afraid, I can also let someone else lead the troops." said the Duke of England.

This sentence was not meant to provoke. If it were according to his real intention, he would not let Shen Congxing and Gu Tingye go.

Shen Congxing previously led the Xiang Army. Yuzhou was not far from Bian Jing, so there were very few bandits, let alone rebellions.

Shen Congxing didn't even have the experience of suppressing a rebellion, let alone leading his troops to launch a surprise attack on the Liao army camp.

Gu Tingye had never served in the army before, and even though his father was an expert in military strategy, the Duke of England was still not very reassured.

However, the Duke of England knew the purpose of the emperor's arrangement of a group of trusted men into the army. If the attack on the camp was successful, it was likely that the crisis would be resolved in one fell swoop.

If Shen Congxing and Gu Tingye were not allowed to go, the other two might not have the chance to make merit.

Of course, the Duke of England would not take the risk just to give the two men a chance to make meritorious contributions.

He carefully considered the two men's personalities and only let them lead the troops to attack the camp when he was quite confident.

Shen Congxing and Gu Tingye looked at each other, then stood up and said, "I am willing to lead the troops to attack the camp!"

No matter what, they can't let go of this opportunity.

In ancient warfare, night attacks were the most common.

As the saying goes, there is only a thief who can steal for a thousand days, but you can never guard against thieves for a thousand days.

This is actually the reason for night raids.

The attacking party has the initiative, and it is night time, so even if the other party is on guard, it is easy to escape and the loss is not great.

After careful discussion and some instructions, the Duke of England let the two men go down to rest and prepare.

……

Late at night, Shen Congxing and Gu Tingye led a thousand cavalrymen, with men holding grass in their mouths and horses holding nuts in their mouths. Even the horses' hooves were wrapped with cloth, and they quietly left the city from the west gate.

It takes some time to get out of the city from the west gate and reach the Liao army camp.

However, the Liao army camp was more than ten miles away in the north, and the north gate was the closest, but it was also the focus of the Liao army's surveillance, so naturally they could not leave.

Except for the troops led by Duke Yingguo, Shen Congxing and Gu Tingye, no one else knew about the attack on the camp.

The guards at the west gate had long been replaced by people the Duke of England trusted without him noticing.

The Duke of England stood on the top of the city wall, watching the two men leading the cavalry into the darkness, and murmured, "I hope we can succeed in one fell swoop."

Night attacks are very chaotic, and too many soldiers and horses are difficult to control.

These 1,000 cavalrymen were the most elite among the more than 10,000 cavalrymen in the army. They could break into the Liao army camp, set fire and create chaos.

In the darkness of the night, the Liao army would not distinguish between friend and foe and would inevitably trample on each other or even kill each other.

It can be said that attacking the camp is a gamble of small risk for big gain. Even if it fails, the loss will not be great. Instead, the enemy will always be cautious and on guard.

But once you succeed, you will make a lot of money.

After Shen Congxing and Gu Tingye led their troops out of the city, they headed north.

Although it was already March, the nights in the north were still a bit cold. However, both Gu Tingye and Shen Congxing were very excited and did not feel the cold at all.

It was difficult to march at night, and since they were launching a surprise attack, they didn't dare to use torches.

Although there is a moon tonight, it is covered by a layer of dark clouds and visibility is very low, so the marching speed is not fast.

When they saw the light coming from the braziers in the Liao army camp from afar, they became more cautious.

They went around the side of the Liao army camp and stopped two or three miles away.

"Zhong Huai, when do we start?" Shen Congxing took out the grass in his mouth and asked in a low voice.

His voice was trembling slightly due to excitement.

"No rush, let the soldiers rest for a while before taking action!" said Gu Tingye.

"Okay." Shen Congxing nodded and asked his personal soldiers to give the orders.

After resting for a quarter of an hour, two captains were arranged to lead a hundred men each to ambush on both sides.

These two hundred people will wave flags and shout after they break into the Liao army camp, making it difficult for the Liao army to judge the number of people attacking the camp.

These two hundred people can also support them when they retreat.

The camp of 100,000 people stretched for several miles, so it was impossible to surround it entirely.

Except for a few gates, many trenches were dug in the rest of the camp, and there were also chevaux de frise near the camp.

Gu Tingye led a dozen people to explore the way first, and the rest of the people followed behind, leading their horses, under the leadership of Shen Congxing.

Gu Tingye filled a section of the trenches along the way to facilitate the passage of the soldiers behind.

When he reached the vicinity of the chevaux de frise, Gu Tingye could already see the situation inside the Liao army camp through the gaps in the chevaux de frise.

Gu Tingye and his men lay on the ground and waited quietly.

I don't know how long it took, but a burst of chaotic footsteps was heard.

Gu Tingye raised his head and saw a team of patrolling Liao soldiers walking in a disorganized formation in the camp.

The patrolling soldiers did not look around, as if they were just going through the motions, and soon they disappeared.

Duke Yingguo's guess was correct. After learning that the Song Dynasty was sending reinforcements to the border, Yelu Qing ordered the camp to be tightened inside and loosened outside to prevent a surprise attack by the Song army.

It would take time for him to receive the news. If the Song army sent cavalry to launch a surprise attack first, by the time he got the news, the Song cavalry would have almost arrived.

The other generals of the Liao army disagreed. They felt that the Song Dynasty would not dare to take the initiative to attack the Liao Kingdom.

However, Yelu Qing did not think so. He was worried that these people were pretending to obey but actually disobeying their orders, so he conducted random inspections every night.

After he punished several lazy generals, the others dared not to be lazy anymore.

However, after the Song army arrived in Bazhou City for several days, no Song army came to raid the camp, so Yelu Qing relaxed his vigilance and did not continue the inspection.

Before, because Yelu Qing often patrolled, the soldiers on duty at night were very serious and very tired. Now that the commander has become lazy, the soldiers will naturally be lazy too.

Gu Tingye naturally didn’t know all this. He continued to lie down for a long time, and then he heard footsteps again.

He calculated in his mind that the two times were about an incense stick apart, and a hint of joy appeared on his face.

This shows that the Liao army's internal defense was very lax.

Of course, it is also possible that the Liao army was luring the enemy into a trap.

But at this point the arrow has been drawn and has to be shot.

After the patrolling soldiers passed by, Gu Tingye sent someone to notify Shen Congxing in the rear, and he led his men forward to remove the barricades.

There was a trench in the camp. When Gu Tingye led his men to fill it up, Shen Congxing also came with his men.

Gu Tingye took his horse and gun from Shitou, climbed on his horse, looked back, and saw that the soldiers were already on their horses. He spat out the grass in his mouth and shouted, "Kill!"

After saying that, he galloped away on his horse, swung the spear in his hand, picked up a brazier and threw it towards the tent not far away.

Gu Tingye and Shen Congxing each led a team of men and rushed into the Liao army camp and set fire everywhere without encountering any obstruction.

For a moment, flames shot up into the sky in the camp.

Several teams of patrolling soldiers heard the noise and rushed over, but were quickly killed by Gu Tingye and his men.

Gu Tingye and his men did not pursue them, but ran around and set fires.

However, the good times did not last long. Many soldiers were awakened and began to organize soldiers to encircle and suppress Gu Tingye and others.

……

Duke Ying stood on the northern city wall of Bazhou City, looking in the direction of the Liao army camp.

Ever since Gu Tingye and his men led the troops out, the Duke of England came to the top of the northern city wall.

When he saw the flames rising from the direction of the Liao army camp in the north, Duke Ying showed a hint of joy and shouted, "Quick, beat the drums to gather the troops!"