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

Xiao Boyu's solemn promise was finally fulfilled.

In the first year of Yuanfeng in the Song Dynasty and the end of the fourth year of Dakang in the Liao Dynasty, the Liao army broke through the Zhuoshui defense line and forced a breakthrough despite being ambushed on the flank.

This battle seemed to carry with it the resentment from twelve years ago. The Liao army attacked desperately and fiercely tore through the defense line.

Then, on a windy and snowy day, the Song and Liao armies launched a second offensive and defensive battle around Zhuozhou City.

However, after many days of resistance, the Song army was ultimately "unable to stop" the ferocious Liao army. After setting another fire in Zhuozhou City, Guo and Gu quickly retreated and stationed at Qigou Pass.

At this time, about three or four months had passed since the Liao army's full-scale counterattack. The "Zhuozhou Offensive and Defense Battle" consumed and tied down a large number of Liao army's manpower, especially the ace "Iron Forest Army", which was also placed on the eastern front.

This brought Han Ming's western layout to an end. With the concerted efforts of Zhong Yan, Zhong Zhen, Zhang Qie and all the officials of Hedong Road and Ningxia Road, they finally managed to complete the defense lines of Yun (Datong Prefecture) and Ying Prefectures.

At this point, the four prefectures of Shuo, Huan, Yun and Ying under the jurisdiction of the Liao Dynasty's Xijing Road were officially incorporated into the territory of the Song Dynasty.

And this is the big piece of meat that Han Ming swallowed from the Liao Kingdom through this "Northern Expedition" war.

Compared to the future war that would sweep across the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, this "Yuanfeng Northern Expedition" had captured nearly half of the prefectures and counties in the early stages, so there was no way he would give them away in vain.

There are many plains on the eastern front. Even if the cities and land are captured, the Liao army's cavalry will be able to ravage them at will.

But the western front is different. The northern part of Shanxi and the border with Inner Mongolia have many mountains, forests and rivers passing through it, which is suitable for building cities and castles to form a defense line to resist the attack of the Liao army.

This time, the "Four Provinces Defense Line" was mainly based on the ruins of the old Great Wall in the north and west, and was fully capable of blocking the Liao army's troops in the northern provinces of Xijing Road, especially the troops of the Southwest Road Recruiting Office, from moving south.

In the east, relying on the line connecting Longshou Mountain in Yingzhou, Sanggan River in Yunzhou, Yuhe River (the flow of Sanggan River), and Baideng Mountain, dozens of military camps of different sizes were newly built, occupying natural strategic locations.

In this way, when facing the enemy coming from the east, the Song Dynasty has all the means to stop them and will no longer be an isolated force advancing.

The subsequent military supplies and other materials will be fully supplied by Ningxia Road and Hedong Road to ensure the stability of the defense line in the four states.

Once the Liao army is freed up, the four states will become a battlefield vortex where the Song and Liao will once again fight.

"We can't let the Liao army on the eastern front easily return to support us. We must continue to contain them until they collapse first."

"Mobilize all remaining troops under Zhang Yu's command, and call upon the commanders of all the major military camps along the border to launch an all-out attack. Actively and proactively launch an assault on all the major towns along the Liao border."

"There's no need for large-scale corps warfare. Break the whole into smaller units and spread them throughout the Liao Kingdom's Nanjing Road. Implement the 'Sixteen-Character Guerrilla Tactics' to disrupt the enemy's interior."

"Send a message to Guo Kui and Gu Tingye. They want to avenge the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Jizhou. I will give them a chance..."

Standing in the military deployment and operations hall of the Privy Council, Han scanned the map showing the complete deployment of troops on the east and west lines with bright eyes, and felt relieved.

The chess game is alive!!!

Next, the Song army had its own initiative and advantages. As long as it could maintain stability, it might be able to swallow up a few more prefectures after the "four states".

Fu Yaoyu, who was completely conquered by Han Ming's step-by-step arrangements in the past few months, had nothing to say at this moment and just waited for the other party's orders.

"Qigou Pass!"

"Here, I will devour the Liao army's strongest trump card, the 'Iron Forest Army'!"

As soon as these domineering words came out, all the officials at all levels in the entire combat deployment hall, as well as the imperial guards generals and soldiers who were ordered to come to discuss military affairs, straightened their expressions and immediately stood up and saluted.

"I will follow Prime Minister Han's orders!"

. . . . . .

With the closure of the 'Yunzhou-Yingzhou Defense Line', the situation of the 'Yuanfeng Northern Expedition' changed rapidly, and the pattern of Song defending and Liao attacking was changed back again by Han Ming.

Such terrifying means of making things happen with a wave of the hand shocked the people of the Song Dynasty and received great praise.

Emperor Shenzong expressed his regret for not listening to Han Jingyuan's advice, which led to the tragic situation of "the defeat of Jizhou".

The chief minister of the dynasty, co-minister of the Secretariat and concurrently vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Duke Xiuguo Chen Shengzhi praised: Han Jingyuan is indeed a man of great talent and the ability to support the world.

Wang Jiefu, the acting Third Secretary, publicly praised him: "One of them can defeat a million strong Liao troops."

The Su brothers, two of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song, even said frankly: "Han Ming of Anyang is a tool for assisting the king!"

The revitalization of this game was also fully recorded in the "Zizhi Tongjian" by Sima Junshi, the most core member of the Han Party, and became the most classic "comeback battle" in later generations!

It also allowed many later generations of literati and poets to continue to spread, learn and comment on it.

Xin Qiji, later known as the famous "Han fan," bluntly wrote in his article: "...Han Gong possessed both literary and military skills. Wouldn't it be too small to have two temples for both civil and military affairs? We should establish a Han Temple and offer sacrifices to him in its own way!"

Another contemporary, Lu You, a "Han fan," said: "A saint has descended from heaven to bless the Song Dynasty!"

As for one of Han Ming's future idols, Wang Shouren, who was hailed as the last "saint", he pushed Han Ming's fame to an even higher level.

He said: "'Every five hundred years a king will rise, and during that time there will be someone who will rule the world.' How far is Han Jing from us?"

. . . . . .

Speaking of Qigou Pass, it is a very magical place. A famous battle once took place here - the Battle of Qigou Pass.

This battle took place in the spring of the third year of Yongxi (the fourth year of Tonghe in Khitan, 986 AD), and was also an important battle in the second Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty, the "Yongxi Northern Expedition".

The Song Dynasty attacked Liao from three directions at that time. The main force in the east, led by Cao Bin, was eager for success. After advancing to Zhuozhou (now Zhuo, Hebei), they were forced to withdraw to Xiongzhou (now east of Xiong County, Hebei) due to lack of food and grass.

Although they soon packed up their supplies and advanced again, the troops were tired and their combat effectiveness declined.

Therefore, the Liao army seized the opportunity, took advantage of the situation and was able to concentrate on dealing with the Song army in the east.

As a result, the Song army was severely defeated, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and the second Northern Expedition ended in failure.

A hundred years later, an assassination occurred here that almost triggered a diplomatic conflict between the two countries.

In the second year of Yuanfeng in the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the first month of the fifth year of Dakang, the "Second Battle of Qigou Pass" between Song and Liao broke out again.

But this time, it’s time for the Song army to avenge its defeat and stage a story of a two-level reversal!

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the Song army entered the Qigou Pass. Three days later, at noon on the tenth day, the Liao army arrived fifty miles outside the Qigou Pass.

After a brief weighing of the pros and cons, Xiao Boyu divided his troops into two groups, one for a frontal attack and the other for a surprise attack from behind.

As a result, they were calculated by Guo Kui and Gu Tingye, and were directly pressed inside and outside the Qigou Pass, where they were defeated and suffered heavy losses.

With full efforts and advance preparation, the Song army showed its sharp claws this time. The combination of infantry, artillery and cavalry achieved the highest casualty ratio since the war in Liao.

The Liao army threw away their weapons and armor, leaving behind countless corpses, and hurriedly returned north to Zhuozhou to set up camp and recuperate.

Among them, the ace unit "Iron Forest Army" was equipped with the latest "landmine bombs" developed by the Military Equipment Supervision Bureau and rushed to the front line. They exploded with a loud bang and stabbed without a sound.

In addition to feeling heartbroken, Yelu Hongji and Xiao Boyu were also puzzled as to why the Song army on the eastern front was like a lunatic, taking a step back after each attack, and then settling down like a nail to block them.

What on earth are they doing with this completely thankless task?! Is that bastard Han Ming also out of his mind?

It was not until the news came that Yelu Asi was blocked from advancing westward to recover his former territory that they finally understood the plan of Guo Kui and Gu Tingye.

"This Han Ming really has unpredictable abilities!"

"They've quietly built a defense line between Yun and Ying states. This is trouble..."

Yelu Hongji and Xiao Boyu are now quite calm. When they encounter Han Ming, who always manages to seize the initiative in everything, they accept it with peace of mind.

There is no way to refuse to accept it. The other party has done the work and left no room for others. What can they say then?

Take it back?

I'm afraid he's dreaming. So far, none of the land that Han Ming swallowed has been spit out.

I'm afraid that the four states of Yun, Ying, Huan and Shuo are almost becoming the shape of him, Han.

When I think of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the most important ones come to mind, especially Xijing Datong Prefecture. There are many temples and Buddhist monasteries repaired by the royal family, as well as industries!

Although during the Zhiping period of the Song-Liao War, the ruthless Guo Kui looted Datong Prefecture, but who could blame Buddhism for being so popular in the Liao Kingdom?

Over the past twelve years, many Buddhist temples have been renovated and many new resources and industries have been added. Now, they have all been swallowed up by the Song Dynasty. Who the hell can I go to for justice?!

In particular, many princes and nobles and Khitan dignitaries who had recently moved south had invested a lot of assets in Datong Prefecture.

They all clamored to raise an army for revenge, but Yelu Hongji always said "OK, OK" and let them lead their tribes to solve the problem themselves.

This behavior left these people speechless. If they led their own troops there, wouldn't it be like throwing meat buns at a dog and never come back?

Even the Liao main force couldn't defeat the Song army, so wouldn't they be just sending themselves to die?

In this situation where both sides remained silent, had a tacit understanding, and understood each other tacitly, the Song-Liao War ended with the "Battle of Qigou Pass".

After this battle, the Song Dynasty took over the land south of Qigou Pass, which was actually just six or seven cities under the jurisdiction of Yizhou.

In the west, the entire area from northern Shanxi to southern Inner Mongolia was recovered in one fell swoop, totaling four states and dozens of cities.

At this point, the Song Dynasty's "Yuanfeng Northern Expedition" came to an end!