We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Khitan Shangjing was not close to Xiangping City, at least six hundred miles away.

Due to the delay in the transmission of information, Yelu Dahe was completely unaware that Xiangping City had fallen and the Fengtian Army’s flag had been planted on the city wall.

However, the Khitans dispatched their troops at an extremely fast speed.

This is the advantage of nomadic people. They graze and hunt on weekdays, and when war comes, they take up weapons and become soldiers. It is no exaggeration to say that every citizen is a soldier.

It is not difficult for three large tribes to gather an army of 100,000.

In a large tribe, the number of pure Khitans may be only tens of thousands, but if slaves are included, the number is almost 100,000.

In just half a day, an army composed of Khitan, Xi, Xia and Shiwei marched towards the south in a mighty force.

In addition, there is a special team accompanying them.

Heavy cavalry, Pi Shi Army!

The Khitan inherited the Liao system, and the Liao once had a most combat-effective elite force called the "Core Force".

The core troops were actually the personal soldiers of Emperor Taizu of Liao. They initially existed as a guard force, but as time went by, their functions gradually changed to the main field force.

Yelu Dahe was determined to restore the Liao Dynasty, so he learned from the Liao Dynasty's "core troops" and changed his personal army into the "Pi Shi Army".

The Pi Shi Army was composed of veterans who had followed Yelu Dahe in his campaigns across the country. They were well-equipped, with both soldiers and horses wearing heavy armor and equipped with heavy weapons including hooked spears and strong bows.

For this expedition, Yelu Daha sent out a full thousand Pi Shi troops.

A thousand heavily armored cavalrymen can determine the outcome of any battlefield.

Although one thousand people may not seem like a large number, it is actually a very large number that will consume a huge amount of resources.

The cost of maintaining heavy cavalry is comparable to that of maintaining aircraft carriers in today's countries. The knights have to wear more than 50 to 60 kilograms of iron armor, and the requirements for both the man and the horse are quite high.

Not to mention that heavy cavalry have auxiliary soldiers and auxiliary horses.

For example, Yueyun's armored battalion would ride a support horse before entering the battlefield, and would use another support horse to carry armor. Before the battle, they would put on the armor and mount the warhorse with the help of auxiliary soldiers.

It is normal for one heavy cavalryman to be equipped with three horses and three auxiliary soldiers.

The fact that the heavy cavalry were released was enough to show that Yelu Dahe was not prepared to lose this time.

In his eyes, he had already made up his mind to swallow up Li Che, the ignorant prince of Daqing.

. . . . . .

The 100,000 cavalrymen marched quickly, covering nearly 200 miles a day, and arrived at Xiangping City three days later.

At this time, the National Protection Army had just captured Xiangping City for only one day.

The army arrived at the city and joined forces with the gathered Khitan reinforcements, then quickly surrounded the city.

Fortunately, the emperor had issued an order to clear the fields and fortify the city, and all the trees near Xiangping City were cut down.

The Khitan army came from afar and did not carry any heavy siege equipment. There were no trees around, so they had to go to farther places to cut down trees and build siege equipment.

**zhi stood on the city wall inside the city, looking at the densely packed military camps in the distance with a solemn expression.

Jie An and the other two beside him were filled with fear.

"It was so damn thrilling. It was really thanks to the Young Marshal's blessing!" Jie Ming wiped the sweat from his face.

Just one day after the National Protection Army captured the city, the Khitan army arrived.

A full 100,000 troops!

If it weren't for ** Zhi's insistence on taking a risky move, killing the prisoners on the spot, and decisively taking Xiangping City...

At this moment, the National Protection Army is about to face the 100,000-strong army head-on on the plain.

The battle strength ratio is one to five, and the enemy is all cavalry. Even if the military saint were to be reborn, there would be no way he could win this battle!

"What should we do?" Jie Ming was completely at a loss. "Not to mention that the young marshal's reinforcements haven't arrived yet. Even if reinforcements did arrive, we only have 40,000 people. There's no way we can defeat so many Khitan cavalry!"

"Calm down." Jie An frowned and looked at his brother. "Keep your voice down. Don't let the brothers hear and shake the morale of the army."

After hearing his elder brother's words, Jie Ming immediately calmed down, but the anxiety in his eyes remained.

Jie An turned his gaze to ** Zhi, trying to hear the strange plan from him again.

** gave him a helpless look and said, "The disparity in strength is too great. Our only option now is to defend the city to the death."

"The Khitans are not good at attacking cities. We should hold our ground here until the young marshal's reinforcements arrive. We can then harass the enemy from the rear and perhaps force them to retreat."

** is not a god. Although he is good at coming up with strange plans, no matter how strange the plans are, they are just plans.

In the face of absolute strength, any tricks and schemes are futile.

After forcing himself to calm down, **zhi began to give orders:

"Jie An."

"exist."

"Go check the city defenses, prepare the wood, stones, and gold, and calm the brothers."

"Here."

**Zhi looked at Jie Ming again: "Jie Ming."

"what?"

"Calm down! How can a general be afraid before the battle?" **zhi scolded him for a few words, then said, "You are the only one who is in charge of the grenades in the army. How many are left?"

Jie Ming replied, "There are still more than 800, and more than 20 mines. Do you want me to send people out of the city to bury the mines?"

"No, twenty mines won't be of much use with so many people."

**zhi shook his head and looked towards the city: "Just in case, save it for street fighting."

** is still relatively pessimistic about the course of the war.

With a hundred thousand people rushing in, it is only a matter of time before the city falls. We must be prepared to fight to the end.

If it really comes to that and street fighting begins, landmines will be more useful.

"Everyone, do your job and prepare." ** Zhi said seriously, "The survival of the National Protection Army depends on you."

"Yes." Everyone said in unison.

At this moment, Yang Xuan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke: "What should I do?"

** looked at her, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.

"You just avoided looking at me. It's obvious that you have something to entrust to me, but you can't make up your mind." Yang Xuan said calmly: "Tell me, what can I do?"

** sighed: "The enemy has come a long way and has just arrived, so they are not stable yet."

"If we dispatch a powerful general with several hundred elite cavalrymen to attack the enemy camp overnight, the power of the grenades might cause the enemy to roar, thus buying time for our army."

Upon hearing this, the second son of the Xie family, Jie Quan, who had always been insignificant, suddenly shouted, "Damn it! You actually let the young lady attack the camp?!"

As Yang Xuan's personal guard, Jie An has always been not good at speaking, but he is the most loyal to Yang Xuan.

Of course, this loyalty was not out of love, but was transferred from the old commander Yang Zhongsi.

"Okay, I told him to say it." Yang Xuan raised his hand to stop him. "This plan works. I'll go!"

"Miss!" Xie An's eyes widened. "No, this is too dangerous. I'd like to go in your place!"

** Zhi looked at Jie An and said calmly: "Only by attacking the camp with all your might can we escape unscathed."

"You, I'm afraid, are not as strong as the young lady."

Xie An: ???

Yang Xuan: ...