Chapter 344: The two armies confront each other on the battlefield When Yue Fei led the elite cavalry of the Song Dynasty to Xingqing City, the city gate was already crowded with people. When the people of Xingqing heard that Yue Fei, the famous general of the Song Dynasty, was leading his army, they flocked to the streets to catch a glimpse of this legendary general. "General Yue Fei is here! The Song Dynasty's army is here!" Excited shouts came from the crowd. Shun Wang Li Qianshun led the officials and nobles of Xingqing to personally welcome the arriving army. They were dressed in their best clothes and smiled, but they could not hide a trace of worry in their eyes. After all, the threat of the Liao Dynasty was always around, and the arrival of the Song Dynasty army undoubtedly brought them a glimmer of hope. "General Yue Fei, welcome to Xingqing." Li Qianshun bowed, his tone full of respect. Yue Fei returned the greeting and said, "I am here on orders, and I am willing to join the people of Daxia in resisting foreign enemies and defending our homeland." The conversation between the two aroused cheers from the surrounding people. They knew that with Yue Fei's joining, Daxia's border would be more stable. With the arrival of the Song Dynasty's army, the atmosphere in Xingqing City suddenly changed. The haze that had been shrouding the city due to the threat from the Liao Kingdom seemed to have dissipated a lot. The people rushed to tell each other, discussing how the arrival of this army would change the fate of Daxia. That evening, Yue Fei discussed military affairs with Li Qianshun in Prince Shun's mansion. The two sat in the study, with a map spread out on the table, and Yue Fei's fingers gently ran over it. "Prince Shun, as far as I know, the Liao Kingdom has assembled 100,000 troops and intends to attack us." Yue Fei said in a deep voice.
Li Qianshun nodded: "General Yue Fei is right. The intelligence we have received also shows that the Liao Kingdom is indeed gathering heavy troops. But now with the support of the Song army, I believe we can repel the enemy." Yue Fei smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, Prince Shun. I will do my best." After a short rest, Yue Fei called his generals together to discuss the strategy of advancing the troops the next morning. He stood in front of the map and analyzed the situation of both sides in detail. "Everyone, although the Liao Kingdom has a large number of troops, we have the elite troops of the Song Dynasty and the brave soldiers of Xingqing. In this battle, we must attack the enemy's vital points with lightning speed." Yue Fei's voice was firm and powerful. All the generals responded in unison: "We are willing to follow you to fight on the battlefield and defend the Song Dynasty to the death!" Afterwards, Yue Fei ordered the army to rest in Xingqing for three days. Three days later, the army marched to Suzhou in a mighty force. The atmosphere in the imperial palace of Husiwoerduo City was extremely solemn. Xiao Wulishi, the prince of the Six Courts, hurried into the hall and bowed to the Liao emperor, Yelu Dashi, who was sitting on the throne, and reported: "Your Majesty, according to the spies, Yue Fei has led a large army to Xingqing City." Yelu Dashi took a deep breath, looked around at the ministers in the court, and asked in a deep voice: "My Lords, what do you think about this?" In the court, the ministers were discussing the matter. An old minister said worriedly, "Your Majesty, Yue Fei is a famous general of the Song Dynasty, with a great reputation, and his soldiers are brave and good at fighting. At this time, the Liao army is fighting outside, and the domestic troops are empty. It is better to temporarily withdraw the army to avoid their attack." Another young general made an impassioned speech: "Your Majesty, we cannot shrink back because of Yue Fei's reputation. We can take this opportunity to fight a decisive battle with Yue Fei's army and decide the winner!" Another civil official suggested: "Your Majesty, the territory of the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom is connected. Perhaps we can send envoys to negotiate with the Song Dynasty court to avoid fighting." There were many opinions in the court. Yelu Dashi listened to the opinions of the officials, frowned, and hesitated. He knew that this decision was related to the future of the Liao Kingdom. If he made a mistake, the consequences would be disastrous. After the court session, Yelu Dashi returned to the harem, still looking worried. Empress Xiao Tabuyan saw what was on his mind and asked softly, "Your Majesty, what worries you so much?" Yelu Dashi sighed and told the queen everything that happened in the court. Xiao Tabuyan pondered for a moment, and a firm look flashed in his eyes: "Your Majesty, I think we should fight a decisive battle with Yue Fei's army." Yelu Dashi looked at the queen in surprise and asked puzzledly: "Oh? Why is that?" Xiao Tabuyan explained, "Your Majesty, although Yue Fei is famous, our Liao soldiers are no ordinary people. If we can gather our forces and fight to the death with Yue Fei's army, we can occupy the territory of Xia and use it as a base to advance eastward, defeat Jin, and regain the homeland of Liao. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we cannot miss." Yelu Dashi was moved after hearing this. He stood up and walked to the window, looking at the distant skyline, as if he saw the glorious scene of the Liao Kingdom regaining its homeland. He took a deep breath, turned around and said to the queen: "You are right. We cannot retreat because of fear. Pass the order down, gather the troops, and prepare for a decisive battle with Yue Fei's army!" The army led by Yue Fei finally arrived in Suzhou. In Suzhou City, the garrison commanders and the people had already heard about the arrival of Yue Fei's army and went out of the city to welcome them. Yue Fei calmed everyone down and immediately began to arrange the city defense to prepare for the upcoming Liao army.
At the same time, the Liao army of 100,000 had arrived a hundred miles away from Suzhou City. The Liao army commander looked at Suzhou City from afar, with a sly look in his eyes. He knew that Yue Fei was a tough opponent, but the 100,000 troops he brought with him were no ordinary troops. Between the two armies, scouts shuttled through the wilderness like ghosts, spying on each other's military intelligence. Whenever night fell, they would quietly approach the other side's camp, trying to capture any useful information. As the scouts of the two armies continued to fight and collect intelligence, the prelude to the war slowly began. On the wall of Suzhou, Yue Fei was standing with his hands behind his back, his armor shining coldly under the light. At this time, a scout came to him in a hurry, "Report! The Liao commander Xiao Wulishi has led an army of 100,000 and is now stationed a hundred miles outside Suzhou." Yue Fei narrowed his eyes and gave a sharp look. He immediately ordered: "Order the whole army to march out of the city to fight!" The generals were shocked when they heard this. One deputy general couldn't help but ask, "General, why don't you just defend the city? Instead, why do you go out to fight? Isn't this giving up the city's natural defense line?" Yue Fei turned around, and with a sharp gaze he swept over all the generals, and said in a deep voice: "Defending the city is certainly safe, but in a war, the city is bound to be damaged, and I cannot bear to see the people of Suzhou suffer such a disaster. Moreover, the enemy has come from afar and has not yet established a firm foothold. If we take the initiative to attack, we can catch them off guard." After hearing this, although the generals had some doubts, they had full faith in Yue Fei's strategic vision and military ability, and they all obeyed the order and left. Soon after, outside Suzhou City, flags were flying and the army was ready to go. Yue Fei rode on his warhorse with a determined look in his eyes. He knew the significance of this battle. With his order, the army rushed towards the Liao camp like a tiger out of its cage. In the desert, the sky was filled with yellow sand, and the two armies finally met at 10:00 in the morning. A hundred feet away, the Liao army lined up to wait, and the commander Xiao Wulici rode on a tall warhorse with a disdainful smile on his face. He looked at the army led by Yue Fei from afar. When he saw that the Song cavalry was no more than 10,000 people, he laughed out loud: "Hahaha! Yue Fei, are you going to die with just these few cavalry? What a joke!" Yue Fei's expression remained unchanged. He calmly observed the Liao army camp opposite him, and had already made up his mind. He rode forward a few steps and responded loudly: "Xiao Wo Li Shi, the soldiers are not about quantity but quality. Today, I will let you see the bravery of my Song soldiers!"