The morning wind blew on the body like a steel knife, and was biting cold. The ground was white frost like snow, and the horse's hooves stepped on it, making a squeaking sound of the withered plants and trees. Looking around, there was no figure in the eyes, and even birds and beasts had disappeared.

The surging Juma River in summer is frozen, as flat as a mirror, and occasionally there are dead branches blown to the ice by the wind.

Yelu Fonu exhaled, and his big hand suddenly waved: "Cross the river! All the subordinates will restrain their subordinates and follow the established route, heading south!"

The generals around him responded to the promise, and the army went down the river bank and stepped onto the ice surface of the Juma River. With the sound of horse hooves, nearly 10,000 Khitan cavalry crossed the border with the Song Dynasty. Sometimes, some horses slipped and fell on the ice, causing a burst of laughter.

The Song Dynasty never allowed the people to farm in the border area with the Khitan, and there was no trace of this area. The Khitan army lined up in two miles and entered the Song territory in a short time. The troops on the other side of the river were sorted out, and under the leadership of Yelu Fonu, they headed straight south.

When the sun rose, I met a village. Yelu Fonu ordered to bypass them and ignore them. I don’t know if any of these people would report to the government, and the Khitan army could not control so much.

At the station, Tong Yang looked at the sun rising in the sky and said to Tao Yunran: "The time is almost over. If you don't leave, I'm afraid you will be caught up by the Khitans."

Tao Yunran nodded: "Call up the troops immediately, I will go and fight the leaders of the Luxiang Army to retreat. Within half an hour, you must leave! Tell them that you don't need to take all the salutes, your life is important!"

Tong Yang Yingnuo quickly ran back to his residence, held a gong in his hand, and started beating desperately. The people who had just woken up heard the gongs outside and left the residence for no reason, watching Tong Yang knocking constantly.

Tao Yunran quickly arrived at Guo Zhengchuan, the leader of the Luxiang Army, and said, "I received the news that the Khitan soldiers and horses had crossed the Juma River and were coming to us. The governor ordered us to retreat with his troops immediately! You can order the subordinates to gather their troops and withdraw together after half an hour! Remember, don't take any greetings, it's important to escape your life!"

Huang Jing, who was responsible for building roads here, heard this and said angrily: "Thousands of people here build roads. I don't know how many things can be left when I say a walk? Do you know how many things will be lost after walking like this? Many of the things that have been done will be ruined in an instant!"

Tao Yunran said: "The officials were ordered to defend the place, but they didn't know anything else! Observe that the Khitans arrived soon. If they didn't leave, they would not only damage the things, but also lose their lives! Arrange people to withdraw immediately, no matter what, wait until the Khitans are driven away!"

Huang Jing shouted, "I was ordered to build the road. How could I obey the command of you, a low-level general! Go and call your Grand Marshal and tell me personally!"

Tao Yunran never expected that Huang Jing would object, and he was at a loss for a moment. According to his official position, Huang Jing was much higher than him. He had thousands of people under his command and refused to leave. He really didn't know how to deal with it. The secret monster was not careful in doing things, so he should have known Huang Jing early and let him obey his orders. Seeing that there were more and more people gathering with the sound of Tong Yang's gong, I couldn't help but feel anxious.

At this moment, Huang Jing's deputy Ye Deng came over, asked about the incident, and said, "Since that's the case, we will withdraw. No matter what losses there are afterwards, we will only pursue Tao's commander and let them be responsible."

Huang Jing said: "How can a small instructor take responsibility? This is a station that the two governments value, and the progress must not be delayed for a moment! With this withdrawal, how many places need to be re-made? How can I explain to the higher authorities?"

Tao Yunran said: "Observe that when the Khitans came, they burned, killed, looted, and even lost their lives! Then they ordered people to withdraw and investigate them afterwards. No matter what the matter is, I will just bear it."

After saying that, he ordered the two soldiers behind him to set up Huangjing and help them into the tent. He said to Ye Deng: "The information is true. There are really Khitan soldiers and horses in the north. They are not small groups, but there are as many as ten thousand people, which is not something we can resist. Please observe and order your subordinates immediately and follow me to retreat to the south. Don't take your salute, your life is important!"

Ye Deng looked at Tao Yunran and said after a while: "Instruction, if there is any mistake in this matter, you can't afford it!"

Tao Yunran nodded: "Of course I know! Observe, if it weren't for the real emergency, how could I make a joke about my life? Nearly 10,000 Khitans are all cavalrymen, and they can reach us in just half a day. If you don't leave at this time, you will really not leave!"

Ye Deng looked at Tong Yang who was still ringing the gong and nodded: "Okay, I believe you! If there are any mistakes afterwards, I will not spare you!"

After saying that, he said to the leaders on the side: "You will go back and recruit your subordinates, you don't have to bring salutes, and report to me after the whole team!"

After hearing this, Tao Yunran breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him repeatedly. These road construction officials not only had high positions, but also rare technicians, and had a high status in the court. It was not the order of the boss, Tao Yunran really didn't dare to fight against them.

After passing Hulu Dike, crossing Bao River, he entered Xiongzhou. A red sun rose in the sky. Guo Kui looked ahead and said in a deep voice: "From this to go north and go to the Juma River! We walked along the river and lined up to the place. Within ten miles, no Khitans are allowed to go north!"

The generals responded to the promise and took their troops and headed north. Most of the cavalry in Zhang Ji's army gathered into a single army and handed them to the commander of the deputy commander Guo Kui. I got the news yesterday and set off before dawn today to block the retreat of the Khitan army.

This area is vast and sparsely populated. If it weren't for setting up an intelligence network, you wouldn't know what happened ten miles away. When the Khitan soldiers crossed the river, Guo Kui's cavalry had already left the Ansu army. Soon afterwards, they entered Xiongzhou. The road where Guo Kui marched was about the distance from the Khitans to the station. He acted about an hour in advance. When the Khitans met the first village, Guo Kui's army had entered Xiongzhou.

On the south bank of Nanyishui, Chen Rui and his troops rushed forward. They came from Gaoyang and received Zhang Ji's military order. They set out before dawn. At this time, they were less than twenty miles away from Nanyishui. The sun rose from the east, sprinkled with thousands of rays of light, reflecting the colorful ice and snow.

Looking up at the sun in the sky, Chen Rui said, "How far is this place from Nanyishui? The Taiwei ordered that we must arrive in time and guard Nanyishui, and not allow Khitan soldiers to cross the river alone. If we cannot get there, the blame will be great."

Qu Anlan on the side said, "There are still fifteen or sixteen miles back to the Taiwei, and it is the Nanyishui River. Now the sun is rising, and the whole army is moving in a hurry. You should arrive in front of the Khitans. The Khitans cross the river, and if the entire army cannot move in a hurry, it will not be earlier than us."

Chen Rui nodded: "The Taiwei ordered our troops to station in Gaoyang, but he was too careless. Although he was hidden, Gao Yang was really far away from Nanyishui. He rushed all the way, and before he arrived at Nanyishui, it was already dawn."

Qu Anlan sighed: "What's the solution? If you don't station in Gaoyang and set up a camp outside the city, you will definitely be found out by the Khitan. The Taiwei thought there was no way, so he did this. He walked urgently all the way, although the entire army was too tired, he could finally be ahead of the Khitans."

Chen Rui said: "I will not slack off in the whole army and move at full speed! If we arrive a moment later, the Khitans may cross the river and loot the people. In this way, even if they win later, the court will punish them! This time, the Grand Marshal's orders should not be negligent!"
Chapter completed!