The rebellious army led by Feng Xiao set up camp outside Dingzhou. A hundred li to the north was the Great Yan's Yuyang County. The advance army only had thirty thousand men and horses. They did not dare to advance rashly, so they sent scouts to Yuyang to spy on the military situation. They did not know that their every move had been reported back to Ningdong.
Jiang Huaiying divided the five counties in the northeast and occupied 62 counties, a tenth of the Da 'an territory. Before he became emperor, more than half of the county officials willingly submitted. The rest were occupied by force. The northeast army swept through, beheading hundreds of court officials in one night. More than ten thousand soldiers surrendered, and the people had no will to resist. Jiang Huaiying effortlessly obtained a piece of the country.
After wearing the yellow robe, the Yan Emperor set the capital at Ningdong, divided the five counties, and stationed the army in various strategic locations. He then appointed his trusted aides and established a court to discuss politics. It was worth mentioning that Jiang Huaiying's sworn brother, Liu Shining, had saved Empress Dowager Wei and the Eldest Princess from danger. He then presented the new policy 36 rules for the court. The Yan Emperor placed great importance on him and made him a Marquis of a different surname.
Hearing that the court's army had arrived in Dingzhou, the Yan Emperor immediately called a court meeting to discuss countermeasures. Imperial Advisor Liu Yan was an expert from the mountains. Because of his divine foresight, he usually predicted good or bad fortune for the soldiers. Everything came true, so everyone trusted him. He observed the stars at night and calculated a divination. It was "Hidden Wolf in the West, Killing Star in the South, do not use the hidden dragon."
The Yan Emperor asked what it meant. Liu Shining answered, "Hidden Wolf in the West, should be the Mongols' restlessness. Not long ago, Temur, a descendant of Northern Yuan, united the Tartars and Walla tribes. His momentum is at its peak. If he invades the court, he will definitely pass through Yan territory or fight. And Killing Star in the South, should be a hidden dragon in the army. There is a fierce general who is in charge of fighting and killing. This is not good for our army. "
In the temporarily expanded Imperial Court, the voices of the newly appointed civil and military officials rose one after another. The Yan Emperor frowned. "Wolves in front and tigers behind. Won't the Yan be attacked from both sides? Is there a way to resolve this?"
After they finished speaking, the officials all offered their suggestions. Some said to strike first and seize Dingzhou before the three armies of the An dynasty could meet. Others said to form an alliance with the Mongols and fight the court together.
The more the Yan Emperor listened, the more his head ached. In the end, it was Liu Shining who spoke, "I have a way to wait at ease for the exhausted, but it is a risky move. I wonder if Your Majesty dares to try?"
The Yan Emperor sat straight and said, "Second Brother, please speak."
Liu Shining's smile hid a dagger. He only said eight words: "Feign attack to lure the enemy, divert the trouble to the south."
Some did not understand and some only understood half of it. Only the Yan Emperor had a military background and was good at strategizing. He understood the meaning of the song and immediately slapped the table in praise, "What a good 'waiting for the exhausted at ease', worth a try!"
When he finished speaking, he ignored the confused officials and called for a few generals, as well as Liu Shining and Liu Yan, to the back of the hall for a secret meeting.
.....
Three days later, the Prince of Changping, Liu Shining, personally led 8,000 elite soldiers and set off for Mongolia in the night.
After Timur became the ruler, he had the ambition to expand his territory. However, he was troubled by the invasion of the south. It was difficult for the cavalry to advance through the mountains and rivers. If they took a detour from the border cities, the journey would be long. They could only go east through Yan territory and resupply along the way.
In the beginning, Timur was wary of Jiang Huaiying and did not dare to act rashly. Recently, when he heard that Jiang Huaiying had become the Emperor, he was tempted. He deployed 20,000 cavalry and set up camp on the Muren River in the west of Yan territory. On one hand, he could prevent the Yan army from invading and on the other hand, he wanted to fish in troubled waters.
In the blink of an eye, it was November and the north was freezing. Finally, when the river surface froze, the Mongolian camp advanced east but was ambushed by the Yan army. The two sides fought for half a day and the Yan army was outnumbered and their commander was captured alive.
The leader of the Tatars under Temur, Hardan Batur, captured the enemy commander and saw that he was a weak scholar. After interrogation, he found out that he was the sworn brother of the Yan Emperor and quickly rode back to report.
When Timur received this pleasant surprise, he did not hesitate and quickly gathered his troops to meet up with Hardan Batur at the Muren River. After personally seeing Liu Shining, Timur saw through the enemy's scheme. It turned out that the Yan army advanced rashly because the An Dynasty's army had already reached Dingzhou. The Yan Emperor sent his troops to provoke the Mongolian cavalry and lure them to attack. At the same time, he showed weakness to the army and surrendered Yuyang to them. When the Mongolian cavalry and the army met, there would definitely be a battle and the Yan army would reap the benefits.
Timur was warlike by nature and felt that this was a good opportunity to attack the Central Plains. Thus, he decided to beat them at their own game and ordered Hardan Batur to lead 5,000 vanguards and take Liu Shining as a hostage to 'borrow' the Yan territory.
Jiang Huaiying really valued this sworn brother of his and agreed to borrow the Mongolian army's route to Yuyang County. He also provided the three cities with provisions and only asked that Hardan Batur would not kill Liu Shining.
The two armies came to an agreement and the Mongolian army set off and arrived at the upper valley first. After resting for a night, the 30,000 soldiers set up an ambush north of Yuyang City.
In the beginning of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, Feng Xiao sent 10,000 soldiers to attack Yuyang without knowing anything. But before they could even break through the city gate, they were outflanked by the Mongolian army from both sides and caught unprepared.
If not for the vanguard general Yin Yuanrong, who fought his way out and brought back 3,000 wounded soldiers, this battle could be considered as a crushing defeat. When Feng Xiao found out that the Yan Dynasty had formed an alliance with the Mongolians, he was shocked and immediately reorganized his troops.
Just when the Mongolians were feeling proud of themselves, the sound of war drums suddenly came from behind. When they looked around, they saw the Yan Dynasty's flag fluttering in the sky and ten heavy cannons appearing on the high ground. Boom! The sound was earth-shattering. Black fog filled the air and wails could be heard everywhere. No one could see what had just happened.
The Mongolian army was in a mess. They had never seen such a scene before. Hardan Batur retreated in a panic and unknowingly headed towards the direction of the army's camp.
Therefore, everything went according to someone's plan. The three armies were engaged in a chaotic battle, but it was the Mongolian army that was attacked from both sides. The Yan army and the rebel army attacked from both sides, and the Yan army retreated back to Yuyang City. They lost less than a hundred soldiers, but they had already exhausted the 30,000 soldiers of the Mongolian army. Then, they killed the rebel army with a borrowed knife.
As for the captured Liu Shining, he had escaped from the enemy's camp and brought back a captive – Hardan Batur, who had half of his leg blown off.
Liu Shining retreated to Yuyang City and became famous after this battle. No matter it was the Mongolians or the generals of An Dynasty, after this battle, everyone knew the name of Great Yan's Prince of Changping.
With this, the prophecy of Imperial Advisor Liu Yan was dispelled. In a short period of time, Timur would not make a comeback, and the Yan army could focus on fighting the Great An Dynasty.
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