After thinking over and over again for more than an hour and conjecturing all the possibilities, Kou Zhun fell into a deep sleep under the persuasion of his old butler Kou An.
When I was half asleep and half awake, I vaguely heard a series of dull thunders, "Boom, boom, boom..."
"What's going on?" Kou Zhun sat up alertly, and then he felt his eyes go dark and the world was spinning.
"Master, be careful!" The butler Kou An, who was waiting at the door, hurried in and hugged his shoulders. "It's cold, so don't get up too hastily."
"I'm fine! Don't be surprised!" Kou Zhun closed his eyes and whispered. Then, he calmed down a little and reached out to push Kou An away. "Was it thunder just now? Or was it a fire and thunder bomb..."
Before the question could be finished, a series of dull sounds came from outside, "Boom, boom, boom..."
"It should be the warships sent by the Henan camp to escort them. They are bombarding the Khitan dog thieves on the north bank with fire and thunder crossbows." The old housekeeper listened with his ears pricked up, and then responded with certainty.
"Oh, that's it! I'm really old, this memory-" Kou Zhun suddenly realized, raised his hand and gently rubbed his temples.
The escort fleet sent by the Henan camp arrived more than half a month ago. It has been cruising up and down the Yellow River. When it found a large group of Liao troops approaching the river bank, it immediately greeted them with fire and thunder crossbows.
Although the explosion failed to kill several Liao soldiers each time, it gave great encouragement to the various forbidden troops in Huazhou City.
Let the soldiers firmly believe that as long as the gunpowder and fire-thunder crossbows on the battleships are not exhausted, the Liao army will never be able to put a piece of plank across the Yellow River!
"I have been working hard for the country all day long. It is normal for me to forget these little things." He couldn't bear to hear Kou Zhun say that he was old, so the housekeeper Kou An forced a smile and comforted him in a low voice. "I'll have someone prepare chicken soup for you. It's okay for you to get up and eat some."
Have the strength to go to court."
"It's already dawn?" Kou Zhun was slightly startled. He raised his head and looked around, only to realize that there were no candles lit in the room. Outside the window, the sunlight was so bright that it was dazzling.
"It's already the third quarter of the morning. Recently, the morning court has been set at Si hour!" The steward Kou An has served Kou Zhun for many years and knows what he cares about most, so he immediately responded in a low voice. "I forgive you, sir. I saw that you were too tired, so I didn't show up on purpose on purpose.
Let the servants wake you up."
"Forget it, you have good intentions too!" Kou Zhun glanced at him and waved his hand helplessly.
Immediately, he frowned again, "It's sunny. When did it clear up? Is there snow on the ground?"
"It should have cleared up in the second half of the night. There is no snow, but there is a layer of ice. It is slipperier than the snow." Kou An thought for a while and responded truthfully.
"Is it frozen?" Kou Zhun raised his eyebrows and followed closely, feeling a warning sign in his heart. "Bring me the chicken soup, and then quickly prepare my car. I will set off immediately after I finish eating."
"Sir, the officials are considerate of their ministers. In recent days, they have specially pushed the morning court to the next time!" Not understanding why Kou Zhun was so anxious, Kou An hesitated and reminded cautiously.
"I have to go early and wait for Wang Dan and Bi Shi'an." Kou Zhun glared at the other party and quickly interrupted, "Hurry up and make arrangements. Stop being verbose. I don't have time to tell you in detail."
The housekeeper Kou An did not dare to neglect, and immediately went out to arrange the meal in person. After a while, chicken soup and other items were delivered. Kou Zhun took a hasty bite, and immediately urged the guards to drive the carriage and sent him straight to the temporary palace in the city.
Although the sun has climbed up to the treetops, the north wind is as cold as a knife. The graupel that had drifted down and melted in the past few days was all frozen into ice slag. The wheels of the carriage ran over and rattled.
Sitting in the carriage, hearing the sound of ice slag being crushed by the wheels, Kou Zhun's face became increasingly gloomy.
He finally understood why the warships kept firing fire and thunder bombs towards the north bank of the Yellow River early in the morning.
It is colder outside the city than inside the city, and the north bank of the Yellow River is also colder than the south bank.
Right now, the streets in Huazhou City are covered with ice. The north bank of the Yellow River is probably even covered with ice.
The Khitan people had no navy, so they tried to cross the Yellow River several times using fishing boats and sheepskin rafts, but they were beaten by Han Chonggui and Han Qing with their warships and the river was filled with corpses.
Therefore, the Khitan people had no choice but to give up the idea of forcible crossing, and looked forward to the stars and the moon, hoping that the Yellow River would be frozen.
Today it was discovered that the snow on the ground has finally frozen. Khitan generals at all levels will definitely send out scouts to check whether the Yellow River is frozen.
When the warships patrolling the river discovered traces of the Khitans, they were naturally not polite to them, and were met with fire and thunder crossbows.
"If this is the case, it will be harder to prevent the officials from escaping to Shengzhou." Unknowingly, Kou Zhun clenched his hands into fists and beat the carriage irritably.
Zhao Heng was able to listen to his advice and come to Huazhou across the river to encourage the morale of the troops. To a large extent, it was because he believed that the Khitan wolf cavalry could not easily cross the Yellow River.
But now, the Yellow River is about to freeze. How can Zhao Heng continue to take risks by the Yellow River?
Therefore, in addition to contacting Bi Shi'an during today's court meeting, Kou Zhun must also take a step in advance to win Wang Dan's support.
Only in this way can we hope to gain an absolute advantage in the court discussions and prevent the officials from turning the "Southern Hunting" plan into a final decision immediately.
Huazhou City was not big to begin with, and his temporary residence was arranged near the state government office for convenience. So, soon, the carriage stopped in front of the temporary palace.
The successive emperors of the Song Dynasty were very kind to their ministers. If the prime minister came to court early, he always had a special room to rest. Even if the palace was moved to Huazhou, there was no exception.
Kou Zhun prepared his words in advance in the carriage. He thought that it would not take much effort to convince Wang Dan and Bi Shi'an.
Unexpectedly, he only achieved half of his goal. Bi Shi'an did quickly agree to advance and retreat with him, but Wang Dan arrived late today.
It wasn't until the court meeting began that this person entered the temporary palace following the eunuch's announcement. Immediately, he looked at his nose and nose, and made clay and wood sculptures.
Kou Zhun was shocked when he saw it, and immediately knew that something was about to happen. Before he could figure out whether Wang Dan was hiding from himself or someone else, the sound of rapid footsteps suddenly came to his ears again.
Immediately afterwards, Cao Cao from the right squadron rushed in with an anxious look on his face. He first bowed to Zhao Heng and confessed, and then reported in a low voice, "Report to the official family, Chanzhou urgent report. Liao army this morning
At that time, we took advantage of the snow to launch a sneak attack, wrapped gunpowder in a coffin, and blew up the north gate of Chanzhou City!"
"How about Chanzhou?"
"How is General Li doing?"
"How many casualties have there been among the soldiers? Can Chanzhou be saved?"
"Who is advising the Khitans? Where did the Khitans get so much gunpowder?"
…
Not only Zhao Heng himself was shocked, but all the important ministers present were also frightened and asked questions out of their mouths.
In Chanzhou City, nearly 200,000 elite soldiers from the Song Dynasty gathered.
Li Jilong, the most skilled veteran of the Song Dynasty, has also been sitting in the city.
If Chanzhou is lost, it will not only shake the entire Yellow River defense line. Zhao Heng will not be able to produce another army of the same size within a year.
Next, it is a foregone conclusion that Bianliang will be lost!