The war in Xijing had already been decided five years ago. Cui Da and the merchants of the Song Dynasty worked hard to dig out the cornerstone of Liao's northwest rule.
People who harm their motherland for personal purposes are not only a specialty of the Song Dynasty, there are also such people among the Khitan people.
Hundreds of years of strength have created a group of proud Khitan people, and also created a large number of fallen Liao nobles.
If you have not lived a wealthy life before, you can live in poverty and be happy. If you have lived a wealthy life before, that memory will be deeply engraved on people's bones. As long as there is a chance, they want to take it back. For this reason, they
Don't hesitate to make a deal with the devil.
Patriotism belongs to the common people, to those with noble sentiments, and it definitely does not belong to all the rich. On the premise of being patriotic, their first consideration is their own interests, the safety of their own property, and whether they can continue to protect their country.
Live a luxurious life.
There are very few rich people who have huge wealth but are devoted to the country. As long as one appears, both the Han people and the barbarians will make a big mark in their own history.
The historical example of giving one's own cattle as a reward to the enemy, and then letting the enemy retreat hastily thinking that the sneak attack failed, is absolutely not seen in the Liao State. Although the Liao people had many cattle and sheep, they were more willing to use cattle and sheep to fight against the Song Dynasty.
People exchanged them for pearl treasures and hung them on their bodies.
The merchants and wealthy people of the Liao Kingdom were easier to conquer than their army, so Cui Da attacked the Liao Kingdom much faster than Yunzheng.
After Chen Lin stayed in Yunzheng's carriage and watched the situation of Cui Da and the merchants of the Song Dynasty in Xijing of the Liao Kingdom for a whole day, she was extremely reluctant to put down the confidential scrolls until she felt hungry.
It's time to set up camp.
There is nothing delicious in the army, just a bowl of mutton soup with dry biscuits, which is exactly the same from the general to the soldiers. When we get to Yunzheng, it is just a few jars of fruits pickled in sugar water and some beautiful colors.
Just pickles.
Chen Lin hurriedly soaked the dry biscuits in the mutton soup and finished the meal, and then waited energetically for Yun Zheng to finish the meal. He really wanted to talk to Yun Zheng about the war situation in the northwest.
Yun Zheng pushed a jar of sugar-watered peaches in front of Chen Lin and said, "When you enter the grassland, you have to eat this. You are old, so there is no need to eat the same thing as me. If you get sick, things will be even more troublesome."
Chen Lin followed her good example and used a long-handled fork to eat fruits from a black porcelain jar the size of a wine jar, but she was still very fast. When Yun Zheng put down his rice bowl, he also put down the fork and dragged Yun Zheng back to the carriage.
On the table, he patted the scrolls placed on the table and said, "Is this all true?"
Yun Zheng looked at Chen Lin and nodded: "Of course it's true. In fact, Xiao Dahu left Xijing, and the one who has the most effective words in that city is Cui Da."
"Why don't we suddenly attack Xiao Dahu? Why do we have to fight him in Baishan Mountain? This way our casualties will be very high."
Yun Zheng shook his head and said: "Save the land and lose the people, and everyone and the land will be lost. Save the people and lose the land, and both the people and the land will survive. This is an ancient truth. Now we need to understand this sentence in reverse.
If we just drive away Xiao Dahu and capture Xijing, we still have an army of more than 300,000 people. It’s still unclear who belongs to Xijing. Instead of fighting here every two days, it’s better to decide the situation in one battle and wipe out the Liao people.
, leaving us with an empty Xijing.
There is no shortage of people in the Song Dynasty. Wang Anshi and others have been worrying about the people having no land all day long. With such a large grassland and relying on the dense rivers here, how much food do they want?
The recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun was not only a supplement to the Song Dynasty's border, but also a powerful tool for easing domestic conflicts.
Over the years, the people's rebellions have not stopped at all. Although they have eased a bit in the past two years, it is because the people are afraid of the army's encirclement and suppression. Their anger is running underneath. Sooner or later, they will break through the rocks above their heads and finally be completely defeated.
exploded.
The most serious of these contradictions is actually the land conflict. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, the population has increased more than five times in a hundred years, but the land has not increased. In addition, the rich have annexed the people's fields, so that the Song Dynasty used
There are fewer and fewer natural people who pay taxes, and it is inevitable that the national power will weaken."
Chen Lin waited for Yun Zheng to catch his breath and suddenly asked: "Yun Shuai means to bring those landless people to the northwest? Who will cultivate the fields of the rich?"
Yun Zheng took a sip of water and said with a smile: "I don't care about that much. Anyway, Wang Anshi destroyed a lot of my family's fields when he was in Tokyo. As long as my fields are cultivated, it doesn't matter to me that other people's fields are deserted.
, as long as the people have land to farm and the country has taxes, it will be fine."
Chen Lin dropped the scroll she was guarding like a treasure in her hand and laughed: "Shuai Yun should leave this kind of thing to Wang Anshi. Anyway, he has a grudge against the rich, so it doesn't matter how hard he goes."
Yun Zheng squinted at Chen Lin and said, "Why, are you no longer worried about the coming war?"
Chen Lin's laughter stopped immediately and she said awkwardly: "I am a supervisor, so there are many things you should not hide from me."
Yun Zheng smiled bitterly and said, "Should I have told you earlier? God knows what kind of trouble would have arisen if I had told you earlier. I just arrived at Yanmen Pass, and there were over a hundred thousand refugees behind me. I had to guard against it."
After hearing what Yun Zheng said, Chen Lin gave a wry smile and sat back in the carriage to carefully assess the situation facing Xijing. This was the most important thing to him.
The scout rushed from a distance facing the setting sun. Just looking at the fiery red flag behind him, everyone already understood that the White Horse Army should have started fighting with the Liao people by this time.
The Yehu Pass south of Baishan Mountain is a mountain pass that Li Dongchu must break through. Only by capturing this mountain pass and holding it firmly can Lang Tan's remaining troops on Baishan Mountain be able to get out of this gap.
The prairie was open and unobstructed. Xiao Dahu naturally knew that the Song army had arrived. Facing the extremely rude attack of the Song army, Xiao Dahu had no intention of letting Li Dongchu go to Baishan Mountain so easily. Three hundred thousand troops were on the grassland.
The camp erected above is at least ten miles in radius.
This battle was a test for the Song Army, and it was also a huge test for the people of the Liao State. The Song Army attacked with all its strength, and the Liao State could only respond with all its strength. Therefore, under the strict orders of Yelu Hongji, the Liao State
The nobles of the country once again called for their own clan soldiers and formed the largest army in the shortest time.
Therefore, in the Liao army, there were countless young and old people. They were either old people who had left the battlefield long ago, or young people who participated in the war for the first time. In Xiao Dahu's memories, they were indistinguishable.
The conscription of young and old was the first time in the Liao Kingdom.
The wind was blowing, and the land was vast. A snowflake fell from the sky, fell on Xilamulun's face, and turned into a piece of ice. He tightened the steel knife in his hand, and the cold texture came from his fingertips, making him clear.
At the end of the wilderness, there was a faint black line squirming there. It should be the cavalry of the Song Dynasty. It was just such a slow speed that Xilamulun, who had determined to become a cavalry since he was a child, looked down upon him.
The black line slowly changed in the distance, and finally turned into a thick arrow formation,
Is it finally coming? A hint of calmness appeared at the corner of Xilamulun's mouth. Finally, he tightened his belt, took off the smooth wooden buckler on his back, and slung it on his right forearm. This was left by his grandfather for himself.
The gift was said to have been seized from the Song Dynasty. He had used it for decades, but no crossbow arrows had ever come to his door.
The Song people cannot ride horses, and all they can use are crossbows and gunpowder shells. As long as they can withstand these two waves of Song attacks, once the melee combat begins, the weak Song army will be as easy to deal with as a silly roe deer. These are the words of veterans.
That said, Xilamulun couldn't understand why those veterans would go far away to form a separate team? Could it be that they looked down on their own group of recruits?
Xilamulun was very unconvinced and planned to kill two Song people to show the people in Shilibuli. Grandpa said that as long as the leading Song army was killed, the remaining Song soldiers would run away immediately.
The sounds of weapons being unsheathed, gasps, and the sound of metal clashing were heard together. Countless people like Xilamulun began to make final preparations before the war. The fierce cold wind blew their furs, forming a rolling gray wave.
The group of people in Serita actually erected shields. Their shields formed a house shape above their heads with a high middle and low ends. In Xilamulun's eyes, this shield array was more like a turtle shell. Such a timid veteran
, making Xilamulun and others sincerely look down on him.
The cavalry of the Song Dynasty ran too slowly. It was even said that they were not running, but walking on horseback. There were many of them, but their speed was too slow. Such a cavalry formation did not need to form a dense defense.
The team responded, and some brave recruits even put away their shields and held long knives in their hands, ready to pounce at any time. I heard that the Song Army's best skill was not attacking, but escaping.
This time, the military reward promised by the king was very generous. One head of a Song army could be exchanged for a bushel of wheat and two sheep.
When Xilamulun was also about to put away the wooden shield, Shilimuli, who was hiding in the turtle shell in the distance, suddenly came out, dragging the incomprehensible Xilamulun into the turtle shell. Before entering, Xilamulun
Lun blushed at the mocking looks of the new recruits.
Just as he was about to push Seilibi away, Xiramulun heard bursts of screams. The sound was so loud that it completely covered the curse words he had just uttered.
"Crossbow! Squat down and raise your shield!" Seri Mili roared in Xilamulun's ears, but unfortunately the sound could only be transmitted to a very close place.
After the crossbow arrows rose high, they began to fall down like countless meteors falling from the sky. The crossbow arrows of the Song Dynasty were still carrying fire!
The sound of crossbow arrows hitting the shield immediately sounded from the shield above Xilamulun's head. This sound was very familiar to Xilamulun, popping, just like when there was hail that year, hailstones as big as eggs struck on the shield.
The sound on the cowhide tent is the same. (To be continued)