At this time, Tong Guan was like a possessed gambler, commanding everyone to surround the Xixia Palace.
The Song army captured several Xixia people in the city and asked them to go in and report that as long as Li Qianshun came out and surrendered, the Song Dynasty was willing to negotiate with him.
Li Qianshun was not Zhao Ji. He furiously killed several people from his country who were carrying the message and blocked all the gates of the palace.
His elite soldiers are all outside, and King Qin's Xia army will soon surround Xingqing Mansion. As long as he can defend the palace, he still has a chance.
Zhong Shidao has a complicated look on his face. At this point, the situation has become clear. He has controlled Xingqing Mansion and is waiting for the soldiers and horses of the Song Dynasty to come in continuously. The fall of Xixia is imminent.
There are so many heroes in the northwest who have worked hard for hundreds of years, fought bloody battles, and made selfless sacrifices, and finally let a eunuch take the huge credit.
Moreover, this eunuch almost killed all the soldiers of the Western Army in the ice and snow of Xixia.
After all, the troops of the Western Army suddenly returned to their horses and rushed towards Xingqing Mansion. Their physical strength was already exhausted.
Everyone fought bloody battles in the city for a day, and the consumption was not light. By now, we were really exhausted. Everything we could carry lightly was packed lightly. Even the soldiers only had helmets, breastplates, arm guards and leg armor left. Leaves, discard them all.
Two hundred thousand troops, together with hundreds of thousands of civilians, began to control and search Xingqing Mansion. There were sporadic battles everywhere in the city.
The large army surrounded the Xixia Palace, but they were not in a hurry at this moment. They were ready to attack the last fortress after repairs were completed.
Now I am afraid that there are still a large number of Xia soldiers in the city. The Western army with extremely poor military discipline is raiding Xingqing Mansion and causing a lot of killings.
All the commanders and commanders were surprisingly unanimous. They all turned a blind eye and allowed the soldiers to plunder. The money in the hands of every wealthy household here was stained with the blood of Qin, Long and Han people.
After a hundred years of war and a hundred years of feuding, few Han children in the northwest live past thirty-five. The widows have been living in a village for a hundred years.
This is the capital of the Western Xia Kingdom, and every citizen who seems to pose no threat may give you a knife.
After blocking all the city gates and resting for three days, 200,000 troops defended the city. The Qin Wang Xia soldiers outside did not dare to attack the city rashly. The key point was that they did not know the emperor's situation.
Gradually, the Song army began to restrain their men, and the people gradually put out the fires near their homes. The city was eerily quiet before the eruption——
The battle report of the Western Army finally came. Due to the delay, the postmen entered Bianliang and heard bad news.
The Tubo people rebelled against the enemy, and the Song Dynasty troops were routed for ten miles. The battle against Xia was a conspiracy of Xixia from the beginning to the end.
Now the Western Army, which the Song Dynasty relied on as the northwest barrier, has all been trapped in an endless encirclement and ambush. It is not known how many of them can escape.
On this day, countless officials from the east and west governments were dejected, Bianliang City was once again shrouded in a dark cloud, and the air was full of fear.
If all the Western Army dies, who will guard this boundless magnificence, and who will resist the ruthless and bloodthirsty alien butchers?
The entrance to the imperial city goes east to the north corridor of the street, which houses the Privy Council, the Second Zhongshu Province, and the Second Capital Hall, where the prime ministers retreat and govern.
In the hall, almost all the officials from the Privy Council and Zhongshu Province, as well as those with middle and high rank who could wear purple gold official uniforms, were here.
Cai Jing's face was gloomy and silent, while Zeng Bu looked sad and angry, with a worried look on his eyebrows.
Liang Shicheng said: "The situation in the northwest war is corrupt. You are all important ministers of the country. How should this matter be reported to Your Majesty? It's up to you to speak."
Who is willing to speak? Who dares to speak? This catastrophic disaster will lead to the fate of being demoted. It is too late to hide.
Yang Lin looked desolate. He didn't want to spend all his efforts to get such an end.
By jumping up and down, is it just that the Song Dynasty will perish early and the catastrophe will come early?
There is nothing more sad than heartbreak. Looking at the hall, they are all the highest officials of the Song Dynasty temple. They are still trying to deceive the emperor and preserve their wealth.
With a bang, Yang Lin stood up and slapped the case, and everyone's eyes suddenly turned to look at him.
Taking a long breath and exhaling the turbidity in his chest, Yang Lin said in a deep voice: "The battle to defeat Xia, which the entire Song Dynasty had high hopes for, seems to have been defeated. The old events of Yongxi's Northern Expedition will be repeated. Our ancestors once warned us that it is not me.
The minds of our species must be different. I hate that our descendants are stubborn and insist on forming an alliance with the Tubo thieves.
How can we deceive Your Majesty about such a major matter? The top priority now is to mobilize the Hebei Forbidden Army to prevent the Xia soldiers from marching straight in. Then make good friends with the Khitan to prevent the Liao Kingdom from taking the opportunity to go south, and let them mediate in the middle. I, Yang Lin, am willing to go to Beijing as an envoy for the imperial court and go to the Liao Dynasty in person.
Ting seeks peace.
If you have to find someone to resist such a big thing, let me, Yang Lin, do it. As long as all the ministers and palace commanders can work together, I will enter the palace to face the saint."
Finally, someone came forward to take the blame. Although everyone was surprised that it was Yang Lin, the always slippery young master, who took the initiative, they still breathed a sigh of relief.
"Young Master Yang, the minister of the country, deserves to be the number one scholar. Don't worry, we will definitely minimize the losses." It was Liang Shicheng who spoke, and he was the only one who dared to speak at this time.
There was no expression on Cai Jing's face, and he wiped his eyelids and remained silent, while Wang Fu and others were slightly excited.
Zeng Bu snorted coldly and tried to stand up, but his butt felt heavier than a mountain.
How about claiming to be Qingliu? The sun is strong, all things are visible, and the ministers in the palace are not just cliques for personal gain, selfishness, and slaves of power.
Many lower-ranking ministers were moved to tears. They also wanted to stand out, but their official positions and status were not enough to shoulder the responsibility.
Yang Lin flicked his sleeves and left the capital hall with his hands behind his back. Many officials stood up spontaneously and watched him leave the hall.
In the imperial city of the Song Dynasty, the capital hall where the prime minister worked and the imperial palace where the emperor lived were very close to each other, and soon they reached the imperial garden.
The eunuch Gong'e didn't know what was going on, so she led him to the imperial garden with a smile, where Zhao Ji's grandson was still painting.
Zhao Ji looked at the pale Yang Lin and jumped. Just as he was about to speak, Yang Lin suddenly clasped his fists and knelt down on one knee.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty and the Western Army has been defeated."
Simple and clear, without the slightest embellishment or prevarication, the ruthless reality hit the romantic emperor on the head.
The paintbrush in Zhao Ji's hand fell to the ground, he froze on the spot and murmured: "How could this be?"
Yang Lin loudly said: "This expedition to Xia was planned by me alone and has nothing to do with others. I was guilty of insufficient planning, and I am willing to be punished for this defeat. I hope that your majesty and all ministers will work together and unite sincerely to mobilize the troops of the whole country.
Save the corrupt war situation in the northwest and preserve the territory of the Central Plains.
The guilty minister is willing to use his strength to send an envoy to Khitan to seek mediation from the Liao people. The Song and Liao have been allied for decades, but the Liao people do not want to see the Song Dynasty destroy Xia, and they also do not want to see Xixia become bigger. We, the Song Dynasty, have suffered losses in their elite troops.
It was so heavy that there was no need to make greater sacrifices. Asking the Liao people to take action was the best way.
May your Majesty forgive me for the death penalty, grant me a Jie Yue, and let me do my best for the Song Dynasty again, even if I die, I will have no regrets."