Chapter 0692 Emperor Liao seeks peace?! (6000 word chapter!)
October 15th.
Zhu Neng and Wang Kai defeated Ke Yimen.
Xixia general Ye Li Yuqi led the remnants of his troops and fled to Danliang City through the Luobao Valley.
October twenty-three.
Zhu Neng and Wang Kai defeated Wei City in the province.
After the defeat of Shengwei City, the two soldiers divided into two groups.
Go all the way to attack Danliang City, and go all the way to attack Dingzhou.
The fourth day of November.
Zhu Neng captured Danliang City, and Wang Kai defeated Dingzhou.
The ninth day of November.
The Helian tribe in Hue Du requested surrender, and Kou Ji confiscated their weapons and sent their people to Xiazhou and other places to prepare for the land reclamation next year.
November 20th.
Zhu Neng, Wang Kai, Zhong Shiheng, Liu Heng, Kou Ji, and even Zhao Zhen led hundreds of thousands of troops to besiege Xingqing Prefecture and Huaizhou.
Outside Xingqing Mansion.
The sky is covered with heavy snow.
The tents were all white.
In the Chinese army's tent, Zhao Zhen, Kou Ji, Liu Heng and others, who had been away for several months, gathered together again.
Different from the last time we sent out troops, there were many more people gathered together this time.
For example, Zhu Neng, Wang Kai, Guo Yi, Liu Qi and others.
Zhao Zhen was sitting in the middle of the tent, holding a heater in his arms. There was a table in front of him. There was a small red clay stove burning brightly on the table. There was a casserole on the small stove. There was boiling wine in the casserole, and he was sulking.
of mutton.
The things placed in front of Kou Ji and others were similar to those placed in front of Zhao Zhen.
The only difference was that Kou Ji, Zhu Neng, and Zhong Shiheng held hand warmers in their arms, while Wang Kai, Guo Yi, and Liu Qi had nothing in their hands.
Not that the three of them could resist the cold.
It was the first time for the three of them to meet you, so they didn't dare to act too free and easy.
The three of them were all wearing armor and straightened their backs, as if they were waiting for Zhao Zhen to inspect them.
Zhao Zhen roughly guessed that the three of them wanted to show off in front of him, so he smiled at the three of them.
In an instant, the three people straightened their backs.
Zhu Neng looked at Wang Kai, Guo Yi, and Liu Qi with their backs as straight as wooden stakes, and whispered to Kou Ji: "Look at the three of them..."
Kou Ji glanced at Wang Kai and the others and whispered, "Are you laughing at me?"
Zhu Neng suppressed his smile, "I usually don't laugh unless I can't help it."
Kou Ji rolled his eyes and said: "I remember my grandfather said that the first time you met Mr. Mian, you were worse than the three of them. My grandfather said that you didn't understand the etiquette of Mr. Mian at that time, so you met Mr.
The late emperor knelt on the ground like a quail, with his butt raised high, which made all the civil and military officials present laugh.
If it hadn't been for my grandfather to speak up for you, you might have been laughed at for the rest of your life."
The smile on Zhu Neng's face was a little stiff, and he shouted in a low voice: "Can we not mention the past? Besides, the situation was special at that time. I performed meritorious service on the battlefield at that time, and when the late emperor summoned me, the superior officer specially reminded me
, We military ministers have to kneel down when we see the king on the battlefield. So when I went to see the late emperor, I straightened up and knelt down."
"Didn't they tell you that it was one knee, not both knees?"
"Can you please stop mentioning this matter? Why did Mr. Kou even tell you such a thing... It's really..."
"What is it really?"
"nothing……"
"..."
"What are you two muttering about?"
Just when Kou Ji and Zhu Neng were chatting, Zhao Zhen suddenly spoke.
The two hurriedly looked towards Zhao Zhen, and then saw everyone looking at them strangely.
Kou Ji glared at Zhu Neng without concealing it, then cupped his hands to Zhao Zhen and said: "Back to the official house, just now I was discussing with General Zhu the attack on Xingqing Mansion. General Zhu claimed that if he was given 100,000 troops, he would
I am willing to serve as a vanguard to take down Li Deming's head for the officials."
Zhu Neng was a little anxious when he heard this, but Zhao Zhen stared at Zhu Neng with great interest and said: "Zhu Aiqing is really willing to be a pioneer?"
Zhao Zhen asked in person, so naturally Zhu Neng couldn't give in. He could only clasp his fists and say: "When I return to the official residence, I am willing to be the vanguard."
As soon as Zhu Neng said this, Zhong Shiheng, Liu Heng, and Wang Kai looked at Zhu Neng with admiration. Guo Yi and Liu Qi both breathed a sigh of relief.
The reason why Zhong Shiheng and others reacted like this was because it was not easy to be the vanguard general in attacking Xingqing Mansion.
Regardless of Zhu Neng and Wang Kai's previous attacks on cities and territories in other parts of Xixia, it was as if they had entered an uninhabited land and they felt that Xingqing Mansion was easy to fight.
In fact, Xingqing Mansion is very difficult to defeat.
The reason why it was easy for Zhu Neng and Wang Kai to attack the city and plunder territory was because Li Deming, the leader of Xixia, dispatched other soldiers and horses in Xixia to Xingqing Mansion and Huaizhou.
The number of soldiers and horses stationed in Xingqing Mansion now totals 300,000, large and small.
Although only 100,000 of them are elites, Xixia has the advantage of the city. The other 200,000 soldiers and horses have the city as support, and their combat effectiveness will be doubled. In addition, Li Deming opened the Xixia armory and equipped those soldiers and horses with sophisticated equipment.
weapons, they can now be regarded as elites.
Three hundred thousand soldiers and horses guard a city.
It's not something that can be won easily.
Zhu Neng serves as the vanguard and if he leads the attack first, he will definitely suffer the most violent counterattack.
The heavy crossbows, bed crossbows and other items mounted on the head of Xingqingfu City were enough for Zhu Neng to drink a pot.
Zhong Shiheng and others knew that it was not easy to be a vanguard general, so when they discussed the attack on Xingqing Mansion, no one competed for the vanguard general.
Now that Zhu Neng had taken the lead in seizing the position of the vanguard general, Zhong Shiheng and the others naturally expressed admiration, while Guo Yi and Liu Qi naturally breathed a sigh of relief.
The reason why Guo Yi and Liu Qi breathed a sigh of relief was because if no one took the initiative to ask Ying to be the vanguard general, then there was a high possibility that they would be appointed as the vanguard general by Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen heard Zhu Neng's words and nodded with satisfaction, "Zhu Aiqing is indeed the pillar of the country. Since Zhu Aiqing took the initiative to ask for military service, the position of pioneer general must belong to Zhu Aiqing."
Since Zhu Neng agreed, he was unambiguous. After hearing Zhao Zhen's words, he decisively clasped his fists and said: "I am willing to die for the official family."
"Okay, okay..."
Zhao Zhen said three words in a row and ordered Chen Lin beside him: "Send my wine to Zhu Aiqing to try."
Chen Lin agreed, took a pot of Zhao Zhen's royal wine, took it over and boiled it for Zhu Neng.
The post of vanguard general was taken over by Zhu Neng, and others began to compete for other positions.
In the end, Zhao Zhen served as the coach and led Zhong Shiheng, Liu Heng, Kou Ji and others to attack Xingqing Mansion.
Wang Kai served as the commander-in-chief of the Left Army and led Guo Yi and Liu Qi to attack Huaizhou.
After everything was arranged, Zhao Zhen raised his wine glass and said loudly: "This time we, millions of soldiers and civilians, are marching together to conquer Xixia. Now most of the territory of Xixia has been reduced to the territory of our Song Dynasty. Only Xingqing Mansion and Huaizhou are left.
state.
If we defeat Xingqing Mansion and Huaizhou this time, we, the Song Dynasty, will gain full victory in the battle to overthrow Xixia.
I would like to offer you a drink and hope that all of you will be able to make a triumphant return.
If we win this battle, I will knight you in Xingqing Mansion."
"please!"
"please!"
"..."
Kou Ji and others stood up, raised their wine glasses very boldly, and had a drink with Zhao Zhen.
After a glass of wine, Zhao Zhen was about to raise his glass when he saw a young eunuch rushing in outside the door.
Everyone's eyes fell on the little eunuch.
The young eunuch was not afraid of being stared at by everyone. He bowed to Zhao Zhen and said softly: "Guan family, there are urgent soldiers who came from Yanyun from 800 miles away to see me."
When Kou Ji and others heard this, their hearts were shocked, and they all looked at Zhao Zhen silently.
Zhao Zhen's face didn't look good.
Because at this time, news came from the land of Yanyun, and it was likely to be bad news.
Zhao Zhen put down his wine glass, slowly sat on the couch, and said in a deep voice: "Pass!"
Kou Ji and others also sat down one after another, their faces no longer as heroic as before, and they all stared quietly outside the tent.
The young eunuch got Zhao Zhen's order and left the tent. Not long after, he appeared in the tent with a soldier who had been rushed for 800 miles.
After the eight hundred miles urgent soldiers appeared in the tent, they first saluted Zhao Zhen, and then raised the letter box he was carrying above his head.
Zhao Zhen ordered Chen Lin to open the mailbox and take out the letter inside. After reviewing it at a glance, his expression became particularly complicated.
Kou Ji and others stared at Zhao Zhen nervously, fearing that Zhao Zhen would say some bad news.
Zhao Zhen pondered for a long time, seeming to be brewing emotions.
After a long time, Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Ji and others and whispered: "The Liao Emperor requested peace..."
When Kou Ji and others heard this, their faces were astonished, as if they had heard something unbelievable.
"Ha ha……"
Zhao Zhen suddenly laughed loudly and said with high spirits: "Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty actually asked me for peace...haha...hahahaha..."
Zhao Zhen smiled very wildly and arrogantly, and there was also some unprecedented joy in it.
After the Tanyuan Alliance, the Song Dynasty was oppressed by the Liao Kingdom for more than 20 years.
Da Song was holding a breath in his chest for more than twenty years.
Now that I have finally turned over, I naturally feel more relaxed than ever before.
After Kou Ji and others confirmed that Zhao Zhen was not telling lies, cheerful smiles appeared on their faces.
The monarchs and ministers laughed particularly happily in the Chinese army tent.
After laughing for a long time, Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "Send a decree to Lu Yijian and ask him to preside over the peace talks. Send a decree to Wang Zeng and ask him to send Zhang Zhibai and officials from Honglu Temple to Tongtai.
Guan, talk to the Liao people.
Tell them that their responsibility is to abolish the Tanyuan Alliance and conclude another alliance.
As a price for the peace talks, in addition to Zhuozhou, Huanzhou, and Shuozhou, the Liao Kingdom had to cede to me the two states of the Song Dynasty.
In addition, the Liao Kingdom must pay a tribute of 400,000 copper coins to the Song Dynasty every year.
Let Lu Yijian and Zhang Zhibai discuss the other conditions, but I will not make any concessions on these two items I proposed."
As soon as Zhao Zhen said these words, the people in the tent had different expressions.
"Official..."
Kou Ji spoke quickly.
Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Ji deeply and shook his head.
Kou Ji was slightly stunned and did not speak again.
Through the look Zhao Zhen gave him, he understood that the reason why Zhao Zhen agreed to the Liao Kingdom's request for peace might have a hidden meaning.
Zhao Zhen did not announce it to the public, which means that it is inconvenient to express the secret behind it.
Zhong Shiheng and others also saw through Zhao Zhen's eyes that Zhao Zhen had something to say to Kou Ji alone.
Zhong Shiheng said with a smile: "Guan Jia, the Liao Kingdom is suing me for peace with the Song Dynasty. This is great news and should be treated as a big banquet."
Zhao Zhen heard what Zhong Shiheng said, nodded with a smile and said: "Qing Zhong's words are reasonable. Pass on my will, kill sheep and cattle, and have a banquet for all the soldiers."
"Here!"
Zhong Shiheng and others agreed, and left the Chinese army tent one by one on the pretext of passing on the good news to the soldiers.
When only Zhao Zhen, Kou Ji, and Chen Lin were left in the Chinese army's tent.
Zhao Zhen sat on the couch, stared at Kou Ji and said, "If fourth brother has any doubts, you can tell him."
Kou Ji hurriedly said: "Since the Liao Emperor is asking for peace from me, the Song Dynasty, it means that the Liao Emperor may not be able to support it. Why does the Song Dynasty not take advantage of the victory and pursue it, but instead agree to the Liao Emperor's peace request?"
Zhao Zhen handed Chen Lin the letter sent by the urgent soldiers from 800 miles away.
Chen Lin took the letter and handed it to Kou Ji.
Kou Ji took the letter and read it carefully, then slowly frowned.
Zhao Zhen sighed and said: "After a year of fierce fighting, the 300,000 soldiers led by Cao Wei and the 50,000 soldiers and horses I sent, if they can fight, there are less than 100,000 left. One hundred thousand soldiers, hold on
It was okay not to lose Zhuozhou, Huanzhou, and Shuozhou, but they had no remaining strength to counterattack the Liao people.
If I don't reach Xingqing Mansion, I can still send troops and horses to rescue them.
But I have now reached Xingqing Mansion and will destroy Xixia right now.
It’s impossible for me to give up the attack on Xingqing Mansion and lead my troops to fight against the Liao people, right?”
Kou Ji frowned and said nothing.
If Zhao Zhen detached a partial force to help Cao Wei, he would be able to do it.
But now all the troops in the northwest are in Xingqing Mansion.
It would take a month and a half to march from Xingqing Mansion to Tongtai Pass.
If Zhao Zhen did not agree to Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu's peace proposal, Cao Wei and others might not be able to hold on for a month and a half.
Of the 350,000 troops and horses led by Cao Wei, nearly 100,000 were lost on the battlefields on both sides of Tongtai Pass and Yanmen Pass. Among them, the most casualties were on the battlefield at Yanmen Pass.
In the battle on the front line of Yanmen Pass, 200,000 troops were invested.
Sixty thousand people died tragically on the battlefield.
Fifteen thousand people died from multiple injuries.
There are 75,000 wounded being treated.
The remaining 50,000 troops and horses were stationed in Shuozhou and Huanzhou respectively.
If the cotton-padded clothes donated to Yan and Empress Cao had not been delivered in time, there would have been even more casualties.
Cao Wei didn't have many dead soldiers and horses in his hands, but there were surprisingly many wounded soldiers.
Fifty thousand soldiers were lightly wounded, as many as 20,000 were seriously wounded, more than 20,000 died on the battlefield, and thousands more died of serious injuries.
The reason why there were so many wounded soldiers under Cao Wei was because Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty fought a bloody battle outside Tongtai Pass at all costs.
Liao soldiers, under the command of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, attacked Tongtai Pass several times but failed to break through Tongtai Pass.
The Emperor of Liao simply ordered his men to build catapults and frantically threw stones into Tongtai Pass.
Huge boulders were falling from the sky like rain. Even if the soldiers in the city hid in sheltered areas in advance, they would still be injured by the rubble thrown by the stone bombardment.
In addition, the Liao Emperor seemed to be inspired by artillery, and also threw fireballs, fire oil and other objects into Tongtai Pass.
In short, the Emperor of Liao threw anything that could hurt Song soldiers into Tongtai Pass.
Moreover, they were attacking the city and throwing it away at the same time.
It's a completely lose-lose approach.
The Song soldiers suffered heavy losses, and the Liao Emperor's soldiers and horses also suffered heavy losses.
But the Liao Emperor could continue to mobilize troops from within the Liao Kingdom, but Cao Wei could not.
After Cao Wei learned that the Emperor of Liao had passed away due to the Queen of Liao, he still vowed that the outcome of future wars would be decided by the Song Dynasty.
However, he did not expect that the Liao Emperor would be so crazy that he would fight with him without any damage, and forcefully turn the powerful soldiers in his hands into cripples.
The reason why the Liao Emperor did not dispatch heavy troops from the Liao Kingdom and continued to fight Cao Wei and kill Cao Wei was because the Liao Kingdom's Shangjing City suffered a white disaster.
It is also commonly known as a snow disaster.
The snowstorm not only caused huge casualties to Shangjing City, but also caused great damage to the people of the small tribes in the far north.
The small tribes could not withstand the snow disaster, so they could only attack the cities in the Liao Kingdom, hoping for an environment that could improve their lives.
The one who showed the most bravery was Sheng Jurchen, who lived in the north of Liao Kingdom, between the white mountains and black waters.
After they came out of the mountains, they were like bandits crossing the border, robbing everyone they saw and killing everyone they met.
The birth of a girl really caused riots in the Liao Kingdom.
Women from other small tribes also began to riot. They united together and frantically plundered cattle and sheep throughout the Liao Kingdom.
The reason why they dared to be so reckless was because most of the men in their tribe died on the battlefields of Song and Liao.
There are only a group of women and children left in their clan. If they don't find a way to get food, the children in the family may not be able to survive the snowstorm, and may freeze to death or starve to death in the snowstorm.
As for whether the Liao people would settle their scores, they didn't care at all.
Without men in the clan, they have lost most of their hope. They live a life of today and no tomorrow. As long as they have enough to eat today, who cares whether they will die tomorrow.
In short, the territory of Liao Kingdom is now in chaos.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of Liao originally wanted to use the war between Song and Liao to weaken the power of various small tribes to a minimum.
Unexpectedly, a snowstorm destroyed his plan.
He used the war between Song and Liao to weaken the power of various small tribes.
But this also laid the foundation for domestic riots.
Now that the rear of the Liao Kingdom was in chaos, the Liao Emperor had to cut off his tail to survive and chose to seek peace with the Song Dynasty.
If the Liao Emperor continued to fight, there was a possibility of victory.
But under the defense of Cao Wei, Yang Wenguang, and Li Zhaoliang, it may not be that easy to take back Zhuozhou, Huanzhou, Shuozhou and other places.
After he finished conquering Zhuozhou, Huanzhou, Shuozhou and other places, I am afraid that all the rebel forces in Liao Kingdom will become grass-head kings.
I am afraid that part of the Liao Kingdom's territory will also be carved up and become other people's inheritance.
Although there are still soldiers and horses in the Liao Kingdom fighting against rebellion everywhere.
But there were too many rebellions and they were overwhelmed.
What's more important is that there is no heavy military presence or heavy encirclement and suppression. Those rebels are like gophers, being suppressed once and emerging again.
And it's the kind that becomes more and more common.
Some Liao people were also quietly mixed in, burning, killing and looting.
The snow disaster targeted the entire northern border of the Liao Kingdom, not a specific ethnic group.
Those women who were born among the white mountains and black waters really couldn't survive, and the Liao people who lived near them naturally couldn't survive either.
Just like disasters such as floods and droughts occurred in the Song Dynasty.
The people can no longer survive. As long as someone takes the lead or incites them, they will rebel.
Snow disaster was a very terrible disaster in the Song Dynasty.
In the cold Liao Kingdom and places further north, it would be even more terrifying.
People from small tribes who suffered from snow disaster dared to do nothing.
Given the choice between dying in a snowstorm and dying by someone else's knife, they would rather die by someone else's knife.
"Human will cannot defeat God's will after all..."
Seeing that Kou Ji didn't speak, Zhao Zhen let out a long sigh.
Kou Ji did not echo Zhao Zhen's words, but sighed: "In the land of Yanyun, it is a great pity that there is no battle to determine the outcome..."
Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Ji and said seriously: "But we are the winner in the end. We can not only win five of the sixteen states of Yanyun, but also the entire Xixia.
The Liao Kingdom has experienced this civil strife, and I am afraid it will take a long time to recover.
But if we take Xixia, we can free up our hands to deal with the Liao Kingdom."
Kou Ji smiled bitterly and said, "That's right. Nothing in the world is perfect. I'm just too greedy."
Zhao Zhen saw that Kou Ji had no objection to the peace talks, so he ordered Chen Lin to prepare the pen and ink and start drafting the decree.
When Zhao Zhen was drafting the decree, Kou Ji whispered: "I'm afraid Cao Wei will blame the two of us..."
Zhao Zhen was stunned and said in a dumbfounded way: "If you and I don't attack Xixia, he will have enough troops to fight against Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, and we can take advantage of this white disaster to take back the entire Yanyun
Sixteen states.
He failed to take back the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture in one battle, so he will naturally blame us."
After a pause, Zhao Zhen said again: "But I can be sure that he will never dare to blame us openly."
Kou Ji laughed out loud.
What Zhao Zhen said made him not know what to say.
If Cao Wei dares to complain about you openly, it will be called slandering your Majesty and he will be prosecuted. There are relevant regulations in the national law.
After Zhao Zhen finished writing the edict, he sent people to Bianjing City and Tongtai Pass respectively.
After the decree was sent, Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji came out of the tent.
The killing of pigs and sheep has already begun in the military camp.
The soldiers celebrated happily.
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji walked among the soldiers smiling, but their smiles were a little stiff.
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji walked around among the soldiers and encouraged them during the banquet.
The soldiers howled and screamed one by one, wishing they could finish eating the meat and rush into Xingqing Mansion.
Of course, it is mainly due to Zhao Zhen.
As long as Zhao Zhen stood there and said nothing, the soldiers would howl.
As a later generation, it was difficult for Koji to understand the soldiers' blind respect for the king.
But Koji knows that the power of a leader is infinite.
A leader who is willing to suffer with them and stand on the most dangerous front line with them will not be afraid of so many powerful enemies and no matter how difficult it is.
After Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji walked around, Zhao Zhen returned to the Chinese army's tent.
Kou Ji was dragged to a military tent by Zhu Neng.
As soon as he entered the military tent, Zhu Neng couldn't wait to say: "Why did you harm me?"