Chapter 0695 Li Yuanhao sent a head over a thousand miles
Zhu Neng was stopped by Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen in unison, and could only lie down on the couch to recover from his injuries with an aggrieved look on his face.
He lost a lot of blood, and after lying on the couch for a while, he fell asleep.
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji exited the tent, leaving the eunuch to serve him carefully.
The tent door.
Zhao Zhen said to Kou Ji: "The follow-up in Xingqing Mansion will be left to the fourth brother. I will issue an order to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and order them to rush to Xingqing Mansion to celebrate the New Year. I promised the soldiers that I will award rewards in Xingqing Mansion.
They, and praise them in front of the civil and military officials of the court, I will definitely do it."
Kou Ji nodded slowly.
Zhao Zhen rushed to the Chinese army's tent.
Kou Ji then rode into Xingqing Mansion.
The shouts of killing in Xingqing Mansion did not stop. Even when Kou Ji entered the palace, it had already entered the night, and the shouts of killing still did not stop, but became more violent.
When Kou Ji rode into Xingqing Mansion, he saw a large number of wounded being carried out of Xingqing Mansion.
Kou Ji rode all the way to where Liu Heng was, and saw Liu Heng frowning and leading his army to attack the inner city.
Kou Ji rushed to Liu Heng's side and asked, "How is the situation?"
Liu Heng frowned and asked Kou Ji in a low voice, "Can the people in the city be killed?"
Kou Ji knew the inside story, so when Liu Heng asked this question, he was not moved. Instead, he asked in a deep voice: "How many soldiers were lost at the hands of the common people?"
Liu Heng nodded slowly and said, "There are more than a thousand people on my side, and I'm afraid there are even more on Zhong Shiheng's side."
Kou Ji said in a deep voice: "The offensive is temporarily suspended. The officials intend to recruit Li Deming to surrender again."
Liu Heng frowned and said: "The battle has already reached this point, why should we recruit surrender? We can just attack in one go. I can guarantee that when the daylight comes tomorrow, we will be able to enter the Xixia Palace."
Kou Ji glanced at Liu Heng and said, "I also know that Li Deming is stubbornly resisting and will not last long. But if the officials want to recruit Li Deming to surrender, they naturally have their own motives."
Liu Heng whispered: "What's the purpose? It can't be to invite Li Deming to Bianjing City to enjoy wealth, right?"
Kou Ji glanced at Liu Heng and said, "It's to appease the people of Xixia."
"Appease? People's hearts?"
Liu Heng looked confused.
Kou Ji nodded slowly.
Liu Heng frowned again.
Seeing this, Kou Ji explained: "Since the Song Dynasty took back Dongping Road, Xiping Road, and Hexi Road from Xixia and the Western Regions, most of the poor people, prisoners and others in the Song Dynasty have moved
Arrived at these places.
Now we have taken over the five states from the Liao people, and also taken over the entire Xixia.
These places need people to farm.
At present, the imperial court has no more people to move out, so we must appease the people of Xixia and let the people of Xixia help us with farming and grazing.
The officials recruited Li Deming to surrender for this purpose."
Liu Heng suddenly realized and asked: "What if Li Deming doesn't agree?"
Kou Ji said in a deep voice: "If Li Deming doesn't agree, then he will have no choice but to use the knife."
Liu Heng curled his lips and said: "Li Deming definitely wants to fight to the end. In the end, we will inevitably have to use the knife. It is just a waste of time to persuade Li Deming to surrender now."
Kou Ji rolled his eyes and said, "So you plan to make the decision for the official family?"
Liu Heng smiled dryly and said nothing.
Kou Ji glared at Liu Heng and said, "Send someone to shout and ask Li Deming whether he will surrender."
Liu Heng followed Kou Ji's instructions, selected a few loud ones, and went out to shout.
Not long after, the caller came back and told Liu Heng and Kou Ji that Li Deming would rather die than surrender.
After Kou Ji heard this, he sneered and said: "Quickly pass this news to all the people in Xingqing Mansion. Tell the people in Xingqing Mansion that Li Deming only cares about his own country and does not care about the life and death of the people in Xingqing Mansion.
.”
Liu Heng asked: "Will the people believe it?"
Kou Ji snorted coldly: "Whether the people believe it or not, that is their business. We have already done what we should do. If anyone attacks our Song Dynasty soldiers, they can be treated as thieves and killed on the spot."
Liu Heng was stunned for a moment, looked at Kou Ji suspiciously and said, "Fourth brother actually doesn't agree with recruiting Li Deming, right?"
Kou Ji glanced at Liu Heng and said, "Do your thing!"
Liu Heng chuckled and did not pursue further inquiries.
Liu Heng sent people to give orders to his soldiers, asking them to do things freely and no longer need to follow some rules.
After the soldiers let go of their hands and feet, there were indeed many fewer injured soldiers.
Kou Ji ran to where Zhong Shiheng was and conveyed the same order to Zhong Shiheng.
After delivering the order, Kou Ji left Xingqing Mansion.
The shouts of killing rang out all night in Xingqing Mansion.
At the second watch of the day.
Liu Heng sent people to report that the Song Dynasty soldiers and horses had broken through the inner city and were attacking the palace.
At the third watch of the day.
No news of the attack on the palace came, but a message came back from the scouts lying in wait everywhere.
There are soldiers and horses coming from the northeast. They seem to have broken through the blockade of Song Dynasty soldiers and horses in the northeast and are rushing towards Xingqing Mansion.
After Kou Ji got the news, he immediately summoned the soldiers who were resting in the military camp, quickly rushed to the northeast of Xingqing Mansion, and set up a pocket formation.
Not long after Koji set up the pocket formation, a group of soldiers and horses, facing the darkness of night, lit torches and were covered in dust, rushed over.
That was a force of 30,000 troops.
The leader is Kou Ji's old rival Li Yuanhao.
After Kou Ji found out the origin of the other party, he also looked surprised.
He did not expect that at the critical moment of the fall of Xixia, Li Yuanhao would not be in Xingqing Mansion, but would appear outside Xingqing Mansion.
But Kou Ji didn't have time to pursue the doorway in detail.
After Li Yuanhao led the cavalry into the pocket formation, he decisively shrank the pocket formation.
Surrounded Li Yuanhao and his troops.
Li Yuanhao led his soldiers and horses, and while charging through the siege, shouted to his father in the direction of Xingqing Mansion.
Kou Jicheng stood by the side and watched quietly as Li Yuanhao and the soldiers and horses he led were strangled.
The soldiers and horses led by Li Yuanhao were like trapped animals. After being surrounded, they struggled fiercely.
Kou Ji saw that Li Yuanhao led the cavalry and caused a lot of damage to the Song Dynasty soldiers and horses, so he summoned the students from the Jiangwu Hall and joined the battlefield with muskets.
Li Yuanhao and the soldiers and horses led by Li Yuanhao were surrounded. They could not escape or rush out, so they could only circle in the circle.
The students in the martial arts hall held muskets as if they were shooting targets.
With the light of the torch, they were not afraid of not being able to hit anyone.
With the addition of students from the Martial Arts Hall, Li Yuanhao's troops were reduced at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Li Yuanhao saw that the 30,000 soldiers and horses under his command were rapidly reduced under the attack of Song soldiers, so he desperately gathered the remaining soldiers together and charged towards Kou Ji's position.
He probably realized that he might not be able to reach Xingqing Mansion, so he wanted to capture Kou Ji and use Kou Ji's life to make a fuss.
But he was inferior to the combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty soldiers.
One after another, the Song Dynasty soldiers and horses appeared next to the soldiers and horses he led, scraping off part of the soldiers and horses he led.
When he rushed in front of Kou Ji, there were less than three hundred soldiers left.
What greeted him were more than three thousand muskets.
"Kou Ji!!!"
When Li Yuanhao saw Kou Ji approaching, he became furious and roared loudly.
Xixia is what it is today, all because of Kou Ji.
Kou Ji is his biggest enemy in Xixia.
He is also Li Yuanhao’s biggest enemy.
Li Yuanhao waved his knife, wanting to cut Kou Ji into pieces.
But when he rushed to about ten feet in front of Kou Ji, a musket rang out.
"Bang bang bang..."
More than three thousand muskets fired.
Li Yuanhao and the three hundred soldiers under Li Yuanhao were shot into sieves and fell off their horses.
After Li Yuanhao fell off his horse, Kou Ji put away his smoking musket.
The guards beside him also put away their muskets.
Li Yuanhao was killed by Kou Ji himself.
Kou Ji fired the first shot, and the guards of Kou Mansion fired the shot.
More than thirty shots were fired at Li Yuanhao, and Li Yuanhao was truly beaten into a sieve.
After Li Yuanhao died, the Xixia soldiers and horses who were divided by the Song Dynasty soldiers showed two extremes.
Some soldiers and horses surrendered quickly without any hesitation.
Some soldiers fought to the end without any intention of retreating.
At the fourth watch of the day.
Li Yuanhao and the troops led by Li Yuanhao were annihilated by Kou Ji. More than 10,000 people were killed and more than 10,000 were captured.
Kou Ji had Li Yuanhao's body carried back to the military camp.
After returning to the camp.
Kou Ji ordered people to tell the news to Liu Heng and Zhong Shiheng who were attacking the palace.
After Liu Heng and Zhong Shiheng told the news to Li Deming, who was resisting, Li Deming actually surrendered.
Li Deming's actions exceeded everyone's expectations.
Inside the Chinese military tent.
Zhao Zhen said in disbelief: "Li Deming actually surrendered? Then what's the point of his stubborn resistance before?"
Kou Ji pondered: "Li Deming should have the intention of living and dying with Xixia. After he learned about Li Yuanhao's death, he chose to surrender. Most likely he came for me."
Zhao Zhen was stunned and said in a deep voice: "He wants to kill you to avenge his son?"
Kou Ji thought: "Eighty percent..."
Zhao Zhen asked, "Where is the remaining 20%?"
Kou Ji looked at Zhao Zhen and said with a smile: "There is still a 20% chance that it is to avenge Xixia."
Zhao Zhen nodded slowly, "So, Li Deming's real intention in surrendering to the Song Dynasty was you."
Kou Ji nodded and said: "He may follow us to Bianjing City, and then quietly lie dormant. When he has a chance to deal with me, he will take action."
"call……"
Zhao Zhen exhaled and sighed: "In this case, we can't keep him. I thought he was a sensible person and wanted to meet him, but since he had sinister intentions, I had no choice but to kill him.
"
Kou Ji looked at Zhao Zhen and said seriously: "Li Deming is the leader of a state after all. If the officials kill him, not only will it be difficult to win over the people in Xixia, but the civil and military officials in the court will probably also criticize him."
Zhao Zhen said calmly: "Since Li Deming has surrendered, I tell the people of Xixia that I took Li Deming back to Bianjing City. Can they still pursue me to Bianjing City?"
Besides, the civil servants in the court are not just freeloaders. They have many ways to help me win over the hearts and minds of the Xixia people.
As for the criticism of civil and military officials in the court, I don't care.
I conquered the five states of Yanyun and conquered the entire territory of Xixia. Even in the Ancestral Temple, I can still speak loudly in front of my ancestors.
If I act domineering in front of civil and military officials, what can they do to me?
Those who are sensible, I will serve them with good food and drink; those who are not, I will let them come to Xixia as herdsmen, so that they can feel the suffering of the frontier."
When Zhao Zhen said this, he looked at Kou Ji and asked very seriously: "Tell me, with my current achievements, do I have the qualifications to be domineering?"
Kou Ji was happy when he heard this.
"If you have made great achievements in officialdom, civil affairs, and martial arts, you can naturally command your officials to do whatever they want to do."
Zhao Zhen smiled and nodded, "That's very good..."
Zhao Zhen just finished speaking.
Liu Heng's voice came from outside the Chinese army's tent.
"Reporting to the official family, the surrendered minister Li Deming has arrived!"
Zhao Zhen said very calmly: "Find a place where there is no one, chop it off, and pack the head for me. I will take it back to pay homage to my ancestors."
As soon as Zhao Zhen said these words.
Everyone outside the Chinese army's tent was stunned.
Zhong Shiheng and Liu Heng looked at each other with blank expressions on their faces.
The same is true for other generals.
Both emotionally and rationally, Zhao Zhen should meet Li Deming before making a decision.
But now Zhao Zhen ordered Li Deming to be beheaded without even looking at him.
Zhong Shiheng, Liu Heng and others suddenly did not understand the intention of Zhao Zhen's move.
Li Deming was kneeling on the ground with ropes tied around his body. Hearing Zhao Zhen's words, his heart skipped a beat. He originally wanted to live and die with Xixia, but just as he was about to lead his soldiers to fight the final battle with the Song Dynasty soldiers and horses.
While fighting, I suddenly got the news that Li Yuanhao had been beheaded.
Li Yuanhao was secretly sent to the border of Xixia and Liao Kingdoms, and not many people knew about it.
Only he and his personal eunuch Mu Le knew.
Mu Le was loyal to him and would not betray him and would not reveal the information about Li Yuanhao.
So the news that Li Yuanhao was beheaded in the Song Dynasty is 90% true.
Li Deming originally thought that when Li Yuanhao learned that Xingqing Mansion was attacked, he would guess his intentions, lead his troops to lie dormant, and then secretly grow stronger, make a comeback, and recover Xixia.
Unexpectedly, Li Yuanhao actually returned to Xingqing Mansion with his troops and horses, and returned to Xingqing Mansion after the Song Dynasty soldiers and horses had already attacked the outer and inner cities of Xingqing Mansion.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses of the Song Dynasty surrounded Xingqing Mansion.
Those are hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, not hundreds of thousands of trees.
He led 300,000 soldiers and horses, but he did not dare to fight head-on.
Li Yuanhao led 30,000 troops and dared to charge inside.
Li Deming was made to cry by Li Yuanhao.
It was useless to complain about Li Yuanhao in my heart. I could only ask for surrender from the Song Dynasty in grief, hoping to save his life, and then slowly try to see if there was any possibility of recovering Xixia.
Even if Xixia cannot be restored, some methods can still be used in Bianjing City to kill Kou Ji who caused the destruction of Xixia and killed his son.
Although the vassal lords who had surrendered to the Song Dynasty before had a bad ending.
But at the beginning of their surrender to the Song Dynasty, the treatment they received was still very good.
The Song Dynasty promoted itself as a state of etiquette, and treated those who surrendered with courtesy.
As long as he is willing to surrender, he can survive for the time being.
Most of the subjugated kings who had surrendered to the Song Dynasty were dead, but their descendants lived a very prosperous life in the Song Dynasty, and some even became important ministers.
For example, the Qian family of Wuyue.
It was with this thought that Li Deming chose to surrender at the critical moment.
But what he didn't expect was that Zhao Zhen didn't play his cards according to the routine at all. When he heard that he was escorted outside the Chinese army's tent, he didn't even see him, so he started to kill him.
Li Deming gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "The guilty minister has surrendered, the guilty minister has surrendered, please forgive me...
Didn't the officials say that as long as the guilty subject is willing to surrender, he will be freed to live?"
Inside the Chinese military tent.
Zhao Zhen heard what Li Deming said and said coldly: "I have said this. I always do what I say and never change it. But are you wrong about what I meant?
I said this when my troops of the Song Dynasty were attacking the inner city of Xingqing Prefecture.
If you surrendered at that time, I could forget about it.
But you didn't surrender, so I issued an order to kill you without mercy."
"Official!"
"Enough!"
Li Deming wanted to speak, but Zhao Zhen stopped him.
Zhao Zhen snorted coldly: "You haven't obeyed my order, what are you waiting for? Could it be that you feel that your contribution to the destruction of Xixia is too great, and you are afraid that my reward will be too generous, so you want to take the opportunity to disobey me and ask me to reduce it.
What’s your credit?”
Zhong Shiheng and Liu Heng were shocked when they heard this.
The two looked at each other and saw the shock in each other's eyes.
Zhao Zhen is different from before.
He became more domineering and more like a domineering king.
Such tough and majestic words could not have been said by Zhao Zhen before.
"official……"
Li Deming still wants to fight for his own life.
However, Liu Heng quickly went up and covered Li Deming's mouth.
Zhong Shiheng also stepped forward, and the two of them took matters into their own hands and dragged Li Deming away from the Chinese army's tent.
Inside the Chinese military tent.
Kou Ji said with some regret: "The official family has become more and more dignified..."
"Am I majestic?"
Zhao Zhen sighed and said with a wry smile: "It's not my fault, I also want to talk to everyone in a pleasant manner. But when I talk to them in a pleasant manner, they think that I am easy to bully, bargain with me, and fight against me.
How can there be so much room for bargaining in matters between the government and the public?
If I give them three points, they can scrape three layers of oil on the people.
If there is any flaw in my words, they can extract a bit of marrow from the bones of the people.
They are the ones who forced me to be like this, not that I had to become like this."
Kou Ji pondered: "Now that the Liao Kingdom has surrendered and Xixia has been at peace, the officials' thoughts have shifted from war to political affairs?"
Zhao Zhen nodded slowly, "Now that the war has calmed down, it's time to properly handle government affairs. Five states in the Yanyun land have belonged to our Song Dynasty, and the huge territory of Xixia is now also a property of our Song Dynasty.
The Song Dynasty has added so much new territory, we can't just leave it alone, right?
The land of Yanyun is not bad, it has the native people of the land of Yanyun.
But within Xixia, the land is vast and sparsely populated, and there are many deserts. I really don’t know how to manage it.”
Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Ji and said with a mixture of laughter and tears: "I'm not afraid of Fourth Brother's jokes. In the past, the poor people in the Song Dynasty were caught in large numbers, and there were countless prisoners in the cells.
But now, in our Song Dynasty, there are no poor people or prisoners who can be recruited here."
Kou Ji said frankly: "There are indeed not many poor people on the surface, but there are many behind the scenes. Many people have become tenants of wealthy families and have long-term contracts. Without the permission of the wealthy families, they cannot do anything."
Leave. They can only stay in their place of origin and let those wealthy families squeeze them."
"I……"
When Kou Ji saw that Zhao Zhen wanted to make bold statements, he hurriedly said: "I know what the officials are thinking, but the officials don't have to say it clearly. This matter is very involved and needs to be dealt with carefully, otherwise it will cause big trouble.
"
It is true that the Song Dynasty was rich.
But the prosperity of the Song Dynasty was based on commerce.
Most of the taxes in the Song Dynasty were not agricultural taxes, but commercial taxes.
Therefore, saying that the Song Dynasty was rich does not mean that the people of the Song Dynasty were very wealthy.
On the contrary, the people of the Song Dynasty can be said to be the poorest in all dynasties.
Otherwise, they would not be able to take the path of rebellion every now and then.
You must know that the number of civil rebellions in the Song Dynasty was the highest among all dynasties.
If the people of the Song Dynasty were really wealthy, how could they possibly rebel?
Many dynasties had the problem of land annexation, and the land annexation in the Song Dynasty was particularly serious.
Kou Ji, Zhu Neng, Li Zhaoliang and others divided up millions of acres of fertile land in Hexi. Countless people knew about it, but no one ever impeached them for it. Why?
It's because everyone took advantage of their positions to occupy a lot of fertile land.
Therefore, no one used this matter as a basis to impeach Kou Ji, Zhu Neng, and Li Zhaoliang.
Because at this point, no one is clean.
This shows how serious the land annexation was in the Song Dynasty.
If the issue of land annexation is not resolved, it will be impossible for the people who are bound to the land to be liberated.
The issue of land annexation was aimed at all wealthy families and all wealthy landlords in the Song Dynasty.
The implications are very wide.
It's not something that can be solved easily.
Raising this issue rashly will definitely cause a huge backlash.
The "Qingli New Deal" and "Wang Anshi's Reform" recorded in history books both ended in disastrous defeats, which are examples.
Zhao Zhen heard Kou Ji's words, took a deep breath, and said: "I was abrupt, and this matter is indeed very involved. At the moment, our country, the Song Dynasty, has just calmed down the war, and needs to cultivate a little, so as not to cause trouble again.
Fourth brother thinks that what we should do is our top priority?"
Kou Ji said solemnly: "Give the Xixia land to the soldiers as much as they can, and let them move their families to the Xixia territory to enrich the population of the Xixia territory.
If you can't separate it, leave it to them for the time being.
At the same time, the Xixia people in Xixia were divided into several groups and supervised by them. If the people sincerely attached themselves to the Song Dynasty, the officials would naturally treat them preferentially. If they were not sincere, they would be treated like the Uighurs in Ganzhou.
Organize them into a land reclamation corps and let them help the court clear land.
Now that the imperial court already has a granary in Hexi, and if it builds a large granary in Xixia, the imperial court will not have to worry about food in the future."
Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "Now that I have money, if I have more food, I can do many things I want to do, right?"
Kou Ji nodded again.
Zhao Zhen continued to smile and said: "That's very good... This matter will be discussed later. Now that Xingqing Mansion has been captured, Fourth Brother accompanied me to Xingqing Mansion to see how the Xixia Palace compares to the palace where I live.