pdf-ebookys Chapter 349: The Grief-Stricken Marshal
Chapter 349: The Grief-Stricken Marshal
After Empress Dowager Xiao received the special envoy of Li Yuanhao, the ruler of Western Xia, in Shangjing City of Liao, she summoned all the ministers to discuss whether to send troops to help.
The Western Xia Kingdom and the Liao Kingdom were allied friendly states. Everyone knew that if the Song Kingdom invaded the Western Xia Kingdom, they would be in trouble. However, under the supervision of Regent Zhao Defang, the Song Kingdom became rich and strong, and the combat effectiveness of the Song Kingdom's army increased dramatically. If they sent troops to attack the Song Kingdom's border in support of the Western Xia Kingdom, and Regent Zhao Defang became angry and sent troops to attack the Liao Kingdom, it would be more trouble than gain, and they would be in trouble!
The civil and military officials argued for a long time. Some agreed to send troops to rescue Western Xia, while others opposed sending troops to protect their own safety.
In the end, it was the wise and courageous Empress Dowager Xiao who made the final decision. If Regent Zhao Defang led the army to destroy Western Xia, the next target would be the Liao Kingdom. Saving Western Xia was equivalent to saving the Liao Kingdom itself. So she sent Marshal Yelu Xiezhen to lead an army of 60,000 to immediately rescue Western Xia.
More than a dozen prefectures of Western Xia all surrendered, and the Song army easily destroyed the Western Xia Kingdom. Regent Zhao Defang immediately changed his plan and decided to attack the Liao Kingdom directly.
Li Yuanhao still had more than 100,000 Dingnan troops under his command, including more than 80,000 elite cavalry. With this surrendered army with good combat effectiveness as the vanguard to attack the Liao Kingdom, the Regent Zhao Defang would wake up with a smile in his sleep.
At the military meeting held in the palace of Xingqing Prefecture, Yang Yanzhao pointed at Yanmen Pass and Fuzhou City on the sand table with a thin wooden stick and explained to everyone: "Yelü Xiezhen led 60,000 elite troops to launch a surprise attack on the border of Song State. According to Yelu Xiezhen's character, he would choose either Yanmen Pass or Fuzhou City as the place to send troops. Perhaps, he would split his troops into two groups and launch surprise attacks on both places."
Li Yuanhao looked at the novel sand table map model in silence, feeling shocked and guilty.
What shocked them was that the Song army was so powerful and advanced. What made them feel guilty was that the Liao Kingdom came to rescue the Western Xia, but was betrayed by the Western Xia, which had surrendered to the Song Kingdom again. Morally and conscientiously, it was a bit unreasonable!
Regent Zhao Defang saw what Li Yuanhao was thinking and a sly and complacent smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
"I will tell all the generals about the tactical deployment. Yang Yanzhao will lead 20,000 new troops to rush back to support Yanmen Pass, and Cao Wei will lead 20,000 new troops to rush to support the Zhe family army in Fuzhou.
This king and General Li Yuanhao will lead our troops out of the Wuqihai City of Western Xia and march straight to Zhongjing of Liao!
Yan Zhao and Cao Wei, after you two defeat and annihilate the 60,000 Liao troops led by Yelu Xiezhen, divide your forces into two groups to capture Liao Xijing and Nanjing. After our three armies meet in Liao Zhongjing, we will capture Liao Dongjing and Shangjing, and then, we will go straight to Huanglong!"
The generals of the Song army were so excited that their blood boiled and they all shouted their orders!
Li Yuanhao was horrified when he heard this and thought: "Your Highness, such a bold and daring strategic deployment that goes against the common sense of military tactics, if it wasn't said by you, the God of War of the Song Dynasty, it must have been thought up by a madman with no military knowledge.
Your Majesty, are you so confident in the combat effectiveness of the Song army and the military command abilities of these young generals? Aren't you afraid that such a risky military operation will lead to a disastrous defeat and a total loss of all your money? 】
The old general Zhe Dejian, who had been following the Regent Zhao Defang to watch the war in Xixia, became more and more silent these days. The silence was because he was shocked again and again, and after being shocked, he always loved to think hard.
In the past, the mature and prudent General Zhe would have objected to the regent's bold strategic deployment. However, at this moment, although the old man was a little worried, another kind of confidence in the regent prevailed.
Seeing that no one spoke up to object or raise any objections, Regent Zhao Defang smiled and said, "Since the generals have no objections, let's act immediately!"
Marshal Yelu Xiezhen, who thought that the Song army and the elite Tangut troops were fighting fiercely in the territory of Western Xia, leaving the Song border empty, sadly discovered that the two armies he sent out to attack Fuzhou City and Yanmen Pass were both met with stubborn resistance.
What's even more tragic is that after only one day of siege, the main force of the Song army appeared on these two battlefields.
What was even more tragic was that while he was fleeing with more than 10,000 defeated soldiers, he received news that Li Yuanhao, the ruler of Western Xia, had surrendered to the Song Dynasty half a month ago.
Marshal Yelu Xiezhen was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot. Damn it! Where is justice? My Liao Kingdom sent troops to rescue Xixia, but your Xixia King Li Yuanhao had already surrendered to the Song Kingdom, and killed tens of thousands of Khitan warriors of my Liao Kingdom!
Marshal Yelu Xiezhen was so angry that he cursed and rode away. He wanted to bring these 10,000 Khitan warriors home. He wanted to report to Empress Dowager Xiao and let the Liao Kingdom prepare to defend against the enemy! ...
In the imperial palace of the Song Dynasty's Bianjing city, the young emperor Zhao Wuji, with his hands behind his back, walked around the room excitedly.
Liu Cheng'an looked at the little emperor who was so excited that he couldn't sit still or stand still, and smiled secretly.
The young emperor usually pretends to be a mature and steady adult, but today, when he received a secret report from His Royal Highness the Regent at the front line, he was so excited that he forgot everything else and revealed his childish nature.
I don't know what brilliant achievements His Royal Highness the Regent had made on the front line, which made the little emperor so happy that he lost his composure? He childishly did not summon the important officials of the court to discuss matters, but instead hurriedly sent someone to bring the Regent Princess to the palace to share the joy of victory with the imperial aunt first?
Hearing the noise coming from outside the imperial study, Liu Cheng'an hurriedly reported: "Your Majesty, the Regent Princess has arrived."
The little emperor Zhao Wuji, who was spinning around, immediately turned around and ran to the door to greet the imperial aunt in person.
"Imperial aunt, you are finally here. I have been waiting for you for a long time. I was so anxious that I walked around the imperial study for hundreds of times!" The little emperor Zhao Wuji took Zhao Wubing from the imperial aunt's arms and said with a smile on his face.
Seeing his smile, Luo Li knew that there was good news, and the heart that had been weighing on her mind all the way finally settled down.
She glared at the young emperor Zhao Wuji in a reproachful manner, "Your Majesty, you were so anxious to order people to bring me to the palace that I was scared and thought something terrible had happened.
You are usually quite steady, tell me, what earth-shattering good news did you get today that made you so happy that you lost your composure?"
The little emperor Zhao Wuji put down his little brother who was struggling to get off the ground, took his hand and walked to the imperial desk, picked him up and sat him down, then turned around and smiled at the imperial aunt, "Aunt, am I stable enough now?"
Luo Li sat on the soft stool that Liu Cheng'an had brought over without any hesitation, took the fragrant tea offered by the eunuch, sipped it leisurely, and then put down the teacup, "Your Majesty, am I steady enough?"
The anxiously waiting little emperor chuckled, then jumped onto the imperial desk, held his brother in his arms, and smiled condescendingly at the imperial aunt who was sitting in front of him with a serious look, "Aunt, let's not be so serious. Anyway, there are no outsiders here, so we should just show our true colors and relax!"
Luo Li also chuckled, and both of them failed.
When he saw what his beloved son was holding, he quickly reminded him, "Wu Ji, keep an eye on Lin Er, make sure he doesn't tear up your memorial."
The little emperor Zhao Wuji coaxed his little brother with a smile, "Wubing, be good! Give me the memorials in exchange for this jade seal. If you are willing to study hard and learn to read, in a few years, I will let you review all these memorials."
Luo Li quickly stepped forward, snatched the jade seal from her son's hand and placed it on the imperial desk, then took him down and put him on the ground, "Your Majesty, please do not teach my precious son bad things. For this life, please have Your Majesty personally approve these piles of memorials. Do not dream of using my son as a laborer."
The little emperor smiled bitterly. The imperial aunt had always been vigilant. It was really a worrying matter how to lure his brother Zhao Wubing into the ranks of high-level coolies.
The corners of Liu Cheng'an's mouth twitched. The people in the Zhao royal family were all weird. His Royal Highness the Regent had no interest in the supreme dragon throne. The little emperor who was coaxed onto the throne was always thinking about dividing the supreme imperial power to his cousin Zhao Wubing. The Regent Princess was very cautious about this matter.
"Aunt and uncle led the army to attack Western Xia and captured several cities in a few days, scaring the Western Xia ruler Li Yuanhao into surrender." The young emperor Zhao Wuji finally spoke the good news.
Luo Li was also overjoyed, "Oh! This is a perfect victory. Did your uncle say when he will return triumphantly?"
The young emperor Zhao Wuji smiled, trying to suppress his excitement. He coughed and cleared his throat, then said mysteriously, "Aunt, after my uncle easily destroyed the Western Xia Kingdom, he immediately changed his plan and led his army to attack the Liao Kingdom directly!"
"..." Luo Li was stunned, staring at the complacent little emperor with her eyes wide open. After thinking about it, she felt that this was indeed something Zhao Defang could do.
However, how could the Liao Kingdom, with its vast territory and large number of troops, be easily conquered by the Western Xia?
Liu Cheng'an was so shocked by the news that he became a wooden man. [Oh my God! His Royal Highness the Regent destroyed Xixia in just over half a month, and now he is leading the army to attack Liao directly. The reputation of the Song Dynasty's God of War is really well deserved! ]
"Your Majesty, your uncle is leading the army to attack the Liao Kingdom. We don't know when this tough battle will end. You have to ensure stability in the rear and guarantee the supply of materials and military supplies to the army on the front line. You have to be attentive." Luo Li instructed the little emperor Zhao Wuji as if she were instructing an adult.
The little emperor straightened his face and puffed out his chest! "Don't worry, auntie, I will definitely support uncle!"