October 15.

Zhu Neng and Wang Kai broke the Keyi Gate.

The Western Xia general Yeli Yuqi led the remnants of the valley and fled to the city of Danliang.

October 23.

Zhu Neng and Wang Kai broke the provincial Weicheng.

After the destruction of the provincial city, the two soldiers were divided into two routes.

All the way to attack Danliang City, all the way to attack Dingzhou.

The fourth day of November.

Zhu Neng broke through Danliang City, and Wang Kai broke Dingzhou.

November 9.

The Helian tribe in Hue surrendered, and Kou Ji collected their swords and sent them to Xiazhou and other places to prepare for the opening of the wasteland next year.

November 20.

Zhu Neng, Wang Kai, Chong Shiheng, Liu Heng, Kou Ji, and even Zhao Zhen led hundreds of thousands of troops to besiege Xingqing Mansion and Huaizhou.

Outside Xingqing Mansion.

Heavy snowfall.

White tents.

In the big tent of the Chinese army, Zhao Zhen, Kou Ji, Liu Heng and others, who had been separated for several months, gathered together again.

Unlike the last time the troops were dispatched, there were many more people gathered this time.

For example, Zhu Neng, Wang Kai, Guo Yi, Liu Qi and others.

Zhao Zhen sat in the middle of the tent, holding a stove in his arms, and a desk table in front of him, with a small red clay stove on the table dyed in the bear, and a casserole on the small stove, in which there was boiling wine and stuffy mutton.

The things placed in front of Kou Ji and the others were similar to those placed in front of Zhao Zhen.

The only difference is that Kou Ji, Zhu Neng, and Chong Shiheng are holding a hand warmer in their arms, while Wang Kai, Guo Yi, and Liu Qi have nothing in their hands.

It's not that the three of them are frost-resistant.

It was the first time that the three of them met you, and they didn't dare to be too free.

The three of them were all wearing armor and straightened their waists, as if they were waiting for Zhao Zhen to review.

Zhao Zhen roughly guessed that the three of them wanted to show themselves in front of him, so he showed a smile to the three of them.

In an instant, the waists of the three people straightened.

Zhu Neng looked at Wang Kai, Guo Yi, and Liu Qi, whose waists were straight, like a wooden stake, and bit his ears with Kou Ji and said, "Look at the three of them......"

Kou Ji glanced at Wang Kai and the others, and said in a low voice, "Are you laughing at others?" ”

Zhu Neng held back a 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 when you first met you, you were worse than the three of them. My grandfather said that you didn't know much about the etiquette of the face king at that time, so when you saw the first emperor, you knelt on the ground like a quail, and your buttocks were high, which caused all the civil and military people present at that time to laugh.

If it weren't for my grandfather to help you, you'd probably be 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 you not mention the past?" Besides, it was a special situation. At that time, on the battlefield, I made meritorious contributions, and when the first emperor summoned me, Shangguan specially reminded me that our military ministers should kneel when they see the king on the battlefield. So when I went to see the first emperor, I knelt down straight. ”

"They didn't tell you that it was one knee and not both?"

"Can you stop mentioning this, why does Gong Kou even tell you this kind of thing...... What a ......."

"What is it?"

"Nothing ......"

“……”

"What are you two muttering?"

Just when Kou Ji and Zhu Neng were talking, Zhao Zhen suddenly spoke.

The two hurriedly looked at Zhao Zhen, and then saw everyone looking at the two of them strangely.

Kou Ji glared at Zhu Neng unabashedly, and then said to Zhao Zhen: "Back to the official's house, just now the minister was discussing with General Zhu about the attack on Xingqing Mansion, and General Zhu claimed that he would give him 100,000 soldiers and horses, and he was willing to serve as a pioneer to take down Li Deming's head for the official's family." ”

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, and Zhu Neng naturally couldn't admit it, so he could only hug his fists and say: "Back to the official's house, the minister is willing to serve as a pioneer." ”

As soon as Zhu Neng's words came out, Chong Shiheng, Liu Heng, and Wang Kai looked at Zhu Neng with admiration, and Guo Yi and Liu Qi breathed a sigh of relief.

The reason why Chong Shiheng and others reacted like this was because the vanguard general who attacked Xingqing Mansion was not easy to be.

Don't look at Zhu Neng and Wang Kai who attacked cities and plundered land in other places in Western Xia before, as if they had entered a no-man's land, they felt that Xingqing Mansion was easy to fight.

In fact, Xingqing Mansion is very difficult to fight.

The reason why it was easy for Zhu Neng and Wang Kai to attack the city and plunder the land outside was because Li Deming, the lord of Western Xia, transferred other soldiers and horses in Western Xia to Xingqing Mansion and Huaizhou.

Now the soldiers and horses stationed in Xingqing Mansion add up to 300,000.

Although only 100,000 of them are elite, but the Western Xia occupies the advantage of the city, and the other 200,000 soldiers and horses have the city as a support, and the combat effectiveness will also be doubled, plus Li Deming opened the Western Xia armory and equipped those soldiers and horses with sophisticated weapons, they can now also be regarded as elite.

300,000 soldiers and horses, holding on to a city.

It's not easy to take.

Zhu Neng served as the vanguard, and if he led the troops to attack first, he would definitely suffer the most fierce counterattack.

The heavy crossbows, bed crossbows and other things set up on the head of Xingqing Mansion are enough for Zhu Neng to drink a pot.

Chong Shiheng and the others knew that the vanguard general was not good, so when they were discussing the matter of attacking Xingqing Mansion, no one was vying for the vanguard general.

Now that Zhu Neng took the lead in grabbing the position of vanguard general, the three of them naturally admired each other, and 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 probability that he would be appointed as the vanguard general by Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen heard Zhu Neng's words and nodded with satisfaction, "Zhu Aiqing is really a pillar of the country. Since Zhu Aiqing took the initiative to ask for help, the post of vanguard general must be Zhu Aiqing. ”

Since Zhu Neng agreed, he was not ambiguous, and after hearing Zhao Zhen's words, he decisively hugged his fists and said: "The minister is willing to die for the official family." ”

"Good good ......"

Zhao Zhen said three good things in a row, and instructed Chen Lin beside him: "Send my wine to Zhu Aiqing to taste." ”

Chen Lin agreed, took a pot of Zhao Zhen's imperial wine, and took it to Zhu Neng to scald.

The position of vanguard general was taken by Zhu Neng, and others began to grab other positions.

In the end, Zhao Zhen served as the coach and led Chong Shiheng, Liu Heng, Kou Ji and others to attack Xingqing Mansion.

Wang Kai served as the chief general of the left army and led Guo Yi and Liu Qi to attack Huaizhou.

After all the arrangements were ready, Zhao Zhen raised his glass and said loudly: "This time, we millions of soldiers and civilians will conquer Western Xia together, and now most of the territory of Western Xia has been reduced to the territory of my Great Song Dynasty, except Xingqing Mansion and Huaizhou.

If Xingqing Mansion and Huaizhou are broken this time, then my Great Song Dynasty will be able to defeat the Western Xia War, and I will have a full success.

I salute all Aiqing and hope that you can be triumphant.

If this battle is won, I will be knighted in Xingqing Mansion. ”

"Please!"

"Please!"

“……”

Kou Ji and the others got up, raised their wine glasses very heroically, and drank a glass with Zhao Zhen.

After a cup, Zhao Zhen was about to raise his glass, when he saw a small eunuch rushing in outside the door.

Everyone's eyes fell on the little eunuch in unison.

The little eunuch was stared at by everyone, and he was not afraid, he saluted Zhao Zhen and said softly: "Official, there are eight hundred miles of urgent soldiers who rushed over from the land of Yanyun to ask to see you." ”

When Kou Ji and the others heard this, their hearts were shocked, and they looked at Zhao Zhen silently.

Zhao Zhen's face was not very good-looking.

Because at this time, news came from the land of Yanyun, and it was likely to be bad news.

Zhao Zhen put down the wine glass, slowly sat down on the couch, and said in a deep voice: "Pass!" ”

Kou Ji and the others also sat down one after another, without the heroism on their faces, staring quietly outside the tent one by one.

The little eunuch got Zhao Zhen's order and got out of the tent, and not long after, he appeared in the tent with an eight-hundred-mile urgent soldier.

After the eight-hundred-mile expedited soldier appeared in the tent, he first saluted Zhao Zhen, and then raised the letter box he was carrying above his head.

Zhao Zhen instructed Chen Lin to open the letter box and take out the letter inside, and after reviewing it at a glance and ten lines, his expression became extremely complicated.

Kou Ji and the others stared at Zhao Zhen nervously, for fear that Zhao Zhen would say something bad from his mouth.

Zhao Zhen pondered for a long time, as if he was brewing emotions.

After a long time, Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Ji and the others, and said in a low voice: "Emperor Liao asked for peace......"

When Kou Ji and the others heard this, they were stunned, as if they had heard something unbelievable.

"Haha......"

Zhao Zhen suddenly laughed out loud and said in high spirits: "Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu actually asked me for peace...... Ha ha...... Hahahaha......"

Zhao Zhen smiled very presumptuously and arrogantly, and there was some unprecedented pleasure in it.

Since the Tanyuan Alliance, the Great Song Dynasty has been oppressed by the Liao State for more than 20 years.

Da Song held his breath in his chest, and he held it for more than twenty years.

Now that I have finally turned over, I naturally feel unprecedented happiness.

After Kou Ji and the others confirmed that Zhao Zhen was not lying, a hearty smile appeared on their faces.

The monarchs and ministers laughed very happily in the big tent of the Chinese army.

After laughing for a long time, Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "Send a decree to Lu Yijian and let him preside over this peace talks." Sent a decree to Wang Zeng, asking him to send Zhang Zhibai, plus the officials of Honglu Temple, to Tongtai Pass to negotiate with Liao.

Tell them that their responsibility is to abolish the Tanyuan Alliance and conclude another treaty.

As the price of peace talks, in addition to Zhuozhou, Huanzhou, and Shuozhou, Liao also had to cede the land of the Great Song Dynasty to me.

In addition, the Liao State must pay 400,000 copper coins to our Great Song Dynasty every year.

The other conditions let Lu Yijian and Zhang Zhibai look at and talk, and I will not make any concessions on these two items. ”

As soon as Zhao Zhen's words came out, the people in the tent had different expressions.

"Official ......"

Koji hurriedly spoke.

Zhao Zhen glanced at Kou Ji deeply and shook his head.

Kou Ji was slightly stunned and did not speak again.

Through the eyes that Zhao Zhen gave him, he understood that the reason why Zhao Zhen agreed to Liao's request for peace was that there was probably another hidden secret.

Zhao Zhen did not announce it to the public, indicating that the hidden truth was inconvenient to say clearly.

Through Zhao Zhen's eyes, Chong Shiheng and the others also saw that Zhao Zhen had something to say to Kou Ji alone.

Chong Shiheng said with a smile: "Official, the Liao Kingdom has asked me for peace with the Great Song Dynasty, this is great news, and it is right to have a big feast." ”

Zhao Zhen heard Chong Shiheng's words, nodded with a smile and said: "Chong Qing is reasonable, spread my will, kill sheep and cattle, and feast all the soldiers." ”

"Whoa!"

Chong Shiheng and the others agreed, and one by one they left the Chinese army's tent under the pretext of going to pass the good news to the soldiers.

When Zhao Zhen, Kou Ji, and Chen Lin were left in the big tent of the Chinese army.

Zhao Zhen sat on the couch, stared at Kou Ji and said, "If the fourth brother has any doubts, he can say it." ”

Kou Ji hurriedly said: "Since the Liao Emperor has asked my Great Song Dynasty for peace, it means that the Liao Emperor may not be able to support it, why didn't my Great Song Dynasty take advantage of the victory to pursue, but instead agreed to the Liao Emperor's request for peace?" ”

Zhao Zhen handed the letter sent by the 800-mile urgent soldier just now to Chen Lin.

Chen Lin took the letter paper and handed it to Kou Ji.

Kou Ji took the letter and read it at a glance, then slowly frowned.

Zhao Zhen sighed and said: "After a year of fierce fighting, the 300,000 soldiers led by Cao Wei, as well as the 50,000 soldiers and horses sent by me, if they can fight, there are less than 100,000 left. 100,000 soldiers, holding Zhuozhou, Huanzhou, Shuozhou without losing it, but there is no longer the strength to counterattack the Liao.

If I hadn't hit Xingqing Mansion, I would have been able to send soldiers and horses to help them.

But the Xingqing Mansion that I have hit now, and the destruction of Western Xia is right now.

It's impossible for me to put down the attack on Xingqing Mansion and lead the soldiers and horses to fight the Liao, right? ”

Koji frowned and didn't speak.

If Zhao Zhen had sent a partial division to help Cao Wei, he would have been able to do it.

It's just that all the soldiers and horses in the northwest are now in Xingqing Mansion.

From Xingqing Mansion to Tongtai Pass, it will take a month and a half to march.

If Zhao Zhen did not agree to Liaohuang Yelu Longxu's request for peace, Cao Wei and others might not be able to hold out for a month and a half.

Of the 350,000 soldiers and horses led by Cao Wei, nearly 100,000 were lost on the battlefields on both sides of Tongtai Pass and Yanmen Pass, of which the first line of Yanmen Pass suffered the most losses.

In the battle on the front line of Yanmen Pass, the number of troops invested was 200,000.

Sixty thousand died on the battlefield.

More than 15,000 wounds died of incurable injuries.

There are 75,000 wounded being treated.

The remaining 50,000 soldiers and horses were stationed in Shuozhou and Huanzhou.

If it weren't for the timely delivery of the cotton clothes collected from Yan and Empress Cao, I am afraid that more people would have been killed and injured.

There were not many dead soldiers and horses in Cao Wei's hands, but there were surprisingly many wounded soldiers.

There were 50,000 lightly wounded soldiers, 20,000 seriously wounded soldiers, more than 20,000 died on the battlefield, and thousands more died from serious injuries.

The reason why there were so many wounded soldiers under Cao Wei was because of the bloody battle of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu outside Tongtai Pass at all costs.

Under the command of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, the Liao soldiers attacked Tongtai Pass several times, but did not break through Tongtai Pass.

The Liao Emperor simply ordered people to make catapults and frantically threw stones into Tongtai Pass.

The boulders in the sky were like rain, and even if the soldiers in the city hid in a place that could be sheltered in advance, they were likely to be injured by the rubble from the stones.

In addition, the Liao Emperor seems to have been inspired by artillery, and also threw fireballs, fierce fire oil and other objects into the Tongtai Pass.

All in all, anything that could hurt the Song soldiers, the Liao Emperor threw it into Tongtai Pass.

And it's a siege and a throw.

It's a lose-lose game.

The Song soldiers were badly damaged, and the soldiers and horses under the Liao Emperor were also very badly damaged.

However, the Liao Emperor could continue to transfer troops from the territory of Liao, but Cao Wei could not.

After Cao Wei learned that the Liao Emperor died because of the Empress Liao, he also swore that the victory or defeat of the war after that would be decided by the Great Song Dynasty.

didn't expect that Emperor Liao would be so crazy that he would fight with him too badly, and forcibly turned the pawn in his hand into a remnant.

The reason why the Liao Emperor did not send heavy troops from the territory of the Liao State and continued to consume Cao Wei and kill Cao Wei was because the Shangjing City of the Liao State suffered a white disaster.

It is commonly known as a snow disaster.

The snow plague not only caused huge casualties to the capital city, but also caused great damage to the tribesmen 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 State, and liked the environment that could improve their lives.

The most courageous is the Jurchen who lives in the north of the Liao Kingdom, between the white mountains and black waters.

(As mentioned before, the naturalized Jurchens who belonged to the Liao State were called mature Jurchens by the Liao people, and those who did not plan were born Jurchen.) ）

After they left the mountain, they crossed the border like bandits, and they killed anyone they saw and robbed them.

The birth of the Nuzhen rioted in the territory of the Liao State.

The women of other small tribes also started a riot, and they united to frantically plunder cattle and sheep in the territory of Liao.

The reason why they dared to be so presumptuous was because most of the men in their clan died on the battlefield of Song Liao.

If they don't want to find a way to get food, the children in the family may not survive the snow storm and freeze to death or starve to death.

As for whether the Liao people will settle accounts after the autumn, they don't care at all.

There are no men in the clan, they have lost most of their hope, they live a life with no tomorrow today, as long as they are full today, who cares if they will die tomorrow.

In short, the territory of Liao is now in chaos.

Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu originally wanted to take advantage of the war between Song and Liao to weaken the power of various small tribes to a minimum.

Unexpectedly, a snow disaster burned his plan.

He took advantage of the war between Song and Liao to weaken the power of the small tribes.

But because of this, it laid the foundation for the riots in the country.

Now that the rear of the Liao State is in chaos, the Liao Emperor has no choice but to keep surviving and chooses to seek peace with the Great Song Dynasty.

If the Liao Emperor continues to fight, there is a possibility of victory.

But under the defense of Cao Wei, Yang Wenguang, and Li Zhaoliang, it is not so easy to take back Zhuozhou, Huanzhou, Shuozhou and other places.

When he finished fighting Zhuozhou, Huanzhou, Shuozhou and other places, he was afraid that those rebel forces in Liao would become grass kings one by one.

I am afraid that the territory of Liao will also be divided up and become the foundation of others.

Although there are still soldiers and horses in the territory of Liao to quell the rebellion everywhere.

But there were too many rebellions, and they couldn't keep them busy.

What's more, there are no heavy troops to sit in the town, there is no heavy army to encircle and suppress, and those who rebel, like gophers, are suppressed once and emerge once.

And it's the kind that is getting more and more aggressive.

Some Liao people also quietly mixed in the middle, followed by burning, killing and looting.

The snow disaster was aimed at the entire northern border of Liao, not a specific ethnic group.

Those born girls who were in the white mountains and black waters really couldn't live, and the Liao people who lived near them naturally couldn't live either.

It's like floods, droughts and other disasters in the Great Song Dynasty.

The people can't survive anymore, as long as someone takes the lead and someone instigates, they will rebel.

The snow disaster was a very terrible disaster in the Great Song Dynasty.

In the cold Liao country, and further north, it is even more terrifying.

The people of those small tribes who suffered from the snow disaster dare to do anything.

If they had to choose between dying under the snow storm and dying under someone else's sword, they would rather die under someone else's sword.

"Human will is difficult to defeat the will of heaven after all......"

Zhao Zhen saw that Kou Ji didn't speak, and sighed.

Kou Ji did not echo Zhao Zhen's words, but sighed: "In the land of Yanyun, there is no battle to settle the situation, after all, it is a big pity......

Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Ji and said seriously: "But we are the victors in the end, we can not only get five of the sixteen states of Yanyun, but also the entire territory of Western Xia."

The Liao State has experienced this civil strife, and I am afraid it will take a long time to recover.

But if we take Western Xia, we will be able to free up our hands to clean up the Liao State. ”

Kou Ji smiled bitterly and said, "That's right, there is no perfect thing in the world, it's because I'm too greedy." ”

Zhao Zhen saw that Kou Ji did not oppose the peace talks, so he instructed Chen Lin to prepare the pen and ink and began to draft the will.

When Kou Ji was drafting Zhao Zhen's will, he said in a low voice: "Cao Wei is afraid that he is going to complain about the two of me......"

Zhao Zhen was stunned for a moment, and said with a smile: "If you and I don't fight Western Xia, he will have enough troops to fight with Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, and he can also take advantage of this white disaster to take back the entire sixteen states of Yanyun."

He failed to take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in a battle, so he will naturally blame us. ”

After a pause, Zhao Zhen said again: "But I am sure that he will never dare to complain about us in the open." ”

Kou Ji laughed.

What Zhao Zhen said made him not know what to say.

If Cao Wei dares to complain about you on the surface, it will be called slandering the king, and he will be punished, and there are relevant regulations in the national law.

Zhao Zhen finished writing his will and sent people to Bianjing City and Tongtaiguan respectively.

After the will was sent, Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji came out of the tent.

Pigs and sheep have already been slaughtered in the barracks.

The soldiers celebrated.

Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji walked among the soldiers with a smile, but the smiles of the two of them were a little stiff.

Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji walked around among the soldiers, and encouraged the soldiers during the feast.

The soldiers screamed one by one, eager to finish eating the meat, and then they went into Xingqing Mansion.

Of course, it is mainly Zhao Zhen's credit.

As long as Zhao Zhen stopped wherever he went, he didn't say anything, and the soldiers would also scream.

As a later generation, it is difficult for Kou Ji to understand the blind reverence that the soldiers had for the king.

But Koji knows that the power of leadership is limitless.

A leader who is willing to suffer with them, who is willing to stand on the front line of the most dangerous 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 big 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?" ”