For Zhao Jijunchen, it has been a happy event recently.

Cai Ying, who had made Zhao Ji's monarchs and ministers almost white-headed, was really seriously injured by Liu Tao sent by Zhao Ji and Tong Guan, and was about to die, and this great Song Dynasty's henchman was about to be removed.

Yizhou Gao Feng led an army of 5,000 to surrender to the Great Song Dynasty, and Zhuozhou Guo Yaoshi led an army of 8,000 Changsheng to surrender to the Great Song Dynasty, and the last barrier in front of Yanjing City was gone.

Now, Xiao Puxiannu of Northern Liao sent envoys to the Great Song Dynasty to seek peace and claim the domain.

The situation is so good that there is nothing to say.

On October 13, Xiao Puxian's performance table was delivered to Bianliang City, Tokyo.

After reading it, Zhao Ji was even happier!

Zhao Ji immediately summoned Wang Hao and other ministers to come to the Chongzheng Hall to study the solution.

Ministers are very different on this.

Wang Huang believed that Xiao Puxiannu was only a minister, which was unacceptable, and that it was necessary to accept land - he believed that the Khitan would reject it if it did not accept land, and the army should continue to move north, because the recovery of Yanjing was not all for economic interests, but also for border military interests, as well as important political significance.

Li Bangyan's side believes that it is acceptable, their reason is that the Khitan can pay money and call the ministers, this is already a historic victory, what can the land be, there are many ethnic groups in Yandi, and the management is cumbersome, if the imperial court directly takes over, maybe it will be upside down, which will become a heavy burden.

They argued for a long time, but neither of them could convince anyone.

In the end, Zhao Ji, who was so happy, still adopted Wang Hao's suggestion and decided to reject Xiao Puxian's table.

The matter of Xiao Pu's virtuous woman asking for the title of Fan was very shocking in the imperial court, and for the Song Dynasty, this was indeed a historic victory worth celebrating.

Dazai Wang Huang led hundreds of officials to congratulate:

The army commanded the generals, with the power of Shen Zhongxia, to take chaos and insult the dead, and then restore the land of Quanyan, Sheng Chao Zhengu, and Xi Yimian District. The minister heard that Shunzhao 12 states, the beginning of the land of the capital of Hebei, Zhou built 800 countries, the first sparse call for the seal, when the Tianjin analysis of the wood, the victory of the valley Guangyang, the situation has the danger of Jintang, the land and sea of the anointing number, Shi Jin does not accept the Khitan, the beginning of the big cut of the land, and the risk of losing the gold river......

His Majesty the Emperor, Sex Preparation Yaoren, Wisdom and Tang Yong, Birth Fu Wende, with the car book of the four seas, Su Jiang Tianwei, the realm of the three kings, all this strategy, Yang is the god of arbitrariness, the material is detailed in the ninefold, the contract is slightly more than 10,000 miles, the gods are in service, the heaven and the earth are combined, the honor of the retro, the anger of the sky, the dedication of the Duan, the ritual of Fang Chen Xikuo, the map of the increase of public opinion, and the interpretation of civilization......

It can be seen from this recital that Wang Hao is indeed trying his best to be sycophant, and he praised Zhao Ji to the point that he has no skin.

Zhao Ji was elated, and the edict responded:

I am the heir of the Pitu, the new government of the day, the letter of Sigaxin, the style of the ten thousand countries, the joy of each neighboring country, with the covenant of obedience, how can the Tibetan people rebel against the clan alliance, and order the commander to go out to patrol the border......

Yan Min obeyed, tied up and asked for his life to return, will restore Yanyun's homeland, talk about the past of the ancestors, the monarch and the ministers are celebrated, and the Chinese diplomacy is happy......

Subsequently, Zhao Ji issued four edicts in a row.

1. Change Yanjing to Yanshan Mansion, and give new names to Zhuozhou, Yizhou and other eight states.

2. Give the new recovering state and county Qu pardon.

3. Eliminate the rate of science and technology, that is, exempt the newly recovered prefectures and counties from all kinds of harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and provide relief to the poor and hungry people with official millet to prevent the people from being displaced.

Fourth, the promotion of talents, for the newly recovered prefectures and counties, those who cherish talents and talents, and those who have disappeared in the people, or who have been recommended by the township but have not tried them, as well as those who offend the powerful or are rejected by the powerful because of their loyalty, as well as those who have been convicted because of their mistakes, they must be screened and promoted.

The imperial court arranged for a fast horse to deliver Zhao Ji's edict to the Xuanfu Division of Xiongzhou and Hebei.

After receiving Zhao Ji's edict, Cai You personally came to the post station and said to the Liao envoy: "We have received the edict, and we will not accept your claim to be a minister, unless you accept the land, otherwise there is no need to talk, and now please leave the country immediately." ”

Xiao Rong was taken aback!

Han Fang said bitterly: "If Da Liao doesn't exist, you will inevitably be disturbed by Jurchen and Cai Yi in the future, and your lips and teeth will be cold!" ”

Cai You didn't listen, turned around and left.

Han Fang stood in the courtyard and said loudly: "The Liao and Song dynasties have been married for a hundred years, and the oath is here, you can bully the country, and you can only deceive the sky?" ”

……

After driving away Xiao Rong and Han Fang, Tong Guan summoned Cai You, Liu Yanqing, and Guo Yaoshi to a meeting to discuss the matter of entering Yanjing.

Guo Yaoshi was the first to speak: "The situation of Yanjing, Xiaguan is more familiar, Xiaguan first briefly introduced the topography of Yanjing for a few adults, Yanjing City is divided into the outer city, the inner city and the palace city, there are eight city gates in the four directions, the east is Yingchun, Andong, the west is Xianxi, Qing Jin, the south is Danfeng, Kaiyang, and the north is Tongtian and Gongchen. The streets in the city are crisscrossed, and the main roads are east-west and north-south. The city is divided into twenty-six squares, each of which has a gate and a wall. ”

Tong Guan asked, "Where is Miyagi?" ”

Guo Yaoshi replied: "In the southwest, the scale is not too large, but the palace walls are very strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack. ”

Liu Yanqing asked, "How high is the city wall?" ”

Pharmacist Guo replied, "Three zhang high, one zhang five wide." ”

Cai You asked, "How many people are in the city?" ”

Guo Yaoshi replied: "There are no less than 300,000, of which the Han people are the majority, but the strongest are the Khitan and Xi people. ”

Liu Yanqing asked: "I heard that King Xi Xiao Gan is also called the king of the four armies, and he is very good at using soldiers?" ”

Guo Yaoshi replied: "Yes, Xiao Gan is indeed very strategic, and very vicious, Empress Dowager Xiao mainly relies on him, now he leads the army to fortify on the north bank of the Lugou River, is the main opponent of our army to the north, and there is another person, named Yelu Dashi, people call him Dashi Linya, this person is also very good at fighting, he is now defending the Jin Wu army in the area of Juyong Pass, and there are some people and horses defending the Jin army in Gubeikou and Yuguan, but I don't know why, the Jin army does not mean to go south. ”

Tong Guan smiled and said: "Dajin is an ally of our Great Song Dynasty, and the reason why they have not attacked Yanjing for a long time is because they have an appointment with our Great Song Dynasty in advance." ”

Guo Yaoshi was shocked: "It turns out that the Great Song Dynasty has already united with the Jurchens, no wonder the Jurchens have never gone south!" ”

Tong Guan told him truthfully: "General Guo, we now have two plans for recovering Yanjing: one is to rely on our own strength to defeat Yanjing, which is the best." Second, if we can't take Yanjing, we will invite the Jin army to enter the customs, and then the two armies will attack Yanjing from the north and south. Therefore, let's take Yanjing this time, it is ten out of ten and ten safe, and it is foolproof. ”

Liu Yanqing said: "It is best to ask the Jin army to enter the pass and attack Yanjing from the north and south of our army, firstly, this can greatly reduce the casualties of our army, and secondly, to be honest, the morale of our army is not too high at present, and we are still a little afraid of the cavalry of the Liao army, after all, we are mainly infantry, so don't look at our large number of people, but whether it is a field battle or a siege, it is actually difficult to gain the upper hand." ”

Cai You said angrily: "What about the infantry army, Cai is still not the same number of infantry troops to defeat the Jurchen cavalry, Liu Dutong, the anger can not be vented, we have hundreds of thousands of troops, the Liao army is only tens of thousands, more than ten times them, so if we can't win, we have to be laughed off by the world." ”

Liu Yanqing wanted to say: "Cai can still defeat the cavalry with an infantry army, that is because their weapons are advanced, and they are caught off guard by the Jin army, we don't have such weapons, and Cai Zhen's army is not all infantry, and there are thousands of cavalry." ”

But because Cai You was Zhao Ji's favorite minister, Liu Yanqing didn't dare to say this.

Out of flattery for Cai You, Guo Yaoshi followed Cai You and said: "The Liao army is actually not so powerful, they were defeated by the hands of the Jurchens first, and then defeated by Cai Ying, which is enough to show that they are not the strongest army in the world, and they have few troops, and they divide their troops to defend the palace, while our Great Song Dynasty is just the opposite, with many soldiers and generals, and concentrated attacks, so as long as we work together, we are still sure of victory." ”

Tong Guan also played a round and said: "General Guo is right, tomorrow the whole army will go north, meet in Xiongzhou, and then act at the opportunity." ”

The next day, Liu Yanqing led the East Route Army to march north, and Guo Yaoshi also went north with the army.

Soon, Guo Yaoshi discovered that the Song army was in disarray, the soldiers were sluggish, seriously lacked fighting spirit, and had a strange ...... Let's call it the army, from top to bottom, it doesn't seem that they are here to fight, but like they are here to enjoy the mountains and rivers, not only are there hundreds of sedan chairs and thousands of carriages, but there are hundreds of women in the team!

Seeing the true face of the Song Army, Guo Yaoshi regretted his sloppiness a little, and he said in his heart: "I knew that the Song Army was a group of such goods, and Lao Tzu would rather go to Cai Yi than near and far." ”

Guo Yaoshi endured it again and again, and finally couldn't help but say to Liu Yanqing: "Marshal, if we don't take military discipline seriously, I'm afraid our army won't be able to fight." ”

Liu Yanqing smiled bitterly and said: "Those are all the sons of Yanei who have come to gild, they are not here to defeat, they are just here to make merit, and let them go, they are not short of these forty or fifty thousand horses." ”

Guo Yaoshi said: "The morale and discipline of other armies are not good. ”

Liu Yanqing let out a long sigh and said, "That's why I advocate attacking Yanjing with the Jin army, we don't have the conditions to fight now." ”

Pharmacist Guo suggested: "Why not enforce military law? ”

Liu Yanqing shook his head and said, "How to enforce military law?" The so-called law does not hold the people accountable, and once a military mutiny is triggered, the consequences will be even more unimaginable, so it can only be maintained in this way. ”

Guo Yaoshi really couldn't figure out how Liu Yanqing became the commander?

In Guo Yaoshi's mind, shouldn't the first thing he do when he is a commander be the whole army, there is no unified army, and he still has the face to say that he is the commander?

Guo Yaoshi thought to himself: "If I manage an army of more than 500,000, carefully screen out 100,000 of them, and then promote the commander of the generals who dare to fight, this Yanjing is not at my fingertips." ”

Guo Yaoshi was even more disappointed in Song Jun, and regretted surrendering to Song more and more.

At the same time, the Western Route Army, under the leadership of Liu Guangshi, was also advancing towards Zhuozhou.

Liu Guangshi is now the time when the spring breeze is proud, because he sent troops to successfully occupy Yizhou at night, and Zhao Ji personally promoted him to the envoy of the mighty army - now, Liu Guangshi is only one step away from the commander, let's put it this way, if Liu Guangshi is not without the identity of a literati, he is the second Cai Yi, so, how can he not be proud?

And Feng Xuanqing (Yang Keshi's confidant general), who led the troops to Yizhou, did not get any credit.

Yang Keshi was indignant about this.

Tong Guan knew that Liu Guangshi and Yang Keshi had contradictions, so he deliberately emphasized in the letter he wrote to Liu Guangshi: No matter who it is, you must not harm the public privately.

Yang Keshi and Liu Guangshi each led their armies to set off, and according to Tong Guan's order, their two armies were to converge in Gushan Town, and then go north together.

However, when the two armies converged in Gushan Town, there was a fight between the soldiers of the two armies because of the battle for the camp.

The soldiers blamed each other, and the situation continued to expand, and Yang Keshi and Liu Guangshi also rebuked each other, which finally caused the Western Route Army to be delayed in Gushan Town for a whole day.

Tong Guan was furious when he heard the news, and immediately sent Yu Wenxuzhong, a staff officer of the marching army, to Gushan overnight to deal with the matter.

After Yuwen Xuzhong arrived at Gushan, he learned that the matter was caused by the conflict between the soldiers, not a direct conflict between the two generals, so he tried his best to persuade peace - Yuwen Xuzhong did not dare to offend both sides, and he could not afford to offend, the only thing he could do was to mediate, that is, to persuade each other.

Later, Yuwen Xuzhong saw that Liu Guangshi and Yang Keshi were really unable to work together, and there was no hope of persuading peace, so he let Liu Guangshi and Yang Keshi be stationed in separate camps, and ordered them to march to Zhuozhou.

Soon, the Song army met in Zhuozhou.

Zhen Wuchen organized tens of thousands of military and civilian monks and monks in Zhuozhou to go out of the city to welcome them.

People beat gongs and drums, rejoicing and elated, to welcome the king of comfort.

Liu Yanqing entered the city to pacify the officials and people, inspected the treasury, and at the same time ordered Yang Keshi and Zhen Wuchen to change guards and guard Zhuozhou.

Yang Keshi originally only had 2,000 men, which was not enough to guard Zhuozhou, so he asked Liu Yanqing for more troops.

Considering that Yang Keshi was Tong Guan's confidant and should not be offended, Liu Yanqing appointed Yang Weizhong as Yang Keshi's deputy and increased Yang Keshi's troops by 20,000.

At this time, Liu Yanqing's soldiers and horses included the Yizhou soldiers led by Zhao Bingyuan, the Changsheng army led by Guo Yaoshi, and the Yanshan Township brave army led by Zhao Xu and Zhang Guanyu, with a total of no less than 500,000.

Every day from morning to night, outside the city of Zhuozhou, the sound of drums shook the heavens and the earth, since ancient times, the prosperity of the Great Song Dynasty has not exceeded this time.

Zheng Jianxiong, the former army general, led his army to the south bank of the Lugou River, and several cold arrows suddenly shot from the north bank.

Zheng Chien-shiung immediately sent people back to Zhuozhou to report to Liu Yanqing, saying that the former army had engaged the enemy along the Lugou River, but he did not know the reality of the other bank, so he asked for instructions on whether to cross the river to fight?

The Lugou River was only thirty miles from Yanjing, but Liu Yanqing did not order the Song army to cross the river—he feared that Xiao Gan would set up an ambush on the other side of the river.

Liu Yanqing ordered the front army to stop advancing, build fortifications along the river, and fortify on the spot.

Guo advised Liu Yanqing to lead his army to take control of Liangxiang, an important town thirty miles south of the Lugou River, which was the only place to enter and exit Yanjing from the southwest, and was also an important defensive stronghold of the Liao army.

Liu Yanqing adopted the advice of Guo Yaoshi, and personally led the generals and 100,000 elite soldiers to leave Zhuozhou and go north to Liangxiang.

Liangxiang is only sixty miles away from Zhuozhou, and it is a flat river, but it is such a short distance, Liu Yanqing actually led the army to walk for two whole days - he asked to travel thirty miles a day to set up camp, bury pots to make rice, and build trenches and fortresses.

In short, Liu Yanqing's current ideological principle is to work steadily and steadily.

After the army came to Liangxiang, Liu Yanqing and others found that Liangxiang had become an empty city.

Liu Yanqing was puzzled by this, and then asked Guo Yaoshi: "General Guo, what is the purpose of Xiao Gan abandoning the city?" Could it be that he is luring the enemy deeper? ”

Guo Yaoshi replied: "This is not surprising, Xiao Gan's troops are insufficient, he withdrew from Liangxiang, it should be to shrink the defensive line, I guess, he may be concentrating his forces along the Lugou River, trying to use the river to block the attack...... In my opinion, our army can directly cross the river, fight a decisive battle with him, and then come to the city and take Yanjing with one blow. ”

Liu Yanqing shook his head and said: "Xiao Gan's formation near the river is obviously luring me to cross the river, trying to cross the river halfway, I can't be fooled, it's better to be steady." ”

Liu Yanqing led the generals to climb the city wall of Liangxiang.

Seeing that there was a hill in the northeast of the city, rising abruptly from the flat ground, and there was a tall tower on the hill that was very eye-catching, Liu Yanqing asked, "What kind of tower is that?" ”

Guo Yaoshi replied: "That hill is called Liaoshi Gang, the tower on the hill is a hollow pagoda, can also be used as a lookout for the military situation, standing on it, you can look at Yanjing in the north, Zhuolu in the south, dozens of miles around the military situation, raise your eyes in front." ”

Liu Yanqing pointed to the pagoda and said, "It is a military location, and troops should be sent to guard it." ”

Liu Guangshi, who was standing beside him, replied: "There have been arrangements, please rest assured." ”

Liu Yanqing then led the generals to gallop to the Lugou River to inspect the military situation.

At this time, it is the setting sun, the surface of the Lugou River is brilliant with golden light, the scales are shining, and a row of weeping willows on the bank is reflected in the river like an ink painting.

Liu Yanqing pointed to the river with a horsewhip and said: "What a beautiful scenery, it is simply an excellent place for fishing." ”

Liu Guangshi said: "Yes, Lugou fishing, the scenery is infinite, but I don't know if there are fish in this river?" ”

The other generals were silent.

Guo Yaoshi thought to himself: "As the commander of the capital and the deputy commander of the capital, it is really not appropriate to talk about Lugou fishing here without planning with the generals, and besides, the war is imminent, it is really incredible that the two of them can have such leisure and elegance in their hearts." ”

After inspecting the surrounding terrain, Liu Yanqing looked around at the generals very seriously and ordered: "Now that the enemy's situation is unknown, we can't rush into battle, we must open more trenches, dig more trenches, and fortify the walls, so as to wait for the opportunity." ”

In the evening, the two scouts ran back to report to Zheng Chien-shiung that there was a large forest on the north bank of the river, stretching for dozens of miles from east to west, and that the main force of the Liao army was hiding in the forest, waiting for him.

Zheng Chien-shiung asked, "How many soldiers and horses do they have?" ”

The scout replied, "I can't see it clearly, but there is a large horse farm to the east, and there are thousands of war horses in it, and according to the horses, they should not be less than five thousand." ”

Zheng Chien-shiung decided to go to Liangxiang in person and report the situation to Liu Yanqing.

So, Zheng Jianxiong took more than a dozen personal soldiers and rode towards Liangxiang.

Zheng Jianxiong was originally a literati, and then abandoned his pen to become a general from Rong, and then from the northwest to the southeast, he followed Liu Yanqing for a long time to fight in the south and the north, and his military achievements were outstanding.

When Zheng Chien-shiung walked to the vicinity of Liaoshigang in the northeast of Liangxiang, he suddenly found that there was a large group of cavalry, quietly bypassing Liaoshigang and heading straight for Liangxiang.

Zheng Jianxiong judged that this must be the Liao army that came to sneak attack.

Zheng Jianxiong guessed correctly, this was a Liao cavalry led by Xiao Gan himself, and they tried to go to the south side of Liangxiang to attack the granary of the Song army.

Zheng Jianxiong immediately decided to send a few personal soldiers to Liangxiang to report the news, and he took the rest of his personal soldiers to shoot at the Liao army.

When the Liao army was attacked, they immediately turned their horses around and rushed towards Zheng Jianxiong.

Cheng Chien-shiung hurriedly ran into the watchtower and joined the guards inside.

Seeing this, Xiao Gan changed his plan and concentrated his team to launch a fierce attack on the watchtower.

Zheng Chien-shiung and the defenders in the tower were eventually outnumbered and all martyred.

By the time Yang Keshi led the reinforcements to Liaoshigang, the Liao army had withdrawn from the battle, and the Song army had not caught up with the Liao army until the Lugou River.

Yang Keshi wanted to cross the river to pursue, but was severely reprimanded by Liu Yanqing.

Looking at the surging river, Yang Keshi was unwilling and helpless.

When the former soldiers heard that Zheng Jianxiong was martyred, they all asked for war and strongly demanded to kill the Lugou River to avenge General Zheng.

Liu Yanqing strictly ordered: "No one is allowed to cross the river without permission." ”

Actually-

Liu Yanqing has feelings for Zheng Chien-shiung, and he said to the left and right: "Chien-shiung has followed me for many years, pursuing Western Xia, conquering Fangla, he is a pioneer everywhere, but I didn't expect him to die tonight." I have the best relationship with Chien-shiung, and I am more heartbroken than anyone else for his heroic martyrdom. However, the more this time, the more we have to be calm. Be sensible and don't be impulsive. All armies must strictly defend their positions, especially strengthen river defenses, and always be vigilant against another sneak attack by the Liao army. ”

Liu Yanqing's idea is that as long as our army maintains a high-pressure situation on the bank of the Lugou River, the Liao army will not last long, and it will collapse without a fight.

For several days, the two armies faced each other across the river, facing each other, and neither dared to advance, and neither was willing to retreat.

Xiao Gan attacked Liaoshigang at night, and also lost a lot of soldiers and horses, and did not make much profit.

For the first time, Xiao Gan felt that the combat effectiveness of the Song army was not so bad.

Therefore, Xiao Gan was also hesitating, he had been planning a sneak attack on the Song army's grain village, hoping to force the Song army to retreat, but seeing the situation of the Song army in front of him, he really didn't dare to act rashly.

Tong Guan was also very sad to learn that Zheng Jianxiong was martyred in Liangxiang.

At the same time, Tong Guan was very dissatisfied with Liu Yanqing's confrontation with the Liao army on the south bank of the Lugou River for many days and did not take the initiative to cross the river.

Therefore, Tong Guan sent someone to Liu Yanqing to issue a letter to march into the army: "What is the reason why the army does not advance for several days after arriving in Liangxiang? Is there a way to find a way to win? Our army is dozens of times more than the enemy, and the balance of forces is very advantageous, I hope that the army can advance bravely and reach Yanjing City......"

Liu Yanqing received the letter and immediately convened a meeting of the generals in Liangxiang to discuss.

Guo Yaoshi said: "At present, Xiao Gan will put the main force on the north bank of the river to block us, and the city of Yanjing will inevitably be empty, and we can take this opportunity to enter the void." I suggested that a light cavalry be sent to quietly go east, cross the river from Gu'an to Anci, and then go straight to Yanjing. The Han people in Yanjing City, if they learn that the king is coming, they will be the internal response, so Yanjing can be obtained. ”

Liu Yanqing asked: "Are you familiar with this route?" ”

Pharmacist Guo said: "It's like walking in your own yard." ”

Liu Yanqing hesitated a little: "In the area of Gu'an and Anci, can Xiao Gan not be defended?" ”

Guo Yaoshi replied: "Eighty miles from Zhuozhou east to Gu'an, and from Gu'an to the northeast more than one hundred and thirty miles, before you can reach Anci, Xiao Gan's troops are limited, and his defense line cannot be so long." ”

Liu Yanqing asked the generals again, and all the generals thought that this was a surprising and winning plan.

So, Liu Yanqing approved this plan to attack Yanjing.

Pharmacist Guo requested that Liu Guangshi be allowed to lead the army to Yanjing to answer at that time.

Guo Yaoshi looked at the more than 500,000 Song troops, and finally found that in addition to the few Western armies that were excluded from the fringes by Tong Guan and Liu Yanqing, Liu Guangshi's troops also had some combat strength.

In addition, Liu Guangshi is Liu Yanqing's son, and this great merit was given to Liu Guangshi, who could please the commander Liu Yanqing.

Therefore, Pharmacist Guo wanted Liu Guangshi to answer.

Liu Yanqing agreed.

And so—

Guo Yaoshi led 1,000 Changsheng troops as the vanguard, and Zhao Heshou, Gao Shixuan, Yang Keshi, and Yang Kebi 4 generals commanded a total of 5,000 troops as the main force.

On the night of October 23, the fourth year of Xuanhe, 6,000 men and horses quietly set off.

These 6,000 men and horses, all of them were light cavalry, and they galloped east from Liangxiang with their horses and banners wrapped in armor......

……

……

PS: This is a big two-in-one chapter, so let's do this one today.