"Wan Sheng—"

Zhao Xingde wiped a handful of muddy water on his face, raised his knife and shouted. He lifted his foot, only to find that his ankle was deep in the mud, and the muddy water had soaked into his boots, which he had never felt. Although the northern conscription horses were selected to be 'elite' and specialized, and they were 'drilled' many times in response to various situations on the way to pursuit, it was the first time that they really encountered a surprise attack by the Liao cavalry in the wilderness. Fortunately, Zhao Xingde's subordinates 'survived'. In an ambush on the march and the inability to use firearms in the heavy rain, even those who had just won the victory could not believe that they could still repel the Liao soldiers under such extremely unfavorable conditions.

"We won? ——"The escort of the 7th Battalion of the Left Army made Zhang Jiurong's face full of disbelief, he stood in the muddy water with difficulty, surrounded by 'fine' exhausted Raozhou soldiers. Because of its outstanding performance in the bloody battle of Shuzhou, the whole battalion was promoted to the forbidden army, and after adding some veterans of the Baoyi Army, it was organized as the seventh battalion of the Baoyi Left Army. Zhang Jiurong is a weak scholar, so naturally he can no longer serve as the battalion commander. But he obeyed his father's orders, and would rather be an ordinary ten-division commander than leave the Raozhou camp. Heaven lived up to his loyalty, and before the Northern Expedition, he was elected by the soldiers as the capital protector without any suspense, and Zhao Xingde immediately appointed him as the seventh battalion protector.

"Lord Zhang, the Liao soldiers have retreated?" The faces of the interrogating soldiers were covered with sweat and blood.

"The Liao soldiers have been defeated and retreated!" The surprise in Zhang Jiurong's eyes turned to ecstasy, and he shouted, "The Liao soldiers have been repelled by us!" ”

The officers and men of the Song army in the big array asked each other in surprise. Many screamed with joy, despite the blood on their faces and muddy water. The officers did not deliberately take the lead, and the soldiers were already raising their guns in twos and threes and shouting, "General Zhao - Wan Sheng!" "Protect the territory and the people, and swear to destroy the northern captives!" "Restore the rivers and mountains!!" "Wan Sheng!" The cheers grew louder and louder, drifting in the sky after the rain. The unexpected victory raised confidence from top to bottom.

"General Lu, please lead your troops to pursue!"

"General Yang asked to lead his troops in pursuit of the enemy army."

"General Luo, please order to pursue the fleeing enemy!"

"The enemy is strong, and although it is retreating for the time being, it is still not to be taken lightly." Zhao Xingde shook his head and ordered: "General Yang commanded the scout cavalry to set off first, and stayed behind the enemy army to check the reality of the situation, but he was not allowed to attack the enemy army without authorization. The rest of the battalions collected the comrades who died in battle, cremated the corpses, and then 'handed over' the battlefield to the state and county regiments for training. We continued north, guarding carefully along the way, arriving at Anlu Village before dark to replenish supplies. ”

Staff Officer Li Qianxun hesitated and asked, "What about the corpses of Liao soldiers?" ”

"There's no need for that now," Zhao Xingde shook his head and said: "I don't have the kung fu to take care of them, report to Ezhou, send fast horses, and ...... our army to victory" He looked around at the battlefield full of corpses, hesitated for a moment, and then quickly said, "Defeated the Liao army's more than 200,000 cavalry siege, killed and wounded countless people, and the Liao thieves could not resist, and the news of fleeing to the north spread to various prefectures, counties, and walled forts." He also told the soldiers and civilians of his homeland that since the fall of the Northland, those who have made mistakes will not be investigated, and those who have made an inch of merit will be rewarded. All my loyal martyrs, wherever our army goes, can show their merits in protecting the territory and the people, and act virtuously for the Ming court, and reward their merits. Wherever I am in the land south of the Great Song River, the army and the people do not 'want' to be easy to obey and cut their hair, and those who enslave the Hu people can rise up and lead troops to attack the Liao army. All my great Song Dynasty righteous people are loyal and good, restore the old mountains and rivers, restore the land of a state, and are willing to write to the court as a history of assassination. The people of Baoyi County are willing to be recommended as the county order. By analogy, those who are loyal to the Great Song Dynasty will also live up to their loyalty. ”

"Yes!" The soldier loudly agreed. In a short time, the cavalry scouts, who had been accumulating their strength for a long time, set off and headed north again. The two envoys of the Xia State revealed their identities and were brought to Zhao Xingde by the scouts to present the military letter of the marching division. After reading the book, General Zhao Xingde returned it to the envoy and sighed: "Now that the arrow has been issued, we can't give up halfway." When the situation in the north stabilized, Zhao should ask the Department of Military Justice for his guilt. His tone was not smug after the victory, but there was an indescribable depression. The soldiers were all on guard from a distance around and did not know the situation. The two envoys knew the inside story, and their faces were also gloomy.

Wu Xi and Zhang Fang arched their hands at the same time and said, "The last general will obey the order." ”

The two envoys turned around and 'wanted' to leave, and when they immediately said goodbye, Wu Xi hesitated for a moment and arched his hand: "With the prestige and merit of the general, as long as you get through the current difficulties, the Protector Mansion and the Pillar Mansion will be used again sooner or later." Although we are soft-spoken, we will truthfully explain General Zhao's distress to the two governments, and hope that the general will never make a mistake about himself. What he meant was to kindly remind Zhao Xingde that he should not be arrogant, but simply make enemies of the five mansions. The Protectorate will show no mercy to the rebels. lest the world be unified in the future, Zhao Xingde will be difficult to deal with himself and be ruined.

"Thank you for your kindness." Zhao Xingde nodded, and watched the two envoys leave, with mixed feelings in his heart. Li Ruoxue with her two children has not yet arrived in the Song realm. It is conceivable that the military government must be extremely angry. In the military book, there are words of Annan's sin, that is, there is still a chance to survive in a desperate situation. There are no secrets in the Xia Kingdom. There is a precedent for the execution of sergeants, and it is even more unlikely that the Protectorate can send troops to the battlefield to die. After doing what he should do, he will be dismissed and returned to the west, and he will bear the punishment of military law for what he has done.

On the battlefield, the soldiers of the Song army were in full swing to collect the spoils of war. When the Liao army retreated, it was orderly, so there were not many war horses left on the battlefield, but there were still many dead horses. The wounded horses were also killed by the Song army, and the soldiers stripped off the horse's skins and sold them to the merchants who accompanied the army, and the horse's 'meat' was smeared with thick salt to make pickled 'meat' and taken away. Because the rations were still sufficient, the battalions only seized the silver coins from the corpses of the Liao army. However, before setting out, the Song army fully anticipated the difficulty of supply, and when necessary, the corpses of the enemy were also a source of food that could not be discarded. "Even if you eat every enemy, you can't starve to death a single person of your own. I will bear all the criticism. This is a decision made by Zhao Xingde before the war. According to the experience of some thieves, the whole 'leg' is especially suitable for hanging in the car to dry, and is called "pipa 'meat'".

As for other things on the corpses of the Liao soldiers, such as armor and military robes, they were stripped by the people of nearby prefectures and counties. Before and after the Liao army passed, the people nearby were hiding from the wind. The Liao army was full of Song people who could not be found, but it was relatively easy to find the "official army" of the Song State, not only that, but also with the strong cooperation of the local government and the gentry. In the midst of the war, after the double looting and destruction of the Song State and the Liao State, the people in the war zone on both sides have been extremely poor. Ordinary clothing has been passed down from father to son to the common people. The leather jacket from the north is even more valuable. Other things carried by Liao soldiers, such as leather belts, sheepskin boots, copper and iron rings, leather water bottles, leather saddles, etc., can also be used to the fullest. Armor and scimitars were cheaper for the volunteer barracks in several nearby counties. After the Taoist priest did the ritual of exorcising evil spirits, within a few days, the people who heard the news cleaned the battlefield like tireless ants. In the end, it was the monks of several monasteries who did good deeds, and in order to prevent the plague, they gathered tens of thousands of corpses and burned them for excess.

From Anlu to Suizhou, the road is mostly hilly on both sides, which is not conducive to the galloping of cavalry, so Zhao Xingde marched north to Suizhou, but did not encounter a large Liao army. The Liao army was also facing the crisis of insufficient military food if it was delayed for a long time, so it did not entangle with Zhao Xingde's department in the mountains, but left a small number of soldiers and horses to defend Wusheng Pass, and the army burned and retreated all the way to the north of Suizhou. After Zhao Xingde led his troops to Suizhou, he restrained the soldiers from entering the city, and only asked Suizhou to supply grain and grass. The march on this mountain road was extremely difficult, Zhao Xingde's mount had already been given up to carry the sick soldiers, and he personally walked with the army on his back with dry food, and at night he wrapped a blanket in the sky and lay down, and everywhere he went, he summoned the leaders of the nearby volunteers, knew the righteousness, and awarded official positions according to merit and strength. Before the Northern Expedition, the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Ministry of War gave Zhao Xingde dozens of blank assassination histories and county orders in advance, which were used by the special 'door' to appease the northern heroes.

"I've heard General Zhao's name for a long time, and I can see the general today, how fortunate is it?" Qu Changqing saluted respectfully, and then beckoned behind him and said, "These are three unsuccessful dogs, who have long admired General Zhao's name, and asked General Zhao not to dislike them, and to take them under his command to serve their lives." Three young men in helmets and armor immediately stepped forward and saluted Zhao Xingde. Zhao Xingde led his troops to pursue the Liao soldiers, especially after a big victory, after spreading the word to the Quartet, the heroes of the north and south all defected. If it weren't for the inquiry between the upper and lower levels in the Baoyi Army who only bowed and did not kneel like civilian officials, Qu Changqing originally planned to kneel with the courtesy of his subordinates.

"Mr. Qu is not afraid of violence, summons the villagers to deal with the Liao soldiers, and his loyalty and righteousness can go down in history," Zhao Xingde smiled and nodded. "Suizhou is the key point of the boundary between the north and the south. After Suizhou, it is the Henan Plain of Pingchuan. As a strong party in Suizhou, Qu took the initiative to send his three sons, including the eldest son, and more than 500 strong men into the Northern Expeditionary Army, which shows his sincerity, and Zhao Xingde can also rest assured. He waved his hand, and his soldiers came up with a wooden tray containing a neat stack of yellow silk.

"I have presented the imperial court to Mr. Qu for the history of Suizhou." Zhao Xingde picked up Huang Juan's body and said, "After Suizhou resumes state school, Zhizhou and other local officials will be promoted. ”

Qu Changqing immediately knelt down, and when he took the confession, he couldn't hide the intention of 'agitation', and said to Zhao Xingde: "Qu 'received' the grace of Lord Zhao, and Lord Zhao is Qu's mentor. ”

The distinction between the officials and the people of the Song State is like a world of difference. Now there is no doubt about the orthodoxy of the Ezhou court, if it were not for the great 'chaos' in the world, it would be impossible for a person like Qu Changqing, who was originally just a gentry, who had not been examined and studied the right way, to be able to stab history from the five grades. Not only is Qu Changqing himself an official from the fifth grade, but according to the imperial court system, he can also favor the two descendants of the two officials. Since then, the 'gate' of the Qu family has since become the home of the official eunuch from the ordinary gentry. After a confession, seeing Zhao Xingde bowing slightly, recognizing the status of this teacher and student, Qu Changqing, who was more than ten years older than Zhao Xingde, stood up with satisfaction, stood up with his three sons, and listened to Zhao Xingde's command to settle down the affairs of Suizhou on the ground after the army marched north.

Dawn of the Empire:

Chapter 100 Turning the Night Lang Tian-13: