The next morning, the two groups of envoys returned home early in the morning, but they were not received by Guo Xu, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Nor did any reply be received to the request made. Early this morning, some officials of the Great Zhou came to tell them to leave immediately, and the Great Zhou did not welcome them, and the angry Huluba and Hu Lu scolded angrily, but they had to leave immediately.

The two of them came as envoys of the Liao State and the Jurchens, and originally thought that the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty would grovel and beg for help, and they would be coaxed to be happy, and the hospitality was thoughtful. As a result, nothing happened, but it was equivalent to being expelled from the country, which made Hulu and Hulu extremely angry. The two originally made an appointment to stay in the bustling capital of the Great Zhou for a few days this time, and by the way, they visited the world-famous Qinglou of the Great Zhou. I heard that the women in the Great Zhou Qinglou are all afraid of lust and art, and they came to taste it this time. But as a result, he was driven away without experiencing anything, which really teaches people to be angry.

However, both of them are actually mentally prepared. Because they knew before they came that the purpose of this mission was the best to achieve, and they didn't need to be annoyed if they couldn't achieve it, because this was what was expected. If Da Zhou even agreed to such conditions, wouldn't he be a dog with a broken backbone, and still have the slightest dignity at all? As Wanyan Aguda said to Hu Lu before leaving, this trip is to provoke trouble, and it is best for the other party not to agree. Because if you agree to the conditions, you will beat them, and if you don't agree to the conditions, you will still beat them. If they don't agree, they give a reason to send troops, and if they agree, they have a justifiable reason to gather troops in Bazhou, which is a good thing, so they don't care if this trip can be successful.

On September 22, Hu Lu returned to Dading Mansion and reported the failure of the mission. After listening to Hu Lu's report, Yan Agu sneered and didn't say anything. Three days later, Wanyan Aguda personally rushed to Xijin Mansion, discussed with Mengsa Brother Bald Gusa and others for a night, and returned to Zhongjing Road in the early morning of the next day.

After that, everything seemed to calm down. The Great Zhou Dynasty was trembling and did not know what the consequences would be after refusal, but as a result, a month passed, the border was peaceful, and the Liao and Jurchens were as quiet as chickens, and there seemed to be no retaliation. Guo Xu's hanging heart slowly fell, he was even a little proud, it turned out that the other party was also a strong outsider, and they were also afraid of Da Zhou. I was originally forced by them to refuse, and I was actually very worried and scared, but now it seems that I overestimated the Liao and Jurchens. It seems that the Liao and Jurchens are cowardly, it seems that there is no need to give them face for these two evil wolves, they just look scary, but in fact, they don't have the courage to do anything to Da Zhou. Guo Xu even began to think in his heart, whether to take this opportunity to discuss the cancellation of the previous annual tribute.

……

At the end of October, the first snow fell, announcing the official start of the harsh winter in the north. This snow means that the soldiers in the surrounding towns have survived this year. No one would come to war in such a season, and border towns have always been like that. Even when the fighting is most frequent, as long as there is heavy snowfall, as soon as winter comes, the two sides will inevitably die down, and any grievances and grievances will be left until next spring.

In the city of Bazhou, an important town in the northeast of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Shi Zhiyuan, the commander of the Anxin Army, led 80,000 Anxin troops to be stationed in Bazhou for several months. Originally, Shi Zhiyuan was ordered to crusade against the rebel Han Gang and then stationed in Xijin Mansion, and after Xijin Mansion was returned to the Liao, Shi Zhiyuan was ordered to sit in Bazhou. In recent months, the imperial court has issued an order for Shi Zhiyuan to take strict precautions, because the Liao and Jurchens may start a war after being rejected from the request, so they are very nervous up and down.

Shi Zhiyuan took advantage of the last time of autumn to lead people to strengthen the city's defenses and prepare for defense. But with the arrival of winter, especially the arrival of a heavy snowfall, Shi Zhiyuan thought that the war would not break out. At least not this winter. It was freezing cold, and he didn't want the soldiers to suffer, so he stopped all military operations and let the soldiers spend the winter in the city with peace of mind. After all, the military salaries, food and materials of the imperial court were very lacking, and many soldiers could not receive full salaries, so they had quite a lot of complaints in their hearts. At this time, it seems a little unreasonable to force them to continue to brave the wind and snow to strengthen the defense of the city wall. It is better to make them more comfortable, so as not to have more resentment in their hearts, which will affect their morale.

However, in the early morning of October 29, the snow cleared and the morning sun rose. When the soldiers defending the city climbed the snow-capped north gate walls, they were stunned. Last night, it snowed a lot, and all the defenders of the city tower at the head of the city withdrew, so there was no need to stay in the city to freeze on such a cold and snowy night, so I was ignorant of everything that happened outside the north city. However, at this moment, after they climbed the tower, they saw that on the undulating mountains and snowfields of the wilderness north of the city, countless soldiers and horses were pressed by black pressure less than five miles away from the city like dark clouds.

The sound of the alarm soon spread throughout the city, and the soldiers and civilians in the city shouted and ran in chaos. Shi Zhiyuan, who was sleeping soundly, hurriedly dressed neatly, and when he rode a horse and galloped up the Beicheng Tower, he also gasped when he saw the situation in front of him.

Like a ghost on the snowfield, this soldier and horse appeared silently under the cover of the snowy night. This is not the most terrifying, what is terrible is that their soldiers and horses stretched over the snowfield and could not be seen at a glance, and the hot air from the war horses formed a cloud over the team. The banner covers the sky and the sun, and the blades reflect the light in the morning sun like a forest, making people dizzy.

Shi Zhiyuan raised the clairvoyant mirror to observe, and he found a large banner raised high in the army. The flag was embroidered with a blazing eagle, as if it were soaring with its wings spread along with the flag waving in the cold wind. Shi Zhiyuan knew that it was the Jurchens who came. At the most unlikely time, the Jurchen army appeared.

shouted every day that the wolf was coming, and the wolf was really coming.

"All go up to the city wall to meet the enemy, quickly!" Shi Zhiyuan gave a loud order, and the soldiers and horses of each battalion were quickly dispatched, running on the streets behind the muddy snow, and running to the city wall in a mess. The steps of the city wall after the snow were unusually slippery, and in the panic, many soldiers slipped and fell from the stone steps of the upper city, and fell to their deaths and injured hundreds of people before they could meet the enemy.

"Fuck, what a rabble." Shi Zhiyuan scolded angrily, but he also knew in his heart that all he could use was these rabble. Anyway, I still have these more than 80,000 rabble in my hands, otherwise I am afraid that there is no way at this moment.

The cave of the city gate was quickly filled with rejected horses, and the guards and horses above the city wall were in place one after another. There is also a lot of snow at the head of the city, but there is no time to clean it at the moment, and the soldiers run at the head of the city, and the snow melted by stepping on it is scattered and splashed in all directions, and it becomes a pot of porridge. Fortunately, Shi Zhiyuan had prepared before, and he had done many drills to resist the enemy, so after half an hour, the soldiers and horses were basically in place, and there were already more than 40,000 soldiers in place at the head of the city. Another 40,000 soldiers and horses began to carry the garrison materials to the city walls behind the city.

Shi Zhiyuan saw that things were gradually becoming more organized, and the personnel and materials were in place soon, and his heart was a little more settled. When he looked at the city again, the opponent's overwhelming soldiers and horses had already arrived in the wilderness beyond the northern city. The opponent's troops and horses are also moving frequently, and it is obvious that the other side is also preparing for the siege.

"Lord Shi, there are a lot of enemy troops, can we hold it?" Looking at the Jurchen army covering the wilderness under the city and unable to see at a glance, some generals felt furious in their hearts and muttered in Shi Zhiyuan's ear.

Shi Zhiyuan said in a deep voice: "What are you afraid of? We have strong walls and 80,000 soldiers and horses, so where are they coming? The Liao people have not dared to attack our Bazhou City for many years, and this Jurchen can be more powerful than the Liao people? What's the use of their extra soldiers? Give me some spiritual points, this time we want to teach them to know how powerful my Great Zhou soldiers and horses are. ”

……

What arrived under the city was the main force of the 250,000 Jurchen army led by Wanyan Aguda. The reason why the Jurchens have not moved in the past month is not that they have any hesitation to attack the Great Zhou, but that Wanyan Agu Da is making the final deployment of troops and making final preparations. In this month's time, 250,000 troops successively gathered in Zhuozhou from Liaoyang Mansion and Dading Mansion, and all the soldiers and horses siege equipment arrived in place, and after everything was ready, Wanyan Agu Dacai notified Meng Sago and others to send troops together. At this moment when Yan Aguda's soldiers and horses arrived at the city of Bazhou, in the west, the 200,000 Liao troops gathered in Datong Mansion had also been approached by Yanmen in Daizhou. The two armies marched together in the east and the west, and launched an attack on the Great Zhou in the shape of horns.

Originally, it was taboo to fight in winter, but Wanyan Aguda couldn't wait any longer. Da Zhou was already vigilant, and if they were given another winter time to prepare, the situation would be unpredictable. On the contrary, if you use the weather as a cover to attack, it may work wonders. And in terms of cold resistance, the northern soldiers and horses obviously have more advantages than the soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou. As long as you do two things well: supply and protect against the cold, you won't have much of a problem fighting even in winter.

Therefore, when the first snow came, Wanyan Agu decisively took advantage of the heavy snow, and began to march yesterday afternoon, and it took half a day and a night for the army to come to the city of Bazhou. As he had predicted, because of this snow, the scouts of Da Zhou didn't even notice their arrival at all.

At this moment, Wanyan Agu Dace Ma stood on a snowy slope, looking at the scene of the panicked Great Zhou soldiers and horses at the head of Bazhou City in front of him, and a contemptuous smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He knew that the other party was afraid that he was frightened by his sudden arrival of the army.

"Great Chief, shall we camp on the spot or what? The soldiers had been on the road all night, and now they were very tired. The siege equipment is still thirty miles away, and I am afraid that it will not be able to reach until the afternoon. After General Yalu Buhua rode his horse and stood on the side of Yan Agu, he suggested in a deep voice.

Wanyan Agu was silent, turned his head to Li Guoqiu, who was riding on a horse and was squinting at the city in front of him, and asked, "Military advisor, what do you think?" ”