At this time, the front was in full swing. Not only Hebei and Henan, but even Taiyuan in Hedong, a fierce battle between the Song and Liao armies broke out on the 28th...

Tens of thousands of Liao troops crossed the border, and Gao Jixun, the chief general of the Song army, climbed high and looked far away, and in front of him was a natural battlefield Caocheng River. He smiled and said to Jia Zong, the envoy of the Kelan army beside him, "Although the enemy is numerous, the formation is not in order, which shows that this Khitan general is a mediocre talent." Although we have few soldiers, we will win! You lead the people to the bottom of the mountain to ambush first. I will defeat the incoming enemies and drive them into your ambush, and then you will destroy them all" and everything happened as he said. He defeated the incoming enemies in the wilderness and forced them into Jia Zong's ambush circle, the Cold Light Ridge at the foot of the mountain. Hanguang Ridge has become a cemetery for the Khitans...

On October 6, the Liao army began to storm Yingzhou. Empress Dowager Xiao personally beat the drum. From Emperor Liao to every soldier, they all did their best. They threw down their horses and built a large number of improvised siege equipment like the Han Chinese, besieging the city on all sides. At the same time, arrows rained down (after the war, it was found that more than 200 arrows were hit within a radius of a few inches, and a total of 400,000 arrows were obtained at the end)

Under Li Yanwu, the governor of Yingzhou in the Great Song Dynasty, only the state soldiers and the box soldiers (militia, called strong at that time) were all second- and third-rate ranks in the Great Song army. Fortunately, the reinforcements from Hebei and Bei Prefecture arrived before the Liao army besieged the city, so that Li Yanwu got a valuable replenishment... As a result, Yingzhou City began to endure more than 10 days of repeated attacks by 200,000 Liao troops. More than 10 days later, the entire Liao army was in despair... If the fight continues, Yingzhou City may be broken, but they may all die! After paying the huge price of more than 30,000 dead and more than 60,000 wounded, they sobered up and remembered their purpose for this battle...

Remove! Find your next target... On the 14th, Xiao Dalin and Xiao Guanyinnu captured Qizhou.

On the 15th, Zhao Heng made a decision and ordered Wang Chao to lead his troops to the south, and ordered the former prime minister Xiang Minzhong to go to the northwest to watch his family! Because the emperor is going to conquer in person...

On the 26th, Wang Jizhong's second letter arrived. This letter is completely in the tone of the Empress Dowager Xiao, hinting very strongly at a point: "The Guannan region is originally the place of the Liao State. I'm afraid Yingzhou won't be able to hold it... I hope that the emperor will send envoys to negotiate peace as soon as possible."

In the face of naked threats, Zhao Heng replied, "Yingzhou has always been on guard, don't worry." However, we will send an envoy first, and there will be no loss" So the Great Song Dynasty selected a warrior named Li Bin, who carried a letter through the battlefield and informed the Great Song that the envoy was about to be sent. At the same time, the Privy Council will recommend the envoys for this peace...

The envoy himself stood up. Called Cao Yu, a small official of the Privy Council, at that time the official position was "Yan Yan Road to bear official affairs", to put it bluntly, he was a clerk who ran errands and passed orders. For a moment, the Emperor must have felt hurt. At the critical moment, if the country is in such a crisis, the ministers who are high-ranking officials and full of fat brains on weekdays have actually shrunk their heads one by one. Only such a small person is launched to top the cylinder. How can there be any loyalty to him and the Great Song Dynasty! The emperor wants the Privy Council to re-elect people, but this person can't! But the privy envoy Wang Jiying solemnly swore an oath: Your Majesty, this person will definitely do it!

At this time, I have to say where is the Liao army? They left Yingzhou behind, and the target was actually the Daimyo's Mansion! And in the middle of the war, far away from the base camp, the urgently needed war supplies are thrown under Yingzhou City? Behind them, Wei Neng, Tian Min, Yang Yanzhao, Shi Pu and other important generals of the Great Song Dynasty border were left, as well as the 150,000-strong Dingzhou array. That's right! The Liao army did isolate them from the Song dynasty. But correspondingly, these horses also separated the Liao army from Youzhou City! The Liao army had no way to retreat, and at the dangerous moment when a large number of troops were attrition and morale was frustrated under the city of Yingzhou, they still chose to go south to continue the invasion! What is this trying to do?

Unable to figure this out, it is also doomed that Cao is not easy to use this status as an ambassador of peace. He began to cross the Yellow River and rush forward with the title of the newly promoted Pavilion Gate Greeter and Chongyi's deputy envoy...

On the 27th, Zhao Heng appointed his fourth brother Yongwang Zhao Yuanfen as the one left behind in Tokyo and Li Chonggui to be responsible for the safety of the Beijing Division.

And at this time. Unfavorable reports came from the front. On November 13, at Zhaozhou, the Song army was defeated by the Liao army. On the 14th, Tian Fengji, an official of the Song and Wei Mansions, was captured.

Weak countries have no diplomacy. There is no peace talk even more. Want to talk? You've got to have the weight at the negotiating table! What's more, this person never thought to talk about it from beginning to end: Kou Zhun! He knew very well that there must be a fatal blow to the Liao army!

In order to achieve this, Kou Zhun asked the emperor to use a super general who had decided to be permanently sealed for various reasons - Li Jilong! It is he who will give the Liao army the most fatal blow in 4 days...

This man has disappeared from history for seven or eight years, and is destined to perish forever. No more light of day. Everything is only because of Zhao Heng's wish when Zhao Heng ascended the throne - to replace Zhao Heng, who was already the crown prince, with Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Chu, to ascend the throne! But 9 months ago, the death of Empress Dowager Li made the most famous general of the Taizong Dynasty receive a military order from the imperial court in the pain of the loss of his relatives - the war is coming. You're ready to go!

On the 18th, Li Jilong and Ge Ba were appointed as the main and deputy platoon envoys in front of the east. Shi Baoji and Wang Yin were appointed as the main and deputy platoon envoys in the west before driving. Led the army to the front with the goal of... Lanzhou!

No matter how critical the situation on the front line, they have only one mission: to stand for the emperor!

On November 20, the Liao army broke through the Deqing army and rushed to attack the Daimyo's mansion! On the same day, Emperor Zhenzong of the Great Song Dynasty finally walked out of Kaifeng and drove the expedition in person! It was also on this day that he received Wang Jizhong's third letter: The emperor of Liao was willing to negotiate peace, but why did the envoys of the Song Dynasty never show up?

What about Cao utilization? As soon as he arrived at the Daimyo's Mansion, he was stopped by Wang Qinruo! The history books say that it was because there was a war ahead, so Prime Minister Wang did not let Cao use it and went forward. But what is the front and the back! The fire of war has burned to the root of the city wall of the Daimyo's Mansion, and the city will be destroyed at any time. Or do you want to negotiate peace in a dignified manner? Therefore, if Wang Qin does not let Cao use the Lu to go, it is not only because of personal safety, but also because of the consideration of the national system...

Despise various versions of historical readings, could it be that Wang Qinruo became infamous in the future, so all those who wrote history for thousands of years deliberately suppressed him? It's not fair! Because the difficulty of the battle of the Daimyo's Mansion is by no means under the defense of Yingzhou, the merits are clear, and it cannot be wasted because of people!

The battle of the Daimyo's Mansion begins! In addition to the box soldiers and militia in the city, only a part of the Tianxiong army arrived temporarily. The number will never exceed the reinforcements of the two states of Ji and Bei in Yingzhou City. The Liao army suddenly arrived, and the soldiers and civilians all over the city panicked. At this time, Wang Qinruo gathered all the generals and assigned their respective defense areas. The method is very fair: draw lots (probes)

However, Sun Quanzhao, the general of the Daimyo Mansion, objected, "My family has been a general for generations, please don't explore the charm." Pick your generals. Pick the rest, is my "pick the rest of the most, not surprisingly is the North Gate." That was the direction the Liao army was coming from. Wang Qinruo took the honor of deputy prime minister to guard the south gate. Sun Quanzhao objected again: "This will not work. The Governor is the commander in chief, and he has to command the whole city. The north and south gates are 20 miles apart, and it will definitely delay major events. So please stay at the central government of the Daimyo's Mansion. occupy the center and take care of it on all sides" Wang Qinruo obeyed.

Sun Quan ordered the north gate to open wide, welcome the Khitan people in, as long as you dare! No one dared, because Sun Quanzhao's prestige was a wound on the Liao army.

So they bypassed the north gate and attacked the east gate... The history books do not explain who the East Gate guard is, but there is no doubt that he is good! withstood the onslaught of the Liao army for a whole day...

At night, the Liao army returned to the south gate of the Daimyo's mansion, but instead of attacking the city, they set up an ambush. Then he went to attack the sub-city of the Daimyo's Mansion - the Deqing Army.

Wang Qinruo didn't sleep all night. After receiving the report, he immediately sent the main force of the city, the Tianxiong Army, to pursue it. But as soon as they rushed out of the city, they suddenly ambushed behind them, and the Liao army had cut off their back road! The Khitans learned the lessons of the last Battle of Yingzhou. Siege is always a weakness, field warfare is king! So they succeeded in luring out the main force of the Song army to defend the city. The Liao army in front also quickly turned back, and wanted to attack back and forth and destroy the Tianxiong army!

At the critical juncture, Sun Quanzhao rushed from the north gate and found Wang Qinruo, "as if he had lost the Tianxiong army." The Daimyo's Mansion is over in a blink of an eye! You change people at the north gate, I'll save them" After speaking, he led the troops out of the city, fought with the Liao army in the dark night, and finally brought the Tianxiong army back. However, only three or four out of ten of the Tianxiong Army's last ones can come back alive...

But the Liao army was already afraid. They broke the Deqing army nearby. I let go of the Daimyo's Mansion and came to the last stop of this war - the city of Lanzhou, which straddles both sides of the Yellow River!

On the 21st, Zhao Heng personally marched the next day, in Changyuan County. He personally replied to Wang Jizhong. said that Cao used himself to set off, and now he wants Liao to show his sincerity and send troops to receive and escort...

this day. Legend has it that something happened. Bad news suddenly came from the rear - Zhao Yuanfen, the fourth brother of Yongwang who stayed in the capital, died violently. In addition to opening the door, he also had to decide who would go back to the prison country immediately. The person chosen was Wang Dan, the governor of the political affairs at this time and the future famous minister of the Great Song Dynasty. After Wang Dan received the order, he didn't set off immediately, "Please summon Kou Zhun under Your Majesty, the minister has something to say" After Kou Zhun arrived, Wang Dan said, "Your Majesty, if there is no victory within 10 days, what do I need to do" Legend Zhao Heng was silent all of a sudden. It was a long, long time before he said three words, "establishing the prince" is equivalent to explaining the future (but I have never figured out who this 'prince' is. Zhao Heng's sixth son, the future Song Renzong Zhao Zhen, will not be born until more than 5 years later. Zhao Heng's eldest son and second son have all passed away at this time. His second son died last year when he was 9 years old. In other words, the age of this 'prince' will not be more than 10 years old at this time. If Zhao Heng is defeated, it will be the biggest crisis of the Great Song Dynasty. Can a child cope? "Renewal of Capital and Governance Tongjian" records that Zhao Yuanfen died on August 2 of the following year)

On the 22nd, on the third day of the expedition, the Song army arrived in Weicheng County. On the 15th of last month, the emperor issued an edict to call Wang Chao's Dingzhou array to his side. But more than a month has passed, and Wang Chao has not heard from him. Rumors suddenly spread in the army that the emperor was about to flee south, and the final destination had been set - Jinling, the former capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

And Zhao Heng's reaction also made this rumor escalate immediately, and he brought Kou Zhun again. This time, Kou Zhun made a small move before proceeding to the camp. Standing outside the door eavesdropping... As a result, I heard someone inside, "What are those ministers going to do with the officials?" Don't hurry up and get back to the capital."

Kou Zhun entered the account, and the emperor directly asked "How is my southern tour?"

Kou Zhun was patient, "The ministers are cowardly and stupid, and the words they say are as ridiculous as the old women in the country. Now that the enemy is in sight, the mood of the people in the country is fluctuating. Your Majesty can only advance the foot, not retreat! The armies of Hebei are looking forward day and night. You only have to take half a step back, and the crowd will fall apart in no time. At that time, the enemy took advantage of the momentum to chase and kill, and you couldn't escape from Jinling at all" After that, Kou Zhun didn't talk nonsense, turned around and left! But he also knew that there was still a shortage of one person, a person representing the military!

It's providence! Kou Zhun met the boss of the forbidden army head-on, Gao Qiong, the commander of the palace. Kou Zhun got straight to the point, "Taiwei has received the grace of the country, and today can be rewarded" Gao Qiong replied, "Qiongwu people, repay with death"

Kou Zhun immediately took Gao Qiong back to the account, "Your Majesty does not believe in the ministers, please ask Gao Qiong"

As a result, Gao Qiong's first sentence almost made Kou Zhun jump up: "Your Majesty, if you want to go to Jinling, it's not difficult at all." Take the waterway, it will be there in a few days" But without waiting for Zhao Heng to be happy, Gao Qiong immediately said, "There is a small matter, please pay attention to it." The soldiers of our forbidden army are all northerners, and their wives and children are all in Kaifeng City. If you flee south, be careful that they will disperse halfway, who will escort them to Jinling at that time? May His Majesty reach Lanzhou. We are willing to serve the dead, and the enemy is not difficult to break."

Kou Zhun struck while the iron was hot, "Don't miss the opportunity, your majesty will start driving quickly"

But Zhao Heng still hesitated, he looked back at his personal guard Wang Yingchang, "Your Majesty, your majesty is going to conquer!" If you stop, the enemy will be open..."

The Emperor finally made up his mind and moved forward! Target Shanzhou! It's just that he didn't know what to say at all: on this day, the front line of Lanzhou had been suddenly ignited. The strongest commanders of the two armies of Song and Liao suddenly met each other in short quarters. Everything will be decided by these two people with life and death!

The Battle of Shanzhou on November 22, 1004! Li Jilong vs. Xiao Darin! Lanzhou, the focus of this fate, was mentioned more than once by the Song Dynasty to the limit of pro-conquest, but it was just a dilapidated small city. The terrain is too dangerous, backed by the Yellow River, which is the only natural barrier of the Yellow River in the Great Song Dynasty. And it is a city itself that straddles both sides of the Yellow River, forming two cities in the north and south. However, the city walls are low, and the absence of any "enemy grid tools" means that they are completely undefended. Li Jilong's army arrived, and it could only be stationed outside the city.

This encounter is extremely significant, and neither side can afford to lose! Li Jilong arrived first, and immediately dug deep trenches, and the antlers of the horses and horses were densely covered within a radius of dozens of miles, restricting the movement of the cavalry of the Liao army. Thousands of baggage trucks were removed from one wheel and overlapped to form a large protective ring. The Song army is hiding behind, waiting for the Liao army to appear... Xiao Darin appeared almost immediately, and the reason why he was a step late was that he slaughtered the Deqing army... In this way, the morale of the Liao army was finally re-raised...

The big war begins! In addition to the Yellow River in the south, Li Jilong's north, east, and west sides were tightly surrounded by the Liao army. Then Xiao Darin personally broke into the battle and assaulted the Song army from the northwest corner! It didn't take much to rush into the formation! Emperor Liao and the Queen Mother are all looking at him behind him! Not far from the south, the Great Song Emperor was also watching him... (To be continued......)