Above the court, Ouyang Xiu and Zeng Gongliang presided over it, and Li Hao led a group of people to wave the flag behind to support.

Coupled with the collective *** of the military general class and Li Hao's continuous earnest teaching of Zhao Zonghan, the battle of Pingxia was soon concluded in the court.

But then, the question of who should be sent to preside over the battle becomes a question. The Great Song Dynasty has been peaceful for a long time, and now the backbone of the army is Gu Tingye's generation, but they have done the work of suppressing bandits and counterinsurgency over the years, and the most soldiers and horses they bring are twenty or thirty thousand people.

But in this battle with Western Xia, Li Hao and others planned to do their best to complete the battle, so in addition to the soldiers and horses of the Liao State in the north, they did not move.

The forbidden armies adjacent to Western Xia will be requisitioned, and then the forbidden troops sent by Bianjing will be added, and the total number of troops will reach more than 200,000.

In addition, it is also necessary to allocate the box army and the corresponding number of people, so many people and horses make the imperial court feel at ease to hand over to Gu Tingye.

As for the generals of the older generation, there are very few who have this kind of experience in commanding troops, and basically all of them have left the court.

At this time, although the British Duke was old, he still stood up and asked the imperial court to personally preside over the war.

Li Hao naturally did not agree to this idea, after all, the British Duke is older than Ouyang Xiudu, and this year is already too old.

This is going to the northwest, in case something happens, how can Li Hao explain it to his family. But the British Duke has his own ideas and reasons on this matter, but the British Duke did not say much in the court, but privately invited Li Hao to the British Mansion, and by the way, the British Duchess and Zhang Guifen were there.

Here, the British Duke said directly: "I called you all here today to explain what happened after I went to the northwest. As soon as he heard this, Li Hao immediately wanted to answer, but before he could speak, he was interrupted by the British public.

"I know that you don't want me to go to the northwest for my good, but I wait for the Wuxun family to receive the emperor's favor, and now it is the time when I am needed, how can I be afraid. And I have been fighting with Xixia for many years, and the grievances are no longer clear, and now I have the opportunity to pacify Xixia, let me sit in Bianjing City and wait for news, I can't do it. When Li Hao just wanted to answer, Zhang Guifen grabbed it directly: "If it was before, my mother and I would never stop you, but now how old are you, how can this reassure me and my mother." And there are so many generals in the imperial court, I don't believe that there are no other candidates available. The British duke replied: "If there is a more suitable person in the court than me, then I am willing to stay in Bianjing, but you can ask Li Hao, is there one?" People like Gu Tingye's generation have never experienced a war with the Liao State and the Western Xia, let them directly lead the army to fight against the Western Xia, who can rest assured. Only after fighting this battle can they really take charge of themselves, and they can rest assured that they will recapture the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in the future. And what's wrong with me at this age, the Han general Zhao Chongguo is still able to lead troops out of seventy, and I am a few years younger than him now, so naturally it is okay. At this time, Zhang Guifen's eyes had already turned from the British Duke to Li Hao, and motioned for Li Hao to answer, but Li Hao didn't know what to say for a while.

… Because what the British public said is indeed the truth, there is indeed no better candidate for the DPRK and China. Seeing Li Hao's silence, Zhang Guifen suddenly couldn't sit still, but she didn't immediately bother with Li Hao, but turned her head to look at her mother, wanting the British Duchess to come forward to persuade her.

But I didn't expect the British Duchess to say at this time: "Okay, since you want to go, go there, but you have to remember that Fen'er and I are waiting for you in Bianjing City, and you must return safely." When Zhang Guifen heard this, she immediately said, "Mother, how can you promise your father?" The Duchess of England said: "Since this is your father's decision, we must support him, and we must not block his path to the effect of the country." Seeing that Zhang Guifen still wanted to speak, the British duchess said: "This is your father's responsibility, and you should understand." Seeing that his parents were already determined, Zhang Guifen also knew that it was useless to persuade him, so he could only return to Chengyuan with Li Hao and leave the space to his parents.

However, on the way back, Zhang Guifen faced Li Hao and made it difficult: "Why didn't you help me persuade my father just now and sit aside and watch the excitement." Li Hao replied helplessly: "My father-in-law has made up his mind, how can I persuade him, and I was thinking about one thing just now." With so many soldiers and horses mobilized this time, in addition to a number of generals, the DPRK will inevitably send an important minister to the northwest to sit in the town. I plan to recommend myself to the Northwest so that I can take care of my father-in-law nearby. Hearing this, Zhang Guifen, who was still blaming Li Hao, immediately changed her face: "My father has already gone to the battlefield, and now you are a civilian official, why take this risk." Li Hao replied: "For this battle to destroy the summer, I have been preparing for several years, so I also know the depth best. Whether it is the soldiers or the armament, they have done their best, and there is definitely no problem in dealing with Western Xia, in fact, there is not much danger when you go, but to receive merit. If it weren't for my father-in-law's age, I wouldn't have objected to this, so you can rest assured. Seeing Li Hao say this, Zhang Guifen asked: "What you said is true, you are not deceiving me." Li Hao replied: "I, don't you know yet!" If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't be in danger. Being taken by Li Hao like this, Zhang Guifen thought about it and felt that what Li Hao said also made some sense, so she didn't speak again.

After returning to the house, Li Hao gave Zhang Guifen a good analysis of the situation and reassured Zhang Guifen.

After being pacified here, Li Hao brought it up in the court and asked for the consent of Ouyang Xiu and Zhao Zonghan.

With the British Duke as the ambassador, he was in charge of the military in the northwest and planned the battle to destroy the summer. Li Hao was responsible for assisting the British Duke in military affairs and coordinating a number of local officials in the northwest.

As for the forbidden army, in addition to the Divine Guard Army, the remaining three armies poured out, plus the front division of the palace, the guard pro-army horse army all commanded the envoy division, and the guard pro-army infantry army commanded the Guangjie Army, the Xiongwei Army, the Divine Brave Army, the Divine Cavalry Army and other elite divisions under the envoy division, totaling nearly 100,000 horses.

… In terms of generals, Gu Tingye, Yang Wenyuan, Yuan Wenshao, Li Yixing and others all went to participate, among which Yuan Wenshao and Li Yixing were transferred back by Li Hao, after all, there is a war with Liao in the future, and this opportunity to make great contributions cannot be missed.

When Li Hao and others set off, Zhao Zonghan, accompanied by Ouyang Xiu and Zeng Gongliang, personally practiced for the army outside Wansheng Gate, and also gave many soldiers a shot in the arm.

Soon after the departure, Li Hao rushed to the northwest first, arranged in advance the matters after the arrival of the army, and urged the civil and military officials in various places to organize preparations for war.

According to the plan, the attack on Western Xia will be divided into three routes, from Yongxing Military Road, Qinfeng Road, and Hedong Road.

It was deployed by the British Gong in the Yongxing Military Road Bureau, Yang Wenyuan presided over the military affairs of Qinfeng Road, and Gu Tingye presided over the military affairs of Hedong Road, so Li Hao needed to hoard grain and grass armaments in these three places and do a good job in logistics support.

As for the Western Xia side, at this time, they also got the news that the army was coming, and they also began to prepare for war, after all, such a big movement could not hide from people.

It's just that the Great Song Dynasty is menacing, so the Western Xia side did not dare to start a war at the first time, but followed the previous strategy, stuck to the dangerous place, and waited for the attack.

After all, most of the previous attacks of the Song army will have a situation of imbalance of coordination, and then they can mobilize the army in the inner encirclement to break them one by one.

So by the time the British arrived, there was no major fighting at the border, although there was some rumour.

After the forbidden army that came to Beijing repaired for a period of time, recovered its strength and adapted to the environment of Western Xia, the war led by the Great Song Dynasty officially began.

On the same day as agreed, the three armies set off at the same time and marched along their own planned routes.

The Western Xia army had never seen the power of artillery before, so in the early stage of the city defense, it could not stop the Song army's offensive pace.

It was successively conquered Shizhou, Xiazhou, Yinzhou, Hongzhou, Youzhou, Weizhou, Lanzhou and other places, and finally let the British soldiers head directly at Lingzhou, an important town in Western Xia.

However, when they arrived here, the British Duke also began to slow down, waiting for Gu Tingye and Yang Wenyuan to arrive with their troops.

After all, Lingzhou is a gateway to Xingqing Mansion, and after breaking here, it will inevitably encounter a fierce counterattack from Western Xia.

Although after this period of experience, the British Duke did not feel that his soldiers under his command would be invincible, but in order to avoid losses, it was better to play safely.

It's just that there are two other people, Yang Wenyuan led the army to come over relatively quickly, because this time, Li Hao invited Tubo to send troops to cross the Yellow River to capture Liangzhou, and contained the troops on the right wing of Western Xia, so that Yang Wenyuan had no worries.

And relatively speaking, Yang Wenyuan doesn't have many big cities along the way, so it's easier to walk.

But Gu Tingye's side is different, there are many obstacles in various cities along the way, and it is really a siege all the way.

Seeing this situation, after thinking about it, the British Duke was able to deal with it after meeting the two people, and decided to start attacking Lingzhou.

In addition, Gu Tingye was ordered not to come to Lingzhou, and rushed directly to Huaizhou to contain part of the main force of Western Xia and respond for himself.

Under the command of the British Duke, the three-way army did exert its original strength, or even stronger, and the Western Xia army was defeated and retreated.

… Seeing this situation, after breaking through Lingzhou City, the British Duke changed the battle plan set at the beginning.

Originally, the original intention was to fight a blitzkrieg, and after clearing the necessary obstacles, he directly surrounded Xingqing Mansion, the capital of the Western Xia king, and destroyed the Western Xia as quickly as possible.

But this is obviously flawed, after all, even if the Western Xia royal city is broken, there are still some main forces of the Western Xia in Jingzhou, Dingzhou, and Shunzhou.

Once it is found that the capital has been breached, the Western Xia army in these places will inevitably flee and leave, and it will be much more troublesome to destroy it at that time.

Therefore, in addition to the British Duke's troops pointing directly at Xingqing Mansion, Yang Wenyuan and Gu Tingye's troops went to attack the rest of the important towns in Western Xia respectively to clear the obstacles for the future.

Of course, in order to make up for the lack of troops in the British duke, Li Hao personally led the soldiers who stayed in the rear as a reserve to support the British duke.

However, although the plan was realized very smoothly, it was obvious that the Liao State was not willing to let the Great Song Dynasty destroy the Western Xia so simply.

So he began to deploy troops on the border of the Liao and Song dynasties, put pressure on the Great Song Dynasty, and sent envoys to Bianjing to let the Great Song take the initiative to withdraw his troops.

After Li Hao received an urgent report of 800 miles from the rear, he found the British Duke and said: "The battle to destroy Xia can't wait any longer, now that the Liao State is ready to move, the war here must be resolved as soon as possible." Otherwise, if the Liao State finds an opportunity, I am afraid that we will lose all our efforts, and I am also a little worried about the Bianjing City, I don't know if those officials of the Lord and faction will make any trouble. For Li Hao's proposal, the British Duke also agreed very much, so he recalled Yang Wenyuan and Gu Tingye's subordinates who were outside to besiege Xingqing Mansion.

In the face of such an offensive, Western Xia naturally couldn't resist it, and after holding the city for five days, Xingqing Mansion was officially breached.

Although, Xia Huizong Li Bingchang took advantage of the chaos to escape north from Xingqing Mansion under the protection of a part of the proton army.

But because most of the armies of Western Xia were wiped out by the formation, the remaining soldiers and horses were not enough to rely on.

Moreover, the more prosperous Henan and Hexi lands in Western Xia all fell into the hands of the Great Song Dynasty, and only the barren land outside the river was left with the ability to survive.

At this time, Li Hao immediately wrote a report of a great victory, which was sent to Bianjing urgently for 800 miles. In addition, Gu Tingye led a part of the men and horses to stay, and cooperated with the garrisons of the original northwest roads to stay in the Western Xia states to guard against Li Bingchang, and by the way, he waited for the imperial court to send back instructions.

As for the rest of the men and horses from Bianjing, they quickly gathered on the Song-Liao border for support. After the baptism of this war, Gu Tingye, Yang Wenyuan and other generals basically have the ability to take charge on their own.

So under the let go of the British duke, in the face of the provocation of the soldiers and horses of the Liao State, Yang Wenyuan, Yuan Wenshao and others led their respective troops to touch the soldiers and horses of the Liao State at the border, and there were small results.

At this time, the Liao State also knew the news of the destruction of Xingqing Mansion, and when he saw the strong appearance of the Song army, he also had the intention of retreating.

Of course, in terms of face, the Liao State naturally refused to let go, and insisted that the Song Dynasty return the territory occupied by the Western Xia to the Western Xia.

When Li Hao learned the news, he entrusted the affairs of the front line to the British duke, anyway, there was no plan to attack the Liao State now, and the British duke could sit in the rear and rest.

After all, the grain and grass of the original equipment were almost consumed in Western Xia, and they did not get much replenishment after the defeat of Western Xia.

There is no way, who made Western Xia poor, the only thing worth being happy about is that a large number of war horses have been replenished, and since then, the Great Song Dynasty has a place to raise horses, and it will be able to cultivate cavalry on a large scale in the future.

When Li Hao arrived in Bianjing, the envoys of the Liao State had just arrived. So in the next negotiation, Li Hao took it over with Ouyang Xiu's consent.

Generally speaking, Li Hao's plan is to show weakness to the enemy, anyway, the Liao State does not look down on the Western Xia and the Great Song Dynasty.

Even if the Great Song Dynasty destroyed the Western Xia, it is estimated that the Liao State may not feel how powerful the Great Song Dynasty is, since this is the case, Li Hao intends to endure the anger for a while.

Li Hao naturally won't return the land he occupied, but Li Hao is willing to give it money or something.

Anyway, in the last two years, when Li Hao's side has saved enough money to start a war again, he will naturally get it back directly from Liao State a hundredfold or a thousand times.

Under Li Hao's deliberate pull, the Great Song Dynasty added some New Year's coins to Liao, and the matter was over.

Next, Song Liao restored peace again, and the forbidden army could return to Bianjing. Of course, they did not come back to put Nanshan in horses, but to continue to train hard to meet the battle with the Liao State.