The counterattack of the villains

Chapter 122
At the end of the first lunar month, Li Mu received a secret decree from the Empress Dowager that the troops, horses, food and grass had been mobilized.

At the beginning of March, the Song Army will attack Xixia from Suizhou, Youzhou, Yuanzhou, and Lanzhou in four directions at the same time, and let Li Mu lead the Changkong Sword Sect to fully assist.

Li Mu responded immediately, he first wrote a letter to Xiao Feng, and then sent [-] elite disciples, [-] inner disciples, and [-] outer disciples.

These nearly 3000 people were also divided into four groups, and they went to the four states to cooperate with the Song army.

He and Ruan Xingzhu personally led a team to Lanzhou to help the Zhong family army march north from Huizhou on the Xixia border.

Just like the most elite Western Xia army in the Song Dynasty, the Xixia frontier army in Huizhou is also the most capable army in Xixia.

Usually, they have constant friction with the Western Army of the Song Dynasty, and the Song Army uses them to train soldiers, so why don't they use the Song Army to train soldiers?
As for the hardest bone, of course Li Mu has to gnaw it himself.

On the other side, Suizhou is more difficult. This is the state closest to Xingqing Mansion in Song Dynasty. The Xixia army facing it is also very elite, and Xixia is stationed with heavy troops.

This group of people was led by Cao Qingkui, followed by eight of Li Mu's personal disciples.

Yuanzhou is led by Xiao Feng and A'Zhu. Although he is the leader of the beggar gang now, Li Mu will also ask him to lead a group of Zhang Kong disciples to attack when foreign wars are fought.

As for the elders of the beggar gang, they lead a team of beggar gang masters to take charge of the most relaxed Youzhou.

These martial arts masters will be the first to attack.

But it was not a frontal attack, but an all-pervasive assassination at night, and at the same time seized the city gate when the Song army launched an attack, and opened the door for the Song army.

The Changkong disciples all knew the gecko's wall-swimming skill, and the city wall couldn't stop them at all.

A month later, all parties were in place, and Song Dynasty officially launched an all-out war against Xixia.

And this war has just begun, and Xixia has basically lost.

Because in just a few days after the start of the war, a large number of Xixia generals were assassinated, and the army was in a leaderless state, and the Song army collapsed as soon as it came.

It's not that they were defenseless. They had already suffered a loss back then, so how could they not learn their lesson?
It's a pity that it's useless. In the face of absolute strength, any arrangement seems so fragile.

The disciples of Changkong nine years ago were already able to assassinate them with impenetrable defense.

Now that nine years have passed, the group of people who survived after participating in the war back then have more profound skills and more profound martial arts.

The masters of Xixia have almost been slaughtered by the Changkong Sword Sect, and how can they resist?
With the Changkong Sword Sect clearing the way, Song Jun's footsteps were hardly hindered, and it was a smooth battle from the beginning.

Especially the Lanzhou West Army, they were the farthest from Xingqing Mansion, but they marched the fastest.

Because Li Mu and his wife were there, they didn't even need to seize the city gate. After all, seizing the city gate would have to pay the price of casualties.

Li Mu often used his sword light to stab into the city gate, directly cut off the gate bolt, and forcibly opened the city gate.

Afterwards, Ruan Xingzhu and Ruan Xingzhu took the lead in entering the city, and with a burst of sword energy, the defenders blocking the city gate were basically scattered, and the Zhong family army followed closely behind and rushed into the city gate.

More than a month later, the Western Army of the Great Song Dynasty went to Xingqing Mansion. At this time, the Emperor Xixia and Empress Dowager Xiaoliang had already led the royal family to evacuate Xingqing Mansion and fled westward.

The Zhong family army won the first victory in attacking the enemy's capital. A few days later, the four armies with a total of more than [-] troops joined forces at Xingqing Mansion.

After leaving the necessary occupation team, the Song army pushed westward all the way, Xiliang Prefecture, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Shazhou...

The Hetao area and the Hexi Corridor fell under the control of the Song army one after another. The good news flew into Bianliang like snowflakes.

But the Empress Dowager understood that without the help of the Changkong Sword Sect, this battle would not have gone so smoothly, and she was very grateful to Li Mu in her heart.

The emperor of Xixia and the remnants of the army were chased by the Song army all the way out of Yumen Pass and fled to the Western Regions. The Xixia Kingdom was declared dead, and the Song army stopped at Yumen Pass.

It took more than half a year, and the entire territory of Xixia was occupied by the Song Dynasty and became the territory of the Song Dynasty.

At the end of October of that year, the Song army returned triumphantly, leaving 40 Song troops stationed in Xixia territory.

A group of Song Army generals returned to Beijing to accept the reward, but Chang Kong disciples and Beggar Clan disciples went away, hiding their achievements and fame, and returned to Liangshan and Luoyang respectively.

As a Jianghu sect and gang, the imperial court is naturally not good at rewarding them.

But the Empress Dowager also rewarded the Changkong Sword Sect and the Beggars' Clan with a lot of money, which was the only gesture the court could make.

At the same time, the Empress Dowager imitated Shenzong, and in the name of Emperor Zhao Xu, sent someone to the Changkong Sword Sect to send a plaque with a jade seal on it.

On the plaque are four gold-plated characters: Giants of the World.

The title of "giant hero" used to be just the respect of Li Mu by people in the world, but now it is officially recognized.

As a result, not only people in the Jianghu called him Juxia, but even the civil and military officials in the court could no longer call him Mr. Li, but had to call him Juxia Li.

This is the unrivaled giant that the royal family proclaims, who dares to ignore it?

Along with this plaque, there is also a "Danshu Iron Coupon".

It stated that Li Mu held this Danshu iron certificate, and when he committed other crimes under national law except treason, he would be spared three deaths and his descendants would be spared one death.

In other words, unless Li Mu was a rebel, the national laws of the Song Dynasty would not be able to control him. He could be exonerated three times for other capital crimes, and he would not be guilty of ordinary crimes.

With this Danshu iron coupon, he can completely walk sideways in Song Dynasty.

In the eyes of all civil and military officials in the court, this is the royal family's greatest trust and grace to Li Mu.

But in the eyes of the people in Jianghu, this Dan Shu Iron Coupon is a joke.

With the current power of the Sky Sword Sect and Li Mu's own peerless martial arts, the national law itself can no longer control him, so everything written on the iron certificate is all nonsense.

But Li Mu is still very happy. This at least shows that the Empress Dowager is not a white-eyed wolf, and her efforts will eventually be rewarded.

……

In the spring of the second year after the end of the National War, Xiao Feng and A Zhu got married. In the same year, Duan Zhengming became a Zen monk, went to Tianlong Temple to become a monk, and Duan Yu became emperor.

It wasn't until now that he revealed that his biological father was not King Zhennan, but the Supreme Emperor Duan Yanqing.

Although the officials in Dali were astonished, they didn't suspect anything, and even many things became clear.

At this time, Duan Zhengchun is dead, Duan Zhengming is also a monk, Dali is now in charge of Duan Yu, his biological father is still Song Li Juxia, who dares to talk nonsense?
Duan Yu made Mu Wanqing Queen of Dali, and Qin Hongmian was taken back to serve in Dali.

Dao Baifeng had already formally become a monk when Duan Zhengchun died, and had become a monk.

From then on, Duan Yu was diligent in state affairs, but he had no chance to go out to make trouble again.

In the end, Zhong Ling, who had found Dali, was only made a noble concubine. Since then, she has been in power in Dali and rarely goes out again.

In September of the second half of the year, the Empress Dowager of the Song Dynasty passed away at the age of 62. She was posthumously named Empress Xuanren Shenglie and was buried in Yonghou Mausoleum with Yingzong.

Zhao Xu finally came to power, and he immediately invited Li Mu to the palace to discuss matters.

Bianliang Palace, Funing Palace.

This is the emperor's bedroom, Zhao Xu invited Li Mu here instead of meeting him in the Chongzheng Hall, so he was very close to him.

"Li Mu, a grassroots man, I have seen the official family."

Since the meeting is private, there is no need to address your majesty, you can directly call the official.

Zhao Xu hurriedly stepped forward to support Li Mu, and said, "Mr. Li, please get up quickly, let's meet in private, there is no need to be polite."

Li Mu said happily: "Thank you, the official family."

Zhao Xu said to Li Mu: "Mr. Li, I invited you to the palace to ask you for advice. What should Song Dynasty do in the future?"

Li Mu laughed dumbly and said: "This question, the government should ask the civil and military officials. How can the grassroots be a warrior, how can they talk about state affairs?"

Zhao Xu waved his hands and said, "The words of the ministers in the court are all pedantic views of scholars, what big things can they help?"

"The emperor's grandmother has been in power all these years, and the country's major affairs have been mistaken in the hands of a group of timid and fearful rotten scholars. They call themselves gentlemen, but they are actually selfish villains who are greedy for life and afraid of death."

"Mr. Li, you don't need to be humble. I can tell that you are a man with a deep heart. He is completely different from those rotten scholars. I want to hear your insights, and I hope you will give me your advice."

Appreciation flashed in Li Mu's eyes, and he couldn't help laughing loudly in Funing Palace, "The official family really didn't disappoint the grassroots. When I first met the official family two years ago, the grassroots people already saw that the official family is someone who can accomplish great things." king."

After all, he is a young man. Upon hearing Li Mu's words, Zhao Xu's face flushed with excitement, and he said with a smile, "Sir, do you really think so?"

Li Mu sighed: "The grassroots see the shadow of the late emperor in the official family. The grassroots believe that the official family will definitely inherit the legacy of the late emperor and create an immortal foundation."

Zhao Xu bowed to Li Mu and said, "Please teach me, sir."

Li Mu helped Zhao Xu up, his expression changed, and he said: "Since the officials want the grassroots to speak, then the grassroots will speak a few words from the heart to the officials. If there are inappropriate words, please forgive the officials."

Zhao Xu said seriously: "Sir, please just speak out, I forgive you for not being guilty."

Li Mulue pondered for a while, and said: "The Song Dynasty has been established for more than 130 years, and now there are many evils. If we want to completely turn the world around and create a prosperous age like the rule of Zhenguan, reforms are imperative."

"The biggest current disadvantage of the Great Song Dynasty is that it emphasizes literature over martial arts. Emperor Taizu won the world with martial arts, so he was worried that future generations would follow suit, so he set the basic national policy of strengthening literature and weakening martial arts."

"For the era in which Emperor Taizu lived, there is nothing wrong with this, because the era in which he lived was originally an era when the world was in chaos and warlords fought in chaos."

"At that time, the status of literati was generally not high. If they had an army in their hands, they would have power. If the Jiedu envoys grasped the military and government, they would be princes."

"But it's very different now..."

In front of Zhao Xu, Li Mu pointed out the shortcomings of the current situation and pointed out the long-standing shortcomings of Song Dynasty one by one.

In addition to emphasizing civility over military affairs, frequent rotation of generals in command, soldiers not knowing generals, generals not knowing soldiers, and lax training, there is also the problem of "three redundant and two accumulated", Li Mu said without reservation.

Zhao Xu listened very carefully, nodding his head from time to time to express his agreement, and he was not worried about Li Mu's accusation of his ancestors.

Because many of the things Li Mu said were seen by himself.

After all, young people are proud and full of vigor, but Zhao Xu has always regarded his father as an idol, and he is determined to inherit his father's will.

Many of the words Li Mu said were quite similar to what his father said to him when he was a child.

It has to be said that Shenzong Zhao Xu was indeed one of the few ambitious and accomplished emperors in the Song Dynasty, but it was a pity that he died too early.

This Zhao Xu has the tendency to become the second Shenzong, and Li Muzi spared no effort to help him.

What Li Mu said, it took several hours. At noon, Zhao Xu had lunch with him in Funing Palace, and in the afternoon, the two had a detailed discussion on the specific reform measures.

It wasn't until the sun went down that the topic came to an end.

Zhao Xu said with a lot of emotion: "Sir, you are truly a talent in the world. You are just the head of a Jianghu sect, and you have really wasted your foresight and talent."

"If my husband is willing to enter the court, I would like to treat him as 'the affairs of the Zhongshumen'."

Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, that is, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Li Mu shook his head with a smile and said, "Caomin is still the same saying, if only one Caomin enters the court, the country will only get one usable person."

"But if the grassroots are in the wild, they can continuously cultivate talents for the country."

"There are also scholars in the Long Sky Sword Sect. They are real scholars, not those pedantic Confucians who talk about harming the country."

"Speaking of this, Caomin has a direct disciple named Song Jiang. Although he is still young, he will definitely be the head of the government in the future."

"Oh?" Zhao Xu became interested and said, "How true is Song Jiang's master?"

Li Mu said with a smile: "Caomin has never kept any secrets from his disciples, and he has taught them all. Just saying this is empty talk, and now he can't come to serve the officials."

Zhao Xu wondered, "Why?"

Li Mudao: "Because he left the Central Plains a few years ago to prepare a gift for the official family, which can be regarded as his advancement."

Zhao Xu asked enthusiastically, "What gift is it?"

Li Mu said slowly: "The sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, and even the 700 million-mile territory of Liao Kingdom."

"What?" Zhao Xu exclaimed, suddenly got up, looked at Li Mu in disbelief, and said anxiously: "What's going on, sir, please tell me in detail."

Li Mu said tenaciously: "A few years ago, Cao Min sent Song Jiang and two other disciples to the bitter cold land in Liaodong to assist the Jurchen tribe..."

Listening to Li Mu's narration, Zhao Xu gradually became excited.

"If this plan is successful, within ten years, the Great Song Dynasty will not only be able to take back the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, but also benefit from it. In one fell swoop, all the territory of the Liao Kingdom and the land of Liaodong will be included in the territory of the Great Song Dynasty."

"The achievement of annexing Xixia has been reaped by the Empress Dowager, but if this plan is successful, the Great Song Dynasty will open up thousands of miles of rivers and mountains in the hands of the officials, and make great achievements that will never be seen in the world."

After listening to Li Mu's words, Zhao Xu walked back and forth in the palace excitedly, muttering incessantly: "What a good one to drive away wolves, what a good fisherman to gain..."

After turning around for a while, Zhao Xu stopped and said to Li Mu decisively: "If the disciples of Mr. Song can really help Song Dynasty win the Liao Kingdom and Liaodong, I will definitely use them again."

"Song Jiang can make peace with Zhongshumen, and Wu Yong will be the 'Shen Zhizheng Shi'. He can choose the official positions in the six departments of the three provinces of the Song and Qing Dynasties."

Li Mu stood up, cupped his fists and bowed: "The grass-roots will be the three disciples, thank you to the officials first."

……

Zhao Xu gave Li Mu a house in Bianliang, and he and Ruan Xingzhu lived in Bianliang for half a year.

In the past six months, he has been recuperating Zhao Xu's body.

Zhao Xu was ill when he was young, but the Empress Dowager did not allow the imperial doctor to treat him, so that the root cause of the disease was found, and he was deficient in both qi and blood since he was a child.

This also paved the way for his untimely death at the age of 25.

Li Mu used his extraordinary medical skills, combined with the Yiyang Finger activated by the Nine Yang True Qi, to make up for Zhao Xu's deficiencies.

At the same time, pass on the movement skills of the chapter of Yijin forging bones to Zhao Xu to strengthen his physique.

Feeling his body becoming lighter and healthier day by day, Zhao Xu's gratitude to Li Mu cannot be overemphasized.

The so-called emperor and courtiers in one dynasty, in the past six months, Zhao Xu pursued and demoted Sima Guang, pursued Wang Anshi, and vigorously attacked Yuanyou's old party ministers.

Depose the old party prime ministers Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang, relegate the old party such as Su Shi and Su Zhe to Lingnan, and re-enable the new party Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu and other reformers.

At the same time, the Baojia Law, Baoma Law, and Exemption Law in Wang Anshi's reform were restored to reduce the burden on farmers and greatly improve the country's situation.

In order to deal with the old party's counterattack and the court's strife, Li Mu dispatched a group of elite disciples from Changkong to support Zhao Xu and the new party.

In the past six months, some members of the old party who used shady methods were beheaded. At Zhao Xu's request, a wave of cleansing was carried out on all officials, and the court was completely cleared.

Then came the rectification of the three redundant and two accumulated problems, as well as the reform of the army.

Li Mu put forward the concept of political education and establishing the soul of the army, so that the soldiers of the Song Dynasty could understand why they were soldiers and who they were fighting for.

With such a deepening of education from generation to generation, the Song army will sooner or later have a military soul.

Even if the same general leads an army all year round, the court no longer has to worry about the army rebelling.

Li Mu even personally wrote a copy of the "Regulations for Generals and Soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty" for Zhao Xu. After reading it, Zhao Xu expressed his amazement.

With Li Mu's strong support, Wang Anshi regained his vitality after ten years of reform, and the development of the Great Song Dynasty was changing with each passing day and flourishing day by day.

And in the second year of Zhao Xu's pro-government, that is, after the time when Xiao Feng committed suicide outside Yanmen Pass in the original plot to prevent the invasion of the Liao army, when the Tianlong plot ended, a system prompt sounded in Li Mu's mind.

"This reincarnation is over. You can choose to return at any time within 24 hours. If you do not choose to return after 24 hours, you will be forced to return."

Li Mu's reincarnation does not end immediately after completing the obsession of the replaced villain.

Completion of obsession is only a necessary condition, not the only condition.

The reincarnation will really end only when the plot is over and the obsession with the original body is completed at the same time.

Reincarnation cannot be ended if only one of them is fulfilled, both conditions must be fulfilled.

(End of this chapter)