Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 508 Depends on the message
The army in Xiazhou City was now demoralized, and the 30,000 Liao troops that came to support it had been completely wiped out. Helian Tieshu was also alone and could not stand up. He was now waiting for the arrival of the envoy.

Perhaps it was an envoy from the Western Xia Kingdom, calling on him to withdraw his troops, or perhaps it was an envoy from Zhao Mu, persuading him to surrender.

No matter which one comes first, he is ready to abandon the city.

Moreover, the Western Xia army was no longer able to resist. First, the bravest Iron Harriers were annihilated by Zhao Mu, and most of the main forces of the Western Xia army were piled up outside the city.

Given the current situation, even if Han Xin or Rang Ju were to come back to life, they would not be able to break this deadlock.

However, there was no movement from Zhao Mu for a long time, which made Helian Tieshu very anxious.

At this moment, the guard outside the door came to report: "Grand Marshal! Princess! Her Royal Highness is here!"

"What?! Come in quickly! What else do you want to report?" When Helian Tieshu heard that Princess Yinchuan had arrived, he stood up hurriedly.

The guard replied: "Not only Her Royal Highness the Princess, but also King Qi."

Hearing this, Helian Tieshu's mood fell again.

"General Helian! We have come here uninvited, please forgive me for that."

Helian Tieshu looked in the direction of the voice and saw Li Qinglu in front, Zhao Mu behind, and Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, along with Xiaolei. They had already arrived at his door.

At this time, Helian Tieshu hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, saying, "General Helian Tieshu pays homage to Her Royal Highness the Princess!"

Li Qinglu personally helped Helian Tieshu up, and she said, "General Helian, please don't be polite."

Zhao Mu waved his fan gently and looked around. He smiled and said, "Haha, General Helian, there are fewer people here than a few days ago."

Helian Tieshu looked at Zhao Mu and said with a wry smile, "Your Highness Prince Qi, are you here to mock me on purpose?"

Zhao Mu shook his head and said, "No! It's not the King Qi of Song who is laughing at you, but the Prince Consort of Xixia who is laughing at you."

Helian Tieshu was a little amused when he heard this.

Li Qinglu said at this time: "Okay, husband. You have already won, so don't rub salt into General Helian's heart."

Zhao Mu then covered his face with a fan and laughed secretly.

Helian Tieshu sighed and said, "Alas! Helian Tieshu has been unworthy of your salary. Please punish me, Your Highness."

Zhao Mu folded up his fan and said seriously, "General Helian, you are too serious. From the beginning of this war, you have no chance of winning. Well, let's talk about business first. Qinglu!"

Li Qinglu nodded and said, "General Helian, you are a pillar of our Great Xia. I believe you know the current situation well without me having to tell you."

Helian Tieshu asked, "Your Highness, are you here to persuade King Qi to surrender?" Li Qinglu shook his head and said, "I am not here to persuade him to surrender, but to persuade General Helian to be a man of insight and not to put up a meaningless resistance and send our Dangxiang men to their deaths again."

Helian Tieshu smiled bitterly and said, "Is there any difference between this and persuading surrender?"

Zhao Mu said at this time: "Of course there is a difference. Because if you surrender, you can all live. Although you are not my opponent, you can continue to serve me. I have already discussed with Qinglu that if Xixia surrenders, then everyone in Xixia will be spared."

"Moreover, the King of Western Xia pledged his loyalty to the Song Dynasty and gave up the Han territory of the Hexi Corridor, and re-established the Western Xia Kingdom in the Tibetan land of Qingtang. Simply put, the Western Xia Kingdom is still the Western Xia Kingdom. It's just that you Dangxiang people left the Han territory you occupied and returned to your ancestral land."

"And if General Helian wants to lead his troops to resist, then that's fine. I have plenty of time to play with you. Anyway, since the Song Dynasty changed its military system, soldiers are rewarded based on the number of heads they take. You can see the hills outside the city. Even if I am willing to make peace, my soldiers may want to earn more military merits and don't want the war to end so quickly."

Li Qinglu also echoed at this time: "Yes, General Helian, your surrender now is not betrayal, on the contrary, it is to preserve the strength for the re-prosperity of our Dangxiang people. If you continue to waste time, it will only result in the death of more good men of our Dangxiang. When the time comes, my father will restore the country in Qingtang, then who will protect the country in the future?"

"The reason why the Song Dynasty is still willing to give us this condition is because you are all still here. We in the Great Xia still have the strength to fight. If the last bit of strength is also consumed, do you think the Song Dynasty will still negotiate with us?"

Helian Tieshu fell silent after hearing this, and then he said: "Your Highness, if we surrender now, the Song army will plunder and massacre the city once they enter. The custom of not putting down the sword for three days is common in all countries. I am afraid..."

Zhao Mu said, "Qinglu, take out the reassurance pill and show it to General Helian."

Li Qinglu winked at Xiaolei behind her. Xiaolei took out a notice from her sleeve and handed it to Helian Tieshu.

After Helian Tieshu opened the list, he took a quick look at it. Then he asked in shock, "Your Highness Prince Qi, is everything on this list true?"

Zhao Mu replied: "Why? General Helian can't read Chinese characters?"

Helian Tieshu replied: "No! No! No! I just don't dare to believe it."

Zhao Mu pointed at the two seals with his fan and said, "My seal and the seal of the Grand Marshal of the Western Expedition are both here. How can this be fake? If our Song army robs, rapes, or harms the people after entering the city, no matter how high his official position is, what his background is, or how many merits he has, he can be punished according to this notice!"

Helian Tieshu asked: "Is it the same if your army captures other cities?"

Zhao Mu smiled and said, "Of course. This time, our Song Dynasty is fighting for justice to take the Han territory, and will not harm the common people. Anyone who is willing to surrender will be spared. After the King of Western Xia surrenders, anyone who is willing to stay in the old land can become a citizen of our Song Dynasty. Anyone who does not want to stay can follow the King of Western Xia to Qingtang to re-establish a country."

Li Qinglu asked at this time: "In this case, does General Helian have any worries?"

Helian Tieshu said: "In this case, I only hope that His Royal Highness Prince Qi can keep his promise. I am willing to surrender to the Song army!"

Zhao Mu smiled and said, "Very good! In that case, please help General Helian. Let the surrounding cities surrender to the Song Dynasty, so that our two countries will not shed blood again. If there is a desperate resistance that fails to be taken, then in order to boost morale, I will have to follow the custom of 'not putting down the sword for three days'. That will be bad for everyone."

Helian Tieshu shook his head in embarrassment and said, "I'm afraid I can't do this. What I can do for His Majesty the Prince of Qi is to persuade the garrisons in the surrounding areas to surrender. The remaining hundreds of thousands of troops under my command can surrender to the Song army. As for the garrisons in Liangzhou, Ganzhou and other places, they are not within my jurisdiction. Unless His Majesty gives an order. Otherwise."

At this time, Li Qinglu also looked at Zhao Mu. Zhao Mu said, "Is that so? Then it would be enough to let the surrounding cities and the soldiers under the general surrender. It seems that I can only go to Lingzhou City in person to ask for permission from my father-in-law."

(End of this chapter)