Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 655: Great Victory on the Western Front
Seeing that Zhao Mu rejected her, Li Canghai wanted to fight for it again, so she said, "But."

But before she finished speaking, Zhao Mu interrupted her and said, "No buts. I will not give in on this. Although these people were born and raised in Liao, they are still Han Chinese. As Han Chinese, they do not help their own blood relatives and actually surrender to the barbarians. They are traitors! Others can be spared, but traitors must not be spared."

"Besides, Master Uncle said that it is understandable that they serve the Liao Kingdom. The legs are on their bodies, so won't they run back to the Song Dynasty with their families? Even if they can't run back, they can just be obedient citizens. Why do they have to serve as officials and soldiers to hinder the Song Dynasty's Heavenly Army?"

Seeing that she could not convince Zhao Mu, Li Canghai simply stopped talking. After all, Zhao Mu's army had already arrived at Youzhou City, and Zhao Mu's messengers had also been sent out. They were believed to reach Goryeo in a few days, and the fall of the Liao Dynasty would only take a few months. It was useless for her to say anything.

Now it was really useless for Li Canghai to say anything.

This is because the Liao Dynasty's Western Capital Datong had been captured by the Song Army.

The Song army led by King Zhongxiao was the absolute elite force of the Song Dynasty over the years. Not only were they experienced in combat, but they were also commanded by experienced generals like King Zhongxiao and assisted by the elders of the Beggars' Sect. Their combat effectiveness was naturally very strong.

Because Zhao Mu personally led the army, the Liao Kingdom now focused its defense on Nanjing Youzhou, and the Liao Kingdom's second-line troops were guarding Xijing.

In addition to King Zhongxiao, the Qi army led by Wang Xian was also the elite among the elite. After the destruction of Xia, the western expedition to the Uighurs, and the battle of Lingzhou, these people were also able to crush the Liao army's advantage.

Therefore, with the joint efforts of both sides, the Liao Dynasty's Xijing was easily captured by the two armies.

Afterwards, the two armies joined forces and continued to attack other cities near Yunzhou.

Moreover, after breaking into the city, according to the decree agreed upon by Zhao Mu and Zhezong, the Song army carried out a large-scale purge of the people in the city after entering the city.

Among them, all the military officials and their families in Khitan were taken into slavery and temporarily detained, while the Khitan civilians and Han civilians who had never assisted the Liao army or served in the Liao army were all safe and sound.

Even the Khitans who had changed their surnames to Chinese names and wore Chinese clothing were classified as Han people.

Anyone who served as an official or a soldier in Liao was punished according to the method previously agreed upon by Zhao Mu and Zhezong. The lighter punishment might be enslavement, while the heavier punishment might be direct beheading.

The captured Liao nobles and their property who stayed in Xijing were also temporarily detained and sealed up. After all, this was the gift that the emperor promised to give to Zhao Mu.

Although the Song army's methods were somewhat brutal this time, because of the iron rule set by Zhao Mu, most of the people were afraid of house-to-house robbery and rape of women, which did not happen.

However, there were also some unlucky people who were caught in the crossfire. When the Song army was searching for the Khitans in the city, they mainly distinguished them by their hairstyle.

Because the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun had been in the hands of the Hu people for more than a hundred years, many Han people also followed the Khitans and shaved their heads in a unique "Mediterranean style" to please the Khitan court. This was completely different from the Han people's clothing.

Although one's identity can be changed, hair cannot grow in a short period of time. Therefore, many Han people who had been sinicized were arrested as Khitans.

However, those Khitans who admired Han Chinese clothing escaped the disaster. In order to avoid disaster, they quickly changed their surnames and names to Han Chinese. Most of them were Khitan merchants who traveled around the Central Plains for many years.

Although the army of the Song Dynasty did not enforce the strict policy of "keep the hair and lose the head, keep the head and lose the hair", facing the Han men in the Khitan "Mediterranean", the officials dispatched by the Song Dynasty accused them of "giving their bodies and hair from their parents" and changing their clothes was disrespectful to their ancestors.

The Song army would beat these people violently at the least, and if they didn't kill them, it would be a blessing for their ancestors. In serious cases, they would drag their Khitan pigtails through the streets, or simply tie their pigtails to ponytails and drag them. Some people even had their hair and scalp pulled out. The blood on their heads was very horrifying.

The Han people who admired Khitan culture, as well as the Khitan people, were all in danger. Some even went to temples to seek refuge, shaved their heads completely, and then gave away all their wealth to ask the monks in the temple to take them in. This was to protect them from disaster. However, this cruelty was only for men, not women. It was only for adults, not for the old and the young. Although some women wore Khitan costumes, because of Zhao Mu's iron order, women, children and the elderly were not persecuted.

But there were also some who cared about their families and stepped forward to stop them. It was inevitable that the Song army killed or injured the captured people.

Now, the takeover of the city, the sealing of the treasury, and the punishment of traitors are all proceeding in an orderly manner.

Compared with the great victory on the Western Front, the situation on Zhao Mu's side and that of Murong Fu and others was much calmer.

This was because of the sea waves and wind signals. The messengers sent by Zhao Mu were still drifting on the sea, and even because of the wind and waves, they accidentally reached Fusang. Now they have just landed on the land of Goryeo.

Even if we inform General Yang, Murong Fu and others at an urgent speed of 800 miles, it will take another three to five days for everyone to raise the army.

As for Zhao Mu's side, because of Zhao Mu's order, the army rested in place for the time being, while he sneaked into Nanjing city at night.

Nowadays, there is a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps in Youzhou City. Even at night, bonfires are lit in the city, making it as bright as day. The streets are also full of soldiers patrolling, and there are people on duty at every city gate.

Zhao Mu couldn't help scratching his head when he saw this. Although he had great martial arts skills and sneaked in from outside the city, it was a bit difficult for him to inspect the city gate without being discovered.

And as if to prevent spies from infiltrating, most of the soldiers were Khitans, and they all had the "Mediterranean" hairstyle. Zhao Mu thought about finding someone to disguise himself, which was not an easy task.

After all, it is easy to change his face, but he won't shave his hair.

Moreover, there was a curfew in the city. Even if he disguised himself as a woman, it would be difficult for him to get close to these heavily guarded military strongholds.

Zhao Mu hid on the eaves, looking down at the whole city, sighed and murmured: "Alas! It is true that a tall tree attracts the wind. It seems that because I am personally leading the expedition, the main force of the Liao army is placed in front of me. It seems that the Liao Kingdom has put all its assets on my side. If I lead the troops to attack, I am afraid that my army will also pay a considerable price."

Zhao Mu then began to inspect the four gates, just like when he attacked Gaochang. But this time it was much more difficult than the one in Gaochang.

Firstly, although Gaochang was the capital of the Uighurs, its scale was far smaller than that of Youzhou, and the height of the city wall was not as high as that of Youzhou.

Moreover, the Gaochang Uighurs had only closed three gates before, but now the entire Youzhou city was closed.

After Zhao Mu's inspection, he found that the four city gates in the east, west, south and north were all blocked by rammed earth. It seemed that a lot of food and supplies must be stored in the city.

Moreover, the escape route was blocked, and the defenders of Youzhou City seemed to have no intention of retreating, wanting to fight him to the death here.

If it were in the past, Zhao Mu might be able to use his superb martial arts to open the city gates for the army, but now all four gates are closed, and even he cannot dig through the rammed earth to open the gates in a short time. And the same is true for the city wall.

The only way to attack now is to use ladders.

(End of this chapter)