Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 439 Final Battle (Special thanks to the book friend Dark Arbitration for six monthly tickets!)
The "Battle of Bekara" kept the enemy out of the country and made great contributions. After the 4th and 8th Corps returned to Bianliang in the 29th year of Kaixi, they had been resting and replenishing their institutions for more than two years.

Yang Ye wrote to Emperor Chai Zongxun many times, requesting that he be sent to lead the Eighth Corps to the front line to fight against the Star Religion World Coalition. However, Chai Zongxun refused, saying that the Fourth and Eighth Corps had made great contributions, suffered heavy losses, and had to stay in Bian Jing.

Yang Ye was born in 932. As of this year, the 32nd year of Kaixi (991), he is already 59 years old. There are only a little over a year and a few months left before the retirement age of 60 for officers above 10,000 households in the Longxiang Army according to the "retirement system".

In the past two years, he has been like an ant on the hot pan in Bian Jing, and all he wants to do is to make more contributions to the emperor and the Zhou Dynasty.

At this moment, I finally heard that Emperor Chai Zongxun had entrusted me with an important task. How could I not be ecstatic?
Yang Ye immediately came out and said:
"I will obey your majesty's command!

After the preparations are completed in the next few days, we will lead the army to attack Khitan immediately! We will quickly pacify the area for Your Majesty, and then quickly conquer Khwarezm!"

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said with a smile:
"I understand your desire to accomplish another great feat for me before retiring.

Considering the current strategic situation and the combat capability of the Longxiang Army, Yang Aiqing will surely be able to achieve great success as scheduled!
"But the military discipline along the way must be strictly observed. Anyone who violates the military discipline will be executed by me!"

Chai Zongxun was a little worried that Yang Ye, whose Eighth Corps of the Longxiang Army suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Bekara, might not be able to suppress his anger when he went to attack the Khwarezmian Empire of the Star Religion world again, and might start a massacre of the enemy's soldiers and civilians.

Yang Ye saluted and said:
"Your Majesty, please rest assured! This time when I lead the army to fight, I will only kill the enemies who resist our Great Zhou. I will never kill innocent civilians indiscriminately, thus violating military discipline!"

After leaving the court, Chai Zongxun issued an edict: ordering Zhang Yong, the commander of the Longxiang Guard, and the commander of the Longxiang Army to stop Buzhou and stabilize the situation in the Khitans. After Yang Ye arrived with the Eighth Corps, he would seize the military power of the Khitans from the Western King Reina and incorporate the Khitans into the territory of the Great Zhou.

As for what Zhang Yong mentioned in his memorial, Li Jiqian begged Chai Zongxun to spare the young children of the Tangut rebels. Chai Zongxun issued an order to spare children under the age of three, and the rest of the Tangut rebels were to be slaughtered without being escorted to Bianliang.

After Yang Ye retired from court that day, he immediately went to the Ministry of War to get the seal of the commander-in-chief, and rode to the Longxiang Army camp west of the city to order the army to be assembled and to go to the battle within three days.

After the Eighth Corps was completed, the soldiers had the same thoughts as Governor Yang Ye, and were eager to return to the front line of the battlefield against the Star Sect countries to avenge the many comrades who died in the "Battle of Bekara".

After two years of waiting, the imperial edict for the army to go out to war finally came. The whole army was immediately excited and began to prepare for the war at full speed.

Any soldier who was slightly slow would immediately be despised and reprimanded by his comrades, but even the reprimanded soldiers would feel ashamed.

With the whole army working hard, they had prepared all the military supplies for the expedition in just two days:

There were 1,000 horse-drawn carriages loaded with grain and 50,000 dan of grain, which could be replenished along the way within the Great Zhou.
There are 200,000 swords and other weapons in reserve, and each person is equipped with two divine arm bows and a thousand bows and arrows.

There are 2,000 Tiger-Dun cannons and 500 Yansu cannons.

It can be said that the army is at its peak and is determined to destroy Khwarezm as soon as possible.

At noon on July 11, the 32nd year of Kaixi, Emperor Chai Zongxun of the Great Zhou offered sacrifices to the heavens at the Altar of Land and Grain to prepare for the expedition of the Eighth Corps of the Longxiang Army.

Yang Ye was dressed in fine armor, holding a golden cup of wine given by the emperor, and performed a great ceremony two meters in front of Chai Zongxun.

Chai Zongxun said:

"Lord Yang, I order you to go on this expedition. You must take Khitan as your territory in one fell swoop, and then quickly defeat Khwarezm with the Longxiang Army on the western front.

I know that Lord Yang and the soldiers of the Eighth Corps have been holding back their desire for revenge for their comrades who died in the battle against the Star Cult coalition forces over the past two years, so I have specially dispatched the Eighth Corps to go on this expedition.

This expedition will also be the final battle of Yang Aiqing's military career. I hope Yang Aiqing can fight the best battle in his life! Set a glorious example for the "Yang Family Generals" of my Great Zhou!"

Yang Ye burst into tears of gratitude and said, "Your Majesty, I cannot repay your kindness even if I die!

This time, I will lead the Eighth Corps to fight, and I will definitely conquer the entire territory of Khitan for Your Majesty and quickly destroy Khwarezm!"

Yang Ye drank the wine in the golden cup in one gulp, bowed to Chai Zongxun and took his leave, walked down the altar, jumped on his warhorse, and led 90,000 soldiers of the Eighth Corps to the north gate of Bianjing City.

Chai Zongxun watched the army go away and said in deep thought:

"Khwarezm is now just an alliance of hundreds of tribes, and cannot withstand the attack of a single regiment of my Dragon Army!

After removing Khwarezm, the only two major countries left in the Star Cult were the Black Caliphate and the Green Caliphate. The Green Caliphate was too far away, so we will ignore it for now.

After our Great Zhou conquers the Black Caliphate, we will border the Eastern Roman Empire. I wonder if this can be achieved within three years?"

Tang Qi, the chief eunuch standing behind Chai Zongxun, said hurriedly:
"Your Majesty's Longxiang Army is the most powerful army in the world. Now our Great Zhou is in a state of crushing the Star Religion in the war. We have wiped out Khwarezm, the Black Caliphate and other countries with unstoppable force!

In my opinion, it will take two years, not three, to destroy these two countries!"

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

"hope so.

Although my mother has been in good health in recent years, she is old after all. I want to take her with me and the rest of the imperial family to Mount Tai, but I don’t want to wait too long.”

Seeing that the rear of the army had not yet passed the house on the corner, Chai Zongxun immediately set out to return to the palace.

When he reached the eastern part of the inner city, Chai Zongxun suddenly remembered that he had not seen Mo Zang Liuyun for more than a month, and he suddenly felt eager to see her. He immediately ordered his carriage to go to the "Baoen Temple" in the north of Bianjing City.

The commander of the imperial guards, Chen Jixing, quickly dispatched additional personnel to guard along the way, and escorted Chai Zongxun to board the carriage and set off.

When Chai Zongxun arrived at the gate of Baoen Temple, it was just past the hour of Si.

The temple master Zhang Wumeng and 856 Taoists from the entire temple had been welcoming them for a long time.

Zhang Wumeng was born in the seventh year of Kaixi (966 AD). His courtesy name was Yuanyin and his pseudonym was Hongmengzi. He was from Zhouzhi. Born into a Confucian family, he was fond of tranquility and studied Laozi and Yijing since childhood.

When he grew up, he gave his family property to his younger brother, became a Taoist monk, and at the age of 18 he went to Mount Huashan to worship Chen Tuan as his teacher.

After Chai Zongxun built the "Bao'en Temple", he felt that the abbot was not a Taoist priest with profound cultivation, so he sent people to Huashan many times to invite the Taoist master Chen Tuan to come out of the mountain and preside over it in Bian Jing.

Chen Tuan could not refuse, but due to the favor of Emperor Chai Zongxun, he had to send his favorite disciple Zhang Wumeng down the mountain to train and come to Bian Jing to preside over the "Baoen Temple" in 989.

After the greetings, Chai Zongxun went to the main hall, Zhenwu Hall, to burn incense to the Three Pure Ones, chatted with Taoist priests such as Zhang Wumeng for a while, and then walked to the "Yaoguang Hall".

Mei Zang Liuyun had been informed by the eunuchs and was waiting in front of the palace gate. After greeting each other, the two walked into the side room, and the fire ignited instantly...

(End of this chapter)