Dawn of the Empire

Episode 417

It was not until the middle of the night that the people outside the entrance of the Xuande gate in Da Nei dispersed.Zhao Ke was overwhelmed by the disturbance, and stayed up all night. At twilight, Zhao Ke was extremely tired, and just about to go to bed, the minister reported to the prime minister, Zhao Zhifu, to see him.Zhao Ke had to send Zhao Zhifu to see him.He cheered up, ready to comfort Zhao Xiangwen.Last night, the scholars and the common people killed each other, please behead Zhao Zhifu and Tong Guan. Tong Guan had already knelt down and cried bitterly in front of the officials.In Zhao Ke's heart, the idea of ​​sending envoys to discuss peace with the capable officials had a little more favorable impression on these two courtiers who had served on his behalf.

Zhao Zhifu hurried into the imperial study room, saw the official's eyes were bloodshot, but his eyes were comforting, he was relieved immediately, and prostrated himself on the ground, pleading guilty: "Damn the old minister, you frightened His Majesty!" Zhao Ke hurriedly helped him up, Sighed: "The old prime minister is dedicated to the country, regardless of reputation, discussing peace to make the world safe, these scholars don't understand the general situation, and vent their anger on the prime minister, alas—"

Zhao Ke sighed, Great Song Dynasty ruled excellent scholars, did not kill those who talk about things, the number of scholars who beat the drums was large, and they won the hearts of the people, but they were dealt with a lot.In order to prevent a civil commotion, even the envoys who negotiated peace did not dare to go out through the city gate, and only used bamboo baskets to let them down from the city wall.Thinking of this, Zhao Ke's red eyes showed a trace of resentment.

"These scholars are stupid and ignorant, but they still disturb the government." Zhao Zhifu said cautiously, while observing Zhao Ke's expression, "The old minister passed by Xuande Building and saw a mess everywhere. The Dengwen Drum was actually knocked down. It is rare in the past to smash into the palace gate, and it has never happened in a thousand years. The Kaifeng Mansion reported that there were still many scoundrels who looted the shops and disturbed the neighbors last night. Although there are Yourong scholars in this dynasty, they speak out The ancestral system, but the old minister is worried that if the enemy is present, if he insists on accommodating it, he is afraid of angering the Liao army on the one hand, and on the other hand, he is afraid of becoming elbows and armpits." At this point, he paused slightly, hesitant to speak.

Zhao Zhifu was pale-haired, with worry in his eyes. Tong Guan stood aside and said to himself: "Sure enough, Jiang is still old and spicy. Let's see what he has behind him? Although we share the same hatred, don't disturb the methods of the Sa family. .”

Zhao Ke also heard it, and asked, "What is the prime minister's plan?"

"The Liao army invaded Hebei from the south. It was unstoppable. Even Wang Yan was defeated and killed. Only peace can make the world safe. If there is no peace, the world is in jeopardy. Scholars like to talk, and they don't know the difficulty of doing things. In the opinion of veterans " Zhao Zhifu looked at the officials and nodded slightly, and said in a deep voice, "Since they claim that righteousness wants to recover Hebei, they will push the boat along and recruit thousands of young men to help the new army defend the city. Envoys. The Baoyi Army is under the command of Zhang Shuye, the general manager of the Henan Mabu Army. It is stationed between the inner city and the outer city. The scholars who refuse to make peace are given official positions, and all the envoys are sent to the Baoyi Army. One can restrain these scholars by military law Second, if they don't know what is good and what is bad, they will be ordered to go out of the city to fight the Liao army..."

Although Zhao Zhifu's voice was low, Tong Guan was startled when he heard it, and thought to himself, what a trick.Zhao Zhifu's eyes showed a trace of 'color'.The origin of this ingenious plan came to him when he couldn't fall asleep last night and read the biography of Zhang Tang in Shi Ji at night with the lamp on.During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Dr. Dishan offended Zhang Tang, and advocated peace with his relatives, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Dishan to the north to guard a beacon. A month later, the Huns invaded the border and killed the head of Dishan.

Zhao Ke understood, frowned and thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "The peace negotiation cannot be delayed. The newly established Baoyi Army will give the scholars a chance to serve the country. Please make good arrangements, the Prime Minister, and don't make sure."

Zhao Zhifu cupped his hands and said, "The old minister obeys the order."

These scholars dared to ask Zhao Zhifu to beheaded last night, which made him really angry. Zhao Zhifu had already planned in his heart, and he must not be soft on him.Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, he has regarded himself as Zhengshuo.Although the Xia Kingdom occupied Guanzhong, scholars still liked to compare themselves with the Han Dynasty, and with the Khitan and Huns.Nowadays, the Song Dynasty is weak, and scholars love to read the historical events of the Han Dynasty to relieve the pent-up slump in their chests. Even Zhao Zhifu is not exempt from it.Zhao Zhifu especially likes to read the brief history of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and there is no other reason.During the tens of years of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty's reign, outstanding figures emerged in large numbers, there were many political and party disputes, the ups and downs were huge, and the methods were cruel, which was even worse than when he was recently.By reading letters and history, one can learn from the minds and tricks of the predecessors. It is Zhao Zhifu's secret that people do not know.

After Zhao Zhifu withdrew, Zhao Ke was silent for a while, and asked, "Taiwei Tong, are you sure about the peace negotiation?"

Tong Guan served the emperors of two dynasties in the imperial study room, and immediately replied: "Your Majesty condescends to discuss peace. You only need to treat Di Yi with sincerity. As Sima Wenzheng said, even animals, trees and stones will be moved, let alone human beings. Ignorant and provoked by others. Just wait for the Liao people to retreat and avoid a military disaster, and they will naturally understand His Majesty's painstaking efforts and be grateful."

............

A round of rising sun gradually rose in the eastern sky. Due to the severe cold, the moat had been drained. The Khitan cavalry began to drive the signing army to fill the moat with earth and rocks on their backs. The Song army guarding the outer city fired crossbows and artillery to stop it.For more than ten days, the Liao army built artillery fortifications for iron barrels and heavy artillery, while driving the signed troops to fill up the trenches.

Bianliang City has a circumference of [-] miles and a total of [-] gates, namely Nanxun Gate, Chenzhou Gate, Caihe River Gate, Dailou Gate, and Caihe West Gate in the south of the city, Dongshui Gate, Xinsong Gate, and Xincao Gate in the east of the city. Northeast Water Gate, Xinzheng Gate, Lize Gate, Wansheng Gate, Guzi Gate, Northwest Water Gate in the west of the city, Chenqiao Gate, Fengqiu Gate, Xin Suanzao Gate and Weizhou Gate in the north of the city.After hundreds of years of operation, each city gate has triple urns, and only four main gates have double urns for the convenience of imperial access.Outside the city, there is a Hulong River that is more than ten feet wide.

Because the city of Bianliang was too big, the forwards of the Liao army came aggressively, but they did not immediately attack the city from all sides.Although the imperial account of the Liao Dynasty emperor was still at Chenqiaoyi, fifty miles away, the commander of the left army, Yelubijie, and the general of the North Academy, Tiemuge, led the side division, and rushed to the city of Bianliang first, and stationed in the north and southeast of the city respectively. A large number of Song people who had not escaped in time were captured as signing troops.

"Master Li, it seems that the Liao Army Brigade is still crossing the river and has not arrived at Bianliang City yet." Feng Chen whispered.Li Ruobing didn't show his voice, but whispered in his throat: "The Lord of Liao is in Chenqiaoyi." After revealing his identity as the envoy, dozens of followers were left behind the city.Feng Xie and Li Ruobing sneaked their eyes to check the truth and reality along the way. They didn't know if they were doing it secretly or the escorting Liao army was too careless and didn't interfere.After walking along the road for more than half an hour, I actually headed for Chenqiaoyi, fifty miles away.

The cavalry capable of fighting in Bianliang City were all on duty in front of the imperial court. The duty of the guards in the palace was to defend the royal family, and they did not go out of the city to fight without imperial orders. However, there were many Liao cavalry outside the city, and they came like the wind.Since a large number of Liao army cavalry crossed the river, the Song army's situation with the Liao army near Bianliang was like a blind man's "touching" an elephant. As for the position of the Liao emperor, it was even more unclear.

Li Ruobing and Feng Xi traveled northward, and along the way they saw that the Khitan camp was very well guarded, and cavalry were everywhere, but instead of raiding grass and valleys as usual, they encountered a group of people from the Song Dynasty delivering food and grass to the Liao army camp.The common people were not escorted by Khitan cavalry, Li Ruobing felt strange and couldn't figure out why these common people supported the enemy.He didn't know that the Liao army captured all the young and strong men from the nearby villages as signing troops, leaving only the old, weak, women and children in the village. If the food and grass were not sent to the camp, these young and strong men would be in danger of freezing to death and starving to death. .

The imperial tent of the emperor of the Liao Kingdom was set up at Chenqiaoyi in the north of the city, waiting for the 10,000+ army to cross the river one after another with iron drums, heavy artillery, siege vehicles, and supplies.This is because Yelu Dashi is very familiar with the terrain in this area. When he was an envoy to the Song Dynasty in the past, he passed by the Chenqiao Station where the emperor Zhao Kuangyin wore a yellow robe.It is rare for a Khitan envoy to admire the Taizu of this dynasty so much, and the officials of the Song Dynasty made an exception and allowed him to stay in Chenqiaoyi for two more days, so Yelu Dashi knew the terrain of Chenqiaoyi very well.In addition, to attack Bianliang Jiancheng, the iron barrel cannon is very important.In the Song Dynasty, only the well-repaired post roads can carry the artillery carts of [-] catties of iron barrel guns.Garrison Chenqiaoyi, waiting for the artillery battalion to come to meet, the infantry and cavalry army of the imperial battalion can arrive at the city of Bianliang at the same time as the iron barrel heavy artillery.

Before the Song Dynasty envoy arrived, Yelu Dashi first received news from Bianliang City.Yelvbijie and Tiemuge, the left army soldiers, had already reported respectively, and there was a commotion in the city for a long time, the flames were ablaze, and the drums were beating loudly until midnight.Yelu Dashi wondered in his heart, even if the reinforcements from the Song Dynasty were large, there was no reason for such a bluff.It wasn't until dawn that Yelu Dashi had a clear picture of what happened in Bianliang City after receiving Tong Guan's secret report.

Tong Guan secretly reported and offered advice, and the scholars of the Lishe were stubborn and dedicated to inciting the common people to be hostile to the Northern Dynasty.The secret report listed 11 officials who were in charge of the battle in the city. In addition to the privy envoy Shao Wu and the Minister of Rites Deng Su, the minister of the Ministry of Industry Wu Angying, the member of the Ministry of War Xu Rubi, the official Shi Pan Yuanjie, and the supervisory official Huang Boyu. An official who made his mark in the court in the past year, and the backbone of the party members of the Lishe.Tong Guan suggested asking Emperor Song to kill these people to show his sincerity.If the Emperor Song was concerned about what people said, he would send these bone officials as envoys, and the Liao Kingdom would get rid of them on the charge of disrespecting Yelu Dashi and disturbing the peace talks.

"Do you want to borrow a knife to kill people?" Yelu Dashi sneered slightly, "What a cruel eunuch. After the Bianliang City is broken, I will let you know who is the master and who is the slave." Know a thing or two.

As soon as he folded the secret report, the guards from the outside came together, and the peace envoy from the Southern Dynasty arrived.Yelu Dashi then ordered the envoy to be brought up.In recent days, the big river has shown signs of freezing. The river water on both sides of the river has been frozen, but it is still very weak. Not only has the middle part of the big river not frozen over, there are also large pieces of drift ice in the river.At this time, not only is the ice impassable, but even crossing the river is very difficult.Yelu Dashi also needs to negotiate a peace, so let's delay for a while.Wait until the river ice is hard and thick enough for the heavy iron barrel cannon to pass through the ice.