King of Song

Chapter 705 Chapter Seventy Seven Reciprocity

On the first day Song Emperor Zhao Zhao arrived in Jizhou, Waqiao Pass fell.

Such a move by the Liao army was undoubtedly a disgrace, and the impact was very bad.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty personally marched to recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun. As a result, on the first day he arrived at the front line, he had not yet regained the size of the land, but lost an important pass.

Both the Song Dynasty and Zhao Zhao himself lost face.

Hebei Road Xuanfu envoy Wu Chong heard the news, knelt down in front of Zhao Zhao, deeply ashamed, and desolately said: "The official, the minister is guilty!"

As soon as the front foot said in front of the emperor how strong the border line was, the back foot Waqiaoguan fell. The contrast is so funny and ironic.Wu Chong was trembling and trembling, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with Mr. Wu?"

Wu Chong kowtowed and said, "I shouldn't brag about myself, the border defense line is not strong enough, maybe... I shouldn't leave my post without authorization, so that Waqiao Pass was defeated."

"If the border defense line is not strong enough, can you hold on for more than half a month to stop the Liao army?" Zhao Zhaodao: "As for leaving your post without authorization, where do you start? You came to Jizhou to see me because I arrived. If this is also wrong, it should be my fault."

"Officials, ministers are terrified!" Wu Chong was greatly surprised, the officials were more accommodating and tolerant than expected.

Zhao Zhaodao: "There's nothing to be magnanimous about. Victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs. Yelujun wants to win the first place and give me a big gift. Since he is so polite, how can we be polite? But, we must pay attention to reciprocity in everything, Why don't we send a gift in return later on?"

"Yes, sir, prepare as soon as possible!"

"Why should Wu Qing be in a hurry? Reciprocity is important, but the overall situation is the most important." Zhao Zhaodao: "It's just a loss of Waqiaoguan, it doesn't matter."

"Yes, I have been taught!" Wu Chong was overjoyed, this is the king's demeanor.Tolerant and magnanimous, understand the truth without saying anything.Look at things from the overall situation, and don't care about temporary small gains and losses.It is no wonder that when the official family was still the king of Qin, they fought hundreds of battles in the northwest and Xixia was destroyed. There seems to be a reason.Wu Chong may have surrendered sincerely before, but now he is absolutely obedient.

Zhao Zhao nodded and asked, "Well, what does Wu Qing think should be done next?"

"This... I am stupid. If it was before, I would definitely find a way to regain Waqiao Pass and prevent the Liao army from making a further move south. But now I dare not speak nonsense, so I ask the officials to show me."

"There is a saying in the art of war. If you know yourself and your enemy, you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles. If you want to win a battle, you must first understand the enemy, including the deployment of the opponent's troops, the situation of the generals, weapons and equipment, food and grass delivery, and morale levels. As well as information on the right time and place on the battlefield, you must carefully observe , it’s best to be familiar with it. Wu Qing, how well do you know Khitan’s military situation?”

"This..." Wu Chong couldn't possibly be ignorant, but he didn't dare to say anything more at this time, probably no matter what he said, he would seem to be out of line.

Zhao Zhao took a letter from his hand, unfolded it and read: "The Khitan army has a total of 20 soldiers, and the main attack direction is from Waqiao Pass to the Juma River line. Yelujun, the leader of the Liao Dynasty, arrived at the front line yesterday night. I think this is Waqiao Pass. The reason for the sudden loss."

Wu Chong was glad that he didn't say much, he thought that Yelujun was in Youzhou, but he didn't expect that he had already come to the front line, and he didn't even notice it.But the officials understand it so clearly, it really is...

"Although the Liao army broke through the Waqiao Pass, their morale was not high. The reason was that the Khitan nobles did not support this war. This battle was the result of Yelu Jun's willful action. Is there anything we can do about it? How much do you know about Yelujun?"

"Officials and ministers are dull, and they know little about it." Wu Chong was a little ashamed.

"It's okay, just get to know it slowly!" Zhao Zhaodao: "You have managed Hebei Road in an orderly manner, and the border defense line is also very good. That's very good!"

Zhao Zhao paused for a moment and said, "I intended to supervise the battle in Jizhou, but now it seems that I have to move on."

"The front line is dangerous, and the official family is rich in gold, so don't take risks!" Wu Chong carefully advised, although it was a personal conquest by the emperor, it was still very risky for the emperor to go to the front line in person.Few people had the courage of Kou Zhun to hold Zhenzong's royal family hostage back then.

Zhao Zhao waved his hands and said, "Since it's the royal conquest, how can I hide in the back? I have to go to the front and fight with the soldiers to boost morale. Especially when Waqiao Pass is lost and the morale of the army is slightly shaken, especially when the army's morale is slightly shaken. That's it! With so many imperial guards and a loyal minister and general like Wu Qing, what is there to fear?"

"Yes!" Wu Chong asked cautiously, "but I don't know where the officials want to go?"

"Let's go to Qingzhou first!" Zhao Zhao also thought about this plan. Qingzhou is on the side of the canal, which is convenient for the transportation of large quantities of materials.

Wu Chong nodded and said, "The minister will arrange it immediately!"

Watching Wu Chong's leaving back, Zhao Zhao stared at the letter just now, and his eyes fell on the bottom line for a long time.

"Li Cheng!"

"What orders does the official have?" Li Cheng, who had just been promoted to the commander of the imperial guards (established by Zhao Zhaoxin), was on call and appeared in front of Zhao Zhao immediately.

"What's going on here? Do you know the details?" Zhao Zhao asked softly, pointing at the line.

Li Cheng stepped forward to look at it, and said: "It's our people who went to Beijing again, based on clues and speculations and analysis. Yelujun and Queen Mother Xiao may not get along. It is said that after Yelujun ascended the throne, he went south. Visit the Empress Dowager Xiao. It is said that the behavior of the Empress Dowager Xiao is still restricted, and may have been placed under house arrest."

"Is that so?" Zhao Zhao was a little puzzled, and asked suspiciously, "Judging from the Xianyong Rebellion in the Liao Kingdom, Xiao Guanyin and Yelujun cooperated very well, it doesn't seem like there is any suspicion!"

"Yeah, it seems to have changed suddenly. It happened very suddenly! There are signs that Yelujun's sudden move to the south may be related to this..." Li Cheng hesitated a lot, and said in a low voice: "Officials, let's go to Liao A few of the spies in the army disappeared, probably captured by Yelu Jun, just a few days before he sent troops..."

"Oh?" Zhao Zhao was startled suddenly, as if he had thought of something, his expression changed instantly, it seemed to be stunned, and then he seemed to be stunned, and his expression was a little complicated for a while.

Li Cheng saw it clearly, and a lot of doubts arose in his heart. Could there be any relationship between the official family and the Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom?At the beginning, the government used many spies lurking in the Liao Kingdom to do something with great difficulty. At that time, he didn't understand why, but from the later results, it seemed that it was for the Liao Queen Xiao Guanyin.

Why do officials do this?Is Xiao Guanyin worth his risk?At that time, there was civil strife in Liao, and it seemed that there was nothing bad for Song Dynasty.No matter what the result is, it's not too bad, but why do officials still insist on participating?

If there is no political or military purpose, then there is only one possibility, the official is for someone, presumably Xiao Guanyin.

In the trajectory of the official family in the past few years, there was an intersection with Xiao Guanyin. Could it be that they... After seeing the deeds of the official family and the Queen Mother Liang in Suizhou, Li Cheng has already seen the strange things. There is really something between Jia and Queen Mother Xiao...

Obediently!Li Cheng secretly laughed in his heart, the official family is really powerful!

No, if this is the case, Yelujun suddenly fell out with his mother and suddenly attacked the Song Dynasty on a large scale. Could this have anything to do with the officials?

Li Cheng said softly: "Also, Yelujun mentioned you as an official in front of generals and soldiers many times, and he said that he would..."

At this point, Li Cheng was obviously a little hesitant, he hesitated to speak.

Zhao Zhao smiled, knowing that it must not be a nice word, he waved his hand and said, "But it's okay to say it!"

"He said... he said that he must capture the official family alive, that he would... trample the official family under his feet, and make... let you kneel... begging for mercy!" King Qin said these things in front of his face now that he has ruled the world Even Li Cheng, who was closest to him, was a little hard to say, and he hesitated for a long time.

"Hmph!" Zhao Zhao sneered, suddenly realized that he had figured out a lot of things.If so, a lot of things could make sense.

Xiao Guanyin, the problem lies with her, but it is caused by herself.If I hadn't been confused back then, if I hadn't been so determined to save her life some time ago that I had exposed clues...

Yelujun must have known something, and the reason for his sudden impulse to fight was also clear.

Zhao Zhao was a little dumbfounded. If he wanted to pursue it seriously, today's situation was actually caused by his romantic debts.

As a man, Zhao Zhao was quite helpless.As an emperor, he blamed himself a little.But this is the end of the matter, so what else?
There must be a battle between Song and Liao. This is inevitable, but sooner or later.

Yelujun is ambitious, coveting the land of the Central Plains, and he is also determined to regain Yanyun.This is an irreconcilable contradiction, and the result can only be war.On the battlefield, the winner will be determined with real swords and guns.

Now because of Xiao Guanyin, this battle has been brought forward.It turned out that Zhao Zhao felt that starting the war early was somewhat disadvantageous, but now it seems that it may not be a bad thing.

Just through this battle, the army of the Great Song Dynasty was united. Not long after the Jingying fought in Jiaozhi, the Western Army also honed in the northwest for several years. They were all experienced and experienced elite divisions.Taking advantage of the current courage and morale to go to war directly, the effect may be better.

It just so happened that the Liao Kingdom had also just experienced the Jurchen Rebellion and the Yelu Yixin Rebellion, and its interior was not stable, and its strength was also lost.In fact, the Song and Liao countries are not in their heyday. The situation is similar, and the strength is basically equal. There is still no difference.

It is also beneficial to end the war earlier so that we can enter the post-war recovery and development phase and save a few years.As for the odds of winning this battle, after knowing the ins and outs of this battle, Zhao Zhao became more confident.

Because Yelujun's situation is not as good as his own, his mentality is even worse.At least Da Song is now monolithic, absolutely loyal and supportive of himself, but behind Yelu Jun, there are many Khitan nobles holding back his legs!
What's more important is his mentality, eager for quick success, blinded by hatred and anger...

Thinking of this, a thought came to Zhao Zhao's mind. A plan against Yelu Jun was already brewing!

Yelujun gave himself a big gift at Waqiao Pass, no matter what kind of gift he had to reciprocate, it was only right to show something!

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(End of this chapter)