: A fierce general makes a big fuss in the military field, and a wise man takes over Yizhou City (III)

Author: Fu Jiangshan

: A fierce general makes a big fuss in the military field, and a wise man takes over Yizhou City (III)

A few days later, 200,000 Song troops crossed the eight passes of Taihang. They took advantage of the Liao Dynasty's unpreparedness to easily attack Dingzhou, and then continued to march northward. Late the next night, the army passed through a jungle and saw that Yizhou, an important town in the northeast of Dingzhou, was not far away.

Zhao Guangyi sat upright on the horse's back, looking at the tall and sturdy Yizhou City in the distance under the hazy moonlight, and sighed slightly. Zhao Dezhao was beside Zhao Guangyi at this moment. Hearing his sigh, he hurriedly asked: "Official family, what's wrong with you?"

"Nephew, look." Zhao Guangyi said, pointing to Yizhou, and said, "Yizhou's city is solid, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Nearby, Yelu Xidi, the king of the Northern Court of Liao Kingdom, is supporting him. I'm afraid another fierce battle!"

Zhao Dezhao speculated: "Officials, do you want to go back to Beijing and stop continuing the Northern Expedition?"

Zhao Guangyi smiled, "Nephew, I mean this battle may not be easy to fight, but I have no intention of retreating! There are countless powerful generals who can fight in the Song Dynasty. How can a small Yizhou City stop us from moving forward? Not to mention the garrison Liu Yu and his foreign aid Yelu Xidi, the strongest general of the Liao Kingdom, Yelu Xiuge. When Yelu Xizhen comes, I am not afraid!"

Zhao Dezhao raised his finger and said in admiration: "The official family is indeed wise and powerful, and my nephew admires it very much! I wonder if you plan to attack Yizhou or send a lobbyist to surrender?"

Zhao Guangyi thought for a while and said, "My Song Dynasty has always been polite and then soldiers. We should send people to surrender first. If we fail, we will send troops to attack. I think Liu Yu is a Han Chinese and will not be an enemy of me for the sake of the Liao Kingdom." After he said that, he turned his head to Pan Mei who was following him and said, "Pan Qing family, go and call Yun Tong to me."

Pan Mei responded and soon brought Yun Zixiao over. When Yun Zixiao saw Zhao Guangyi, he hurriedly got off his horse and bowed deeply and said, "Official family, I wonder what you are looking for in the empress?"

Zhao Guangyi said: "Judge Yun Tong, you are good at speaking and have made great achievements. I intend to send you to persuade the governor of Yizhou Liu Yu to surrender. I wonder if you are willing to go?"

Yun Zixiao thought for a moment and smiled shyly: "Officials, although I am willing to share your worries, if the limelight is occupied by me, I am afraid that my colleagues will not accept it. It is better to leave the matter of persuading Liu Yu this time to others."

Zhao Guangyi was slightly surprised and said, "Prime Minister Yun Tong, are you going to learn from Zhang Liang to retreat bravely? But what you said makes sense. So who should I send to you?"

Yun Zixiao thought for a long time before saying, "Officials, I heard that Kong Shouzheng, the commander of the Japanese and East-West Cycling Team, was able to be literary and military, and had made great contributions to the Song Dynasty. Why not just send him to persuade Liu Yu?"

Zhao Guangyi nodded, "Well, Kong Shouzheng? Although he is a little older, he is still a useful person." After saying that, he looked at Pan Mei and said, "Pan Qing's family, please come and call Kong Shouzheng for me."

Pan Mei nodded and rode her horse back against the current again. Soon after, she brought back a gentle and elegant old man. When the old man saw Zhao Guangyi, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Officials, I wonder what you are looking for intimate ministers? It is the honor of intimate ministers to be able to share the worries of the official family."

Zhao Guangyi pointed to Yizhou City in the distance and said, "Kong Qing's family, Yun Tong recommended you to go and surrender to Liu Yu. I wonder if you are willing to go?"

Kong Shouzheng hurriedly said, "The official family sent him, how can I not leave? But the official is old and the incident happened suddenly. Please ask the official family to make a little plan before going." After he said that, he lowered his head, his face fell into deep thought with anxiety.

Zhao Guangyi waited patiently for a while, but when Kong Shouzheng was still lowering his head and pondering, he sighed impatiently, "Oh, Kong Qing family, it's not that I blame you. Look at the judge Yun Tong, who has been on missions for many times, and hesitated like you? What's the difference between your behavior and escaping in the last battle? If you don't go again, be careful that I will punish you!"

Kong Shouzheng hurriedly came back to his senses and said in embarrassment: "The official family, the weak ministers will never dare to resist the order! Although Liu Yu was a Han native, he had been surrendering to Liao for a long time, and Yelu Xidi was able to persuade him to surrender in just a few words. If I don't think about it and go there rashly, it would be a small loss of life, and it would be a great reputation for the Song Dynasty!"

Zhao Guangyi said in a deep voice: "How long do you have to think about it? I originally wanted to enter Yizhou tonight, so the army has not yet set up camp. Could it be that because of your incompetence, everyone wants to accompany you for a night?"

"But..." Kong Shouzheng wanted to make a few words, but suddenly he felt someone pulling the corner of his clothes behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Yun Zixiao, and was a little surprised. Yun Zixiao smiled slightly and whispered in Kong Shouzheng's ear: "Master Kong, this matter is easy to handle."

Kong Shouzheng was stunned and hurriedly said, "What is the trick of Judge Yun Tong?"

Yun Zixiao said with confidence: "You only need to ask General Pan to send three troops. The first troops will bypass Yizhou and attack Zhuozhou northward, attracting Yelu Xidi's army. At this time, a second army will be sent to create momentum, making Liu Yu think that our army will forcibly attack the city. Then, a third troops will be sent to dress up as Yelu Xidi's army to reinforce. You only need to fight fake wars and defeat it at once. Just imagine that in Liu Yu's eyes, even a powerful reinforcement like Yelu Xidi was defeated in an instant. Will he dare to compete with the army alone?"

Kong Shouzheng didn't understand at first, but after Yun Zixiao finished speaking, a smile appeared on his face. Then, he whispered a few words to Pan Mei, and then he bowed to Zhao Guangyi again, saying: "Officials, I have come up with a solution. As long as General Pan acts according to his plan, he will let the official family enter Yizhou tonight!"

Zhao Guangyi said skeptically: "Go, I really want to see the Kong Qing family's clever plan!"

Kong Shouzheng carefully crossed the heavy antlers in front of the city wall, quickly walked to the city of Yizhou, and shouted loudly to the top of the city: "Listen to the Liao army on the city, I am Kong Shouzheng, the commander of the Eastern and Western Riding Team of the Song Dynasty. I came to see the commander of the Yizhou garrison Liu Yu, and you can call him to see me!"

The Liao army on the city was a little sleepy. When they heard Kong Shouzheng's call, they were inspiration. The soldiers in charge hurriedly ordered their men to inform the guard Liu Yu. Soon, a general wearing iron armor and blue robe walked up to the city. The person coming was Liu Yu, the governor of Yizhou.

When Kong Shouzheng saw Liu Yu coming, he shouted loudly again: "General Liu, I will come to meet you according to the official's order. I will ask your soldiers to open the city gate!"

Liu Yu had long heard that there was a handsome and elegant envoy in the State of Song, who was about to see him. But he saw an old man half-civilian standing under the city, so he murmured with fearlessness: "If you open the city, open the city. Anyway, General Yelu's team is not far from here. Just you, an elderly envoy, can cause any storm." After saying that, he ordered his subordinates to open the city gate.

Kong Shouzheng saw the city gate open and walked in quickly. Then the city gate slowly closed again, blocking his retreat. Kong Shouzheng was confident at this time and naturally had no fear. He bowed slightly to Liu Yu who was walking down the city and said, "General Liu, the official family personally led an army of 200,000 to fight against Yanyun. Do you really think that with a small Yizhou, you can resist the Song army? Listen to my advice, it is better to surrender as soon as possible, and still be prosperous and wealthy. Otherwise, once the war begins, you and Yizhou City will be turned into powder!"

Liu Yu sneered, "Kong Shouzheng, you are really straightforward. You dare to say these lies as soon as you entered Yizhou City. Are you scared to be this general? Let me tell you the truth. Yelu Xidi, the king of the Northern Court of the Great Liao Dynasty, will be inspecting near Yizhou. At that time, we will support each other. Even if we cannot capture Zhao Guangyi alive, we can still teach you, the ignorant Song army, who are ignorant of the world!"

Kong Shouzheng said: "Is that so? Why don't I go back to the mansion with you for the first half of the day? Then you will know what kind of person you rely on Yelu Xidi!"

Liu Yu curled his lips and said disapprovingly: "Okay, as you said, I really have to experience the power of the Song army!" The two of them said one by one, one by one, and actually came to Liu Yu's mansion.

Soon, the two of them fell into the living room of Liu's mansion. Just as Liu Yu was about to instruct the servant to serve tea, he heard the sound of shouts of killing from the southwest. It seemed that the Song army's troops had arrived and were attacking Yizhou City.

Liu Yu hurriedly stood up from the chair, looked at Kong Shouzheng, and said, "Didn't you say you need to wait half a day? Why did the Song army come to the city so quickly!"

Kong Shouzheng also stood up slowly and said, "I mean that the government and the army will arrive at half a day at the latest, but it will be better if it comes earlier than if it comes later. As for whether my next words can be as accurate as possible, why not go up to the city and take a look together?"

Liu Yu didn't care about Kong Shouzheng at this time, so he ran toward the southwest city wall. The closer he got, the more real the shouts of killing and horns sounded. He thought to himself, "It seems that the Song army sent such an inconspicuous person to come, it must be their strategy to stabilize the army. In order to let me relax my vigilance, they would take the opportunity to attack Yizhou. The Song people are really hateful!"

While he was thinking about it, the people had arrived at the city. He quickly ran up the stairs and looked out the city. Sure enough, he saw countless torches illuminating the city as bright as day, with all his eyes covered with Song soldiers wearing military uniforms and holding flags. He could not see how many people had arrived for a while.

Liu Yu felt panicked when he saw this. When he was at a loss, he suddenly saw a Liao army coming from a distance. Through the fire, he clearly saw that the person in charge was a middle-aged general riding a horse and holding a big axe. Behind him, he was covered with blue flags and wrote a few golden characters with big gold characters - Yelu Xidi, the king of the Northern Court of the Liao Kingdom.

"Great, General Yelu is here!" Liu Yu saw the majestic general under the Blue King's banner, as if he had seen the savior, and hurriedly shouted: "General Yelu, you must block these Song troops, don't let them attack the city!"

Before Liu Yu could finish his words, the Liao army had already fought with the Song army. Seeing that the two sides were fighting in a fair manner, Liu Yu hurriedly ordered: "Come here, prepare a horse and carry a knife for me. I will leave the city to help General Yelu!"

Several soldiers around him responded and hurriedly went down to the city to prepare for Liu Yu. But before his sword and horse arrived, Liu Yu witnessed a scene that made him incredible. The Liao army, which had always been strong, had just fought with the Song army for a moment, and was beaten to run away with his head and fled to the northeast in a mess.

Liu Yu's whole body trembled suddenly, and cold sweat fell down his forehead. He could never have imagined that Song Jun could be so brave, but the facts were right in front of him, so he could not believe it.

At this time, Kong Shouzheng also climbed the city along the steps, looked at the escaped Liao army, and smiled and said, "General Liu, even the King of the North Court, Yelu Xidi, is not a match for the Song army. Do you think you can really resist the Song army with your own abilities? I advise you to surrender to the Song army as soon as possible."

Liu Yu sighed helplessly, stomped his feet hard, and said, "Mr. Kong said, "What Lord Kong said is very much. I, Liu Yu, are originally a Han Chinese, and today I will recognize my ancestors and return to my hometown. I am willing to submit to the Song army!" Then, he said to his subordinates: "What are you still standing there? Open the city gate and welcome the Song army into the city!"

As he spoke, the Yizhou city gate slowly opened, and a team of soldiers poured out of the city, clearing the antlers under the city, opening a road to the city for the Song army. At this time, a team of tens of thousands of people appeared from the southwest, and the headed one was Zhao Guangyi, the emperor of the Song Dynasty. Seeing that the Yizhou city gate had been opened, Zhao Guangyi laughed and led his army into Yizhou City like a tide.

(End of this chapter)
Chapter completed!