The Liao army achieved victory, but the level of casualties far exceeded that of the Song-Xia war.
There were only 150,000 Liao troops. At first, they were caught by surprise by Zhou Chen and many of them were killed and captured. Later, they were surrounded by Zhou Chen. Even though they killed countless Song troops, they themselves suffered heavy casualties, especially when they were attacked by the Song troops.
The light cavalry targeted suffered heavy losses.
After more than a month, more than half of the 150,000-strong army was lost. Winter had just entered again. With a lack of food and grass, the Liao army had to retreat.
The good news that Zhou Chen had defeated the Liao army was reported back to Bianjing, and the government and the public were shocked. Even the civil servants who disliked Zhou Chen breathed a sigh of relief and did not target Zhou Chen as before.
As for the people, it caused an uproar. Zhou Chen was a celebrity in the Song Dynasty. He became famous at a young age. He destroyed Xixia before and now defeated the Liao army.
For a time, his prestige among the people reached its peak. Even young children knew about General Zhou Chen. Many people even called Zhou Chen the God of War of the Song Dynasty.
The Song-Liao War was temporarily stopped, but something strange happened again. Song Dynasty official Zhao Zhen once again sent an envoy to the Liao Kingdom to hold peace talks with the Liao Kingdom.
Zhou Chen was already used to the various tactics of the imperial court. These great men did not regard the soldiers on the front line as human beings at all.
They negotiate for peace even if they lose, and still negotiate for peace if they win. In their eyes, the life and death of the frontline soldiers is not important at all, and the outcome of the war is just a bargaining chip for them.
If they lose, they have to pay more tribute coins, gold, silver, silk, land resources, etc.; if they win, they have to pay less tribute. Anyway, no matter they win or lose, they put themselves in a weak position.
There is also another possibility, that is, they have always regarded the Liao people as barbarians, and believed that the Liao Kingdom invaded the Central Plains just to grab some yellow and white goods, some food, etc.
In this case, it is better to simply 'reward' them and send them away. There is no need to start a war.
In their opinion, fighting consumes money, and in the end they have to pay tribute with annual coins. It is better not to fight and just give money directly, which is more cost-effective. Wouldn't the world be stable?
Only the Song Dynasty could use money and dignity to pray for the enemy to be spared.
The Emperor of Liao was already furious because of the defeat. When he heard that Song actually wanted peace talks, he was confused, but he quickly realized and sent someone to contact him.
The money-giving boys are already here, why not?
Again, Zhao Zhen wanted peace talks, but Zhou Chen refused to let him have his way. He took advantage of the peace talks between Song and Liao to direct and act by himself, once again staged a drama of Liao people invading the border, and then his generals led
The soldiers went out to fight, massacred the Liao army, and entered the hinterland of the Liao Kingdom, imitating the invasion of the Liao people, killing and plundering the Liao people wantonly.
This behavior directly angered the Liao State, and the peace talks collapsed again. The angry Liao people even killed the Song peace envoy.
The War between Song and Liao, which had been suspended for several months, broke out again.
The monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty who were far away in Bianjing all felt that their hearts could not bear it. For more than a year, the war had been going back and forth, and the peace talks had not stopped. But every time when the talks were about to succeed, something went wrong, which made the longing
The emperor and his ministers found it difficult to accept the truce.
Especially as the emperor, Zhao Zhen always felt that things were not under his control and was very uneasy, so he made a decision.
Gu Qianfan walked slowly into the main hall and paid homage to the official Zhao Zhen: "Your Majesty, Gu Qianfan, pays homage to the official."
"Gu Qing is here."
Zhao Zhen saw Gu Qianfan and nodded. Gu Qianfan had been in charge of the Imperial City Division for twenty years. He had made many contributions and was loyal. He was a person he trusted very much.
"I heard that Gu Qing and Liang Guogong were Jinshi at the same time. Your relationship should be good, right?"
While asking questions, he stared at Gu Qianfan, trying to see Gu Qianfan's reaction.
Gu Qianfan's heart skipped a beat, but he still answered with the same expression: "Back at the official house, I do know Duke Liang, but it is only a friendship between gentlemen."
Zhao Zhen nodded and asked: "What do you think of Liang Guogong?"
Gu Qianfan clearly sensed something was wrong and answered cautiously: "Liang Guogong is a famous general in the world. He is devoted and loyal to the court, and I also admire him."
"Loyal?"
Zhao Zhen was moved in his heart and did not answer. He just said: "Liang Guogong is indeed an important minister of the imperial court. He is my confidant and I have full confidence in him. However, there have been some remarks in the court recently that are unfavorable to Liang Guogong. There are even memorials to impeach Liang Guogong.
He supported his own troops and sabotaged the Song-Liao peace talks many times."
"Of course I don't believe what these villains say, but in order to prove Liang Guogong's innocence, this matter still needs to be investigated carefully. Gu Qing has been in charge of the Imperial City Division for many years and is a good expert in this field. I want to send you to the northern border to investigate
This matter must be investigated clearly to restore Liang Guogong’s innocence.”
Gu Qianfan lowered his head: "I am determined to live up to the orders of the officials and immediately arrange for personnel to go to the border."
After Gu Qianfan retreated, Zhao Zhen recruited another person. He couldn't figure out how close the relationship between Gu Qianfan and Zhou Chen was, so he was worried that Gu Qianfan was alone, so he secretly sent another person.
Chapter completed!