After Wang Gang returned to Dashun City, he found that the Xixia army had completely retreated, and the whole city was plunged into a carnival.
The common people spontaneously went out to thank Wang Gang for helping to treat the wounded, but when they saw Wang Gang and the remaining soldiers, they all choked up.
Although the Xixia army retreated, the losses in Dashun City were still very heavy. All the original defenders were lost, and less than a thousand of the 10,000 reinforcements Wang Gang brought could survive.
The people of Dashun City all saw those soldiers who sacrificed their lives, and they admired Wang Gang from the bottom of their hearts.
Wang Gang did not relax. There were still many things to deal with after the war, and the food crisis in the city had not been resolved. Fortunately, Gu Tingye came to help this time and brought a lot of food, enough for the people in the city to barely eat for three days.
In three days, the British public should receive news.
Wang Gang waited in Dashun City for a day before Gu Tingye brought someone back and said that Li Liangzuo had run away.
"It's a pity this time. If I could bring more people here, even if it's only 30,000, I could defeat the Xixia army and Li Liangzuo wouldn't be able to escape." Gu Tingye said regretfully.
"Although Li Liangzuo was wounded by my shot, the Xixia main force did not suffer any losses. I am very lucky to be able to repel them. To be honest, it is more of a fluke that I can win this time."
Wang Gang feels a little scared now when he thinks about it.
I was extremely lucky to be able to defeat the Xixia army this time.
First, a heavy rain made the Xixia scouts useless.
Secondly, Li Liangzuo thought he was sure of victory and divided his troops continuously. Instead, he sent all the main troops to attack the city. Only then could Wang Gang lead his men to rush in front of him and give him an arrow.
Then, Gu Tingye arrived at the perfect time. It happened that Li Liangzuo's attention was attracted by Wang Gang in front and the defense at the rear was empty. Gu Tingye made a sneak attack from behind and was caught off guard.
In the end, Wang Gang's arrow hit Li Liangzuo, causing the Xixia army to become chaotic. Otherwise, Wang Gang plus Gu Tingye would not be enough to fill the gaps in the Xixia army's teeth.
Only after Wang Gang faced the real war this time did he realize how naive his previous "lofty ambitions" of unifying the Central Plains and expelling Liao and swallowing Xia were.
Only those who have truly seen the battlefield understand the cruelty and uncertainty of war, and it is not possible to become a famous general by reading one or two military books.
Wang Gang was deeply poisoned by those online novels and thought that fighting would be easy. But when he actually went into battle to kill the enemy, he realized that in the era of cold weapon warfare, there were too many limitations. A heavy rain or a strong wind could change the situation of the battle.
Sometimes he also wants to imitate the predecessors of the time traveler and make black powder to blow up those foreign bastards.
Unfortunately, he only realized after he actually took charge of the army that although the Song Dynasty had produced firecrackers, it was also aware of the dangers of sulfur and other substances. The government did not allow ordinary people to touch them. Even the raw materials were controlled, let alone research.
In short, you have no right or even the qualification to study gunpowder.
Fortunately, luck was on Wang Gang's side this time. With Li Liangzuo retreating, the Song Dynasty could be considered a winner.
Soon Wang Gang received the battle report. On another battlefield, Duke Ying and King Ying defeated the demoralized Xixia army and drove all the Xia soldiers out of the Song Dynasty.
The British also knew how to take advantage of the victory and pursue it, and even invaded several hundred miles into Xixia territory.
Finally, the Xixia Kingdom gave in and submitted its credentials to the Song Dynasty, praying for peace.
Then Wang Gang saw an incredible scene.
The Xixia Kingdom, which was originally defeated, actually asked the Song Dynasty for an increase in annual coins to make up for the losses in this war.
Official Zhao Shu actually agreed, on the condition that the two countries signed an armistice agreement and would not invade each other for ten years.
When Wang Gang received the news, he almost cursed.
The winner did not impose conditions on the loser, but instead paid war reparations.
Not to mention that Wang Gang couldn't understand, even Gu Tingye felt extremely aggrieved.
"Are those ministers in the imperial court crazy? If we can agree to such conditions, what's the point of us soldiers fighting bloody battles on the front line?"
Wang Gang's face was also very ugly. For the first time, he realized the political weakness of the Song Dynasty and the lack of bottom line of the ministers in the court.
In the past, Wang Gang read history books and said that the Song Dynasty had a weak military and was always defeated in battles. It was the only unified dynasty that was destroyed twice in a row by foreigners.
After Wang Gangzhen lived in the Song Dynasty for more than ten years, he discovered that the military power of the Song Dynasty was not weak, the combat effectiveness of the soldiers was not bad, and they even had advantages in weapons.
After the founding of the Song Dynasty, it actually won more external wars than lost, and its national power was several times that of Liao and Xixia.
The real problem lies in the fact that those officials in the Song Dynasty did not want to fight in their bones and believed that it would be more cost-effective to exchange a little money for peace.
Song Zhenzong's Chanyuan Alliance gave the Song Dynasty a bad start.
Wang Gang had read the battle report of the Chanyuan Alliance. In fact, in the battle between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, the Song Dynasty had the upper hand and even won a small victory in the end.
But in the end, because Song Zhenzong cherished his life and did not want to continue fighting on the front line, he tried his best to promote the Chanyuan Alliance. Although the two countries no longer fought, the Song State had to provide 300,000 years of coins to the Liao State every year.
Many ministers felt that exchanging 300,000-year-old coins for peace was a good deal, because at that time the Song Dynasty's annual tax revenue was 30 million taels of silver.
Only 1% of the annual tax revenue can be exchanged for peace between the two countries. It is a sure-profit deal no matter how you calculate it.
Because once there was a war, even if it was a small war, the Song Dynasty would have to pay a price of well over 300,000 taels of silver.
After the Chanyuan Alliance started, the Xixia Kingdom rose and the Song Dynasty suffered three consecutive defeats. Everyone in the court lost confidence and sued for peace one after another.
Once this opening was opened, it had a very bad impact. Once the Xixia Kingdom encountered a financial crisis, it liked to launch a small war against the Song Dynasty.
Because no matter whether they win or lose in the end, Xixia Kingdom will receive huge rewards.
Due to the rapid development of business in the Song Dynasty, the tax revenue has increased several times every year, and it has almost exceeded 100 million taels of silver every year, and they don't care about this little money.
But these officials have never been to the front line. They don't know what price the front line soldiers paid to resist the Xixia cavalry.
Although Qingzhou resisted the Xixia army this time, the losses were so great that it is difficult to estimate. In some places, ten rooms and nine rooms were empty.
In Dashun City alone, the defenders' losses amounted to more than 90%.
These people paid a bloody price to finally repel the invaders, but in the end, the officials at the rear easily annihilated their efforts and threw away the fruits of victory.
Wang Gang and Gu Tingye no longer felt aggrieved, but felt humiliated, the humiliation of having their dignity as Song people trampled on.
Gu Tingye even expressed excitedly that he would ask King Ying to write to the court not to accept such a humiliating victory.
Wang Gang was calmer. He knew that King Ying would not write a letter, and even if he wrote a letter, it would not have much effect.
This was not a matter of submitting a letter at all. There were officials in the court who agreed with them, but the final result was that the official Zhao Shu chose to spend money to seek peace.
Of course, the officials did not completely deny the efforts of the frontline soldiers, and even gave them generous rewards.
The British Duke and King Ying both received official commendations and were given a large number of rewards.
However, because their positions have reached the point where they cannot be promoted, the awards given by officials are mostly empty.
Wang Gang and Gu Tingye are different.
The officials were also discerning, and they knew that Wang Gang and Gu Tingye had made the greatest contribution to the Xixia army's retreat this time, especially Wang Gang. If he hadn't shot and wounded Li Liangzuo, this battle would have lasted for an unknown period of time.
So Wang Gang was promoted again, and Zhao Shu also transferred him back to Bianjing as the right minister of the Ministry of War, with a rank of fourth rank.
Not only that, in order to express Wang Gang's contribution to the defense of Dashun City, Zhao Shu gave him an unprecedented title.
"Uncle Qingyang?" When Wang Gang received the imperial edict, he was still a little unbelievable.
The Song Dynasty had always been stingy about granting titles. Unless they won a great victory, no one would want to be granted a title.
The Qingyang Bo that Zhao Shu conferred on Wang Gang was also a first-class earl.
"Chang Feng, you can be regarded as a glorious ancestor. When you return to the capital, your father will have to call you Earl." Gu Tingye teased Wang Gang.
Wang Gang was knighted and promoted, surpassing his father Sheng Hong in all aspects.
"How come the officials can ennoble me?" Wang Gang asked puzzledly.
Gu Tingye laughed and said, "So you don't know yet!"
"What do I want to know?" Wang Gang asked confused.
Gu Tingye continued to laugh and said: "Xia Emperor Li Liangzuo is dead. Your arrow hurt him too badly and he died soon after returning. Now Xixia has changed hands."
Wang Gang suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Zhao Shu would ennoble himself, and the high officials in the court had not objected yet.
Killing an enemy emperor is always a great achievement, and it is such a monstrous achievement that it is enough to make him a marquis, not to mention a count.
As a result, Wang Gang felt that Zhao Shu was stingy, so he was dismissed by an earl and the right minister of the Ministry of War.
"If you don't get the advantage and act like a good boy, many people in the court will object to the title of earl, citing your age." Gu Tingye said sourly.
"Help me count those who oppose it, and wait until I return to Bianjing to settle accounts with them one by one." Wang Gang said viciously.
If Wang Gang is a vegetarian, he is the one who killed the emperor!
