Wang Gang led 30,000 Song troops stationed at the foot of Helan Mountain. For more than half a year, he led his troops throughout Xixia territory and won one victory after another, truly showing his military spirit.
The 30,000 Song soldiers had already given up their hearts on Wang Gang. They only had Wang Gang as the general in their hearts, and there was no official Zhao Xu.
Some people in the army even call themselves "Sheng Jiajun".
Now that the capital of Xixia is far away, most people in the Sheng family army are very tired, but they are very excited in their hearts.
Everyone understands that as long as the Zhongxing Mansion, the capital of the Xixia Kingdom, is captured, it will be an achievement of destroying the country. Not to mention becoming a marquis or prime minister, it is enough to be crowned a king.
No one in the Sheng family army felt that they could not capture Zhongxing Mansion because they still had 20,000 explosive arrows on hand.
Many cities in Xixia were captured by flying explosive arrows, and they have long been famous and majestic.
Wang Gang originally planned to let the soldiers have a good night's rest and rush to Zhongxing Mansion early tomorrow morning to give the Xixia Emperor a round of flying explosive arrows to taste.
As a result, as soon as he was stationed at the foot of Helan Mountain, the British herald arrived.
When Wang first received the order from the British Duke, he thought the messenger in front of him was a spy.
"The British Lord wants me to withdraw my troops?" Wang Gang took the general's order and almost threw it in the face of the herald.
"I report to General Sheng that the official has issued an imperial edict, asking us to withdraw our troops as soon as possible and evacuate all Xixia lands."
Wang Gang could hold his composure, but his subordinate Kong De couldn't bear it:
"Is the British man old and confused? The Zhongxing Mansion is right in front, and we can easily reach it. If we retreat at this time, our brothers who sacrificed their lives before have not sacrificed their lives in vain."
The messengers were private soldiers of the British Duke, and they were very unhappy when they heard what Comte said.
In fact, Comte was once a soldier under the British army, but he followed Wang Gang through life and death, and he had long considered himself a soldier of the Sheng family.
"General Sheng, we will not accept military orders abroad. As long as we capture Zhongxing Mansion, it will be a great achievement." Kongde said to Wang Gang in front of the herald.
The herald couldn't bear it anymore and said angrily: "General Sheng, do you want to openly disobey the official order?"
Wang Gang half-squinted his eyes. The murderous aura accumulated in the past year of killing Xixia soldiers was enough to stop the child from crying.
The ordering soldier took two steps back slightly, forced by Wang Gang's momentum.
"The official's order really requires us to withdraw from the Xia Kingdom. What should we do with the captured cities?" Wang Gang asked in a deep voice.
The messenger swallowed his saliva and said: "The imperial court has accepted the peace proposal of the Xixia Emperor. From now on, Xixia will always surrender to me, the Song Dynasty, and we will forever be a kingdom of brothers."
Wang Gang raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and his murderous aura became even stronger.
"If Xixia surrenders, will they return the captured city?!" Wang Gang's eyes widened, and the ordering soldier couldn't bear it anymore and knelt down directly.
"General Sheng, the British Duke asked me to bring you a message to ask if you have read "Historical Records of the Yue Family"."
Wang Gang's eyes suddenly narrowed and his aura was reduced.
"You go back and tell the British Lord that I already know what he means. I will withdraw the troops tomorrow." Wang Gang put away the command and finally let the messengers relax.
Kongde was not angry anymore and wanted to persuade Wang Gang, but Wang Gang raised his hand to stop him.
"No need to say any more, just pass my order and the soldiers will rest for the night and rush back to Gyeongju tomorrow."
After hearing this, Comte could only reluctantly exit the tent.
After everyone left, Wang Gang picked up the British Duke's general order again and couldn't help but sneer in his heart.
How could Wang Gang not know what the British Lord meant?
The Historical Records of the Yue Family tells the story of Yue King Gou Jian's heroic deeds, but there is an article in the Yue Family that tells the story of Yue King Gou Jian's successful revenge and what Fan Li said when he retired.
When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the cunning rabbit dies, the lackeys cook him. The King of Yue is a man with a long neck and a beak, so he can share the troubles but not the joys. Why don't you go?
The British Duke wanted to remind Wang Gang that the bird is gone and the bow is hidden, and the rabbit will die and the dog will be cooked.
After the founding of the Song Dynasty, military generals were extremely guarded. The Zhao family could share hardships together, but never thought about sharing wealth.
This time Xixia declared itself a vassal, the official Zhao Xu immediately asked Wang Gang to withdraw his troops, fearing that his achievements would overwhelm his master.
Wang Gang is different from the British Duke. He is the uncle of the state, that is, a relative. Since ancient times, no emperor has wanted his relatives to hold power, especially military power.
Although Wang Gang is not afraid of Zhao Xu, his wife, children, and family are all in Bianliang, so he has to consider his family.
So Wang Gang finally decided to retreat in compliance with the order.
Because Wang Gang also understood another layer of meaning in British public dialect.
As long as there are birds and cunning rabbits, officials will always need good lackeys.
Xixia is that cunning rabbit. As long as Xixia is still there, the Song Dynasty will need good generals.
Wang Gang understood this meaning, so he simply retreated.
Ten days later, the army completely retreated from Xia Kingdom and returned to Qingzhou. Wang Gang and the British Duke also met.
When Wang Gang saw the British Duke again after a year, he found that although he looked good, he looked much older than he could be seen with the naked eye.
It seems that the British spent a lot of effort in this battle between Song and Xia.
"Congratulations to General Sheng on your triumphant return. I have set up a banquet in the tent to wash your hands." The British openly held Wang Gang's hand, like an old friend they hadn't seen for many years.
Most of the generals under the British government looked at Wang Gang with admiration in their eyes.
The main reason is that Wang Gang's achievements were too high. He drove two thousand miles straight into the Xia Kingdom and almost destroyed Xixia. Compared with Huo Qubing back then, these achievements were not far behind.
The military has always believed in the strong, and Wang Gang's bravery also won the respect of the entire army.
At the banquet, the British Duke and his generals frequently toasted to Wang Gang. Wang Gang did not refuse anyone who came and drank them all down.
The British publican doesn't drink much because of his age and can still stay sober.
"The officials have issued an order for you to return to Beijing as soon as possible to preside over the negotiations with Xixia." The British public said intentionally or unintentionally.
Wang Gang filled a bowl of wine, then threw the glass away and sneered: "It seems that there are many people in the court who don't want me to build my career again."
The British Duke laughed and said: "Those civil servants in the imperial court, who can't handle the sword or gun when going into battle to kill the enemy, will do such sinister things."
"The British Lord forgot, I am also a civil servant." Wang Zang just smiled.
The British man was stunned for a moment, and then he laughed even more.
"I almost forgot that you are Wen Zhuangyuan."
The two of them drank some more wine, and the British prince sighed and said in a waning mood: "I am old and my body is not as strong as before. I have written to the officials and plan to return to Beijing to retire."
Four words flashed in Wang Gang's mind: "Retire after success."
The British Duke was already a very popular minister, and although his victory over Xixia was indispensable, it also touched the emperor's final bottom line.
There is no way to seal it.
Once the emperor does not know how to reward a minister, that minister will be in great danger.
The British prince is an old fox. Instead of losing his life, he might as well retire and give his family a good future.
"Then who are you going to hand over this matter in the northwest?" Wang Gang said with a frown.
The British Duke glanced sideways at Wang Gang and said, "Actually, I want to hand over the northwest military affairs to you."
Wang Gang shook his head and said: "The officials won't trust me to stay in the northwest."
The British public smiled and said: "You are still sober."
No emperor would be stable if his relatives were in charge of military affairs in the northwest. No matter how stupid Zhao Xu was, he would not let Wang Gang succeed the British Duke.
"Things in the world are constantly changing. Who can guarantee that you will not be able to take over the military affairs of the northwest?" The British man laughed, then stopped talking and continued drinking with Wang Gang.
After a night of drunkenness, Wang Gang packed up his things and returned to Bianjing.
The British father-in-law didn't come to see him off because he was drunk.
Wang Gang traveled a long distance for a month and finally returned to Bianjing. Before he entered the city, he saw a group of people surrounding the city gate.
"Kongde, please arrange to stay where you are."
Wang Gang inevitably caused a misunderstanding and left all his men outside the city. He only took a few people close to the city gate.
Under the city gate, hundreds of officials stood in two rows, led by the prime ministers on the left and right, waiting for Wang Gang to return to the capital.
This was an arrangement arranged by the official Zhao Xu, who asked all officials to welcome Wang Gang, which gave him enough face.
Wang Gang ordered everyone to dismount from a distance to prevent the officials from getting any clues.
Prime Minister Han received Wang Gang on behalf of the official family and read out the imperial edict in public.
Wang Gang was promoted again and directly became the head of the Ministry of War, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the third rank.
The most important thing is that his title has also been promoted. The original Uncle Qingyang has surpassed the Marquis and directly became the Duke of Qingguo.
There was no surprise when Wang Gang received the imperial edict. In fact, if he captured Zhongxing Mansion, the capital of Xixia, he would be enough to take over the imperial edict, not to mention a duke or even a king.
After receiving the imperial edict, Wang Gang went into the palace with all the officials to thank the Holy Spirit.
Wang Gang met Sheng Minglan again in the palace. At this time, Sheng Minglan, who had given birth to two children, already looked like the mother of a country.
Wang Gang became an uncle again, and Sheng Minglan was very happy and gave birth to another prince.
With two sons in a row, Sheng Minglan completely secured her position as queen, and even the officials could not make a mistake.
The official wanted to hold a banquet for Wang Gang in the palace, but Sheng Minglan persuaded him to go home to see his wife and children first.
Before Wang Gang left for the expedition, Hai Chaoyun was pregnant, and later gave birth to a daughter. He has never seen his biological daughter until now.
The official Zhao Xu was not unkind, so he released Wang Gang from the palace.
