Everyone looked at Yang Peng, waiting for his decision. Yang Peng thought for a moment, frowned and said: "Ignore this order!" Everyone laughed, Duan Zhixian said loudly: "That's how it should be!" Huyan Chijin said worriedly: "
I wonder how His Majesty and the imperial court will react to disobeying the imperial edict?" Duan Zhixian said angrily: "What are you afraid of him doing?" Yang Peng said: "I will handle this matter, you don't need to worry, just follow my previous orders.
Just do what you have to do!" Everyone clasped their fists in agreement.
Time passed day by day, and Xiao Duoli lived like a year every day. However, he was fortunate that the Cangzhou army outside the city never attacked the city, but only sent out strong generals to challenge it every day. Xiao Duoli estimated that the Song army was having trouble attacking the city.
There is still some hesitation, maybe when our own reinforcements arrive, they will take the initiative to retreat! I hope so.
One evening, the sunset dyed the sky red and the earth was drowsy. Xiao Duli, who was inspecting the city wall, suddenly saw smoke and dust swirling in the north, as if a troop of soldiers and horses were approaching quickly. Xiao Duli's heart moved and he ran quickly.
Climb up the north city wall and look out into the distance. You can see an army of about 20,000 people flying the battle flag of the Liao army, with a cavalry as the leader, quickly approaching the city gate.
Xiao Duoli was so happy that he couldn't help but murmured: "Here we are! Finally here!" Long Teduo ran up the city wall and came behind Xiao Duuli. He also looked outside the city with a thoughtful look on his face. Suddenly, a sound
A Song army of more than 10,000 people crossed diagonally from one side and blocked the oncoming Liao army. The Liao army immediately stopped advancing and formed a battle formation, and the Song army also formed a military formation to confront it.
Xiao Duoli was about to lead his army out of the city to receive reinforcements. Long Teduo quickly stopped Xiao Duoli, "General, don't be anxious, take a look first before talking!" Xiao Duoli said angrily: "What are you looking at? If not,
Take advantage of the large army of the Song Army to come up and bring the reinforcements into the city, the consequences will be disastrous!" Then he ran down the city wall. Then he saw the city gate opened wide, and three thousand soldiers and horses under the command of Xiao Duoli poured out of the city and charged towards the back of the Song Army.
Go over! At the same time, the flag bearer next to Xiao Duoli raised the flag according to Xiao Duoli's order. This was a signal to order the reinforcements to charge!
The reinforcements moved! However, the response of the Song army was beyond Xiao Duoli's expectation. They actually ignored the 20,000 Liao troops who came for reinforcements. The entire army turned around and charged towards Xiao Duli. Xiao Duli
He was greatly surprised, and Long Teduo on the city wall changed his expression greatly, "Not good!"
Three thousand Liao troops led by Xiao Duoli collided with more than 10,000 Song troops, and a melee broke out. The 20,000 Liao troops who came to reinforce did not attack the back of the Song army, but separated into two groups, one on the left and one on the right.
It surrounded Xiao Duli like a pair of giant pliers. When Xiao Duli reacted, he was already trapped in a tight siege. Only then did Xiao Duli realize with shock that the so-called 20,000 reinforcements were not reinforcements at all, but
The Song army under the banner of his Liao army was a trap! But where were the real reinforcements?
The reinforcements of the Liao Army did come, but not long ago, they were suddenly ambushed by the Cangzhou Army on the way. The 20,000-strong army was almost wiped out. Only Xiao Ying and more than 3,000 remaining soldiers under his command managed to escape back to Nanjing. Later,
, the Song army who ambushed the Liao army came to Zhuozhou City under the banner of the Liao army, and performed a double act with another Song army, successfully deceiving Xiao Duoli.
More than 30,000 Song troops were besieged on all sides, and 3,000 Liao troops were killed in fear and corpses were strewn across the fields. Xiao Duoli desperately led hundreds of remaining soldiers to break out of the siege and rush into the city, while the Song army's cavalry also followed and rushed into the city gate. The city defense was instantly destroyed.
It fell apart.
The remnants of the Liao army did not dare to fight, so they escaped from Zhuozhou through the east city gate and fled northward in embarrassment. Yang Bamei led two thousand cavalry in pursuit. The Song army occupied Zhuozhou. The army did not rest and regroup, leaving a thousand men on guard and continued to march.
Heading towards Nanjing, we soon approached the gates of Nanjing City in Baoliao. People in Nanjing City were in panic.
"Brother, Brother Yang has already arrived at the city!" Chai Yonghui rushed into the study and said to Chai Yongqi excitedly. Chai Yongqi couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Brother Yang is really a hero! The soldiers and flags are invincible! I originally thought he couldn't defeat Nanjing.
Here!" However, not long after, the brother and sister in prison became worried again, because they heard that Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom was about to come to Nanjing with an army of 50,000! They heard that Yang Peng only had 40,000 troops, so he
Can it win?
Xiao Duli rushed all the men in the city, whether they were fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys or fifty or sixty-year-old men, to the top of the city, asking them to guard and defend to the death. Outside the city, the 40,000-strong army led by Yang Peng formed a mountain-like formation with spears like spears.
Lin, with such a chilling aura that the guards on the city couldn't help but tremble. The war drums rang loudly, and a heroic Song general rode his horse between the two sides. He stood up with his spear drawn. Behind him were tens of thousands of Song generals.
The soldiers shouted loudly, the sound shook the sky, this was a challenge!
Xiao Duoli stared at the Song general and said angrily: "What a Yang Peng, he actually went to the battle in person to challenge. Are you trying to bully our army? I'll go meet him!" He was about to leave. Longte was frightened.
He jumped and quickly stopped Xiao Duoli, "No, General! If anything goes wrong, the Song Army will definitely take the opportunity to rush into the city!"
Xiao Duli was furious, "Are you saying that I am not Yang Peng's opponent?" Then he ignored Xiao Duli's hard advice and ran down the city wall. The city gate opened, and Xiao Du was wearing heavy armor and carrying a mace.
Li ran out of the city. Seeing this, Long Teduo had no choice but to order the soldiers on the city head to beat the drums and shout with all their strength to cheer for Xiao Duoli. The Liao army soldiers started shouting, and the war drums also sounded loudly, as if they were the same as the war drums and shouts of the Song army.
It is common to fight against each other in different courts.
Xiao Duoli spurred his horse to charge towards Yang Peng. Yang Peng held a spear to meet him. In a blink of an eye, the two horses crossed each other, Xiao Duli raised his sword, and Yang Peng drew his spear. Chen Xiao was a step faster than Xiao Duli, and Xiao Duli
Before Li had time to chop down the knife, he saw the cold star from the tip of the opponent's spear shooting out! Xiao Duoli was frightened and hurriedly dodged sideways, barely avoiding the blow!
The two horses passed by each other and turned around. Xiao Duuli hesitated a little, but Yang Peng was already charging towards him. Xiao Duuli was surprised and could only go forward. The two sides charged back and forth for several rounds, and Xiao Duuli
He was already weak and timid. The two sides were entangled in the fight. Yang Peng became more and more courageous as he fought, and the speed of his spear became faster and faster, like a dragon roaring in the sky; but Xiao Duoli only had the strength to parry and was unable to fight back.
After more than ten rounds, Xiao Duoli feinted with a shot, turned his horse's head and galloped towards the city gate. Yang Peng immediately chased after him. Upon seeing this, Zhan Jinguo and others immediately led the army to cover up the attack. Long Teduo was shocked when he saw this.
, hurriedly ordered the crossbowmen to release arrows. When the arrows rained down, Yang Peng and his army had to stop the pursuit and retreat. Xiao Duoli was able to escape safely into the city. The city gate was closed in a hurry and the suspension bridge was raised.
After this battle, the morale of the defenders was extremely low. Almost everyone believed that the Song army outside the city was invincible. There was also a rumor circulating in Nanjing that Yang Peng was a 'greedy wolf general' who had descended to earth.
, it is impossible for a mortal to defeat him.
It's late at night, and the city of Nanjing is so quiet that it makes people feel scared. On the city wall, most of the guards have fallen asleep. There are a group of three or five people, leaning on each other, holding broken weapons or farm tools. The sentries responsible for guarding are also there.
I was dozing off. The flame of the torch was beating and making a beeping sound, which was particularly clear in this silent night.
In the darkness on the city wall, many black shadows suddenly appeared, like ghosts. The soldiers who were on guard duty were killed by these ghosts one by one without making any sound. A Liao Army officer suddenly ran out of the city gate tower to relieve himself and found that
Why has it become so quiet! Where are those sentries? Suddenly I felt like there was someone behind me, so I turned around and saw a masked man in black looking at me coldly. I was so scared that I trembled all over.
He wanted to scream. However, at this moment, the other party covered his mouth and nose and cut his neck with a knife. The officer's eyes showed extreme fear, and then he knew nothing.
A group of masked men in black rushed into the city gate tower and killed all the sleeping Liao soldiers. At the same time, another group of masked men in black ran toward the city gate along the wall ladder and stopped halfway.
He came down, raised his steel crossbow and aimed it at the dozen or so sergeants at the city gate, and then pulled the trigger. Dozens of crossbow arrows flew out, and the dozen or so sergeants were shot to the ground before they understood what was happening.
The man in black rushed to the city gate, drew his sword and killed several sergeants who were not dead, and then opened the city gate. Kill...! Xiao Duoli was awakened by the sudden killing sound, and quickly jumped out of bed and ran out
In the dormitory, I could see the flickering fire in the direction of Nancheng, and the footsteps of countless people and horses were rushing towards me, mixed with sporadic sounds of fighting and screams.
Xiao Duoli was so horrified that he couldn't figure out why the Song army suddenly entered the city. Long Teduo rushed over anxiously and said urgently: "General, we must leave quickly, otherwise it will be too late!"
Xiao Duli followed Long Teduo and others in a daze and escaped through the back door of the left-behind residence! "
At this time, the 100,000 defenders temporarily recruited by Xiao Duoli had already dispersed, and thousands of regular Liao troops were also defeated. They were all as panic-stricken as a bereaved dog and just ran for their lives. The Song army quickly took control of the city gates on all sides.
At the same time, they occupied the left-behind mansion. After the battle, Liao Nanjing fell into the hands of Yang Peng.
Yang Ying brought Chai Yongqi and Chai Yonghui to the lobby of the left-behind residence. The brother and sister saw Yang Peng and came forward to greet them excitedly. Yang Peng couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two of them, "I was worried about you, but I didn't expect that
I actually saw you here! Are you okay?"
The two nodded excitedly. Chai Yonghui looked at Yang Peng with brilliant eyes and praised: "Brother Yang is really an unparalleled hero! He conquered Nanjing with only 40,000 soldiers and horses, and the 100,000 Liao army was like
They all fell apart like chickens and dogs!" Yang Peng said with a smile: "Miss Chai, thank you!" Chai Yonghui shook his head and said seriously: "It's not a reward at all! It's rare to see such martial arts like the eldest brother since ancient times! With the eldest brother,
Your brave strategy is enough to conquer all the troubles and conquer the world!"
Yang Peng chuckled and did not answer the words. He glanced at the two brothers and sisters and said, "I will send someone to take you back to Dingzhou immediately." Chai Yongqi was about to say thank you, but Chai Yonghui said: "We are not going back to Dingzhou for the time being. We want to
Stay here for a while." Chai Yongqi looked at his younger sister in confusion. Yang Peng frowned and said: "You want to stay, it doesn't matter, but Empress Dowager Xiao's army is about to arrive at Nanjing City, and she will never give up.
There will definitely be a fierce battle. I'm worried..."
Chai Yonghui said categorically: "As long as Brother Yang is here, don't be afraid!" Yang Peng chuckled, nodded and said, "It's up to you." After a pause, "You can stay in the left-behind residence for the time being. I will send someone to take care of you."
Tokyo, early morning. The emperor ascended to the throne, and the eunuch standing on one side used his unique duck voice to formally say: "If you have something to do, report it early, if nothing happens, withdraw from the court~!" The Eighth Prince immediately came out, cupped his fists and said: "
Your Majesty, Yang Zhaofa has received another good news. Not long ago, Yang Zhaofa captured Zhuozhou, and then the army captured Nanjing of the Liao Kingdom! The generals of the Liao Dynasty fled like wolves and pigs!"
An explosion immediately broke out in the court. The ministers were in disbelief, and the emperor was also in disbelief. "My dear, is this true?" The Eighth Prince said with a smile on his face: "This is absolutely true. Soon after, nearly ten thousand people were killed."
The prisoners will be escorted to the capital." The emperor was very excited, "Okay, okay! Yang Zhaofeng is indeed worthy of being a famous general, his troops are invincible! I will reward him greatly!..."
"Your Majesty, no!" Wang Dan came out and said. The emperor frowned, "Why not? Why do you say this?" Wang Dan said: "Yang Peng is guilty of treason. Your Majesty does not punish him, but wants to reward him.
Doesn't it encourage those generals to plot rebellion?" The emperor was surprised, "I don't understand what I love you saying!"
Wang Dan said: "Your Majesty had previously ordered Yang Peng to stop attacking and withdraw to Mozhou for defense. However, Yang Peng actually disobeyed the imperial edict and entered the army without permission. This crime of disobeying the imperial edict should be punished!" Another minister immediately came out and said:
"What Mr. Wang said is absolutely true! Yang Peng's crime of disobeying the imperial edict and entering the army without authorization must be dealt with strictly! Otherwise, I am afraid that the generals everywhere will disobey the rules! At that time, Emperor Taizu, in view of the excessive authority of the generals, endangered the country, so
There are many regulations to restrict military generals. If Yang Peng is not punished today, these regulations will be in vain. I am afraid that the frequent rebellions of military generals in the Five Dynasties will happen again! This matter has far-reaching consequences, and your Majesty must not be careful!" said this.
He is not a treacherous minister, but a highly respected minister. His name is Kong Yida. He is over sixty years old and looks like a longevity immortal. He is the thirty-first descendant of Confucius.
Kong Yida's speech immediately caused many Confucian figures to speak, all saying that Yang Peng must be killed. Kou Zhun said loudly: "This is a pedantic argument!" There was some anger in his tone. He turned around and bowed to the emperor, "
Your Majesty, from ancient times to the present, it has always been "the general will not accept the order of the emperor". The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly and opportunities are fleeting. A truly good general should seize the opportunity to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages to win the greatest results for the court! If
Everything must wait for instructions from the imperial court. Let alone regaining the lost territory, I am afraid that even the land in our hands cannot be preserved! Not long ago, the Liao army was rampant, and the roads in Hebei were covered with smoke. Countless cities fell, and even the city of Tokyo almost fell.
Falling into the hands of the enemy! This is the consequence of waiting for orders from the court! Do you want this situation to happen again?"
Kong Yida said angrily: "No matter what, this is an act of disobeying the imperial edict and must be severely punished! Otherwise, where is the majesty of your majesty?" Kou Zhun refused to give in: "What does clever decision-making in the field of life and death have to do with your majesty?" Yang Zhao
Isn't it the best way to increase His Majesty's majesty by defeating the Liao army and marching straight into the city of Nanjing? Is it possible to increase His Majesty's majesty by losing troops and territory? Kou is not talented and cannot understand such a concept!"
Kong Yida was so angry that he shouted out of control: "Martial men must die, otherwise there will be no peace in the world!" Kou Zhun snorted coldly, "Killing without guilt, I'm afraid a saint will not do it. Has Mr. Kong forgotten all the words of his ancestors?
Are you done?" Kong Yida was speechless and stared at Kou Zhun with his face flushed.
The Eighth Prince clasped his fists towards the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, Yang Zhaofeng did not intend to resist the decree. It is actually because the enemy's movements are dangerous and he has to take drastic measures to attack instead of defend. Otherwise, Mozhou Yingzhou cannot be saved, and even the army cannot be saved.
Yes! Your Majesty, please take a closer look!" These words were taught to him by Yang Peng in his letter.
The emperor said kindly: "I see. Since we have to do it out of necessity, then this matter is not a crime!" Kong Yida was anxious, "Your Majesty, you can't tolerate this!" The emperor was a little embarrassed and said: "Let's do this, Yang Zhaopin
Although he has meritorious service, he still disobeys the imperial edict, so his merits and demerits are equal to each other, so there should be neither reward nor punishment."
The Eighth Prince and Kou Zhun frowned, but it was hard to say anything else; but Kong Yida was not satisfied, and showed an attitude of not giving up until Yang Peng was killed, "Your Majesty, if Yang Peng is not executed, there will be harm.
Infinite!"
The emperor was a little annoyed and frowned and said: "Kong Aiqing, after executing Yang Zhaofeng, how should I explain to the people of the world? The people of the world will say, 'Look, Yang Zhaofeng fought bloody battles for the imperial government for several months, but in the end he ended up inexplicably.
The consequences of being killed!' Kong Aiqing, please tell me, is this a good thing for the court and my reputation?"
Kong Yida was speechless. The emperor said impatiently: "That's it for now. Don't say any more."
Everyone returned to the queue. Wang Qinruo came out and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that many of Yang Zhaofou's subordinates are prisoners of the imperial court. This is a crime of covering the criminals of the imperial court! He should be punished!" The old guy Kong Yida immediately jumped again.
He came out and said, "Your Majesty, the past incident can be forgiven, but this matter will never be forgiven!"
The Eighth Prince immediately came out and said, "Your Majesty, regarding this matter, Yang Zhaofeng has a memorial specifically explaining it. Please read it to Your Majesty." He then took out a memorial from his sleeve and presented it with both hands. The old eunuch next to the emperor immediately came down and took it.
After passing the memorial, return to the jade steps and present it to the emperor.
The emperor took the memorial, opened it, read it over, and nodded: "I see." He pressed the memorial and said to the courtiers: "Yang Zhaopu said that he was assisted by a group of rebels on the way to the Northern Expedition. Because of this, the Northern Expedition
The battle could go so smoothly. The leaders of this group of rebels are the previously convicted imperial prisoners, Yang Xiong, Shi Ping, Shi Hu and others. Yang Zhao pleads for the merits of these people to kill the enemy and serve the country, and begs me to forgive them.
What a sin! What do you, my beloved, think?"
Wang Qinruo said anxiously: "These people are all prisoners of the imperial court and cannot be pardoned!" Kou Zhun said: "The crimes committed by these people are not treason, so why can't they be pardoned? Although these people are prisoners of the imperial court, they are not pardonable.
Never forget to serve the king and the country. Loyalty is commendable and should be pardoned! In this way, it not only demonstrates your majesty’s benevolence and righteousness, but also enables those heroes who were trapped in the forest due to a momentary mistake to regain their loyalty and serve the imperial court!”
The emperor believed deeply, "What Kou Aiqing said is absolutely true. So he pardoned the sins of these people according to Yang Zhaofu's request, and ordered them to stay under Yang Zhaofu to continue their meritorious service!" Kou Zhun and the eighth prince clasped their fists together and said: "Your Majesty
Wise!" Wang Qinruo and Kong Yida retired sadly. The emperor said very happily: "I didn't expect that Taizu failed to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun, but actually recovered them in the hands of a few people!"
The Eighth Prince quickly clasped his fists and said, "This is the result of Your Majesty's holy virtues and enlightenment!" All the ministers also praised the emperor for his saintliness. The emperor couldn't help but feel a little elated, feeling that he was almost comparable to the legendary wise kings and saints!
Taishi Pang came out and said, "Your Majesty, I think we should immediately send officials to take over the states and counties, so that the newly recovered states and counties can bathe in the glory of His Majesty's virtue as soon as possible." The emperor believed deeply, "The Taishi will be responsible for this matter.
"Yes. Your Majesty, there is one more thing. Although Yang Zhaofeng is brave and good at fighting, there is no guarantee that there will be no problems with a single army. A large army should be sent immediately to strengthen the defense."
The emperor nodded, "What the Grand Master said is absolutely true!" Grand Master Pang continued: "We can make Bi Shi'an stay behind for the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, and Yang Zhaofu will be the deputy stay behind, responsible for the defense of the north." The Eighth Prince said quickly: "
I'm afraid this is not appropriate! What should I do if I encounter the previous disastrous defeat again!" Li Te said angrily: "If anything goes wrong, just chop off my head!"
Kou Zhun said: "The Grand Master's suggestion is very good, but the post of staying behind needs to be considered. I think it is better to ask Yang Zhao to stay behind for the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun. This way, everything is guaranteed!" Kong Yida heard this.
The words jumped out immediately, "Wouldn't this be a reward for Yang Peng? What's the point of not being punished for disobeying the emperor's order, but being rewarded instead?"
Kou Zhun was too lazy to argue with him. He cupped his fists towards the emperor and said, "Please ask your Majesty to judge this matter!" Kong Yida said urgently: "Your Majesty must not appoint Yang Peng as a stay-at-home officer!" Taishi Pang also said: "Yang Zhao will be punished after all.
If you don’t have enough qualifications, I’m afraid it’s not appropriate to be left alone!”
The emperor was in a dilemma, and finally thought of a compromise, "Let Yang Peng and Bi Shi'an stay behind together, Chen Xiao in the east, and Bi Shi'an in the west, to jointly guard the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun. What do you all think?"
The Eighth Prince and Kou Zhun looked at Master Pang, and Master Pang and others also looked this way. Both groups of people praised His Majesty for his wisdom, and both of them understood that this matter could only be like this. Only Kong Yi
Da was still screaming in agony, and the emperor was so noisy by him that he said impatiently: "All of you, my beloved lords, have no opinion on this matter. Kong Aiqing should just calm down!" Kong Yida sighed: "Your Majesty, don't you?
If you accept good advice, you will regret it sooner or later!"
Taishi Pang said: "Your Majesty, you should not stay behind and serve alone. You should follow the precedent and send loyal and reliable people as supervisors!" The emperor nodded and asked: "Is there anyone who can choose the grandmaster?" Taishi Pang said: "Sun Tong is smart.
He is capable, loyal, honest and reliable, and can take on this important task!" The emperor said: "Okay, I will accept Sun Tong as the supervisor of the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture and assist Yang Peng in guarding the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture!" "Your Majesty is wise."
If you want to know what happens next, let’s look at the breakdown in the next chapter.