On the day when the Liao Kingdom defeated Raozhou City on the Shangjing Road, the defense line at Yijin Pass at Waqiao Pass of the Song Dynasty was finally broken. The superior Liao army relied on sophisticated siege equipment and human sea tactics plus a surprise attack in the middle of the night to finally open up the Song Dynasty.
There was a gap in the defense line; Fan Zhongyan quickly ordered the retreat to the second line of defense, abandoned Baozhou, and retreated to Qizhou, Mozhou, and Yingzhou areas. The focus of defense was still to guard the Qizhou Beicaoqiaoguan area, the main road leading to Bianliang.
At the same time, bad news also came from the western front. Ninghua, Baodezhou, Fengzhou, and Fuzhou were lost one after another. The Liao army's right army Xiao Hui's troops broke through the left Hedong Road defense line, forcing Han Qi's army to retreat to Lin.
Prefecture, Lanzhou, and Taiyuan Prefecture area.
On the frontal battlefield, the two sides fought fiercely for nearly a month, with the number of casualties exceeding 100,000. The losses on both sides were huge. After the Song army withdrew the second line of defense, Lord Yelu Zongzhen of the Liao Dynasty ordered the army to rest for three days and rushed to the left and right sides in person.
The Song Dynasty city at the junction of the two armies was built on behalf of the state to express condolences to the generals.
The Liao people were celebrating with joy and glory, while the Song people were in panic. The two defense lines on the left and right that had been built for many years were broken. It can be imagined that the Liao army would drive in like a broken bamboo. When the Liao army gathered, it was Bianliang City.
A time of crisis.
Zhao Zhen issued several imperial edicts to rebuke Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, and investigated the reasons for their fall. Some ministers in the DPRK also wrote letters accusing those responsible for the battle.[
Zhang Yaozuo, a doctor in the Ministry of War and the powerful magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, even made wild remarks in the court, saying that this was the most shameful war since the founding of the Song Dynasty. The border had never been breached. The enemy army threatened Bianliang City.
Despite the enemy's situation, he still led an army of 200,000 people to nowhere. This move is suspected to be harboring evil intentions.
Led by Zhang Yaozuo, a large number of people jumped out to second the proposal. Han Jiang, the minister of the Ministry of Justice, Chen Yi, the admonishment officer of the Admonition Court, Zhang Zhihuan, Sima Rong, the doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, and other officials were furious in the court, pointing the finger at Su Jin
The strategy of dividing the troops to bypass the rear and make a surprise attack.
Zhao Zhen was also slightly shaken, but his IQ was not low enough to really doubt Su Jin's motives. The strategy proposed by Su Jin was approved by him, and he also believed that Su Jin would never make a wrong decision on the survival of the country.
The Song Dynasty was over, and Su Jin had no benefit at all; as for the other meaning implied in the words of Zhang Yaozuo and others, Zhao Zhen only listened to them as farts. From that perspective, Su Jin would never be so
Do.
Faced with the clamor, Yan Shu and Du Yan unexpectedly remained consistent, angrily reprimanded these clowns in court, and at the same time asked Zhao Zhen to punish them.
Zhao Zhen remained neutral and ended the discussion on strategic errors and correctness. In Zhao Zhen's words, the opinions for and against may be fierce or biased, but after all, they are opinions, and they cannot be based on different opinions.
Let's punish him.
Yan Shuyi argued with Zhao Zhen. He should have been severely punished for unfounded slander against the leading general at this time, but Zhao Zhen's favoritism towards Zhang Yaozuo was obvious. This Zhang Yaozuo, who had recently been promoted rapidly, was
Thanks to the assistance of Zhao Zhen's bedfellow Zhang Guifei, it is unknown whether he will become another powerful minister in the court in the near future.
Yan Shu wanted to find an opportunity to remind Zhao Zhen of Zhang Yaozuo's identity, but Yan Shu was a conservative and tactful person, so he always hoped that someone would speak up about this matter. Sooner or later, people like Bao Zheng in the court would report the matter, but unfortunately
There's no need to be too hasty.
"Let Fan Zhongyan go to Beijing to report the military situation and give an account of the defeat." Zhao Zhen was eager to know how bad the current situation was, and whether he should patrol south of Jiangning Mansion when necessary, as Su Jin told him before leaving.
The reason was to avoid disaster. Thinking about it now, maybe Su Jin had already expected the result of the defense line being breached.
"Your Majesty, the current situation is that it is better not to retrieve Fan and Han. When the war begins, the second line of defense will begin to be built. Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi should be well prepared. Judging from the military intelligence reports sent by them,
"The tone of the two men was not anxious. If there was a danger of endangering Bianliang, how could they not warn them in advance? Now is the time when the war is tense, so we should not let them run back and forth and delay military affairs." Yan Shu said.
"Prime Minister Yan, you can't gamble with the safety of the emperor and the capital. If something goes wrong, you and I will be sinners forever." Zhang Yaozuo regarded himself as a person, and his tone seemed to be that he was the central official of the imperial court.
Yan Shu chuckled and said: "If something goes wrong, I and Privy Du will be responsible for it. It's not your turn, the powerful magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, to take the responsibility. However, there have been a lot of rumors in the capital recently. You should do your duty well. If something goes wrong in the capital,
I'm afraid you won't be able to escape the "chaos"."
Zhang Yaozuo's face turned red, and Yan Shu's words were thorny, mocking him for thinking too highly of his official position. Zhang Yaozuo wanted to refute, but he stopped talking and said to himself: Sooner or later, I will be in your position, and I will argue with you then.
.
Zhao Zhen coughed and said: "Since Prime Minister Yan is so confident, I am naturally confident too. Victory and defeat are common matters for military strategists. A temporary defeat is nothing. However, the Political Affairs Hall and the Privy Council must order Fan and Han not to make any mistakes again. If
If there is a chance, we still need to regain the lost ground.”
Yan Shu and Du Yantong claimed so. Zhao Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I really want to know where Su Jin's army is now."
Yan Shu reported: "I and Privy Du have requested to see me after I go to court."
Zhao Zhen knew in his heart that he was going to discuss the matter of Su Jin's army. He didn't want to talk about it in public, so he immediately announced his withdrawal from the court and hurriedly summoned Yan Shu and Du Yan to come to the side hall to see him. Yan Shu took out a bamboo tube and handed over Su Jin's army.
The military information sent by Fei Ge was handed over to Zhao Zhen; Zhao Zhen quickly read it, clapped his thigh happily, and said with joy: "Sure enough, he has entered the Shangjing Road and captured Huaizhou."
Yan Shu smiled and cupped his hands and said: "Congratulations to your Majesty, congratulations to your Majesty. Huaizhou has been captured. The next target is either Qingzhou or Raozhou. According to time, it will take five or six days to reach Feige on the way. It should be already here by now."
We have acquired the second city, and then the Liao people's home base will go to Beijing, we want to see who takes away whose home base first."
Zhao Zhen couldn't help but said with joy: "No wonder you are so confident in the hall. Why didn't you tell me this news earlier?"
Yan Shu said: "I just arrived in the morning, so I couldn't say anything in the hall. Su Jin specifically told me to keep it a secret. I was afraid that the Liao people would find out through careful prying, so I leaked my intention early." [
Zhao Zhen twisted his beard and said with a smile: "Okay, Su Jin, I was really a little worried just now. Now it seems that I should sit firmly in the capital. As long as Han and Fan can hold them back, it will be a favorable situation. The Liao people
Soon we knew there was internal chaos, but whether we would withdraw our troops or not would depend on Su Jin's ability."
Yan Shu said: "Exactly, we must take it to the capital. Your Majesty, do you think that if Yelv Zongzhen's mother, queen, concubine, and son were taken away in one pot, wouldn't Yelv Zongzhen go crazy?"
Zhao Zhen laughed loudly and said: "It depends on whether Su Jin has this method. The day when the Liao army withdraws to save itself will be the time for our army to counterattack. Now we just need to hold on steady."
Du Yan said in a deep voice: "This is exactly the reason. This is also the established policy. Your Majesty, please do not be instigated by others. I want to mobilize the Xiang troops from the south, south and north of Beijing to go north. Although there are only 50,000
However, if we are deployed in the northeast of the capital, we can feel more at ease. Please allow your permission."
Zhao Zhen waved his hand and said: "You go ahead and do it. I was in a very low mood today, but now I feel a lot better. Thank you for your hard work, my dear friends. Yan Xiang drafted an edict for me to encourage Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi. The previous edict was a bit more intense.
, I’m afraid these two people can’t stand each other.”
Yan Shu and Du Yan raised their hands in unison and said: "I obey the order!"
…
The kings and ministers of the Song Dynasty were tangled up and down, and Yelu Zongzhen, the Lord of the Liao Dynasty in Daizhou City, was also furious. Originally, he summoned Yelu Zhongyuan and Xiao Hui to Daizhou to reward the victory of breaking down the east and west defense lines. But when he came to Daizhou,
On the night of Lizhou, a shocking news came, which immediately shocked the kings and ministers of the Liao Kingdom.
"The damn Song people, who are as cunning and cunning as prairie foxes, actually used the troops marching in Xia to cut off my retreat. The damn Xia people actually took advantage of the Song Dynasty. After destroying the Song Dynasty, they were the first to deal with Yeli Dulan.
This prostitute." Yelu Zongzhen cursed like a shrew regardless of his demeanor.
The officials under the tent were silent for a long time, and Xiao Hui said softly: "There are various signs that the looting of the grasslands east of Dashanguan was carried out by the Song army led by Su Jin. Unfortunately, our judgment was wrong at the time.
I thought the Xia people were taking advantage of the situation to rob us."
Yelu Zongzhen said angrily: "What's the use of talking about this now? I wanted to divide my troops to exterminate them, but you didn't agree. Now it's okay. The knife has been inserted into my heart."
Xiao Hui said with embarrassment: "The minister sent someone to investigate later and found that the "butts" of several enemy war horses that fell dead on the grassland were branded with Xia war horses, so they determined that it was the Xia people. Now it seems
Come on, Su Jin'er is too cunning and must have deliberately fabricated these evidences to confuse our judgment."
The emperor's younger brother, Yelu Zhongyuan, snorted contemptuously and said: "You are stupid just because you are stupid, but you blame others for being smarter. A few dead horses have deceived you, the king of the North Campus, and an army of 200,000 went north, but there is no clue."
Is it possible? I don’t believe it.”
Xiao Hui said with difficulty: "It's not that I haven't traced it, it's just that the trace disappeared after the enemy invaded. It is said that the way to Shangjing Road requires passing through Beifengzhou and Zhongjing Road. However, after the enemy invaded, they did not go through this line at all.
, so I am even more convinced that it was the Xia people who retreated to the country after the harassment."
Yelu Zongzhen said angrily: "Don't they have wings and fly to Huaizhou?"
Xiao Hui hurriedly said: "After much thought, there is only one way to go directly to Huaizhou, and that is to go north along Yunnei and pass through the desert. It seems that the Song people came well prepared this time and their goal is very clear.