There are piles of chariots and the remains of stone cannons.
Fifty or sixty corpses were piled up at the drawbridge of the city gate, the city tower was pierced by more than a dozen crossbow arrows, and the city wall was scarred by stone bullets.
After a day of brutal siege, the Song army was leaving the stronghold to collect the corpses. Today, another three to five hundred corpses were left under the city. The same happened in Xixia...
Standing at the top of the city, Ren Duoyading watched this scene. He knew that if the Song army continued to fight like this, Lingzhou would be lost in less than ten days, but... But the Song army was afraid that they would never capture Lingzhou city. .
Ren Duoyading sneered, but for some reason, he could tell that something was fishy about the Song Army today.
However, they saw that some soldiers and horses on Xihe Road did not return to the stronghold after attacking the city. Instead, they went around to the nearby soldiers and horses on Jingyuan Road.
Ren Duoyading called Ren Duo Baozhong, pointed at the Song army's layout and said: "What do you think this is?"
Renduo Baozhong said: "I don't know, maybe it is the Song army's strategy to lure the enemy. No matter what, we will guard the city and there will be no mistake."
…
But I saw the Song army's tent.
Zhang Zhi held the imperial edict and was at war with Wang Zhongzheng and his cronies.
Wang Zhongzheng was frightened and angry and said: "Zhang Jinglue, what do you mean by this? Your Majesty only wants you and me to be your teacher, why do you want to take my seal?"
Zhang Zhi said: "Now that we have to take charge of the class, who will come to the rear and who will take command?"
"Of course, if your envoy is willing to lead an army to the rear, then I have no objections. If your envoy is unwilling, then please hand over the seal? I will negotiate with the generals to arrange it!"
When Wang Zhongzheng heard this, he sneered and said: "Whoever cuts off the rear will have his own arrangements. The commander has 20,000 strong soldiers on the Xihe Road but is so timid. We plan to dispatch troops. We can also go west to find soldiers and horses on the Yanyan Road. The two routes will cooperate together. Then slowly retreated."
As soon as Wang Zhongzheng said this, all the generals shook their heads.
Wang Fan, who was directly below Zhang Zhi, spoke out: "Your envoy really doesn't know how to fight with soldiers. Not to mention that the troops and horses on the Yanyan Road are already in danger. Even if his troops and horses have broken through the dry sea and come here, how much food and grass will they have?" Where did the nearly 200,000 soldiers and horsemen eating horse chews come from?”
When Wang Zhongzheng heard this, his expression changed, and he argued: "The combined forces of the two armies will make the army stronger. We can break a Xixia city, find military supplies, and then retreat."
All the generals even shook their heads, what an ignorant statement.
Seeing this, Wang Zhongzheng said to Zhang Zhi: "You call yourself the Commander-in-Chief, but you are in charge of all the troops and horses, but you say such cowardly words. Could it be that you are planning to make my soldiers and horses on the Jingyuan Road follow behind? You lead the entire army to retreat alone." "
"Or do you have any differences with the Xia people?"
Zhang Zhi said: "I'm not afraid of the queen, Commander-in-Chief, but I'm afraid of a treacherous minister like you, and I will die without a place to die. Back then, Yang Wudi was a hero, but he was killed by a villain like this."
"What's the difference between your noble envoy today and the villain who killed Yang Wudi!"
As we all know, Yang Ye has been squeezed out because of his status as a reduced general. Song Taizong failed in his second expedition to the Liao Dynasty. He appointed Pan Mei as the chief general and Yang Ye as the deputy general to lead the West Route Army to retreat.
Wang Qian, the supervisor of the army, used words to encourage Yang Ye to lead his army to fight in the rear, and withdrew the soldiers and horses who were supporting Yang Ye. In the end, Yang Ye, his son Yang Yanyu, and his generals Wang Gui and He Huaipu were killed in the battle.
This incident was adapted from the novel Yang Family General. When reading about Yang Ye hitting Li Ling's monument to death, later generations of readers were filled with emotion and cried.
After this battle, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty demoted General Pan Mei to a third rank. Wang Qian, the military supervisor, was dismissed from his post and exiled to Jinzhou. Liu Wenyu was dismissed from his post and exiled to Dengzhou.
And the army on Xihe Road and Jingyuan Road was about to retreat from the heavy siege of Xixia. With Wang Zhongzheng's suspicion and jealousy, which general was willing to take the rear?
If everyone refuses to do Yang Ye, and the troops at the rear feel that they have been abandoned, they will inevitably have to find their own way out, and then there is the danger of the entire army being annihilated.
Without a rally call, who is willing to take the rear?
Therefore, the rear troops must be the most loyal and trustworthy soldiers of the general. Otherwise, they will just wait to be tricked.
When Wang Zhongzheng heard this, his expression changed and he said: "Zhang Jinglue, what are you going to do? You relied on your uncle's power to become so rampant!"
Zhang Zhi unsheathed his sword from his waist without hesitation, and then all the generals on the Xihe Road in the tent drew their swords and pointed them at Wang Zhongzheng and his close associates, while the generals on the Jingyuan Road in the tent, from Liu Changzuo on down, all looked pale.
Several generals who were close to Wang Zhongzheng wanted to speak out, but Liu Changzuo did not speak and they also fell silent.
At this moment, a report was made outside the camp gate, and soldiers and horses from Xihe Road rushed into the camp.
The number of soldiers and horses on Jingyuan Road was nearly three times that of Xihe Road, but they were unable to stop them for a while.
Wang Zhongzheng scolded: "Zhang Zhi, do you want to mutiny and seize power? Come on, come on, take it down for me!"
As soon as Wang Zhongzheng finished speaking, the guards outside the tent broke into the tent with weapons in hand, but were coaxed out by Liu Changzuo with a loud shout.
Liu Changzuo said: "Your Majesty, you are the only one who has the military power at the moment. Liu will protect you with his life without any harm!"
Wang Zhongzheng asked in a trembling voice: "Is this true?"
"Seriously!" Liu Changzuo looked at Zhang Zhi and said, "Zhang Jinglue, please say something!"
"Okay!" Zhang Zhi threw away the weapon in his hand, then took a few steps forward and stretched out his hand to Wang Zhongzheng: "Bring the seal!"
Seeing this situation, Wang Zhongzheng was so frightened that he had no choice but to hold out the seal.
However, Wang Zhongzheng Liangzhang did not dare to do anything to his imperial envoy.
But Zhang Zhi stepped forward as if to hold the seal, but he took out a short blade from his waist and stabbed it straight into Wang Zhongzheng's chest! Wang Zhongzheng's instinct was to dodge, but in the end the eunuch was weak and slow.
Hit the ground!
The seal hit the ground.
Wang Zhongzheng shouted loudly, and immediately there was a heavy sound in his throat. He held his chest with both hands, and the skirt of his clothes was instantly stained red with blood, and he died in a moment...
Seeing this sudden change, everyone in the room was so surprised that they were speechless.
Liu Changzuo was shocked and angry and said: "Zhang Jinglue... Since he has handed over the seal, why should he be killed?"
Zhang Zhi wiped the blade on his sleeve and sneered: "I just wish it was too late to kill!"
A general from Jingyuan Road came out and said: "Zhang Da, are you going to rebel...have you rebelled against the imperial court?"
Zhang Zhi said: "My Zhang family has been loyal and loyal for generations since my uncle Zhang Dexiang. What's the use of my uncle being the prime minister of the dynasty and rebelling? If I didn't kill Wang Zhongzheng, would the 600,000 to 70,000 troops be able to leave this place alive?"
"Don't worry, everyone. I, Zhang Zhi, am the one responsible for killing King Zhongzheng. If the court investigates in the future, I will be the only one to be killed. It has nothing to do with you!"
With Zhang Zhi's words, everyone felt relieved.
"If you hang the red cloth outside the tent, the soldiers and horses on Xihe Road in the stronghold will retreat!"
"Release Lieutenant Zhong again!"
The generals looked at Liu Changzuo hesitantly, and Liu Changzuo nodded and said: "There are more than a dozen members of the Zhang family serving as officials in the court, and they would not dare to be implicated in this matter!"
"You all will do what Mr. Jinglue said! Whether our troops and horses can leave this place in the future depends entirely on Mr. Jinglue!"
As soon as these words came out, the generals on Jingyuan Road suddenly woke up.
After saying that, Wang Zhongzheng's cronies were unarmed and his body was carried out. When the soldiers and horses on Xihe Road retreated, Zhong Shidao was also released from the cage. He knew that Wang Zhongzheng had been killed.
Zhang Zhi's first reaction was that he wanted to rebel, but he immediately shook his head and said it was impossible.
How could the Zhang family do such a thing?
Thinking so, before entering the account, Zhong Shidao immediately ordered someone to put on armor for him.
Master Zhong walked into the tent and saw Zhang Zhi standing in the tent holding his sword. The generals on Xihe Road and Jingyuan Road were silent.
Zhong Shidao stared at Zhang Zhi, but saw that the man's eyebrows were like daggers. He was both suave and heroic as a Confucian general. If Zhong Shidao hadn't been today, he would never have imagined that Zhang Zhi dared to kill Wang Zhongzheng.
But Zhong Shidao immediately thought that killing Wang Zhongzheng was the only way for the 60,000 to 70,000 troops to retreat.
Zhang Zhi was willing to risk his own life to accomplish this. It was really... really... Zhong Shidao didn't know how to describe Zhang Zhi, and it took him a while to choose a word among the highest evaluations of martial artists - "genuine!"
From Zhang Yue to Zhang Kai, and from Zhang Kai to Zhang Zhi, Zhongshi Dao can be considered as having dealt with all three military envoys of Xihe Road.
The three of them each have their own characteristics. In the early days of Zhongshi Dao, Zhang Zhi was not as young as the previous two managers, but now he really has the talent to think about killing the imperial envoy!
When Zhong Shidao thought of this, he immediately shouted: "Zhang Jinglue, what do you think of taking two of my troops?"
Zhang Zhi said calmly: "General Manager Zhong, how is Wang Zhongzheng doing these days? I don't need to tell you, all the soldiers are watching."
"Which is more important than the life of King Zhongzheng and my army of 60,000 to 70,000 people? You can tell the difference clearly!"
"Otherwise...who is willing to work for Yang Ye, and who is willing to work for Yang Ye?"
Liu Changzuo said: "It is useless to talk more, who will come to the rear?"
Zhang Zhi said: "It's very simple, draw lots! Between you and me, whoever catches it will be the one? No regrets in life or death!"
"Okay!" Zhong Shidao agreed simply.
Although the other generals on the Jingyuan Road had doubts about Zhang Zhi, they decided to take a look first and then voice their objections if the lot was unfavorable.
Zhang Zhi and Zhong Shidao drew lots on the spot, and Zhang Zhi finally won the queen.
After seeing the result, all the generals on Jingyuan Road had happy faces, while the generals on Xihe Road remained calm.
Zhang Zhidao said: "I will lead ten thousand troops and horses on Xihe Road to repay the imperial court's generous support with my military merits! However, I have something to ask for help from General Manager Zhong. You can arrange the next group of troops and horses at this majestic cliff pass. When our army retreats here,
, you soldiers and horses from the Jingyuan Road attack to ambush the Xia army, so that you can turn defeat into victory, otherwise I and the soldiers and horses from the Xihe Road will be buried here."
Zhong Shidao asked doubtfully: "Zhang Jinglue, do you really want to be the queen?"
Zhang Zhi said: "Otherwise?"
Master Zhong said: "I'll come to Jingyuan for matters related to the queen, otherwise I won't be able to treat you well to Mr. Zhang!"
Zhang Zhi smiled and said: "What I want is what you said. If our troops and horses cannot reach Xiongya Pass, it means that I, Zhang Zhi, are incompetent. If I die, I will die. It has nothing to do with you."
"But if you don't have soldiers and horses here on Jingyuan Road, I and my ten thousand soldiers on Xihe Road will act like ghosts under the Nine Springs and will not let you cultivate the way of masters!"
Teacher Zhong was aroused by Zhang Zhi and immediately said: "That's good, let's make it a deal!"
Zhong Shidao stretched out his palm and struck Zhang Zhi at each other.
After that, Zhang Zhunzhuan, the generals from Xihe Road, walked out of the tent, and Wang Fan walked to the tent and smiled at the generals from Jingyuan Road, and then said: "You can go back in peace and sit at home to watch how we defeat the Xixia army!"
"
After saying this, Wang Fan walked away, and there was a burst of cheerful laughter from the generals on Xihe Road.
The generals on the Jingyuan Road were so excited that their faces turned red. One of them said, "I am so arrogant. How could I have known that they are not called the Queen of the Palace, but are actually called Jiangxia!"
As soon as the man finished speaking, he was slapped on the face by Master Zhong.