Chapter 383 The Imperial Envoy Arrives

Yuguan could not be captured for a long time, and Yelu Zongzhen fell into a very embarrassing situation.

The east and west capitals cannot be connected, which means that gunpowder supplies cannot be replenished.

And he could not send more troops to rescue Yuguan.

Because he can now defend Xijin Mansion not only because of the high walls and artillery, but also because he has more people than the Song army.

Even these centaurs were very reluctant.

In the age of firearms, unless both sides have firearms, hot weapons fight cold weapons, and the human sea tactic is useless.

This has been proven by the Qing army and the Eight-Power Allied Forces.

Therefore, it was impossible for him to send a large group of troops to Yuguan. In that case, there would be a lack of troops on the frontal battlefield, and he would be unable to stop Fan Zhongyan's attack.

But if he did not send troops, the Song army's fleet was intercepted at Yuguan, and Liaoyang Mansion's troops, horses and supplies could not be transported.

The soldiers and horses can still take a detour to Xifengkou, but what about the supplies?

From Xifengkou, countless carriages and horses were escorted through the continuous mountain road. A large amount of materials would probably be piled up in the mountain road, making it impassable.

Therefore, under this situation, the battle between Liao and Song really turned into a battle of Changping.

The only difference is that the Liao State is now the Zhao State, and the Song State is the Qin State. Even the current Song State is many times stronger than the Qin State at that time in terms of national strength.

"That's it, I'm tired."

In the palace, Yelu Zongzhen rubbed his chest with his left hand and waved his right hand to signal them to retreat.

Everyone bowed their hands and left.

This time it set a tone, that is, they would not take the initiative to talk to the Song Dynasty and could only continue to be so tough.

Now that the Song people have cut off Yuguan, the war cannot be postponed, so a decisive battle with the Song people must be launched in the next few months before Xijin's food, grass and gunpowder are exhausted.

For this reason, they must plan carefully and work out a perfect strategy to defeat the Song army in order to protect the national security of Daliao.

After the meeting dispersed, Liu Liufu returned to his mansion.

He was a little lost. He didn't expect that he would be dismissed so quickly, and he only raised correct opinions that were in line with the current situation.

Knowing that fighting the Song army would be of no use to Daliao, Yelvzong still insisted on going his own way. Forget it, it was okay not to listen to his suggestions, so why take your anger out on him?

Liu Liufu was very unwilling, but he had no choice but to leave the palace and return to his home.

He asked his servants not to disturb him. He went to the backyard courtyard, sat in the pavilion and looked at the towering trees in the yard. He didn't know what he was thinking, and he felt quite depressed.

While I was feeling depressed, someone came in from outside.

"Don't I prevent people from coming in?"

Liu Liufu was furious.

But when he turned around, he saw his fourth brother Liu Siduan.

"Fourth brother!"

Liu Liufu said in surprise: "Why are you here?"

Among the six brothers of the Liu family, he was the best and managed to get into the position of Prime Minister of Beifu.

You must know that the official system of the Liao Kingdom was divided into two sets, divided into northern and southern officials. They were mainly managed by the Northern and Southern Privy Councils, which had the northern and southern left and right prime ministers. The northern and southern privy councils were basically Khitan nobles.

Therefore, Liu Liufu's position is basically one of the highest-ranking officials that Han people can achieve. Unless someone like Han Derang, Zhang Jian, etc. are promoted by Xu Te, he is already at the top of the Han people.

Apart from him, the other brothers of the Liu family were doing well. They were basically serving as various military envoys, observer envoys and other idle positions given to noble families by the Liao Kingdom.

Under normal circumstances, they must hold office in their respective states.

Liu Liufu's fourth brother, Liu Siduan, was the governor of Tanzhou, which later became the Miyun area of ​​Beijing. Although it was relatively close to Jinfu, according to the law, he could not leave his post without permission.

Therefore, being able to appear here is a strange thing in itself.

Liu Siduan came over and said: "Dading Prefecture has sent a batch of soldiers, horses and ordnance to Bei'an Prefecture. I will go to the border of Tanzhou and Bei'an Prefecture to hand over these troops, horses and supplies. Originally, I don't need to personally escort this matter, but I thought Come see you, come over.”

As he spoke, he sat down next to Liu Liufu and said, "But I just heard."

"Yes, I was dismissed from my official position by His Majesty."

Liu Liufu smiled bitterly.

Liu Siduan was silent for a while and said: "Liu Lang, do you think Daliao can defeat Song now?"

Liu Liufu looked at him in surprise and said, "What does fourth brother mean?"

"People are panicked now."

Liu Siduan sighed.

Liu Liufu fell silent.

After a moment, he said: "With the general situation of the country, it is still unclear who will win."

Liu Siduan said noncommittally: "Maybe."

"Fourth brother came here just to talk to me about these things?"

Liu Liufu said.

Liu Siduan hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "I just want to ask you, do you miss your third brother?"

Third brother?

Liu Liufu's expression changed drastically and he said, "Is he in Xijin?"

"No."

Liu Siduan shook his head.

"Then where is he?"

"Song Kingdom."

"He went to Song Dynasty?"

Liu Liufu was surprised, then his face changed slightly and he said, "Did he ask you to come to me?"

Liu Siduan said: "I just sent someone to send a letter home to ask about the situation at home and to ask if our brothers are okay."

Liu Liufu was silent for a moment and said, "How is the third brother doing in the Song Dynasty?"

"It's not bad. After he escaped to the south, he went to see the Prime Minister of the Constitutional Yuan and was arranged to work as an idle official in Taichang Temple."

Liu Siduan replied: "The child he had with his concubine also died safely and was named Sijia."

Liu Liufu smiled bitterly and said: "Princess Tongchang is furious and is looking for him everywhere."

He then added: "That's good. At least our Liu family in Changping still has descendants in the Song Dynasty. If the Liao Kingdom is defeated, it is better than the Liu family's decline."

Liu Siduan said silently: "Sixth brother, do you really want to follow the Liao Kingdom all the time? Everyone can see the current situation. The rise of the Song Kingdom is unstoppable. Maybe I, the Liu family, should make a decision early."

Liu Liufu frowned, instinctively wanting to scold him, but he swallowed the words when he reached his lips and just said: "What do you mean, Fourth Brother?"

"What are your Majesty's thoughts now? Do you plan to make peace, or continue to fight?"

Liu Siduan asked.

Liu Liufu's frown deepened. The Liu family was one of the four great families of Yan. They were the Liu family of Changping. They had been serving the Liao Kingdom for nearly a hundred years since the Later Jin Dynasty.

Obviously Liu Siduan meant that maybe he could take this opportunity to change his family.

He originally wanted to say something, but after thinking about it deeply, he felt that maybe this wasn't such a bad thing, at least the family's interests could be preserved.

In fact, among the four major families, the Yutian Han family was the first to make a fortune. Han Derang not only became the prime minister with the highest political status in the Liao Kingdom and the King of Qi, he was also given the surname Yelu, named Yelu Longyun, and was included in the imperial membership. He became the first person from Han to become a member of the Khitan royal family of the Liao Kingdom.

The Liu family in Changping was famous for literature, and most of them came from imperial examinations, and were promoted to Jiedu envoys or observer envoys. Among them, Liu Liufu's father Liu Shenxing served as the prime minister of the Northern Mansion and was highly regarded by Yelu Longxu, the Shengzong of Liao Dynasty.

Therefore, in terms of ranking of the four major families, during the Liao Dynasty, the Han family in Yutian was the leader, the Liu family in Changping was second, and the Ma family in Yilu and the Zhao family in Lulong were last. Historically, during the Jin Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, the status of the four major families became even more entrenched, and they were all descendants of powerful people in the north for generations.

This has nothing to do with the fact that their family has talented people from generation to generation. It is simply because after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms began, the Later Jin Dynasty was founded, Shi Jingtang became the emperor, and he followed the Liao Kingdom after devoting the Sixteen States of Yanyun to the Jin Kingdom. When the Mongolian Yuan rose, they surrendered to the Jin Kingdom. When the Meng Yuan rose, they surrendered to the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. They never thought about being loyal to the emperor and patriotic.

If it was in the past when the Liao Kingdom was powerful, Liu Liufu would definitely scold Liu Siduan, because this would most likely bring disaster to the family. But now that the Liao Kingdom is in decline and the Song Kingdom is on the rise, it may not be impossible to change the family.

After all, they will help whoever wins. This is a principle that has not changed since ancient times.

Thinking of this, Liu Liufu pondered for a moment and then whispered: "Your Majesty follows the ancestral precepts and cannot surrender to the enemy."

"oh."

Liu Si understood and asked again: "What is your Majesty's plan?"

"When the time is right, Your Majesty will lure the enemy deep into the enemy's territory and fight to the death with the Song army."

Liu Liufu said softly.

"Your Majesty is indeed extraordinary. I think Daliao can be victorious in every battle."

Liu Siduan said something, and then he and Liu Liufu looked at each other, and the two brothers suddenly laughed.

Now that the tree is crumbling, it may be time to replace it with a new one.

Soon, more than ten days later, inside the Song Army camp.

It was already early November, and the weather was getting colder. Not long after the heavy rain, a colder north wind began to blow.

In previous years, there would sometimes be heavy snowfall in the Youyan area at this time. In fact, the northeastern region was already covered in heavy snow at this time. If the vast wild mountains hadn't blocked the cold wind from the north, perhaps the same would have happened to Youyan at this time.

Although the snow has not yet fallen, everything is dry and silent. There is a vast expanse of brown in the wilderness, and the Song army around Liangxiang City has become more and more aggressive, directly surrounding the entire city.

Fan Zhongyan inspected several camps early in the morning. When he saw that the soldiers were following his instructions and digging into Liangxiang City like a group of gophers, he returned to his commander's camp with satisfaction.

After all, civil engineering is manual work. A Song Army soldier can't dig much soil in a day. What's more, they have to face the artillery harassment of the Liao Army, so the advancement speed cannot be said to be fast, but it is also not slow.

According to the current speed, Fan Zhongyan estimates that in another seven or eight days, he will be able to dig the trench less than one kilometer away from Liangxiang City. At that time, he will be able to assemble the artillery in the trench and then set it up in the trench. Cannons bombarded the gates of Liangxiang City.

"Ms. sir."

After Hebei Road Transfer Envoy Wei Huanzhi followed Fan Zhongyan to inspect the camp, he returned to the tent and said to Fan Zhongyan: "Our progress is still very fast. I believe we can capture Liangxiang in a few days."

"Um."

Fan Zhongyan nodded and said, "Seven or eight days should be enough."

Wei Huanzhi smiled bitterly and said: "I just feel that this way of fighting is too slow. It may take us almost a month to conquer a good land. There will be so many cities after that, I am afraid it will take several years to fight."

"There is no other way. If we want to reduce casualties, we can only advance steadily. This is also the best way to destroy the Liao Kingdom."

Fan Zhongyan said.

They had also tried to sneak the artillery in front of the formation in the middle of the night and attack the city.

However, during the middle of the night shelling, let alone accurately breaking the city gate, the number of shells that landed on the city wall was only a handful.

Although the Song Army's artillery has always been much more accurate than the Liao Army, without night vision, it is almost impossible to aim. It is a complete blind attack to scare the Liao Army.

And once it's daytime, the artillery on Liangxiang City will fight back against them. Even with a certain range advantage, the Song army did not dare to attack under artillery fire.

Therefore, if we want to truly reduce casualties and break through the city gate, we must dig step by step. There is no way to work slowly and carefully.

"Ms. sir, good news."

Han Fang, the Imperial Censor of Hebei Road, came in, holding a stack of official documents and said with a smile: "The news from Nigukou is the reward of Di Xianggong."

Di Qing is now also the deputy privy envoy. Since the practice in the Song Dynasty is that the privy envoys and deputy privy envoys are both called Privy Councilor and Deputy Privy Councilor, so now Di Qing can be called Di Xianggong.

"oh?"

Hearing the news that it was Di Qing, Fan Zhongyan quickly asked, "What's the good news for Han Chen?"

Han Fang put the official document on Fan Zhongyan's desk and said: "Prime Minister Di cut off Yu Pass, preventing nearly 100,000 Liao troops from passing through. A large amount of Liao baggage, grain, grass, and gunpowder were piled outside the pass."

“Thick thick thick”

Fan Zhongyan gave a hearty smile, took the official document, glanced at it, nodded with satisfaction and said: "It seems that we don't have to wait for several years. At most, the Liao Kingdom will be defeated by Yan Yun next year and escape outside the pass."

Wei Huanzhi smiled and said: "If my husband takes advantage of the victory and pursues him, wouldn't he be able to destroy the Liao Kingdom?"

Fan Zhongyan's expression changed slightly and he ignored his words.

Seeing Fan Zhongyan's look, Wei Huanzhi immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing.

The main reason is that the Song army used to be submissive, but now they are suddenly so strong that they are not used to it.

He suddenly said such big words.

But they forgot that Fan Zhongyan was already a very popular minister and served as the prime minister and assistant of the Constitutional Yuan.

At the same time, after this battle is over, it is definitely very possible to regain Yanyun.

If the Liao Kingdom is destroyed again, what reward should His Majesty the Emperor of the Song Dynasty give him?

A person with high achievements will inevitably cause trouble.

So Wei Huanzhi hurriedly wanted to make amends and said: "Of course, now that the Liao Kingdom is strong and powerful, it will not be destroyed overnight."

"Um."

Fan Zhongyan softened his tone and nodded slightly.

At this moment, a messenger from outside hurriedly came in and said: "Report, the angel has arrived outside the door."

"Oh? Coming so soon?"

Fan Zhongyan had already heard that the imperial messenger came over on Pegasus and told him that the imperial guards would be sent over.

It's just that it stands to reason that the imperial envoy left a few days ago, but he didn't expect to arrive so quickly.

He stood up in a hurry, straightened his clothes a little, then left the tent, and led some civil servants and military generals from Hebei Road to go out to greet him.

When he arrived outside the camp, he had already seen the imperial guards arriving.

The person who came was none other than Wang Su, the current Tongzhi Jianyuan and Zuo Jianyi doctor. He was currently the second-in-command of the Jiantai and the main force of the reform faction.

When Wang Su got off the carriage and saw Fan Zhongyan, he saluted him first and said, "I have met Fan Xianggong before."

"Um."

Fan Zhongyan nodded slightly.

Then Wang Sucai took out Zhao Zhen's edict and read it out.

Fan Zhongyan bowed his hands and maintained this posture while Wang Su read the imperial edict.

The content of the edict is actually very simple, which is to encourage Fan Zhongyan to continue to work harder and strive to defeat the Liao Kingdom as soon as possible.

The edict was read out in front of the camp, with many soldiers around watching. It can be said to be very high-profile.

After the edict was read out, Fan Zhongyan took the edict and said, "I thank you, Your Majesty. I will bear the emperor's favor and I will not hesitate even to the death."

"Ms. Fan, your majesty and the magistrate have high hopes for you, why don't you let them down?"

Wang Su handed the edict to Fan Zhongyan.

"That's natural."

Fan Zhongyan responded, and then said: "Angels, please come into the camp."

Immediately the imperial guards entered the camp.