bookrandom Chapter 1272: The King’s Affairs
Chapter 1272: The King’s Affairs
Chapter 1272: The King’s Affairs
Liu Changzuo was known for his cautious use of troops, and this time was no exception.
When the beacon towers on the hills around Meiyan Gorge sounded the warning, the Song army had already received the message. All the soldiers were awakened an hour earlier at night and had breakfast early.
Although some officers and soldiers suggested that Liu Changzuo take advantage of the chaos of the Tangut army to launch a night attack, Liu Changzuo believed that there were too many variables in a night attack, and the Song army was already very strong, so there was no need to take this risk.
All three armies knew that a great battle was imminent, and the cooks worked overnight to prepare meals.
The kitchens in each camp were filled with smoke, and the cooks were sweating as they steamed buns and kneaded dough.
It was a common practice in the military camp to give soldiers a good meal before a major battle.
Basket after basket of bread was carried out by the cooks and distributed to various military camps.
There were meat, vegetables, steamed cakes, and corn porridge, so everyone was well fed.
The soldiers of the three armies also ate and drank desperately. Everyone knew that a war would take several hours, and the next meal would not come so soon, or even never.
The soldiers were desperately stuffing food into their mouths, and the sound of eating could be heard in the barracks. There was a completely different combat effectiveness when the soldiers fought on an empty stomach and when they fought on a full stomach.
We can learn from the story of Duke Qing of Qi who destroyed this breakfast.
The forward who was in charge of the attack also drank some wine.
As for the war horses, they were also fed concentrated feed - soybeans mixed with some eggs, and they buried their heads in the trough and chewed with a grunt.
The cavalrymen patted their horses' backs and looked at their comrades who were going to the battlefield to live and die together.
The soldiers of Xihe Road were not only well-equipped, but also had yak meat to eat. The equipment, war horses and food of the Xihe Army were the best among all the other routes, and the soldiers of other routes were very envious.
The three armies were well fed and drunk and ready to go.
At this time, Liang Yibu came to surrender and reported to Liu Changzuo the strengths and weaknesses of the Dangxiang troops.
All the generals were puzzled and wondered whether the other side was pretending to surrender, but Liu Changzuo acted decisively and sent out three armies to attack!
The Song army ambushed troops in the valley path and rushed out.
The main force of the Song army launched a fierce attack on the main elite force of the Dangxiang army that had retreated more than ten miles from Pingxia City!
The elite Tangut soldiers who had been so arrogant under Mingsha City had not eaten since the camp was blown up last night. When they saw that Yao Xiong and his brothers from the Song army in Huanqing Road were recuperating, they were like tigers descending from the mountains.
But the elite Dangxiang troops fought desperately to hold their ground, and the generals fought to the death without retreating.
When the two armies engaged in battle, the Song army was overwhelmed and retreated.
Just as the Dangxiang generals were either thanking God for their help or laughing at the Song army, they saw that after the Song army in Huanqing Road retreated, they did not continue to attack the village, but continued to move downstream of Huluchuan River to plunder the rear.
Soon the Song army's rear troops arrived and attacked the camp again. Seeing this, the Dangxiang soldiers were all terrified.
Li Bingchang ordered the imperial guards to shoot to stop the enemy from advancing, and ordered the soldiers to continue fighting.
The attacking Song army was the troops of Qin Fenglu and Zhe Keshi. After the two sides fought for a while, the Dangxiang troops fought and retreated, and were driven back several miles by the Song army before they regrouped.
However, Zhe Keshi did not continue to fight and continued to lead his troops towards the lower reaches of Huluchuan River.
At this time, Li Bing often saw Liu Changzuo and Peng Sun of the Song army leading the troops of Jingyuan Road to intercept and kill the defeated Dangxiang troops. The river beach, which was covered with rocks and sparse grass, was littered with corpses, and the bodies of people, horses and camels floated down from the surface of the river.
Seeing this scene, all the Dangxiang generals were shocked.
The generals protected Li Bingchang and fought and retreated. At this time, the sound of war drums sounded, and a large army came from the south.
It was the troops led by Miao Su and his son Miao Lu from Xihe Road, including 5,000 cavalry from Liangzhou.
This route of the Song army bypassed the scattered Dangxiang soldiers and did not kill them, but instead gathered their strength to wait for the elite troops of the Dangxiang central army.
Miao Shou saw that this most elite Tangut army had defeated the Song army in Huanqing Road and Qinfeng Road successively, so he did not dare to attack easily. Miao Shou personally arrived in front of the battle formation and observed carefully, and saw that the horses in the Tangut formation were moving lightly. It was obvious that although the soldiers were elite, their morale was unstable and the soldiers were uneasy, and they were already at the end of their strength.
Miao Shou made a prompt decision and ordered the entire army to attack. The two armies fought fiercely for half a day, and one of the key valley entrances changed hands several times.
This time the main force of the Dangxiang finally could not withstand the Song army. The soldiers could not help but scramble to retreat, which finally led to the collapse of the entire army. The soldiers fled and trampled on each other, and the dead covered the fields and blocked the rivers.
The Song army took advantage of the situation and attacked. Miao Shou, eager to make a contribution, led more than a thousand cavalry to attack the yellow tent directly. As a result, he was shot back by powerful crossbows many times, which saved Li Bingchang from danger for a while.
However, his mother, Empress Dowager Liang, died in the chaos of war.
At this time, the wind and sand were so strong that people and horses could not see anything.
This meant that not all of the Dangxiang elite troops were lost in the battle line, but the main force suffered heavy losses as well, with seven out of ten of the tens of thousands of armored soldiers being killed.
Later, when the Song army was cleaning up the battlefield, they stripped tens of thousands of pieces of iron armor from the corpses on the riverbank alone.
When they besieged Pingxia City, the Dangxiang army of more than 200,000 soldiers set up a formation of hundreds of miles in the long valley, but now they could not take care of the front and rear.
In an instant, the allied camp was covered with corpses, and abandoned tents and military supplies piled up like a mountain.
The Huluchuan River is winding and tortuous. The Song army rushed out from all directions and ambushed the Dangxiang troops everywhere.
Many Dangxiang soldiers wanted to surrender, but the Song army was eager to win merit and didn't care whether the other side surrendered or not. They cut off the heads of the other side one by one, kicked the bodies into the river and continued to chase and kill them.
Li Bingchang was in a panic, seeing the troops running around in all directions, and the soldiers were now scrambling to escape.
When the Dangxiang troops were almost unable to hold on, Meiledubu led his troops to rescue Li Bingchang and led his own troops to cover their retreat.
As a result, they were besieged by the Song army from three directions. Liu Changzuo sent people to persuade him to surrender, but Meiledubu not only refused, but also cursed, "How can a Dangxiang general surrender to the weak Han!"
In the end, his entire army was wiped out.
Meiledubu was shot with dozens of arrows, but he still held the flag.
Although Meiledubu died, he also helped many Dangxiang soldiers escape from the ambush of the Song army.
When the front army was defeated, the great general of the Tangut royal family, Weiming Amai, was leading his army to attack the Xiaoguan Pass guarded by Xu Xi and Zhong Pu day and night. When Weiming Amai heard about the defeat, he was shocked and immediately led his army to meet them. He saw that the front army was in a state of disgrace and defeat. Whether it was the Iron Harriers, the Bubazi, or the Poxi Army, they were all trapped in the Meiyan Gorge.
Weiming Amai was shocked and said, "The troops and horses that we Dangxiang have raised for fifty years have all been lost in one day. From now on, we will no longer have the power to look south."
Weiming Amai covered his face and cried bitterly. The elite field army of the Dangxiang that Li Yuanhao had established was completely wiped out in the canyon. From then on, they no longer had the strength to fight against the Song Dynasty in the field.
Weiming Amai reined in his horse and led his army to retreat, but he met the Song army of Xu Xi and Zhong Pu who rushed out from Xiaoguan, and the Song army was chasing them from behind.
Under the double attack, Weiming Amai's subordinates were defeated before the battle, and he himself was finally defeated and captured.
Meiledubu and Weiming Amai were the commanders of the six armies set up by Li Bingchang after he seized the military power of the Liang family. They jointly led the twelve military supervisors of the Dangxiang army. In this battle, one of them died and the other was captured.
Xu Xi stood outside Xiaoguan, watching the blood-red sunset and the mountains and plains filled with the flags and war drums of the surrendered Dangxiang soldiers and the withered land.
When he saw this scene, he couldn't help but ponder the past. The dreams he had been immersed in for many years and the long-cherished wishes that had been rising up in his heart were now intertwined. He couldn't help but squat down, covering his face in silence.
When the attack by Weiming Amai was very fierce, Xu Xi carried two baked buns with him every day and patrolled the city. He personally attacked the enemy with arrows and stones. When he was tired, he would sleep with his head resting on the thighs of a soldier. The soldiers were all deeply moved and they held their wounds to resist the Dangxiang invaders.
Xu Xi had thought many times that if he died here after the city was broken, it would be a worthy death.
Now Xu Xi thought of a poem that Zhang Yue often recited.
At this moment, Xu Xi couldn't help but draw out his sword, stroked his back and said.
"I look at my sword under the lamp while drunk, and dream of blowing the horn in the camp...
To complete the king's affairs and win a good reputation in life and after death..."
Thinking of this, he held the long sword to the ground and said: "After finishing the king's affairs, I, Xu Xi, can still do a lot, a lot!"
……
East Hall of Zhongshu.
Cai Que was chatting with Huang Lu after finishing his business.
"I heard that you, Zhizheng, took in another concubine!"
Cai Que raised his eyebrows and said, "Anzhong, you know all the details of the capital city."
Huang Lu said: "Zhizheng, your case can't be considered a trivial matter. Nowadays, your every move is attracting much attention."
Cai Que spread his hands and said, "Okay, I won't hide it anymore, it's true."
"When people are in this world, they have seven emotions and six desires, from which they grow ambitions, and only with ambitions can they achieve success! A real man should know how to use these to drive himself."
Huang Lu laughed when he heard this.
Cai Que said without any annoyance: "You also know that I am not very fond of women, but in my position, I need one or two to spice things up. It would be lonely without someone who can talk to me."
Huang Lu said: "That's true."
At this point, Cai Que looked at Huang Lu and said, "Anzhong, I heard that you will resign with Du Yi in two years. Why do you want to do this?"
"Wouldn't it be good to keep this useful body and do something for the court?"
Huang Lu said: "You also know that I am a free-spirited person. I can't stand the constraints of officialdom, and I wanted to leave long ago."
"Besides, do you think I work for the court or for you?"
Cai Que said, "Two years later, what is the difference between working for the court and working for me?"
Huang Lu smiled slightly and said, "In that case, I will offer a cup of tea to Chi Zheng instead of wine."
Cai Que smiled and said, "Tea is fine, but I'm going to give up drinking."
"Why? Isn't it said that one should use the seven emotions and six desires to foster ambition?"
Cai Que waved his hand and said, "That's true, but alcohol can make people mess up. I don't like anything to be out of my control."
Huang Lu said: "Zhizheng, you are not good. How can everything in the world go as one wishes?"
Cai Que said: "That's why I envy Du Zhi. He has had a smoother journey than anyone else."
"You may not believe it, but I have always kept in mind the friendship between you and Duzhi as classmates."
Huang Lu said, "I believe it, and I also believe the wall in your house that lists the evidence of the crimes of all officials. I wonder what Du Zhi and I wrote."
Cai Que said with a stern look: "If I really want to take action against you...it won't be like this."
Huang Lu said: "The world needs someone like him who can judge the world."
"The Yuanfeng administration would not have been possible without him in charge."
"The only way to understand the affairs of the king and the world is to measure them."
Cai Que was silent for a moment and said, "You are right. The one who really needs to be judged is His Majesty."
“As the poem “Answering the Guest’s Questions” says, if you resist it, you will be in the blue sky; if you suppress it, you will be in the abyss; if you use it, you will be a tiger; if you don’t use it, you will be a rat.”
"It is hard to predict what will happen to one's life. If we had met a monarch who arbitrarily criticized talents, we would have never been able to succeed. Fortunately, we met Your Majesty. That is why we have the opportunity to realize our ambitions today."
At this moment, the Secretary is on duty in the hall.
Wang Gui put down the official document and said to his followers, "If there is any news of a great victory on Jingyuan Road, wake me up immediately!"
After saying this, Wang Gui closed his eyes and lay down on the chair for a nap, muttering to himself, "It's about time."