In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

In the Nanjing Palace of Xijin Prefecture, Yelu Zongzhen was in a very bad mood at this time.

Because bad news came one after another.

"Report, a large number of Song army scouts appeared outside Xijin Prefecture, and our scouts were driven away and could not go in."

"Report, the Song army has surrounded Liangxiang, and the messengers in the city cannot enter or leave."

"Report, the Song army is bombarding Liangxiang City!"

Two or three days after the rain stopped, the Song army ushered in a major counterattack.

When it rained and it was dark, the combat effectiveness of the Song army's firearms decreased a lot, and the power was much smaller.

Just like in the Battle of Humen in 1841 AD, because of the rain, the British could only maintain a 50% firing rate of guns, and the artillery had a firing rate of about 60% due to the protective device, and the combat effectiveness was seriously reduced.

However, even so, the corrupt and incompetent Qing government was defeated by the British and signed the humiliating "Chuanpi Treaty" and the subsequent "Nanjing Treaty".

So although the firearms were indeed affected by the rain, the organized firearms army was still very powerful.

The only problem now is that the Liao Kingdom is not as destitute as the Qing government in 1841. At this time, the Liao Kingdom is in a period of decline, but the large number of elite troops left by Emperor Shengzong of Liao are still there, unlike the Qing army in the late Qing Dynasty, which will break at the first touch.

In this situation, the Liao army fought hard, and the Liao army also had artillery. When fighting at night, it still caused a lot of trouble to the Song army, so that Fan Zhongyan was quite passive.

But once the rain stopped and the sky cleared, things turned around. The Liao army cannot be said to be completely defeated, but it was beaten to a pulp, fled in all directions, and ran back to the city.

The Song army began to press forward on a large scale, increasing layer by layer. More than 100,000 troops surrounded Liangxiang, Yuhe, Wanping and other places and began civil engineering work.

More than 100,000 Song troops seemed to have become the reincarnation of the innate civil engineering saint overnight. Surrounding the surrounding areas of Liangxiang, facing Yuhe and Wanping, they dug the earth three layers inside and three layers outside frantically, and almost dug the tunnel to Yelu Zongzhen’s palace.

But it must be admitted that this move of the Song army was indeed very effective.

By digging trenches, the Liao army's horse charge can be effectively stopped and their mobility can be limited.

At the same time, it can also serve as a shelter to reduce casualties from artillery fire, so that when the Song army surrounded Liangxiang, they could avoid the artillery bombardment on Liangxiang City.

"Your Majesty, this is not a solution."

In the palace, at this time, Yelu Zongzhen was surrounded by only the crown prince Yelu Chongyuan, King Wu Yelu Renxian, King Han Zhang Jian, Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi Liu Liufu, and Nanyuan Xuanhui Envoy Xiao Ying.

The rest of Xiao Hui, Xiao Xiaoyou, Xiao Xiaomu, Yelu Zongyuan, Yelu Begut, Yelu Tulukun and others were leading troops outside, dispersing to various places in Xijin Prefecture to deal with the Song army.

The current situation of Song and Liao is naturally not that simple. In addition to several county towns around Xijin Prefecture, a large number of Song and Liao armies are still fighting and confronting in Luxian, Guoyin, Xianghe, Wuqing and other places. The situation is intertwined and the two sides are going back and forth.

But the overall situation is that Song attacked and Liao defended. After the rainy season, the Liao army had almost no resistance in the field encounter. Cold weapons and firearms were worse than the Qing army fighting the British army. At least the Qing army still had some matchlock guns to use.

So now the Liao army can be said to be retreating step by step. After many night operations were easily resolved by Fan Zhongyan, it was difficult to organize an effective offensive against the Song army. For a while, it was quite helpless.

Liu Liufu had been promoted to the prime minister of the Northern Palace. He persuaded Yelu Zongzhen: "We attacked repeatedly during the heavy rain season, but were blocked by Fan Zhongyan. Now that the army is at the gate of the city, Liangxiang may not be able to hold out for long. After that, the Song army will definitely eat away at it step by step. If it continues to consume, it will be disadvantageous to our army."

Yelu Zongzhen asked: "What do you think, Prime Minister Liu, what should I do?"

"Uh"

Liu Liufu hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Why not negotiate with the Song Kingdom?"

Talk?

Hearing Liu Liufu's words, Yelu Zongzhen frowned.

He suffered two losses in this battle. First, he did not expect the Song army's firearms to be so fast. The firing speed and power were much worse before, but now they have improved so much.

Second, he did not expect Fan Zhongyan's turtle tactics to be so powerful with the musket. They were just like facing a turtle with thorns.

And this turtle is not an ordinary turtle, but a black tortoise. If you fight with it, you will not only be defeated, but you will be shot with thorns, and even bite back and tear off a piece of meat.

How to deal with this?

But if you say you can't beat it directly, it will obviously hurt morale.

Moreover, it was always the Song Dynasty that took the initiative to ask for peace talks with them. Even last time, the two sides signed an equal treaty.

This time, he took the initiative to ask for peace talks when he was in a dilemma. What if the Song Dynasty made unreasonable demands?

And the most important thing is that Yelu Zongzhen did not feel that he had fallen into a desperate situation where he was bound to lose.

At present, the Liao Kingdom is mobilizing. In addition to the 200,000 to 300,000 troops in Nanjing, he has already subdued the northeastern tribes such as Bohai, Jurchen, and Shiwei in Tokyo.

The Mongolian tribes on the grasslands in the south and north of the desert had already been recruited, and now they were ordered to send strong warriors to follow the Liao people to fight.

If the whole country was mobilized, Yelu Zongzhen was confident that he could at least get 500,000 or 600,000 troops.

The reason why he was confident was not only that the Liao Kingdom had gained a lot of benefits from trade with the Song people in the short seven or eight years, which improved its national strength, but also that the tribes under the Liao Kingdom were all nomadic or fishing and hunting peoples.

The characteristic of these peoples is that all people are soldiers.

If it's a bit extreme, it's not impossible for the Liao Kingdom to have more than one million soldiers out of a population of more than nine million.

Therefore, Yelvzong really didn't feel that he was in a desperate situation.

‘As long as King Qi’s side eliminates Di Qing, allows gunpowder, supplies, and reinforcements from Tokyo to arrive, and then adds the troops from other tribes, then everything will be fine. ’

When Yelu Zong really thought of this, he scolded Liu Liufu: "What does Liu Xiang mean, is that one million of our Liao soldiers are no match for the Song Kingdom's hundreds of thousands of troops? What Liu Xiang means is that I should take the initiative to ask Zhao Zhen Kneel down and ask for peace? Where is my face? Where is Daliao's face?"

"I have absolutely no intention of doing so."

Liu Liufu was shocked and said quickly: "I also feel that now is not the time for a decisive battle with the Song Dynasty."

"No need to say more, I will depose Liu Liufu as the military envoy of Changning Army!"

Yelu Zongzhen took the case and angrily said: "How can such cowardly people be the prime minister of Liaobei Prefecture? If your father had not assisted the late emperor with merits, you would have died long ago!"

"His Majesty."

Liu Liufu was shocked. He never expected that Yelu Zong would lose such a big temper and actually masturbate him directly.

"snort!"

Yelu Zongzhen snorted coldly and was about to have someone take Liu Liufu out.

It was Zhang Jian who said: "Your Majesty, this is the time when people should be employed. Although Prime Minister Liu's words were inappropriate, he did not mean it. Please be generous, Your Majesty."

Hearing Zhang Jian's words, Yelv Zongzhen frowned slightly. Zhang Jian's words still have weight. After all, Yelv Zongzhen has always treated him like a father-in-law and obeyed his advice.

So after a little thought, Yelu Zongzhen didn't call anyone, but he didn't restore Liu Liufu's position. Instead, he said, "What do you think I should do?"

"The battle with the Song Dynasty at this time will probably become a battle like the Battle of Changping. It depends on whether His Majesty intends to complete his victory in one battle, or whether he chooses to retreat temporarily and negotiate peace with Song Dynasty."

Zhang Jian analyzed: "It is not good for us to drag it down. If the grain and grass from the rear come a little, even if Xiao Xiaomu defeats Di Qing, the Song Dynasty will definitely increase its troops one after another, and we don't know how many naval forces they have, so there are only two The result is war or peace!"

This may seem like nonsense, but in fact, now we are talking about the final outcome of this battle with the Song Dynasty from a strategic analysis, that is, whether it is a fight or a peace. After all, no matter in terms of equipment quality or tactics, they have actually Fall into disadvantage.

After lacking the ability to fight in the wild, the Liao Kingdom must consider fighting to the end or negotiating peace with the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, if it continues to drag on, it will be a sure defeat, and there is basically no possibility of victory.

Yelu Zongzhen naturally understood, and asked: "From my perspective, if we fight, what are our chances of winning?"

"What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Zhang Jian asked back.

Yelu Zong really thought about it and said: "I still have a million troops. When the troops and horses from the rear are gathered, we will fight to the death with the Song Dynasty! I don't believe it. If we gather all the troops and horses and launch a surprise attack at night, the Song army can really withstand it." ?"

Zhang Jian smiled bitterly and said: "Let's not talk about the many ditches dug on the third and third floors in Fan Zhongyan. If we just say that fighting at night is not good for the Song army, how can it not be a bad thing for us in Daliao?"

Why were wars fought mostly during the day in ancient times, and there were very few battles at night?

Like the Battle of Changping, would it be better if Zhao Kuo chose to break out at night when the Qin soldiers were sleeping?

If anyone has such doubts, they are totally wrong.

Because in ancient times, night lighting basically relied on the moon or torches, and even with the moon and torches, visibility was very low. It was easy to hurt teammates in night battles, so the ancients tried to avoid night battles.

At the same time, fighting at night is not easy to command. If you are not careful, the army may become a mess and turn into headless flies. Then the enemy will seize the opportunity and defeat it in one fell swoop.

In addition, there was no positioning in ancient times, and there were no smart phones. You had to rely on yourself to determine the direction, such as looking at the sun, moon or Big Dipper.

But when fighting is so intense and exciting, you may not notice these things if you are not careful.

Once a war breaks out, a few thousand people are fine. But if there is a war involving tens of thousands of people, it will often involve small armies of a few or dozens of people killing each other.

It's so dark at night that you can't see the moon or the Big Dipper, and night blindness is a common problem in ancient times. If you accidentally run to the wrong place, or if you don't know the right direction, you can only rush forward, and all kinds of messy things may happen.

Therefore, night battles were often avoided in ancient wars. Even when attacking enemy camps at night, only a small force was often sent, and even if they were sacrificed, it would not cause any harm.

Including the Liao army attacking and harassing the Song camp these days, although the scale was large, more than 50,000 to 60,000 troops were dispatched. But in fact, the troops were scattered across the land of Youyan to fight. When the actual battle happened, hundreds or even dozens of people attacked the various camps of the Song army.

Under such prerequisites, attacking the Song army at night, which has a large number of firearms and a large number of trapped horse pits and trenches on the periphery, is actually not much more difficult than during the day, and the probability of defeat may even be greater than during the day.

So after hearing Zhang Jian's words, Yelu Zongzhen was silent for a moment.

Why didn't he understand that if he continued to divide his troops and harass them like this, how could he give them a chance with Fan Zhongyan's defensive ability?

Unless Fan Zhongyan is replaced...

Yelu Zongzhen suddenly turned his head and looked around and said, "I heard that the Emperor of Song has always been afraid of foreign ministers leading the army. If we spread rumors that Fan Zhongyan will rebel and force him to be transferred, will this plan work?"

As long as Fan Zhongyan is replaced, it is possible that the new generals will not adopt such turtle tactics.

As long as the Song army no longer builds camps and digs trenches along the way, even at night, the Liao army can rush into the Song army camp, just like Cao Cao's surprise attack on Wuchao at night.

"This plan may be worth a try, but I think it is unlikely."

Zhang Jian shook his head.

"Why?"

Yelu Zongzhen asked.

"Because I think there is someone behind Fan Zhongyan supporting him."

"Who? The Emperor of Song?"

"No."

Zhang Jian looked outside the palace with a dim gaze and said, "I'm afraid it's the head of the Political System Institute."

Yelu Zongzhen was silent for a while.

In fact, he and Li Yuanhao only figured out this matter afterwards.

After all, as the monarchs of the enemy country, they would certainly pay attention to the situation in the political arena of Song State, so as to understand the situation and make corresponding judgments.

However, Zhao Jun traveled around the country not long after he came to power, and the national affairs were basically handled by Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng.

After that, the Song-Xia War and the Song-Liao War broke out one after another, and Fan Zhongyan rose like a shining new star, so bright that people could not take their eyes off him.

When the war was over, Fan Zhongyan took over the Qingli New Deal and became the leader of the reformists, while Zhao Jun hid behind the scenes.

In addition, Zhao Zhen has been purely engaged in scientific research in recent years and has made many new inventions. In terms of reputation and fame among the people, Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhongyan are obviously much more famous than Zhao Jun.

So in addition to Zhao Jun having the highest status in the Political System Institute, he was actually overshadowed by Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhongyan outside.

If he had not been so decisive in killing evil forces, corrupt officials, military nobles, and landlords, killing so many people, I am afraid that the world would only know that someone became the chancellor, but not who it was.

Only Yelu Zongzhen and Li Yuanhao discovered the clues in recent years and realized that the changes of Zhao Zhen, Fan Zhongyan, and even many prime ministers of the Political System Council were all caused by someone behind the scenes.

If Zhao Jun fully supported Fan Zhongyan, with the current political program of the Political System Council, and the fact that Zhao Zhen has never opposed the policies of the Political System Council, perhaps even if they used the counter-espionage strategy to make Zhao Zhen suspicious, as long as the Political System Council insisted, Zhao Zhen would not necessarily replace Fan Zhongyan.

"No matter what, we have to give it a try."

Yelu Zongzhen sighed and said, "When the late emperor handed over the country to me, the Liao Dynasty was so powerful. How dare the Song people provoke the Liao Dynasty? In just a few decades, although the Liao Dynasty has not declined, its national situation has changed dramatically. How can I face the late emperor?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes and said, "Anyway, I will not take the initiative to ask for peace talks. Who knows what harsh conditions the Song people will put forward at that time? They took away the ten counties in Guanbei back then, and now it may be Xijin or Datong. The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were obtained by our ancestors with great efforts. I will never let anyone take away my territory again!"

"Alas"

Zhang Jian also sighed slightly. How could he not know that the Liao Dynasty was in a difficult situation at the moment?

If he really fought to the end with the Song Dynasty, the chances of winning were very slim.

But Yelu Zongzhen was right.

The Liao Dynasty in the past was like a wild wolf, constantly encroaching on the territory of the Song Dynasty.

But one day, something suddenly changed. The Song Dynasty turned from a lamb into a tiger and began to encroach on the Liao Kingdom.

Under such circumstances, once the Liao Dynasty took a step back, it would retreat step by step.

First, Zhuozhou was taken away, and then the border was forced to open. Now if they want to negotiate, I am afraid that only Youzhou or Yunzhou or even the entire Yanyun area can satisfy the appetite of the Song Dynasty.

Don't say that it was the Liao Kingdom that started the war first.

There are already survival issues between the two countries, and this war is a matter of time.

What's more, the Liao Kingdom did not take the initiative to attack the Song Kingdom, but attacked the allies of the Song Kingdom, and the Song Kingdom found an excuse to attack them.

Therefore, no matter whether they took the initiative to attack or not, as long as they wanted to attack them, they would always find a reason.

So there are actually two choices left for Yelu Zongzhen. One is to admit defeat and be forced to sign a humiliating treaty with the Song Dynasty.

The second is to fight to the death, just like the Battle of Chanzhou in the Song Dynasty, fighting for a glimmer of hope.

As long as they can win and drive the Song Dynasty back, and let the Song people know that the Liao people can still defeat them, then the Song Dynasty will not actively invade again.

Then the Liao Dynasty can also win a precious period of development, and see if they can continue to study gunpowder technology and improve their firearms to the level of the Song Dynasty.

"In this case, let's fight to the death."

Zhang Jian exhaled a breath of turbid air and said softly: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, we can't delay, and it's best to fight quickly! And don't think about attacking at night again. The best way is to lead the main force of the Song army to set up an ambush in the wild, and use artillery to cover our cavalry raid. As long as we kill into the Song army, there is a possibility of victory!"

"Well, what do you think?"

Yelu Zongzhen looked at the others.

Yelu Chongyuan said: "Brother, I think what the Grand Master said is not unreasonable. You and I have led troops to fight, and we naturally know how dangerous night battles are. It's okay to send dozens or hundreds of people each time on a small scale, but once they are concentrated and hit by enemy artillery fire, I'm afraid they will be defeated in an instant."

Xiao Ying also said: "Your Majesty, I think it is true. During the day, we may prepare a large number of iron shields in front of the battle line, or push out iron and wooden curtain carts to block the enemy's musket fire. As long as my army is close, the Song people are just lambs to be slaughtered!"

"That's it. When the rear army arrives, I will withdraw the troops from Yuhe, Wanping and other places, gather them together, and attract the Song army to attack Xijin Prefecture."

Yelü Zongzhen thought: "As soon as the Song army arrives, don't give them the opportunity to set up camp and dig trenches. My army will immediately set up a battle line and fight the Song people to the death. They will definitely pay a painful price!"

"Maybe we can plan it in detail at that time."

Zhang Jian said.

"Hmm"

Yelü Zongzhen nodded slightly.

This is a strategic arrangement.

The specific tactical play still depends on the actual situation.

At this time, a messenger suddenly came in from outside and said with a sad face: "Report, Your Majesty! Something big has happened."

"Why are you so panicked?"

Yelu Zongzhen has been scared by bad news these days, and his face is very ugly.

The messenger said: "Di Qing raided the camp of the King of Qi and captured the King of Qi alive. The Prince of Lanling finally broke through Yuguan and flooded the Song fleet on the Yushui River. When the army was about to cross the river to annihilate the Song army, the Song army reinforcements arrived and cut off the Yushui River again!"

"What?"

Yelu Zongzhen felt that there was a breath in his chest that he couldn't spit out, and he couldn't swallow it. After a few seconds, he spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Puff!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

The blood sprayed on the table and stained the plum, which shocked the surrounding ministers.

Only Yelu Zongzhen felt better after spitting out blood. He supported the table with his right hand and waved his left hand, saying, "I'm fine."

As he said this, he looked at Zhang Jian, his eyes full of sorrow, and said with difficulty, "Father, what should I do?"

Zhang Jian sighed and said with a sad face, "Perhaps, we can only fight the Song people as soon as possible."