The Counterattack of the Villains

At the end of the first month, Li Mu received a secret order from the Empress Dowager, and the mobilization of troops, horses, food and grass had been completed.

In early March, the Song army will attack Xixia in four separate groups from Suizhou, Youzhou, Yuanzhou, and Lanzhou at the same time, with Li Mu leading the Changkong Sword Sect to provide full assistance.

Li Mu responded immediately. He first sent a letter to Xiao Feng, and then sent five hundred elite disciples, eight hundred inner disciples, and one thousand six hundred outer disciples.

These nearly three thousand people were also divided into four groups and went to the four states to cooperate with the Song army in fighting. He and Ruan Xingzhu personally led a group of people to Lanzhou to help the Zhong family army march north from Huizhou on the border of Xixia.

Just like the most elite Western Army of the Song Dynasty, the Xixia border army in Huizhou was also the most capable army in Xixia.

They usually have constant friction with the Western Army of the Song Dynasty. The Song Army uses them to train troops, so why don't they use the Song Army to train troops?

Of course, Li Mu had to gnaw the hardest bone himself.

The more troublesome thing on the other side is Suizhou, which is the state closest to Xingqing Prefecture in the Song Dynasty. The Xixia army they face is also very elite, and Xixia has heavy troops stationed to guard it.

This group of troops was led by Cao Qingkui and followed by eight of Li Mu's direct disciples.

Yuanzhou is led by Xiao Feng and A'Zhu. Although he is now the leader of the Beggar Clan, Li Mu will also let him lead a group of Captain Kong disciples to attack during a foreign war.

As for the Beggar Clan elder, he leads a team of Beggar Clan masters and is in charge of Youzhou, which is the easiest place.

These martial arts masters will be the first units to attack.

However, it was not a frontal attack, but a pervasive assassination at night. At the same time, when the Song army launched an attack, they seized the city gate and opened the door for the Song army.

The disciples of Changkong all know the gecko wall-walking skill, and the city wall cannot stop them at all.

A month later, all parties were in place, and the Song Dynasty officially launched an all-out war against Xixia.

And this war has just begun, and Xixia has basically lost.

Because within just a few days after the war began, a large number of Xixia generals were assassinated, leaving the army without a leader, and the Song army collapsed as soon as it arrived.

They were not unprepared. They had already suffered a loss back then, so how could they not learn their lesson?

It's a pity that it's useless. In the face of absolute strength, any arrangement seems so fragile.

The disciples of Changkong nine years ago were already able to assassinate them in an unpreventable manner.

Now nine years have passed, and those who survived the war have become more powerful and more sophisticated in martial arts.

The masters of Xixia have been almost wiped out by the Changkong Sword Sect. With one thing going down the other, how can they still resist?

With the Changkong Sword Sect clearing the way, the Song Army's progress was almost unimpeded, and it was a smooth battle from the beginning.

Especially the Lanzhou Western Army, which was the furthest away from Xingqing Mansion, and their advance was the fastest.

Because Li Mu and his wife were there, they didn't even need to capture the city gate. After all, capturing the city gate would involve paying the price of casualties.

Li Mu would often pierce the city gate with his sword light, directly cut off the door bolt, and force open the city gate. Then he and Ruan Xingzhu took the lead in charging into the city, and with a burst of sword energy, the defenders blocking the city gate were basically reduced to seventy.

After eight falls, the Zhong family army followed closely and rushed into the city gate, descending with a drum.

More than a month later, the Western Army of the Song Dynasty reached Xingqing Mansion. At this time, the Emperor of Xixia and the Queen Mother Xiaoliang had already led the royal family to evacuate Xingqing Mansion and fled westward.

The Zhong family army took the lead in attacking the enemy's capital. A few days later, the four armies, totaling more than 600,000 troops, met at Xingqing Mansion.

After leaving the necessary occupying troops, the Song army pushed all the way westward, including Xiliangfu, Ganzhou, Suzhou, and Shazhou.

The Hetao area and the Hexi Corridor fell under the control of the Song army one after another. The good news flew into Bianliang like snowflakes, and the court hall was filled with joy and praise for the Empress Dowager.

But the Empress Dowager understood that without the help of the Changkong Sword Sect, this battle would not have gone so smoothly, and she was very grateful to Li Mu in her heart.

The Emperor of Xixia and the remaining troops were chased out of Yumen Pass by the Song army and fled to the Western Regions. The Xixia Kingdom was declared destroyed, and the Song army stopped at Yumen Pass.

It took more than half a year for the entire Xixia territory to be occupied by the Song Dynasty and became the territory of the Song Dynasty.

At the end of October that year, the Song army returned in triumph, leaving 400,000 Song troops stationed in Xixia.

A group of Song army generals returned to the capital to accept their rewards, but Changkong disciples and Beggar Clan disciples took off their clothes and hid their merits and fame, and returned to Liangshan and Luoyang respectively.

As a martial arts sect and a gang, it is natural for the court to grant rewards.

However, the Empress Dowager also gave a large amount of money to the Changkong Sword Sect and the Beggar Clan. This was the only gesture the court could make.

At the same time, the Empress Dowager followed Shenzong's example and sent someone to send a plaque to the Changkong Sword Sect, covered with a jade seal, in the name of Emperor Zhao Xu.

On the plaque are four gilded characters: The Unparalleled Hero.

This title of giant hero used to be just the respect given to Li Mu by people in the world, but now it has been officially recognized.

As a result, not only the people in the world called him Juxia, but even the civil and military officials in the court could no longer call him Mr. Li when they saw him, but had to call him Li Juxia.

This is the peerless hero personally sealed by the royal family. Who dares to ignore it?

Along with this plaque, there was also an "iron coupon"

It states that if Li Mu holds this iron certificate, he will be exempted from death for three times and his descendants will be exempted from death for one crime when he commits crimes under national law except treason. If he commits regular punishment, no additional punishment will be imposed by the judge.

In other words, unless Li Mu rebelled, the national laws of the Song Dynasty would not be able to control him. Other capital crimes could be exempted three times, and ordinary crimes would be innocent.

With this iron coupon of the alchemy book, he could walk sideways in the Song Dynasty.

In the eyes of all the civil and military officials in the court, this was the greatest trust and favor shown by the royal family to Li Mu.

But in the eyes of people in the martial arts world, this iron book of alchemy is just a joke.

With the current power of the Changkong Sword Sect and Li Mu's own peerless martial arts, the national law itself can no longer control him, so everything written on the iron certificate is nonsense.

But Li Mu was still very happy, which at least meant that the Empress Dowager was not a white-eyed wolf, and her efforts would eventually be rewarded.

In the spring of the second year after the end of the National War, Xiao Feng and A'Zhu got married. In the same year, Duan Zhengming became a Buddhist monk and became a monk in Tianlong Temple. Duan Yu ascended the throne as emperor.

It was only then that he revealed that his biological father was not the King of Zhennan, but the Supreme Emperor Duan Yanqing. Although the Dali officials were surprised, they did not suspect anything, and many things suddenly became clear to them.

At this time, Zhengchun has died, Duan Zhengming has also become a monk, and Duan Yu is now in charge of Dali. His biological father is still Li Juxia of the Song Dynasty. Who dares to talk nonsense?

Duan Yu made Mu Wanqing the queen of Dali, and Qin Hongmian was also taken back to Dali to serve her.

Dao Baifeng had officially become a monk when Duan Zhengchun died and became a Kun Taoist.

From then on, Duan Yu worked diligently on state affairs, but he never had the opportunity to go out to mess around with women.

In the end, Zhong Ling, who came to Dali, was just made a noble concubine. From then on, he ruled Dali and rarely went out again.

In September of the second half of the year, the Empress Dowager of the Song Dynasty passed away at the age of 62. She was posthumously named Queen Xuanren Shenglie and was buried with Yingzong in Yonghou Mausoleum.

Eighteen-year-old Zhao Xu finally took charge of the government. He immediately invited Li Mu to the palace to discuss matters. Bianliang Palace and Funing Palace.

This is the palace of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Xu invited Li Mu here instead of meeting him in Chongzheng Hall, so he was extremely close to him.

"Li Mu, a common man, has seen officials.'

Since the meeting is private, there is no need to address His Majesty, and you can directly address the official.

Zhao Xu hurriedly stepped forward to help Li Mu up and said: "Mr. Li, please get up quickly. Let's meet in private. No need to be polite.'

Li Mu happily said: "Thank you, Guanjia.

Zhao Xu said to Li Mu: "Mr. Li, I invite you to the palace because I want to ask you for advice. Where should the Song Dynasty go from here?'

Li Mu laughed dumbly and said: "This question should be asked by the officials, civil and military officials. How can ordinary people and warriors have any say in state affairs?"

Zhao Xu waved his hand and said: "The words of those ministers in the court are just the pedantic opinions of scholars. What big things can be accomplished?

"Over the years that the Imperial Grandmother has been in power, all major national affairs have been in the hands of a group of cowardly and corrupt scholars. They claim to be gentlemen, but in fact they are greedy, selfish, and selfish villains."

"Mr. Li, you don't have to be humble. I can see that you are a man of great ambition, and he is completely different from those rotten scholars. I want to hear your true knowledge and insights, and I hope that you will not hesitate to give me some advice.'

Li Mu's eyes flashed with appreciation, and he couldn't help laughing loudly in Funing Palace, "Guan Jia really did not disappoint the common people. When they first met Guan Jia two years ago, Cao Min already saw that Guan Jia is someone who can achieve great things."

king.'

After all, he is a young man. After hearing Li Mu's words, Zhao Xu's face turned red with excitement and he said with a smile: "Sir, do you really think so?

Li Mu sighed: "The common people see the shadow of the late emperor in the official family, and the common people believe that the official family will definitely inherit the late emperor's legacy and create an unparalleled legacy.

Zhao Xu bowed to Li Mu and said, "Sir, please teach me.

Li Mu helped Zhao Xu up, with a straight look on his face, and said: "Since the officials want the common people to speak, then the common people will say a few words from the bottom of their hearts to the officials. If the words are inappropriate, please forgive the officials.'

Zhao Xu said seriously: "Sir, please speak out and I will forgive your innocence.

Li Mulue pondered for a while and then said: "The Song Dynasty has been in existence for more than 130 years, and now there are many shortcomings. If we want to completely turn things around and create a prosperous age like the Zhenguan period, reform is imperative.

"The biggest current shortcoming of the Song Dynasty is that it values ​​civility and neglects military force. Emperor Taizu conquered the world with military force, so he was worried that future generations would imitate him, so he established a basic national policy of strong civil society and weak military force.'

"For the era when Emperor Taizu lived, this was not wrong, because the era he lived in was an era of great chaos and warlords fighting.

"The status of the literati at that time was generally not high, and they were powerful if they had an army in their hands. The Jiedushi envoys had military and political control, and they became princes.

"But now it's completely different

In front of Zhao Xu, Li Mu criticized the current shortcomings and pointed out the long-standing shortcomings of the Song Dynasty.

In addition to problems such as emphasizing culture over military affairs, frequent rotation of generals, soldiers who do not know generals, generals who do not know soldiers, and lax training, there is also the problem of "three redundancies and two accumulations", which Li Mu talked about without reservation.

Zhao Xu listened very carefully and nodded in agreement from time to time. He was not at all worried about Li Mu's words criticizing his ancestors.

Because many of the things Li Mu said were things he himself had seen.

After all, young people are arrogant and full of vigor, but Zhao Xu has always regarded his father as his idol and is determined to inherit his father's ambition.

Many of what Li Mu said were quite similar to what his father said to him when he was a child.

It has to be said that Shenzong Zhao Xu was indeed one of the few ambitious and accomplished emperors in the Song Dynasty, but it was a pity that he died too early.

This Zhao Xu has the tendency to become the second Shenzong, and Li Mu is sparing no effort to help him.

What Li Mu said meant that for several hours, Zhao Xu had lunch with him at Funing Palace at noon, and in the afternoon the two discussed in detail the specific reform measures.

It wasn't until sunset that the topic came to an end.

Zhao Xu said with emotion: "Sir, you are truly an extraordinary talent. As the head of a Jianghu sect, you have really wasted your vision and talents.

"If you, sir, are willing to enter the imperial court, I would like to treat him as a matter of peace under Zhongshu's family."

Zhongshu Menxia Ping Zhangshi was the Prime Minister of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Li Mu smiled and shook his head and said: "As a common man, the same thing is true. When a common man enters the court, the country only gets one person who can be used.

“But if ordinary people are in the opposition, they can continuously cultivate talents for the country.

"There are also scholars in the Changkong Sword Sect, and they are real scholars, not those pedantic and conservative rotten scholars who talk nonsense about the country.

"Speaking of this, Cao Min has a direct disciple named Song Jiang. Although he is still young now, he will definitely become a government official in the future.

"Oh?" Zhao Xu became interested and said, "How much of a true successor does Song Jiang have, sir?"

Li Mu said with a smile: "The common people never hide anything from their disciples, they all teach them with all their money. Just saying this is empty talk, and now he can't come to serve the officials.

Zhao Xu asked curiously: "Why is this?'

Li Mudao: "Because he left the Central Plains a few years ago to prepare a gift for the official family, and it was also his first step into the world.'

Zhao Xu asked enthusiastically: "What gift is it?'

Li Mu said slowly: "The sixteen states of Yanyun and even the territory of Liao Kingdom are seven million miles away.'

"What?" Zhao Xu exclaimed, stood up suddenly, looked at Li Mu in disbelief, and said anxiously, "What's going on? Sir, please tell me in detail.

Li Mu said: "A few years ago, the grassroots sent Song Jiang and two other disciples to the bitter cold land of Liaodong to assist the Jurchen tribe.

Zhao Xu gradually became excited as he listened to Li Mu's narration.

"If this plan succeeds, within ten years, the Song Dynasty will not only be able to take back the sixteen states of Yanyun, but also benefit from it. In one fell swoop, all the territory of the Liao Kingdom and Liaodong will be included in the territory of the Song Dynasty.'

"The merit of annexing Xixia has been harvested by the Empress Dowager, but if this plan is successful, the Song Dynasty will open up thousands of miles of rivers and mountains in the hands of the officials and create unparalleled achievements."

After listening to Li Mu's words, Zhao Xu walked around the palace excitedly, murmuring incessantly: "What a good man to drive away wolves and devour tigers, and what a good fisherman to make a profit."

After walking around for a while, Zhao Xu stopped and said flatly to Li Mu: "If these disciples of yours truly can help the Song Dynasty win the Liao Kingdom and Liaodong, I will definitely use them.

"Song Jiang can serve as the official under Zhongshu's family, and Wu Yong should be appointed as the 'Investor of Political Affairs'. He can choose various official positions in the six ministries of the three provinces of the Song and Qing Dynasties.'

Li Mu stood up, cupped his fists and bowed, "The common people will thank the officials first on behalf of the three disciples."

Zhao Xu gave Li Mu a house in Bianliang, and he and Ruan Xingzhu lived in Bianliang for half a year.

In the past six months, he has been conditioning Zhao Xu's body.

Zhao Xu was ill when he was a child, but the Empress Dowager did not allow the imperial doctor to treat him. As a result, the root cause of the disease was found, and he had a deficiency of Qi and blood in his urine since childhood.

This also laid the foundation for his untimely death at the age of twenty-five.

Li Mu used his extraordinary medical skills and the Yiyang Finger activated by Jiuyang Zhenqi to make up for Zhao Xu's deficiencies.

At the same time, he passed on the exercises from the Yi Jin Tong Gu chapter to Zhao Xu to enhance his physique.

Feeling that his body was getting lighter and stronger day by day, Zhao Xu's gratitude to Li Mu could not be greater. It is said that once the emperor and one courtier, during this six months, Zhao Xu chased and demoted Sima Guang, chased Wang Anshi, and vigorously attacked Yuanyou's old party ministers. .

The old party prime ministers Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang were deposed, Su Shi, Su Zhe and other old parties were demoted to Lingnan, and the new party Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu and other reformists were reactivated.

At the same time, the laws to protect the armor, the laws to protect the horses, and the exemption from service law in Wang Anshi's reform were restored to reduce the burden on farmers and greatly improve the country's situation.

In order to cope with the old party's counterattack and the strife in the court, Li Mu mobilized a group of elite disciples from Changkong to support Zhao Xu and the new party.

Within half a year, some members of the old party who used dark methods were killed. At Zhao Xu's request, a wave of purges was carried out on all officials, and the court was cleared.

Then came the rectification of the problems of three redundancies and two accumulations, as well as the reform of the military.

Li Mu proposed political education and established the concept of military soul, so that the soldiers of the Song Dynasty could understand why they were soldiers and who they were fighting for.

If education is deepened from generation to generation in this way, sooner or later the army of the Song Dynasty will have a military spirit.

Even if the same general leads an army all year round, the court no longer has to worry about the army rebelling.

Li Mu even personally wrote a copy of the "Regulations on Soldiers of the Song Dynasty" for Zhao Xu. Zhao Xu was amazed after reading it.

With Li Mu's strong support, Wang Anshi's reform was revived after ten years, and the Song Dynasty was developing rapidly and flourishing.

In the year after Zhao Xu took office, that is, after Xiao Feng committed suicide outside Yanmen Pass in the original plot to prevent the Liao army from invading, at the end of the Tianlong plot, a system prompt rang in Li Mu's mind.

"This reincarnation is over. You can choose to return at any time within 24 hours. If you do not choose to return after 24 hours, you will be forced to return.'

Li Mu's reincarnation does not end immediately after completing the obsession of the replaced villain. Completing the obsession is only a necessary condition, not the only condition.

Reincarnation will truly end only when the plot is completed and the original obsession is completed.

Reaching only one of them does not end the reincarnation, both conditions must be met.