Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 893 Borrowing Military Forces

Empress Xiao saw the weakness of the Song Dynasty and the current situation forced the Song Dynasty to surrender. Therefore, she asked for five states and 100,000 taels of silver before she would consider stopping the attack and wait and see what would happen.

It was impossible to withdraw troops directly. The Song Dynasty might be destroyed at any time. The Liao army was waiting for the opportunity in the north. Once the Song army was defeated by the Wu army, the Liao army would take the opportunity to seize more territory.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Empress Xiao will naturally not let it go. She said these words to the envoy of the Song Dynasty just to get some benefits first.

After all, the Liao army had been fighting for a while and was also exhausted. If they could successfully capture the five states, the people of Song would become their slaves, and their farms and wealth would belong to the Liao people. This was a good deal, and Empress Xiao would naturally not let it go easily.

Yang Ximin did not dare to agree, so he planned to send someone on horseback to Bian Jing to deliver a letter to get a reply from the court, otherwise he would not be able to make the decision.

The peace talks between Song and Liao were temporarily suspended, and according to Empress Xiao, they were given ten days to respond.

Outside Yingtian Prefecture, Su Chen was recruiting soldiers. With more than 400,000 main troops and nearly 100,000 surrendered soldiers, a total of 500,000 troops were assembled and were about to set off in a mighty force. Their next goal was to go all the way north and head straight for Bianjing City.

Now, Pan Mei, Lin Renzhao, Pan Chongche and other commanders are all accompanying, each with a 100,000-man army, and they are continuing the Northern Expedition with great momentum. The negotiations between Song and Wu have failed. Next, the Wu army wants to destroy the Song Dynasty, which is Su Chen's goal.

All the Wu army soldiers were full of confidence and fighting spirit, thinking that the destruction of Song was just around the corner, and their morale was high. "Send troops and strive to destroy Song within two months!" This was the strategic goal given by Su Chen, to destroy Song within two months and complete the unification of the north and the south.

Although he also knew that the Liao army had been dispatched and was in the north of the Song Dynasty, involving part of the Song army, and that Wu and Liao might become enemies in the future, but at the moment, the role of the Liao army was to help the Wu Kingdom and restrain the Song army in the north from withdrawing.

Su Chen planned to take over the Song Dynasty before the Song and Liao dynasties formed a complete alliance. The imperial guards of Bianjing City only had 100,000 soldiers, and they could not stop the attack of the 500,000 soldiers of Wu. Moreover, he also had advanced weapons such as firearms and hot air balloons. He was sure that he could quickly break the city of Bianjing.

"This time, the Song Dynasty is really not far from collapse."

Pan Mei sighed softly, with mixed feelings in his heart, but he did not regret it. As a wise bird chooses a tree to roost in, he was placed under house arrest for a year after being captured. It was not until he saw his family that he truly surrendered to Su Chen. Now Su Chen thinks highly of him, and seeing that the north and the south are about to be unified, Pan Mei feels that he can become a new founding hero, which is worth it and will be recorded in the new history.

In the imperial study of the Bianjing Imperial City.

Zhao Kuangyin first received the news of the peace talks brought back by Cheng Dexuan, and was furious when he heard the words "How can I allow others to snore on my side-lying bed?" He didn't expect Su Chen to respond to him with this sentence, which was a naked slap in the face!

"What a wicked Su Chen! He has such evil ambitions! He wants to fight to the death with our Song Dynasty! Ahem! Ahem!"

When Zhao Kuangyin heard the report from the peace envoy in the imperial study, he was so angry that he started coughing non-stop and was extremely furious.

Zhao Pu saw that Zhao Kuangyin's health was getting worse. His injuries showed no signs of improvement, but became worse due to his anxiety. He was a little worried about Zhao Kuangyin's health: "Your Majesty, how are you?" "It's fine for now, ahem. I'm taking medicine and I'll be well in a few days, ahem." Zhao Kuangyin said a few words, hoping to reassure the ministers.

Zhao Guangyi looked at his elder brother's body, frowned, and his mind became active. If his elder brother's body failed, who would inherit the throne?

Zhao Kuangyin continued, "The Wu army is eyeing Bianjing City and will definitely continue to attack. We don't have enough troops and need to transfer troops from all over the country as soon as possible. Ministers, do you have any plan to transfer troops to fight the enemy?"

The Privy Councilor Li Chongyue suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan. Why not transfer troops from the northwest? There are the Tanguts there, as well as the vassal forces, such as the Feng family of Lingzhou, the Yang family of Linzhou, the Li family of Xiazhou, the Zhe family of Fuzhou, etc. These northwest vassal forces have existed since the end of the Tang Dynasty. Although they have now nominally surrendered to the Song Dynasty, they have always maintained their own troops. Why not transfer these vassal troops to the Central Plains now to deal with the Wu army!"

When he said this, Zhao Kuangyin and his ministers fell into deep thought.

"Will they send troops at this time?" Zhao Guangyi was a little confused.

Li Chongyue said: "Among the northwestern vassal states, the Zhe clan of Fuzhou is the most powerful and is relatively respectful to the Central Plains court. The probability of them sending troops to support the king is very high."

The rise of the Zhe family can be traced back to the end of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Zhe Zongben served as the commander of the five towns of the Zhenwu Army and controlled a 150-li area around Fugu. This land later became Fuzhou, where the Zhe family had its roots. From then on, the Zhe family began to join the feudal system in the late Tang Dynasty and gradually accumulated strength and influence.

During the Five Dynasties, the status of the Zhe family further rose. In the fifth year of Kaiping in the Later Liang Dynasty (911), the court promoted Fugu County to Fuzhou, and Zhe Congruan was granted the title of Fuzhou Governor. This appointment marked that the Zhe family officially became the local ruler. In the Later Jin Dynasty, Zhe Congruan was further conferred the title of Jianxiu Taibao, and concurrently served as the Protector of Anbei, the Governor of Shuozhou, and the Jiedushi of Zhenwu Army. The sphere of influence of the Zhe family has far exceeded Fuzhou.

The rise of the Zhe family in troubled times is closely related to the geographical location of Fuzhou. Fuzhou is located in the northeast of the Hetao region. There are large grasslands and wetlands in the north, with abundant water and grass, which is an ideal animal husbandry area; although the south is a loess plateau with gullies, there are river beaches and valleys formed by the alluvial deposits of many rivers such as Quye River and Qingshui River, which have become fertile farming land. This place is rich in products and was called "Rich Valley" during the Tang Dynasty.

After the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin adopted a conciliatory policy towards the Zhe family. He not only recognized the hereditary rule of the Zhe family over Fuzhou, but also granted Zhe Congruan high positions and generous salaries such as "Inspector of the Imperial Guards, Guardian of the Imperial Guards, and Co-Prime Minister". Later, Zhe Congruan led the Fuzhou army to assist the Song army in attacking the Northern Han Dynasty. In the subsequent northern expeditions, the Fuzhou army played an important role.

Now, facing the threat of Wu's army, it is more likely that Zhe Congruan will send troops to rescue Kyoto. He has a close relationship with the Song court, and the prefecture and state troops have performed well in previous battles. In comparison, it is hard to say about the other vassal states.

Zhao Kuangyin thought to himself that the situation was critical and he could only try his best. If these vassal states could send troops, he could indeed kill with a borrowed knife and rely on the troops of the vassal states to block the attack of the Wu army. In this way, the Song Dynasty's imperial army and local troops could buy time to regroup and prepare for war, and perhaps there would be a glimmer of hope.

Thinking of this, he said in a deep voice: "Okay, the Privy Council will immediately issue an order to notify those vassal states to lead their troops into the Central Plains and come to Kaifeng Prefecture to defend the king!" There was a hint of determination in his voice, as if he had made the final preparations.

Zhao Pu and others looked at each other. Although they were worried, they also understood that this was the only way at present.

Li Chongyue responded quickly: "Yes, Your Majesty. We will do it right away." He turned around and prepared to leave to convey the emperor's order.

Zhao Kuangyin waved his hand and asked the ministers to leave. He felt heavy-hearted as he watched the ministers leave. He knew that this battle was not only about the survival of the Song Dynasty, but also about the fate of countless people. He took a deep breath, tried to calm his inner turmoil, and looked into the distance with a firm gaze. No matter what the outcome was, he would do his best for the Song Dynasty.