The heavens set sail from the courtyard

Chapter 408
Wang Gang led [-] Song troops to station at the foot of Helan Mountain. For more than half a year, he led people in the Xixia territory, winning one victory after another, truly showing the spirit of the army.

The [-] Song soldiers had long since given up on Wang Gang, they only had Wang Gang as the chief general in their hearts, and there was no official Zhao Xu.

Some people in the army even called themselves "Sheng Jiajun".

Now that the capital of Xixia is far away, most members of the Sheng family army are very tired, but they are very excited.

Everyone understands that as long as the Zhongxing Mansion, the capital of the Xixia Kingdom, is conquered, it will be an achievement of destroying the country, not to mention the title of a prince, even a king is qualified.

No one in the Sheng family's army felt that Zhongxing Mansion could not be captured, because they still had [-] flying arrows in their hands.

Many cities in Xixia were brought down by flying explosive arrows, and they have already gained a great reputation and prestige.

Wang Gang originally planned to let the soldiers have a good night's rest, and rushed to Zhongxing Mansion early tomorrow morning to give the Xixia Emperor a round of flying arrows to taste.

As a result, he had just been stationed at the foot of Helan Mountain when the herald of the British Duke arrived.

When Wang Gang received the order from the Duke of England, he thought the herald in front of him was a spy.

"British Duke asked me to withdraw troops?" Wang Gang took the general order and almost threw it in the face of the herald.

"Report to General Sheng, the government has issued an imperial decree, asking me to withdraw my troops quickly and leave the Xixia land."

Wang Gang could hold his breath, but his subordinate Kong De couldn't bear it:
"Is the British prince old and confused? The Zhongxing Mansion is right in front of us, and we can get it at our fingertips. If we retreat at this time, the brothers who we sacrificed before are not sacrificed in vain."

The messenger is the British Duke's private soldier, and he was very displeased to hear Comte's words.

In fact, Kong De used to be a soldier under the British public, but he was born and died with Wang Gang, and he had long considered himself an army of the Sheng family.

"General Sheng, the general will not accept the military orders abroad. As long as we win the Zhongxing Mansion, it will be a great achievement." Kong De said to Wang Gang in front of the herald.

The herald couldn't bear it anymore, and said angrily, "General Sheng, are you going to openly disobey the imperial edict of the official?"

Wang Gang half-closed his eyes, the murderous aura accumulated by beheading Xixia soldiers in the past year is enough to make a child stop crying.

The messenger stepped back slightly, being forced by Wang Gang's momentum.

"The official's order really made us withdraw from the Xia territory. What about the captured cities?" Wang Gang asked in a deep voice.

The messenger swallowed his saliva and said: "The imperial court has accepted the peace agreement of the Emperor Xixia. From then on, Xixia will always submit to my Great Song Dynasty and form a brotherly state forever."

Wang Gang raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and the murderous aura on his body became even more intense.

"Xi Xia surrendered and returned the captured city?!" Wang Gang stared wide-eyed, and the messenger couldn't stand it any longer, and knelt down directly.

"General Sheng, the British Lord asked me to bring you a sentence, asking if you have read "Shi Ji Yue Shi Jia"."

Wang Gang's eyes narrowed suddenly, and the momentum on his body was also subdued.

"Go back and tell British Duke, I know what he means, and I will withdraw tomorrow." Wang Gang put away the commander's order, and finally let the messenger breathe a sigh of relief.

Kong De was not angry, and wanted to persuade Wang Gang, but Wang Gang raised his hand to stop him.

"No need to say any more, pass on my order, the soldiers will rest overnight and rush back to Gyeongju tomorrow."

Kong De heard the words and could only reluctantly withdraw from the account.

After everyone went out, Wang Gang picked up the British general's order again, and couldn't help sneering in his heart.

How could Wang Gang not know what the Duke of England meant.

The Shiji Yue Family is about the deeds of King Goujian of Yue who lived hard and tasted courage, but there is an article in the Family of Yue that said that King Goujian of Yue succeeded in revenge, and Fan Li said a word when he retired.

When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the cunning rabbit dies, the lackey cooks.The king of Yue is a man with a long neck and a bird's beak. He can share adversity, but not joy.Why don't you go?
The British prince wanted to remind Wang Gang of the truth that when the bird is exhausted, the bow is hidden, and the rabbit is dead.

After the founding of the Song Dynasty, the guards against military generals were extremely strict, and the Zhao family could share adversity, but don't even think about sharing wealth.

This time Xixia proclaimed his minister, the official Zhao Xu immediately asked Wang Gang to retreat, and he was also worried that his achievements would overwhelm the Lord.

Wang Gang is different from the Duke of England. He is an uncle, that is, a relative. Since ancient times, no emperor wanted his relatives to take power, especially military power.

Although Wang Gang is not afraid of Zhao Xu, but his wife and children, and the family are all in Bianliang, so he has to think about his family.

So Wang Gang finally decided to follow the order and retreat.

Because Wang Gang also understands another meaning in the British public dialect.

As long as there are birds and cunning rabbits, the government will always need good dogs.

Xixia is that cunning rabbit. As long as Xixia is still alive, Song Dynasty needs good generals.

Wang Gang just understood this meaning, so he simply retreated.

Ten days later, the army completely retreated from Xiajing and returned to Gyeongju. Wang Gang and British Duke also met.

It was the first time to see Duke Yingying again after a year. Wang Gang found that although he looked good, he was obviously aging a lot with the naked eye.

It seems that the British Duke spent a lot of effort in this battle between Song and Xia.

"Congratulations to General Sheng on his triumphant return. I have set up a banquet in the tent to cleanse you up." Yingying held Wang Gang's hand heartily, like an old friend whom he hadn't seen for many years.

Most of the generals in the British public account looked at Wang Gang with admiration.

The main reason is that Wang Gang's merits are too high. He drove two thousand miles straight into the Xia territory and almost wiped out Xixia. Compared with Huo Qubing's achievements, such achievements are not far behind.

The army has always believed in the strong, and Wang Gang's bravery has also won the respect of the entire army.

At the banquet, the Duke of England and his generals toasted Wang Gang frequently.

The British male doesn't drink much because of his age, but he can still stay sober.

"The government has ordered you to return to Beijing as soon as possible to preside over the negotiations with Xixia." The British official said intentionally or unintentionally.

Wang Gang filled a bowl of wine, then threw the glass away, and said with a sneer, "It seems that there are quite a few people in the imperial court who don't want me to make further achievements."

The British Duke laughed and said: "Those civil servants in the imperial court, who can't hold a knife and gun when they go to battle to kill the enemy, will do such shameful things."

"The British prince forgot, I am also a civil servant." Wang Gang laughed.

The British Duke was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed even more happily.

"I almost forgot, you are the champion of literature."

The two of them drank some more wine, the Duke of England sighed, and his spirits faded: "I am old, and my body is not as good as before. I have written a letter to the government, and I am going to return to Beijing to retire."

Four words "retire after success" flashed in Wang Gang's mind.

The Duke of England is already an extremely powerful minister. Although he contributed a lot to defeating Xixia this time, it also touched the emperor's final bottom line.

There is no seal.

Once the emperor doesn't know how to reward a courtier, that courtier will be very dangerous.

Ying Gong is an old fox. Instead of losing his life at the end of the year, it is better to retire after success and give the family a good future.

"Who is the Duke going to hand over this matter in the northwest?" Wang Gang frowned.

The British officer squinted at Wang Gang and said, "Actually, I want to hand over the Northwest military affairs to you."

Wang Gang shook his head and said, "The officials won't rest assured that I will stay in the northwest."

The British Duke laughed and said, "You're still sober."

With foreign relatives in charge of military affairs in the Northwest, no emperor would be safe. No matter how stupid Zhao Xu was, he would not let Wang Gang succeed the Duke of England.

"There are so many changes in the world, who can guarantee that you will not be able to take over the military affairs of the Northwest." The British Duke laughed, then stopped talking, and continued to drink with Wang Gang.

After a night of drunkenness, Wang Gang packed his things and returned to Bianjing.

The British public did not come to see him off because he was drunk.

Wang Gang traveled a long distance for a month and finally returned to Bianjing. Before entering the city, he saw a group of people surrounding the city gate.

"Konde, you arrange to stay where you are."

Wang Gang inevitably caused a misunderstanding, so he left all his men outside the city, and he only brought a few people closer to the city gate.

Under the city gate, hundreds of officials stood in two rows, led by the left and right prime ministers, waiting for Wang Gang to return to Beijing.

This was the arrangement of Zhao Xu, an official family. It was enough face for all officials to welcome Wang Gang.

Wang Gang let everyone get off their horses from a distance, so as not to let the officials catch any clues.

Prime Minister Han received Wang Gang on behalf of the officials and read out the imperial decree in public.

Wang Gang was promoted again, and directly became the head of the Ministry of War, Minister of the Ministry of War, and the third rank.

The most important thing is that his title has also been promoted. The original Uncle Qingyang, surpassed the Marquis, and directly became the Duke of Qing.

Wang Gang was not surprised when he received the imperial decree. In fact, if he took over the Zhongxing Mansion, the capital of Xixia, not to mention a duke, even a king would be enough.

After receiving the imperial decree, Wang Gang and all the officials went to the palace to meet Sheng Xie'en.

Wang Gang saw Sheng Minglan again in the palace. At this time, Sheng Minglan, who had given birth to two children, already looked like the mother of a country.

Wang Gang became an uncle again, and Sheng Minglan's stomach was very strong, and she gave birth to another prince.

With two sons in a row, Sheng Minglan has completely secured the position of queen, and even the officials can't hold back a single mistake.

The officials wanted to hold a banquet for Wang Gang in the palace, but Sheng Minglan persuaded him to go home to see his wife and children first.

Before Wang Gang left for the expedition, Hai Chaoyun was pregnant, and later gave birth to a daughter. He has never seen his own daughter until now.

The official Zhao Xu was not unkind, so he released Wang Gang from the palace.

(End of this chapter)