my wonderful zoo

Chapter 266: You can ask for it at a discount (additional update)
"Do you think it's impossible for us to break Chang'an City if we attack it?" Sun Zheng asked.

"It should be possible to break it, but there will definitely be heavy casualties." the staff officer replied.

"Attack Xianyang first, and then I'll go to Chang'an to see if it's as powerful as you say." Sun Zheng replied.

The ensuing Battle of Xianyang was indeed as planned by the staff. It was very easy to attack through Shuimen. The resistance in the city was not very strong. After the city was broken, the organized surrender soon occurred, and all the war ended in one day.

The smooth siege proved that the General Staff was correct, and also indicated that the General Staff's evaluation of Chang'an City was most likely correct.

On March [-], Sun Zheng stood in front of the north gate of Chang'an City.

Looking at the majestic city gate tower in front and the invisible city walls on both sides, Sun Zheng truly felt what a strong city is.

Several city gates in the north are now closed and no entry or exit is allowed.The city gates in the other three directions are open, but people entering and exiting are checked very carefully, making it difficult to sneak in.

As the commander-in-chief of an army, Sun Zheng could not risk sneaking into the city. He just rode a horse around Chang'an City.

"We can't attack by force, otherwise even if we try to cooperate inside and outside, our army will inevitably suffer heavy losses." Sun Zheng said to the chief of staff beside him.

"What's General Sun's plan?" asked the chief of staff.

"Are you sure the defender of Chang'an City is a good candidate?" Sun Zheng asked rhetorically.

"Confirmed, he went to the Central Plains to fight against the Jin the year before last, and was defeated by the Jin soldiers one after another in Wenshui County, Taiyuan. After that, our Chen family army led the entire war. After our army completely occupied Kaifeng, Zhe Keqiuzeng led the army to participate in the encirclement, and finally led the Our reward has arrived in Guanzhong." The staff officer briefly introduced Zhe Keqiu's resume in the past few years.

If Chen Xun were here, he would definitely know more than his staff.

In the history of the previous life, Zhe Keqiu finally surrendered to the Jin Kingdom after the Hui and Qin emperors were captured by the Jin people.

In the end, he was almost supported by the Jin people as a puppet regime to manage the Han people. Unfortunately, because of his background as a military general, the Jin people were worried that he would not be able to replace him, so they finally chose Liu Yu.

However, this man did not get any good results in the end. The Jin people were afraid that he would change his mind due to the resentment of the soldiers, and he ended up being poisoned to death. The Xixia also destroyed Zhe's tomb.

Now that the Chen Jiajun defeated the Jin Army, it saved the Zhe family's reputation of guarding the northwest for more than 200 years.

"Isn't the Zhejia army on the border of Xixia? Why did they come to Chang'an?" Sun Zheng asked.

"After the last battle of Kaifeng, the Zhejia army did not return north to the Xixia border. They probably saw signs of trouble and wanted to seek profit from the chaos, so they came to Chang'an." the chief of staff replied.

"It seems that this person is not an absolutely loyal person." Sun Zheng guessed.

"From the early years of the Tang Dynasty to the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Zhe family lived in Fuzhou for hundreds of years. They 'protected China from within and rejected the barbarians from outside', which indeed alleviated the Central Plains regime's worries about its westward expansion. Therefore, the previous dynasties allowed his father, son and brothers to pass on their legacy. Heir to the next generation." The chief of staff replied: "But when it comes to loyalty, I guess they are most loyal to their surname."

Fuzhou, where the Zhe family lived for generations, is located in the northwest corner of Hedong Road, with Xixia in the west and Jin Kingdom in the north, which is an absolute border.Now it has appeared in Chang'an City in the heart of Guanzhong, and its intention is already very obvious.

"After all, they are not Han people." Sun Zheng sighed.

To survive in the cracks, they chose to defend the border for the Central Plains regime, gained support from the Central Plains regime, and survived, multiplied, and developed for hundreds of years.

Perhaps they thought that the Central Plains would enter the troubled times before the Song Dynasty again, and that foreign races would be able to establish national domination artifacts.

As the heart of Guanzhong, Chang'an is indeed a treasure land for making a fortune. "Send someone into the city to contact Zhe Keqiu and see what conditions he has." Sun Zheng ordered.

The conditions here are naturally the conditions for surrender.

"I'll go." The chief of staff took over the chore directly.

Everyone returned to the north of the city, and then the chief of staff organized a team of envoys to persuade them to surrender, and entered the city through Jingyao Gate, and personally checked the situation inside Jingyao Gate.

On the day they entered the city, Zhe Keqiu did not meet with the chief of staff. It was not until the next morning that he sent someone to take them to Xingqing Palace.

Xingqing Palace is located on the north side of the Chunming Gate of the East Gate, on a cross street with the Imperial City. Before the Song Dynasty, the emperor worked in the Imperial City, and most of the ministers were concentrated in Xingqing Palace.

Zhe Keqiu was quite restrained and did not live directly in the imperial city. However, choosing his office location in Xingqing Palace also showed his ambition.

"I have met General Zhe, I am Hu Kun, Chief of Staff of the Chen Jiajun Kaifeng Group Army." Hu Kun bowed his hands, then stood upright in the hall, looking up at Zhe Keqiu.

Zhe Keqiu is dressed as a Song general. He is about 40 years old, and his face and appearance have completely lost the characteristics of his Xianbei descendants.

As the saying goes, brothers fight, and father and son fight in battle. In ancient times, there were many general families, and their children served in the military for generations and established meritorious deeds on the battlefield.

The Zhejia is one of them. As a descendant of Xianbei, the Zhejia has been a general since the Tang Dynasty. The Zhejia has gone through hundreds of years of historical ups and downs in the Tang, Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms, and Song Dynasties, but it has always stood firm and guarded the northwest.

In the late Tang Dynasty, Zhe Zong was regarded as one of the founders of the Zhe family army. In the late Tang Dynasty, he served as the military commander of the Zhenwu Army in the five towns along the river. He had a large number of troops and was quite prestigious.

The founding emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty, the then King of Jin Li Keyong valued him very much and gave him great power.

At that time, the world was in chaos, ethnic conflicts in the upper reaches of the Yellow River were acute, and the political situation was complex. Multiple regimes had ruled this area, and foreigners often invaded this area.

In order to resist the chaos in the north, Li Cunxu, the son of Emperor Li Keyong of the Later Tang Dynasty, appointed Zhe Zongben's descendant Zhe Congruan as Hedong Yajiang.

After that, Zhe Congruan repeatedly made military exploits and became a military governor, becoming a substantial prince.

After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, the chaos in the north was still serious. Especially after the establishment of Xixia, it often invaded the northwest border and posed a huge threat to the Song Dynasty.

In order to resist foreign enemies, the Song Dynasty made an exception and allowed the Zhe family to inherit the title and take charge of the local military and political power. This legally confirmed the status of the Zhe family princes.

You must know that the core point of the political system of the Song Dynasty was to limit the power of generals, but the Song Dynasty gave the Zhe family the power to combine military and political affairs, which shows the Song Dynasty's court's trust and dependence on the Zhe family.

Of course, the Zhe family had never betrayed the court's trust until Zhe Keqiu.

Generations of children of the Zhe family spent their military lives and resisted many invasions by Khitan and Xixia. Dozens of children of the Zhe family died on the battlefield. They can be said to be full of loyal men.

Such loyalty and sincerity are no less than those of the Yang family generals in the novel.

If there is no Chen Xun's arrival, Zhe Keqiu will eventually wipe out the prestige that the Zhe family has built up for hundreds of years.

"Chief of Staff? What kind of position is this?" Zhe Keqiu asked.

(End of this chapter)