I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 490 I want both! I, Su Liang, only fight with my brain

September 8th, noon.

After lunch, Di Qing and Su Liang went into the central military tent together to discuss strategies against the enemy, and did not come out until dusk.

then.

Di Qing called all his generals into the tent.

Su Liang called Xu Mang, Liu Sandao and the one-armed Lao Qiao into his tent and assigned them tasks.

About an hour later.

All the generals were very excited after walking out of the tent.

They and their subordinates worked in the tents to arrange tasks until late at night, and some people even left the camp overnight.

The next day, it was dawn.

The soldiers began their daily training.

Although the training content was the same as usual, the soldiers' expressions seemed more serious than usual and they trained more seriously.

They knew nothing.

But from Shangguan's expression and tone of voice, it was obvious that the war was about to begin.

Near noon.

Accompanied by Xu Mang and Liu Sandao, Su Liang came to the north bank of the Yellow River near the water.

Many crossbow platforms and stone platforms were built in this area so that the army could use catapults and crossbows to attack the enemy when crossing the river and ensure the crossing.

And this moment.

Not far from Su Liang, there was a bed crossbow.

This crossbow is very large, with a range of up to three hundred steps. The crossbow arrows used are iron-feathered chisel-head arrows about ten feet long, and it requires more than ten people to pull the shaft at the same time to fire.

The reason why there is only one bed crossbow here.

It was because Xu Mang was very angry after seeing the fourteen words "Capture Su Liang alive and cut off his tongue, capture Di Qing alive and stab his face" on the side of the opposite dam.

He wanted to use an iron-feathered chisel-head arrow carrying a wind and fire bomb to blow up the opposite dam.

pity.

The fourteen words were located high up on the embankment and far away, and were not within the effective range of the crossbow.

After hearing Xu Mang's report, Su Liang called a halt and a lonely crossbow appeared.

But now, this bed crossbow is going to come in handy.

Liu Sandao tied a letter wrapped in animal skin to an iron-feathered chisel-head arrow, and then said to the soldiers beside him: "Aim at the sandy land on the other side and shoot!"

The soldiers placed the iron-feathered chisel-head arrows on the crossbow.

After aiming, turn the wheel.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Boom~
swoosh~
The iron-feathered chisel-head arrow drew an arc.

The arrow was shot into the sandy ground, with nearly half of the arrow being sunken.

Naturally, this sound alarmed the Xixia soldiers who were patrolling on the other side of the river.

soon.

Several Xixia soldiers holding shields ran towards the sandy ground while looking at the opposite bank, and then took off the letters tied on it.

The handwritten letter that Su Liang sent to the other side was not a declaration of war, but a letter of peace.

……

About half an hour later.

This letter was delivered to the hands of Weiming Xude and Weiming Aji.

After reading the letter, Weiming Xude and Weiming Aji were both filled with disbelief.

Weiming Aji rubbed his eyes several times and twisted his thigh hard before he confirmed that this was true.

Su Liang invites Wei Ming Xu De to negotiate on the river at noon tomorrow.

"What weird tricks is this Su Liang playing again? What does he have to talk to us about right now? Does he want to stop the war?" Weiming Aji said in confusion.

Pre-war negotiations are usually a sign of ceasefire and peace talks.

Weiming Xude stood up and paced back and forth.

"It's possible. Perhaps we have overestimated the Song people. Di Qing and Su Liang's goal may just be to expand the border in Hehuang and they have no intention of going to war with us!"

"Ah? They have expanded the border in Hehuang, occupied advantageous terrain, and absorbed a large number of foreign tribes. Now even the Zuosiluo tribe has submitted to them. Isn't it to destroy us?" Weiming Aji looked puzzled.

At this time.

Weiming Xude slapped his head and instantly became excited.

"Aji, I've figured it out. The Song people may want to destroy our Xixia, but definitely not now."

"We have overestimated the Song people! People who wear shoes will never offend those who are barefoot. The Song people dare not go to war with us.

"They are expanding their borders in Hehuang just to intimidate us, in case we join the war when they go to war with Liao."

"If the Song people attack us first, their national strength will be exhausted by us, and the Liao Kingdom will most likely take advantage of the situation and march all the way south."

"The Song people are all cunning. They know very well that they will not gain anything by attacking Xixia. Moreover, our people are all troublemakers. Even if they occupy our territory, there will be trouble every day, and the losses will be huge!"

"But the Liao Kingdom is different. Yanyun is full of Han people, and the Khitans have been heavily sinicized. Once they have strength, they will naturally want to destroy the Liao Kingdom. Only after destroying the Liao Kingdom will they consider us."

……

Weiming Aji nodded and said, "Yes, that's the truth."

"If Su Liang proposes peace talks tomorrow, he may want to use the Yellow River as the boundary and divide and rule with us. Should we agree? If we do, our plan to feign a disastrous defeat and make those old men (Dangxiang nobles) bleed will be over!"

Weiming Xude smiled and shook his head.

"This is a good thing. Our chance to blackmail the Song Dynasty has come!"

"Tomorrow I will go to see Su Liang in person. If he proposes a ceasefire and peace talks, I will ask him for compensation. Their occupation of Hehuang has put us in a passive position. They must pay at least 500,000 strings of cash, otherwise I will not agree to a ceasefire. These 50 strings of cash are the fee for 'not helping Liao'."

"If he doesn't respond, we will fight him. Even if we return in defeat, we will still have made great achievements! At present, Di Qing has not yet deployed the surrounding Western Army, which is enough to show that they are not prepared to attack Zhuolao City at all!"

"If the Song-Liao war breaks out, will we really not participate?" said Weiming Aji.

Wei Ming Xude snorted coldly and said, "When the time comes, we will help whoever is stronger. How can we not take advantage of it?"

The two looked at each other and couldn't help laughing out loud.

Things like contracts and promises are not applicable to the vast majority of the Tanguts.

They are born with bandit genes, and only care about fists and not etiquette.

If Su Liang knew that the two were so good at reasoning, they would even think of the reason why the Song Dynasty would not go to war with Western Xia.

He didn't have to waste any more time explaining the reasons he had thought of.

……

The next day, it was nearly noon.

On the Yellow River, the water flows slowly.

Su Liang was sitting on a sloop, parked in the middle of the Yellow River. Apart from him, there were only Xu Mang and Liu Sandao on the boat.

Not long after.

Weiming Xude appeared on the shore.

He boarded the boat that he had ordered his personal soldiers to prepare last night and headed towards Su Liang.

A quarter of an hour later.

Both boats were in the middle of the water, about ten meters apart.

Weiming Xude and Su Liang stood on the deck, smiled at each other and bowed to each other.

Su Liang was the first to speak: "General Weiming, I know you are a straightforward person, so I will speak directly to the point."

"This official and Prime Minister Di Shu have been ordered to go to Hehuang to expand the border, and now we are about to complete the mission. As long as you lead the troops back to Zhuolao City now, our army will not go to war with your country. It will be easy for both of us. You defend the border and avoid being punished. I will return to the court to receive rewards, and maybe I will directly enter the Secretariat. It will be good for both of us. What do you think?"

Hearing this, Wei Ming Xude was overjoyed, he felt that he had guessed right.

Wei Ming Xude puffed out his chest.

"Central Prime Minister Su, you say that so easily. You have occupied Hehuang, expanded the border by nearly 3,000 miles, and reorganized many tribes of foreign people. You have posed a huge threat to Xixia. If you don't want to fight anymore, I will follow you and stop the war. Is Xixia going to be bullied by you like this?"

"At the beginning of the year, the looting in Xihe Town was the fault of Xixia. We apologized and compensated. Now you are the first to provoke a war, making Xixia's border uneasy. You say it's over?"

Weiming Xude stretched out two fingers.

"Now, I give you two choices. First, all Song soldiers withdraw from Hehuang and restore the autonomous status of each tribe at the beginning of the year. Second, give us a certain amount of compensation."

Hear this.

Xu Mang and Liu Sandao both secretly pinched their thighs hard to prevent themselves from laughing.

Wei Ming Xude's words were exactly what Su Liang had guessed in advance.

Su Liang asserted that Wei Ming Xude would demand compensation. After all, the other party was not even afraid of a "crushing defeat" at the moment.

Su Liang said seriously: "Withdrawing from Hehuang is naturally impossible." "Then give compensation, one million strings of cash!" Weiming Xude stretched out a finger.

"One million strings of cash? General Weiming, you are asking for too much. Do you really think that the money of our Song Dynasty came from the wind?" Su Liang said with eyes wide open.

"Then let's go to war! We have 80,000 elite soldiers on the north bank of the Yellow River, and 150,000 troops stationed in Zhuolao City. We are not afraid of you at all!" Weiming Xude raised his voice.

At this moment, he was full of confidence, believing that he had grasped the weak spot of the Song Dynasty.

Su Liang turned his face away and almost laughed.

More than 20,000 soldiers plus 8,000 civilians, known as 80,000 elite troops.

There were 60,000 soldiers stationed in the city, claiming to have 150,000.

Although countries often exaggerate the number of troops in foreign wars, it is rare to see such a large exaggeration in the number of troops reported.

Su Liang hesitated for a moment and said, "One million strings of cash is too much, there's no point in talking!"

As soon as these words came out.

A smile appeared on Weiming Xude's face.

This shows that Su Liang has completely compromised.

Willing to pay compensation in exchange for peace.

He murmured in his heart: "Isn't this still the Song Dynasty? Regardless of winning or losing, I am willing to pay money in exchange for peace!"

Su Liang asked again: "How about two hundred thousand strings of cash?"

"Two hundred thousand strings of cash, how can you give away a beggar?" Wei Mingxu continued, "How about this, five hundred thousand strings of cash. This money will be used as the cost of the Song-Xia alliance. I can promise you that if the Song and Liao go to war, we, the Western Xia, will help the Song instead of the Liao. How do you think?"

Su Liang curled his lips slightly and said, "How about you let me report this to my superiors and give you a reply in ten days?"

Wei Ming Xude nodded, then waved his hand and said in a very casual manner: "Go back!"

Immediately, the boat turned around and Wei Mingxude sailed back to the other side.

him at the moment.

He was so excited that he kept muttering to himself, "I'm going to make a contribution! I'm going to make a contribution!"

Su Liang watched the other party walk away, then turned around and looked at Xu Mang and Liu Sandao with a smile.

"As the saying goes, all is fair in war. The smoke bomb has been successfully launched. Weiming Xude will definitely report this to the Xixia court. We should prepare to cross the Yellow River!"

"Yes!" Xu Mang and Liu Sandao were both very excited. It was really exciting to fight with Su Liang.

This battle.

Su Liang not only wanted to annihilate the more than 20,000 Weiming troops, but also wanted to intensify the conflict between Mo Zang Epang and the nobles of the various Dangxiang tribes.

……

An hour later.

Weiming Xude returned to the tent and told Weiming Aji what he had discussed with Su Liang.

Weiming Aji was also overjoyed.

He still had doubts.

But after hearing Wei Ming Xude's words, Su Liang believed that his contribution to the expansion of the Hehuang border would allow him to be included in the Secretariat, so he was unwilling to take the risk of a full-scale war with Western Xia.

This reason instantly made him certain that Su Liang really did not want to go to war with Western Xia.

Who doesn't want high office and generous salary, who doesn't want wealth and glory, and who would be willing to sacrifice his life for the court or the people.

What is written in books, taught by teachers, and believed by the people are all lies.

This Song Dynasty scholar, who was only in his thirties, had made great contributions in expanding the borders, which enabled him to be admitted into the Secretariat. It was a foregone conclusion that he would be appointed as the Prime Minister in the future, so there was really no need for him to take any more risks.

This was what Weiming Aji was pursuing, so he felt that Su Liang must have the same idea.

"Aji, you must report this matter to Prime Minister Mo Zang as soon as possible. Although the 500,000 strings of cash have not yet been pocketed, it is almost certain!"

"Before the ceasefire, let him play the victim to those old men and try to cheat them as much as he can. Even if he can't cheat them, we will report to him in advance, which shows that we are thoughtful. Let him know that he and we are on the same side. In the future, there will be few opportunities to claim compensation from the Song Dynasty, but there will be many opportunities to blackmail those old men. We can earn as much as we can. This time, we brothers have won glory for Xixia!"

"Yes, I understand. I will write it now and have someone send the letter out tonight!" Weiming Aji nodded.

……

September 12th, nightfall.

In the Chinese army's tent.

Di Qing and Su Liang sat around a large table, on which there was a very clear map of the northwest.

Di Qing looked at the map and said, "Three days later, on the night of the full moon, at midnight, we will start crossing the Yellow River."

"Eight thousand soldiers will stay on the south bank, operating catapults, crossbows, and bows to provide protection on the riverside. Then, three thousand bridge builders will be divided into three groups to build bridges over the river."

"I will first order 10,000 vanguard troops to cross the Yellow River. At this time, the enemy's elite will inevitably flee towards Zhuolao City, and the civilians will be responsible for blocking them. The vanguard troops will be the first to charge, shouting: Those who surrender will not be killed. We will capture as many civilians as possible and quickly break through a path."

"At the same time, Xu Mang will lead 500 Dragon Feather troops to fight with light cavalry, and I will lead 10,000 cavalry to follow closely behind. Then, we will go around this road and get ahead of the elite Weiming Army. We will set up an ambush here, on this hillside about 30 miles away from Zhuolao City. We will first use firearms and then besiege them, trying to annihilate their entire army. These 1500 people will be equipped with the best horses!"

"After that, another 8,000 cavalrymen will be responsible for chasing the Weiming Army from behind. We will only chase them but not fight them until they form a siege with us."

……

Di Qing spoke seriously.

Su Liang held a block of carbon in one hand and a ruler in the other and drew lines on the map to mark it.

Di Qing finished speaking.

Su Liang also drew all of Di Qing's strategic plans on paper. The images were vivid and easy to understand even if one was illiterate.

The generals below understood it at a glance, saving Di Qing a lot of words.

Di Qing's tactics.

To sum it up, it can be summed up in four words: surround, pursue, block and intercept.

The most important point is that the 10,000 vanguard troops must open up a pursuit path within half an hour.

This was definitely something that Weiming Xude and Weiming Aji could never have imagined.

The two men did not expect that the Song army would suddenly cross the river.

What was even more unexpected was that the Song army did not even attack the army in front but chose to pursue directly.

What was even more unexpected was that the purpose of the Song army this time was to wipe out the more than 20,000 Weiming troops.

And this is only part of the strategy.

Su Liang first negotiated with Wei Mingxude with the aim of confusing the other party and making him let down his guard.

Then let him report the peace negotiation information to Mo Zang Epang, who would certainly be eager to ask the Dangxiang nobles for military funds and property.

Afterwards, the Song army captured a large number of civilians as prisoners. After the war, they made the matter public so that the Xixia people would know that the elite troops of the Weiming Army would retreat when they encountered a battle and take the civilians as prisoners.

Followed by.

Su Lianghui ordered the secret agents lurking in Western Xia to spread the news that "the Weiming army intends to pretend to be defeated so that Mo Zang Epang can defraud the property of the Dangxiang nobles."

The Tangut nobles heard the news.

Then, combined with the large number of civilian captives captured by the Song Dynasty who served as the Weiming Army, before the war Mo Zang Epang eagerly demanded money and property from them, and the person who governed Zhuolao City was either a member of the Mo Zang family, etc.

They would definitely still suspect that even after the Weiming army was completely wiped out, this was a fake defeat by Mo Zang Epang in order to defraud them of their money and property.

In this case, the conflict between the two sides will inevitably intensify, and civil unrest may even occur.

This is Su Liang’s strategy.

Not only did he want to completely annihilate the more than 20,000 Weiming troops and march to Zhuolao City, he also wanted to let Mo Zang Epang shoot himself in the foot and intensify the internal strife of the Dangxiang tribe.

Di Qing looked at Su Liang with satisfaction and said, "Jingming, your drawing skills are something I will never be able to learn with my rolling-pin-thick fingers!"

Su Liang smiled slightly.

"Brother Hanchen, I can't learn the tactical details of your pursuit and interception." After saying that, Su Liang suddenly looked at Di Qing.

"Prime Minister Di Shu, you haven't arranged my tasks yet?"

Di Qing puffed out his chest and said, "You will stay in the barracks under the protection of Liu Sandao and you are not allowed to go out. Just wait for our triumphant return."

"I……"

As soon as Su Liang opened his mouth, Di Qing stopped him.

"Military orders are as heavy as mountains. I am the commander-in-chief of the army and you must execute them!" Di Qing said seriously.

Su Liang is the darling of the entire Song Dynasty.

In this war, swords and spears are ruthless, and Di Qing must not let Su Liang get hurt, so he let him stay in the military camp.

"Yes, Prime Minister Di Shu." Su Liang said helplessly.

He also knew his own abilities, so even if he went to the battlefield, he would still run back and forth.

Any soldier here is stronger than him in combat, but Su Liang still needs someone to protect him, so it is best for him to stay in the barracks.

“Hahahaha…that’s right, let’s wait and celebrate!”

Di Qing punched Su Liang on the chest and then burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)