I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 561: Liao is destroyed! Yelu Hongji is captured, Su Jingming can be credited with the first merit
Liao territory, Shangjing Linhuang Prefecture, South Gate.

The command flag is waving.

Sixty thousand Liao soldiers rushed out quickly and rushed towards the Song army camp.

Yelu Hongji was wearing black armor, hiding in the center of the army, with an excited look on his face.

According to his strategy, there should be at least 80,000 Song troops blocking the Liao army's breakout at the south gate.

At the north gate, there are at most 20,000 soldiers.

When the Song army learned that the main force of the Liao army was at the north gate, it would take at least half an hour to transfer troops to the south gate.

This half hour was his best opportunity to break into the Song army camp, seize military supplies, and even capture Fu Bi, Han Qi, and Su Liang.

"Go all out and make capturing Fu Bi, Han Qi, and Su Liang alive your top priority. Capture one and you'll be promoted five levels. If you capture all three, I'll make him king!"

Yelu Hongji shouted to the Pi Shi army soldiers around him.

If they could capture Fu Bi, Han Qi and Su Liang, not only would they win the battle, they would also have bargaining chips to negotiate terms with the Song Dynasty.

"Su Liang, my move is called risking one's life in the face of death!" Yelu Hongji murmured.

however.

Just over a quarter of an hour after the Liao army left the city, a large number of Song troops rushed out from the east and west sides.

at the same time.

More than twenty catapults of the Song army loaded with wind, fire and thunder were aimed at them.

boom! boom! boom!
The sound of gunfire rang out, like a thunderclap, lighting up the surrounding night sky.

Followed by.

From all directions of the Liao army, there came the sound of arrows cutting through the night sky.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
The Liao soldiers were like targets and were pierced by arrows.

In the firelight, Yelu Hongji looked at the Song army besieging him from all directions and felt something was wrong.

This is definitely not the kind of damage that 20,000 Song troops could cause, and even 50,000 Song troops could not have such a scale and momentum.

At this time.

An intelligence soldier came up to him.

"Your Majesty, it's bad, it's bad, we are surrounded by the Song army, maybe... maybe there are 100,000 Song soldiers!"

Hearing this, Yelu Hongji's face turned ugly.

He was unwilling to believe that his plan was discovered by the Song army.

Swish!
Yelu Hongji drew the long sword from his waist and killed the intelligence soldier in one blow.

"Falsifying intelligence and creating panic, they deserve to be killed!"

Yelu Hongji looked forward and shouted, "The combat goal remains unchanged. Advance toward the Song army camp!"

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
Arrows rained down on the Liao soldiers, who focused more on attack than defense, and could not charge forward at all. The soldiers on the periphery died one after another.

Some people who were afraid of death even kept retreating into the army, causing many people to be trampled and the army to become chaotic.

Yelu Hongji had a dark face.

"Charge! Charge! Anyone who retreats in fear of fighting will be killed immediately!"

Only after the Pi Shi soldiers close to Yelu Hongji killed a group of cowards did the Liao army move forward a little.

The Liao army now had no place to retreat.

If they wanted to survive, they had to break out of the Song army.

But it's too difficult.

The Song army deployed their troops in advance and had excellent weapons. In addition, the snow had not melted yet, so the war horses could not gallop.

At this moment, the Liao army had no advantage in terms of time, place, or people.

……

Half an hour later.

The Liao army no longer advanced, but huddled together, waiting for the Song army's attack.

As they charged forward like that, the casualty rate was too high.

Su Liang, who was in the middle of the army, heard about this and immediately shouted, "Where are our burning bombs? If we don't use them now, when will we use them?"

The incendiary bomb is a new firearm invented by the Firearms Battalion and has been placed in the military camp for several days.

Now is a good time to use it.

The Song army was distributed on all sides, and the Liao army was surrounded in the middle. The incendiary bombs burning in the sky allowed the Song army to clearly see which direction it would be easier to attack.

……

About a quarter of an hour later.

Several catapults threw incendiary mines high into the air.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
For a while.

It seemed as if there were several more suns in the night sky, illuminating the Liao army clearly.

Even Yelu Hongji's location was discovered.

Yelu Hongji was a little stunned, then quickly hid somewhere else.

This wave of burning thunder made the Liao army almost despair.

At the same time, countless Song soldiers began to attack.

Firearms, arrows, wind, fire, and thunder were all fired towards where the crowd was gathered most.

The Liao army at that moment really wanted to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Song army, but the Song army just wouldn't do what they wanted. They were ready to fully release the firepower of long-range attacks before engaging in close combat with the enemy.

"Kill them! Kill them!"

At this moment, Yelu Hongji could only shout these four words.

At the moment the incendiary bomb exploded in the air, the fighting spirit of many Liao soldiers was completely gone.

……

At this moment, the north gate.

The royal family members of Liao Dynasty did not flee the city.

Yelu Hongji originally used them as bait, so he first ordered 20,000 Liao soldiers to charge, disguising it as a formation of 80,000 people.

Now, the disguise had been exposed, and the Liao soldiers were no longer able to protect the royal nobles from leaving the city.

Some royal nobles were so scared that they turned around and ran towards the city.

Xiao Weixin, the Southern Prime Minister in charge of the North Gate, and Yao Jingxing, the Northern Prime Minister, ordered their troops to return to the city when they realized that they could no longer break out.

They thought that if Yelu Hongji was defeated and returned to the city, they would also hide in the city and perhaps they could live a little longer.

After they returned to the city.

The Song army did not bombard the north gate, but only garrisoned there.

……

In the blink of an eye, it was four o'clock in the morning.

The light of snow and fire illuminated the sky and the earth brightly.

The battle at the South Gate was in full swing, with the Song and Liao armies mixed together and it had turned into a close combat.

And this time.

Su Liang looked at Xu Mang and Liu Sandao who were standing behind him.

"Order the Longyu Army to attack with bows and crossbows and wind and fire spears, specifically targeting the enemy generals, and make sure to capture Yelu Hongji alive."

"Yes." Xu Mang and Liu Sandao bowed.

In this kind of close combat battlefield, the Longyu Army, armed with bows and crossbows or wind and fire guns, has first-class assassination capabilities.

……

An hour later.

The sky gradually brightened, and outside the city of Linhuang, the area over ten miles in radius was filled with the smell of blood.

A lot of melted snow turned into blood.

There were mountains of corpses.

Many were frozen solid.

Many Song soldiers fought without feeling cold or tired.

At this moment, the war was gradually coming to an end, and the Liao army, which already had insufficient physical strength, had fewer and fewer people able to fight.

Another hour passed.

An intelligence soldier excitedly ran to the front of the central army tent and shouted: "General Fu, General Han, and Minister Su, Yelu Hongji has been captured alive!"

Hear this.

Fu Bi, Han Qi and Su Liang stood up at the same time, looking very excited.

The Song-Liao War, which lasted for nearly a year, is about to come to an end.

Soon, a voice was heard from all over the battlefield.

"Yelü Hongji has been captured, why don't you surrender immediately!"

"Yelü Hongji has been captured, why don't you surrender immediately!"

"Yelü Hongji has been captured, why don't you surrender immediately!"

……

At this moment, the morale of the Song army soared, while the Liao army soldiers either threw away their weapons and surrendered, or fled frantically in one direction.

afternoon.

The Song army entered the city and rushed to the north.

No one in the city resisted the Song army, and they allowed the Song army to surround the thousands of Liao soldiers and the royal family of the Liao who were hiding in the north of the city.

The fight hasn't started yet.

Prime Minister Xiao Weixin of the Southern Palace and Prime Minister Yao Jingxing of the Northern Palace chose to surrender.

The two men knew very well that if a battle broke out, everyone would surely die.

If they surrender, some people may still have a chance to survive.

When they learned that Yelu Hongji had been captured and 60,000 Liao soldiers were almost wiped out, they knew that surrender was the only way to survive.

this moment.

Yelu Hongji was escorted to the central military tent of the Song army, where he came before Fu Bi, Han Qi and Su Liang.

At this moment, Yelu Hongji's hair was disheveled and his body was covered in mud and blood.

When Yelu Hongji saw Su Liang, he first lowered his head subconsciously, then gritted his teeth and said, "I don't accept it! I don't accept it!"

At this time.

Han Qi said, "Yelü Hongji, it doesn't matter whether you obey or not. From today on, the Liao Kingdom has been destroyed, and you are a prisoner of my Song Dynasty!"

"Humph!"

Yelu Hongji snorted coldly and looked at Su Liang again.

"In terms of military capability, Song is far inferior to Liao, Su Liang. It is because of your existence, the reforms, the firearms, and the many conspiracies and intrigues that I have become what I am today."

"Su Liang, if you were born in Liao, you and your king would be prisoners of Yelu Hongji today!"

Hearing this, Su Liang smiled slightly.

"Yelü Hongji, don't stir up trouble here. The Song Dynasty is what it is today because of the efforts of all its people. If I were in your Liao Kingdom, I would have been killed by those royal nobles long ago!"

Su Liang didn't mind if these words reached Zhao Zhen's ears or the ears of the other ministers in the Secretariat.

He believed that no one would be afraid of him because of this.

Fu Bi continued Su Liang's words and said, "Yelü Hongji, I agree with what you said. Jingming's achievements are unparalleled. We are very fortunate that he is a Song person, not a Liao person."

Yelu Hongji stopped arguing and said, "Kill me!"

Su Liang shook his head.

"Yelü Hongji, you are guilty of all the people in Liao territory. You will not be qualified to die until your crimes are investigated and made public!"

After saying that, Su Liang waved his hand, and Yelu Hongji was taken away. Like Yelu Hongji, other Liao generals and officials would also be taken to Yanyun, waiting for Zhao Zhen's decision.

Subsequently.

Su Liang and the other two sat at the table and began to write the battle report.

Such good news of destroying Liao would naturally reach Zhao Zhen's ears quickly.

……

The ninth day of the eleventh month, near noon.

Zhao Zhen received the good news of military intelligence sent by Su Liang and his two companions, saying that "Liao was destroyed and Yelu Hongji was captured alive."

Zhao Zhen couldn't help but be overjoyed.

"That's great! That's great! Quickly make a copy of this good news and send it to Bianjing City, let the ministers of the Secretariat know, let all officials know, and let the people of the world know!" Zhao Zhen said to the eunuch beside him.

Afterwards, Zhao Zhen arranged the next matters.

The overall situation has been decided.

Next it is time to wipe out the remaining Liao army forces.

Zhao Zhen ordered Han Qi, Fu Bi and selected generals to march deep into Liao territory in several directions and take over all the cities in Liao territory as soon as possible.

As for the Liao territory in the northwest, Di Qing was ordered to select some generals of the Northwest Imperial Guards to march in multiple directions and take over the land.

Once the military generals have taken over the city and land, they can send civil officials to govern it.

Also.

Fu Bi and Han Qi stayed in Linhuang Prefecture in Shangjing, responsible for handling all subsequent military and political affairs.

Su Liang was going back to Yanyun Youzhou and return to the court at the same time as Zhao Zhen.

In this year's bloody battle, the person who made the greatest contribution was obviously Su Liang.

Su Liang's mission has been completed, and it is time for him to return to the court to enjoy the praise of the people and spend a few days in peace and contentment.

……

November 13th.

Su Liang received an order from the emperor ordering him to take 500 Dragon Feather soldiers back to Yanyun Youzhou.

Immediately, on the morning of the next day, Su Liang led the Longyu Army to Youzhou.

It's too cold here.

He wished he could return to Bianjing City immediately and sit in the charcoal-burning room of the Censorate to drink tea and read storybooks!
……

November 21st, near dusk.

Su Liang brought the Longyu Army to the city of Youzhou.

He saw from afar that Zhao Zhen, Pang Ji and Liang Shi were already standing outside the city gate, with Wang Anshi standing next to them with a smile on his face.

I'm afraid no one except Su Liang can enjoy such an honor.

When Su Liang was still several hundred meters away from the four people, he quickly dismounted and walked over quickly.

Zhao Zhen, Pang Ji, Liang Shi, Wang Anshi, as well as the eunuchs and guards behind them also came to greet them.

soon.

The two sides came to each other.

Without saying anything, Zhao Zhen gave Su Liang a big hug, then glanced at the scar on Su Liang's neck and said, "Jingming, you've worked hard!"

"It's worth it! It's all worth it!" Su Liang said excitedly.

Subsequently.

Su Liang gave Pang Ji, Liang Shi and Wang Anshi a big hug, and then walked into Youzhou City talking and laughing.

into the night.

The king and his ministers drank wine and tea, ate meat and cakes, and chatted until late at night before going back to rest.

Zhao Zhen has decided to take Su Liang back to the court in two days. Pang Ji, Liang Shi and Wang Anshi still have the important task of reforming the Liao Kingdom, and they are better at doing this kind of thing.

……

The next day, Su Liang didn't wake up from his sleep until noon.

He slept very soundly that night.

If he returns to the court tomorrow, he will definitely be able to spend this New Year with his family, which is the happiest thing for him.

After Su Liang woke up and washed his face, he heard a knock on the door.

"Brother Jingming, can you come in and talk?"

It was Wang Anshi's voice.

"Jiefu, come in!" Su Liang said with a smile.

Subsequently.

Wang Anshi walked in with a smile on his face. He closed the door and said straight to the point, "Jingming, can you not return to the court yet?"

Su Liang was stunned for a moment, then he understood.

"Are you no longer able to reform the Liao Kingdom?" Su Liang asked with a smile.

"The one who knows me best is Brother Jingming. Liao is a vast country with many ethnic groups. It is very difficult to implement various rituals and laws. Brother Jingming, can you stay for a few days and return to the court in early December? By then, you can ride a fast horse and definitely catch up with the emperor."

"Why don't you just report this to the emperor? I will do what he ordered. How can we discuss this in private?"

Wang Anshi looked helpless.

"I... I reported this to the emperor half a month ago, but he scolded me. He didn't want you to work too hard, but I really can't do it anymore. Pang Gong and Liang Xianggong can't come up with those ideas that seem crooked but are very useful. In terms of cooperation, it's still the two of us."

Su Liang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll propose it to the emperor, but I have to return before the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month."

"No problem!" Wang Anshi answered readily.

(End of this chapter)