Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 496 Unstoppable
Outside the city of Bianjing, flags were waving as an army of more than 100,000 marched northward.

Zhao Xing was riding on a horse, and on his left and right were Duke of Wei Cao An, Privy Councilor Zeng Gongliang, and Zheng Jun, the eldest son of Marquis Zhongjing.

Marquis Zhongjing is old and has long since stopped caring about worldly affairs. Even household affairs are managed by his eldest daughter-in-law.

Zheng Jun came from a prominent family and had served in the north for several years in his early years.

Behind Zhao Xing was a carriage carrying Empress Dowager Xiao.

After he agreed to his father's conditions, he proposed to lead the army in person at the morning court the next day.

The result was as he expected: all civil and military officials in the court opposed it.

Most importantly, it was the emperor's father who came forward and gave his full support that made all the ministers agree.

The troops that had been mobilized previously have already set out one after another. This time, the army of more than 100,000 is the last batch, among which 20,000 are the imperial guards of the Palace Front.

These 20,000 soldiers are only responsible for Zhao Xing's safety.

The army of more than 100,000 people did not march very fast, only traveling a few dozen miles a day.

It was almost evening, so we had to stop and set up camp.

Zhao Xing summoned the accompanying civil and military officials and after some discussion, decided to set out with the imperial guards and cavalry early the next morning.

The civil and military officials had no objection to this. With hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line, it was impossible for the Liao army to break through easily.

The whole journey was within the territory of the Song Dynasty. There were 20,000 imperial guards and 10,000 cavalry accompanying them, so there was no danger.

"That's settled then, my dear Minister Zeng. You will lead the army. At dawn tomorrow, I will lead the palace guards and the cavalry in the army ahead." Zhao Xing said.

"I will go ahead with Your Majesty. Your Majesty will make the arrangements for the person to lead the army," said Zeng Gongliang.

"The imperial guards of the Palace Front Department are also cavalry. They need to speed up along the way. How can a civil servant like Zeng Aiqing bear this? You'd better stay and lead the infantry." Zhao Xing said.

"His Majesty!"

Zeng Gongliang bowed and said, "Although I am a civil official, I can still ride a horse. I will not hold your majesty back."

Seeing that he insisted, Zhao Xing pondered for a while and left Zheng Jun to command the army.

After the discussion and dinner, everyone went back to their tents to rest.

Not long after Zhao Xing returned to the tent, Sanshui brought in Empress Dowager Xiao.

There were not allowed to be women in the army, but Zhao Xing, as the emperor, did not have any restrictions in this regard. No one would say anything if he brought a concubine and a few palace maids with him to serve him.

However, Zhao Xing still refused. But this did not count for Empress Dowager Xiao. After all, the next war would still require Empress Dowager Xiao's reputation.

Half an hour later, Zhao Xing hugged Empress Dowager Xiao, who was still reminiscing about the past, and gently stroked her shoulders with his hands, telling her that he would lead the cavalry ahead tomorrow.

"I am also with Your Majesty." said Empress Dowager Xiao.

"We have to travel all the way, riding horses all the time, it's very tiring."

"hehe."

Empress Dowager Xiao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you underestimate me. I have been able to ride a horse since I was a child, and my riding skills are much better than your Majesty's."

"Just because you are a good rider doesn't mean you have good physical strength. Otherwise, why would you beg for mercy just now?" Zhao Xing teased.

"Your Majesty is physically strong."

Empress Dowager Xiao slowly lowered her hand and said with a sweet smile, "It has only been a short while, and you have recovered."

As she spoke, she sat up, crossed one leg over Zhao Xing, and sat down.

"But I am not so easily conquered."

Zhao Xing carefully felt Empress Dowager Xiao's riding skills, which were indeed amazing, and finally agreed.

…………

At dawn the next day, Zhao Xing led 30,000 cavalrymen ahead.

It was fine at the beginning, but after traveling for two days in a row, he couldn't stand it anymore and had to grit his teeth and persevere.

Although he had been exercising over the years, he was used to a life of luxury and this was his first time riding a horse for a long time.

Fortunately, I could learn riding skills from Empress Dowager Xiao every night to relieve my fatigue.

Seven days later, Zhao Xing finally arrived at Bazhou City.

Duke Ying led the civil and military officials of Bazhou City, as well as the generals who had arrived earlier, and went ten miles outside the city to welcome them.

After entering the city, Zhao Xing bathed and changed his clothes, then summoned Duke Ying and others to inquire about the situation on the border.

It was learned that although Yelu Yixin had sent more troops to the border cities, his men were still in Xijing City.

Zhao Xing pondered for a moment and said, "Launch the attack in three days!"

"Your Majesty!"

The Duke of Ying was shocked when he heard this and said quickly, "At this time, there are still troops that have not arrived, and there is a military strategy that says, if you attack with three times the force, you can attack with five times the force. The Liao Kingdom has long been prepared, and it will be difficult to break through the city in a short time. It is better to lure the Liao Kingdom to attack first. The Liao Kingdom will be unable to attack for a long time, suffer heavy losses, and its morale will be greatly reduced, and then launch a counterattack!"

When he learned that he would have to go to war with the Liao Kingdom, the Duke of Ying carefully thought about how to fight.

After much thought, the best strategy is to defend instead of attack.

Many of the Song Dynasty's soldiers have never seen blood, so defending the city will cause less damage and allow the soldiers to see blood first.

"I have made up my mind, Duke Ying, just obey my orders!" Zhao Xing said calmly.

Although he didn't know much about military strategy, he still understood the principles that the Duke of England talked about.

But all this is based on the premise that Yelu Yixin really wants to go to war with the Song Dynasty.

But did Yelu Yixin have it?

Yelu Yixin had no choice but to send troops this time.

Empress Dowager Xiao and others were in the Song Dynasty. If he did not send troops, the Liao Kingdom would only appear weak, which would be more disadvantageous to the Liao Kingdom.

However, he led the army in person and stayed in Xijing, obviously not wanting to fight the Song Dynasty.

If the Song Dynasty chose to defend, Yelu Yixin would also be happy to see it.

This will only continue to waste time and there is no point.

Moreover, the Song Dynasty dispatched more troops and horses, and the pressure was the greatest.

Since we have gunpowder, we might as well launch an attack first.

Although there were still 100,000 troops who had not arrived, there were also 400,000 troops on the border.

Putting aside the necessary defense, it is still possible to dispatch 300,000 troops and choose several cities to attack.

Although the Liao Kingdom also deployed defenses on the border, as long as the Song Dynasty captured a few cities, the Liao Kingdom would have to abandon other cities on the border.

Because it cannot be defended and cannot be defended.

The war must be spread to the territory of Liao as soon as possible. By fighting in Liao, regardless of whether the Song Dynasty wins or loses, its losses can be minimized.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Seeing that Zhao Xing insisted, the Duke of England did not dare to refute him in front of so many officials.

Zhao Xing nodded and said, "My dear ministers, go back and prepare. Duke Ying will stay."

"Yes!"

Everyone bowed and left, leaving only Zhao Xing and the Duke of England in the hall.

More than half an hour later, the Duke of England left. As for what the two talked about, no one knew.

Three days later, the Duke of England led an army of 300,000 out of the city.

Zhao Xing stood on the top of the city wall and watched the army go away. When the army was out of sight, he took out a telescope.

The telescope was not made of glass. He had people try but failed to make it, so he could only use crystal to polish it manually and made a few telescopes that were barely usable.

However, the border between Song and Liao was very long, with a large river in between. When the army approached the city, Zhao Xing could only vaguely see the army through the telescope, but could not see what was happening on the battlefield.

Duke Ying chose the three most important cities on the Liao defense line, divided his 300,000-strong army into three parts, and launched the attack simultaneously.

The Song Dynasty had been preparing for war these days, but the Liao Kingdom could not hide it from them. When Yelu Yixin got the news, he didn't care at all.

There are many troops deployed along the border of Liao State, and there are more than 100,000 troops in Xijing, ready to provide support at any time.

Yelu Yixin was actually very happy when the Song Dynasty sent troops.

"You are young after all. You actually dare to take the initiative to attack."

Yelu Yixin originally thought that the Song Dynasty would defend itself strictly and even thought about sending troops to harass the Song Dynasty after a while just for show.

Unexpectedly, the Song Dynasty actually took the initiative to send troops to launch an attack.

He had already made up his mind. When the Song Dynasty failed to conquer the city after a long siege, he would launch a counterattack, hurt the Song Dynasty, and then he could negotiate.

At that time, it would not be a matter of asking the Song Dynasty to hand over Empress Dowager Xiao and others.

He also wants the Song Dynasty to increase the annual tribute!

That night, Yelu Yixin was sleeping soundly with two concubines of the former emperor of Liao Dynasty in his arms, when he was awakened by a burst of urgent shouting.

"what's up?"

The eunuch who was serving was lighting the lamps. Hearing this, he replied, "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from the border. It says..."

"If you have urgent news, then come and report it. Can't we talk about it tomorrow? Can the Song Dynasty still break into the city?"

Before the eunuch could finish speaking, Yelu Yixin interrupted him angrily.

Attack five times as many means you can attack a city if you have five times as many troops as the defenders.

But it doesn't mean that with five times the number of troops, we can immediately capture the city.

In fact, let alone five times, even if it was ten times, as long as the defenders had enough troops and equipment, they might not be able to capture the city even after attacking for several months.

Now, it has only been two days since the news that the Song Dynasty sent troops to attack the city, and he never thought that the Song Dynasty could break into the city.

The eunuch who reported the news almost cried when he heard this, and said, "Your Majesty, the city has been breached. The general who brought the urgent report said that the Song Dynasty used something that made a loud noise like thunder, and then the city collapsed. The Song army entered the city, and the defenders were outnumbered and suffered heavy losses. Only a small number of people escaped."

"what?"

Yelu Yixin's mind went blank, and it took him a while to come back to his senses. He shouted, "Hurry and bring the urgent report."

…………

When Yelu Yixin learned the news, Zhao Xing had already learned the news the day before.

After all, he is on the front line, not in the rear.

After he left the Duke of England that day, he told him about gunpowder.

When the Duke of England learned of the existence of gunpowder, he was still somewhat skeptical.

However, seeing Zhao Xing's solemn promise and the fact that Zhao Xing had already decided to send troops, he had no choice but to believe it.

After some discussion, the Duke of England decided to pretend to attack the city first and then have people blow up the city at night.

That night, although the three cities were heavily guarded, a small group of soldiers were able to sneak under the city.

In order to ensure that the city could be blown up in one go, a huge amount of gunpowder was used.

When the loud noise was heard, not only the city was blown down, but even the Liao army inside the city and the Song army outside the city were frightened.

If the Duke of England had not summoned the officers and men in the army after the soldiers who were to blow up the city were sent out, explained the situation in advance, and asked them to prepare to appease the soldiers, I'm afraid the camp would have had to be blown up.

By the time the Song army broke into the city, the Liao army had not yet fully recovered from the loud noise and was no match for the Song army.

Before daybreak, the Song Dynasty had eliminated the defenders in the city, with only a few soldiers escaping, and completely occupied the three cities.

By the time Yelu Yixin received the news, the Song Dynasty had already occupied all the cities along the Liao border.

The defenders of those cities knew the situation of the three cities, and did not know what means the Song Dynasty used to blow up the cities, so they did not dare to defend them at all.

However, because there were too many cities occupied and people needed to be arranged to guard and protect the people, the attack had to be temporarily suspended.

Otherwise the rear will be unstable and problems may easily occur.

Even so, the gains made by the Song Dynasty were huge.

The Liao Kingdom had long been prepared to defend the city to the death, and had stockpiled a large amount of food and city defense equipment in the city.

Those who abandoned the city and fled were able to burn the food and equipment, but it was too late to destroy the three captured cities.

In the cities where the Liao army fled, the food and grass were not completely burned, and a lot of them were rescued. In this battle, the Song Dynasty obtained a large amount of food and grass.

After Yelu Yixin learned the details, he was so angry that he killed all the soldiers who had escaped.

He didn't believe what the soldiers said at all. How could such a thing exist?

If the Song Dynasty really had it, why did it wait until now to use it?

He felt that these people must have been careless and lost the city, so they were just making up an excuse.

But as the soldiers who had abandoned the city came back and said the same thing, he had to believe it.

Yelu Yixin asked his men to question all the soldiers and sent people to investigate, but they did not find any clues.

He could only send reinforcements to the front city while sending people to mobilize troops from the rear.

At the same time, he sent people to Western Xia to inform them of the situation and asked them to send troops as soon as possible to attack the Song Dynasty and share the pressure for him.

The Duke of England led his army to stop the attack, and continued the attack five days later.

At this time, he could only mobilize 200,000 troops.

The casualties in the previous siege were not too great, but after taking over a dozen cities, it was necessary to leave people behind to defend them.

This time he did not divide his troops. Gunpowder was powerful, but it also had a fatal flaw, which was that it could not distinguish between friend and foe, and it was also very afraid of water.

Moreover, gunpowder is effective against cities, but not very effective in head-on combat.

Once the Liao Kingdom leaves the city to fight, it will be difficult to use gunpowder.

If he divided his troops, it would be easy for the Liao Kingdom to find his weakness.

Gathering together, they can deal with anything, whether it is an attack on the city or the Liao army's expedition.

However, the Liao Kingdom did not know this and did not dare to leave the city. After several cities were conquered by the Song Dynasty, Yelu Yixin had to abandon all the cities north of Xijing.

Although he has not yet figured out what the Song Dynasty is using, he also doesn't know what the defects are.

But after several cities were blown up by the Song Dynasty, we did gain some experience.

The stronger the city, the harder it is to blow it up.

There was a relatively solid city before, which was not destroyed by the Song Dynasty's bombing the first time, but only collapsed the second time.

Xijing is a fortified city where he will fight against the Song Dynasty.

…………

When Li Liangzuo met the envoy sent by Yelu Yixin, he did not believe what the envoy said at all.

However, he still received the news that the Song Dynasty had already broken through the Liao border and was attacking the hinterland.

Therefore, after sending away Yelu Yixin's envoy, he launched an attack on Hehuang.

Half a month later, Li Liangzuo received news that the Song Dynasty had reached the city of Xijing.

When Li Liangzuo learned the news, he immediately ordered a withdrawal.

At this time, he had already captured two cities in Hehuang. Even so, he was very decisive and even gave up the captured cities.

If he doesn't give up, Dong Zhan will definitely not give up.

But it took him so long to capture two cities in Hehuang, while the Song Dynasty had already reached Xijing.

At this rate, even if the Song Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, it would not be able to conquer Hehuang.

Moreover, he had already believed that the Song Dynasty had special means to easily break into the city.

(End of this chapter)