Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

After finally crossing the Juma River, Cao Bin immediately set up camp in the south of Yishui. General Li Jixuan led the army to fight, and the Liao army began to retreat. After reorganizing the army, he went west to seek help.However, in the Battle of Qigouguan, the Song army suffered more than [-] casualties. The corpses blocked the water of the Shahe River, and countless armors were discarded.

At the beginning of May, Pan Mei sent people to escort the respected elders from Yingzhou and Shuozhou to Bianjing. Zhenzong hosted a banquet and summoned them. moon.Taizong comforted everyone after hearing this, and at the same time rewarded them with clothes and crowns.At the same time, Wang Jien returned to Bianjing from Yizhou. Emperor Taizong was shocked when he heard the news of Cao Bin's defeat at Qigou Pass. He immediately ordered the generals along the border to strengthen their defenses. He ordered Tian Chongjin to lead the army to garrison Dingzhou. Daizhou was garrisoned, Cao Bin, Cui Yanjin, Mi Xin and other generals sent people to look for Defang and his party in the border area, and they returned to Beijing as soon as possible.

Here, before Defang and his party arrived at the border, they heard the news that Cao Bin's army was withdrawing to the south. Jia Jun said, "My lord, it seems that the battle at the border has changed. Why don't you return to the capital for now?"

"Then how is it possible?" Defang said, "How can you return to the capital privately before the imperial decree is announced? Besides, if the news is not true, our army has reported successes in the past few months and has never been defeated. lose."

"But my lord, you can see that the surrounding towns have already started to prepare for war, and the people don't even leave the city."

"Preparation for war is a must. As long as the people hear the rumors, they will be afraid, so naturally they don't want to go out of the city."

"My lord, just to be on the safe side..."

"The emperor's order is here, so don't delay. You will know whether it is true or not when you see General Cao." Defang held the rein and said, "I don't believe this unless I see it with my own eyes. I will go north immediately, so there is no need to say more." After that, Jia Jun urged his horse to go forward. Jia Jun had no choice but to follow, but the farther he went to the north, the fewer people there were. There was hardly a Song soldier in sight, and the people disappeared. Mahe, the commoner I met when I set off said that General Cao suffered heavy casualties in Jumahe, my lord, let's go back for a while."

"If that's the case, why didn't I see General Cao who retreated to the south here? This king must go and see."

Jiajun urged his horse to stand in front of Defang's horse, "My lord! The general will not let you be in danger, please return to the city temporarily."

"Step aside!"

"My lord!"

Defang ignored Jiajun and ran towards the Juma River with his horse belly. Jiajun and the others hurriedly chased after him. After more than an hour, Defang and his party finally arrived at the Juma River. Armor weapons were scattered everywhere, and piles of burnt corpses were like black graves. It was hard to tell whether it was the Song army or the Liao army. Defang stared blankly, and Jiajun dismounted to check. The pile of corpses, ran to Defang, "My lord, it seems that General Cao temporarily repelled the Liao army, and he should have gone west to find General Mi and the others."

"How do you know it's General Cao?"

"The scattered banners belonged to the Liao army. The corpses of Song and Liao soldiers were also burned separately. General Cao must have met the enemy here and temporarily retreated the enemy soldiers. The situation was urgent. It was too late to bury the corpses. If it was the Liao army, they would not He will discard his own banner, and in order to gain opportunities in the pursuit, he will not bury or burn the corpse."

"Crossing the river"

"My lord, I don't know how far the Liao soldiers have retreated, and they can't cross the river."