The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 245 Fierce Battle
Flowers bloom in profusion, spring is in full bloom, and outside the small building, peach and plum blossoms sway in the breeze, scattering petals all over the path paved with snow-white pebbles.

On April 19th, the Song Dynasty court received a battle report that Zhao Xu's personal expeditionary force, after paying a heavy price, had defeated and scattered the Iron Falcons, the heavy cavalry of the Western Xia, annihilated the elite infantry Hengshan Bubazi, and besieged Xingzhou, Xingqing Prefecture.

All the officials breathed a sigh of relief. During this period, the Liao Dynasty kept sending letters, and the Song Dynasty was demanding an exorbitant price for the annual tribute from the Western Xia. The Liao Dynasty felt something was wrong after trying to negotiate several times and realized that the Song Dynasty was trying to delay. They were very angry and sent a letter to criticize the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty naturally refused to acknowledge this and continued to haggle over the price. The Liao Dynasty had lost interest in further negotiations and, in the end, revealed its true intentions. The official letter stated that if the Song Dynasty did not withdraw its troops from Western Xia, the Liao Dynasty would send troops to the Xiong and Ba prefectures of the Song Dynasty.

At this moment, Zhao Ti was in the Zichen Palace reading the military report from Hebei Road. The Liao Kingdom had already deployed 100,000 troops across the border, blowing horns and beating drums, ready to make a move.

Zhang Dun frowned and asked, "Your Majesty, what should we do about this?"

Zhao Ti smiled slightly and said, "We welcome friends with fine wine and enemies with bows and spears, but I think the Liao are just bluffing with their troops. They will not take any real action before our country replies to this letter."

Zhang Dun pondered: "What should I say in the reply?"

Zhao Ti said, "Yelü Hongji should also have a war report from Western Xia. In your reply, you might as well say that the army has already besieged Xingqing Prefecture and will capture it soon. Western Xia... is on the verge of collapse."

Zhang Dun said, "Your Majesty, will the Liao army withdraw from here... to seize the remaining land of Western Xia?"

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "Liao is very likely using a deceptive tactic. While one side is waving flags and threatening on the northern border, demanding benefits, the other side may have already secretly made arrangements to seize the Hetao Plain."

Huang Lü then said, "What should we do? Our Great Song Emperor personally led the expedition, and our soldiers shed their blood and sacrificed their lives to conquer this land. We can't let the Khitans reap the benefits, can we?"

Lin Xi said, "I'm afraid it's impossible not to take anything at all. After all, the northern and eastern borders of Western Xia are bordered by Liao. Once Western Xia is destroyed, Liao's army can advance and occupy it directly."

Xu said, "Let's not talk about the north for now, but we must not let the other side take away the fertile land of the Hetao Plain in the east."

Zhao Ti nodded: "Your Majesty will know the answer to this matter. As for whether we can take all the fertile land of the Hetao region, the battlefield is ever-changing and full of cunning and deception. We can only do our best and cannot make any definitive statements beforehand."

All the ministers nodded in agreement. Afterwards, Zhao Ti wrote a letter to Yelü Hongji, and after a moment of contemplation, he wrote another letter to Zhao Xu.

Then, military orders were issued, transferring 30,000 imperial guards from the Jingdong East Road and Jingdong West Road, and another 20,000 imperial guards from the Jingxi North Road and Jingxi South Road, for a total of 50,000 troops, to march north to the Hebei Road border.

Although it is speculated that Liao will not start a war on the border, some precautions should still be taken. Hebei Road originally had 70,000 troops, and with another 50,000, the total number of troops would be 120,000. They could line up in formation and sing a song to counter Liao, which would make Liao wary and not be too arrogant and provocative.

After all the official documents were issued and everyone returned to their respective offices, Zhao Ti sighed softly in the Zichen Palace. The Song Dynasty had been recuperating for more than ten years, and this battle had already emptied the national treasury.

When troops move, money flows like water. Even if they don't go to the battlefield, just mobilizing them will make money flow like water. After all, in wartime, the allocation of military pay and provisions is completely different from that in peacetime, by several times.

However, conquering the Western Xia would replenish everything. The Western Xia's accumulation over a hundred years, along with countless horses, cattle, sheep, minerals, and military equipment, would not only offset the losses but also generate a surplus many times over...

At this moment, five miles outside Xingzhou City in Xingqing Prefecture, Zhao Xu stood on the watchtower and looked ahead. Another wave of attack on the city had already begun.

From afar, the sounds of catapults launching massive projectiles and crashing down, the pounding of crossbows against the city walls, and the shouts and cries of soldiers fighting could all be heard on the wind.

Xingzhou was far less grand and imposing than Dongjing (Kaifeng), and even inferior to some of the major cities of the Song Dynasty. It paled in comparison to places like Jiangning and Hangzhou, and even fell far short of Jingzhou and Xiangyang. Yet, the city was currently putting up a desperate resistance, forcing its way in with sheer numbers. Layers upon layers of corpses lay piled up, lit on oil and thrown down, making it impossible to distinguish between soldiers and civilians; the dead continued to accumulate.

The city walls were covered with shield stakes, and the front was blocked by a dense array of iron nails and spikes, making it difficult for ladders to climb even if they were erected. Even if someone did manage to climb up, they would be shot and speared with bows and arrows.

Once one wave of attacks was repelled, another wave would rise up below the city walls, with rolling logs and stones crashing down with a deafening roar, along with various other objects such as ash bottles and oil cans to block the Song army below.

Zhao Xu's face showed a slight impatience. He said, "Add eight more crossbows to bombard the city, set up arrow towers in front, and build earthen mounds. Xingzhou must be taken within three days!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers went to relay the order. More than an hour later, a loud bang was heard, and a corner of Xingzhou City was collapsed by continuous crossbow fire, causing many Western Xia soldiers to fall to the ground.

The crossbow is what the Eight-Ox Crossbow shoots. The Eight-Ox Crossbow is the most powerful type of bed crossbow in the Song Dynasty, and it is also the crossbow weapon with the longest range and the most powerful shot in history.

The Eight-Ox Crossbow got its name from its powerful pulling force, which was equivalent to the strength of eight oxen. It was incredibly powerful and required a hundred people to operate and fire, and it could shoot three miles away.

This type of crossbow has iron-tipped and iron-feathered arrows, as well as step-stake arrows and slingshot arrows. The step-stake arrows can be fired in quick succession through gaps in the city wall to form an upward arrow ladder, which the soldiers of the low city can use to climb the city.

During the Battle of Chanyuan in the first year of the Jingde era, the Song Dynasty used an eight-ox crossbow to ambush the Khitan army in Chanzhou and killed Xiao Talin, the commander-in-chief of the Nanjing army. At that time, the Liao army had penetrated deep into the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty. The death of their commander-in-chief greatly dampened their morale, and they were worried about being attacked from both sides. In the end, they negotiated peace.

However, the Eight-Ox Crossbow also suffers from huge wear and tear. Generally speaking, it can no longer be used after firing about fifty arrows and needs to be repaired and corrected. If it is forced to fire more than a hundred arrows, the crossbow cart will not be able to withstand the strain and will be rendered useless.

But at this moment, the eight-ox crossbows and other ballistae under Xingzhou City were all disregarding everything, risking complete damage but still firing arrows non-stop, like a sudden rainstorm.

During his western expedition, Zhao Xi emptied almost all the weapons from the various departments under the Imperial Arsenal in the capital, determined to eliminate any future troubles in Hequ forever.

By evening, the city towers of Xingzhou's four cities had all collapsed, and the eastern city, which was the main target of the Song Dynasty, was in particular. The battlements were incomplete, with several huge gaps that could not be repaired in a short time.

As darkness fell, Song army commander Zhang Jie observed the situation on the city wall and then ordered the rockets to be launched. The Song Dynasty's Military Equipment Bureau had a special Rocket Institute, which was a department that researched various firearms.

Arrows rained down like locusts, with barrels, mother-and-child arrows, oil bottles, and scraps of cloth attached to them, all of which were hurled towards the walls of Xingzhou. These arrows were either burning or sparking, and immediately set the walls of Xingzhou ablaze.

Zhang Jie observed for a while longer before ordering the arrow rain to gradually cease, and then slowly withdrew his troops from under the city walls.

He then led his generals to the central army to report the battle situation to Zhao Xu. Zhao Xu praised him, but still gave a strict order that Xingzhou must be captured within three days.

He appointed Zhang Jie as the commander-in-chief of this western expedition not only because the man was calm and resourceful, but also because the Zhang family was not a military family in the western army, which could balance the various factions. Otherwise, if the Zhe, Zhong, Yao, or other families were appointed as commanders, there would inevitably be some underhanded dealings.

Afterwards, he ate with everyone, and then the generals returned to the front lines, where Zhao Xu rested.

But around midnight, he suddenly opened his eyes in the darkness.

At that moment, a very faint sound rang out in the air above the main tent, like birds flapping their wings.

(End of this chapter)