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

Chapter 336 Breaking Through the City
Miechuan City itself was not a formidable pass, and cities on the grasslands generally do not have any formidable passes or strategic strongholds.

Due to its geographical terrain, it is difficult to build tall cities and strategic passes on the grasslands.

At this moment, the Mi'e River was attacked by the most powerful crossbow in the ballista, the Eight-Bull Crossbow, which collapsed half of the city wall, and the Liao army inside was thrown into chaos.

Under normal circumstances, even if the Eight-Bull Crossbow has a long range and great power, it would be difficult to breach the city walls, because the city walls would not allow such a weapon to get too close to unleash its full power.

But the Ice Tower is different. Although it is called a tower, it is actually a wall of ice that exists like a city wall. This wall is long and wide, and it can not only hide soldiers and chariots, but also move forward.

As for how to move it, once the ice tower is built, you can move the ice blocks of the next layer forward, and the ice tower will gradually move closer and closer to the city.

This batch of ice was specially made at Zhao Ti's behest. Some of it was frozen from the Yellow River, and some was formed from underground well water. It was mixed with a lot of grass stalks and leaves, making it extremely sturdy. Arrows could not break it, and stones could not crush it.

The Liao army at Miechuan had no way to deal with these ice blocks. As the ice towers moved closer and closer, the Eight-Bull Crossbows struck at the perfect distance and angle, smashing half of the city wall.

But that's not all. As the saying goes, a thousand-mile dike can be breached by a single hole. When a city is intact, its defenses are naturally strong, but if half of it collapses, its defenses drop by more than 90%.

The crossbows and other weapons continued to fire, and the remaining half of the city wall was soon razed to the ground. With the defenses of Miechuan gone, a huge breach was opened, allowing them to break in without the need for ladders or anything like that.

Although the Liao army in the city outnumbered the Song army, the number of Liao soldiers capable of fighting was about the same as that of the Song army, but their combat strength was far inferior to that of the Song army.

The Liao army's strength lay in cavalry, but defending cities was not their forte. In the midst of the chaos, and with the city in disarray, it was difficult to fight on horseback and maneuver around the city. After a while, the Song army broke through the breach in the city wall and advanced.

When the walls of Miechuan collapsed, Zhao Ti climbed the ice tower to observe the battle. He remained on the tower until the Song army entered the city, watching the battle unfold with a solemn expression.

As dusk fell and the sky darkened, and more and more Song soldiers entered the Mi'e River region, he slowly descended the steps, instructed a messenger to deliver a few words to Zhe Keshi, and then returned to his main tent at the rear.

In war, there are generals who can make big decisions and directions, but they will not personally take charge.

The war is now half over. Although it is not completely settled, there is unlikely to be any unexpected changes. So there is no need to keep an eye on things at the front. Just go back and listen to the military reports.

Inside the camp tent, Yuan Xiaoxian was reading a book, a storybook that Zhao Ti would read for leisure when he had nothing to do.

Upon seeing him return, Yuan Xiaoxian jumped up from her chair with joy and stepped forward, saying, "Husband, you're back?"

Zhao Ti nodded, and Yuan Xiaoxian asked, "Husband, have you eaten?"

Zhao Ti said, "I have already instructed the soldiers outside to deliver it. What is Princess Cheng'an looking at?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiaoxian blushed and hid the book in her hand behind her back.

Zhao Ti frowned and said, "Are you reading my idle books?"

Yuan Xiaoxian's eyes widened: "I didn't see it. I brought it with me myself. I use it to relieve boredom."

Zhao Ti snorted, turned around behind her, took the book from her hand, and saw the words "Night Curtain Flower Shadow" written on it. His face immediately turned cold.

"You're not allowed to watch this kind of thing again! This isn't something a nine-year-old should be watching!"

"I...I'm nineteen!" Yuan Xiaoxian exclaimed anxiously. "Besides, if my husband can see, why can't I?"

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes: "Who said I read them? How could I possibly read such decadent and erotic books? Destroy them all right now."

As he spoke, he walked to the table, picked up several other books such as "Jade Fragrance Red," "Rolling Up the Pearl Curtain," "Drunkenly Contending for Spring Branches," and "Peach Blossom Dreams," and then crushed them with both hands, instantly turning them into scraps of paper that scattered all over the ground.

"Huh?" Yuan Xiaoxian was stunned: "They're all gone..."

Just then, soldiers knocked on the door and brought in food: a plate of meat buns and a bowl of vegetable soup.

Zhao Ti sat at the table eating, while Yuan Xiaoxian stared at him intently. The food at this time was called differently than in later generations; steamed buns were called mantou, and mantou were called baozi, and meat mantou were called meat baozi. "Husband, is it delicious?" Yuan Xiaoxian licked her lips and asked.

"Didn't you eat just now?" Zhao Ti asked, puzzled. Before leaving in the morning, he had instructed the soldiers to bring him two meals, one for lunch and one for dinner.

"We ate, but it was steamed buns and meat soup, no meat buns..." Yuan Xiaoxian whispered, her expression clearly like that of a greedy child.

"Let's eat together," Zhao Ti said.

"Okay!" Yuan Xiaoxian happily grabbed a steamed bun and started eating it with a beaming smile.

Seeing her delighted expression, Zhao Ti pondered for a moment and said, "Princess Cheng'an, the city of Mi'echuan has fallen."

"Husband, what did you say?" Yuan Xiaoxian seemed not to have heard clearly.

“I said that Miechuan City has fallen, the Liao army suffered a great defeat and heavy losses,” Zhao Ti said, emphasizing each word.

"Has the Liao army been defeated?" Yuan Xiaoxian thought for a moment: "But since I have married my husband, I am a Song person. Although I am also worried about my motherland, I can't say anything about national affairs and affect my husband."

Zhao Ti said calmly, "The Liao army suffered a great defeat. Isn't Princess Cheng'an sad? If one day the Liao Kingdom is destroyed, what will Princess Cheng'an say then?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiaoxian revealed a sad expression: "Of course I am sad, but I am now my husband's woman, and therefore a citizen of Song. I believe that the Great Song will treat the people of the fallen Khitan with kindness."

Zhao Ti didn't say anything. He finished all the buns, drank a bowl of soup, and told the soldiers to pack up and leave, waiting for battle reports from the front.

Before long, Zhe Kecun sent wave after wave of messengers to arrive, and by the time of Hai (9-11 PM), half of Miechuan City had been occupied by the Song army.

A truce was then initiated. The winter nights were cold, and after a day of fighting, it was difficult to continue fighting continuously. Both sides took precautions, set up defenses, and the soldiers took turns resting.

Zhao Ti issued several orders, then closed the tent flap and prepared to sleep.

Ever since that night when Yuan Xiaoxian ran up to his bed, she has refused to go to her own bed every time she goes to sleep, and instead brazenly crawls into his quilt.

After Zhao Ti returned to his tent, he saw Yuan Xiaoxian sitting on the edge of the couch, swinging her legs, her slender ankles radiating a lustrous glow.

He coughed softly: "I'll sleep in your bed tonight. You can stay here by yourself. Don't come over again in the middle of the night."

Yuan Xiaoxian asked in bewilderment, "Husband, why?"

Zhao Ti glanced at the faint white skin beneath her collar, closed his eyes slightly, and then opened them again: "Don't ask why. If you come back tonight, I'll throw you on the ground."

After saying that, he turned off the lights, got into Yuan Xiaoxian's bed, took off his clothes and lay down.

Yuan Xiaoxian stared at Zhao Ti with bright eyes. After a while, she tiptoed to her bedside, jumped into bed, and slipped under the covers.

The bed wasn't as big as Zhao Ti's couch, so the two of them immediately squeezed together. Zhao Ti opened his eyes and said calmly, "I told you not to come over. Don't you believe me? Did you think I wouldn't throw you down there?"

As he spoke, he raised his arm forward, and Yuan Xiaoxian immediately let out a soft moan, her voice becoming weak and feeble: "Husband..."

Zhao Ti paused, slowly withdrew his arm, and took a deep breath, saying, "Go to sleep..."

The next day, the army continued fighting within the city.

By noon, the Liao army began to retreat. By mid-afternoon, the Liao army had withdrawn from the north gate of Miechuan. The Song army pursued them for more than 30 li. The Liao army encountered Yao Shimin, who was lying in ambush ahead, and fled northwest in disarray, losing their armor and weapons.

On the 29th day of the twelfth month of the third year of the Shaosheng reign of the Song Dynasty, the city of Milechuan was captured, and the Milechuan Military Command was taken over by the Song court.

(I was sick and went to the hospital for two days in a row. The tests didn't stop until late at night. I just couldn't stay awake any longer. That's all for today. I'll try to finish it later. Thank you everyone.)
(End of this chapter)