I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 178 First, return the annual tribute to me with interest, then we can discuss peace.
...

On the morning of September 1st, the second year of the Hongwu reign.

Several small groups of Song cavalry arrived outside Yanjing city one after another.

After that, more and more Song troops arrived outside Yanjing.

Until both the Eastern Route Army and the Western Route Army reached the outskirts of Yanjing.

However, the Song army did not immediately attack Yanjing City. Instead, they first attacked Wanping County and Xijin County, which were attached to Nanjing City of Liao.

When Zhao Liangsi first surrendered to the Song Dynasty, he told Emperor Zhao Yu and his ministers that both counties had a population of nearly 100,000 and a considerable amount of supplies. If they could acquire these supplies, it would be enough to sustain a protracted war.

Wanping County was very close to Yanjing City, only a few dozen miles away. Thirty thousand elite troops were stationed within the city, defended by Xiao Hudugu, a high-ranking official of the Liao Dynasty. This man was a master archer, possessing both wisdom and courage, and had repeatedly distinguished himself in battle, making him a rare and formidable general in the Liao army. He was well aware of Wanping County's strategic importance and had therefore made early preparations for its defense.

Xijin County was also very close to Yanjing City, only fifty li away. It was garrisoned by 20,000 troops, and defended by Chai Yi, a high-ranking official of the Liao Dynasty and a scholar of the Privy Council. Although Chai Yi was a civil official, he possessed considerable military talent. He was skilled in warfare and disciplined his troops rigorously, making the defenders of Xijin County quite formidable. Xijin County was also heavily fortified, with its city walls covered in various defensive weapons, as if it had been thoroughly prepared.

The two cities, together with Yanjing City, supported each other and formed a strong defensive line.

The garrison troops in both counties believed that with their strong city defenses and ample supplies, they could withstand the Song army's attack.

However, they underestimated the Song army's fighting strength and its current high morale.

The Song soldiers bravely charged forward, launching an assault on the city walls at all costs.

The key point is that the Song army had explosive packs.

In less than a day, the Eastern Route Army breached the city walls of Wanping County; the Western Route Army also breached the city walls of Xijin County. The two armies then stormed into Wanping County and Xijin County respectively.

The difference is that when Xiao Hudugu saw the city fall, he led the entire city's soldiers and civilians to surrender, while Chai Yi chose to burn the city's grain and supplies and led the city's soldiers and civilians in street fighting.

Following Zhao Yu's instructions, Wang Shan, Zhang Xun, Gao Yongnian, Fan Chun, and others executed and confiscated the property of all the high-ranking officials, gentry, wealthy families, leaders, and generals who participated in the resistance. Those who surrendered obediently were spared no harm.

In addition, those who have made significant contributions may be granted leniency outside the law, but this law does not forgive those who resist to the bitter end.

Under such policies, in Wanping County, the high-ranking officials, gentry, wealthy families, leaders, and generals, regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity, were only stripped of all their land and fined only 100 shi of grain per person. In Xijin County, the same high-ranking officials, gentry, wealthy families, leaders, and generals, regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity, were all executed, their homes and families confiscated, and Chai Yi, the leader, was subjected to the most severe punishment. All the Manchu men were beheaded, and all the women in his family were forced into prostitution.

As usual, the Zhao Song Dynasty sent people to distribute the land of these high-ranking officials, nobles, wealthy families, leaders, and generals equally to the people of Wanping County and Xijin County. Fair trade was carried out in both places, with no infringement on the land, in order to win over the hearts of the local people and to get the people of the two places to help the Song army attack Yanjing City.

Although Chai Yi burned a significant portion of the grain supplies in Xijin County, the grain supplies in Wanping County alone were enough to sustain the Song army for three months.

Furthermore, guided by the Liao people who had surrendered to the Zhao Song Dynasty, the Song army intercepted three Liao pastures, obtaining nearly 40,000 warhorses and over 300,000 cattle, sheep, and camels.

—At just one horse farm in Sanhe County, the Song army had more than 20,000 warhorses and more than 200,000 cattle, sheep, camels, mules and donkeys, and the grain and feed in the warehouses were piled up like mountains.

In fact, in the previous battles, the Song army also captured a large amount of grain, horses, cattle, sheep, camels, mules and donkeys.

In this way, the Song army had sufficient military supplies.

This time, the Zhao Song Dynasty not only had much less logistical pressure, but many of the new soldiers recruited from the northwest who knew how to ride horses were transformed from infantry into cavalry.

Five days later, on the sixth day of the ninth month, Zhao Yu personally led the left army of the Shenji Army, the Northern Auxiliary Army, and a large number of Hebei Imperial Guards to the city of Yanjing.

After Zhao Yu arrived, he stayed in a place called Yanfangdian.

The Liao emperor once held a spring hunting expedition here.

"Nabo" is a transliteration of the Khitan word meaning the Liao emperor's camp. "Four Seasons Nabo" refers to the Liao emperor's camp migrations and nomadic hunting activities throughout the year, which are related to Khitan nomadic customs. It is described as "Spring waters and autumn mountains, winter and summer Nabo".

Located southeast of Yanjing City, this place stretches over twenty li from east to west and over ten li from north to south. The land is very flat, enough to garrison an army of 100,000. It is also strategically important, surrounded by water on three sides, with abundant water and grass, like an oasis in the desert. Backed by the Despair Slope, it can serve as a natural barrier. Occupying this place would not only make it easy to defend but also difficult to attack, and would also allow for grazing and hunting.

There is also a Zhai Palace here, which is warm in winter and cool in summer. The Liao emperor once stayed here to escape the cold, held meetings of officials from the north and south, and received tributes from the Song Dynasty and other countries.

As Zhao Yu moved into the Zhai Palace, the Shenji Vanguard Army, Shenji Rear Army, and Shenji Left Army each guarded a section of the waterway for Zhao Yu.

Meanwhile, the Northern Auxiliary Army, the Eastern Auxiliary Army, the Western Auxiliary Army, and the Hebei Imperial Guards served as the main force besieging Yanjing City.

At this time, approximately 400,000 troops surrounded Yanjing City. They built camps such as Chaotian and Tiebi around the four walls of Yanjing City, forming an extremely powerful military fortress, and set up several military camps to completely enclose the city.

In reality, the actual number of Song troops here was only around 200,000. Among them were a large number of Hebei Imperial Guards with poor combat capabilities, who could only fight when the enemy was winning. The rest were civilian laborers, some brought by Zeng Bu and others from the capital region, Hebei, and Shandong, and others hired by Zeng Bu and others from Wanping County and Xijin County to transport stones and cut timber to make siege equipment.

The Song army had many camps, large and small, too numerous to count.

Song soldiers openly carried flags in the countryside, moving between their various military camps.

The Liao soldiers guarding Yanjing stood on the city wall, their eyes fixed on the Song army outside the city, and they were filled with fear.

……

At the same time, all the city gates of Yanjing were closed, martial law was imposed throughout the city, and the soldiers guarding the city stood ready on their respective positions.

Yelü Heluwo was fully responsible for the deployment of defenses in Yanjing. He knew he bore a heavy responsibility and dared not be negligent in the slightest. He adopted the method of dividing his troops into four defense zones: east, west, south, and north, with 20,000 troops assigned to each zone as the main fighting force, in addition to auxiliary troops composed of the people of Yanjing.

For these four defense zones, Yelü and Luwo each appointed a member of the imperial clan and a military official to serve as the defense zone supervisors, and each also appointed a confidant of Yelü Yanxi to supervise them.

Each city gate was a key point of defense, and Yelü and Luwo each dispatched capable members of the royal family to lead elite troops to defend different areas.

Yelü Heluwo ordered the entire city's military and civilians to take active action and fully prepare for war. They repaired watchtowers, hung felt tents, installed gun emplacements, set up crossbows, transported bricks and stones, lit torches, hung logs, and prepared oil. All the necessary defensive equipment was fully prepared.

In addition, Yelü and Luwo reorganized the various armies, especially the newly recruited ones, and conducted daily military training to improve their military quality and combat effectiveness.

Outside the city, within a radius of hundreds of miles, people fled their homes in droves.

Some criminals took advantage of the chaos to band together and rob people on the road, some even disguising themselves as Song soldiers. Before the city gates closed, tens of thousands of residents ran out of the city through Tongtian Gate, carrying the old and the young, trying to escape north. Unfortunately, they were attacked by these thugs, and most of them were killed or looted.

The thugs set fire to houses outside the city, the flames reaching the sky, and continued throughout the night.

The people in the city thought it was the Song army who did it, so they were all terrified.

Faced with this situation, even Yelü Yanxi, who had always wanted to escape Yanjing City, dared not make any rash moves.

Until the Song army completely sealed off Yanjing.

Before the city was sealed off, Yelü Yanxi and his ministers received several pieces of bad news.

The first piece of bad news was that Wanping City had been captured by the Song army, and Xiao Hudugu led the entire city's soldiers and civilians to surrender.

The second piece of bad news was that Xijin City had also been captured by the Song army, and Chai Yi was leading the soldiers and civilians in the city in street fighting.

The third piece of bad news was that Guo Cheng ordered Xiao Hudugu and others who had surrendered to kill all the soldiers and civilians who refused to surrender. Xiao Hudugu then led more than 20,000 Liao soldiers to surrender to the Zhao Song Dynasty, which strengthened the Song army.

The fifth piece of bad news was that there was still no news from any of the loyalist armies.

Upon learning this news, Yelü Yanxi flew into a rage and berated Xiao Changge, Yelü Heluwo, and others who advocated defending the city.

The reason why Xiao Changge, Yelü, Luwo, and others were confident in defending Yanjing was mainly because Wanping City and Xijin City were supporting Yanjing, and they also said that reinforcements would arrive soon.

But as soon as the Song army arrived, they captured Wanping City and Xijin City. Xiao Hudugu then led a large army to surrender to the Song, and it was unknown when reinforcements would arrive.

Wouldn't that make them completely trapped?
Xiao Changge, Yelü, Luwo, and others did not expect things to develop this way.

To be honest, if they had known things would develop this way, they certainly wouldn't have stopped Yelü Yanxi from going north, putting the Liao Kingdom in such a passive position.

But since things had come to this point, saying anything more would only be seen as shirking responsibility, so they could only let Yelü Yanxi vent his dissatisfaction.

After Yelü Yanxi finished his tirade, Xiao Fengxian stepped forward and said, "The best course of action now is to preserve the Liao dynasty. I believe we should immediately send an envoy to the Song army to meet with the Song emperor and discuss peace negotiations."

Yelü Yanxi looked at Xiao Changge, Yelü Heluwo, and other pro-war ministers and asked them, "What do you think?"

Xiao Changge analyzed, "The enemy's strength is currently at its peak, and our army has not yet assembled. We cannot refuse peace. However, peace must be made with a plan. If a plan is found, the situation of our Great Liao will be secure. Otherwise, the troubles will not end, and the safety of the dynasty and the state will depend on this one move! The person who goes to negotiate peace must be both brave and resourceful. Otherwise, I fear he will ruin the country's affairs."

Then, Xiao Changge further analyzed the situation, repeatedly emphasizing that territory should not be ceded and that too much gold and silk should not be promised.

Xiao Changge said, “The Song people have been eyeing our Nanjing, Xijing, and Pingzhou for a long time. When we go to negotiate peace, they will surely make a big show of demanding these three places in order to gauge the reaction of our Great Liao. If our Great Liao does not react and our measures are appropriate, they will back down. If the court is terrified and agrees to all their demands, they will know that our Great Liao has no one to rely on, and they will covet our territory even more. In that case, our worries will not end. First of all, we must not panic and must remain calm before we can deal with the situation. I hope Your Majesty will consider this carefully.”

Knowing the importance of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Yelü Yanxi nodded in agreement.

After discussion, Yelü Yanxi sent his son-in-law Xiao Bodie and Zuo Qigong to the Song army to sue for peace.

With Zhao Yu approaching, the decision of whether to make peace or not with the Liao Dynasty was beyond the control of frontline generals like Guo Cheng.

So Guo Cheng and his men continued their attack on Yanjing City according to plan.

Unlike the cities that were easily breached before, Yanjing, as an important city, had its city walls constructed with sturdy materials and a reasonable structure to resist foreign invasion.

Even if the explosive charge had some power, it would take multiple explosions to create a breach in the city wall large enough for the army to pass through.

This process makes it easy for the enemy to detect and defend against.

The key reason is that, due to previous battles, the Liao army already knew that the Song army possessed explosive charges as siege weapons. Therefore, they took various measures to counter the explosive charge attacks, such as strengthening patrols along the city walls to promptly detect and destroy the explosive charges; setting up obstacles around the city walls to prevent the Song army from approaching the walls to place explosive charges; and using defensive facilities such as moats to increase the difficulty for the Song army to approach the city walls.

Guo Cheng used the Liao army, which had recently surrendered to the Zhao Song Dynasty, as the main force for the attack, and began to fill the moat in preparation for the actual siege.

Are the newly recruited Liaodong troops disobeying orders?
What is the purpose of the supervisory team?

Any Liao soldiers who do not charge forward should be shot dead without mercy.

Less gossip.

Before Zhao Yu arrived, Guo Cheng and his men had been filling the moat day and night and were also conducting probing attacks on the city.

After Zhao Yu arrived in Yanjing, Guo Cheng and others brought over the Liao envoys Xiao Bodie and Zuo Qigong to continue filling the moat and attacking the city.

On the seventh day of the ninth month, Zhao Yu met with Xiao Bodie and Zuo Qigong in the Zhai Palace.

Zhao Yu sat on the dragon throne. After Xiao Bodie and Zuo Qigong performed the grand ceremony, they took out two copies of the document and presented them to Zhao Yu. Xiao Bodie said in fluent Chinese: "This is the oath written by Emperor Zhenzong, Emperor Renzong and Emperor Zhaosheng of our dynasty. His Majesty ordered me to read it to Your Majesty."

Zhao Yu was taken aback. He hadn't expected the Liao Kingdom to bring out the Qingli Peace Treaty and the Chanyuan Treaty.

In the second year of the Qingli reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, taking advantage of the war between the Northern Song and Western Xia, the Liao Dynasty sent envoys to the Zhao Song Dynasty, demanding the cession of territory. After several rounds of negotiations, an agreement was finally reached. The peace agreement stipulated that the Zhao Song Dynasty would pay the Liao Dynasty an additional 100,000 taels of silver and 100,000 bolts of silk annually, to be paid under the name of "tribute"; both sides would maintain their original borders and would not build additional castles or dig canals along the borders.

As for the Treaty of Chanyuan signed between Emperor Zhenzong of Song and the Liao Dynasty in Chanzhou in the first year of Jingde, it completely opened the shameful pattern of the Zhao Song Dynasty exchanging annual tribute for peace on the northern border.

Zhao Yu did not expect that at this critical juncture, the Liao Kingdom would actually bring out the Qingli Peace Treaty and the Chanyuan Treaty.

Zhao Yu knew perfectly well what the Liao Kingdom wanted to say: the two countries had agreed that "the border troops should each guard the border; the people of the two places should not invade each other's territory," and so on.

But when Xiao Bodie read out, “To take advantage of the local conditions and aid the military expenses, every year 100,000 bolts of silk and 100,000 taels of silver will be provided. Furthermore, envoys will be sent to the Northern Court to have the Three Departments dispatch people to transport and deliver the goods to Xiong Prefecture…” Zhao Yu stopped Xiao Bodie with a stern face: “Stop!”

Then, Zhao Yu said with a stern face, "I haven't mentioned tribute yet, but your dynasty dares to bring it up first. Very well, since that's the case, your dynasty should return the tribute to me with interest first, and then we can discuss peace..."

……

(End of this chapter)