The prince is more stable

Chapter 1001 Victory Report from the Northwest
Is it possible for a country to do something foolish, or make wrong strategies and judgments?

History has shown that nations have done countless foolish things, both by the Central Plains dynasties and by nomadic barbarians.

However, historical records are rather euphemistic, attributing these foolish acts to "incompetence," meaning that they could have avoided doing foolish things, but they were simply out of their minds and made wrong decisions.

The Liao Dynasty is the same today.

In recent years, the Song army has repeatedly defeated the Liao army. Zhao Xiaoqian personally led the army and annihilated as many as 160,000 Liao soldiers. For the Liao state, this number was enough to cripple it.

Logically, the Liao Kingdom should have learned its lesson. Even if it harbored resentment, it should have bided its time, patiently and diligently worked to strengthen itself, and waited for the opportunity to turn the tide.

Unfortunately, the right path is always full of twists and turns. Given the Liao Dynasty's declining state and the complex thoughts of its rulers and ministers, this right path was difficult to traverse.

Meanwhile, the Liao Dynasty's Northwest Expeditionary Forces were even more unconvinced by the Song army. They had never seen the Song army's prowess firsthand and believed it was all just hearsay.

Fortunately, Zhong Jianzhong cured their resentment. If any of these three thousand Liao soldiers had survived, their eyes would have become very clean and clear, as innocent as a child.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaoqian, inside the Funing Palace, still felt unsatisfied.

Logically, Guo Chengquan had annihilated three thousand Liao soldiers, avenging the great hatred of the Song border people, but Zhao Xiaoqian still felt it was not enough.

Why is it that when you cross the border to kill and rob, you only have to pay with your life?
You provoked us, you started this trouble, shouldn't you pay a price?

If we fail to teach the Liao Kingdom a profound lesson, the Liao army will continue to cross the border at will to slaughter and plunder. As long as they have the thought that they can pay with their lives, they might be able to escape back home after looting and make a fortune.

Zhao Xiaoqian must not allow this kind of thinking from the Liao people; it is unacceptable and very dangerous.

He wanted the Liao people to know that this was not as simple as "a life for a life," and that if they dared to cross the border, they would pay a much heavier price.

Even the Liao emperor and his ministers could not bear such a price, which is why they strictly disciplined their generals, instilling in them a sense of awe and even fear towards the Song border, thus ensuring peace on the Song border.

Xu Jiang could see Zhao Xiaoqian's agitated mood, a kind of dilemma where he didn't know how to skin the enemy alive to vent his anger.

So Xu tentatively asked, "Does Your Majesty think that General Zhong's complete annihilation of those three thousand Liao soldiers was not enough?"

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded: "Not enough, far from enough. I want the Liao people to know that whoever provokes us must pay a much heavier price. The mere annihilation of three thousand soldiers is not enough to teach them a lesson. Does Mr. Chongyuan have a more satisfying way?"

Inside the Funing Hall, the assembled officials looked at each other, their smiles bitter.

This official is truly intolerant of any loss or injustice; he's the type to hold a grudge and seek revenge. Once you offend him, the consequences will be far beyond what the other party can afford.

Zhang Dun hesitated for a moment, then said, “Your Majesty, now is the time for the Song and Liao alliance to jointly destroy Western Xia. The two countries are in a period of peace and friendship. If the retaliatory actions against Liao are too excessive, it may be detrimental to the overall situation of destroying Xia and could easily lead to a three-way war. At that time, the situation in the world will be very complicated.”

Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head: "The logic is not like that. Don't forget that it was the Liao Kingdom that provoked our Great Song first. Things are different now. The Great Song has no need to swallow its anger. Let's not worry about the Song-Liao alliance for now. Even without this alliance, our Great Song can still swallow up the Western Xia."

"Furthermore, the consequences of breaking the Song-Liao alliance are even more unbearable for the Liao Kingdom. Their domestic situation is far more severe than ours. Therefore, I believe that even if the Song Dynasty retaliates against the Liao Kingdom, the Liao Kingdom will not have the courage to end the alliance and formally become an enemy of our Song Dynasty."

"If they had the confidence and strength to rival our nation, they would have done it long ago, instead of waiting until now. They were scared by us before, and they will still be scared now. We must teach them a lesson they won't forget, so that we can eliminate the border troubles of the Song Dynasty forever."

Everyone in the hall fell silent. The Emperor's words were indeed reasonable, and no one could refute them.

After a pause, Zhao Xiaoqian's gaze swept across Zhang Dun's face seemingly casually, lingering there for a moment before he slowly said, "The Song Dynasty has reached a very formidable level in military affairs. The armies of the neighboring countries are no longer a match for the Song Dynasty's royal army."

"The Song Dynasty is currently only lacking in national treasury. It cannot afford to fight, not that it cannot win. You should all agree on this point. Otherwise, when faced with provocation from neighboring enemies, our morale will be lowered by three points. How can we be worthy of the hard work and sacrifices of the soldiers who are fighting on the front lines?"

"The Song Dynasty of today is not the Song Dynasty of the past. It is powerful, at least militarily. In the future, whenever there are border troubles or conflicts with neighboring countries, you may speak louder, more aggressively, and more arrogantly..."

"You have hundreds of thousands of elite imperial guards from the Song Dynasty supporting you. You can be domineering in your words and deeds. Even if you are unreasonable, you should still argue your way out of it. If you are right, you should not let anyone off the hook. If anyone is not convinced, the army will crush them."

His words were so inspiring that everyone present stood up and laughed in agreement.

Only Zhang Dun's face turned pale and then flushed.

He knew that the Emperor's words were actually a veiled criticism of him, subtly blaming him for being too weak. He had clearly been in the right, yet he had made it sound as if he were in the wrong. He was hesitant and fearful of damaging the alliance and the Song-Liao relationship. His words had already displeased the Emperor, but ultimately, to save face for the Prime Minister, the Emperor did not directly reprimand him.

Those present were all seasoned veterans of the court, having navigated its intrigues for decades. How could they not know what the Emperor was implying in his words?

So everyone's gazes casually swept across Zhang Dun's face, and under their varied stares, Zhang Dun's expression grew increasingly grim.

After an awkward silence, Zhao Xiaoqian clapped his hands and said, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; Confucius said, 'Repay evil with justice.'"

After a pause, Zhao Xiaoqian slowly said, "Mr. Chongyuan, please ask the Privy Council to issue a troop mobilization order. I will issue another decree, ordering Zhe Keshi, the border general of Youzhou, to lead 10,000 troops north across the border and enter Liao territory for 100 li. Wherever they encounter Khitan nomadic tribes and villages, they shall slaughter and plunder them. Afterward, they shall lead the troops back to Youzhou."

"The Minister of Rites and the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies summoned the Liao envoy and reprimanded him, telling him openly and honestly that our Youzhou border troops had been ordered to march north across the border, and that our Song border troops had killed many of our border civilians, burned many villages, and looted many properties. We, the Song border troops, will repay them many times over."

"If Emperor Yelü Yanxi of Liao is not satisfied, the alliance between Song and Liao shall be terminated. The Song army shall withdraw from the northwest. Song and Liao may as well have a major battle first, and let the Liao army test whether the Song army is as powerful as before."

Xu Jiang and the others stood up and agreed, their expressions excited and high-spirited.

Although the government's decision was somewhat impulsive, it was really inspiring, satisfying, and exhilarating.

At this moment, everyone seemed to see the splendor of the mighty Han and Tang dynasties, the domineering and powerful spirit of "punishing even those far away," a spirit that, after hundreds of years, had finally returned to the monarchs of the Central Plains dynasties.

The Song Dynasty is very lucky, and the world is very lucky!
After the emperor and his ministers finished their discussion, just as everyone was about to take their leave, Zheng Chunhe suddenly rushed into the hall with a joyful expression on his face.

"Your Majesty, Zhong Jianzhong has submitted an urgent military report from the Northwest front. On the night of the ninth day of the first month of the second year of Jingkang, after Zhong Jianzhong's 60,000 elite troops joined forces with Zhang Jie, the Northwest border commander, they advanced more than 200 li westward and encountered the Western Xia border army, engaging in battle on the outskirts of Dingzhou, Western Xia."

"In this battle, our royal army won its first victory, annihilating more than 20,000 Western Xia troops. Zhong Jianzhong led his troops to pursue the victory and captured Dingzhou City of Western Xia. The Western Xia army could not withstand the attack and retreated in panic to a place more than 100 miles away."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd in the hall cheered. These old men, most of whom were over sixty, showed the excitement and enthusiasm of young men.

An Tao, the Vice Privy Councilor, was an old man in his sixties who walked with a hunched back and a shaky gait, almost like someone about to have a funeral. But at this moment, he suddenly jumped more than a foot high, slammed his fist on the table in a moment of excitement, and shouted, "How magnificent is the army of my Great Song Dynasty!"

Of all those present, Zhao Xiaoqian remained remarkably calm. This outcome was entirely expected. The Song army was equipped with the most advanced firearms of the time, making them virtually invincible on the battlefield. It would be strange if they didn't win.

The crowd was overjoyed and excited, but Zhao Xiaoqian calmly asked, "Did Zhong Jianzhong's memorial mention the casualties of our soldiers?"

Zheng Chunhe bowed and said, "In this battle, our army suffered more than two thousand casualties, including one thousand killed in action, one thousand seriously wounded, and no minor injuries."

Zhao Xiaoqian frowned: "Our army's firearms have a range of several hundred paces. In a battle between two armies, there is no reason for the enemy to break through our front line. Why are there casualties?"

Zheng Chunhe hurriedly said, "General Zhong said in his memorial that it was because of the desperate counterattack of the Western Xia army that they sacrificed their main force and vanguard, using human walls and warhorses as cover to escort the rear guard's crossbows until they were within range and fired arrows at all costs, which caused our casualties."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded: "The Privy Council should draft an edict to tell Zhong Jianzhong that after this battle, we should continue our efforts. I look forward to their continuous reports of victory. In addition, after each battle, we should review and summarize the lessons learned, adjust our tactics and formations, and try to minimize the casualties of our soldiers."

Xu bowed and accepted the order.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and looked at everyone, saying, "Finally, spread this good news and tell all the people of the world so that everyone can be happy. Whether they are nobles or commoners, they will naturally celebrate with good wine and meat after hearing the good news, and also stimulate consumption in our Great Song Dynasty."

The good news from the front lines left everyone feeling restless and eager to share it with others, and perhaps even go home to celebrate with good food and drink.

So everyone got up and took their leave.

After seeing everyone off, Zhao Xiaoqian returned to the palace, a relaxed and joyful smile gradually appearing on his face.

"We must celebrate tonight! Let's get a good bottle of wine, and I'll personally cook a braised pork hock, a braised mutton, and a steamed mandarin fish..."

Zhao Xiaoqian muttered to himself, and Zheng Chunhe, who was standing next to him, heard this and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is in a good mood, and this servant is happy to see it too."

"If Your Majesty wishes to celebrate, someone recently gifted you a dried bear paw. Why not take advantage of this joyous occasion and let Your Majesty enjoy it?"

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes widened in shock: "Bear paws? Who sent bear paws? Why didn't I know?"

(End of this chapter)