The prince is more stable

Chapter 1017 The troops are approaching the city
The Song army surrounded Xingqing Prefecture, and this war to destroy the country had reached its climax.

Fortunately, at this critical moment, the so-called ally, the Liao army, did not come to hinder them.

The Liao army set off before the Song army, also heading to Xingqing Prefecture, but they encountered trouble on the way.

The trouble did not come from the Western Xia army, but from the Liao capital, Shangjing.

The Liao army marched into Xingqing Prefecture, and Zhe Keshi led his troops across the border to massacre Liao border residents at the same time. Such a major incident shocked the Liao court. In order to quell the situation, Emperor Yelü Yanxi of Liao decisively decided to replace the Liao army's Northwest Commander-in-Chief with his uncle, Prince Yelü Chun of Beiping, who traveled thousands of miles to take up the post.

Changing commanders on the eve of battle is a major taboo in the military, but Yelü Yanxi had no other choice.

The commander-in-chief was lax in managing his subordinates and incompetent in commanding his troops. He allowed his generals to cross the border and massacre and plunder the people of the Song Dynasty, causing a great disaster. This led to the Song emperor issuing an edict for revenge, and Zhe Keshi led his army north to retaliate against the Liao Dynasty.

At this point, in order to quell the anger of the Song emperor, Yelü Yanxi had no choice but to dismiss and replace the commander of the Liao army in the northwest, and put his uncle Yelü Chun in charge to continue leading the troops to destroy Xia.

While Yelü Chun was still on his way to the Northwest, the commander-in-chief of the Liao army in the Northwest had been relieved of his command and returned to the capital in disgrace to report on his duties. Although it was called "reporting on his duties," it was basically a return to be questioned.

Thus, a strange situation arose within the territory of Western Xia: the Liao army, which had been marching excitedly towards Xingqing Prefecture, suddenly lost its commander-in-chief. The army dared not move and could only wait in place for the arrival of the new commander-in-chief, Yelü Chun.

The opportunity was thus wasted. The Liao army watched helplessly as the Song army sped towards Xingqing Prefecture. Without their commander, the Liao army was at a loss, unsure whether to stop the Song army's advance.

No one dared to make this decision. Their commander-in-chief had just been dismissed from his post in the capital. If someone were to step forward and issue a wrong order that caused irreparable damage, their fate would not be much better than that of the recently dismissed commander-in-chief.

It's better to do nothing than to make a mistake; that's why the Liao army remained in place.

The law of cause and effect in the world is so magical and mysterious. A butterfly flapping its wings thousands of miles away may change many predetermined outcomes.

The Liao army, which had gained the upper hand, ultimately reaped unexpected and disastrous consequences due to its heinous act of crossing the border and massacring the people of the Song Dynasty.

Another reason for this situation is the decision made by the Liao emperor Yelü Yanxi.

At a crucial moment in the war to destroy the Western Xia, just as they were about to enter the capital of Western Xia, they changed commanders at the last minute in an attempt to appease the anger of the Song Dynasty, committing a grave mistake.

It must be said that Yelü Yanxi truly deserves the title of a famous ruler who brought about the downfall of his kingdom.

When a country begins to decline, in addition to objective reasons, the decisions of the monarch play a significant role. Strangely enough, in the days leading up to the fall of a country, most monarchs seemed to be possessed, making a series of foolish decisions, which made the country increasingly uncontrollable and the situation irreversible.

At present, the Liao army, which clearly had the upper hand, ultimately made one wrong step after another, and has lost all its advantage.

The army now besieging Xingqing Prefecture is Zhong Jianzhong's elite force of 60,000 Song troops.

Zhong Jianzhong led his troops to Xingqing Prefecture and set up camp ten miles away from the city.

It was already dusk, and it was not a good day to attack the city. Zhong Jianzhong then ordered the entire army to cook a meal, eat their fill, and rest as soon as possible. The army would set off at dawn the next day.

The 60,000-strong army looked exhausted, and some of them were even wounded.

When the Song army entered Western Xia, it was not as overwhelming and invincible as imagined. The Western Xia army was not terrified and fled at the mere sight of them.

In fact, the Western Xia army was not that weak, and the Tangut people were also famous for their bravery and skill in battle.

The journey from Xia Prefecture to Xingqing Prefecture, a distance of several hundred miles, was not smooth for Zhong Jianzhong's 60,000-strong army.

They encountered fierce resistance from many Western Xia troops on the way. Although their weapons were no match for flintlock muskets, the army frequently encountered raids and charges by organized Western Xia forces.

Among these Western Xia troops resisting the Song army were regular troops from the Western Xia court, as well as local armed forces temporarily organized by powerful landlords and local nobles along the way, who gathered together villagers and herdsmen.

Zhong Jianzhong even witnessed women, children, and soldiers on the road grabbing knives and charging fiercely at the Song army. That fearless and resolute scene still lingers in Zhong Jianzhong's mind.

Conquering a country is not as easy as it seems. It's not enough to simply destroy the country's court to achieve the goal of subjugating it. What's more difficult is actually conquering the people of that country.

From Xia Prefecture to Xingqing Prefecture, they encountered countless attacks and harassments along the way. It must be said that the Song soldiers had a very hard journey, and their nerves were constantly on edge, guarding against resistance forces that might appear at any time.

After annihilating countless resistance fighters, the Song soldiers gradually became numb. They marched with flintlock pistols, and would fire without mercy at the slightest disturbance they encountered on the road.

Faced with the charge of the Western Xia army or civilians, the Song soldiers were no longer fazed. They simply formed ranks, killed and buried the dead, and continued their march.

They fought and slaughtered their way through the city, and only today did Zhong Jianzhong's 60,000-strong army arrive at the gates of Xingqing Prefecture.

By this time, the Song soldiers were exhausted, not only physically but also mentally.

After all, the journey had been so arduous, keeping everyone on edge, it was hard not to be exhausted. At dusk, 60,000 troops surrounded Xingqing Prefecture from four directions, and Zhong Jianzhong ordered them to set up camp.

"Order the drums to gather the generals and send out scouts to spread out in four directions to gather intelligence on the military situation within a radius of twenty miles outside the city."

Zhong Jianzhong strode towards the command tent, issuing military orders as he went.

Inside the camp, the soldiers sat wearily around piles of campfires, waiting for the cooks to prepare the meal. After eating their fill, they went straight to sleep.

The generals of the Song army were not so relaxed. They gathered in the command tent, where Zhong Jianzhong summoned his generals to discuss the siege of the city the next day.

The Song army now possesses the Red Cannon, a powerful weapon for siege warfare, so there is virtually no doubt that they will capture the city.

Zhong Jianzhong wanted to discuss something else, which was very important.

"Urgent intelligence has arrived from the Imperial City Guard: the Liao capital has dismissed the Liao army's commander-in-chief, and the new commander-in-chief is named Yelü Chun. Heh, an old acquaintance," Zhong Jianzhong sneered.

"It won't be difficult to capture Xingqing Prefecture tomorrow; the real challenge is how to deal with the approaching Liao army."

"Our army has captured Xingqing Prefecture. As nominal allies, the Liao army will certainly not sit idly by. They will definitely demand to enter the city and share the spoils with our army. Hehe, this commander-in-chief does not want to share this spoils with them. However, Yelü Chun is a formidable character and should not be underestimated..."

Guo Cheng, the deputy commander standing to the side, said solemnly, “General Zhong, I suggest that after we capture Xingqing Prefecture tomorrow, we should immediately build defensive fortifications outside the city. When His Majesty was in command of the army, he once said that if muskets could be used in conjunction with trenches to attack the enemy, it would be twice as effective and would greatly reduce our casualties. I think it is worth a try.”

Zhong Jianzhong nodded. Muskets paired with trenches were indeed an excellent defensive tactic. Trenches could protect the soldiers from arrow wounds and also stop the enemy's cavalry from charging.

"Judging by the timeline, Yelü Chun will be able to take office in five days at most. At that time, the Liao army will definitely head straight for Xingqing Prefecture, so we must dig trenches and set up barricades and other defensive structures within five days..."

Zhong Jianzhong's tone suddenly became impassioned, and he said in a deep voice, "Everyone, be prepared at any time. Our army and the Liao army will inevitably have a battle under the walls of Xingqing!"

"The so-called Song-Liao alliance is nothing but empty words. His Majesty has tacitly allowed me to act as I see fit. We must not let the Liao army benefit. His Majesty said that he wants the entire Western Xia, not a single piece of it can be lost. The Liao army must return empty-handed, or... they will not be able to return!"

Zhong Jianzhong's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he slowly said, "Commander Zhang has already dispatched 100,000 troops from the northwest border to advance westward, sealing off the Liao-Xia border..."

"If Yelü Chun dares to fight our army in Xingqing Prefecture, we will make sure that none of his Liao troops escape. At that time, our army will cooperate with the Northwest Army to attack from both the north and south, and the Liao army will surely be defeated!"

"Gentlemen, the opportunity to make meritorious contributions and be ennobled is right in front of you. It all depends on whether you can seize it. After the war to destroy Xia, the emperor will reward those who have made meritorious contributions. Today, you may still be comrades of equal rank, but before long, when you meet again, you will probably have to take the initiative to pay your respects and address him as your superior."

"Opportunities are equal. If you didn't seize them, don't blame others or fate in the future. You can only blame yourself for being useless and incompetent, and for not being able to take the opportunities that were given to you."

Inside the command tent, the Song army generals, their expressions excited, raised their fists and shouted in unison, "Kill!"

The generals' emotions were quickly stirred up. Zhong Jianzhong nodded in satisfaction. The chilling killing intent that filled the command tent made him feel very comfortable.

As the commander-in-chief of the army, he liked this atmosphere filled with killing intent and the smell of blood.

That's what you call "elite"!
Just as he was about to dismiss his generals so they could rest well tonight, a personal guard rushed into the tent and loudly reported, "General Zhong, the King of Western Xia, Li Qianshun, has sent an envoy out of the city. The envoy has arrived outside our camp and requests to see you, General Zhong."

Zhong Jianzhong was taken aback, then his eyes narrowed: "Li Qianshun sent an envoy out of the city? What does he want to see me for?"

The guard uttered two words: "Beg for peace."

Inside the command tent, the generals sneered, their voices laced with curses.

The Song generals certainly did not want the Western Xia to sue for peace and surrender.

The Western Xia ruler surrendered and gave up the city; what will happen to their achievements?
Since ancient times, beheading generals and capturing flags, and being the first to charge into battle have been considered the most important military achievements. Once these four merits are established, the rewards are very generous, and promotion and advancement are a given.

However, if the ruler of Western Xia surrenders and gives up the city, all the achievements of the Song generals will be wasted.

At this moment, many generals inside the command tent became anxious and stepped forward, saying, "General Zhong, this is a delaying tactic by the enemy; it must be a trap. We must not agree to it!"

"Why not drive away the Western Xia envoys and attack the city according to our original plan? I'd like to be the vanguard!"

"What tomorrow morning! Useless! I think we should attack the city now. We are not afraid of night battles either. I am willing to be the vanguard!"

Zhong Jianzhong looked speechlessly at the furious expressions of the generals in the tent. These bastards, for the sake of a little merit, really didn't care about their dignity at all.

They probably didn't expect that if they refused to surrender, Zhong Jianzhong would have to bear the responsibility.

(End of this chapter)