The prince is more stable

Chapter 414 The Enemy is Coming
The people of Zhending City celebrated wildly that the Song army had completely wiped out 10,000 Liao troops. The people were very simple-minded and all they saw was pure victory.

But Zhao Xiaoqian, as the head coach, remained very calm and was not too surprised when he received the news of victory.

He knew that these 10,000 Liao troops were just an appetizer and could only be considered a warm-up for the Dragon Guard Camp, and were far from a great victory.

The real fierce battle, which truly tested the officers and soldiers of the Dragon Guard Camp, was fought against the 40,000 Liao troops led by Yelu Chun.

This Liao army was transferred from Shangjing and Xijin Prefecture of Liao Kingdom. It was the elite army of Liao Kingdom and was much more powerful and difficult to deal with than the 10,000 Liao troops that Zhe Keshi had defeated.

In order to surprise attack the 10,000 Liao troops, Zhao Xiaoqian made a lot of arrangements. He divided the Longwei Camp into three parts to surprise attack, ambush, and attack reinforcements.

In fact, the part about ambush and attacking reinforcements was not used, Zhe Keshi did all the work by himself.

Next, they will face Yelu Chun's 40,000 Liao troops. At this time, they can no longer divide their troops. They must gather all the troops of the Longwei Camp. Moreover, this battle is very important. It is a key battle to lay the foundation for the future peace of Zhending Prefecture. Zhao Xiaoqian dare not be careless and must go to command in person.

There are still 8,000 soldiers in the Dragon Guard Camp, so of course they have to be brought along.

Our forces total 30,000, while the enemy's total 40,000, and the advantage is still in our hands.

In the afternoon, the troops were inspected in the East Suburbs Camp.

Eight thousand soldiers and horses were quickly assembled. Zhao Xiaoqian wore fish-scale armor and a thick layer of bear skin on the outside, but he was still shivering with cold and mounted his horse while cursing.

The iron armor has a very strong thermal conductivity and cannot retain the body temperature at all. It loses heat very quickly, and even wrapped in bear skin, one still feels bitingly cold.

Paradoxically, he didn't dare not wear armor. After all, there were too many people in Zhending Prefecture who wanted to kill him. He could be shot by a cold arrow from the dark at any time. Not wearing armor was tantamount to seeking death.

The Longwei Camp was only a few dozen miles away from the annihilated Liao Army Camp. Zhao Xiaoqian cursed for about twenty miles on horseback.

It's so cold that I have no way to vent my emotions unless I curse the sky.

After finally arriving at the Liao army camp, three generals, Zhong Jianzhong, Zhang Rong and Zhe Keshi, were waiting to greet them outside the camp.

Zhong Jianzhong and Zhang Rong arrived faster. After receiving Zhao Xiaoqian's military order, they withdrew their troops without stopping and arrived earlier than the slower Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Xiaoqian dismounted cursing, nodded perfunctorily to the three generals who came to greet him, and then looked around at the Liao army camp in front of him.

After a fierce battle in the early morning, half of the Liao army camp was burned down. Later, Zhe Keshi ordered to continue setting up tents on the spot. After rest and recuperation, the camp was restored to its original appearance.

Before entering the gate, Zhao Xiaoqian sniffed and frowned, "Why does it smell like sheep?"

Zhong Jianzhong laughed and said, "This place was originally the Liao army camp. The Liao people mainly rely on meat for their food and fodder when they march and fight, and they especially like to eat mutton. The whole camp is filled with the smell of this."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed, "No wonder Su Shi stayed in Shangjing and didn't come back. He also likes the smell of mutton. Tsk!"

Just as he was about to enter the gate, he suddenly found Zhe Keshi staring at him with burning eyes.

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned. He felt creepy all over by his suspicious look and couldn't help but take a step back.

"Zhe Keshi, what do you want to do? Let me tell you, I don't like this! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you won a battle. If you look at me like this again, I will dig out your eyeballs!" Zhao Xiaoqian warned sternly.

Zhe Keshi stepped forward and said excitedly, "My Lord, I have great respect for you!"

"Did you take the wrong medicine? Why are you respecting me?"

"In this battle, ten thousand Liao troops were completely annihilated, while our army remained unscathed. This was all due to the power of the flintlock rifles manufactured by the Duke of the County. With our battle formation, the enemy could not get within three hundred steps of us."

"With this powerful weapon, the Great Song Dynasty can sweep across the world and be invincible. In time, the Great Song Dynasty will be the only legitimate dynasty in the world, and there will no longer be the Liao Kingdom or the Western Xia!"

"I have the great honor of commanding a surprise attack on the Liao army. I have witnessed firsthand the sharpness of the Song Dynasty's firearms. My admiration for the county lord who invented the flintlock rifle is beyond words! From now on, I am willing to serve the county lord at his beck and call, and serve him wholeheartedly!"

Zhao Xiaoqian was deeply moved by this confession. He wiped his face heavily and pointed at Zhe Keshi, saying, "Listen to how nicely people with high emotional intelligence speak. That's what we call human speech! Learn from them. When you talk to me from now on, try to make me feel happier. A happy commander can win more battles and help you get promoted and make a fortune."

The generals laughed and surrounded Zhao Xiaoqian into the camp.

The general's tent was rebuilt, and the thoughtful Zhe Keshi even added a few pieces of furniture in it. It seems that Zhao Xiaoqian accidentally gained a little fan.

After entering the general's tent, Zhao Xiaoqian sat down in the main seat without any hesitation. Chen Shou next to him immediately took out a set of tea sets from the army's luggage, then boiled water and made tea for Zhao Xiaoqian and the generals.

After the smooth and flowing set of movements, the generals were stunned. Holding the hot tea cups, they looked at Zhao Xiaoqian a little helplessly.

Drinking tea is an elegant thing, and Zhao Xiaoqian was very elegant at this moment. He picked up the teacup with his orchid fingers and smiled politely at the generals.

"Wild boars, please enjoy the fine bran."

The generals drank the whole thing in one gulp, smacking their lips with complicated expressions. "Can you get a bigger bowl?" Zhe Keshi cautiously asked Chen Shou, "This one is too small. There's not even enough for dipping sauce. I can't taste anything. A bigger bowl would make it more satisfying."

Chen Shou looked at Zhao Xiaoqian in embarrassment.

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and murmured, "Sure enough, I can't handle fine bran..."

Zhong Jianzhong glared at Zhe Keshi and then said, "My Lord, our army has won the first battle. I'm sure the news has reached Yelu Chun by now. The Liao army's retaliation will surely be fierce. Please tell us how our army should behave."

"When an enemy comes, we must fight him; when water comes, we must block it with earth. What else can we do? Of course, we must fight him." Zhao Xiaoqian said slowly, "Everyone here is a general who has experienced many battles. There is no need for a rich and noble young man like me to show off his military skills in front of you."

"As the commander-in-chief, I only provide tactical direction. Forty thousand Liao troops are approaching. If we want to seize the initiative on the battlefield, we cannot wait for them to assemble. It would be foolish to watch them line up in front of us and fight in such a rigid manner."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at Zhong Jianzhong and said, "Old Zhong, think of a way. Let's ambush him on the road and kill a group of his men first. To achieve this goal, there is no need to be bound by formalities. Any dirty and despicable means can be used."

Zhong Jianzhong said in embarrassment: "We have 30,000 soldiers and horses, and we ambush his 40,000?"

Zhao Xiaoqian was amused and said leisurely, "There was once a fool who led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. When he was passing through a canyon, he was ambushed by a force of only a few hundred people. Isn't that ridiculous?"

Zhong Jianzhong's expression froze and he smiled awkwardly.

Unaware of the situation, Zhe Keshi laughed heartily: "Which idiot would lead such useless soldiers?"

The tent was completely silent, making Zhe Keshi's laughter seem particularly abrupt. Everyone looked at him expressionlessly. Zhe Keshi laughed for a long while, then gradually realized something was wrong. His laughter faded, and he looked at everyone in bewilderment.

"Did I say something wrong?" Zhe Keshi asked everyone cautiously.

No one said anything.

Zhe Keshi sighed and said, "I really said something wrong, I can't escape..."

Zhao Xiaoqian calmly pointed at his nose and said quietly, "The fool leading the troops is me."

Zhe Keshi was silent, then coughed loudly, his cough was so heart-wrenching that it seemed like he was in the late stage of tuberculosis.

Zhong Jianzhong and the other generals of the Dragon Guard Camp remained silent. Unfortunately, the army of tens of thousands led by Zhao Xiaoqian happened to be composed of soldiers from the Dragon Guard Camp. They were all the witnesses of the ambush in the canyon.

Seeing that Zhe Keshi was still coughing as if to cover up his cough, Zhao Xiaoqian said, "Alright, alright, stop it. General Zhe was originally under Zhang Yu of the Northwest Army, so he doesn't know much about the Dragon Guard Battalion. I don't blame you."

"I hope you can quickly integrate into this great collective where military discipline is lax, all sorts of evil are committed, and sometimes even disgraceful."

Zhe Keshi: "...I will do my best."

Returning to the topic of ambushing the Liao army, Zhong Jianzhong said with some embarrassment, "My Lord, if we want to achieve the effect of an ambush, our 30,000 troops are a bit too few. After all, it's impossible to ambush all 30,000 people. How would that be different from a decisive battle?"

"Besides, the road from Xijin Prefecture to Zhending Prefecture is mostly plains, making it difficult to choose an ambush location..."

"In my opinion, it would be better for the two armies to assemble and engage in a head-on battle. Our firearms can perfectly restrain the Liao cavalry on the plains, and there is no need to use ambushes to wear down the enemy's forces."

Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head and said, "With 40,000 soldiers and horses, and the once-invincible Liao cavalry, a head-on battle would involve too many uncontrollable variables. Firearms are powerful, but they are not invincible. Any small mishap could lead to our defeat."

"An ambush beforehand not only depletes the enemy's forces but also undermines their morale. This will give us a higher chance of victory in a decisive battle."

Zhong Jianzhong nodded. As a general, he agreed with Zhao Xiaoqian's words, but the same thing applies: an ambush in the plains is too difficult.

If a night raid is chosen, with the negative example of the 10,000 Liao soldiers being annihilated, Yelu Chun's troops will certainly be extremely cautious when setting up camp, and a surprise attack may not be advisable.

Inside the commander's tent, the generals were deep in thought when they suddenly heard a loud shouting and cursing coming from outside the tent.

The faces of everyone in the tent suddenly darkened.

All the generals of the army gathered here to discuss military and national affairs. There were actually some blind people in the camp who dared to make noise and curse. Isn't this courting death?
Zhong Jianzhong was the direct commander of the Dragon Guard Battalion. He was still embarrassed at the moment and stood up and shouted in a deep voice, "Who is making a noise outside the tent? Tie him up and punish him severely according to military law!"

Chen Shou hurried into the tent, clasped his fists and said with a complicated expression, "Sir, someone is causing trouble in the camp..."

Zhao Xiaoqian twitched his lips and said, "Listening to your words is like listening to a whole speech... It's all bullshit. Don't we have ears?"

Chongjianzhong asked, "Commander Chen, who's causing trouble outside the tent? Are they soldiers from my Dragon Guard Battalion?"

"No, it was... the two commanders of the 40,000-man garrison troops from the Zhending City Border Army. They broke into the main camp, shouting and demanding to see the Crown Prince. When we, the Imperial Guards, tried to stop them, they scolded us instead."

(End of this chapter)