The prince is more stable

Chapter 441 Liao Army Heavy Armor
After writing the memorial of apology for the defeat, Yelu Chun read it over and over again. Only when he was sure that the letter was so sincere and heartfelt that Yelu Hongji was reluctant to kill him did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He walked out of the door and ordered his personal guards to send the memorial to the capital at high speed.

Yelu Chun stayed in Feihu Bingmasi. He didn't dare to return to Shangjing now. He needed some buffer time and space to allow the emperor and his ministers in Shangjing to slowly digest this matter.

If, contrary to his expectations, Yelu Hongji still wanted to kill him, Yelu Chun would have enough time to escape.

Outside the door, all the officials of the Feihu Military Division stood quietly in the yard, with their heads lowered, waiting for Yelu Chun in silence.

The officials were the first to learn of the defeat, and they also saw with their own eyes Yelu Chun fleeing back to the Bingmasi in a panic. 40,000 troops went out to fight, but when they returned, only dozens of cavalry were left. The officials of the Bingmasi were devastated.

During these two days, Yelu Chun locked himself in the house. The officials did not dare to disturb him, but they still secretly sent the news of the defeat to Shangjing. It was not until Yelu Chun came out today that the officials breathed a sigh of relief.

Yelu Chun has a noble status. Although he has no actual official position in the Bingmasi, he is now the highest-ranking official.

"How many troops are left at the Bingmasi base?" Yelu Chun asked in a deep voice.

An official stepped forward and bowed, "The Feihu Military Command has over 15,000 soldiers and horses. Reinforcements from Xijin Prefecture arrived the other day, totaling 20,000, all cavalry."

Yelu Chun shook his head, thinking that it would be difficult for such a small number of troops to protect themselves.

"Before our army and the Song army engaged in a decisive battle, the imperial court dispatched reinforcements. Are the reinforcements still on their way to the capital?"

"Yes, the scouts reported that the reinforcements from Shangjing are still a day's journey from Feihu Bingma Division, about a hundred miles away."

Yelu Chun looked around with a sinister look in his eyes and said slowly, "I have just received a secret report that a Song army has disguised itself as a Liao army and secretly infiltrated the Feihu Bingmasi area. Now I will mobilize 10,000 troops to annihilate this disguised Song army!"

The officials were shocked. The Song army had actually sneaked in in disguise. Why didn't they know anything about it?

Yelu Chun continued, "This disguised Song army is the two or three thousand Liao soldiers who fled back to the Bingmasi. In that decisive battle, all the warriors of the Great Liao died bravely, and not a single one escaped. Those who so-called escaped back are all Song soldiers in disguise!"

"How despicable that you took them in without even conducting any investigation. Your officials are so negligent and this is a disgrace to the Liao Dynasty!"

The officials hurriedly bowed and apologized.

Yelu Chun's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He waved his hand heavily and said, "Now, mobilize the troops immediately, set up an ambush, lure the Song army into the ambush circle, and shoot them all. No one is left alive!"

An official asked cautiously, "Your Highness, what excuse do we have for luring the Song army into an ambush?"

"The court in Beijing will appease the Liao warriors who survived the decisive battle and provide them with military pay. They are told not to wear armor or carry weapons. They will assemble at the northern training ground of the Bingmasi in one hour. Our army will lie in ambush all around and attack upon command."

"Yes!"

The officials hurriedly took their leave and went about mobilizing troops.

Yelu Chun stood in the yard, looking up at the sky with cold eyes.

There was no so-called disguised Song army. The Liao army that escaped back was the real Liao army.

But they must die.

Yelu Chun was not sure whether the Liao soldiers who escaped back knew about the capture of the crown prince. Regardless of whether they knew or not, killing them was the best option.

Killing the Liao army that escaped back was a trivial matter, and it would not cause any ripples in his heart. Now Yelu Chun had a more important thing to do.

"Yelu Zhong." Yelu Chun turned his head and called out.

Among dozens of guards, a handsome young man walked over.

This person is a distant relative of Yelu Chun. He has been brought up by Yelu Chun since he was a child and has won Yelu Chun's trust.

Yelu Zhong stood before him and bowed, his expression pious and pure, like a believer summoned by the gods.

Yelu Chun closed his eyes and thought for a moment. After a while, he slowly said, "Go to the Song army camp, meet Zhao Xiaoqian, and discuss the matter of the Crown Prince."

"Any conditions are negotiable. I just want the Crown Prince to return safely."

Yelu Zhong knelt on one knee without saying a word, touched his chest in greeting, and then turned and left.

Yelu Chun stared at his back, worry gradually appearing in his eyes.

This time, he took the initiative to extend his neck and knife to Zhao Xiaoqian, asking him to cut him off. I hope Zhao Xiaoqian will not be too cruel. Yelu Chun is only a prince of Liao, not an emperor, and he has few bargaining chips to bring out.

…………

Song army camp, general's tent.

The scout stood in front of Zhao Xiaoqian and watched him read the military newspaper with admiration.

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at it twice, then looked at the map spread out on the table, and compared the map with the military report to determine the geographical location.

"The Feihu Military Command has assembled more than 30,000 Liao troops?" Zhao Xiaoqian frowned.

The scout reported, "Yes, over 10,000 of them are regular troops from the Feihu Military Command, and another 20,000 are reinforcements transferred from Xijin Prefecture. I estimate they were mobilized before the decisive battle by Yelu Chun, but before they could reunite, the Liao army was defeated."

Zhao Xiaoqian stared at the map and muttered, "One wave after another, it never ends..."

The Song army had lost 10,000 men, and with no reinforcements yet, many soldiers were wounded. It was not appropriate to fight again at this time. If the 30,000-strong Liao army under the Feihu Military Command attacked again, Zhao Xiaoqian would likely have no choice but to retreat.

When it comes to military affairs, there is no need to talk about integrity and dignity. Zhao Xiaoqian is a pragmatist. If he can win, he will beat the enemy to death. If he can't win, he will run away. There is nothing shameful about it.

He went back to accumulate strength, and when he felt he was able again, he went back and beat him to death.

The Song-Liao War actually highlighted the shortcomings of the flintlock rifle, and Zhao Xiaoqian planned to leave time and space to improve it.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian lost in thought, the scout continued, "My Lord, according to reports from the scouts in Shangjing, there's also a 20,000-man Liao army on its way to Feihu Military Command, and they'll arrive tomorrow."

"These 20,000 soldiers and horses are extraordinary..."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at him: "Why is it unusual?"

"Among the 20,000 Liao troops, there is a unit of heavily armored cavalry, numbering approximately 2,000 men. They are the elite of the Liao army."

Zhao Xiaoqian raised his eyebrows: "Heavy armor? How heavy is the armor?"

"The Liao army's heavily armored cavalry are truly invincible. Their armor weighs about 60 kilograms, and their entire bodies are covered in thick armor. Even their horses are covered in thick armor. Ordinary swords, spears, and arrows cannot harm them at all. Our flintlock rifles are afraid..."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded calmly: "I understand."

After a pause, Zhao Xiaoqian continued, "Has the outcome of the Song-Liao War been sent to Bianjing?"

"A few days ago, we sent a fast horse to report the victory to the officials in Bianjing."

Zhao Xiaoqian blinked his eyes and said, "Such an awesome victory, it's not enough for only Bian Jing to know about it..."

"What does the Duke mean?"

"Send another group of fast horses westward, into the territory of Western Xia, and use various propaganda methods to let the officials and people in Western Xia know the result."

"Yes!"

After the scouts left, Zhao Xiaoqian sat alone in the general's tent and sighed deeply.

Heavy cavalry, a bit tricky.

Before going crazy, Yelu Chun retreated his defense, perhaps waiting for this group of heavily armored cavalry. If Yelu Yanxi had not been captured, if Yelu Chun had used his tactical deployment to allow this group of heavily armored cavalry to charge, the Dragon Guard Camp would have been in big trouble.

But...family members, it's not a big problem.

There is always a solution.

The advantage of firearms over cold weapons is that they can be upgraded. With a little thought, their lethality will become greater and greater, and they can even penetrate heavy armor.

Walking out of the general's tent, Zhao Xiaoqian met Zhong Jianzhong head-on.

"Lao Zhong, where are you going?" Zhao Xiaoqian greeted with a smile.

Zhong Jianzhong said with a worried look on his face, "I was just about to look for the Duke of the County. I heard that the Liao Kingdom has dispatched a troop of heavily armored cavalry from Shangjing."

"My Lord, I'm afraid our flintlock rifles won't be able to handle it. I just tested it outside the camp. Within 300 steps, the flintlock rifle couldn't penetrate the thick armor. The iron bullet only made a shallow scratch. It can't penetrate within 100 steps either."

Zhao Xiaoqian raised his head slightly, his face proud. "Why rush? If you can't win, won't you just run away? I've already packed my bags. Without being modest, if the enemy attacks, I will definitely run faster than anyone else. I don't believe the heavily armored cavalry can catch up to me."

Zhong Jianzhong was stunned and looked at him blankly.

Running away is such a shameful thing, why are you so proud?
Zhao Xiaoqian laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "Old Zhong, put your heart at ease..."

Zhong Jianzhong finally breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that Duke Zhao was just joking and being naughty!
Unexpectedly, Zhao Xiaoqian immediately said, "I will definitely take you with me when I escape. We have worked together for so long. We are good brothers. We should be loyal to each other. I will never abandon you and never give up on you..."

Zhong Jianzhong's face instantly turned pale: "You'd better give up on me. I don't want to escape."

"Tsk! So pedantic!" Zhao Xiaoqian curled his lips. "You guys are just too stubborn. What's with all this talk of sacrificing your lives for justice? What's the point of dying? Preserving your strength is the most important thing. As long as there's life, there's hope. If you all die, then there's really no hope."

Zhong Jianzhong sighed and said, "Your Excellency is right. So if we encounter an enemy attack, you should flee first. We have conquered this territory with great difficulty, and I cannot bear to lose it."

"You're just too stubborn. You're only focused on this small piece of territory. What's our goal? Besides getting rid of cavities, we also have to look at the whole world."

Zhao Xiaoqian patiently said, "Over two hundred miles from here, to the northeast is the Liao Kingdom's Feihu Military Command. Further east is the Liao Kingdom's Xijin Prefecture."

"Xijin Prefecture belongs to the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. Let's set our sights there first. Then, you can look back and see that the gains and losses of this piece of land are actually not important at all. Understand?"

Zhong Jianzhong smiled bitterly and said, "Your Excellency, you should think about how to deal with the Liao Kingdom's heavily armored cavalry. If we can't deal with this Liao army, we won't even be able to hold on to Zhending Prefecture."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed, "Your brain is really... Never mind. Find me a place in the camp and mobilize two thousand soldiers to surround it. No one is allowed to approach or peek."

Zhong Jianzhong was stunned for a moment, then said in surprise: "The Duke is planning to..."

Zhao Xiaoqian was too lazy to answer and continued, "We have an ordnance inspector with us in the Dragon Guard Battalion. Ask them to send over a group of blacksmiths to prepare the gunpowder and pig iron."

(End of this chapter)