The prince is more stable

Chapter 449 Traitor Father and Son
The Song-Liao War changed a lot of things.

What has changed is not only the military situation of the two countries, but the outcome of the war is also quietly changing the thinking of senior officials of the two countries.

Yes, the situation has changed.

The result of the war intuitively told people that the Song Dynasty had gotten rid of its previous image of weakness in military terms. At least the Dragon Guard Battalion under Zhao Xiaoqian's command was definitely capable of crushing most of the Liao Dynasty's troops.

More specifically, it is the firearms equipped by the Dragon Guard Battalion.

One result is enough, there is no need to verify this result again and again. The Liao Kingdom has been on a downward trend in recent years and cannot withstand repeated defeats.

As an emperor, Yelu Hongji was undoubtedly a very rational person. He agreed with Xiao Wuna's point of view. At the current stage, they could not defeat the Song army, and they did not know the advantages and disadvantages of the Song army's firearms. The only choice was to retreat and defend.

"Contraction" means giving up what should be given up, giving up the unimportant things, and concentrating superior forces to defend the important ones.

For the Liao Kingdom, Xijin Prefecture, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Shangjing, etc. are of course important.

In comparison, the Feihu Bingmasi is less important.

Its function was to guard the gateway to Hebei and defend against the Song army, but now the Song army could no longer defend and was about to advance northward.

It is better to give up a place that is bound to be lost, so as to avoid casualties of soldiers and horses. Although Xiao Wuna's idea is a bit cowardly, it actually makes sense from the perspective of national strategy.

"Retreat to the north bank of the Juma?" Yelu Hongji frowned. "Are you just going to give up the Feihu Army Division like that?"

Xiao Wuna smiled and said, "It's not like we're giving up. Retreating is a way to accumulate strength, such as mobilizing weapons and equipment, concentrating troops, and so on, waiting for the opportunity to counterattack. The honor of the Liao Dynasty is above all else. How can we really give up?"

Yelu Hongji's expression immediately relaxed a lot, and these words sounded a little more pleasing to his ears.

"Then... let's retreat temporarily. Mobilize 20,000 troops from Xijin Prefecture, along with over 30,000 troops from the Feihu Military Command, and retreat to the north bank of the Juma River. Defend tightly and monitor the Song army's movements day and night."

"If there's a chance, counterattack immediately and recapture the Feihu Army!"

Yelu Hongji gritted his teeth. This kind of humiliation was a first for him in his life and it was very uncomfortable.

At the same time, he felt vaguely uneasy. Yelu Chun did not mention the Crown Prince at all in his memorial, and he always felt that something was wrong.

"Is Yelu Chun still in the Feihu Military Command? Send an order to bring him back to the capital to be punished!" Yelu Hongji said angrily.

Yelu Wutera and Xiao Wuna took their leave and walked out of the palace side by side.

Yelu Otera returned to the office, and Xiao Wuna got on the carriage alone.

There was a person sitting in the carriage, it was Xiao Wuna's son Xiao Guangjing.

Seeing Xiao Wuna coming up, Xiao Guangjing hurriedly helped him sit down.

"Father, has the war in the south yielded any results?" Xiao Guangjing asked.

Xiao Wuna hummed dully, then sighed, "The result is in! Yelu Chun's 50,000 Liao troops... have been completely annihilated! The ones who destroyed our Liao army were none other than Zhao Xiaoqian and his Dragon Guard Battalion."

Xiao Guangjing was shocked and then asked, "How could Zhao Xiaoqian be so powerful? He had 50,000 men, and not a single one escaped?"

Xiao Wuna snorted coldly, "Only Yelu Chun and a few dozen personal guards escaped and fled back to the Feihu Military Command."

Xiao Wuna's face then darkened, and he sighed, "Our Great Liao... our fate is truly drawing to a close. The Song State, once ours to bully, is now beyond our reach. Now it's their turn to bully us. Sigh!"

Xiao Guangjing laughed: "Father, you are wrong. Now we are still bullying them."

Xiao Wuna was stunned: "Why do you say that?"

"You forgot that Zhao Xiaoqian said in person that if the Liao Kingdom is destroyed in the future, he will give us the status of Song citizens and let us father and son serve as officials in the Song Kingdom."

"Father, we are now the Song people! The Liao Kingdom is our enemy. What we are doing now, as Zhao Xiaoqian said, is secretly undermining the Liao Kingdom..."

Xiao Wuna's cheeks twitched a few times.

Although the father and son were already spies of the Song Dynasty and were indeed trying to undermine the Liao Dynasty, but... some things are easier said than done.

Xiao Wuna felt very uncomfortable after hearing his son's blatant and undisguised treasonous remarks.

How could there be such a shameless person in the world, and this person is his son.

Subconsciously, Xiao Wuna raised his hand and slapped Xiao Guangjing in the face.

Xiao Guangjing was stunned: "Father, why did you hit me?"

Xiao Wuna thought, since they had already started fighting, they might as well have a good fight. So he raised his hand high and slapped the carriage with a series of crackling sounds, making Xiao Guangjing scream in pain.

"Shameless traitor! You're selling out your country for personal gain! I told you to poach people! I told you to collude with the Song people!" Xiao Wuna cursed while beating him.

It is only natural for a father to beat his son. Xiao Guangjing did not dare to resist at first. However, after hearing Xiao Wuna's scolding, Xiao Guangjing became dissatisfied and grabbed Xiao Wuna's face.

I can accept any other insults you may give me, but if you accuse me of being a traitor...I can't stand that!

Facing Xiao Wuna's angry gaze, Xiao Guangjing said helplessly: "Father, we are both like this!"

"What are they?"

"You are all traitors. Have you forgotten that you have also boarded the pirate ship of the Song people?" Xiao Guangjing reminded carefully: "You have done more things to harm the Liao Kingdom than I have." Xiao Wuna paused. Yes, he was so angry that he was confused. I am also a traitor.

Where did that sense of justice just now come from?
Putting aside other things, Xiao Wuna's suggestion just now in the palace to abandon the Feihu Army and shrink the defense was already a huge act of treason.

But the suggestions he put forward sounded very reasonable and irrefutable, and there was no trace of treason at all. When Yelu Hongji heard them, he couldn't help but feel that except for shrinking its defense, the Liao Kingdom had no other way to deal with the Song army.

As Zhao Xiaoqian said at the time, a suggestion from a rebellious senior official is like pouring a large mouthful of poison into the country. It does not kill people, but greatly shortens the life of the entire country and rots the roots of a country.

If you don't believe it, you might as well compare it with Qin Hui of the Southern Song Dynasty. He did the same thing and then look at the ending of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Xiao Wuna had indeed become a traitor to the Liao Kingdom. It was not his own will, but he was forcibly tied to the pirate ship by his son.

Later, the Song Kingdom did business with the Xiao family and gave them money. Xiao Wuna sent them the Liao Kingdom's military deployment map and secretly proposed some suggestions that would bring disaster to the country and the people...

The cooperation and exchanges between the two sides are becoming deeper and closer. Now the Xiao family father and son are deeply bound to the Song State's pirate ship and can't get off even if they want to.

After all, Xiao Wuna was a Liao person. He had no choice but to become a spy for the Song Dynasty, and he still felt a little guilty.

Unlike Xiao Guangjing, this young playboy had a truly carefree attitude towards life. Since he had become a traitor, he was determined to fight against the Liao Dynasty. Don't think about pleasing both sides, it was impossible. From then on, the Liao Dynasty was his enemy.

Xiao Wuna was in a depressed mood. When he saw Xiao Guangjing's shameless look, he became furious and slapped him again.

"What do you mean?" Xiao Guangjing covered his face, looking hurt.

"I don't like my son, so I want to beat you up. What's the problem?"

Then there was another crackling sound, accompanied by screams, and the Xiao family's carriage swayed away on the streets of Shangjing.

…………

Zhending City. The western suburbs camp outside the city.

The Western Suburbs Camp was the garrison of the Song Dynasty's border troops, and it was also the camp where Zhang Lan's 10,000 imperial guards were stationed.

Later, Zhang Lan was overthrown, and a group of generals in the imperial guards were also implicated. During that period, the people in the camp were in panic and the morale of the army was completely lost.

This is also the reason why Zhao Xiaoqian resolutely refused to use this imperial guard when the Song-Liao War broke out. Such an army would not be able to achieve merit on the battlefield, but would instead cause trouble and might even mutiny.

After Zhang Lan fell, Zhao Xiaoqian urgently dispatched Zong Ze to the imperial army camp as commander to reorganize the military and restore military morale.

After the Song-Liao War ended, Zong Ze reported several times that the morale of the imperial guards was good, but Zhao Xiaoqian still remained reserved. Later, Zong Ze became anxious and simply forced Zhao Xiaoqian to enter the camp for inspection.

Zhao Xiaoqian was dragged out of the mansion early in the morning and dazed as he mounted his horse. His mind was still hazy, his thoughts still wavering between dreams and reality...

Zong Ze rode his horse side by side with him, chattering all the way.

"After entering the camp, I used both kindness and severity to severely punish several captains and commanders who led the riot. His Royal Highness was away on a campaign at the time, and the situation was urgent. I had no time to ask for instructions, so I acted on my own and beheaded those generals in public..."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded with a blank look in his eyes: "Good, well done."

Zong Ze's anxious heart was relieved, and his expression suddenly became much more relaxed: "After showing off my power, I used a soft strategy to appease the imperial guards. I publicly promoted a group of soldiers to fill the vacancies, and purchased a batch of flour, grain and meat from the city to reward the soldiers and appease the army..."

Zhao Xiaoqian still looked confused: "Okay, eating meat is good, eating meat will help you grow and develop..."

Zong Ze: “…………”

"I also transferred some money from Li Qingchen's treasury to use as military pay and to distribute money to the soldiers. However, I was careless and lost the money while escorting the pay from the city back to the camp..."

Zhao Xiaoqian was startled, then suddenly came to his senses: "Lost money? Who lost money? How much money was lost?"

Zong Ze glanced at him coldly.

Perhaps only topics related to money can make His Royal Highness the Prince suddenly wake up.

"One good news, one bad news, which one do you want to hear first, Your Highness?"

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned for a moment, then pushed Zong Ze coquettishly, almost pushing Zong Ze off the horse.

"You're so naughty! You're so old, and you're still playing this kind of trick..." Zhao Xiaoqian said, "Let me hear the good news first."

"The good news is that the money loss is fake. I would never make such a low-level mistake."

"The bad news is... the money is indeed being distributed. Zhang Lan owed the Imperial Guards a considerable amount of military pay over the past few years, and I repaid it all in one lump sum, spending approximately 400,000 taels. The Zhending treasury has suffered severe losses. I heard that Li Qingchen was yelling at my mother in the government office..."

Zhao Xiaoqian's face changed, he felt so heartbroken that his cheeks twitched.

I repeatedly convinced myself that I was a good person, I wouldn't drink the blood of soldiers, this was a necessary expense...

After a long time, Zhao Xiaoqian sighed softly.

"It's right to pay the soldiers. You've done a great job. I have no objection..."

Just as Zong Ze breathed a sigh of relief, Zhao Xiaoqian added, "...but it's totally fine for Li Qingchen to curse his mother, and I have no objection."

(End of this chapter)