The prince is more stable

Chapter 462 Just give up when you’re ready
Although Zhao Xiaoqian and Yelu Chun had never met, they had been friends for a long time.

Zhao Xiaoqian had guessed Yelu Chun's character thoroughly. Before ordering a surprise attack on the Liao army camp, Zhao Xiaoqian had given up hope of capturing Yelu Chun. He knew very well that people like Yelu Chun's first principle was to "cherish their own body" no matter whether they were doing big or small things.

The first principle is to save your own life first, and for this principle, you can break any moral and human bottom line.

The fact that he fled from the battlefield between Song and Liao, and later gave up the Feihu Bingmasi in order to save Yelu Yanxi, all proved Yelu Chun's character and moral conduct.

Seeing Zhang Rong's guilty expression, Zhao Xiaoqian consoled him, "Don't feel guilty. Yelu Chun ran so fast. What could you do? If it were me, I might be able to run even faster."

"Just run away. To be honest, Yelu Chun's value is not much anymore. After two consecutive defeats, the Liao Emperor will probably not forgive him. He will be punished when he returns to Shangjing."

Zhong Jianzhong continued, "In this battle, we annihilated over 20,000 enemies and captured over 3,000 Liao soldiers. Your Highness, these prisoners..."

Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly, "If we take the captives and use them to cultivate the land, wouldn't that be a waste of money?"

"We have taken possession of this land. I observed it during the march and found that most of it is ownerless wasteland. It's a pity to waste this fertile plain. The wasteland must be reclaimed. From now on, all Liao prisoners, whether military or civilian, male or female, will be taken to reclaim the land."

No general in the hall objected to this arrangement. After the land was reclaimed and cultivated, the most direct beneficiary would be the army. In the future, the army's food and fodder would not only come from the imperial court. If they could produce and supply their own food and fodder, the logistics of the Dragon Guard Camp would no longer be a worry, which would definitely be a good thing for the generals.

"Lao Zhong, what are the casualties of our army?" asked Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhong Jianzhong said, "Zhe Keshi's troops suffered few casualties. Only a little over a hundred were killed, dozens were seriously injured, and nearly a thousand were slightly wounded. They were all injured by the Liao army's arrows and crossbows."

"After engaging the enemy, Zhe Keshi severely damaged the Liao army's heavily armored cavalry. Eager to win, he ordered the entire army to advance slowly, entering the range of the Liao army's arrows and crossbows..."

Zhao Xiaoqian turned his head to look at Zhe Keshi. Zhe Keshi knew he had made a mistake and lowered his head without saying a word.

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes flashed with sternness as he said coldly, "Go back and copy the Dragon Guard Battalion's combat drill manual a hundred times, then get twenty military sticks yourself. Aren't you ashamed of having a smooth fight beaten like this?"

Firearms are simply a dimensionality reduction attack on cold weapons. Theoretically, when the two armies are facing each other, there should be no casualties in the Longwei Camp. Zhe Keshi is undoubtedly responsible for the casualties this time.

Zhe Keshi stood up and clasped his fists obediently: "I know I'm wrong."

Zhong Jianzhong continued, "Zhang Rong and Zong Ze's troops suffered greater casualties. Zhang Rong's troops lost over twenty men, while Zong Ze's imperial guards lost over five hundred men and over a thousand were wounded."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded, but this time he didn't blame Zong Ze.

He knew very well that Zong Ze's imperial guards used cold weapons and had to fight the enemy face to face, so this result was quite good.

Zhong Jianzhong smiled and said, "Your Highness, this battle was a resounding victory. The soldiers of the Dragon Guard Battalion are jubilant. Although there were some casualties, the result is actually very good."

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed a sigh of relief and said, "Commanders of all divisions, report your soldiers' achievements to your superiors. Today's victory is a great one, and we should reward the three armies. Order that we have meat tonight, plenty of cattle and sheep, and each soldier can drink half a catty of wine. This will not happen again."

The generals were overjoyed and stood up to express their gratitude.

Zhong Jianzhong said excitedly, "Your Highness, where should our Dragon Guard Battalion attack next? I think... we can look towards Xijin Prefecture, or even... the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun!"

After hearing this, the generals became even more excited and agreed one after another.

Zhao Xiaoqian remained calm. "With just 30,000 of us, you think you can take over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun? Old Zhong, when did you become so arrogant?"

Zhong Jianzhong said unconvincedly, "Quality is more important than quantity. So what if we have 30,000 men? We are invincible with firearms, so why can't we take over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun?"

Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head: "Calm down. It's not that easy to take over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. If nothing unexpected happens, after this battle, even if the Liao Kingdom cannot deal with us, they will definitely mobilize the seriously ill to gather in Xijin Prefecture."

"'Heavy troops' means at least a hundred or two hundred thousand. One person's urine is enough to feed you. No matter how powerful the firearms are, if faced with a desperate charge of 200,000 enemies, are you confident that you can hold them off?"

The generals in the hall were stunned and the atmosphere became a little awkward.

"Should we ask the emperor to send more troops? If our Song army has 100,000 soldiers equipped with firearms, there will be no place in the world that we cannot go to?" Zhong Jianzhong asked without giving up.

Zhao Xiaoqian still shook his head: "Equipping firearms still requires practice, and the firearms bureau in Bianjing may not have produced so many firearms. At the same time, they also need to produce ammunition. The ammunition consumed by the soldiers at the shooting range alone is not a small number."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "What I mean is that in the next stage we should station troops here and train our soldiers while also giving the court some time. After all, we have conquered such a large area, and the court will need time to digest it."

"This place is over 400 miles away from Zhending Prefecture. From now on, it will belong to our Great Song. The court will have to dispatch officials, establish government offices, count the population, relocate refugees, measure farmland, and so on. These tedious tasks may not be completed in a year or two."

"The next step will depend on how the Song and Liao countries wrestle. Our Longwei Camp will fight here first and station troops here as a deterrent to the Liao. But we can't push the Liao too hard. Even a dog will jump up and bite when it's pushed hard. Besides, the Liao people are more stubborn than dogs after all..." The generals were silent for a moment. Even though they were reluctant, they knew that Zhao Xiaoqian's decision was correct. If they continued fighting, they might really push the Liao hard.

Especially the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, which were places that the Liao Kingdom valued very much. If the Dragon Guard Camp really attacked the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the Liao Kingdom would inevitably launch a crazy counterattack with all its national strength, and the outcome would be hard to say.

The right choice is to stop when you are ahead.

Zhao Xiaoqian knew the nature of war.

The essence is interest. In ancient times, land was the greatest interest.

The land obtained through war must be digested. Otherwise, if you lead thousands of troops to attack cities and seize land, no matter how much land you have conquered, you will not care and just rush forward. Isn't that stupid?
The current situation between the Song and Liao dynasties is actually still just a small-scale war. The gain or loss of a few hundred miles of land will not cause serious damage to the Liao Kingdom, nor will it drive the Liao Kingdom's rulers and ministers crazy. These few hundred miles of land are probably the bottom line of the Liao Kingdom's compromise.

If there are more, people will get really anxious.

So even though Zhao Xiaoqian also coveted the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, reason told him that now was not the time to take Yanyun, as neither the Song nor the Liao countries were prepared.

Moreover, the chances of capturing Yanyun with only 30,000 soldiers from the Dragon Guard Camp are not high.

"Although the fighting has temporarily stopped, the soldiers' training must not stop. They must train every day, and the process must be even more rigorous."

"Generals, please be strict in this regard. I will visit the training grounds from time to time. If I find that the spirit of the soldiers is not as strong as before, I will not hold the ordinary soldiers accountable, but only the generals."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at Zong Ze again and said, "Old Zong, the ten thousand imperial guards under your command must also be integrated into the Dragon Guard Battalion as soon as possible. From now on, we will all be brothers in arms, eating from the same pot. Whether in training or in actual combat, we must maintain integrity and we must not allow factions to form within the army."

Glancing at the generals with a stern gaze, Zhao Xiaoqian slowly said, "Don't let me hear any mention of 'Dragon Guard' or 'Border Army' in the army anymore, or you'll be severely punished. I won't tolerate this while the enemy remains strong and you're busy engaging in internal strife."

The generals were awe-inspiring and stood up to obey the order.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled brightly again: "Okay, next, it's time for the part that everyone loves to see."

"The merit book is ready. Please report your achievements immediately. I will report the victory to the Bianjing government and ask for your praise."

…………

The capital of Western Xia, Xingqing Prefecture.

Last year, the Song and Xia fought a war, which severely damaged the Western Xia. The Queen Mother Liang had to negotiate peace with the Song Dynasty. However, during the negotiation process, the Queen Mother Liang died mysteriously. Then the young ruler Li Qianshun took over the government smoothly.

This matter has always been kept secret in the Xixia court. The new emperor Li Qianshun seemed unwilling to talk too much about the cause of Empress Dowager Liang's death. The unanimous statement to the outside world was that she died suddenly of an acute illness. Even the burial place of Empress Dowager Liang after her death became a secret that no one knew.

Li Qianshun's accession to the throne was also very strange. Queen Mother Liang died in Songcheng during the peace talks, and Li Qianshun took up his post the next morning.

This battle exhausted the national strength of Western Xia, especially when Zhao Xiaoqian led the 5,000-strong Dragon Guard Battalion deep into the heart of Western Xia. Not only did he kill and loot villages within Western Xia, he also destroyed the capital Xingqing Prefecture and killed hundreds of Western Xia officials.

However, for Li Qianshun, the hundreds of officials killed by Zhao Xiaoqian actually helped him a lot.

Originally, the power structures in the Xixia court were complicated and chaotic. The Empress Dowager faction, the foreign relatives faction, and so on, each occupied an important official position. Once an imperial decree left the palace, it was unknown how many difficulties and obstructions would be encountered from all sides.

Zhao Xiaoqian broke into the capital of Western Xia and killed hundreds of officials. This was a good thing. Li Qianshun returned to the capital and took power. Within a few months, he completely controlled the government and placed his trusted ministers in all important positions.

Although the Western Xia suffered heavy losses in this battle between the Song and Xia, it unexpectedly helped the Western Xia to concentrate and consolidate the imperial power. It was not unfair for Li Qianshun to submit to the Song Dynasty.

Recently, rumors have been spreading in Xingqing Prefecture, the capital of Western Xia, and gossipers have been spreading rumors about the situation of the Song-Liao War in the streets and alleys.

After the defeat of Western Xia and the peace talks, Li Qianshun was not very concerned about what was happening outside. However, the rumors in Xingqing Prefecture became more and more intense. An imperial censor in the court heard about it and reported it directly to the court. Li Qianshun could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb.

The rumor was from the evening news, and it was about a battle between the Song and Liao dynasties, in which Zhao Xiaoqian, the former Duke of Anle in the Song Dynasty, led his 30,000 troops and annihilated the 50,000 Liao troops.

The Liao army was defeated and fled, and the Song army pushed the border northward for dozens of miles and continued to attack the Liao army.

Li Qianshun was not shocked at all when he heard this. Xixia had fought with the Song Dynasty before, and the Xixia rulers and ministers were well aware of the Song Dynasty's strange and magical combat power.

(End of this chapter)