The prince is more stable

Chapter 564: Victory News Arrives at Camp
On the battlefield which was as brutal as hell on earth, two thousand Song army soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield.

In this battle, the Song army lost nearly 3,000 people. After the Liao army broke through the first line of defense, the Song army's firearms were ineffective and they could only fight with swords in close combat. This was the main reason for the Song army's losses.

Ten thousand Song soldiers followed Zhong Jianzhong in pursuit of Yelu Chun's remnants. The remaining two thousand soldiers silently carried the bodies of their comrades who died in the battle, gathered their bodies together, covered their faces with white cloth, and tried their best to find and piece together the limbs of those who had missing limbs.

The blood all over the ground mixed with the soil underfoot, making it a bit muddy to walk on.

A tattered military flag was stuck diagonally on the ground, swaying gently in the autumn wind. The wind lifted the white cloth on the faces of the dead soldiers, revealing their remains, like a mother's sad hand, gently stroking her child's face for the last time, bidding farewell silently.

Of the 3,000 Song soldiers killed in battle, most were killed, and some were injured with varying degrees of severity. They fell to the ground wailing in pain. Some had their hands and feet chopped off and were carried to a cool place by their comrades. The doctors accompanying the army were busy and sweating as they ran back and forth to treat them.

The soldiers of the Dragon Guard Battalion had seen so many tragic scenes on the battlefield that they had become somewhat numb.

They just woodenly carried the bodies of their comrades and took away the injured. After taking care of their own comrades, they slowly drew their swords.

Next, they will clear the field, which is the final blow after the battle.

The soldiers lined up in a line and slowly moved forward like a human wall. Whenever they encountered a fallen Liao soldier, they would stab him several times in the body regardless of whether he was dead or alive.

Some Liao soldiers were clever and tried to sneak in among the corpses, but after a few stabs, they were completely killed.

Screams could be heard from time to time on the battlefield. Those were the Liao soldiers who were pretending to be dead or injured and were stabbed by the soldiers of the Dragon Guard Camp. With such intensive attacks, it was impossible for those who were pretending to be dead to escape.

So the few Liao soldiers who were pretending to be dead in the distance saw that the situation was not good, and immediately jumped up from the pile of corpses, ran away for their lives, and then fell to the ground with a gunshot.

A Song soldier put down his gun, uttered a loud "Puh!" and cursed, "You bastard, you think you can get away with pretending to be dead?"

A Song soldier nearby sighed, "Luckily we won, otherwise we would have been the ones to be killed."

"Of course we can win. From now on, we can't lose," the Song soldier who had just fired patted his flintlock rifle and said proudly, "With this thing in hand, who in the world can be a match for our Dragon Guard Battalion?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he was slapped on the back of his head. The soldier was furious and turned his head to look, his expression changed immediately.

"Haha, Captain." The soldier smiled ingratiatingly.

The captain stared at him coldly and said, "You are never allowed to say that again. What do you mean by 'Who in the world can rival our Dragon Guard Battalion?'"

The sergeant was stunned: "Did I say something wrong? What's wrong?"

The captain said coldly, "You should tell me who in the world can rival the Great Song Dynasty's army. Don't use the Dragon Guard Battalion's name for no reason. If someone with ulterior motives hears you, you'll cause trouble for His Royal Highness the Prince."

The sergeant was illiterate and didn't understand the reason at all. He became increasingly puzzled and asked, "What's the difference?"

"There's a huge difference. You only mentioned the Dragon Guard Battalion and didn't mention the Great Song Army. If you tell others, they'll accuse His Royal Highness of the County Prince of maintaining his own army and threatening the court. Do you understand? You have a pig brain!"

The soldier looked confused. He was just an ordinary soldier. Even if the captain explained this sensitive topic to him in detail, he still didn't understand.

"Captain, I have never been to school and cannot read. What does 'having one's own troops and being able to command power' mean?" the soldier asked flatteringly.

The captain was clearly not a patient man and didn't bother explaining. "Don't ask. You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Anyway, from now on, no matter when or where, the banner you raise is 'The Imperial Army of the Great Song Dynasty'. Try not to mention 'The Dragon Guard Battalion' as much as possible. Don't cause trouble for His Royal Highness the Prince. Understand?"

The sergeant nodded stupidly.

The captain looked around and said in a deep voice, "It's the same with you. You've won so many battles that you've developed bad habits. Without the firearms made by His Highness, you're nothing! Don't let me hear you being arrogant and bullying the people when you get out. You'll bring disgrace upon His Highness and the Dragon Guard Battalion. Ten heads won't be enough for you."

The soldiers around responded one after another.

As they were talking, the team that was cleaning up and finishing off the enemies was still moving slowly forward. With this kind of dragnet search, it was impossible for anyone to escape.

A Liao soldier jumped out from the pile of corpses, and the Song soldier who was coming to finish him off calmly raised his gun and aimed at his back.

Unexpectedly, the Liao soldier turned around and knelt down in front of the Song soldier, bursting into tears.

While crying, he mumbled something in Khitan, but no one understood him.

Looking at this Liao soldier again, he was obviously a bit old, at least in his forties or fifties, and his appearance showed that he was very old. He knelt on the ground, crying sadly and kowtowing continuously.

Communication between people does not necessarily require language. The Song army soldiers knew from the actions of this Liao soldier that he must be begging for mercy, and probably crying that there were old and young people at home and his family needed him to go back alive.

The Song army soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield looked at him calmly.

The captain who had spoken just now took a few steps forward, looked the Liao soldier up and down, and then the next moment, he suddenly drew his sword, the snow-white blade slashing across the Liao soldier's neck. A moment later, the Liao soldier fell to the ground and died. The captain put away his sword, his eyes cold, like an emotionless machine.

Turning to look at his soldiers, the captain said slowly, "Your Highness has ordered that no prisoners be taken. No matter how pitiful the enemy may be, they are still enemies! Not long ago, they raised their swords to kill our comrades. Now they look so pitiful, and you are so soft-hearted? You are so shameless!"

After swearing a few curse words, Dutou waved his hand and said, "Continue searching!"

The team continued to move forward, but the captain stopped where he was, looked up at the gray sky silently, and let out a long sigh.

"When will the world be at peace?" the captain murmured, "I have a family too, waiting for me to return alive."

He asked the sky without saying a word, and the autumn wind was silent, just gently brushing across his blood-stained iron armor.

…………

Two days later, a military report arrived at the camp on the south bank of the Juma River at lightning speed.

Zhao Xiaoqian sat in the main hall and opened the wax-sealed military newspaper, which contained only a few brief sentences.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked up and down, a look of delight on his face, and handed the military report to General Xu next to him.

"Mr. Chong Yuan, this is the military report of the victory in Jianzhong, please take a look."

Since Zhao Xiaoqian had a deputy envoy who acted like a political commissar, he felt like a glutton who used to eat alone, but now had to share. After reviewing all military documents and reports related to the war, he had to give them to General Xu for a second look.

The main character is open and honest, and nothing is hidden from him.

I was a little uncomfortable at first, but now I've accepted it. They're the imperial spies, so I have to respect them.

General Xu took the military report and read it carefully several times. After confirming it, he suddenly showed a look of surprise. He slammed the table and said with a smile: "Excellent! This is the first time I have heard of victory news. General Zhong is great! The Dragon Guard Battalion is great!"

The content of Zhong Jianzhong's military report was very concise. On September 18, the second year of Shaosheng, 20,000 soldiers of the Dragon Guard Camp under his command defeated 40,000 Liao troops 50 miles south of Xijin Prefecture.

His deputy general Zhang Rong led another 5,000-strong detachment and took a detour to Xijin Prefecture. When the Song and Liao armies were fighting head-on, the 5,000-strong detachment suddenly launched a feint attack on the city of Xijin Prefecture. The 10,000 Liao troops in the city were panicked and refused to leave.

When Yelu Chun, the Liao Dynasty's Nanjing garrison commander, was engaged in a direct battle with the Song Dynasty's army, he was shocked to hear that the Song army was attacking the city. He hurriedly stopped fighting and retreated, leading the remaining nearly 20,000 Liao troops to rush to the aid of Xijin Prefecture.

Zhong Jianzhong led 10,000 troops in pursuit. Outside the city of Xijin Prefecture, Zhong Jianzhong and Zhang Rong each led their troops to attack Yelu Chun from the north and south.

Under the attack of firearms, the Liao army suffered heavy casualties. Yelu Chun was unable to resist and finally left behind more than 10,000 corpses of Liao soldiers and fled back to Xijin Prefecture in a panic. From then on, he closed the city gates and refused to go out.

At this point, most of the Liao troops that invaded the Song Dynasty from three directions, including the troops from Xijin Prefecture in the middle, had been wiped out. After this battle, the Liao army suffered more than 30,000 casualties, achieving the strategic goal set by Zhao Xiaoqian before the war, which was to annihilate the Liao army's vitality to the maximum extent.

Now the remaining enemies around Xijin Prefecture of Liao have been eliminated, and there are less than 20,000 Liao troops in Xijin Prefecture. The Longwei Camp under Zhong Jianzhong has surrounded the city and is waiting for Zhao Xiaoqian's order.

"We have annihilated more than 30,000 Liao troops. Great!" General Xu stroked his beard and laughed heartily. He couldn't help but read the military newspaper several times, reading it word by word, and even memorized every word.

"Zi'an is a man of great talent, worthy of the Emperor's grace. The officers and men of the Dragon Guard Battalion are also elite and valiant, all renowned heroes! With such a powerful army, the Song Dynasty will have no worries about instability, no worries about not being able to destroy the Liao Kingdom and unify the country!"

Zhao Xiaoqian was not surprised by the good news and looked calm.

After all, the previous victories were too dazzling, and this victory is a bit lacking in comparison.

"It's just a small victory. Mr. Chong Yuan, there's no need to get so excited. The eastern and western forces are already preparing to take action. Let's wait a few more days and see what kind of surprises Zhe Keshi and Zong Ze will give us."

General Xu stroked his beard and laughed, "General Zhong has already given us enough surprises along the way. Haha! If the news of victory gets back to Bianjing, I wonder how happy the emperor will be."

General Xu glanced at Zhao Xiaoqian and said, "The storytellers in the brothels of Bianjing will probably be busy again. His Royal Highness the Prince of Hejian has pacified Liao once again. Thanks to Zi'an's stories, the storytellers will make a lot of money."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled bitterly and said, "All the storytellers in this city are talking nonsense. I want to report them to the police and have them arrested."

"It's just a folk joke. Zi'an, why bother to take it so seriously? I, too, sat in the brothels for a long time, and when I heard Zi'an's story of pacifying Liao, my blood boiled and I cheered."

Looking down at the military report, General Xu suddenly asked, "Zhong Jianzhong's troops have surrounded Xijin Prefecture. Yelu Chun is entrenched in the city and refusing to leave. Next, should Zi'an order Zhong Jianzhong to attack the city and capture Nanjing?"

Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head. "Zhong Jianzhong lost 3,000 soldiers and horses, leaving only a little over 10,000. This number of men can't take Xijin Prefecture, even with firearms. Furthermore, if Xijin Prefecture were taken, it would inevitably cause a stir in the Liao Kingdom, bringing unpredictable variables to the war situation, with more disadvantages than advantages."

"First, have Zhong Jianzhong hold his troops still and just lay siege to the city. Don't let the Liao army from Xijin Prefecture rush to reinforce the east and west routes. Let Zhe Keshi and Zong Ze finish their business first."

(End of this chapter)