The prince is more stable

Chapter 578: Alliance with Xia to Resist Song
The plot is very familiar now. In my previous life, I not only read about it in books, but also watched the TV series.

The trick of allying with Wu to fight against Cao happens to be that the current situation in the world is basically divided into three parts.

It has to be said that after the Liao Dynasty was defeated, Yelu Hongji's decision to form an alliance with the Western Xia was not foolish at all. It could be said to be very rational and correct.

After a great battle, the Song Dynasty won and the Liao Dynasty lost, with the loss of more than 70,000 soldiers and horses. This result has re-arranged the order of the three kingdoms, with the Song Dynasty jumping to first place and the Liao Dynasty falling to second place.

Whether for self-preservation or to continue to be an enemy of the Song Dynasty, winning over and forming an alliance with Western Xia was the most sensible choice for Yelu Hongji.

If the Liao-Xia alliance is successful, then the attitude of the Western Xia towards the Song Dynasty will also change. The two countries will use one from the northwest and the other from the north to pincer attack the Song Dynasty. There will be too many strategies and tactics that can be deployed.

Yelu Hongji was not stupid. He roughly guessed that Zhao Xiaoqian's next move would be to send troops to the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. In order to keep Yanyun, he could only seek an alliance with Western Xia, which would make the Song Dynasty worried and dare not easily interfere in Yanyun.

The abacus was clacking, but Zhao Xiaoqian's face looked a little grim.

He had long known that Li Qianshun, the ruler of Western Xia, was seeking a marriage alliance with the Liao Kingdom. Li Jinzhen, the Western Xia envoy, had even passed through his path and sent him generous gifts such as cattle, sheep, and war horses.

Li Qianshun was fair and just, and did not offend anyone. He gave gifts to the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, and also asked for a marriage alliance with the Liao Dynasty. This series of diplomatic actions was obviously intended to protect himself.

Counting his age, Li Qianshun is already seventeen years old this year, which is the mating season. But at this critical juncture, he proposed marriage to the Liao Kingdom. What's the difference between this and joining the National Army in 1949?

"Does Li Qianshun dare to agree to an alliance with Yelu Hongji?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

Zhen Qing sighed, "It's hard to say. Two years ago, Xixia surrendered to the Song Dynasty out of necessity. In the past two years, Li Qianshun has probably straightened out the Xixia court and secured power. It's hard to say what he's thinking now."

"He's probably still not convinced of our Great Song. So whether Xixia and Liao will form an alliance depends on his attitude. If we send the Liao Princess Cheng'an, who was married to him, to whisper in his ear, Li Qianshun, a 17-year-old young emperor, might not be too easily influenced..."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled slightly: "I should have forgotten the pain of the slap I received two years ago. I feel like I'm fine again."

"What do you think, Your Highness?" Zhen Qing asked.

Zhao Xiaoqian closed his eyes and thought quietly for a moment, then slowly said, "The Liao-Xia marriage must be ruined. We can't let the two countries form an alliance, otherwise it will delay my recovery of Yanyun."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Zhen Qing rubbed his hands excitedly. He was no longer sleepy when he mentioned the recovery of Yanyun.

Zhen Qing also knew what a tremendous achievement it would be to recapture Yanyun. If he could do something about it, even just get a little bit involved, it would bring prosperity and wealth to several generations.

"Go back to Shangjing and continue your undercover work, keep the intelligence flowing smoothly, and keep me informed of Princess Cheng'an's itinerary."

Zhen Qing was surprised: "Your Highness, are you planning to..."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled, "That's right. I plan to snatch the bride. Whoever snatches this princess away will be the princess. I want to tell Li Qianshun that Xixia will always be the younger brother of the Song Dynasty. If he doesn't behave himself, this time I'll just snatch his wife, but next time I'll lead my army to attack Xixia directly."

Zhen Qing hesitated and said, "This is a serious matter. After all, this is a Liao princess who married the ruler of Xixia. Your Highness intends to seize her. Shouldn't you consult the Bianjing authorities first?"

Zhao Xiaoqian said nonchalantly, "Let's get the job done first. The emperor understands my intention and won't blame me."

Zhen Qing was completely bewildered. This prince's thoughts and ideas were truly different from those of ordinary people. He actually dared to snatch the princess of Liao, the future woman of the ruler of Western Xia. His courage was simply unmatched.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked with narrowed eyes.

Zhen Qing bowed and said sincerely, "I am silently admiring Your Highness in my heart. Your Highness is truly a renowned hero of the Song Dynasty, a true man, a great man among men."

"Just because I want to steal someone else's woman?"

"Yes, just because Your Highness dared to snatch the woman of the King of Xixia, I admire Your Highness so much that I can't wait to help Your Highness hold down the Liao Princess' legs..."

"I don't need your help with this. Go away."

…………

Ten days later, winter had gradually arrived. The winter in the north is still very cold. It was just the beginning of winter, and I felt the bone-chilling cold.

A bonfire was lit in the center of the main hall of the government office. Zhao Xiaoqian and the generals gathered around the fire to keep warm and chat.

While chatting, Zhao Xiaoqian kept moving with his hands. With a few strokes, he dug out a roasted egg from the fire. After peeling the eggshell, the whole white, steaming egg looked very tempting.

Zhao Xiaoqian blew on it to cool it down for a while, then took a big mouthful and ate it with relish.

Zhe Keshi, who was standing next to him, swallowed his saliva secretly and said with a smile, "Your Highness is eating so deliciously. I feel hungry too. Do you have any eggs? I'll roast a few and try them..."

Zhao Xiaoqian bit an egg and waved to Chen Shou outside the hall without raising his head.

Chen Shou understood and immediately brought a bamboo basket of eggs. The generals came forward, each took a few, and imitated Zhao Xiaoqian's example, stepping the eggs into the ashes of the fire.

After a while, the eggs were cooked. The generals took out the eggs, blew on them while stuffing them into their mouths, and screamed from time to time because of the burn.

Zhao Xiaoqian swallowed the egg in his mouth, looked around at the generals who were eating voraciously, and couldn't help but sigh.

"What the Liao rulers and ministers are afraid of is actually this bunch of gluttons who have no manners when eating. Who would believe it if I tell others about it? It's unfair." Zhao Xiaoqian murmured.

Yes, who would have believed that it was these guys who were screaming in pain from being scalded by eggs who commanded their soldiers to annihilate 150,000 Liao troops and reverse the situation between Song and Liao.

The powerful Liao Kingdom was now forced to adopt a strategic defensive posture and no longer dared to provoke the Song Dynasty. On the contrary, the Song Dynasty now had to take the initiative to provoke them.

"Deputy Envoy Xu and I have jointly sent a memorial requesting merit to Bian Jing. The military achievements of everyone here are all recorded. The imperial edict from Bian Jing will arrive soon. I wish you promotion and wealth in advance." Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile.

The generals beamed. A successful battle would bring fame and fortune. Those Song Dynasty scholars always sourly wrote in their poems about how fame was hard to achieve and how serving the country was impossible. Ugh! Is fame so hard? Isn't it easy to get it if you follow the right boss?
Zhong Jianzhong's reaction was rather indifferent. He was not very interested in this reward. It was not because he was indifferent to fame and fortune, but because there were more tempting fame and fortune that attracted him.

"Your Highness, it won't be long before Your Highness leads our royal army to Yanyun, right?" asked Zhong Jianzhong.

The generals present paused and pricked up their ears quietly.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked around at everyone with a smile and nodded, "That's right. Once the 50,000 soldiers selected from the three armies in Bianjing arrive and undergo full military training and integration, it's time to head straight for Yanyun. Everyone, I don't need to explain the importance of retaking Yanyun. You all understand, right?"

The generals immediately became excited. The merit of regaining Yanyun would not only bring them promotion and wealth, but also give them a separate page in history books and family genealogies. Who could refuse the honor of being recorded in history?

Zhe Keshishi said: "Your Highness, I would like to fight and serve as the vanguard of our army!"

The generals were shocked and felt that they were one step behind. They cursed inwardly and rushed to ask for battle.

Zhao Xiaoqian frowned. This group of killers was giving him a headache.

"Shut up! It's still early. Why rush? It's winter now, so it's not suitable for war. The earliest we can fight is next spring. What's the point of fighting now?"

The generals then quieted down awkwardly, peeling the eggshells and eating the eggs silently. The screams of the scalded eggs were filled with a sense of sadness and resentment.

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "The battle to recapture Yanyun is of no small importance. This battle is related to the fate of the Song Dynasty. You should all know its importance. If this battle is successful, everyone here will be promoted and given titles. But if we fail, I'm afraid it wouldn't be surprising if your heads were sacrificed to the heavens."

Zhe Keshi grinned: "Your Highness is the commander-in-chief, how could we fail? I don't care about anything. I will fight wherever Your Highness points. Just obey."

The generals nodded in agreement.

Zhao Xiaoqian's prestige in the hearts of the generals in the army has almost reached the level of a god. When it comes to the battle to recapture Yanyun, the generals are thinking about how to gain more military merits and how to fight a good battle to show off. They never doubt the outcome of this war, and everyone has absolute confidence.

It was naturally a good thing that the soldiers trusted him, and Zhao Xiaoqian did not dare to take it lightly.

Zhao Xiaoqian fiddled with the roasted eggs on the fire and said calmly, "I'll discuss tactics and strategy with Deputy Envoy Xu later and determine our targets. Although we're still a long way from fighting, we should prepare for some things in advance."

"The same goes for you. Although the weather is cold after the onset of winter, the soldiers are not allowed to stop training every day. After the previous battles, you should know our disadvantages."

"In terms of close combat, our soldiers are ultimately inferior to the Liao army. Taking advantage of the recent peace, you should urge your soldiers to make up for this shortcoming. We cannot pin all our hopes on firearms. What I want is a fierce army that can sweep across the world even in close combat."

All the generals clasped their fists in awe in response.

The generals were still chatting when a personal guard hurried into the main hall.

"Prince, the Imperial City Department has sent an urgent letter."

Zhao Xiaoqian took the letter, opened it, glanced at it casually, and immediately showed a sneer.

The letter was sent by Zhen Qing. It stated that Princess Cheng'an of Liao had set off five days ago. The Xia envoy Li Jinzhen who accompanied her escorted Princess Cheng'an all the way to Western Xia and married Li Qianshun, the ruler of Western Xia.

"He's only seventeen years old and his body is still developing. He's so anxious to find a wife. The boy is really ignorant." Zhao Xiaoqian murmured, throwing the secret letter into the fire and watching it burn to ashes.

Zhong Jianzhong leaned over and asked curiously, "Your Highness looks unhappy, is there something wrong?"

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded, looked around at the generals and said with a smile: "I have something to ask. Who is free today? Gather the troops and horses and leave the camp to help me snatch a woman back."

The generals were extremely excited. Although they didn't know what was going on, they were definitely interested in snatching women.

Then all the generals present stood up and said in unison: "We are willing to go!"

(End of this chapter)