The prince is more stable

Chapter 988 Unsurrendered Army
This was a perfect military encirclement and ambush.

Ten thousand Song soldiers, taking advantage of the visual cover of the vast expanse of white snow, surrounded the three thousand Liao soldiers from four directions without them noticing.

With Guo Cheng's military orders, the encirclement tightened.

Meanwhile, the three thousand Liao soldiers grew increasingly panicked. Some tried to break through the encirclement with sheer courage, gathering small groups of troops and attempting to escape through the gaps before the Song army's encirclement was fully closed.

However, with a burst of synchronized gunfire, the Liao soldiers who had attempted to break through were swiftly and decisively killed, leaving only a hundred or so warhorses standing alone on the snow, bowing their heads and neighing mournfully at their masters' corpses.

The Liao army inside the encirclement became increasingly panicked.

This Liao army, from the Northwest Expeditionary Command of the Liao Kingdom, which had never fought against the Song army before, finally understood that the legends of the Liao Kingdom were not exaggerated or embellished. The Song Kingdom in the south was no longer what it used to be, and they did indeed have the strength to crush the Liao army.

The smoke and flames spewing from those strangely shaped black iron pipes could kill people hundreds of paces away in the blink of an eye.

With such amazing weapons, how could the Liao army, which conquered the world with cavalry archery and swords, possibly defeat the Song army? They couldn't even get close before their men fell from their horses.

At this moment, with the two armies facing each other, the Liao general's eyes were filled with despair. Without much thought, the Liao general immediately made the wisest choice.

Immediately, someone rode out from the surrounded Liao army ranks. He raised his hands high, indicating that he was unarmed, and then shouted loudly in broken Chinese: "Song army, stop! The two emperors have sworn an oath that Liao and Song are allies. Why has your army broken your promise and attacked your ally?"

The Song army at the edge of the encirclement parted to make way, and Guo Cheng, clad in armor, rode out slowly, staring at the Liao general and coldly saying, "You beast, how dare you mention the word 'oath'?"

"The Song and Liao dynasties swore an oath to wage war against the Western Xia, but you have been burning, killing, looting, and massacring our border people within the territory of our Great Song. Who broke your promise first?"

The Liao general paused for a moment, a hint of guilt in his expression.

This statement is irrefutable; the facts are undeniable. Even at this very moment, three thousand Liao soldiers still stand on the land of the Great Song Dynasty. In the nearby border village of the Great Song Dynasty, the raging fire has not yet been extinguished, and the thick smoke can be seen billowing in the sky from dozens of miles away.

"Our army was new here and had no guides. We got lost in this area and saw a village nearby. We thought it was inhabited by people from the Western Xia Kingdom, so we ordered them to be slaughtered and looted... It was all a misunderstanding!" the Liao general explained, forcing himself to speak.

Guo Cheng's eyes blazed with fury, but he instead laughed loudly, "What a reason! You think you can fool me like a three-year-old? You bunch of beasts don't know how to repent even on your deathbed. Today I'll send you on your way. In your next life, when you lie through your teeth, look up at the sky and see if you'll be struck by lightning."

With that, Guo Cheng glared and roared, "Order the entire army to advance and annihilate all the Liao soldiers, leaving no one alive!"

Negotiations broke down, or rather, the Song army never intended to negotiate with them in the first place.

The long, mournful bugle call sounded, and the atmosphere of the battlefield suddenly changed, with a sharp, chilling aura rising into the sky.

The Song troops from all four directions dismounted and marched on foot, forming neat formations as they approached the Liao army encircled in the encirclement.

The Liao general who had tried to negotiate was in despair. He knew that today was the day he and his soldiers would die.

A wave of regret washed over him. He had been too hasty and should not have underestimated the State of Song.

What was originally just a routine raid on enemy strongholds, a tradition that had been performed by the Liao Kingdom for many years, turned out to be a completely unexpected event. The Liao general from the Northwest Expeditionary Command never anticipated that the Song army would react so quickly and that their firearms would be so formidable. Surrounded, they had absolutely no chance of winning.

His usual arrogance ultimately became his death warrant.

Faced with the Song army's increasingly tight encirclement and seeing the strange black iron pipes in the hands of the Song soldiers, the Liao general finally went mad in despair.

"All troops, form ranks! Launch a fierce attack to the northwest to break through the encirclement, and inflict no casualties!" the Liao general roared angrily.

For centuries, the Khitans were able to dominate the north and become the most powerful dynasty, which shows they had some real strength. Even now, as the empire is in its twilight, the fighting power and discipline displayed by the Liao army are still enough to make them an elite force.

Unfortunately, they encountered an equally elite Song army, whose firearms were unparalleled in the world.

Faced with the Liao army's final desperate breakout, Guo Cheng showed no fear. Instead, he burst into laughter and shouted, "Halt! Form ranks and meet the enemy!"

With a loud bang, the Song soldiers, obeying orders without hesitation, immediately stopped and quickly formed three ranks, aiming their flintlock muskets at the Liao army that had gone berserk.

Following the Liao general's order, the Liao soldiers formed a wedge-shaped attack formation on horseback. The Liao banners in the formation were waved fiercely forward, and three thousand Liao soldiers spurred their horses forward, gradually increasing their speed, and finally launched a desperate charge towards the Song army in the northwest.

In the Song army formation, the general kept a close eye on the speed of the Liao army's charge and silently calculated the distance between the two armies.

When the Liao army charged to within three hundred paces, the Song general shouted, "First platoon, fire!"

A series of loud, synchronized explosions erupted, and smoke billowed across the battlefield. Hundreds of Liao soldiers at the forefront felt a sudden numbness in their bodies, followed by a complete loss of strength. Unable to support themselves any longer, they fell from their horses and, before they could even scream, were trampled into a bloody pulp by the hooves of their comrades charging behind them.

"Second row, let go!"

"Third row, let go!"

"Reload, another round!"

Commands echoed through the Song army ranks. The Song troops from the northwest and southeast formed a pincer movement, launching a merciless massacre against the Liao army, while those from the southeast and southeast rapidly advanced towards them. From the air, the Liao army's charge appeared utterly ineffective. Within three hundred paces of the Song army, an invisible barrier seemed to hold them back, while the Song encirclement continued to tighten rapidly behind the Liao lines.

Guo Cheng stood on horseback at the rear, a commander's flag fluttering in the wind beside him. His gaze was calm and composed as he watched the three thousand Liao soldiers turn into corpses. There was no pity on Guo Cheng's face, but rather a hint of relief mixed with resentment.

"Pass down the order: leave no one alive in this Liao army. After the battle, take no prisoners, accept no surrendered soldiers, and execute them all on the spot," Guo Cheng said calmly.

In almost the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, only a hundred or so of the three thousand Liao soldiers remained.

The Liao army's charge had come to a halt. The surviving Liao soldiers reined in their horses and stood three hundred paces away from the Song army's formation. Looking at the Song army pressing in from all directions, the Liao soldiers revealed expressions of fear and despair.

As for the Liao general who was leading the charge, he was among the first to be killed by the Song army at the start of the attack.

The gunfire had stopped, and a deathly silence returned.

The encirclement of 10,000 Song soldiers had shrunk to almost face-to-face with the remnants of the Liao army. The two sides stared at each other, the Liao soldiers looking terrified and frightened, while the Song soldiers silently radiated anger.

After a long while, a Liao soldier suddenly dismounted, knelt down facing the Song soldiers, raised his hands high, and spoke a string of unintelligible Khitan words.

Although they couldn't understand his words, the Song soldiers understood his actions; he had surrendered.

Once someone took the lead, the rest of the Liao soldiers dismounted and knelt down, raising their hands in imitation of him.

The Song soldiers surrounding them made no move, still staring at them expressionlessly.

A moment later, a soldier squeezed into the encirclement and shouted, "Vice Commander Guo has ordered that no prisoners be taken, no surrendered soldiers be accepted, and all Liao soldiers be executed on the spot!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Song soldiers suddenly drew their swords and began to slash wildly at the more than one hundred Liao soldiers kneeling on the ground.

After a series of desperate and piercing screams, everything returned to calm.

Immediately, the encirclement dissipated, and another military order echoed across the vast white plains.

"Clean up the battlefield immediately and return to base as soon as possible!"

"Report the victory to Commander Zhong! In this battle, more than 3,000 Liao soldiers were annihilated, avenging the unfortunate people and civilians of the Song Dynasty who perished!"

…………

Bianjing (Kaifeng)

The New Year had passed, and the court's holiday was over. Zhao Xiaoqian began an endless court assembly, where, as usual, he and his ministers schemed and plotted against each other.

Di Ying's belly was becoming more prominent. Calculating the days, she should be giving birth around the beginning of summer. Although it was still early, the eunuchs and palace maids serving her were quite nervous.

After all, this is the Empress, and she is carrying the legitimate son of the emperor. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be the future emperor of the Song Dynasty without any controversy. The imperial family of the Song Dynasty has always had few and difficult-to-produce offspring, and the Empress's pregnancy has already made the court and the public extremely concerned.

Zhao Xiaoqian was in a more relaxed mood.

Having been a father once before, I naturally have more experience with my second child.

People say that the first child is raised according to the book, and the second child is raised like a pig. But Zhao Xiaoqian is different; he raised his first child like a pig.

Although Zhao Hao was young, he had been through many trials. He had fallen and stumbled in the palace every day. He was quite mischievous and had a father who didn't care about anything. Every time he fell, his father would not only not help him up, but would laugh and laugh at him.

Over time, Zhao Hao's character has become quite resilient. He doesn't make a sound when he falls, but gets up on his own, dusts himself off with a flourish, and reveals a fearless smile befitting a man.

This boy was restless by nature. After taking him to a military camp once, he became fascinated with swords and spears. Zhao Xiaoqian then consciously cultivated his hobby in this direction.

No matter how many princes I have in the future, they should all have basic hobbies and special skills, whether it's literature or martial arts. If there are many princes, I don't mind mixing in a few good-for-nothing playboys.

There was no court assembly today, and Zhao Xiaoqian slept restlessly last night. He woke up early in the morning, his eyes still heavy with sleep, and looked speechlessly at his son Zhao Hao, who was still fast asleep beside him.

Last night, Zhao Xiaoqian, unusually, overflowed with paternal love and refused the advances of his wives and concubines, spending the night with his son in his arms.

Then... in the middle of the night, Zhao Hao, as expected, wet the bed.

At that time, Zhao Xiaoqian's fatherly love had not yet disappeared. He patiently called the palace servants to clean up Zhao Hao and the bed, and the father and son lay down to continue sleeping.

As a result, Zhao Hao had another urination just before dawn...

At this point in time, the father's love finally faded away.

(End of this chapter)