You have truly caused me great suffering!

Three days have passed since the march to Bianliang, but the impact is still rising.

Originally, Chen Shao only wanted to reassure his brothers and give a warning to the scholar-officials supported by the Song Dynasty. He never expected it to turn out this way.

It can only be said that the Song Dynasty did not experience a major civil war. The people, who had not seen war for over a hundred years, truly felt the power of the elite troops that had just withdrawn, and their lingering influence was immense.

These troops were still fighting a bloody battle with the Tartars before they retreated to Bianliang.

The murderous aura soared to the sky.

The final act of beheading the enemy on stage brought a bloody shock to the once prosperous and flourishing city of Bianliang.

It clearly tells everyone that our Dingnan Army never shows mercy to the enemy.

As for the final song and dance, it was sung by a Qiang chieftain-turned-marshal, leading his barbarian soldiers:
The might of Heaven swept across the Yellow River, and the Qiang people for thousands of miles sang Han songs.

There's no need to besiege Lingwu and Xiliang; the barbarian tribes are always waiting to receive the royal army.

This song of triumph of the Song Dynasty was created long ago, but the singing of it by people in the past was not quite right.

However, it was the perfect song for the Dingnan Army under Chen Shao, who unified the Northwest. Chen Shao's last battle as the main general was to subdue Xiliang.

Lingwu and Xiliang did indeed fall into his hands, and the Qiang people in the vast Gobi Desert and the Hengshan Mountains did indeed pledge their loyalty to the King of Dai.

Originally mortal enemies who fought each other in the northwest, they came to the northern Yunnei Youyan under the command of the Prince of Dai, and fought against the even more ferocious northern tribes.

Historically, this easily brings to mind that person, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, who was known as the Heavenly Khan.

When Chen Shao woke up in the morning, he glanced at the empty space beside him.

Last night I had a banquet with the meritorious officials, and I think I drank too much again. I don't know who fell asleep next to me.

All he remembers is that it was very soft and comfortable to hold.

Chen Da Dai Wang doesn't often get to enjoy such a life of debauchery; for example, he has to go to Jietang to work right now.

Inside the hall, the map of Liaodong and Pinglu that had been hanging there was being taken down. Pingzhou and Liaodong had already been acquired, and only Jiaozhi and the northern border remained on the wall.

Chen Shao really wanted to draw a world map. He had also learned some calligraphy and painting these days, and he should be able to draw a fairly good one based on his memory.

But thinking about it now, it wouldn't make much sense to draw it.

He wanted his ships and navy to measure the blue waves and explore the world, rather than having him give instructions alone.

Chen Shao did not want the whole world to do this or that for his own purposes, nor did he want anyone to cater to his ambition of opening up the seas and expanding the world.

Instead, we should instill this enterprising spirit in this land, for the Central Plains is full of capable people and geniuses.

He wanted to create a platform for these people to showcase their talents, rather than having himself perform a solo act.

Only in this way will this trend continue even after we grow old and die.

After the maps were taken away, Chen Shao looked at the empty walls, pointed to the map of Jiaozhi next to him, and said with a smile to his staff, "Guess when these two will be moved away."

"Of course the faster the better!"

Chen Shao focused his gaze on the map of Jiaozhi, pondering where the cannons had been transported and estimating that they should be arriving soon.

He hoped Wu Jie would understand his meaning: this battle could not be rushed, but it also could not be delayed.

The battle must be fought at the right time to determine the outcome!
-
Tiande Village, Honghe Plain.

Wu Jie's central military headquarters was set up in a temple called Yanfu Temple.

The Joseon Dynasty revered Buddhism, and Buddhist temples owned vast amounts of land and had a large population attached to them.

The eminent monks Juehai and Yuanzheng are frequent guests at the imperial court and often participate in important national policies.

They own a large number of "Fukuda" (a type of tax-free land), which are all tax-exempt, and they also own many "Tera-households" (households) that depend on them.

This Yanfu Temple originally housed many monk soldiers, but they have now been cleared out.

Wu Jie and several of his generals were all in the courtyard, looking at the cannons in front of them.

"All copper?" Wang Xi circled around it, clicking his tongue twice in admiration, clearly praising the work of the Prince of Dai.

Li Shiyan said, "This is a powerful weapon of the nation. So what if it's all copper? Even if it were gold or silver, we still have to use it! Look at the Buddha statues in the temple, they're also made of copper. When we break in, these Buddha statues can only stand there helplessly. They're nowhere near as useful as cannons!"

Wang Wu laughed and said, "Wang Xi comes from a humble family. His family used to only have two and a half acres of land. He's never seen the world. Don't laugh at him!"

"You scoundrel, we've been neighbors since we were kids. Your family only has three acres of land, don't you?"

"Our house is a paddy field!"

Wang Xi rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight, but Wu Jie clenched his fist, raised it to his mouth, and coughed, "Stop messing around, can this thing really blast open the city wall?"

As he said this, he looked at the gunner standing next to the bronze cannon.

The latter laughed and said, "A city wall like Taiyuan's definitely can't be breached, but it can still kill the defenders. If the city wall was built with shoddy workmanship, it could indeed be destroyed."

"Great!" Wu Jie laughed. "Let's go and see if the Joseon people have cut corners."

Regardless of whether the artillery arrives or not, the attack must be launched now, and Thang Long City must be besieged.

Thang Long City was home to many of the powerful and influential figures of the Joseon Dynasty.

At this time, on the Red River Plain, the two sides had reached a tacit understanding: the Joseon army would hide in large cities and resolutely refuse to engage in open battle.

The Southern Expeditionary Army would occasionally gather troops to attack cities, but rarely engaged in fierce battles.

If they really can't take it down, they won't continue the attack like they did when they breached the gates of hell; instead, they'll choose to retreat.

Sweeping through the surrounding villages and towns, these places could not stop the iron cavalry of the Southern Expeditionary Army.

Wu Jie never permitted his soldiers to plunder, but he also never issued an order to prohibit it.

The entire southern expeditionary force acquired a great deal of money and treasures, while the merchant caravans that came to transport provisions and supplies returned with a large number of castrated boys.

To put it bluntly, this battle may seem like a money-burning affair, but in reality, it didn't lose money.

For so many years, the Joseon Dynasty had invaded and plundered the borders, constantly burning, killing, and looting. They were immediately retaliated against.

They thought that by defeating a thousand veteran soldiers of the Song Dynasty on the border and massacring hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians, they were a mighty army that could crush the Central Plains.

They believed that they were the true inheritors of the Central Plains tradition.

It seems that not destroying the Song Dynasty is giving the Song Dynasty enough face, especially since the Song Dynasty has been trying to curry favor with him in recent years by offering titles and rewards.

The weakness of the Song Dynasty gave Li Qiande the capital to be arrogant, so when the imperial edict reprimanding him arrived, Li Qiande was even pleased rather than angry.

However, when the Central Plains forces got serious and a truly powerful army arrived, this illusion was immediately shattered.

Even if they could gather a million soldiers and civilians, and their fighting spirit was undoubtedly strong, it would still be to no avail.

The cavalry that bypassed the mountains and went directly into the Red River Plain via Dali were like a sharp knife piercing their heart.
-
Thang Long City.

royal palace.

The palace is indeed built in the style of the Central Plains, but it lacks a bit of grandeur.

It also has some exotic flavors.

Not to mention that the palace master Zhao Ji would shake his head after seeing it, even Chen Shao would feel that he hadn't quite grasped the essence.

After all, those who consider themselves the orthodox practitioners are incapable of humbly learning.

Inside the palace, the Joseon Dynasty's king and his ministers gathered to discuss the situation.

It has to be said that Li Qiande is getting old, and so are his subordinates.

Among this group of elderly people, there are no emerging middle-class forces. They have controlled the government for so many years, and their power has naturally become more and more concentrated.

“These days, the Song army hasn’t attacked any major cities, which shows they are exhausted,” Li Changjie said with a smile. “It won’t be long before we can launch a counterattack!”

Zhang Boyu really wanted to slap him across the face for his remarks. This old man can't even lift his leg, is he deaf too?
You can't go up to the city wall to look down, but you can at least listen.

You, Li Changjie, originally intended to engage in open field battles, but after losing a few matches, you no longer dared to go out.

Commanding the army to stay in the city and watching the Song army attack without defending, burning, killing and looting everywhere, they didn't even get a chance to fight back. What was the point of exhausting them?
But he dared not tell the truth, because the emperor was old and could no longer bear to hear the truth.

A few days ago, Li Yuting was dismissed from his post because he told the truth about the Battle of Tiande Village, which kept the old emperor up at night for several days.

If you can't solve the problem, then solve the problem by eliminating the person who raised it. Everyone is deceiving the aging emperor. Zhang Boyu glanced at Li Qiande; he was truly too old. Although he was only sixty years old, years of excessive drinking and womanizing had ravaged his body.

It made him look like an eighty-year-old man.

Zhang Boyu, who was then promoted to the position of Grand Commandant, was nominally in control of the Joseon Dynasty's military power.

But as long as the old emperor was still alive, no one could shake his position, although his prestige was slightly diminished because he had no children.

However, under the rule of Yi Gan-deok, the Joseon Dynasty has been thriving over the years.

The weakness of the Song Dynasty court, and its constant appeasement of them, made Li Qiande a heroic figure in the fight against the Central Plains.

Today's meeting will most likely turn into another pointless gathering of people trying to appease an old man, serving no practical purpose whatsoever.

Zhang Boyu sighed inwardly. If the southern expeditionary army continued to fight, the entire Red River Plain, the most prosperous region of the Joseon Dynasty, would become a wasteland.

If we really lose these fertile lands, will those savages in the mountains still respect the imperial court?
Within the Joseon Dynasty, there was also a hierarchy of contempt, and it was quite formidable.

The Red River Plain, also known as the Daegang Plain, was the heartland of the Joseon Dynasty, and the Hua people living there were the true subjects of the Joseon Dynasty.

The Joseon Dynasty's most formidable imperial guards were composed of respectable men from these regions, forming their core military force.

Master Juehai suddenly chanted a Buddhist prayer and said, “Everyone, do not panic. In order to repel the enemy, His Majesty has been bathing and fasting for three consecutive days, abstaining from women and meat. With such devotion, Buddha will surely protect our Great Yue Kingdom and help it turn defeat into victory!”

Zhang Boyu's brows furrowed even deeper.

What kind of idiots are these? With a formidable enemy at hand, they expect Buddha to repel it?
Should I still command the soldiers to fight? If we lose, it's because we fought poorly; if we win, it's because Buddha is protecting us.
The key point is that if the Song army outside really retreats after he says that, there's a high probability that the credit will go to the temple.

Thinking of this, Zhang Boyu felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

His last hope was that the old emperor, Li Qiande, could muster the same courage he had when he was young to challenge the Song Dynasty.

He looked at Li Qiande, who nodded repeatedly and said, "I slept alone for three days without drinking a drop of wine. Last night I dreamt of Buddha, who said that the northerners are cruel and have invaded our borders without cause, and that we will surely suffer a great defeat!"

"Goodness is goodness."

Zhang Boyu's vision went black, and he almost fainted from anger, but he still had no choice but to join the others in shouting "Goodness!" a few times.

Just as a group of people were enthusiastically interpreting the old emperor's dream, a eunuch hurried in from outside.

He entered the hall and smoothly prostrated himself on the ground. "Your Majesty, the Song army is here!"

Merchants who have returned from Chinju have now arrived in Thang Long City of the Joseon Dynasty, bringing news of the Great Song Dynasty.

This southern expedition was not led by the original Song army, but by the troops of the Prince of Dai in the northwest.

The Prince of Dai destroyed the Western Xia and defeated the once-invincible Jurchens. It is no wonder that his elite troops and generals were able to achieve such combat power when they marched south.

But to Zhang Boyu's despair, even the emperor was unaware of these matters.

Moreover, they had no intention of investigating the matter at all; they simply bathed, fasted, and abstained from sex and alcohol.
If we're really going to use them, we might as well let monks and eunuchs govern the country and fight wars!

Just as Zhang Boyu was about to speak, Li Changjie, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly burst into laughter: "Good! Well done!"

The crowd was initially somewhat panicked, but upon seeing this, they all looked at him. Li Changjie was full of confidence. "A few days ago, I suggested that we lure them here and then use elephant troops to crush these northern barbarians."

"The northerners have never seen a giant elephant before. Their warhorses go weak in the knees when they see one!"

"These northern barbarians rely entirely on their horses. Once they lose their warhorses, with their small army, we could trample them to death with our million soldiers and civilians!"

Zhang Boyu looked at the old eunuch and thought to himself, "How many years has it been since you last went to the battlefield?"

Immersed in the glory of his massacre of 100,000 Song people in Yongzhou, decades later, does he really consider himself a god of war?
Zhang Boyu himself had led troops, and he had never seen cavalrymen with such superb horsemanship in his life; they were practically one with their horses.

Those Northwest soldiers who grew up on horseback, riding horses, would they be afraid of you slow-moving giants?
If elephant troops are so powerful, how did we manage to defeat and enslave Champa?

Zhang Boyu didn't speak, because he saw it again: the people in the hall gathered together excitedly, clapping and cheering because of these words.

It was as if the elephant cavalry had completely crushed the enemy.

He looked at Li Qiande, feeling a pang of sorrow. How could my mighty and wise Emperor of Great Yue have turned into this in his old age?

Despite knowing it might displease the emperor, Zhang Boyu was, after all, the Grand Commandant. Amidst the laughter and merriment, he took three steps forward, then one and a half steps back, and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Li, we have suffered several crushing defeats in the previous battles. Shouldn't we hold Thang Long City?"

"Wait until next year's rainy season."

Li Changjie pointed at him and laughed, "You cowardly brat, not worth discussing things with! Back then, His Majesty and I faced a million soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty. We never showed any fear. We directly stormed into Yongzhou, Qinzhou, and Lianzhou of the Great Song Dynasty and slaughtered hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians!"

"Your Majesty, do you still remember?"

Li Qiande nodded in satisfaction, then chuckled, seemingly recalling some fond memories.
-
Since becoming Grand Commandant, Zhang Boyu has been quite busy. Unlike those old men in the palace who are immersed in their own world, he is not idle at all.

He wanted to truly confront the enemy forces outside.

Every day I clean up those messes, and all I hear are horrifying battle reports.

The Joseon Dynasty mobilized a million soldiers and civilians, most of whom were concentrated in Thang Long. Zhang Boyu worked day and night to build fortifications and fortifications.

However, a big problem has arisen: so many people are gathered in Thang Long City.

They are not stones; they need to eat and drink.

They thought the enemy would take advantage of the situation to attack, and then get bogged down in the quagmire of these millions of soldiers and civilians, eventually entangled and killed them.

Who knew that Wu Jie would learn from the Jurchens and apply their methods to this situation, employing a hunting-style fighting tactic.

They themselves, on the other hand, have gotten fat.

The Joseon army and civilians, who were the enemy, were suddenly plunged into a food shortage.

Moreover, because the Southern Expeditionary Army's cavalry came and went without a trace, the supply routes had long been cut off.

At this time, Thang Long City had been short of food for half a month, and many laborers could not get any food at all.

In Thang Long City, tree bark is a rare commodity, and rats, geckos, and lizards are considered extremely unlucky.

If they keep fighting, they'll probably start eating people.

Fortunately, as the capital of the Dai Viet Kingdom, Thang Long had a considerable amount of grain reserves, but these grains were prioritized for the Imperial Guards and the gentry, and would not end up in the mouths of the common laborers.

The advantage was that the people of the Joseon Dynasty were indeed more tolerant, and even at this point, they were still able to obey his orders and did not completely flee or rebel.

The bad news is that this situation can only get more and more difficult.

The Joseon Dynasty was not without food, but it couldn't get it in because all the surrounding roads were impassable.

Going out rashly, or ordering the transport of grain in, would be handing the enemy a great gift.

One of the characteristics of the Dingnan Army was its scouts and sentries.

On the roads outside the city, the Joseon army was being mobilized and was on high alert.

After leaving Tiande Village, Wu Jie's men set up camp on Pingjin Mountain, not far from Shenglong.

As we enter the twelfth lunar month and approach the New Year, although there is not a single snowflake to be seen, the river is a beautiful green.

However, this did not diminish the lively and festive atmosphere in the camp at all.

The soldiers had already heard about the march to Bianliang from the caravan.

Everyone felt regret that they had come to fight Jiaozhi later or finished the battle earlier.

Given the character of the Prince of Dai, he would certainly include his men in his military parades and reviews.

We are a meritorious army that has destroyed three kingdoms and captured two kings. Even if we did not go to the north to fight against powerful enemies, we still protected the homeland for the King of Dai.

Wu Jie watched as cattle and sheep were slaughtered in the camp, and soldiers cooked a lively picnic in the barracks. Then he looked eastward.

It must be said that the military camp outside Thang Long City is well-organized; it must have been done by an expert.

In his mind, the possibility of an enemy counterattack when the stronghold was breached was already flashing.

After fighting for so long, he realized one thing: the Joseon army was not particularly strong, but they were truly fearless.

And they are very daring in their fights.

"The New Year is approaching, and we need to bring as many brothers as possible back to the Northwest."

Wu Jie secretly reminded himself not to underestimate his enemy and to fight this battle with utmost care. (End of Chapter)