You have truly caused me great suffering!

April.

Chen Shao demonstrated the strategic resolve of the Great Jing.

The westward expedition was postponed until now due to the cold weather.

Within two months, Yelü Dashi wrote three letters, expressing his willingness to remove the name 'Liao' from the country's name and use the Jianwu era name of the Great Jing Dynasty.

He paid an annual tribute of 300,000 and sent his son to Nanjing as a hostage.

Chen Shaotong refused all such requests, only demanding that he submit and surrender. His reply was earnest and polite.
[Having recently read your memorial, I am fully aware of your sincerity. You are able to deeply understand the current situation and discern right from wrong, and you wish to relinquish the old name "Liao" and adopt the "Jianwu" calendar of my Great Jing Dynasty, paying an annual tribute of 300,000 coins, and also sending your son to serve in Nanjing to solidify our alliance. Having read this far, I know that you have a heart that yearns for righteousness and is inclined to be assimilated by our culture, and I greatly appreciate this.]

However, after careful consideration, I still find your request insufficient. As a wise ruler of the Northern Kingdom, Da Shi commands respect throughout the Western Regions and is far beyond the reach of a mere exile. If you were merely a subject, paying annual tribute, while it might appear respectful, it would be beneath your great ambition and is not how I would treat a virtuous and capable person.

Now, the six armies of the Great Jing Dynasty are about to go west to pacify the world and unify the written language. I believe that you are a descendant of a noble family and are well-versed in the border affairs. If you can follow the example of Dou Rong and Qian Chu, and bring your entire tribe under your rule and submit to the king's rule, then there would be no greater good.

My mind is made up; I will no longer treat you as a vassal. If you repent and come to court, I will grant you a fiefdom, bestow upon you the title of King, a rank above the Three Dukes, with hereditary wealth and honor, and eternally guard the western frontier. Your sons and nephews will all be promoted and given official positions, sharing in my favor, without any suspicion of being a hostage. I will always keep my word and will never break it, nor will I doubt your loyalty. Between ruler and subject, only trust and sincerity will be our guarantee.

Those who understand the times are called heroes. The Central Plains and your country are adjacent in land and share similar customs and teachings. Rather than guarding a remote corner and suffering the hardships of years of travel from afar, why not submit to the Holy Dynasty and share the blessings of peace? My sincere intentions cannot be fully expressed in words. You should carefully consider this matter and not hesitate, lest you regret it later.

This decree is hereby issued; we await your favorable response.

Yelü Dashi hesitated repeatedly but still refused to surrender.

However, the situation within the Western Liao Dynasty has been on the verge of collapse over the past few months.

Many people privately communicated with Da Jing, requesting to surrender after the war began.

The situation is very clear: once war breaks out, the Western Liao's chances of winning are slim.

Moreover, even if they win, it will be difficult to shake the formidable national strength of the Great Jing. They will go back to rest and then come back again.

Southern Mongolia is a case in point.

Spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the four seasons take turns conquering, even a piece of iron will be conquered by you.

The biggest problem with the Western Liao was that they were not the fierce warriors of the time when the nation was rising, like Yelü Abaoji.

Instead, they were a group of nobles who had been lording it over others for three hundred years.

Yelü Dashi's military strategy was inferior to that of Yelü Abaoji and Wanyan Aguda, and his subordinates did not have the backbone they had when the nation rose to power.

Today in Yili, as the weather warms up, civil and military officials who remained in Lingzhou are arriving one after another.

Chen Shao held court in his office and formally made arrangements for the western expedition.

In fact, many things had already been decided long ago; it was just a matter of announcing them.

The courtiers in the hall were very excited; they had finally made it.

Originally, while in Lingzhou, they thought that they wouldn't make it to the expedition.

If I can make it there, I'll have a chance to have my name recorded in history books in the future.

Even if it's just a short line of text, it's enough to make one feel honored for life, after all, this is the most prosperous time for China.

Most historical records only vividly describe the most brutal and weak periods, as well as the most prosperous and powerful ones.

Chen Shao did not engage in the ritual of appointing generals on an altar. The Great Jing Dynasty was never founded; it was always at war.

For them, fighting has become the norm.

They have their own efficient and streamlined process.

The general who read the message in front of the palace immediately left with the token and banners.

In the seventh year of Jianwu, the emperor launched a western expedition against the remnants of the Khitan. He appointed Prince Xun, Jinling, as the commander-in-chief of the western expeditionary force, granting him the authority to command all military affairs.

Prince Xin, Li Xiaozhong, was appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Military Governor of Lingwu, leading 100,000 Han and non-Han troops as the vanguard. Five commanders-in-chief were appointed under him, each leading troops in their respective circuits.

Qu Duan was appointed as the commander of the western expedition, leading a separate force to attack from the southern Gobi Desert. Wang De was appointed as the commander of the Tatar cavalry in the southern Gobi Desert.

Early in the morning, troops began to assemble in various military camps outside Yili.

Many of the personnel actually set off early, having already received their deployment plans before the meeting.

In Yili city, the busiest place is the vegetable market on the front street.

This is a typical military town, but with the development of Mengnuan, the population has gradually increased.

After all, this place is not only a bridgehead, but has always been the busiest trade route hub.

The city was full of small shops and vendors, and there were many peddlers and laborers. It was chaotic, but also lively.

Spring has arrived, but the weather is still cold, especially in the early morning. Many people are dressed in thick clothes, making them look somewhat bulky.

Soon, they saw squads of personal guards escorting their commander out of the city through the main road.

People understood immediately.

The fight is about to begin.

Almost instantly, the city was engulfed in a frenzy.

People stopped doing business and gathered in small groups, converging on both sides of the road.

Whenever a general received his orders and dispatched his personal guards and left the city, everyone cheered loudly.

The soldiers who went out of the city were also infected by this atmosphere, and their hearts were filled with heroic spirit.

If we fail to achieve great merit on this western expedition, we will be letting down the people who are calling for us in this city.

When Yue Fei left the street with his personal guards, it was noon, and the sun was blazing.

He was one of the commanders of the vanguard, leading 30,000 men, making him one of the generals who commanded the most troops in the western expeditionary army.

Others, like Jin Ling, are said to command an army of 100,000, but they mostly coordinate and direct operations from the rear.

Li Xiaozhong was the same; he had a large army, but he didn't directly command them to fight the enemy.

Qu Duan's combined forces of Han and non-Han soldiers were larger than his, and the majority of the pure Han soldiers were Yue Fei's troops.

Over the years, he has become more mature and composed, but he is still not immune to getting excited by the voices around him.

His Yue Family Army, after destroying the Jin dynasty and launching the northern expedition, is now at its peak in terms of morale, strength, and energy.

As he rode on horseback, he turned his head and glanced behind him; the streets were deserted.

People waved their fists, their faces filled with passion and expectation.

Turning his head, Yue Fei gripped the reins tightly, his eyes wide and narrow, his face slightly turned to the side, muttering something under his breath.

Because the western expedition was so large, by dusk, the generals gradually stopped leaving the city.

People were still reluctant to leave.

The wheel of war has already begun to turn, and even if it only turns for a moment, it is destined to never stop.

Chen Shao was well aware that from this day forward, world history would be divided into two parts.

The desert is solitary and straight, and the long river falls into the sun.

As dusk casts its last rays, the blood-red sunset paints the northwest landscape crimson.

Chen Shao stood on the beacon tower in Yili, also bathed in red light, watching the cavalry below gallop towards the battlefield.

The thought of this war reaching the British Channel and the Danube River filled him with intense emotion.

Logically, this is the perfect time to compose a poem and leave behind an eternal classic for this special moment.

Unfortunately, none of the people present—Han Shizhong, Wu Jie, Xu Jin, and Yang Cheng—were skilled in this art.

The recently departed Yue Fei was stronger than all of them combined.
-
Once a major war begins, it is usually difficult to conceal, and Yelü Dashi had already noticed the Jing army's movements.

Logically, the trade route to Yili should have been teeming with merchants from the Western Liao Dynasty. However, even now, the information they possess remains incomplete.

Before the war even began, when Chen Shao publicly urged Yelü Dashi to surrender in the Dajing Daily, he had already cut off the trade routes.

Yelü Dashi's intelligence network suffered a severe blow.

In terms of intelligence gathering, the Song, Liao, and Xia dynasties were all experts, and Yelü Dashi was equally adept at it.

However, there was no way around it; the two sides were simply not on equal footing.

Chen Shao could openly search for traitors, block roads, and set up checkpoints.

Yelü Dashi, however, could not.

Much of the intelligence was even sent out by his confidants. As for the nobles of the former Khwarazmian and Seljuk people, they were now increasingly alienated from him and were showing signs of waiting for the right time to rebel.

The familiar feeling of facing unprecedented external enemies, internal fear of war, and alienation among various tribes immediately returned to Yelü Dashi's mind.

For a moment, he was in a daze and almost thought that it was the Baoda era of the Liao Dynasty (1121-1125).

At that time, Emperor Tianzuo abandoned his country and fled west, and the Jin army swept through Liaodong.

Looking at himself now, he seemed to be even worse than Emperor Tianzuo. At least Emperor Tianzuo could hold out for three to five years while fleeing and fighting.

Can I really sustain this for three to five years?

Yelü Dashi had lost all interest in tactical arrangements.

He wanted to lead the Liao Kingdom's elite troops in one last battle, and if all else failed, retreat to the Western Sea.

I have already built a city there, and if I'm lucky, I can hold out for a few more years.

If even the cities of the Western Sea cannot stop them, then continue fleeing westward.

There will always be a time when you can't catch up, right?

There must be territories that you, Da Jing, can't reach!

Yelü Dashi was truly unwilling to let him flee west with his men without firing a single arrow.

Because if we disregard the Great Jing Dynasty, and if the Great Jing Dynasty did not exist, then Yelü Dashi's Liao Dynasty would be terrifyingly powerful.

At that time, the situation might be quite different; if you don't come to the west, I will have to return east.

Yelü Dashi let his thoughts run wild, since he didn't need to rack his brains to think about the battle situation; this time, he was just going all out.

If we win the battle and can take Yili, and use the Gobi Desert to stop the Jing army, I am confident that I can rebuild the Liao Dynasty.

It even surpasses the glory of our ancestors.

If you can't win, run!
Because they came with the intention of taking a gamble, the troops they brought were not the true elite forces of the Western Liao.

"His Majesty fears the Great Jing, yet refuses to surrender; he wants to fight to the death, but also wants to leave himself an escape route. This kind of deception is a waste of effort; he might as well learn from Wanyan Balisu and simply flee!"

Several Khitan nobles who had accompanied the army gathered together, and Xiao Duolu, who had been caught hunting, spoke quietly.

Those around him nodded in agreement.

This time, Yelü Dashi and his men certainly didn't seem to be there to win a battle; he was completely conflicted.

At this point, it's very difficult for a person to make the right decision.

Under such high pressure, those who can remain unaffected by emotions and take each step rationally are all unparalleled heroes.

The melting ice water in early spring turned the newly thawed ground into a muddy mess.

Large contingents of Western Liao troops were breaking camp and marching.

The various units were a mixed bag, with the old and the weak among them.

One advantage of Central Asia is that recruitment is easy; all you need is some food.

Yelü Dashi has made a lot of money in recent years, and like Chen Shao, he is someone who doesn't waste it.

Therefore, they accumulated a considerable fortune, including grain.

These able-bodied men were hardly any kind of men; they trudged haphazardly through the mud, carrying nothing but their meager belongings and all the rubbish from the camp on their backs.

He had everything on him except armor.

Of course, there were also those fully armored; those were the elite of the Liao army.

Compared to the camel and horse caravans of the Jing army, the Liao army was really poor; there were even a few rams in their ranks being used to pull carts.

People are starving, let alone the livestock. The sheep are mooing and struggling to pull the stuck cart.

People were packed on both sides of the vehicle, trying their best to push it out of the mud under the command of the Khitan captain.

Cries and sobs could be heard throughout the procession.

Most people remained silent, numbly moving forward.

We were already suffering before you Khitans came, so there's nothing to be afraid of.

The people of the Central Plains were not very happy during the Song Dynasty.

The living standards of the people in these countries were less than one-tenth of those of the Song people.

This era was inherently a very difficult one, unless you were a nobleman.

On either side of these Central Asian tribal troops were Liao soldiers on horseback. These men, armed with weapons, moved about in the mud, some on horseback and some on foot, without any real formation. Each of them was muttering curses at the heavens.

These strong Khitan men turned a blind eye to the foreign people wandering among the ravines, and no one was willing to lend a hand.

Instead, they would often grab two people and put the things they were carrying on their shoulders.

Although they were known as elite troops, they were actually just people who had fled from the original Khitan state.

When facing the Jurchens, they were routed. Anyone with experience in the regular army of the Liao Dynasty was promoted by Yelü Dashi to various military positions.

That's just how it is in countries where people flee.

These generals were now like escorts leading a troop, loudly ordering them to move in an orderly fashion.

As each person spoke, they exhaled long, white breaths in the cold rain.

Their armor was still decent; the Western Liao had made a lot of money in recent years, and Yelü Dashi was willing to buy equipment for his trusted elite troops.

During the march, anyone who broke formation was dragged out, pressed into the mud, and severely beaten with military sticks before being put back.

Don't underestimate this method; it's quite effective, and people in some places really like it.

The military is a complex thing, but it can also be very simple.

In this era, as long as a framework of constraints is established and a strict disciplinary system is implemented, it can at least resemble a certain form.

This force also demonstrates Yelü Dashi's capabilities.

Yes, it's quite high, but not top-tier.

Many officials who transitioned from the Song Dynasty to the Jing Dynasty felt that Yelü Dashi was extremely powerful and a formidable enemy of the Jing Dynasty.

It can only be said that Tong Guan elevated Yelü Dashi to a height he had never reached before.

This team, while possessing some size and presence, lacked morale and fighting spirit.

This is the dividing line between a master and a top performer.

While both Yue Fei and his newly recruited, dejected soldiers were leading troops, Yue Fei handled the situation much better in Hebei. (End of Chapter)