King of Song

Chapter 587 Chapter [-]: One City, One Country

At the age of 14, even if the children of the prince's family are precocious, they are still too immature.

Li Bingcheng thought that he had grown up, and took advantage of the decline in prestige and weakened control over the court after Liang Yibu was captured, to cultivate his power and consolidate the kingship.

Not to mention, he has indeed achieved certain success, his power is almost on par with Liang Yibu, and he even has a slight upper hand in the court.

A little achievement made Li Bingchang a little bit smug. After all, the young man's mind was not stable enough, and he was impatient to take full control of power.

Li Bingchang decided that he needed a war!A war that allows oneself to hold on to military power and build military exploits.

He originally planned to take the initiative to lead the army to attack the Song Dynasty. This is Xixia's consistent style. When the internal affairs are unstable, he will go to war with the outside world to divert conflicts.Unexpectedly, the Tubo people just gave him an opportunity, giving him sufficient reasons to lead the army.

Liang Yibu wanted to dissuade him, but he was powerless, or he was unwilling to intervene too much. After all, he was not the kind of powerful and ambitious person who had no hidden power.He didn't want to get into a serious fight with his nephew, which would not be good for the Liang family or the entire Western Xia.

The Empress Dowager Liang didn't stop her either. She used practical actions to tell her son that she supported him, and she didn't intend to support his relatives or control the government.

Speaking carefully, the Empress Dowager Liang's siblings and no Tibetan family are somewhat different from many foreign relatives in the past.At least none of them have the idea of ​​​​replacing the current king. They do so only to maintain their own interests to a certain extent.In this process, in fact, the first thing to safeguard is the interests of the entire Xixia.

Perhaps before that, the Empress Dowager Liang and Liang Yibu made some wrong decisions because of their own impulsiveness or a moment of hotheadedness, which caused Xixia to suffer some losses.But their fundamental starting point has not changed, and they have always maintained the interests of Xixia.It's just about power, there is no compromise, and there is a natural contradiction between the relatives and the royal power, which is inevitable and difficult to reconcile.

Li Bingchang got the opportunity very smoothly. He didn't feel that it was his mother and uncle showing their hearts, showing their respect and support for him, but he felt that it was a matter of course.

With an army of 20, they rushed to the northwestern border of the Song Dynasty.It's a pity that the door was shut when I walked there.

Facing the menacing Xixia army, the Song army firmly defended the walls and cleared the fields, sticking to the castles and fortresses, and did not go out to fight the Xixia people at all.No matter how the Xixia soldiers insulted and shouted, the Song army just didn't fight.

This was the order of Lin Zhao, the Xuanfu envoy of Shaanxi Road, and it was strictly carried out by the three generals Jing Sili, Zhong Er, and Zhe Kexing.

Xixia is good at field battles, and in siege battles, they can't give full play to the advantages of cavalry.Although they can drive straight in, if they can't take down the castle, they are doomed to return in vain.

Li Bingchang had no choice but to order a frenzied attack on the city, winning one or two cities would be a victory.

When the Xixia people attacked hard and opened a gap in the city wall, they were quickly repelled.Taking advantage of the night, Song Jun poured water on the city wall. In the twelfth lunar month and the northwest is freezing, it only takes one night, and the ice is as hard as iron.The damage of the city was repaired and it became stronger.

The worst thing is that the surface is slippery, and the climbing is more difficult, so you have to work for a long time, lose your troops, and go to get nothing.After more than two months, only four or five fortresses were breached, and they were still insignificant.The important city was unscathed, but the Xixia people paid a heavy price.

This is an unequal war, although Xixia has an advantage in military strength and is in an active position.People and harmony are barely there, but the timing and location are not related at all.

The Song army relied on the city fortress and could not hold on. Xixia siege the city hard, with little effect.Not to mention the weather, it was cold and freezing, Song Jun lived in barracks in the city, sheltered from wind and snow, and wore warm cotton-padded clothes.General Lin also specially designed a kang for the barracks, which is extra warm.

Compared with the Song army who waited for work with leisure, the Xixia people not only worked hard on expeditions, but also slept on ice and snow at night, with the cold wind howling, not to mention how much they suffered. With an army of 20, the consumption of food and grass is even greater, and the wind and snow continue, making transportation uniquely inconvenient.The supply of food and grass has caused an extremely serious burden on Xixia, and there has been no major breakthrough in the front line, and it gradually becomes unbearable.

If there is no result in the expedition, where will Li Bingchang be willing to go?He insisted on continuing to attack, but the Xixia army had no intention of fighting, and his orders began to make the soldiers even more disgusted.Especially after Liang Dao was repeatedly harassed by the Song army, their life became even more difficult.

While Chong Er was holding on to the city, his younger brother Zhong Yong and Jing Sili's younger brother Jing Siyi led two light cavalry to harass the Xixia grain road.Li Bingchang wanted to intercept them, but the cavalry came and went like the wind, and it was difficult to find their traces. Unless they mobilized a large army to encircle them, it would be difficult to achieve results.

Under such circumstances, there are still riots in the Xixia army, and they have no intention of fighting at all.Zhe Kexing and Jing Sili seized the opportunity and launched two beautiful counterattacks, and the Xixia people suffered heavy losses.Under such circumstances, Li Bingchang couldn't hold on any longer.Although impulsive, he still maintained the minimum rationality.

He knew that if he continued to persevere, it would be impossible for the army to mutiny.Moreover, the Song army would launch a counterattack at any time. Given the current situation, it was difficult to resist.

At the same time as Xixia retreated, Zhe Kexing, Zhong Er and Jing Sili took advantage of the situation to pursue them, posing a counterattack posture, and Li Bingchang immediately panicked.He knew that he had failed this time, and he had failed miserably. Not only had his prestige not improved, but it was even more disappointing.

In desperation, Xingqing Mansion was ordered to invite Liang Yibu to come and preside over the defense of the Eastern Front.This is also a helpless move, after all, the safety of the entire Xixia is more important.

Liang Yibu, who was in Xingqing Mansion, received the news and sighed helplessly, the expected result.Empress Dowager Liang also regretted it very much. She should not have indulged her son at the beginning, but it was too late to regret.I hope that through this lesson, my son can understand the reality, otherwise failure will be meaningless.

As for letting Liang Yibu take charge of the defense of the Eastern Front, Queen Mother Liang fully supports it.If this mess is not cleaned up, it will not do Xixia any good.Except for Liang Yibu, no one else has this prestige and ability.

When Liang Yibu rushed to the eastern border, Li Bingchang returned to Xingqing Mansion in a state of embarrassment.

Facing the massive counterattack of the Song army, Liang Yibu immediately deployed and defended tightly, and the offensive and defensive positions were changed between Song and Xia.Temporarily stabilizing the situation and blocking Song Jun's counterattack, Liang Yibu was temporarily relieved.Fortunately, Lin Zhao led a main force to fight against Tubo in Hehuang, otherwise the Song army would attack Xia with all its strength, and the consequences would be disastrous.

However, when he thought of Lin Zhao, Liang Yi felt a little uneasy in his heart.I always feel that there is something wrong, but where is it?For a while, I had no clue.

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In Qingtang City, Dong Zhan also had no clue.

The plan to rescue Dongxia failed. Lin Bubi and many Tubo soldiers were still trapped in it, but they were helpless and powerless to rescue.

What should I do?
Qing Yijie Guizhang and Ali Gu researched for a long time, but they didn't have a complete solution.Lin Zhaowei was really too cunning, and the limited troops in Qingtang City could not allow them to continue to try.There is not much time left for them. When the ice melts and the snow melts, the Song army will definitely retreat.

But before leaving, the Tubo army in Dongxia will definitely be wiped out. Even if the Song army doesn't do anything, how long can Lin Bubi hold on without food and grass supplies?At this moment, every minute and every second is a torment for them.

"Zanpu, based on the current situation, Lin Zhao ambushed Aligu's reinforcements just to intimidate us. He should have some other purpose..."

"What could it be?" Ali Gu asked softly.

"I don't know, the initiative is in his hands, it will definitely not be easy..."

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Lin Zhao's envoy to arrive.

Li Cheng came to Qingtang City on behalf of Lin Zhao. This is the young master's trust in him. This matter is very important, and others may not be able to do it well. This is related to the young master's overall situation.

"Song envoy Li Cheng has seen Tubo Zanpu!" Li Cheng's talents and courage are good, and with the Song army taking the initiative, this mission has more confidence, and he behaves neither humble nor overbearing.

"Well, who are you representing? Is it the emperor of the Song Dynasty, or Lin Zhao?" Dong Zhan asked in a deep voice.

Li Cheng said calmly, "I represent General Lin. General Lin is the Xuanfu Envoy of Shanxi Road appointed by the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. He is in charge of military and political affairs in the Northwest and has the right to do things cheaply. So at this moment, I also represent the Great Song Dynasty."

"What did Lin Zhao send you here for?" Ali Gu's expression was solemn, he always felt that Lin Zhao came here with malicious intentions.

"So it's Prince Ali Gu, are you okay? General Lin asked me to greet the prince when I came here!" Li Cheng smiled and said, "The general said that we met in a hurry the day before yesterday, and I really want to meet with the general and say goodbye to him." , It's a pity that the general left in a hurry, and I didn't see him, it's really a pity."

"Thank you, General Lin, for remembering, and Ali's sympathy!" Knowing that Song envoy's words were humiliating, he could only endure it, after all, the two countries did not kill envoys when they fought.What's more, a little intolerance can lead to chaos and big plans. Ali's fists were clenched tightly. What he cared more about was the real purpose of Lin Zhao's envoy.

"Okay, why did Lin Zhao send you here?" Dong Zhan didn't want to talk too much, he wanted to know Lin Zhao's real intention.Since Lin Zhao is willing to send envoys, there is a possibility of negotiating some matters.Although Tubo is very passive, it is better than being completely helpless before.For the sake of his son and the overall situation, he is willing to make some sacrifices.

"General Lin said that he wants to make a big deal with Zanpu!" Li Cheng was always calm, and while speaking, he carefully paid attention to the expressions of these big figures in Tubo.

"Oh? What deal!" Dong felt knew that the goods involved in this deal were his son Lin Bubi and the army in the East Gorge, but he didn't know what Lin Zhao's conditions were?
Qing Yijie Guizhang and Ali Gu also had solemn expressions, wondering what Lin Zhao's purpose is?

Li Cheng pondered for a while, took a deep breath, and said word by word: "One city, one country!"

(End of this chapter)