Chapter 251
In Youzhou city.

Since there were already various living facilities in the military camps, it did not have much impact on the lives of the soldiers stationed there.

Zhao Xin didn’t have to worry too much about the military discipline of the Li Yuan army. The only thing he had to worry about was the 45,000 people coming in from behind.

From now on, Youzhou City must become its own imperial city, and we cannot leave a bad impression on the people of Youzhou City.

Therefore, the next step is to restrict the military as much as possible.

If possible, separate the military’s living area from the civilian’s living area.

In addition, some Han and Khitan officials had to be summoned one by one.

First see what they say, then see what the people say.

If this person is a black sheep who bullies the people, then Zhao Xin must not keep him.

Of course, killing him wouldn’t have a very good impact.

Then send it back to Yelu Hongji.

Let Yelu Hongji solve it.

He confiscated all of these people’s property.

Don’t tell me yet!

There are quite a lot of people like this. After all, the Liao Dynasty has been established for 150 years. If it were the Tang Dynasty, it would be a time when the rich are feasting and drinking while the poor are freezing to death on the streets.

Then we have to deal with household registration and land issues.

Zhao Xin must not gain nothing from this battle.

And this household registration and land were his greatest gains.

It’s a pity that people’s hearts are unstable nowadays, otherwise we could directly measure the land and re-count the population.

this winter.

Wang Shao, Zhang Qie, Zhang Dun and others all have things to do.

The people in the city saw what Zhao Xin did. The army did not harm the people at all, and at the end they arrested and released all the officials they hated.

He also couldn’t help but look at the Song army entering the city with admiration.

After all, every time they entered the city, they would burn, kill and loot.

of course!

In other small counties, where others surrendered, there was no way to remove these people from their official positions.

After all, we agreed that nothing would change if we surrendered.

But Youzhou City was conquered by Zhao Xin himself, so there is no question of not removing you from your post just because you surrender.

“If Yelu Hongji runs away this time, I’m afraid the next battle will be difficult to fight.”

Looking at the snowflakes flying outside, Zhao Xin couldn’t help but sigh.

Zhao Xun also blamed himself and said, “It’s all my fault that I didn’t catch up with him. Please forgive me, Your Highness!”

Zhao Xin said, “It’s okay. Even if we kill Yelu Hongji, another Yelu Hongji will soon appear on the grassland.”

“How to properly handle the relationship between farming and grazing so that the two can coexist harmoniously is the problem we really need to solve.”

However, this solution is almost unsolvable at present.

If Zhao Xin had not known about the subsequent humiliation of the Northern Song Dynasty, in fact, an enemy country like the Liao Dynasty, which would not fight after collecting annual tribute, would actually be a good choice.

of course!

No matter what, it’s not a good idea to keep an enemy around you.

If you have the ability, it would be best to destroy the other party instead of thinking about how to coexist with them.

So next…

The construction of this railway must be accelerated.

……

at the same time……

On the Liao side.

When the whole country learned that the Liao Kingdom had suffered a defeat in Nanjing Xijin Prefecture, the whole country was shocked.

After all, the Liao Kingdom has always been at an advantage when facing the Southern Dynasties.

But who could have imagined that His Majesty had only been on the throne for a few years and had given them such a big surprise.

Those who had not personally been to the battlefield could not endure such humiliation and demanded to lead the troops to fight back.

Faced with the public outcry, Yelu Hongji was a rational man after all.

If you take the initiative to fight, you will definitely fail.

Just wait for someone to call.

Then he said to everyone: “You have no idea how powerful that weapon is. Even if you were given a million people, you would still be unable to defeat it.”

The people below asked, “Then should we do nothing?”

Yelu Hongji and others then began to discuss how to deal with the artillery.

But after much discussion, it seems that there is only one way, and that is not to attack head-on, because as long as you attack head-on, you will definitely lose.

The next year, spring.

In order to clip the wings of the Liao Kingdom, Zhao Xin also launched an attack on Xijing Datong Prefecture through Juyongguan.

Of course!
I didn’t intend to attack Datong Prefecture directly.

Because Datong Prefecture is too far away.

However, Ruzhou, Guizhou and Xinzhou, which are nearby, can be considered.

The Khitans and Han officials in Ruzhou, Guizhou and Xinzhou had anticipated that the Southern Dynasty’s army might attack them next year.

only……

What they didn’t expect was that it came so quickly.

It only took Zhao Xin two months to take over these three states.

Immediately afterwards…

Transfer Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi here.

Since the back is safe, there is no need to keep two more people at the back.

When they met, Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi asked Zhao Xin, “Your Highness, do you want to take down Datong Prefecture first?”

Zhao Xin said, “I don’t have such an idea yet. I just want to extend the depth of Youzhou City first.”

As soon as he finished speaking, someone came to report that the reinforcements from Datong Prefecture seemed to have arrived in Wuzhou.

A rough estimate is that there are about seven or eight thousand cavalry.

As for Wuzhou, Zhao Xin actually didn’t want to attack immediately.

But since the other party is here!

The only option is to fight!
If we can eliminate one, we’ll eliminate one.

Then…

Zhao Xin had no choice but to fight again.

Defeat the enemy’s reinforcements again and capture Wuzhou.

But considering that Wuzhou is too far away.

Actually, Zhao Xin wanted to give up, because Wuzhou was a bit far away from the other three states. It was also easy to be surrounded due to the terrain. Its geographical location was a bit close to the entrance from the grassland in the north, making it difficult to rescue. However, Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi immediately volunteered, saying that they could take people to guard there.

Zhao Xin saw that since both of them said so, Zhao Xin could only believe them.

After taking Wuzhou, Zhao Xin sent people to persuade Weizhou to surrender.

The officials of Weizhou realized that they were almost surrounded.

Surrender quickly.

When the Xijing Datong Prefecture saw this situation, it also felt that something was wrong.

He fled back from the north with his men overnight.

Faced with Xijing Datong Prefecture’s retreat without a fight, Yelu Hongji did not blame them at all.

As for defending a city, Yelu Hongji knew very well that they had no chance of winning at all.

This result might actually be the best.

At least the people were saved. In just half a year, Zhao Xin took back all the remaining nine states behind Yanyun Mountain.

While everyone was excited, Zhao Xin was not very happy.

Because the stall is too big, it’s easy to get into trouble.

Zhao Xin was not unaware of the normal level of the Song army.

If you give them a city, can they really defend it given their practice of bringing prostitutes back to the barracks for prostitution?

Giving up these cities might actually be a good thing for the Liao Kingdom.

Although it is true, we will definitely lose large tracts of land in the future.

This will definitely cause great damage to their national strength.

but……

Those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. From now on, they can invade southward from the grassland more conveniently.

Yelu Hongji guessed that Zhao Xin probably didn’t have many artillery pieces.

It’s impossible that all places are equipped with artillery, right?
Didn’t Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty start from Taiyuan and recover many states? But in the end, because of the Battle of Gaoliang River, these places were lost again?

The more the Song army divided its forces, the fewer troops there were at each point.

This might actually be their opportunity.

They just need to avoid Zhao Xin’s main force and attack the place where Zhao Xin is not.

And this is exactly what Zhao Xin is worried about.

Although the Liao Kingdom could not defeat Zhao Xin, they might not necessarily be unable to defeat other people from the Song Dynasty.

at the same time!

Because the Liao Kingdom was already in danger.

Yelu Hongji also had to write a letter to the Queen Mother of Western Xia, asking Western Xia to do something.

otherwise……

If Zhao Xin were allowed to act so recklessly, both countries would be annexed by the Southern Dynasty sooner or later.

When she heard that the Song Dynasty had taken back all the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Queen Mother Mo Zang of Western Xia was both surprised and not surprised.

After all, that’s how they lost themselves.

It’s so normal.

then……

The next step was to enter into mutual negotiation.

Actually, to be honest, Western Xia was no longer willing to fight with the Song Dynasty, mainly because they could not defeat the former and because Mei Zang just wanted to be a queen mother and gain power, keep a few gigolos, and go out for horseback riding and fun every day. There was really no need for them to risk their lives.

Because it’s not worth it.

but!

Of course!
You said that after the Song Dynasty had dealt with the Liao Dynasty, it would come to deal with her, so she would definitely have to ally with the Liao Dynasty.

to this end……

He also sent an envoy to find Zhao Xin and ask Zhao Xin what his next move was.

The envoy asked, “Is the Song Dynasty really going to destroy the Liao Kingdom and our Xixia?”

Zhao Xin also replied: “You are all in remote places, how can I have the ability to destroy you.”

The envoy asked, “Why did the Song Dynasty attack Xixia and Liao in recent years?”

Zhao Xin said, “Who told you not to listen? You Xixia have repeatedly provoked our Song Dynasty on the border. And the Liao Kingdom, more than ten years ago, took advantage of our war with Xixia to extort 200,000 silver and silk from us.”

“We, the Song Dynasty, are only fighting back in self-defense. If you can be safe and sound, fulfill your duties as subjects, and pay tribute to the capital on time, then why would I attack you?”

The expression of the Western Xia envoy also clearly revealed a hint of distrust towards Zhao Xin.

but……

Anyway, that’s what Zhao Xin said, so he had no choice but to take Zhao Xin’s original words back and tell them to Mei Zang.

When Mei Zang heard that Zhao Xin had no intention of targeting him, he simply ignored it.

They didn’t even ask you to pay compensation, so what else do you want?

Although the Hengshan area was occupied by the other side, it was indeed a huge loss for them, Xixia.

but……

If you ask her to go against the Song Dynasty now, she would be a little hesitant.

It’s mainly to help your Liao Kingdom, and the benefits are not that great.

The Song Dynasty is targeting you right now. What if I stand up and the Song Dynasty suddenly starts attacking me?
Although Mei Zang was a fickle woman, she knew very well what to do that was best for herself.

On the Liao side…

The envoy advised: “Our Majesty said that not all the troops of the Song Dynasty have the weapons. As long as we can attack from the west and the north together, the Song Dynasty will be unable to take care of both ends. Please consider this carefully, Queen Mother.”

in fact……

What the Liao envoy said really makes sense.

but……

For the time being, she has no interest.

Besides, even if we want to cooperate with the Liao Kingdom, we have to wait until the Song Dynasty has crippled the Liao Kingdom, right?
Otherwise, the Liao Kingdom would always treat them as its younger brothers and order them around.

Mei Zang planned to wait and see.

at the same time……

The Tibetans in Qingtang also received the news.

Zuo Siluo never expected that the Song Dynasty had become so powerful!

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun have been recovered.

Such strength!
It really is getting stronger and stronger!

Facing the invitation from the Liao Kingdom, Zuo Siluo was a smart man. If they went to war with the Song Dynasty, their trade routes would be damaged.

Then the current prosperous scene in their country will become a thing of the past.

So Zuo Silu is not that stupid.

nowadays……

What he needed to consider instead was whether to increase the number of war horses to 20,000 again.

Otherwise, it might really give the Song Dynasty an excuse to attack them.

So after the Liao envoys left, Zuo Siluo immediately sent people to Dongjing City to apologize.

He said that he was under pressure from the Liao Kingdom and that was why he had no war horses to supply to the Song Dynasty officials.

Zhao Xin received the letter from the other side and directly sent a reply: “It’s okay! I’m not a narrow-minded person. You Tubo people also have your own difficulties. I don’t take this matter to heart at all. I hope that we Han people and you Tubo people can maintain peace forever.”

When Zuo Silu saw this, he immediately bowed in the direction of Zhao Xin and said, “Your Highness the Crown Prince is magnanimous. Tubo will always stand together with the Song Dynasty.”

After that, he also educated his successor Dong Zhan.

Yelu Hongji saw that Xixia could not be controlled, and Tubo did not intend to do anything either.

There is also a feeling of being isolated by other forces.

Looking at the autumn scenery on the grassland, a feeling of desolation can’t help but rise in my heart.

of course!

Yelu Hongji would definitely not give up.

Since the Southern Dynasty has forced them to this point.

Then they certainly cannot avoid fighting.

soon……

As someone reported that the Song army seemed to be moving northward along the valley, the next step must be Zhongjing Dading Prefecture. Yelu Hongji immediately summoned hundreds of thousands of people.

Part of them went to attack Datong Prefecture in Xijing, diverting the main force of the Southern Dynasty.

Part of them will try to find an open area near Zhongjing Dading Prefecture and then have a decisive battle with the army of the Southern Dynasty.

Whether the Liao Kingdom can maintain its 150-year foundation depends on this time.

(End of this chapter)