“Shi Yao understands. Thank you, Your Majesty, for clearing up my confusion.”

“Do you want to go to the decisive battle with Khitan this time?” Su Ming asked with a smile.

Shi Yao shook her head gently, her eyes remained calm, “The battlefield is dangerous, how can a woman like Shi Yao get involved? When your majesty goes to war, Shi Yao will pray for your majesty in the palace.”

……

Luoyang, Zhuque Street.

“Zifan, look, he’s smiling.” In the yard, Lu Linxuan looked at the child in the cradle, her face lit up with a strong maternal glow.

On the other side, Zhang Zifan was sitting next to the well washing diapers, and his originally bitter face suddenly turned into a smile.

At the beginning of the year, Zhang Zifan had just returned to Luoyang for a few days when Lu Linxuan’s due date arrived.

Master Xu Huan rushed to Luoyang from other places and said that the location of the imperial palace was too prominent and not good for childbirth, so he took Lu Linxuan outside to serve him.

A few days later, Lu Linxuan successfully gave birth to a boy and named him Zhang Shoucheng. After they moved out of the palace, Su Ming seldom came here. On the one hand, it was too troublesome to leave the palace, and on the other hand, children were too noisy and he didn’t like them.

After giving birth to the child, Zhang Zifan’s status dropped sharply. He was beaten and scolded at will. He had to wash the diapers himself and clean up the pile of diapers when the child peed or pooped, and he still had to put on a smiling face in the end.

Xu Huan did not interfere in the affairs of the young couple. He could afford to hire someone to serve him, but Lu Linxuan would not allow him to do so, as he was afraid of hurting the child.

At this moment, Zhang Zifan finally realized that a woman is completely different after giving birth to a child, and he didn’t know when his hard days would end.

Fortunately, for the sake of his own children, he could accept it.

“Lin Xuan, have you heard? The imperial court is going to war.”

Lu Linxuan stopped teasing the child and turned his head, “Really? Who are you fighting with?”

“Now the news has spread everywhere. I heard that they are going to fight the Khitans in the north.”

“What? Khitans? Didn’t senior brother sign a peace treaty with the Khitans? Why would we go to war with them?” Lu Linxuan asked in surprise as she had given birth to a baby and her brain was still a little unclear.

After Zhang Zifan thought about it seriously, he explained to her, “Lin Xuan, a peace treaty is meaningless to the country. Your senior brother is about to unify the country, and the Khitan people will not sit idly by and let him grow stronger.”

“Those who are not of my race must have different hearts. They will not talk about these moral principles.”

However, Lu Linxuan’s train of thought was obviously different from Zhang Zifan’s. The first person she thought of was Yelu Zhiwu in the deep palace. “What about Sister Zhiwu? She just got married.”

The two countries were at war, and she was caught in the middle, feeling very embarrassed.

Zhang Zifan said confidently, “Don’t worry, this is a contest between countries. It has nothing to do with a woman like her. She can’t influence the situation.”

Chapter 292 The war is about to begin

Unexpectedly, as soon as he said this, he felt a murderous aura coming at him.

Then, Lu Linxuan’s voice rose three degrees, “Zhang Zifan, what do you mean, do you look down on women?”

Zhang Zifan immediately got scared and quickly admitted his mistake, “Lin Xuan, how dare I do that? I was wrong. It was a slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue.”

“Humph, that’s more like it.” Lu Linxuan raised his chin with a smug look on his face. However, he was happy for a short while before his expression turned depressed again. “You said, should I go to the palace to see Sister Zhiwu? She must be very sad now.”

Hearing this, Zhang Zifan understood what he meant, so he said, “You can go and take a look. Leave Cheng’er to me.”

“Okay, you have to take good care of it. I will be back tomorrow.” Lu Linxuan is also a decisive person and he will leave as soon as he says he will.

After she left, Zhang Zifan was reluctant to leave the previous second, but the next moment, the joy on his face suddenly overflowed, “Finally, she left.”

God knows what he has been through in the past year. Look at him now, wearing a long robe, smelling of milk, with an unshaven beard and messy hair. He has transitioned directly from youth to middle age.

Zhang Zifan returned to his room, shaved first, then took a quick shower, changed into new clothes, and put on a folding fan, and he became the elegant owner of the Tianshi Mansion again.

At this time, Zhang Shoucheng was still sleeping, but Zhang Zifan didn’t care about that. He grabbed him in his arms and said, “Hehe, Cheng’er, your dad is free now. I’ll take you to the street to play today!”

After saying that, he kicked open the door and went out with the sleepy Zhang Shoucheng.

……

Khitan, the royal court of Mobei.

Yelu Abaoji was sitting on the throne, with two handsome middle-aged men standing beside him. One was tall, with a hooked nose, sharp eyes, and wore a gorgeous robe, looking very noble.

The other one was wearing armor, with a slightly gloomy expression, and exuding the iron-blooded aura of a veteran general on the battlefield.

These two people were Yelu Abaoji’s eldest son, Yelu Bei, and his second son, Yelu Deguang.

“Father, Dongdan has already raised an army of 100,000, ready to follow the main army south at any time.” Yelu Bei spoke slowly but forcefully, with a feeling that the final word was decided.

“You have been able to gather 100,000 people in such a short period of time. It seems that you have done better than I thought. Have you managed to gather 100,000 soldiers? Is there any trouble in the country?” Yelu Abaoji asked with a smile, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

Yelu Bei said confidently, “Don’t worry, father. The Dongdan Kingdom has surrendered. A little rebellion will not shake the overall situation.”

“De Guang, what about you?”

“Father, the Diela and other tribes can send out 100,000 troops, all of which are young and strong elite.” Yelu Deguang replied in a deep voice, his voice was rapid and a little hot.

At this moment, the two brothers looked at each other, and the secret competition was self-evident.

Yelu Abaoji laughed heartily, “Haha, you are worthy of being my military commander. With these 100,000 elite soldiers, there is no need to worry about not accomplishing great things. This time, I will not repeat the mistakes of the past. I will go straight to Luoyang and meet my good son-in-law in person.”

Then Yelu Bei echoed, “Don’t worry, father, this time we will definitely let the people of the Central Plains see how powerful we Khitan are.”

……

Both sides are preparing for war in full swing, and at this point the cards are almost revealed, and the war can be said to be imminent.

The army had been fully prepared for war, and food and fodder were being continuously transported to the front line, so Su Ming spent the entire day dragging Li Wentong and Shi Jingtang to the Imperial Guards camp to deduce countermeasures and guess the enemy’s marching routes and intentions.

Not only him and the generals, but even the students who had not yet graduated from the Military Academy came to listen.

The war is imminent, and there is not always an opportunity to participate in it. This time, some students from the Military Academy will follow the army to the front line to watch the battle.

They will not participate in the war, but will watch the changes and progress of the war.

No matter how much you learn or practice, it is better to witness a real battle in person. What you see with your own eyes is always much better than what is recorded on paper.

In fact, this is equivalent to the “staff officer” in later generations. The such thing as staff officers has already existed in ancient times. The so-called “planning between the tents and winning battles thousands of miles away” refers to the role of staff officers.

However, in ancient times, the staff refers to the decisions of generals, rather than the functions of a specific department, and there is no such system. Su Ming does not intend to do this thing. The communication conditions do not meet the requirements. If a staff is established, it will interfere with the decision of the commander-in-chief.

The generals discussed and planned things with each other, and they could be considered as advisors.

In the simulation, Su Ming and the generals anticipated that the Khitan would have an army of 600,000 and attack from the border of Youzhou. This place had been harassed by foreign races for many years, and many important border towns had been lost. The defense line was empty and there was almost no place to defend.

It would take a long time for 500,000 people to come in from somewhere else.

In comparison, the defense of Hedong was much more complete, and the imperial court’s attack this time was also to establish a defense line with Hedong as the rear base.

Su Ming did not participate in this temple calculation. He just listened to Shi Jingtang and others’ discussion throughout. On the battlefield, he was a general and only needed to follow the commander’s orders and not worry about anything else.

The fact that the emperor personally led the army to fight says it all. When the war is won, most of the credit will be attributed to him even if the decision was not made by him.

He was only good at talking about war on paper, and was far inferior to these veteran generals on the battlefield. The most taboo thing in the army is to not understand military affairs and to interfere recklessly. There are obvious examples of this both in history and in later generations, such as Captain Kaishen.

……

The first half of the year passed peacefully as the Khitan and Tang dynasties prepared for war.

In July, the Khitans launched an undeclared war, with an army of 500,000 marching out of the northern desert, flattening the border of Youzhou in one fell swoop and invading the south.

The bad guys’ news spread quickly. On the third day after the Khitan invasion, Luoyang received a carrier pigeon message.

Su Ming announced the news in the court and decided on the spot to lead the army in person. Although all the officials tried to stop him, they could not shake his will.

After entrusting the government affairs to the newly formed cabinet, Su Ming and a group of generals led the imperial guards to leave Luoyang.

In this battle, Su Ming took away almost all the imperial guards in Luoyang, leaving only a few thousand reserve soldiers.

At the same time, Yelu Zhiwu stayed in the palace, and the empress resumed her role as King Chengqi, working with the cabinet to coordinate and stabilize the situation.

On the day of the expedition, the streets of Luoyang were filled with people. They looked at the soldiers going out with hope in their eyes. They hoped that the court would return victorious this time.

Since the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, the Khitans had gradually grown in power, and foreign races had frequently invaded. As the war had been brewing for so long, the emotions of the people had been aroused, and they stood on the side of the court.

Because if the imperial court loses this battle, their fate will be even worse, and their current peaceful life will be ruined.

Chapter 293 Youzhou is Besieged

The war has lasted too long, and people are longing for peace. Since Su Ming ascended the throne, wars in the Central Plains have almost ceased. Think about what kind of life they lived before, when Jin and Liang were fighting for hegemony, and nine out of ten houses in the Central Plains were empty.

They have finally been able to live in peace for a few years, and now the Khitans are coming again. How can they not be afraid and unite against the enemy? After all, when the world is in chaos, the most unfortunate ones are the ordinary people like them.

The army left Luoyang, and the official road was filled with pedestrians. The encouragement and cheers from the Luoyang folks continued. Su Ming rode on his warhorse and his eyes swept over them.

The power of the people is infinite, but unfortunately, from ancient times to the present, these people have been just consumables and leeks, and those in power will not take their demands seriously.

Everyone understands that water can carry a boat but can also capsize it, but no one will face it squarely. Only when the common people cannot survive and fight to the death can the brilliant light burst out.

One hundred thousand imperial guards led the way, and the long team was like a dragon with no end in sight.

……

In Youzhou, many cities were captured in one battle. Yelu Abaoji almost did not encounter any organized resistance. With only tens of thousands of vanguards leading the way, the cities in Youzhou opened their gates and came out to surrender.

“Father, the people in the Central Plains are spineless. They surrendered before we even put in any effort.” Yelu Bei sat on a tall horse, glancing at the looted people and property behind him, and said with disdain.

Yelu Abaoji narrowed his eyes, but his expression did not relax. “Don’t underestimate them. My 300,000-man army was defeated in the Central Plains. I believe that the Central Plains court must have known about our march south.”

He once led an army in the same way and marched straight into the Central Plains, but unfortunately he met that man. Fortunately, he was dead, but he was still alive.

In actual history, he and Li Cunxu died in the same year, that is to say, Su Ming’s intrusion made him live a few more years, but the Khitans still invaded southwards as in history.

……

“kill!”

Under the city of Youzhou, the war finally broke out. The Khitans had never encountered any organized resistance during their attack on Youzhou. That was because Su Ming transferred all the garrison soldiers to Youzhou.

Youzhou City is the largest city in Youzhou. The city walls are tall and very strong. After the Jiedushi who surrendered to the court handed over the military power, Su Ming selected elite troops from Youzhou and transferred them to Youzhou City.

As for the people of Youzhou, they can only be abandoned temporarily. Only by giving up can you gain. Su Ming also wants to keep the enemy out of the country, but unfortunately, the imperial court does not have the strength to do so now.

On top of the city wall, the defending soldiers were fighting hard. The bodies of the enemies and their comrades were lying everywhere, and blood was all over the ground. It was a hot August day, the sunlight was very poisonous, and the stench of decay could already be smelled.

On the top of the city wall, a calm middle-aged man was frowning and looking down at the city. The dense crowds of Khitans were rushing forward one after another, fearing their own death, which made people dizzy.

Suddenly, a personal soldier came to report, “General, there are too many Khitans, our brothers can’t hold on!”

Huangfu Yu turned his head and looked at the bloodstains on his personal soldiers. He said coldly, “We have to hold on even if we can’t. Your Majesty gave me 30,000 troops and asked me to defend Youzhou City. It’s only been seven days!”

Huangfu Yu was an old general under Shi Jingtang. He was a calm person. After discussion among the generals, the Privy Council issued a military order to send him to guard Youzhou City.

The Khitans attacked the city day and night at all costs. Even though he had 30,000 men, it was still not enough. Youzhou City was too big and every city wall had to be guarded. The Khitans didn’t know when they learned how to attack the city.

Ladders, towers, and catapults made it extremely difficult for them to defend the city. Having siege equipment and not having siege equipment were two completely different things. Most of the grassland tribes were cavalry, and without siege equipment, they could only fill the gap with human lives.