Yang Peng also smiled and said: "Report the victory to Master Kou and repay the credit!" Last time Master Kou was preparing for a decisive battle with Xiao Tianzuo in Dingzhou. Xiao Tianzuo saw that Kou Zhun was defending the city and did not want to suffer too many casualties. , there is no such thing as Guan Yu’s beheaded Zhonglie who married Kou Zhun.
Kou Zhun was standing on the wall of Cangzhou City that day, leaning on the railing and looking at the scenery of Cangzhou in the distance. The Grand Canal passes through the west of Cangzhou City. Although there were very few canals on the canal due to the Khitan army entering the fortress to plunder. However, the rows of teahouses and inns on both sides of the canal can still make people feel the prosperity of Cangzhou in the past.
This time, these canal ancillary facilities outside the city were saved. When the Khitan army passed through Cangzhou, they did not attack the cities in Cangzhou where the army was gathered. Instead, they crossed Cangzhou directly to Qingshan Pass. This also made Kou Zhun breathe a sigh of relief. Now the Song army did not dare to go out of the city to fight in the field with the Khitan army, nor did they dare to support the city surrounded by the Khitan army. If the Khitan army and the Song army in Cangzhou were to fight to death, Cangzhou would not be able to guarantee that all the forts in various prefectures and counties would be preserved. If Cangzhou and Cao Yongli had hundreds of thousands of troops, but they still abandoned the city and abandoned their land, then the officials might be furious and hold Kou Zhun and Cao Yongli accountable. The Khitan army directly crossed Cangzhou, which was the best result.
However, Yang Peng, a reckless man, volunteered to go to Qingshan Pass to intercept Xiao Tianzuo's army. The combat effectiveness of the Song army's scouts was far inferior to that of the Khitan army, so they did not dare to rush to the front line to spy on intelligence. A few days ago, Song army scouts near Qingshan Pass came to report that there were still many slave riders near Qingshan Pass. Apparently the Khitan army had not left the border yet. Kou Zhun secretly thought that the Khitan army was facing Yang Peng, and he was afraid that Yang Peng's 10,000 troops would be in trouble.
Kou Zhun was thinking there when he saw a primary school student running up in panic. The primary school principal rushed to Hong Chengchou, knelt on the ground and shouted: "Sir! Good news, good news!" Kou Zhun was stunned, thought for a while, and really couldn't imagine where the good news would come from at this time, and asked: " Where’s the good news?”
The junior high school officer raised his head and said loudly: "The good news is that Yang Peng of Tianjing New City captured and killed 21,000 Khitan soldiers. What a great victory, sir!" Kou Zhun waved his hand and put it down again. He was stunned for a long time. Speak up. The small school commander then said: "Sir, Yang Peng said that the Khitan army has abandoned Qingshan Pass and headed west. They have been walking for two days."
Kou Zhun did not expect that Yang Peng could defeat Xiao Tianzuo at Qingshan Pass. It took Kou Zhun a long time to react after hearing the news from the primary school. Yang Peng brought 10,000 soldiers and horses to Qingshan Pass to block the Khitan army's way out. This is a fact. Now that the Khitan army abandoned Qingshan Pass and headed west, it is obvious that Yang Peng really defeated the Khitan army. Even if the number of 21,000 heads includes some killings and defrauding others, most of them are true. If the Khitan army had not suffered heavy losses, why would they have given up on the existing exit and headed west?
Yang Peng's soldiers and horses are incredibly powerful. Yang Peng is now favored by officials and family members just because he can fight. This time the Khitan army entered the pass, hundreds of thousands of Song troops cowardly avoided the battle, but Yang Peng's troops slaughtered all directions and defeated the Khitan army several times. The officials now have great trust in Yang Peng, and even expressed their anger at Li Te, known as Prime Minister Li, because of Yang Peng's words. Now that Yang Peng has won another match, how much attention should officials pay to Yang Peng?
In the current officialdom of the Song Dynasty, no matter who you offend, you must not offend Yang Peng. Kou Zhun immediately walked down the city wall and led his soldiers to the Bingbei Mansion on Cangzhou Middle Road where Shi Pingzhang lived temporarily. When he arrived at Bingbei Mansion, Kou Zhun walked directly into the courtyard and found Shi Pinghu chatting with Bingbei in the second hall.
"Shi Pinghu, Yang Peng won!" Shi Pinghu was surprised when he heard Kou Zhun's words and jumped up from his chair. He looked at Kou Zhun in surprise and asked: "Did Yang Peng win? How?"
Kou Zhun did not laugh at Shi Pinghu because of his gaffe. His appearance when he got the news just now was not much better. Kou Zhun waved his sleeves and sat on the chair and said: "I don't know how I won. But Yang Peng reported it and said he would behead twenty-one thousand people!"
Shi Pinghu looked at Hong Chengchou in surprise, with a look of disbelief. Twenty-one thousand level Tatar heads? That is a rare great achievement for a country! It is comparable to the great victory in Tianjing New City a few months ago! Ten thousand people defeated 70,000 Khitan troops with a temporary stronghold? Beheading more than 20,000 people? Is this Yang Peng still the Song Army? How could he achieve such an incredible victory?
Shi Pinghu felt a little embarrassed when he recalled his prudent words when Yang Peng asked for orders to send troops. The Song Dynasty really only had one property. Shi Pinghu could only cling to this property like a little wife, but Yang Peng could rely on this property to sweep across the world and beat the Khitan dogs until they howled like ghosts! Shi Pinghu regretted not going to Qingshan Pass with Yang Peng. If I had believed in Yang Peng at that time and brought 10,000 to 20,000 troops to help, then I would have made a great contribution by now. Thinking of this, Shi Pinghu slapped the table with some annoyance, his handsome face full of regret.
"If I had gone with him then, what would happen now?" Kou Zhun also patted the table, seeming to regret it too. However, he quickly gave up this idea and said: "Fat Hu, prepare your horse quickly and follow me to Qingshan Pass to reward Yang Peng's army and examine Yang Peng's head." Shi Pinghu nodded and said: "Okay , I will go with you!"
Li Te was sitting in the lobby of the governor of Cangzhou, discussing military affairs with the generals. Cha Deng Bei also sat at the top of the lobby, second only to Li Te. However, Chadenbei belongs to Qingliu and is somewhat incompatible with Li Te, who is attached to him. In addition, now that Wang Qin has lost the trust of the officials and will fall in a matter of days, Zha Dengbei doesn't take Li Te seriously anymore, and is a little arrogant in everything he says and does.
Li Te saw Cha Denbei's attitude in his eyes and was very angry, but he didn't dare to express it. Ever since Yang Peng defeated Wang Qin with one sentence, Li Te has been keeping his tail between his legs. Not to mention governors like Zha Dengbei, even Li Te under his command did not dare to offend, and they would never dare to use force against these generals in words and deeds.
But there is good news, that is, Yang Peng was surrounded by Xiao Tianzuo at Qingshan Pass. Xiao Tianzuo's 70,000 troops have been surrounding Yang Peng's 10,000 troops for half a month. Those are 70,000 Khitan soldiers. What can the madman Yang Peng do to stop him? It is estimated that it won't be long before Xiao Tianzuo captures Yang Peng's camp. Every time Li Te thinks about this, he is full of confidence in the future.
As long as Yang Peng dies, what will the Song Dynasty do to fight the Khitan army? Didn’t the main war faction disappear immediately? Will the housekeeper re-enable Wang Qin, who advocated peace talks, by then? As soon as Wang Qin gained power, the foreign ministers who followed Wang Qin wanted to ascend to heaven. When the time comes, Li Te and the Minister of War will not be able to escape. That Yang Peng was really a madman, he actually wanted to lead 10,000 troops to block 70,000 Khitans. Is the combat power of the Khitan soldiers comparable to that of the Song army? Even if Yang Peng was lucky enough to win a few games against the Khitans, it would be impossible to win this battle with ten thousand against seventy thousand. At this time, Yang Peng had been besieged by the Khitan army for half a month and was fighting hard every day. He should regret his ignorance and fearlessness, right? It won't be long before Kou Zhun goes to collect Yang Peng's body.
Thinking of this, Li Te glanced at Zha Dengbei and thought to himself, although you are scornful of me now, when I am promoted to Minister of War, I will see how you will curry favor with me! The generals in the lobby were still discussing the Khitan army's troop deployment around the map. The scouts of the Song army did not dare to approach the Khitan army. With the limited information, these generals could not come up with any clues and were chattering there. Li Te looked at Qingshan Pass on the map and closed his eyes.
Suddenly, a soldier ran in from outside the lobby, knelt down in front of Li Te and shouted: "Sir! Master Kou, the doctor of Jin Ziguanglu, has sent someone to deliver a message!" Li Te opened his eyes and said lightly: "Let him come in." A Song Army junior officer wearing scale armor came in with two Supervisor Battalion pacesetters, prostrated himself on the ground, and said loudly: "Sir, my Jin Ziguanglu doctor Kou asked me to deliver a message."
Li Tong nodded and said, "You say it!" The junior high school officer said loudly: "News came from the front line. Yang Peng of Tianjing New City defeated Khitan Xiao Tianzuo at Qingshan Pass and captured 20,000 Khitan and Xi tribe Khitan heads. One thousand! After the defeat, the Khitan army abandoned Qingshan Pass and fled to the west!"
After hearing this, the lobby was quiet for a few seconds, and then exploded with a bang. The generals were stunned by this shocking news, and then they started discussing enthusiastically. Yang Peng won the battle. And beheaded 21,000 people?
This was a great victory comparable to the Tianjing New City Battle, and this time the opponent was 70,000 Khitan troops! Why is Yang Peng getting more and more amazing? Is this Yang Peng going to fight against the Khitan alone? The generals were chattering among themselves, and all of them regretted it very much. If he had taken the initiative to ask Ying to accompany Yang Peng to Qingshankou, he would have made great achievements and be promoted to an official position.
Shi Pingzhang stood on the west side of the lobby, his face a little red because of excitement. Yang Peng won! And he helped Yang Peng guard Tianjing New City. Yang Peng said that he owed Shi Pingzhang a favor, and that favor was even more precious now. As long as Yang Peng puts in a few nice words in front of the housekeeper, wouldn't the best position and even a promotion be within reach?
Shi Pingzhang looked at the generals around him proudly, looking complacent. When Li Te heard the news, all his strength seemed to be drained out of him. He collapsed on the chair and was speechless for a long time. Yang Peng was so good at fighting, and the Khitan army fled. The situation was very good for the Song Dynasty. Wang Qin, who had advocated peace before, was probably going to be hated by the officials! At that time, none of the foreign ministers who followed Wang Qin would have any good fruits to eat.
Cha Denbei saw Li Te lying on the chair and said very harshly: "Why are you looking like this, sir? This is a great victory!" Kou Zhun and Shi Pinghu rushed to Qingshan Pass with pigs, sheep, livestock, food, rice and wine. Before the two people entered Yang Peng's camp, they were secretly shocked when they saw the trenches and wooden thorns in front of the camp, and lamented how tight Yang Peng's defense was.
Yang Peng did not go to the camp gate to greet Kou Zhun, nor did he even stand at the door of the Chinese army's tent. Yang Peng stood in the Chinese army tent to greet Kou Zhun and Shi Pinghu. He was in the posture of welcoming officials of equal rank.
A Yang Bamei brought Kou and Shi to the Chinese army's tent. Yang Peng rushed to the two of them and said, "Thank you for your hard work." The military attachés under Yang Peng's tent standing on both sides followed suit, and they were all handlers. An arch is considered a salute. Kou Zhun and Shi Pinghu could only endure Yang Peng's slight. Yang Peng is a general who has just won a great victory. He will definitely be promoted after reporting his merits this time. There are officials inside who are trusted and they are rising step by step, and there are strong soldiers outside who are killing all directions. As a military attaché, Yang Peng was nominally under the control of Kou Zhun, but in fact his status was on an equal footing with Kou Zhun, or even slightly superior. Because it depends on Yang Peng's mood.
Nowadays, there are basically no Song officials who dare to lose their temper with Yang Peng over etiquette issues. Kou Zhun ignored Yang Peng's "rudeness", stepped forward and grabbed Yang Peng's arm affectionately, and said: "The city lord won again?" Yang Peng nodded and said: "I guarded the stronghold and defeated the attacker. Xiao Tianzuo's army in the village captured and beheaded 24,000 people. However, 3,000 of them were Korean and Han followers. If reported, they were suspected of killing good people and taking merit, so they would not be counted as military merit. The rest were The 21,000 heads are all Khitans and Khitans of the Xi tribe."
Hearing Yang Peng's words, Kou Zhun and Shi Pinghu were stunned again and looked at each other in surprise. According to Yang Peng, this battle merit is not only 21,000 levels, but 24,000 levels! It was because they were worried that the Han and Korean soldiers would not be able to pass the head test, so they reported 21,000-level military exploits. In fact, in recent years, the number of Han and Goryeo followers in the Khitan army has increased, and these followers also have a combat effectiveness no less than that of the Song army. Yang Peng's ability to capture and kill more than 3,000 Han soldiers and high-ranking soldiers was originally a meritorious service, but this merit is difficult to prove. In order not to be criticized by others for killing him, Yang Peng simply refused to report this part of his head meritorious service.
Yang Peng's soldiers and horses are really powerful. This contribution is truly immense. Kou Zhun and Yang Peng exchanged pleasantries for a while, then pretended to suddenly remember and said, "Where is the head that the city lord captured and beheaded? I'll go check it out!" Yang Peng said with a smile, "I'll take your Excellency to check it out!"
Yang Peng led Kou Zhun to the middle of the camp, walked to two piles of Tatar heads as high as a hill, and said: "The Khitan heads are 15,300, and the Khitan heads of the Xi tribe are 5,800! "
Seeing the two piles of Tatar heads, Kou Zhun and Shi Pinghu looked at each other and took another breath. Those Khitan heads looked real at first glance. The two soldiers and horses were guarding Cangzhou. Their expressions changed when they heard the Khitan alarm. They became nervous when they saw hundreds of Khitan rangers. When had they seen so many Khitan heads? If these 21,000 Tatars get together, what a powerful force they will be? I'm afraid even the tens of thousands of Song troops won't be able to withstand it. Now these Khitan soldiers have all been beheaded by Yang Peng and have become ghosts under the sword.
This Yang Peng is truly a hero. Kou Zhun shook his head with emotion, and with a wave of his hand, twenty staff members came up. The staff and Yang Peng's soldiers asked for water from the basin and well and began to examine the head. While the staff was looking at the heads, Shi Pinghu took a step forward and asked curiously: "The city lord has such powerful soldiers and horses, but I don't know how he trained them?"
Shi Pinghu had already seen Yang Peng's trenches and wooden thorns outside the camp, and knew that Yang Peng relied on these things to defend the Khitans, but he was still interested in Yang Peng's soldiers and horses. After all, Yang Peng had defended 70,000 Khitan troops. It would have been impossible to defend the other Song troops with a temporary camp, let alone capture and behead so many Khitan troops.
Hearing Shi Pinghu's question, Kou Zhun also turned around curiously to listen to Yang Peng's answer. Yang Peng thought for a while and said: "My soldiers and horses use fire blunderbuss and powerful crossbows to form an army. My fire blunderbuss can kill people at seventy steps."
Shi Pinghu nodded. The Song Dynasty's army had no equipment for all kinds of muskets, and they were just ordinary things. A well-made blunderbuss can break armor at seventy paces. It is not unusual for Yang Peng's fire gun to kill people at seventy steps. Yang Peng added: "In order to improve the hit rate of the firecrackers, my firecrackers shoot ten times a day. A firecracker costs fifteen taels, and a soldier can destroy a firecracker in three months. I hired A large number of blacksmiths are constantly making new firecrackers day and night. Because of this, my soldiers can fire flawlessly on the battlefield." After a pause, Yang Peng added: "The same is true for those powerful crossbows."
After listening to Yang Peng's words, Shi Pinghu stroked his long beard with emotion.
Yang Peng's troops and horses were piled up with money! It takes only three months of training to destroy a firecracker. This is a unique training intensity. The firecrackers that are reimbursed for training alone cost several taels of silver every month. In comparison, the crossbows equipped by the Song Dynasty's army and horses were easy to explode, and the soldiers did not dare to operate them at all. Every time they fired, they were determined to die. Where was the training? I can’t even fight once or twice a month.
Can all of Yang Peng's fire blunderbuss not explode? If you want the craftsmen to make qualified muskets with their heart, you must not be greedy for money for craftsmen and materials, but spend enough! With such intensity of training, how high is the soldier's hit rate on the battlefield? The Khitan troops rushed forward, firing thousands of muskets. They were afraid that the Khitan soldiers would soon be in chaos.
No wonder Yang Peng's soldiers and horses are so powerful. Speaking of which, they were all bought with a lot of money. I heard that Yang Peng used private property to support the army. Not only did he not embezzle the imperial court's military pay, but he also spent a huge amount of money from his own pocket to serve the imperial court. This loyalty was unique to the Song Dynasty. This powerful army cannot be copied and is the only one in the Song Dynasty. After hearing Yang Peng's words, Kou Zhun and Shi Pinghu stroked their beards, thoughtfully.
The two of them chatted with Yang Peng, and several hours passed before they knew it. Before dinner, the results of the head examination came out. Twenty-one thousand one hundred and seventy-nine heads were all authentic. Hearing this result, Kou Zhun's eyes lit up. He is nominally Yang Peng's superior. Yang Peng has made such a contribution, and he has the power to do so. When the good news reaches the official's house, his reward will naturally be indispensable. Not to mention anything else, the trust that officials have in me will probably increase a lot.
Kou Zhun's face was full of high spirits and he was about to say goodbye to Yang Peng. Yang Peng said: "I have ordered people to prepare wine and food. Why don't you stay in the stronghold to eat?" Kou Zhun got on his horse, clasped his fists and said, "I won't bother the city lord anymore. I will rush back to write a victory report!"
After saying this, Kou Zhun anxiously flicked his whip and rushed out with his soldiers. Seeing Kou Zhun's anxious look, Shi Pinghu burst into laughter, clasped his fists towards Yang Peng and chased after him. The current situation is really worrying. The dawn that ushered in after the victory in Tianjing New City was completely wiped out because of Yang Peng's recklessness.
A month ago, the Khitan army withdrew from the heavy siege of Dingzhou and retreated to Qingshan Pass. The 70,000 Khitan troops escorted more than 100,000 people and countless looted money, food and silk, and moved very slowly. But even so, no one of the hundreds of thousands of Song troops along the way dared to go up and invite a fight. Kou Zhun and Li Te were very "cautious" and guarded the fortress in Cangzhou, watching the Khitan army go to Qingshan Pass comfortably.
At this juncture, Yang Peng suddenly jumped out and led a lone army to block the Khitan army at Qingshan Pass. None of the other Song troops went with Yang Peng. Zhao Heng knew that this was the Song army's cowardice. However, Zhao Heng was not happy about Yang Peng's courage to fight this time. Although Zhao Heng has never been on the battlefield and has no knowledge of military affairs, he also knows that these 10,000 Yang Peng troops are no match for the 70,000 Khitan army. If the Khitan soldiers were to attack them, how could Yang Peng withstand them?
Nowadays, the Song Dynasty was suffering from internal and external troubles, and the Song army did not dare to fight against the Khitan army. The Song Dynasty was left with only Yang Peng, a unique and powerful army. The second victory in Tianjing New City captured and killed more than 20,000 Khitan soldiers, which was a heavy blow to the mighty Khitan army and made them think carefully when they wanted to enter the pass to plunder in the future. However, this Yang Peng was so reckless that he used 10,000 people to fight 70,000 people? If Yang Peng's army is destroyed, the Song army will be without an army to fight in the future, and the Khitan army will have no choice but to watch on the sidelines as they plunder.
This time the Khitan army entered the pass and captured seven counties, killing countless people, plundering more than 100,000 people, more than 100,000 livestock, and losing money, food and materials. Forget all this, the Song Army did not dare to fight and had no choice. If Yang Peng's troops and horses are also lost at Qingshan Pass, then our Song Dynasty will really suffer heavy losses.
It has been more than half a month since the 70,000 Khitan army entered Qingshan Pass. The Khitan cavalry blocked the entrance. Zhao Heng had no news about the battle in the valley. He was getting more and more anxious these days. But now Yang Peng led 10,000 people and rushed to Qingshan Pass recklessly. If Yang Peng was defeated, the Song Dynasty would no longer have troops capable of fighting. Zhao Heng could only rely on Yang Yanzhao to send people back to the old path of seeking peace with the Khitan.
But seeking peace with the Khitan also faced many obstacles. Not only was Empress Dowager Xiao's attitude ambiguous, but all the officials in the Song Dynasty were also firmly opposed to it, making it almost impossible to put the matter on the table. Not only that, a few days ago, Huangyakou was captured by the Khitan army again. The Khitan bribed spies and cooperated inside and outside to break through this pass. What does it mean? Does the Khitan want to send more troops to the capital of the Song Dynasty? Want to plunder more states and counties? Could it be that Yang Peng has been killed by Xiao Tianzuo, and the Khitan army is no longer afraid and is not in a hurry to leave?
He lowered his head and did not see Zhao Heng standing at the door of Qianqing Palace. Zhao Heng stepped aside to the door, and Wang Jin ran into the Qianqing Palace, grabbed the memorial and ran to the study.
Zhao Heng coughed and shouted: "Wang Jin!" Wang Jin had already rushed into the study room with one foot. Only then did he hear the official's cry and turned around to look at the official in surprise. But when he saw the official, he had no time to be embarrassed. Instead, he immediately raised the memorial in his hand and said loudly while gasping for breath: "The great victory of the Holy One is another great victory!"
Zhao Heng was stunned and asked, "Where did this great victory come from?" Wang Jin gasped and said, "Yang Peng's great victory!" Zhao Heng's eyes lit up when he heard this, but he felt a little uncomfortable. Dare to believe. Yang Peng's great victory, did Yang Peng defeat Xiao Tianzuo? impossible? Can 10,000 people defeat 70,000 Khitan troops? The other 10,000 Song troops couldn't even defeat the 3,000 Khitan troops. Can Yang Peng defeat the mighty 70,000 Khitan army?
And it's not a victory, it's a great victory. How many levels must be achieved to be called a great victory? However, on the memorial, Kou Zhun clearly wrote in black and white: After a great battle, Yang Peng captured and killed 21,000 Tatars. Xiao Tianzuo had already fled westward after his defeat! Kou Zhun has led people to verify that the weapons captured by Yang Peng are all true Khitan heads!
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
