Everyone looked at Yang Peng, waiting for his decision. Yang Peng thought for a moment, frowned and said: "Ignore this order!" Everyone laughed, and Duan Zhixian loudly said: "That's how it should be!" Huyan Chijin said with some worry: "I don't know how your majesty and the court will react if you disobey the imperial edict? Duan Zhixian said angrily: "What are you afraid of him doing?" Yang Peng said: "I will handle this matter. You don't need to worry about it. You just need to do what you should do according to my previous orders!" Everyone clasped their fists and agreed.
Time passed day by day, and Xiao Duoli lived like a year every day. However, he was fortunate that the Cangzhou Army outside the city never attacked the city, but only sent out strong men to challenge every day. Xiao Duoli estimated that the Song army was still hesitant about attacking the city. Maybe when their own reinforcements arrived, they would take the initiative to retreat! hope so.
One evening, the sunset dyed the sky red and the earth was groggy. Xiao Duoli, who was inspecting the city wall, suddenly saw smoke and dust swirling in the north, as if a troop of soldiers and horses were heading this way quickly. Xiao Duoli's heart was moved, and he hurried up to the north city wall. He looked up and saw an army of about 20,000 people flying the battle flag of the Liao army, with a cavalry as the forerunner, quickly approaching the city gate.
Xiao Duoli was so happy that he couldn't help but murmured: "Here he is! Finally he's here!" Long Teduo ran up the city wall and came behind Xiao Duuli. He also looked outside the city with a thoughtful look on his face. Suddenly, a Song army of more than 10,000 men came diagonally from one side and stopped the approaching Liao army. The Liao army immediately stopped advancing and formed a battle formation, and the Song army also formed a military formation to confront it.
Xiao Duoli was about to lead his army out of the city to receive reinforcements. Long Teduo quickly stopped Xiao Duoli, "General, don't be anxious, take a look first before talking!" Xiao Duoli said angrily: "What are you looking at? If you don't take advantage of the large Song army to come up and bring the reinforcements into the city, , the consequences will be disastrous!" Then he ran down the city wall. Then the city gate was opened wide, and three thousand soldiers and horses under the command of Xiao Duoli poured out of the city and rushed towards the back of the Song army! At the same time, the flag bearer next to Xiao Duoli raised the flag according to Xiao Duoli's order. This was a signal to order the reinforcements to charge!
Reinforcements are moving! However, the response of the Song army was beyond Xiao Duli's expectations. They actually ignored the 20,000 Liao troops who came for reinforcements. The entire army turned around and charged towards Xiao Duli. Xiao Duoli was greatly surprised, while Long Teduo on the city wall changed his expression greatly, "Not good!"
Three thousand Liao troops led by Xiao Duoli collided with more than ten thousand Song troops, and a melee broke out. The 20,000 Liao troops who came for reinforcements did not attack the back of the Song army. Instead, they split into two groups, one on the left and one on the right, like a pair of huge pliers, surrounding Xiao Duli. By the time Xiao Duoli reacted, he was already surrounded. It was only then that Xiao Duoli discovered with shock that the so-called 20,000 reinforcements were not reinforcements at all, but the Song Army under the banner of his Liao Army. This was a trap! But where did the real reinforcements go?
Reinforcements from the Liao Army did come, but not long ago, they were suddenly ambushed by the Cangzhou Army on the way. The 20,000-strong army was almost wiped out. Only Xiao Ying and more than 3,000 remaining soldiers under his command managed to escape back to Nanjing. Subsequently, the Song army that ambushed the Liao army came to Zhuozhou City under the banner of the Liao army, and performed a double act with another Song army, successfully deceiving Xiao Duoli.
More than 30,000 Song troops were besieged on all sides, and 3,000 Liao troops were killed in horror, leaving corpses strewn across the fields. Xiao Duoli desperately led hundreds of remaining soldiers to break out of the siege and rush into the city, while the Song army's cavalry also followed and rushed into the city gate. The city defenses collapsed in an instant.
The remnant soldiers of the Liao army did not dare to fight, so they escaped from Zhuozhou through the east city gate and fled in embarrassment to the north. Yang Bamei led two thousand war cavalry in pursuit. The Song army occupied Zhuozhou. The army did not rest and recuperate, leaving a thousand men on guard and continued to march towards Nanjing. Soon after, we approached the Nanjing city of Baoliao. People in Nanjing were panicked.
"Brother, Brother Yang has already arrived at the city!" Chai Yonghui rushed into the study and said to Chai Yongqi excitedly. Chai Yongqi couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Brother Yang is really a hero! The soldiers and flags are invincible! I originally thought he couldn't hit Nanjing!" However, not long after, the brother and sister in prison became worried again, because they I heard that Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom is coming to Nanjing soon with an army of 50,000! I heard that Yang Peng only had 40,000 troops. Can he win?
Xiao Duli rushed all the men in the city, whether they were fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys or fifty or sixty-year-old men, to the top of the city and asked them to guard them to the death. Outside the city, the 40,000-strong army led by Yang Peng formed a formation like a mountain, with spears like a forest. Their murderous aura made the defenders on top of the city tremble all over. The war drums sounded loudly, and a heroic Song general rode his horse between the two sides and stood up with his spear drawn. The tens of thousands of soldiers of the Song Army behind him let out shouts that shook the sky. This was a challenge!
Xiao Duoli stared at the Song general and said angrily: "What a Yang Peng, he actually went to battle in person to challenge. Are you trying to bully our army? I'll go meet him!" Then he left. Long Teduo was startled and quickly stopped Xiao Duoli, "No, General! If something goes wrong, the Song Army will definitely take the opportunity to rush into the city!"
Xiao Duoli was furious, "Are you saying that I am not Yang Peng's opponent?" Then he ignored Xiao Duuli's hard advice and ran down the city wall. The city gate opened, and Xiao Duoli, wearing heavy armor and carrying a mace, ran out of the city. Seeing this, Long Teduo had no choice but to order the soldiers on the city top to beat drums and shout with all their strength to cheer for Xiao Duoli. The officers and soldiers of the Liao army shouted, and the war drums also sounded loudly, as if they were competing with the war drums and shouts of the Song army.
Xiao Duoli urged his war horses to rush towards Yang Peng. Yang Peng came forward with a spear in hand. In the blink of an eye, the two cavalry met each other, Xiao Duuli raised his sword, and Yang Peng raised his gun. Chen Xiao's speed was a hair faster than Xiao Duoli's. Before Xiao Duli had time to chop down the knife, he saw the cold star shooting out from the tip of his opponent's spear! Xiao Duoli was frightened and hurriedly dodged sideways, barely avoiding the blow!
The two horses passed each other and turned around. Xiao Duuli hesitated a little, but Yang Peng was already charging towards him. Xiao Duuli was surprised and could only go forward. The two sides fought back and forth for several rounds, and Xiao Duoli was already weak and timid. The two sides were entangled and fighting. Yang Peng became more and more courageous as he fought, and the speed of his spear became faster and faster, like a dragon roaring in the sky; but Xiao Duoli could only parry but had no ability to fight back.
After more than ten rounds, Xiao Duoli made a false move, turned his horse's head and galloped towards the city gate. Yang Peng immediately chased after him. Seeing this, Zhan Jinguo and others immediately led the army to cover up and kill them. When Long Teduo saw this, he was frightened and hurriedly ordered the crossbowmen to release arrows. The rain of arrows fell, and Yang Peng and his army had to stop their pursuit and retreat. Xiao Duoli was able to escape safely into the city. The city gate was closed hastily and the suspension bridge was raised.
After this battle, the morale of the defenders was extremely low. Almost everyone believed that the Song army outside the city was invincible. There was also a rumor circulating in Nanjing that Yang Peng was a 'greedy wolf general' who descended to earth and that it was impossible for mortals to defeat him.
It was late at night, and the city of Nanjing was so quiet that it made people feel frightened. On the city wall, most of the guards had fallen asleep. There were three or five people in a group, leaning on each other, holding broken weapons or farm tools. The sentry on guard was also dozing. The flames of the torch danced and made a beeping sound, which was particularly clear in this silent night.
In the darkness on the city wall, many black shadows suddenly appeared, like ghosts. The soldiers who were on guard duty were killed by these ghosts one by one without making any sound. A Liao Army officer suddenly ran out of the city gate tower to relieve himself and found that the surroundings had become so quiet! Where are all the sentinels? Suddenly I felt like there was someone behind me, so I turned around and saw a masked man in black staring at me coldly. I was so scared that I trembled all over and was about to scream. However, at this moment, the other party covered his mouth and nose and cut his neck with a knife. The officer's eyes showed extreme fear, and then he knew nothing.
A group of masked men in black rushed into the city gate tower and killed all the sleeping Liao soldiers. At the same time, another group of masked men in black ran down the wall ladder towards the city gate, stopped halfway, raised their steel crossbows and aimed at the dozen or so sergeants at the city gate, then pulled the trigger, and dozens of A crossbow arrow flew out, and the dozen or so sergeants were shot to the ground before they understood what happened.
The man in black rushed to the city gate, drew his sword and killed several sergeants who were not dead, and then opened the city gate. kill……! Xiao Duoli was awakened by the sudden killing sound, jumped out of bed and ran out of the dormitory. I saw flames flickering in the direction of Nancheng, and the footsteps of countless people and horses were rushing towards me, mixed with sporadic sounds of fighting and screams.
Xiao Duoli was so horrified that he couldn't understand why the Song army suddenly entered the city. Long Teduo rushed over anxiously and said urgently: "General, we must leave quickly, otherwise it will be too late!" Xiao Duo followed Long Teduo and others in a daze and fled through the back door of the left-behind mansion! "
At this time, the 100,000 defenders temporarily recruited by Xiao Duoli had dispersed, and the several thousand regular Liao troops were also defeated. They were all as panic-stricken as a lost dog, and they just ran away for their lives. The Song army quickly took control of the city gates on all sides and occupied the left-behind mansion. At the end of the battle, Liao Nanjing fell into the hands of Yang Peng.
Yang Ying brought Chai Yongqi and Chai Yonghui to the lobby of Liushou Mansion. The two brothers and sisters saw Yang Peng and excitedly came forward to pay their respects. Yang Peng saw the two of them and couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief, "I was worried about you, but I didn't expect to see you here! Are you okay?"
The two nodded excitedly. Chai Yonghui looked at Yang Peng with brilliant eyes and praised: "Brother Yang is really an unparalleled hero! With only 40,000 soldiers and horses, he conquered Nanjing all the way. The 100,000 Liao army was like They all fell apart like chickens and dogs!" Yang Peng said with a smile: "Miss Chai, thank you!" Chai Yonghui shook his head and said seriously: "It's not a reward at all! It's rare to see such martial arts like the eldest brother since ancient times! With the eldest brother, His brave strategy is enough to conquer all the troubles and conquer the world!"
Yang Peng chuckled and did not answer the question. He glanced at the two siblings and said, "I will send someone to take you back to Dingzhou immediately." Chai Yongqi was about to say thanks, but Chai Yonghui said, "We are not going back to Dingzhou for the time being and want to stay here for a while." Chai Yongqi was puzzled. He looked at the little sister. Yang Peng frowned and said: "It doesn't matter if you want to stay, but Queen Mother Xiao's army is about to arrive at the gates of Nanjing. She will never give up. There will definitely be a fierce battle. I'm worried..."
Chai Yonghui said categorically: "As long as Brother Yang is here, don't be afraid!" Yang Peng chuckled, nodded and said, "It's up to you." After a pause, "You can stay in the left-behind residence for the time being. I will send someone to take care of you."
Tokyo, morning. The emperor ascended the throne, and the eunuch standing on one side said in a formal voice with his unique male duck voice: "If you have something to do, report it early, if nothing happens, withdraw from the court~!" The eighth prince immediately came out, cupped his fists and said: "Your Majesty, Another good news came from Yang Zhaofa. Not long ago, Yang Zhaofa captured Zhuozhou, and then the army captured Nanjing of the Liao Kingdom! The generals of the Liao Dynasty fled like wolves and pigs! "
A pot exploded immediately in the court. The ministers were in disbelief, and the emperor was also in disbelief. "My dear, is this true?" The Eighth Prince said with a smile on his face: "This is absolutely true. Soon, nearly 10,000 prisoners will be escorted to the capital." The emperor was excited, "Okay, okay! Yang Zhaofeng is sure of it. He is worthy of being a famous general, his troops are invincible! I will reward him greatly!..."
"Your Majesty, no!" Wang Dan stepped out and said. The emperor frowned, "Why not? Why do you say this, my beloved?" Wang Dan said: "Yang Peng is guilty of treason. Your Majesty does not punish the crime, but wants to reward him. Doesn't it encourage those generals to commit rebellion?" The emperor said. I was shocked, "I don't even understand what Aiqing said!"
Wang Dan said: "His Majesty had previously ordered Yang Peng to stop attacking and withdraw to defend Mozhou. However, Yang Peng actually disobeyed the imperial edict and entered the army without permission. This crime of disobeying the imperial edict should be punished!" Another minister immediately came out and said: "What Mr. Wang said is absolutely true! Yang Peng's crime of disobeying the imperial edict and entering the army without authorization must be dealt with strictly! Otherwise, I am afraid that the generals everywhere will disobey the control! At that time, Emperor Taizu, in view of the excessive authority of the generals, endangered the country, so There are many regulations to restrict military generals. If Yang Peng is not punished today, these regulations will be in vain. I am afraid that the frequent rebellions of military generals in the Five Dynasties will happen again! This matter has far-reaching consequences, and your Majesty must not be careful!" said this! He is not a treacherous minister, but a highly respected minister named Kong Yida. He is over sixty years old and looks like a longevity immortal. He is the thirty-first descendant of Confucius.
Kong Yida's speech immediately attracted many Confucian figures to speak, all saying that Yang Peng must be killed. Kou Zhun said loudly: "This is a pedantic comment!" There was a bit of anger in his tone. He turned around and bowed to the emperor, "Your Majesty, from ancient times to the present, it has always been 'the general will not accept the emperor's orders'. The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly and opportunities are fleeting. A true good general should seize the opportunity to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages." The imperial court has won the greatest victory! If everything has to wait for the imperial court's instructions, let alone regaining the lost land, I am afraid that even the land in our hands will not be preserved! Not long ago, the Liao army was rampant, and the roads in Hebei were full of smoke, and countless cities fell. , even the city of Tokyo almost fell into the hands of the enemy! This is the consequence of waiting for orders from the imperial court! Do you want this situation to happen again? "
Kong Yida said angrily: "No matter what, this is an act of disobeying the imperial edict and must be severely punished! Otherwise, where is the majesty of your majesty?" Kou Zhun refused to give in: "What does clever decision-making in the field of life and death have to do with your majesty?" Yang Zhao Isn't it the best way to add dignity to His Majesty by defeating the Liao army and marching straight into Nanjing City of the Liao Kingdom? Is it true that losing troops and losing territory is the only way to add dignity to His Majesty? Kou is not talented and cannot understand such a concept!"
Kong Yida was so angry that he shouted out of control: "Martial men must die, otherwise there will be no peace in the world!" Kou Zhun snorted coldly, "Killing without guilt, I'm afraid a saint will not do it. Has Mr. Kong forgotten all the words of his ancestors? Are you done?" Kong Yida was speechless and stared at Kou Zhun with his face flushed.
The Eighth Prince clasped his fists towards the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, Yang Zhaofeng did not intend to resist the decree. It is actually because the enemy's movements are dangerous and he has to take drastic measures to attack instead of defend. Otherwise, Mozhou Yingzhou cannot be saved, and even the army cannot be saved. Yes! Your Majesty, please take a closer look!" These words were taught to him by Yang Peng in his letter.
The emperor said cheerfully: "I see. Since we have to do it out of necessity, then this matter is not a crime!" Kong Yida was anxious, "Your Majesty, you can't tolerate this!" The emperor was a little embarrassed, so he said: "Let's do this, Yang Zhaopin Although he has meritorious service, he still disobeys the imperial edict, so his merits and demerits are equal to each other, so there should be neither reward nor punishment."
The Eighth Prince and Kou Zhun frowned, but it was hard to say anything else; but Kong Yida was not satisfied, and showed an attitude of not giving up until Yang Peng was killed, "Your Majesty, if Yang Peng is not executed, there will be harm. Infinite!"
The emperor was a little annoyed and frowned: "Kong Aiqing, how should I explain to the people of the world after executing Yang Zhaofeng? The people of the world will say, 'Look, Yang Zhaofeng fought bloody battles for the imperial government for several months, but in the end he ended up inexplicably. "The consequences will be execution!" Kong Aiqing, please tell me, is this a good thing for the court and my reputation?"
Kong Yida was speechless. The emperor said impatiently: "That's it for now. Don't say any more."
Everyone returned to the queue. Wang Qinruo came out and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that many of Yang Zhao's subordinates are criminals of the imperial court. This is a crime of covering the imperial criminals! They should be punished!" The old guy Kong Yida immediately jumped out again, "Your Majesty, The past can be forgiven, but this matter will never be forgiven!"
The Eighth Prince immediately came out and said, "Your Majesty, regarding this matter, Yang Zhaofeng has a memorial specifically explaining it. Your Majesty, please read it." He then took out a memorial from his sleeve and presented it with both hands. The old eunuch beside the emperor immediately came down, took the memorial, returned to the jade steps, and presented it to the emperor.
The emperor took the memorial, opened it, read it over, and nodded: "That's it." He pressed the memorial and said to the courtiers: "Yang Zhaopu said that he was assisted by a group of rebels on the way to the Northern Expedition. Because of this, the Northern Expedition The battle could go so smoothly. The leaders of this group of rebels were the previously convicted imperial prisoners, Yang Xiong, Shi Ping, Shi Hu and others. Yang Zhao appealed to Chen for their contribution to serving the country by killing the enemy, and begged me to forgive them. What a sin! What do you think, dear friends?"
Wang Qinruo said anxiously: "These people are all prisoners of the imperial court and cannot be pardoned!" Kou Zhun said: "The crimes committed by these people are not treason, so why can't they be forgiven? Although these people are prisoners of the imperial court, they are Don’t forget to serve your Majesty and the country. Your loyalty is commendable and you should be pardoned! In this way, it not only demonstrates your Majesty’s benevolence and righteousness, but also enables those heroes who were trapped in the forest due to a momentary mistake to regain their loyalty and serve the imperial court!”
The emperor deeply believed it, "What Kou Aiqing said is absolutely true. According to Yang Zhaofou's request, he pardoned the sins of these people and ordered them to stay under Yang Zhaofou to continue their meritorious service!" Kou Zhun and the Eighth Prince clasped their fists together and said: "Your Majesty Wise!" Wang Qinruo and Kong Yida retreated sadly. The emperor was very happy and said: "I didn't expect that even Taizu failed to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun, but he actually recovered them in the hands of a few people!"
The Eighth Prince quickly clasped his fists and said, "This is the result of Your Majesty's holy virtues and enlightenment!" All the ministers also praised the Emperor's sage. The emperor couldn't help but feel a little elated, feeling that he was almost comparable to those legendary wise kings and saints!
Taishi Pang came out and said, "Your Majesty, I think we should immediately send officials to take over the states and counties, so that the newly recovered states and counties can bathe in the glory of Your Majesty's virtue as soon as possible." The emperor believed deeply, "The Taishi will be responsible for this matter. "Yes. Your Majesty, there is one more thing. Although Yang Zhaofeng is brave and good at fighting, there is no guarantee that there will be no problems with an army alone. A large army should be sent immediately to strengthen the defense."
The emperor nodded, "What the Grand Master said is absolutely true!" Grand Master Pang continued: "We can make Bi Shi'an stay behind for the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, and Yang Zhaofeng will be the deputy stay behind, responsible for the defense of the north." The Eighth Prince said quickly: " I'm afraid this is not appropriate! What should I do if I encounter the previous disastrous defeat again!" Li Te said angrily: "If anything goes wrong, just chop off my head!"
Kou Zhun said: "The Grand Master's suggestion is very good, but the post of staying behind needs to be considered. I think it is better to ask Yang Zhao to stay behind for the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun. This way, everything is guaranteed!" Kong Yida heard this. The words jumped out immediately, "Wouldn't this be a reward for Yang Peng? What's the point of not being punished for disobeying the emperor's order, but being rewarded instead?"
Kou Zhun was too lazy to argue with him. He cupped his fists towards the emperor and said, "Please ask your Majesty to judge this matter!" Kong Yida said urgently, "Your Majesty must not appoint Yang Peng as a stay-at-home officer!" Taishi Pang also said, "Yang Zhao will be punished after all. If you don’t have enough qualifications, I’m afraid it’s not appropriate to be left alone!”
The emperor was in a dilemma, and finally thought of a compromise, "Let Yang Peng and Bi Shi'an stay behind together, Chen Xiao in the east, and Bi Shi'an in the west, to jointly guard the sixteen states of Yanyun. What do you all think?"
The Eighth Prince and Kou Zhun looked in the direction of Master Pang, and Master Pang and others also looked in this direction. Both groups of people praised His Majesty for his wisdom, and both of them understood that this could only be the case. Only one Kong Yida was still crying out in agony. The emperor was so noisy by him that he said impatiently: "All of you, my dears, have no opinion on this matter. Kong Aiqing, just stop it!" Kong Yida sighed. Said: "Your Majesty does not accept loyal advice, and sooner or later you will regret it!"
Taishi Pang said: "Your Majesty, you should not stay alone and serve alone. You should follow the precedent and send loyal and reliable people as supervisors!" The emperor nodded and asked, "Is there any candidate for Taishi?" Taishi Pang said: "Sun Tong is smart. He is capable, loyal, honest and reliable, and can take on this important task!" The emperor said: "Okay, I will accept Sun Tong as the supervisor of the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture and assist Yang Peng in guarding the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture!" "Your Majesty is wise."
If you want to know what happens next, let’s look at the breakdown in the next chapter.
