Empress Dowager Xiao snorted coldly and said loudly: "Let them go!" The Liao army soldiers who were escorting the Song army prisoners immediately let them go. Hundreds of prisoners immediately ran behind Yang Peng and looked at Yang Peng with great excitement and reverence. "I have released your people, now let mine go!" Yang Peng took back his sword and said to Arich: "Let's go."
Arich stood up, glared at Yang Peng and said, "When you recover from your injury, I will fight with you again!" Yang Peng laughed loudly and said, "I'm always with you!" Then he got on his horse and led the soldiers back to the city. , the city gate slammed shut with a loud bang. Ali Qi rushed back to Queen Mother Xiao, and pleaded with shame on his face: "I am incompetent, please punish the Queen Mother!"
Queen Mother Xiao got off her horse, helped Arich up, turned to look at the city wall in the distance, and said angrily: "It's not your fault, it's my fault! I underestimated this man! He is not only a fierce tiger, but also a cunning one. Jackal!" Then he shouted: "Go back to camp!" As soon as Yang Peng returned to the city, he fell off his horse, scaring everyone out of their wits. …
Yang Peng opened his eyes and found that he was lying in his room, and all he saw were familiar scenes. He coughed involuntarily. Yang Tong, Zhao Jinxi and Yang Jiumei rushed over immediately, "Ms. sir, you are finally awake!" Yang Tong cried. Yang Peng glanced at the three of them and saw that the three women all looked worried and sad, and there were tears on each of their faces. Yang Peng felt warm in his heart and said with a smile: "Why are you crying? I'm not dead!" The three women were startled, and Yang Jiumei said anxiously: "You can't say death!" The three women couldn't help crying again.
Yang Peng quickly said softly: "Okay, okay, don't tell me! Brother, I will definitely live a long life! Brother, I am still an old couple with you, looking at the children and grandchildren at your feet!" The three women burst into tears and smiled gently. He looked at Yang Peng. Chen Xiao couldn't help but twitch his index finger as he looked at the charming and charming looks of the three women. Putting his palm on Yang Tong's thigh, he said with a smile: "When big brother gets better, let's play like we did that night!"
The three girls naturally understood what Yang Peng meant and couldn't help but blush. Yang Jiumei was a little angry, blaming him for still thinking about those things after being injured like this; Yang Tong and Zhao Jinxi had charming smiles on their faces, as if they were emotionally moved.
There was some faint noise outside. Yang Peng asked in confusion: "Who is outside?" Yang Tong snorted, "What do they care about?" Yang Peng chuckled, "I'm fine, why are you angry! Are Duan Zhixian and the others outside?" The three women nodded. Yang Jiumei said: "Brother Duan and the others sent him back, and then they stayed outside all the time. They are all worried about him!"
Yang Tong said angrily: "They are so useless! There are so many people, but my eldest brother was injured!" Yang Peng waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's not their fault!" He sat up. Yang Tong and Yang Jiumei quickly helped Yang Peng up, while Zhao Jinxi brought a pillow and stuffed it behind Chen Xiao. Yang Peng leaned on the pillow and said: "Let them come in."...
The Liao army did not attack the capital for several days. Instead, they were busy cutting down trees from nearby forests and making heavy stone cannons and other siege equipment. At the same time, Empress Dowager Xiao also ordered people to rush to Zhongjing to urge for gunpowder.
The heavy siege equipment used in ancient battles, such as heavy stone cannons, city rams, ladders, etc., were generally not carried with the army, but were made near the battlefield. Because such equipment is very troublesome to transport even with the transportation conditions of modern society. In ancient times, it was an almost impossible task; and ancient heavy equipment is not as complicated as modern equipment. In fact, it is very simple and completely possible. Rely on the blacksmith carpenter to make it on site. Therefore, there is a phenomenon in ancient battlefields that is very different from modern battlefields. That is, ancient armies often set aside a place in their military camps to specialize in making various heavy weapons.
With the support of Yang Jiumei, Yang Peng climbed up the city wall. Looking up, he saw longing figures in the woods near the Liao army camp. A steady stream of logs were being transported to the military camp like several long dragons. The military camp was also a bustling and busy scene. You can vaguely see countless siege equipment hoarded in the military camp.
Li Xu said from the side: "It has been four days, and they have been making siege equipment non-stop!" Yang Peng looked thoughtful. Zhou Dayong said worriedly: "Look at this posture, they will never stop until they make hundreds of stone artillery vehicles! Hundreds of stone artillery vehicles are bombarding them together, what a scene..." Zhou Dayong swallowed, and there was a look in his eyes. A look of fear. Others are also very worried. Although the city's defenses are strong, they cannot withstand hundreds of stone artillery vehicles bombarding them day and night! !
Obviously, Queen Mother Xiao planned to attack Shangjing City in one go with unprecedented attack intensity. She knew very well how powerful her opponent was, so she planned not to attack. Once she attacked, she would use all her strength to break through Shangjing in the shortest possible time with thunderous force.
As time went by, the number of heavy stone artillery vehicles in the Liao army camp continued to increase, which had already exceeded Yang Peng's and the others' previous estimates. Yang Peng and the others felt that the geographical advantage of the city they occupied seemed to be rapidly being weakened. Duan Zhixian, who has always been fearless, exclaimed: "Does that Liao woman want to raze Shangjing to the ground?!"
Yang Peng returned to the mansion with a solemn expression. When the three women saw this, they couldn't help but feel worried. Yang Peng sat down, looked up at the three very important women in his life, and said, "I decided to send Xue Fu and the others to escort you out of Beijing." The three women were startled, and Yang Tong asked hurriedly: "Can't we defend Shangjing?"
Yang Peng said with an annoyed look on his face: "That Empress Dowager Xiao simply took the wrong medicine and built so many catapults like crazy! I really don't know how long I can hold on!" Zhao Jinxi said hurriedly: "Then brother, let's go with us! "Yang Peng shook his head, "No! I can't leave the soldiers behind!" Yang Tong said angrily: "In that case, we won't leave either!" Yang Jiumei nodded in agreement: "That's right, we won't leave!" However, Zhao Jinxi revealed Showing hesitation.
Yang Peng was angry and moved at the same time. Looking at these three women, he simply didn't know what to say. A female soldier hurried in and reported: "General, General Chen Jie is here, saying that he has an urgent military report!" Several people were surprised when they heard this. Yang Peng left the room immediately.
When I came to the lobby, I met Chen Jie. Chen Jie reported with a face full of joy: "General, the Liao people have retreated!" Yang Peng was stunned for a moment, then his heart moved and he hurried out of the hall. When I came to the city wall and looked outside the city, I saw that the Liao army was hurriedly breaking out of the camp on the north side. The siege equipment they had worked so hard to build had now turned into piles of burning volcanoes, and the dazzling brilliance covered the whole world. The light shines a little abnormally.
"It must be the Kingdom of Zhanjin! It must be the Kingdom of Zhanjin!" Yang Peng said excitedly. Soon after, Yang Peng's words were verified. A well-traveled herald sent by the Kingdom of Zhanjin reported to Yang Peng: "General Zhanjin led an army to approach the capital of the Liao Kingdom, and the Liao Dynasty was shocked!" Obviously, Empress Dowager Xiao was completely beyond her expectations because of this. Due to the urgent military situation, he had to give up halfway and retreat in a hurry!
How could the Kingdom of Zhan Jin suddenly appear under the Zhongjing City of Liao Kingdom? Do you still remember that Yang Peng ordered the Kingdom of Zhan Jin to lead 40,000 elite soldiers to secretly enter Yanfangdian? At that time, Yang Peng felt that it would be difficult to defend the capital without surprise troops, so he selected 10,000 elite soldiers from each division and handed them over to Zhanjin Kingdom, and ordered him to lead these 40,000 elite soldiers to Yanfangdian secretly to wait for orders.
After Cao Bin was defeated and all the Liao's trump cards were exposed, Yang Peng immediately ordered people to give orders to Zhan Jin, ordering him to lead his army quickly through Yanfangdian, bypassing Jizhou on the east side of Tanzhou and marching into Zhongjing. . Under the guidance of Qian Letian, the Zhanjin Kingdom successfully passed through Yanfangdian, and then captured the unsuspecting Jizhou in one fell swoop. They collected nearly 100,000 good horses from Jizhou Racecourse, and then the army rode from the east front. Head all the way north. When Empress Dowager Xiao arrived in Shangjing, the 40,000 elites he led also arrived at the city of Zhongjing in the Liao Kingdom. The Liao Dynasty's government and the public were greatly shocked!
Just as the army of the Kingdom of Jin was approaching Beijing, the main forces of the Liao Kingdom were not nearby. One main force was in the east, fighting fiercely with Goryeo, and the other force was led by Ye Qi Guanyin to attack the Song Dynasty in Beijing. The main force engaged in a fierce battle with Goryeo could not move, so the Liao court sent 800 miles to urgently transfer Yelütri back to the court to protect the country. Empress Dowager Xiao was shocked when she received an urgent order from her son, the emperor. She never thought that the enemy in front of her would send an elite force to sneak around her front and launch a surprise attack on Zhongjing!
Empress Dowager Xiao did not dare to delay, and immediately ordered her troops to burn all the heavy supplies and rush to the rescue of Beijing with light equipment. She couldn't help but be anxious, because the garrison strength of Zhongjing was only 20,000 Imperial Imperial Guards. Empress Dowager Xiao was very fast, and she returned to Liaozhongjing from Song Dynasty in less than ten days. However, no Song troops were found when they arrived here, and later they learned that the Song troops had withdrawn two days ago.
Empress Dowager Xiao immediately led the army to pursue the Song army in the direction of withdrawal, all the way south until Jizhou was recovered. At this time, Yelu Guanyin received a report from the scouts and learned that the Song army had passed through Yanfangdian and retreated to its own territory. It was only at this moment that Queen Mother Xiao figured out where the Song Army came from, and couldn't help but feel very upset, and then quickly made up for the mistakes she had made before.
Empress Dowager Xiao stationed troops in Shunzhou and Jizhou and did not launch another attack on Shangjing. At this time, the Liao army had lost its previous vigor, and his son repeatedly sent envoys to strictly instruct Empress Dowager Xiao not to rush south without an imperial edict.
His eyes turned to Shangjing. Yang Peng was very excited when he saw the dusty Zhan Jin Kingdom. Zhan Jin Kingdom couldn't control his emotions, so he bowed his head and bowed: "Brother!" Yang Peng quickly helped Lin Chong up and patted him heavily on the shoulder, " Brother, it's hard for you!" Zhan Jinguo smiled, and then said excitedly: "Brother, I have gained a lot this time!" Then he pointed to the nearly 100,000 high-quality war horses behind him, led by 40,000 soldiers, " Jizhou’s 100,000 war horses!”
Yang Peng stepped forward and looked at the endless ocean of war horses in front of him. He was extremely happy and said, "Okay, with these horses, our cavalry regiment can finally be formed!" Later that day, the military camp was filled with joy. Yang Peng issued an order to lift the one-day drinking ban. The soldiers drank from large bowls and ate large pieces of meat, which was a great pleasure.
At the same time, in the hall of the left-behind mansion, Yang Peng and his brothers celebrated their success with a banquet for Zhan Jinguo and Qian Letian. In the dead of night, people are quiet, and the wine stalls are lit by lamps. Yang Peng was helped by Yang Jiumei, Yang Tong, and Zhao Jinxi to the bath. The three women helped Yang Peng take a bath. Yang Peng touched the three of them, and ended up pulling them into the pool. In their coquettish voices, the three women were like hibiscus emerging from the water, elves in the dark night. The love affair between the couple was immediately staged, the fairy music was playing, and Yue'er was so shy that she hid...
When the imperial court received Yang Peng's eight-hundred-mile emergency report, the emperor and his ministers, who were originally like ants on a hot pot, finally heaved a sigh of relief. The extremely excited emperor was about to confer Yang Peng the title of King of Yan, but because of the obstruction of Pang Taishi Wang Qinruo and others, the matter was abandoned.
Afterwards, a banquet was held in the Zichen Hall, and the ministers praised the emperor's talents and strategies. Flattery sounds could be heard in the hall. It was truly a scene of prosperity! The emperor had completely forgotten how panicked he had been before, and became restless again.
At the same time, the people in the capital were also in an excited celebration scene, which was like celebrating the New Year.
The cruel war was temporarily over. In view of the more dangerous situation he might face in the future, Yang Peng began to actively expand his army and form a cavalry corps. At the same time, in order to gain the support of local people, Yang Peng promulgated a series of policies to benefit the people, such as reducing the taxes of ordinary farmers by half, encouraging people to reclaim wasteland, recognizing the people's ownership of the wasteland they reclaimed, and promising Agricultural taxes for newly reclaimed wasteland are exempted for two years; in cities, the development of industry and commerce is encouraged, all restrictive measures that hinder the development of industry and commerce are removed, and unreasonable taxes are cancelled; in the army, the government takes care of the families and children of fallen soldiers. They are raised by the government, etc.
The days passed by, and before I knew it, it was the early summer season when the grass was growing and the orioles were flying. The earth seemed to be soaked in green paint, the sun began to feel hot, and the wind blowing from the south seemed to carry the hot tide of the southern ocean. The population in the city seems to be much larger than half a year ago, and it is a bustling scene; the grain fields outside the city stretch into the sea, with layers of green waves rippling from time to time in the breeze; caravans on the official road shuttle back and forth, and on the docks Countless cargo ships have gathered, and countless workers are busy loading and unloading goods. The land of eight states under Chen Xiao's control is a prosperous and gratifying scene.
Qian Letian stood in front of Yang Peng and reported on the recent situation: "Thousands more people have moved into Shangjing in the past three days. Our population in Shangjing is now almost over 500,000! It has basically returned to the original Liao rule. It’s reached its peak level!”
"In addition, the trade flow has about doubled compared to last month. Although we have canceled some taxes, the tax revenue has increased by about 70% to 80%!" Yang Peng smiled and nodded, "Okay! The population is getting bigger and bigger. There are more and more trade volume. This trend is very good!" Qian Letian smiled and said: "The prestige of the general is also increasing day by day! I heard that people in many counties and towns have spontaneously built ancestral halls for the general, and the incense is flourishing. Woolen cloth!"
Yang Peng laughed. Duan Zhixian said loudly: "Then the elder brother has become a god!" Everyone burst into laughter. Qian Letian glanced at Duan Zhixian and said with a smile: "Brother Duan is right. In fact, in the hearts of many people, the general is a god!" Then he pointedly clasped his fist towards Yang Peng and said: "Actually, this is definitely a good thing. One piece!" Yang Peng smiled slightly and asked: "There are many places to spend money during this period. What is our current financial situation?"
"Reporting back to the general, there are still more than 1.46 million taels of silver in the treasury. ..." Yang Peng patted his head in distress, "It's really like spending money like water!" Qian Letian said with a smile: "After all, I did it. There are so many things! The expenditure on military expansion alone accounts for almost two-thirds of all expenditures."
Since the end of the last war, Yang Peng immediately began to expand the army and formed a cavalry corps. Now the total strength of Yang Peng's command has expanded to more than 220,000 people, divided into five legions, namely the first, second, third, fourth, and the legion directly under the general. Among them, the first, second, third, and fourth corps were all expanded from the first, second, third, and fourth divisions. Their commanders have not changed. Each corps has a strength of 40,000. The corps directly under it were Yang Peng’s later The team was formed from the thousands of private soldiers previously recruited in Tianjing New City, with a total number of 60,000.
This army now has 50,000 combat cavalry. Each legion has 10,000 combat cavalry. The 10,000 combat cavalry directly under the legion are different. They are all heavily armored cavalry with men and horses. Just to form this cavalry, one-fifth of the military expenditure was spent.
Now Yang Peng's military power is no longer what it used to be! Qian Letian frowned, "Now these 220,000 soldiers and horses consume almost 200,000 taels of silver every month, and the military expenditure provided by the court is only half. We have to bear the remaining half ourselves. In addition to military expenditure, Road construction, daily expenses of government offices, implementation of various policies to benefit the people, implementation of policies to optimize the military, etc. These monthly expenses require another hundred thousand taels of silver. And our current fiscal revenue is only one hundred thousand taels a month. There is still a shortfall of about half in terms of silver, and the current treasury reserves are only enough to cover three or four months.”
Yang Peng frowned and thought about this. Everyone started talking in a low voice, and Duan Zhixian said loudly: "Looks like we have no choice but to rob!" Everyone laughed, and Zhan Jinguo said jokingly: "Where can we rob? There is no place even if we want to rob!" Duan Zhixian raised his eyebrows and said: "There are so many rich and unkind nobles in the city, why not just go and rob them!"
Yang Peng smiled and shook his head, "You can't do this!" Zhou Dayong said: "We can maintain it for at least three or four months, and we will definitely be able to figure out a solution during this time." Yang Peng shook his head, "There are only two at most. It’s been months.”
Everyone was confused. Duan Zhixian said in confusion: "Did he hear it wrong, or did he not understand? Why are there only two months?" Yang Peng picked up a letter in his hand, "This is today. Prime Minister Kou Zhun sent a letter this morning. The imperial court has selected a dozen officials to come to us to serve as military supervisors and prefects of various states. As a result, we will not be able to use the taxes of the states. In other words, We have to bear the cost of all the policies we implement and the additional military expenditures ourselves."
Everyone was surprised. Duan Zhixian glared and cursed: "Aren't these frustrated birds afraid to come? How come they are so bold because of their ambitions?" Chen Jie asked puzzledly: "Why do we have to bear the expenses of local policies ourselves?" His question This is also a question that many people have. Chen Jie explained: "These policies can be said to be my personal favor to the people everywhere, not the policies of the imperial court. Therefore, it is impossible for the imperial court to bear these expenses. Those measures cannot be passed by the imperial court. Prime Minister Kou Zhun has already tried Passed. But these policies are crucial to the stability and development of the eight states, so we can only bear them ourselves!"
Duan Zhixian said viciously: "Why don't we take advantage of the fact that those dog officers haven't come yet and kill them all on the way! We finally conquered the country, why should we let these frustrated birds pick the peaches on the ground!" Many people showed their excitement.
Yang Peng stood on the north city wall and looked far into the distance. The weather was very good today and he could clearly see the rolling hills dozens of miles away. Behind those hills is Shunzhou City where Princess Yelutri of the Liao Kingdom is stationed. "What's going on with the Liao army recently?" Yang Peng asked.
Zhang Yan, who was standing aside, shook his head, "There is no movement. It's just that according to the scout report, His Highness Xiao Tianzuo is still recruiting troops." Yang Peng smiled, "This is normal." Turning his head to look at Zhang Yan, "How many troops do you estimate they have now?" Zhang Yan said: "Based on their recent consumption of food and grass, I estimate that their strength may be close to 200,000."
Yang Peng showed a thoughtful look. A secret guard ran up, clasped his fists and said, "Master, Miss Chai is here."
Yang Peng chuckled, "I haven't seen her for a long time! I don't know why, but I miss her so much!" Chen Jie said with a smile: "Don't those scholars say, 'Slim ladies and gentlemen are so naughty?' Miss Chai is like a fairy. , no wonder brother misses her." Yang Peng gave Li Xu a strange look, "When did you, Li Xu, learn to joke?" Li Xu looked a little embarrassed.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
