When the good news of Yan Yun's army continued to come, the mood of the monarchs, ministers and people in Bianjing was very complicated. Some were happy and excited, while others were worried and suspicious. In the court, the ministers had many fierce quarrels about how to treat Yan Yunjun and Yan Wang Yang Peng. Some people thought that they should show favor, while others thought that they should suppress it as soon as possible. Song Zhenzong was divided between the two factions. The opinions are so loud that I don't know what to do.
At this moment, the news of Cao's army's victory over Xijing came, and the government and the public were extremely excited, so they temporarily put aside the matter of how to deal with Yang Peng. Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty issued an order to praise Cao Jun for his achievements, and sent his trusted ministers to Shanxi with a large amount of wine and silver. Now Cao Jun's main tent is located in Bingzhou, so the envoys went to Bingzhou.
Cao Jun wrote to Song Zhenzong: "The Khitan people's vigor has been exhausted in the fierce battle with the Yanyun army, and the Goryeo army is not convinced. Even if they have millions of soldiers, they will not be afraid. If they attack the capital with 200,000 elite soldiers, , the ancient frontier will surely be restored. The land in Xiangyang and other places is fertile. If you can farm here, you will be very profitable. Please allow your Majesty to allow your ministers to raise troops here. When the soldiers have enough food, they will immediately cross the river to pioneer the king's army. !Your Majesty, Cao Jun!”
Song Zhenzong was very moved when he received Cao Jun's letter, and immediately appointed Zhao Ding as a Privy Councilor and military commander of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Jing, and Xiang. The military governor of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Jing and Xiang was originally Zhe Guangyao, but he was dismissed not long ago. The reason was that Wang Qinruo, Pang Taishi and others blamed all the previous crisis in Shaanxi on Zhe Guangyao, so the emperor issued an edict to remove Zhe Guangyao. In fact, Zhe Guangyao was based in Shaanxi, and with the Zhe family brothers and Liu Ziyu as generals, he thwarted the Khitan army's repeated attempts to invade Sichuan with a force far inferior to the enemy's. It was already commendable. Although Zhe Guangyao was not a famous general, he was still useful. General! However, the situation slowed down a little, and he was affected by the overt and covert conflicts within the court, and he was dismissed from office!
Having digressed, let’s get back to the topic. Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty appointed Zhao Ding as a Privy Councilor and granted Zhao Ding the power to act expediently. Zhao Ding immediately raised specific matters regarding expediency. Song Zhenzong wanted to obey, but at this time, Pang Taishifei came out to interfere and repeatedly said gossip in Song Zhenzong's ears, so the matter was shelved.
Seeing this scene, Zhao Ding wrote directly: "Your Majesty sent Ji Guangyao out of Zhenchuan and Shaanxi, and the country's power was a hundred times that of today. Ji Guangyao has the power to mend the sky and bathe the sun. Your Majesty has the oath to forge the river. The emperor and his ministers believe that, in ancient and modern times, No two, but was eventually deposed and exiled due to rumors. Zhe Guangyao is responsible for the crisis in Shaanxi, but it is absolutely not what those who criticized Zhe Guangyao said! Without Zhe Guangyao, the situation would be a hundred times more dangerous than it is now. Sichuan is afraid It’s no longer safe! Now that Your Majesty wants to give me great power at an advantageous price, I’m afraid that the villains will jump up and down again and spread rumors, and I will definitely make the same mistakes as I did before, so I’m very scared!”
Zhao Ding sent this memorial to the palace, but there was no response.
His eyes turned back to Zhending Mansion. Yang Peng is reading the report just sent from the north. Han Bing has stopped the attack and sent part of his troops back to support the Chengtian Army to resist the evacuation from Shanxi and the Khitan Army. However, the two sides only formed a confrontation and did not fight; Duan Zhixian's troops had already returned to the daimyo. Mansion, the whole army rested, and Huyan Chijin's troops had returned to Hezhou. The war on all fronts has come to an end.
Yang Peng put down the report and walked out of the hall, looking at the clouds on the horizon with a thoughtful expression. Han Jinxin came behind Yang Peng and said, "The enemy's energy has been exhausted and they need time to rest and recuperate. There should be no more wars in a short time." Han Jinxin had just escorted grain and grass to Zhending Mansion not long ago.
Yang Peng nodded and turned around, "We must now shift our energy from offense to defense. This battle has fully achieved the goals we set before the war, which is very good. Next, we must digest this as soon as possible Huge fruits of victory. Are all the officials transferred from Yanyun in place?" Han Jinxin said: "I just received the news this morning that the first batch of personnel transferred from the yamen and public schools in the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun have been After arriving in Hezhou, we will arrive at Zhending Mansion soon." Yang Peng showed a thoughtful look.
Han Jinxin asked: "Does King Yan want to completely replace the chief officials in various places?"
Yang Peng shook his head, "No. At least not for the time being. Everything always needs a transition." After thinking about it, he said to Han Jinxin: "Before, our energy was all on the battle, and we didn't care about prisoners and captures. Now you are responsible Make statistics on the situation in this area and report to me." "Yes." Han Jinxin clasped his fists in agreement, and then said: "If King Yan has no other instructions, I will leave!" Yang Peng nodded, and Han Jinxin looked at Yang Peng bowed and left in a hurry.
Soon after, Han Jinxin presented the statistics. The grain and grass supplies in various government treasuries amounted to more than 2.3 million dans of grain and grass, the money was about 5 million taels of silver, and the Goryeo army captured more than 360,000 people.
After Yang Peng read the report, he thought about it for a moment and said to Han Jinxin: "I came here and saw that people in many places are living very hard. I want to use all the food in the treasury to relieve the victims." Han Jinxin said happily: "In this way, people everywhere will surely return home!"
Yang Peng said: "You are responsible for this matter. Don't leave it to those officials who have surrendered. Let our people do it." "Yes." Yang Peng focused his eyes on the number of the prisoners and murmured: "Thirty-six Tens of thousands of prisoners..." Han Jinxin said: "My subordinates and the generals thought that the strong and healthy among these prisoners could be selected to enrich our army."
Yang Peng showed a thoughtful look and murmured: "Our army now has more than 760,000 people, excluding the navy. This scale is already very large! Soldiers are expensive, but elites are not expensive. It is too large. Not only is the army not of much use, but it will crowd out manpower in other areas. Furthermore, too many troops will cause the funds originally used to improve equipment to be used as wages, which may not necessarily increase the combat effectiveness. I think Instead of expanding the army, we will only select strong and capable warriors from these prisoners to replenish the losses of each army, and let the others go back to Ryukyu!"
Han Jinxin thought for a moment, clasped his fists and said: "The King of Yan is wise! So what should we do with the hundreds of thousands of Han soldiers who were there before?" Yang Peng said: "We should deal with it in the same way. But it can be slightly different. All the officers will be selected, or Send him to serve in various government offices, or stay in the army and deal with it according to different situations." After a pause, he said to a secret guard on the side: "Gather all the generals immediately, I have something to announce." The secret guard said He responded and ran down.
Yang Peng announced his decision at the meeting and immediately sent envoys to convey orders to Han Bing, Duan Zhixian, and Chen Jie. Then the work of demobilizing the prisoners of the Korean army and the Korean army began. At the same time, under the auspices of Han Jinxin, grain warehouses were opened in various places to provide relief to the people. For a time, there was thunderous cheers everywhere, and Yang Peng's prestige was unparalleled in these places; Those personnel selected from the Yanyun Sixteen Prefecture Yamen and Official Schools gradually entered the Yamen in various places. Although most of the chief officials of the Yamen in various places were still the same people, the specific matters were quickly transferred to Yanyun. In the hands of people, some people will naturally be dissatisfied with this.
In the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, cities and towns everywhere were filled with joy and excitement, even more lively than the Chinese New Year. The people were spontaneously celebrating the victory of the Yanyun Army. However, in such a festive atmosphere, some people were sad. The Yanyun Army had indeed won. They won a huge victory, but they also paid a huge price with nearly 10,000 killed. Their relatives were sad for the death of their loved ones, but they also felt honored. At the moment when they saw the ashes of their loved ones settled in the Loyal Soul Hall, My heart couldn't help but be overwhelmed by an indescribable excitement.
Under Yang Peng's personal supervision, the pensions were paid in full and on time, and the families of the fallen soldiers were surrounded by government officials from all over the country and moved into the clean and tidy military martyrs' area. When those family members saw the envious and respectful eyes of the people along the street, the sadness in their hearts had completely turned into pride. The government sent rice, grains and vegetables to the homes of military martyrs, and those children who were underage went to public schools for free.
Yang Peng ordered Huang Guang of Tianjing New City to be responsible for the civil affairs in Hebei, and Kou Yan to be responsible for the civil affairs of various roads in Hebei. At dusk, a group of cavalry galloped into Cizhou. Cizhou, now Ci County in the south of Hebei Province, is located on the north bank of the Zhanghe River more than a hundred miles west of Daming Mansion. It is the location of Han Bing's large tent. The Zhanghe River is now the boundary river between the Yanyun Army and the Khitan Army and the Goryeo Army. The north of the Zhanghe River is controlled by the Yanyun Army, and the south of the Zhanghe River is controlled by the Khitan Army and the Goryeo Army. According to Yang Peng's order, Han Bing is responsible for the defense of this area, and even Duan Zhixian and others in the direction of Daming Mansion are also under Han Bing's control. Speaking of which, by the way, let me talk about the defense situation in Hebei. All key points on the border of the entire Hebei region are guarded by troops, and they are all under the control of Chen Jie. Now that Chen Jie was in charge, he was naturally included in the Supreme Military Council.
Yang Peng came to the gate of Shuai Mansion and happened to meet Chen Jie coming out of it. Chen Jie suddenly saw Yang Peng, his eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly came up to him with a look of surprise, "Brother, why are you here?"
Yang Peng turned over and dismounted and said with a smile: "Come and take a look." Chen Jie quickly welcomed Yang Peng into the door and shouted into the hall: "General, big brother is here!" Han Bing and Zhong Min, who were discussing matters in the hall, immediately came out to greet him. : "I've met King Yan!" Yang Peng saw Han Bing, who was dressed in military uniform and looked heroic, and couldn't help but put her in his arms. Han Bing was completely stunned by Yang Peng's sudden move.
Yang Peng let go of Han Bing and said softly: "Thank you for your hard work!" Han Bing's cheeks turned red and he glared at Yang Peng angrily.
Several people walked into the hall. Yang Peng went to the top and sat down, while Han Bing, Chen Jie, and Zhong Min stood below. Yang Peng looked at Han Bing, a female general who was both beautiful and wise, with uncontrollable affection in his heart. He smiled and said: "I originally thought that Han Bing and Gan Buli would form a stalemate, but it didn't happen." To think that he was completely defeated in two rounds! Even I can't do any better!"
Han Bing wanted to face Yang Peng's approval with a cold face, but he couldn't help the feeling of joy in his heart, and a moving smile spread on his beautiful face. Yang Peng couldn't help but feel absent-minded.
Chen Jie said with sincere admiration: "General Han was brave enough to outmaneuver others. Every move of the Khitan people was calculated by General Han, so our army was defeated with overwhelming force!" Zhong Min nodded in agreement. , sighed: "Although General Han is a woman, he is definitely not inferior to those legendary and famous generals!"
Han Bing turned around, glared at the two of them and said angrily: "Can you two stop bragging for me! Don't you think it's disgusting, but I am!" Chen Jie and Zhong Min laughed, Yang Peng smiled and said: "This is not bragging, I think they are absolutely right! I remember that Li Xiuning in the early Tang Dynasty was a female general who was arrogant among her peers. In my opinion, Han Bing, you are better than Li Xiuning , but it can be said that she is another outstanding female general after Li Xiuning!" Chen Jie and Zhong Min echoed in succession. Han Bing stared at Chen Xiao with a red face, looking annoyed, "Humph! I don't dare to take what King Yan said!"
Yang Peng chuckled, "Yeah, sure!" Han Bing stared at Yang Peng for a while, "The King of Yan came here just to gossip, right?" Yang Peng said with a smile: "We have to do business, gossip. You might as well talk about it..." Han Bing clasped his fists and asked, "I wonder what instructions King Yan has here?"
When Yang Peng saw her asking, he had to get down to business, "I'm here to see your situation and listen to your opinions. I've been traveling west since crossing the Zhang River, and I'm very satisfied with what I saw and heard." Yang Peng said. Peng refers to the warning and defense systems deployed along the north bank of Zhangshui. He glanced at Han Bing and said with a smile: "With Han Bing here, I don't have to worry about anything. I just want to ask if you have any needs or difficulties?"
Chen Jie hurriedly said: "It's nothing else, but brother, can you give us some of Duan Zhixian's cannons?" Chen Jie went to Daming Mansion not long ago and saw the cannons and the damage they caused to the city walls of Daming Mansion. Shocked by the terrible destruction, he was extremely envious, so he tried hard to get Duan Zhixian to give him some cannons. Duan Zhixian now regards those cannons as treasures. He is very depressed when he fails to do anything he wants. At this time, he saw Yang Peng asking them what they needed, so he took the opportunity to make the request.
Yang Peng chuckled, "This may be a bit difficult! I mentioned this matter when I passed by Daming Mansion, but I didn't expect that Duan Zhixian would become anxious with me as soon as I said the words!..."
When Chen Jie heard this, he immediately became anxious, "Brother, you can't favor one against another! We are all Yan Yunjun, we can't just let Duan Zhixian and the others eat meat!" Han Bing echoed: "Chen Jie is right! Yan Yunjun is right! Wang, we don’t want more, just the same as Duan Zhixian’s!” Chen Jie and Zhong Min nodded vigorously.
Yang Peng chuckled, "Where can I get cannons for you now?" Han Bing snorted, "Don't play tricks on me! I know that the ordnance field has recently built more than two hundred cannons. Should we be given a hundred cannons?" is it not OK?"
Yang Peng smiled and said: "I have other uses for this batch of cannons, so I can't give them to you." Han Bing and others were extremely disappointed, and Han Bing still felt a little aggrieved for no reason. Seeing the look of the three of them, Yang Peng quickly said: "Don't be anxious, I will give you the cannons cast below first!" The three of them smiled, and Han Bing said: "This is what you said! If you don't admit it, I will give it to you first!" But I won't agree!" Yang Peng looked at Han Bing and said with a smile: "How can I not accept what I promised you? If there are no cannons by then, I will give myself to you!"
Han Bing's pretty face suddenly turned crimson, and she glared in embarrassment: "Who wants you? Who wants you!" Yang Peng laughed. When Han Bing saw Yang Peng smiling, he couldn't help but become even more angry. Zhong Min remembered something, clasped his fists and said, "King Yan, our army has captured many prisoners of the Khitan Army. What should we do with these people?" Chen Jie said, "Yes! We can't let them go like those of the Goryeo Army." Is that something?" Then there was a bloodthirsty look in his eyes, "If you ask me, it's better to kill them all and end it all!"
Han Bing scolded: "Chen Jie is talking nonsense again! We fought on the battlefield before and it was natural to kill them. Now they are prisoners and have no ability to resist. How can we kill them again? This is not what a hero would do!"
Chen Jie smiled and said to Yang Peng: "My ideas are completely different from Han Bing's. Brother, you make the decision!" Yang Peng said: "I have been having a headache about this matter, but I thought of a way on the way here. ... "The three of them showed curiosity. Chen Xiao said: "Don't we have a lot of mines? Simply letting these prisoners mine can just make up for the shortage of manpower in the mines." Chen Jie's eyes lit up, "This is a good idea!" Zhong Min nodded and said: "This is indeed a compromise. A good way.”
Han Bing thought: "Although the method is good, there is a problem. These Khitan army prisoners are all tough and good at fighting. They gather together to mine. If there is a sudden rebellion, what should we do? Do we need to use an army to specialize in mining?" Keep them in custody?”
Yang Peng said with a smile: "If everyone wears handcuffs and shackles, what do they have to worry about?" The three of them suddenly realized. Han Bing looked at Yang Peng and felt that the man in front of him was really sinister and cunning!
Yang Peng said: "If you have no objections, this matter is settled. You can discuss the specific matters with Kou Yan." The three of them clasped their fists and agreed. That night, Yang Peng moved into Han Bing's handsome mansion. Han Bing was about to move out, but was stopped by Yang Peng. Yang Peng said, "Just think that I am a guest. What's the point of moving out? If you insist on moving out, I will have to move in." Went to the military camp!" Seeing what Yang Peng said, Han Bing had no choice but to stay.
In the dead of night, Yang Peng was walking by the small pond in the backyard. The moonlight was reflected in the water like a jade plate, and the surrounding trees, flowers and grass were full of shadows. Yang Peng stood by the pond, picked up a stone and threw it in. With a splash, the water rippled, and the jade plate broke into countless pieces, rippling with the waves.
Yang Peng put his thoughts behind him temporarily and prepared to go back to his room to rest. Inadvertently, I saw the lights still on in Han Bing's study in the distance, and my heart moved.
Yang Peng walked towards the study, walked to the corridor next to the study, and saw Han Bing who was handling official business in the study. Han Bing sat under the lamp, concentrating. The lamplight reflected Han Bing's beautiful and resolute face, which flickered between dark and bright, seeming to be both illusion and reality. Han Bing seemed to have become unreal, like a character in a legendary scroll. Yang Peng looked at this scene and felt lost.
Suddenly footsteps came from the side. Yang Peng retracted his thoughts and followed the sound, only to see a female guard coming over with a bowl of tea. The female guard suddenly saw Chen Xiao standing in the middle of the corridor. She was startled and quickly saluted: "Prince Yan!" Yang Peng glanced at the tea in her hand and asked, "Is it for Han Bing?" The female guard nodded, "The general is busy late every night, so he needs to drink some tea to refresh himself." Yang Peng glanced at Han Bing, feeling distressed for no reason in his heart.
Turning around, he took the tea from the female guard's hand and said, "I'll bring the tea over. Please step back." The female guard responded, bowed to Yang Peng, and then stepped back.
Yang Peng took tea and walked along the corridor to the door of the study. The two female guards at the door saw Yang Peng coming and saluted quickly. Yang Peng signaled them to be silent and walked in with tea.
Han Bing heard the footsteps and thought it was a female guard. He lowered his head and said, "Just put the tea on the table." Yang Peng put the tea on her right side.
Han Bing picked up the tea cup and drank it in a few sips. He continued to immerse himself in the official document and said at the same time: "Go and prepare some gruel for me. I'm afraid I will sleep very late tonight." Yang Peng immediately went to the door and whispered some instructions. , the two female guards at the door responded and immediately ran down. Yang Peng returned to Han Bing and watched her handle official duties, with a look of infinite appreciation in her eyes. Han Bing was so focused on official duties that she never noticed that the person standing next to her was not a female guard but Yang Peng.
Suddenly, a gust of night wind blew in from the window, swaying the lights and messing up his hair. Han Bing seemed a little cold. Yang Peng quickly went over to close the window, then walked to the clothes rack and took out a cloak for Han Bing to put on. Han Bing smiled while looking at the official document: "When did you become so smart?" Yang Peng smiled and did not answer.
After a while, two female guards came in with sumptuous food and wine, all placed on the coffee table. When it was over, a female guard came forward, looked at Yang Peng, then clasped her fists at Han Bing and said, "General, the food and wine are ready."
Han Bing raised his head and was startled when he saw that the coffee table below was filled with wine and food. Then he asked angrily: "Didn't I ask you to prepare porridge? Why did you get so much food and wine?" The two female guards didn't know how to answer, so they had to look at Chen Xiao.
Han Bing saw the two people's expressions and was very strange, so she turned her head and looked aside. It didn't matter if she didn't look at it. She was shocked when she saw Yang Peng standing next to her with a smile! When she came back to her senses, her beautiful face suddenly turned red for some reason, and she said angrily: "Why are you here?" Yang Peng said with a smile: "Let me see you!" Then he stepped forward and held her in front of her. He closed the official document and said in a slightly annoyed tone: "No matter how busy you are, you can't ignore your health! Let's stop working here today, don't stay up late!"
Han Bing looked at Yang Peng stupidly. Yang Peng held her delicate hand naturally, "Come, eat and drink well, and then go to bed and rest!" Han Bing came back to his senses, hurriedly took out his delicate hand, lowered his head, stroking his hair and said at a loss. : "I, I'm not hungry!" At this moment, her heart was pounding and her head was in chaos.
Yang Peng dragged her up, dragged her to the coffee table, and forced her to sit down. Han Bingyuan looked at Yang Peng with her eyes open. Yang Peng said domineeringly: "I am your lord in public, and I am your eldest brother in private, so you must listen to me! Come, have a good meal! I will accompany you!" Then he poured a glass of wine for Han Bingman, Then he filled a glass for himself, picked up the wine glass, and said with a smile: "Here, let me toast you!"
Han Bing hesitated for a moment, then raised his head and drank the wine. Yang Peng smiled and drank the wine. Han Bing grabbed the wine bottle, filled another glass for himself, and drank it all in one gulp. After drinking five glasses of wine in a row, he still wanted to drink. Yang Peng quickly grabbed her wrist and said angrily: "Don't just drink, eat some food!" Han Bing looked at Yang Peng, with complicated emotions in his beautiful eyes. He pulled his hand back and said angrily: "I'll drink mine, don't worry about it!" Then he stopped using the wine glass and picked up the wine bottle and started filling it up. The dripping wine soaked his red lips and wet his clothes.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
