Fu Bi quickly asked: "Where is the Liao envoy?"
When the emperor was reminded by him, he also reacted and said hurriedly:
"Yes, yes, yes, send a message to the Liao envoys quickly and ask them why they sent troops."
"Are you trying to attack me, the Song Dynasty, or is it because of the Xixia incident?"
Cai Jing shook his head and said, "The envoy from Liao Kingdom left yesterday."
The emperor sat down on the chair and said helplessly: "Now that things have happened, what can we do about it?"
When he first came to the throne, he was beaten by the Liao Kingdom and was a little scared.
At that time, they had sufficient troops and were still invincible. Now when they attack Xixia, they have suffered heavy losses, and they are no longer a match for them.
Wang Yanling hesitated and said:
"Your Majesty, it's better to withdraw our troops. Empress Dowager Xiao has been restrained these years. Perhaps our attack on Xia annoyed her."
"As long as our army... withdraws from Xixia, the Liao Kingdom will also withdraw its troops."
Fu Bi said angrily:
"No, our army suffered such heavy losses and finally captured Xingqing Mansion. How can we give up?"
"I am willing to send an envoy to Liao to hold them back."
Pan Renmei shook her head and said:
"Fu Xiang, it's useless. Since the Liao Kingdom has already sent troops, how can you say you will retreat from them?"
"Besides, at this time, it's too late for you to rush to Liao Kingdom."
Fu Bi was reluctant in every possible way, and after a long while he said:
"Perhaps the Liao Kingdom is just demonstrating. As long as we quickly attack and destroy Xixia, they will naturally retreat when they see that there is no advantage to be taken."
Pan Renmei laughed secretly, feeling that Fu Bi was too naive, but he did not persuade her.
Regardless of whether he withdraws his troops or not, he is happy to see the results.
"this......"
The emperor hesitated and didn't know what to do.
After thinking about it for a long time, he said:
"If that's the case, then wait a moment?"
At this time, he was worried and frightened, yet unwilling to give up.
The Liao Kingdom was originally attacking Goryeo, and the Song Dynasty was looking for an opportunity to attack Xia.
For this reason, the Song Dynasty even ignored Goryeo's overtures and requests for help a year ago.
Unexpectedly, when they were about to capture Xixia, the Liao Kingdom would rather give up Goryeo than intervene.
Where is the promised brotherly covenant?
A few days later, Jiyisi sent information again, this time it was much more detailed.
The Liao Kingdom sent a total of 320,000 troops, divided into three groups.
The First Route Army left Youzhou and arrived at Xiongzhou, Hebei Province. Yang Zongbao, the commander of Waqiao Pass, had already sent an urgent document.
The second group of troops went back down the Yellow River, along the line of Xiazhou in Hengshan, and entered Lingzhou to cut off the retreat of the Xia and Song armies.
The third group of troops were all cavalry, advancing rapidly with light equipment and driving directly to Helan Mountain to support Xingqing Mansion.
Pan Renmei slapped her thigh and said, "My army of one hundred thousand is in danger."
Seeing everyone looking over, Pan Renmei said:
"Although Cao Bin and others have enough food and grass for the time being, arrows, summer clothes and other logistics cannot be replenished."
"Now that the road back is cut off, there are hundreds of thousands of troops surrounding us in front and behind. If we fight, we will definitely lose!"
Everyone was shocked, and the emperor quickly said:
"I will issue an order now and send troops to respond!"
There are no more troops to send to the northwest border. If you want to respond, you can only mobilize the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army from Kaifeng.
Pan Renmei shook her head and said:
"The Liao army came to Waqiao Pass just to prevent reinforcements from us."
"Once the Central Plains is empty and there is no danger to defend in the north, the Liao people will take advantage of the trend and go south until they reach Kaifeng."
Not only that, the northwest is now empty. As long as the Liao Kingdom controls Xixia, it can invade the Central Plains from Shaanxi Road and threaten Bianjing.
At that time, the Liao Kingdom can attack from three directions: Taiyuan, Yanzhou, and Baozhou, and the Song Dynasty will be in danger of annihilation.
As soon as he said this, the court hall was silent, and the emperor said in a dry voice:
"Now that things have come to a point, what should we do?"
Pan Renmei said: "If you order Cao Bin and the Yang family to retreat quickly, you may be able to save tens of thousands of troops!"
In his opinion, it was impossible to retreat unscathed. If Cao Bin retreated, Xixia would definitely pursue him. He would be lucky if he could save 30,000 to 40,000 people.
This is without being intercepted by the Liao army.
If the Liao Kingdom cuts off the retreat first, the entire army may be annihilated, and this possibility is extremely high.
Seeing the emperor looking over, Fu Bi sighed and said:
"The officials have no choice but to retreat. I hope it's not too late!"
As long as part of the northwest frontier army can be preserved, if the Liao Kingdom attacks the Song Dynasty from the northwest, it will not have any scruples.
Then he added: "Use flying pigeons to pass the message!"
When the emperor heard this, he quickly said:
"Immediately order the Imperial City Secretary to send a letter to Yanzhou, ordering Cao Bin and Taijun She to retreat immediately!"
Flying pigeons can only reach Yanzhou, and the flying pigeons that go to Lingzhou have not been cultivated yet.
After a while, the envoy from the Imperial City ran in sweating profusely, saying on the verge of crying but without tears:
"Officials and minor ministers are punished with death, and all flying pigeons to the northwest will be poisoned!"
When the emperor heard this, he almost fainted.
Fu Bi quickly asked: "What's going on?"
The Imperial City Division was actually infiltrated, and these people were too incompetent.
The imperial envoy quickly explained:
"We suspect that it was the spies under the command of Princess Yelu Guanyinnu of the Liao Kingdom who did it..."
Seeing Fu Bi's impatient expression, he quickly added:
"The official has sent a fast horse to Luoyang to deliver the message."
Fu Bi shook his head and said:
"It's too late, it's too late!"
Seeing the emperor looking over, he could only say:
"Do your best and obey fate."
Pan Renmei also shook her head slightly.
Time was already very tight, but now it would be a few days later, and the Song army in Xia was basically hopeless.
Seeing the usually amiable emperor, his face turned pale, and his eyes shot out with crazy murderous intent.
The imperial envoy almost collapsed on the ground...
When Cao Bin and others received the news from the court, it was already half a month later.
They also arrived at Xingqing Mansion not long ago, and it took them five or six days just to build the siege equipment.
Then he tentatively attacked the city for two days.
Before I could do my best, I received the decree from the court.
At this time, everyone in the Chinese army's tent was silent.
No one expected that what was originally a good situation would suddenly take a turn for the worse.
Taijun She sighed helplessly and said:
"The imperial court asked us to withdraw our troops, but there are opinions on how to withdraw. Who is willing to cut off the rear?"
Everyone was about to discuss it, but Cao Bin shook his head and said:
"If you want to withdraw, you withdraw, but I won't withdraw anyway!"
We have already reached the capital of Xixia. Is my loss wasted? Marquis and Duke don’t want it anymore?
Even if we want to withdraw, we can't suffer such a big loss.
In fact, he has some unexplained plans.
If you don't retreat, you will be completely defeated. If you retreat, you will be defeated slightly, but it's not much different. You might as well give it a try.
When everyone heard this, they were stunned for a moment and did not understand what he meant. Taijun She thought he was jealous and advised:
"Cao Bin, don't be impulsive. The Liao Kingdom has already sent troops. Once our retreat is cut off, our entire army will be in danger of being annihilated!"
Auntie Yang also said:
"We are not willing to retreat like this, but we must put the overall situation first and not act on impulse."
Cao Bin pointed at the Xixia map, shook his head and said:
"When did the Liao Kingdom send out its troops? I'm afraid it's been a month."
"Even if we retreat, we will still encounter the Liao army, so we might as well fight with all our might!"
When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but be stunned. After a long while, Mu Guiying said:
"Even so, we should retreat."
"Xingqing Mansion has plenty of food and grass. The city is high and the river is deep. There are at least 50,000 to 60,000 defenders. How can we capture it in such a hurry?"
"Are you confident that you can break through Xingqing Mansion within a few days?"
Cao Bin shook his head and said, "No, I'm not good at attacking cities!"
Mu Guiying rolled her eyes and almost cursed, what nonsense are you talking about?
However, he explained carefully:
"Even if we are intercepted and killed by the Liao army, we still have a glimmer of hope."
"If we are trapped in this city, we will die without a chance to survive!"
At this moment, the soldiers came to report their talents:
"Generals, Xixia sent envoys to come for peace talks!"
Cao Bin suddenly laughed and said:
"Who's coming?"
The soldier said: "This is the political king of Xixia, Wei Ming Ge."
Cao Bin quickly said: "Let him come in."
After a while, Brother Wei Mingwei walked in. He saluted first and then said:
"I have met Taijun She, Uncle Zhongjing, Hou Huntian, and all the generals."
"Now that our Xixia reinforcements have arrived, do you still want to attack the city?"
"As long as the Song army withdraws, I, Daxia, promise not to pursue you!"
When the female general of the Yang family heard this, she couldn't help but look happy.
If Xixia allowed himself and others to retreat, the losses of the Song army would be greatly reduced.
Cao Bin said:
"You can retreat if you want me to. I have two conditions!"
"First, your Xixia Kingdom is not allowed to claim the title of emperor, both internally and externally. You must regard yourself as the King of the Song Dynasty."
Hearing this, Taijun She couldn't help but nodded happily.
Although making demands at this time is a bit threatening, it is normal. It can be seen that Cao Bin really thinks about the Song Dynasty.
Brother Wei Mingwei did not hesitate at all, nodded and agreed:
"Since our Xia Kingdom made peace with the Song Dynasty, we have never proclaimed ourselves emperor, but only regarded ourselves as kings."
What he said was a bit watery. Although Xixia did not claim to be emperor externally, it often overstepped its bounds in its credentials, and also claimed to be emperor internally.
However, Cao Bin didn't care and continued:
"Secondly, ask the head of your family to write a letter calling me, the official family of the Great Song Dynasty, as my grandfather!"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and before they understood what he meant, Cao Bin continued:
"I will lick my face and be a godfather, and they will be there too."
He pointed at the female general of the Yang family and said:
"You pick a godmother for my son Liang Zuo!"
Hearing this, everyone was stunned and almost burst into tears.
