Within a few days, Fu Bi and others took the initiative to submit a letter asking for external transfer.
The emperor did not try to persuade them to stay, and directly approved their memorial. The New Deal, which lasted for more than half a year, was quickly abolished.
At the same time, Wang Yanling and others wrote a letter to transfer Kou Zhun to Beijing to serve as deputy privy envoy.
The emperor's report was accurate and Cai Jing was reinstated as the third envoy.
For a time, Wang Yanling, Kou Zhun and Cai Jing once again formed a rivalry in the court.
In September, there was an emergency at the border. Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty led 130,000 troops to march in person. He joined the Eastern Route Army and surrounded Waqiao Pass.
On the tenth day of the ninth lunar month, Kou Zhun and others submitted a letter asking the emperor to lead the expedition in person.
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The emperor had no choice.
Waqiaoguan, including the local Xiang army and civilians, only had 40,000 to 50,000 people. It was besieged by 200,000 soldiers and horses of the Liao Kingdom and could be overturned at any time.
Pan Renmei was in a stalemate with the second army of Liao soldiers at Zhending Mansion, unable to spare any support.
If Waqiao Pass is broken, there will be a thousand-mile plain behind it. With the speed of the Liao cavalry, they can reach Kaifeng in a few days.
So the imperial court once again raised the idea of moving the capital and temporarily avoiding Shu.
The emperor had no choice but to agree to what Kou Zhun and others had said, expressing his determination to fight to the death.
In early October, after some urgent preparations, the imperial court, led by the female general of the Yang family, gathered the Shandong reinforcements and headed north.
Cao Bin led 20,000 imperial troops to accompany the emperor to protect him.
Originally he was very satisfied with this arrangement, but after he hit the road, he felt the pain.
Every two days, the emperor would have pain in his waist and asked him to use Qigong to treat it.
Looking at the youthful and rosy Concubine Pan who was following the royal chariot, Cao Bin felt a little resentful.
It would be dishonest to conduct a military expedition in person, but it doesn't hurt your back?
He finally understood why the emperor kept him by his side.
That evening, he saw two eleven or twelve-year-old children directing the soldiers to set up camp in an orderly manner. The emperor curiously said:
"Who are these two children?"
Cao Bin called them over and introduced:
"Guan family, these two are my adopted sons."
"One was once the son of Consort Chen, and the other was of Zhang Guoshu's blood."
Cao Zheng has a "Growth Inheritance Card" and can learn the art of war extremely quickly.
Now, Cao Bin lets him direct the camp himself, while Zhong Erlang and others supervise.
As for Zhang Shanfu's son, Zhang Le, he was still a little ignorant and was only temporarily learning from Cao Zheng.
Although Cao Bin still had a "He Yan Growth and Inheritance Card" in his hand, it was not given to him to use.
This card has very few restrictions on its use and is very useful. He doesn't want to use it rashly.
The emperor looked at Cao Zheng, then at Zhang Le, and sighed:
"That guy Zhang Shanfu is quite sensible, so he entrusted his son to you."
"You are so dedicated, my second son is very likely to become talented in the future..."
As he spoke, he enthusiastically rewarded two jade pendants and said:
"Learn the art of war well from your adoptive father and become a pillar of the country in the future!"
Originally, the emperor wanted to hold Zhang Shanfu accountable, but after seeing Zhang Shanfu's miserable experience after returning home, he gave up the idea of punishing him.
Zhang Shanfu's wife was not killed either. She was imprisoned in a nunnery and stayed with the Qingdeng Ancient Buddha all her life.
Zhang Liao was a concubine and was often abused by Zhang Shanfu's wife at home.
After following Cao Bin, he cherished the opportunity to stand out and was particularly diligent in studying and practicing martial arts.
Although Cao Bin himself is a bit shy, he likes others to be diligent, so he simply adopted him as his adopted son...
When leaving the capital, there were only 40,000 forbidden troops following the expedition. After passing through Daming Mansion, they joined Shandong and came to reinforce the army, which directly reached 80,000 people.
However, with the two recruitments of garrison troops from Gyeonggi and Jingdong, the defenses in the rear of Hebei and Shandong became very empty.
If defeated, the Song Dynasty would have to move its capital.
However, the Liao Kingdom was not much better. Starting from Xixia, the Liao Emperor successively used 400,000 horses, almost emptying the domestic fighting force.
More than half a month later, Yujia finally arrived at Zhending Mansion. When the soldiers of the Song Dynasty saw this, their morale was shocked.
In the battle that day, the Song army directly broke through the three camps of the Liao Kingdom and beheaded 5,000 people.
Yelv Renxian, the commander of the Liao Second Route Army, had to retreat to Dingzhou to defend.
Suddenly, Zhending Mansion gathered 170,000 soldiers and horses.
The situation at this time is.
Between Zhending and Dingzhou, 170,000 soldiers and horses of the Song Dynasty faced off against more than 80,000 Yelv Renxian.
In Xiongzhou, the Liao Emperor's 200,000 troops besieged Waqiao Pass.
The next day, Zhending Mansion set up camp.
The emperor sat on the throne, Kou Zhun and Pan Renmei came to serve him, and many generals gathered together.
"How should Pan Qing's family be arranged now?"
Pan Renmei cupped her hands and said:
"Your Majesty is personally conducting the expedition. This is when the morale of our army is high."
"In my opinion, we should take advantage of the situation and attack the Liao army in Dingzhou in one fell swoop."
"Then rescue Waqiao Pass!"
Although the female general of the Yang family was anxious and wanted to divide her troops to rescue Yang Zongbao, there was no problem with Pan Renmei's strategy.
He had no choice but to endure it patiently and said nothing.
At this moment, the spies came to report:
"Your Majesty, Marshal, Yelvren has sent a letter of war first, intending to fight our army on the banks of the Shahe River!"
Pan Renmei said with great joy:
"That's very good. This battle is just what I want."
The emperor asked other people's opinions and was about to agree when Gao Qian suddenly ran in covered in blood and said:
"Your Majesty, Waqiao Pass has been lost and General Yang Zongbao has retreated to Mozhou City. Please send troops to rescue as soon as possible!"
His father Gao Wang was Yang Zongbao's deputy general. He personally broke into the camp to report the news, which showed that the situation was critical.
Before the emperor could speak, Pan Renmei had already shouted:
"Go back and tell Yang Zongbao to defend Mozhou and not to retreat. If he retreats, he will be killed!"
Yingzhou and Mozhou are places that the people of Liao miss dearly. If they occupy Mozhou, it will be difficult to come back.
There are already few dangerous passes in Hebei. Without Yingzhou and Mozhou, the Liao people can come whenever they want, and there will be another smooth road to attack Kaifeng.
The female general of the Yang family suddenly became anxious, and Sister Yang couldn't help but cursed:
"You're farting, how can Zong Baobing hold on even if there are only a few major generals?"
Pan Renmei glared at her and said:
"When I defeat Yelu Renxian, I will naturally lead my troops to rescue him."
"Do you want me to ignore hundreds of thousands of troops just to save Yang Zongbao?"
Taijun She’s eyebrows furrowed together in worry, she cupped her hands and said:
"Your Majesty, our Yang family is willing to lead our own soldiers to rescue!"
The emperor waved his hand and said:
"Okay, I don't want anything to happen to Zongbao."
"Pan Qing's family, Yelvren only has 80,000 people. If you want to defeat him, you don't need so many people, right?"
"Can you dedicate some of your troops to support Yang Zongbao first?"
Pan Renmei said helplessly:
"Your Majesty, if our army wants to defeat Yelu Renxian quickly, we must ensure absolute superiority."
"Since His Majesty has given the order, I can allocate five thousand troops..."
He was also a little depressed. Although he wished that the Yang family would die cleanly, he really didn't use any tricks this time.
Although our own side seems to have a large number of people, the elites are limited, and tens of thousands of people have to be allocated to protect the Holy Driver. The remaining ones are not much more than the Liao army.
