Eunuch Zhang quickly helped Cao Bin up and said with a smile:
"His Majesty asked our family to bring a message to the Marquis."
"Young Master, please let me go and do whatever you want. Even if your Majesty is really used as a bait, there is no harm in speaking out."
"In addition, His Majesty said that after the victory, he will confer the title of earl to the eldest daughter of the Marquis."
After speaking, Jian declined Cao Bin's gift and took the people away directly.
As for Cao Bin, he has long been interested in making friends, how could he be greedy for a little money?
When the Yang family daughter saw that the emperor sent someone to reward her, she was relieved and at the same time felt a little sour.
Sanniang of the Yang family even murmured:
"The officials regard you as their own son. I, the Yang family, have worked for the Song Dynasty through life and death, and I have never seen him care so much."
Cao Bin smiled and shook his feather fan, pretending he didn't hear it, turned it around, and said proudly:
"Are you handsome?"
She had to say that in front of her, otherwise she would be snitched on.
In the past two years, Cao Bin told Huangfu Xiaoyi some stories of the Three Kingdoms from later generations and asked him to compile them into plays and sing them, but they were not systematic.
When he returns to Beijing this time, he plans to copy out the entire "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and carefully manage his character.
Sister Yang's eyes sparkled when she saw it, she nodded quickly, touched his sleeve and said:
"What kind of fabric is this? It looks very gorgeous."
Sanniang said speechlessly:
"Fortunately, you are still a woman, and you can't even tell Shu brocade apart."
For a time, all the generals sent their flattery one after another.
Although Cao Bin was happy, he also knew that the emperor's gift was not easy to get.
The emperor was so attentive, so he must have guessed Cao Bin's original plan, so giving him a gift was not an expression of guilt.
Since the emperor has expressed his feelings, of course he must also express his feelings.
Otherwise, wouldn’t it mean that you don’t know what is good and what is evil?
"alright!"
Cao Bin waved his hand to stop everyone, returned to his position and said seriously:
"Since the strategy of luring the enemy fails, we must think of other strategies. If you have any clever ideas, please feel free to tell us."
The generals also became serious and made their own plans.
Cao Bin listened for a long time, and seeing that there was no obvious plan, he directly expressed his plan:
"I intend to fight a decisive battle with the Liao army!"
Everyone suddenly panicked and said quickly:
"Master Hou, think twice, the Liao army is best at field warfare."
"If we want to fight, it will be difficult for us to defeat them."
Mu Guiying also nodded and said:
"Cao Bin, don't be impulsive. It's really hard to win against the Liao army."
"What's more, our army's military strength is slightly inferior to that of the Liao people."
There are currently only 70,000 Song troops in Dingzhou. If the defenders of the city are excluded, only more than 60,000 people can be mobilized.
However, the Liao army had 80,000 soldiers, most of whom were elites. They would suffer a lot if they fought.
Cao Bin shook his head and said:
"It's not just a matter of impulse."
"It's just that the Liao people are swimming behind our army, so there must be a conspiracy."
"For the current plan, the only way to defeat the main force of the Liao army quickly is to render them helpless."
As the saying goes, if you hit with one punch, you won't get hit by hundreds of punches.
Instead of guessing the other party's plot, guarding against the enemy's secret moves, and being led by the enemy, it is better to take the initiative and let them busy saving themselves.
Cao Bin was not good at fighting wits and courage, and he felt that he was not a master of playing tricks, but he understood the simplest truth.
That's taking the initiative.
How much brain power does it take to crack other people's plans? It's never better to let others crack your strategy.
Then he said:
"Half a month ago, I secretly ordered people to build a dam to store water in the upper reaches of the Tang River."
"Calculate it, see what the winning rate is, and make a complete plan."
Sanniang of the Yang family shook her head and said, "There is little water in the Tang River, so I'm afraid it won't pose a threat."
The Tang River is originally a small river, and its flow is even smaller in winter. It is basically impossible to attack the enemy with floods.
Cao Bin smiled and said: "I have no intention of attacking the enemy with water. This time I will attack the enemy with ice."
Although the lack of water could not cause much harm, in the cold winter months, when dripping water turned into ice, dozens of miles nearby could be transformed into ice fields, which disabled the Liao army's cavalry.
Even if Yeluren defended tightly first, Cao Bin would still have to forcefully open a hole for him.
Sanniang of the Yang family glanced at Cao Bin in surprise and said:
"No wonder you asked the people to make skateboards and wooden clogs with iron nails, and sent out many scouts to ride on the tired enemy."
"So he had expected this situation a long time ago? He really has the style of a Marquis of Wu."
How could Cao Bin have expected so much? He was just prepared.
And in order to cover up this plan, he sent out light cavalry in turns to harass and intercept Liao's exploring horses. This had already made Yelu Ren suspicious, so he could not delay it any longer.
The winner must be decided quickly before the Liao people can react.
In the blink of an eye, a few days have passed, and the New Year is approaching.
In the Liao army camp.
Emperor Liao was already a little anxious and said to Yelvren:
"Marshal Renxian, the time has taken too long."
"If the confrontation continues, I am afraid that there will be unrest in the country."
Yelvren pondered for a moment and then comforted him:
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I estimate that the enemy will be defeated in these few days."
The emperor can be anxious, but he must not be anxious, otherwise he will be in chaos.
At this time, the spies suddenly came to report:
"Your Majesty, Marshal, the Song Army is celebrating the Zhengdan Festival in the city."
As he spoke, there was also a little desire in his eyes. It had been more than half a year since the expedition, and it was the festive season. Both the Song and Liao armies were homesick.
Yelvren heard the words first and said quickly:
"I'll see it myself."
After he confirmed the situation in Dingzhou, he breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"Even so, the troops must not be careless and must be on duty carefully."
Confronting Cao Bin put a lot of pressure on him.
Different from Cao Bin's self-perception, he was extremely afraid of Cao Bin. Not only did the opponent use his troops strictly and without any flaws, he was also good at using strange tricks.
The Liao army was deceived many times by tricks, which made him frightened, fearing that the other side would come up with another trick and cause the Liao army to lose troops and generals.
Therefore, he has been regarded as his lifelong enemy.
In fact, Cao Bin didn't manage military affairs very much at all. The reason why he rarely showed any flaws was because he was self-aware.
On weekdays, the troops are managed by those who are proficient in military affairs, and many generals' disciples are gathered to check for deficiencies and assist in command.
Every time there is an action, everyone is asked to sort out information and improve the plan, which is equivalent to a staff department.
Yelv Renxian seemed to be fighting against Cao Bin, but in fact he was fighting against the collective wisdom of more than a dozen people.
That's why he's under so much pressure.
These days, the Song army harassed him day and night, which made Yelvren unable to bear the harassment, but he did not dare to relax completely.
Now that Song Jun is celebrating the New Year, he should be able to have a good sleep.
Shortly after nightfall, fine snow began to fall from the sky.
In the middle of the night, the sound of rushing water suddenly echoed through the military camp.
In his sleep, Yelvren suddenly felt palpitations. He got up and listened for a while and quickly asked:
"What's going on? Why is there the sound of water?"
While speaking, he suddenly woke up, shouted, jumped out of bed and shouted:
"Quickly wake up the soldiers and prepare for battle."
In this moment, the Liao military camp had become Zeguo.
Yelvren first felt a chill in his heart and said hurriedly:
"Be careful of enemy troops attacking the camp and defend carefully."
He wasn't too worried about this because he was already prepared.
The Dazhangpishi Army and the Shushan Army took turns on guard. Once the enemy attacked the camp, they would immediately intercept and kill them with cavalry.
But what surprised him was that no Song troops came when the sky dawned.
The soldiers were on guard all night and then relaxed a little.
Just as Yelvren was thinking about the enemy's plan, the soldiers came to report anxiously:
"Marshal, the Song army has left the city."
Yelvren quickly climbed onto the wall of the village and looked around.
Seeing that overnight, as far as he could see, all around him was the gleaming ice surface, he couldn't help but look pale, and his heart felt cold.
He already knew Cao Bin's plan...
