Yelu Sheng, the envoy of the Liao army, raised his head and said to Tong Guan who was riding a tall horse: "Listen, Commander Nan. Since the Chanyuan Alliance, the Liao Dynasty and the Southern Dynasty have been at peace with each other for hundreds of years and there has been no war. Now, why does the Southern Dynasty break the agreement and help? A thief? Don’t you know that forming a neighbor with a wolf will bring disaster in the future? We must know that providing disaster relief and caring for our neighbors is a righteousness both ancient and modern. We also hope that the great powers will coordinate their plans and do not forget the ancient rituals and do not bring worries to the future, leading to bitterness and hatred between relatives."
Tong Guan, who was riding on a tall horse, looked down at the Liao army envoy Yelu Sheng. Seeing his sincere words, he felt straight in his heart that the Liao people were timid, so they had to compromise. Tong Guan became arrogant because of this. Facing Yelu Sheng, his attitude was very arrogant. He completely refused to the Liao army's envoy Yelu Sheng and decided to fight with the Liao army.
Tong Guan shouted to Yelu Sheng: "Zhuo! What you are saying is pure nonsense! Nowadays, times have changed, things and people have changed. It is no longer the Song and Liao countries a hundred years ago. How can there be any unchanging covenant?"
Yelu Sheng looked up and said: "Nan Shuai's words are wrong! The covenant signed by Liao and Song Dynasty will not automatically become invalid due to the passage of time; even if the covenant signed between the two countries is to be abrogated, it must be resolved through negotiation. At present, the Southern Dynasty If there is no consultation on the abolition of the established covenant, how can we not be bound by the covenant?”
Tong Guan was contradicted by Ye Lusheng in person, and became a little angry, so he said: "No need to say more! Now, as the envoy of the Liao Army, you have met me, and I have clearly informed you that I will conquer your country and regain the Later Jin Dynasty." The loss of the hometown of Yanyun, which was trapped in your country, is the established policy of our government, and there is no room for accommodation. Don't say anything more, return it as soon as possible, and tell your guard to slow down and fight quickly, without mother-in-law or mother-in-law. Like a woman.”
Seeing that Tong Guan was stubborn, Yelu Sheng replied: "The commander-in-chief, I am not trying to compromise, but I am actually thinking of the Southern Dynasty."
"Nonsense!" Tong Guan shouted loudly: "It is our army that wants to conquer your country, why is it your turn to think about my country?!"
Yelu Sheng replied with neither arrogance nor humility: "Commander, let me think about it, if our country did not exist between the Song and Jin Dynasties, what would be the situation like if the country was on the border with the Jurchens who are like tigers and wolves? Tell the truth to the commander, the Jurchens are tigers and wolves. The country is insatiable and never satisfied. The commander-in-chief thinks, if the Jurchen can annex our country, how can it be allowed to survive alone? The commander-in-chief should know the truth of dying with lips and teeth."
The more sincere the Liao envoy spoke, the more Tong Guan thought that the Liao country was weak and timid of the imperial army, so he shouted sternly: "The Liao envoy should not talk more and go back quickly. Either he will surrender or he will fight. There is no other choice." Other ways."
No matter how much the Liao army envoy Yelu Sheng tried to persuade him, Tong Guan just refused.
The Liao army envoy Yelu Sheng had no choice but to ride a fast horse and return quickly to report the situation to Yelu Dashi.
After hearing the report, Yelu Dashi immediately entered the palace, met with Yelu Chun, and reported the above situation to Yelu Chun and Queen Xiao Puxian.
When Yelu Chun heard the report, before he said anything, Xiao Puxian, who was standing next to him, smiled faintly and said, "Song Dynasty soldiers and horses are a rabble. Don't be afraid of him. General Dashi just led the troops forward. He first sent a few soldiers and horses to lure the southern soldiers to advance, and then He laid heavy troops on the road and killed him. In addition, he quickly sent people to Zhuozhou and ordered the Evervictorious Army to take charge of Guo Yaoshi. He led the Evervictorious Army westward and cooperated with the larger army to attack the Southern Army. The Southern Army ignored the head and tail of the Southern Army. We must retreat."
Yelu Dashi turned to look at Yelu Chun.
Yelu Chun nodded and said: "If the queen says it is true, then we will do it like this."
After receiving the order, Yelu Dashi left the palace and sent people to Zhuozhou. He ordered Guo Pharmacist to lead the victorious army westward to attack the Song army. He also arranged troops and horses to set up an ambush along the way.
Yelu Dashi commanded the Liao army, and formed a formation at Baigou, with 30,000 troops in ambush, waiting for the arrival of the Song army.
Tong Guan did not know about the situation of the Liao army. Because the Liao State took the initiative to send Yelv Sheng to appeal, Tong Guan even thought that the Liao State court was timid and the Liao army was vulnerable. Therefore, Tong Guan's heart was only thinking about how to intimidate the Liao army into surrendering, and did not intend to fight with him. The Liao army fought a real battle.
At that time, Tong Guan, commanding the army heading north, arrived at the south gate of Xiongzhou and ordered all ministries to set up camp outside the city.
Outside the south gate of Xiongzhou, He Xi, the magistrate of Xiongzhou, and other officials of Xiongzhou Prefecture were already waiting outside the city gate.
Seeing the arrival of the imperial army, He Xi hurriedly led the local officials to the Central Army to meet with the commander of the army and the imperial envoy Tong Guantong.
Tong Guan and He were baptized and the ceremony was completed. He Xi then welcomed Tong Guan and his generals into the city, introduced him to the magistrate's office, and respectfully allowed Tong Guan to sit on the chief seat.
After Tong Guan sat down in the main seat, he said to He Xi, the magistrate of Xiongzhou: "The army is going north to conquer Khitan. The local commanders should cooperate fully to ensure the supply of food and grass for the army. He Zhizhou, you can order all the officials of Xiongzhou to go to comfort the army. .”
He Xi heard the words, bent down and replied: "In response to your lordship, I have arranged for my subordinates to comfort the army. After I have taken care of you, I will retire and go outside the city to express my condolences to the army."
Tong Guan waved his hand and said: "There is no need to go to He Zhifu. He Zhizhou, today, I will use your government office to hold a combat meeting to discuss and arrange the specific strategies and actions for the Northern Expedition to Khitan. He Zhizhou, as the local leader Officer, if you are familiar with the local situation, please also attend this meeting."
He Xi nodded and replied: "I respectfully obey the order of Lord Privy Councilor Jun."
He Xisui also took his seat and participated in the military meeting organized by Tong Guan.
Tong Guan sat on the main seat, glanced at the generals, and said: "Generals! This time, the Khitans are afraid of the northern expedition. Wherever the army goes, the Khitans will either be defeated or surrender. This is inevitable; However, the imperial soldiers and horses are benevolent and righteous troops, and they are famous for their purpose of regaining the imperial homeland, rather than killing innocent people indiscriminately. Therefore, in this campaign, when the generals organized their troops to fight, they mainly ordered the Khitan to surrender the city. Don’t kill indiscriminately.”
When all the generals heard this, they all looked at each other in shock.
Master Zhong said, "I don't think it's right. How can anyone not be prepared to kill bravely in a war?" So Zhong Shidao couldn't help it, stood up, took a step forward, looked at Tong Guan and bowed, and said: "The commander-in-chief is here, I will finally tell you something."
Although Tong Guan was extremely disgusted with Zhong Shi Dao, at the military meeting, in front of the generals, he still had to put on a show. Therefore, Tong Guan said politely: "Old Zhong, what do you have to say?" Just talk!”
"Thank you, Commander!" Zhong Shidao bowed again and said, "Commander, since the two armies are fighting, when they are facing each other, they should fight bravely. The commander said not to kill indiscriminately. This may not be easy to define. At the end of the day I would like to ask the coach for instructions, how can I not kill indiscriminately?"
Tong Guan asked Zhongshi Dao to just say what he said. It was nothing more than showmanship and establishing an image of being good-hearted and open-minded in front of the generals. Now he sees that Zhongshi Dao is not following his own will, but is the first to express his dissent. , opposed the major political policies he formulated, and was very angry. In order to achieve the effect of keeping his words and deeds, he said sternly: "Now, the imperial army is coming in force, and its power reaches far away. The Khitan soldiers and horses heard about it. I'm afraid I have already fled. Where can I go to fight the enemy bravely? Who are I going to kill? Are we going to kill indiscriminately even if we surrender our troops and generals? Our dynasty is an ancient civilized country, how can we kill innocent people indiscriminately?! This is inappropriate, and the old race will never get it Goodbye!"
War is a major event. Two armies are facing each other. Without knowing the enemy's military deployment, ordering one's own army not to kill indiscriminately is such a ridiculous thing! On the battlefield, only by killing the enemy bravely can you win; casually saying that you are not allowed to kill indiscriminately and having no specific standards will inevitably tie up the hands and feet of the soldiers on the battlefield, which will be detrimental to the battle. In this situation, as a Zhongshi Dao who has been on the battlefield for a long time and has experienced many wars, the harm is very clear. How can we not fight against reason! Therefore, Zhong Shidao took courage, looked up and bowed again, and said: "Privy Envoy, don't blame me for talking too much. I am actually thinking about the situation of the war. I am here, and I heard that the Liao Army has Send military envoys here to dissuade our army from the Northern Expedition."
Tong Guan replied impatiently: "It is indeed true! The Khitan court was extremely weak and was frightened by the large army's Northern Expedition. Therefore, it sent an envoy to come to plead with us in an attempt to dissuade our army from the Northern Expedition. How is this possible? This is impossible. ! They have no other way out than surrender."
Zhongshi Daoxu said: "Your Majesty, Privy Councilor, it is up to us to judge whether the Khitan has to surrender. If the Khitan does not surrender, how should our army respond? Sir Privy Councilor, what we did today is like a robber entering a neighbor's house. We cannot It’s just a rescue, but instead we are taking advantage of the situation to rob and share the spoils with the bandits. How can we do that? In view of the general’s opinion, it is better to agree to the Liao army’s begging and postpone the advance until the situation becomes clear in the future before making a decision.”
Zhong Shidao said this because he wanted to wait for the victory or defeat between the Jin Kingdom and the Liao Kingdom to decide what the court should do.
Tong Guan was furious when he heard this, slammed the table, stood up, and shouted loudly: "Zhongshi Dao! You are so audacious and wantonly talk nonsense! Form an alliance with Jin to conquer Liao and regain the territory of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures , is a matter that has been established by the imperial court and ordered by the Holy Emperor. How dare you interfere with the important affairs of the imperial court without authorization?! How dare you resist and disobey the decree?! You simply have no regard for the Holy One, despise the commander, and disrupt the military affairs. Come on! General Zhongshi Daola He will go out and behead him in public."
Zhong Shidao was a famous general in the imperial court. He was good at fighting and had a high prestige in the army. When the other generals saw that Tong Guan was angry and wanted to send General Daola, the master of cultivation, to go out and behead him in public, they were all shocked and left their seats one after another. They looked at Tong Guan and bowed before him and begged: "Commander, please calm down. Before the battle, I killed the general myself and sent him to the army." If it’s not good, why don’t we bypass Old General Zhong for the time being, and after the army returns to the court after the victory, we can report it to the Holy One and let the Holy One deal with it.”
Tong Guan saw that all the generals were interceding for Zhong Shi Dao, and said angrily: "In the current war, it is a great crime to arbitrarily discuss the established strategic arrangements and shake the morale of the army! Zhong Shi Dao! Since all the generals are interceding for you, I will bypass it for the time being. After you return to the court in victory, I will naturally ask the Holy One to deal with it!"
If Zhongshi Dao only opposed the specific military strategy of not killing indiscriminately, that would be fine. The problem is that Zhongshi Dao directly denied the imperial court's major policy of uniting with Jin to destroy Liao and regain Yanyun's homeland. This made Tong Guan very angry. I thought to myself, no one else in the court can do it, but you can do it? ! In addition, Zhong Shidao once told Emperor Huizong that Tong Guan was wrong. Tong Guan was malicious and wanted to kill Zhong Shidao, but the generals always opposed it, so he gave up.
