On the 20th day of the first lunar month of the first year of Shaoming in Zhangzhou, in Zhujiachuan, Shuozhou, the Zhou army that went to besiege Shuozhou began to withdraw to Fuzhou in an orderly manner.
The main force of the more than 20,000 troops was composed of the Datong Army of Xia Suidao of the Zhou Kingdom, plus the Zhejia Army from the far side who had accepted the title of Marquis Zhang Zhaoyincheng.
In addition, Yang Hongxin of Linzhou also mobilized more than 2,000 troops, and the Dangxiang tribes from various places sent more than 4,000 troops in total.
For the underpopulated and remote Daibei land, dispatching more than 20,000 people is almost all their wealth, so the attack power is still very good.
Zhe led his army to conquer Shenchi, Xincheng, Loufangguan and other places many years ago. However, after arriving at Shuozhou City, he was a little unable to attack.
This army was originally not an elite force in the Zhou Kingdom, not to mention the equipment. It was completely different from the Zhou Kingdom's imperial guards, but in terms of Daibei, it had relatively good combat effectiveness.
Moreover, the Khitan people in Shuozhou City were unexpectedly strong. Zhe Cong was far from siege weapons and could only continuously raid the Khitan manors outside the city that had been moved to control the place.
At the same time, although the Khitan army from Datong City did not dare to fight against the Zhou army, they were cavalry and had not left Shuozhou, and they were unable to expel them from far away.
After Yuan Day, a group of cavalry suddenly broke into more than ten miles outside Shuozhou City from Daibei Yanmen Pass. Although there were only a few hundred people, it was already a very dangerous signal.
Because the cavalry coming was not Liu Zhiyuan's Hedong cavalry or Tuguhun cavalry, but the Khitan cavalry.
There is only one possibility for the Khitan cavalry to come out of Yanmen Pass. This is Liu Zhiyuan's permission. They come to fight rather than wait and see.
Zhe Congyuan knew in his heart that Zhi Congyuan most likely had someone come to scare him into withdrawing his troops.
But Zhe Congyuan did not dare to take a gamble. For the safety of the more than 20,000 troops, he could only decisively choose to retreat.
Although in this way, all the cities built in the early stage were basically lost, Zhe Congyuan or Zhang Zhao's goal had been achieved.
That was Rang Xia Sui and the local snakes in the Fulin area. Completely brand the Great Zhou and test their mobilization ability.
Liu Zhiyuan was actually not far away, watching the Zhou army led by Zhe Congyuan evacuate amid the snowflakes, his hands tightly holding the reins, his dark face covered with frost.
The Datong Army, Fuzhou Zhe Congyuan, and Linzhou Yang Hongxin should have been forces he could rely on, but due to a series of mistakes and misunderstandings, they were finally pushed to Zhang Zhao.
If there were more than 20,000 soldiers and horses in hand, it would not be possible. Now, almost three months later, Hedong soldiers and horses still only occupy Hebei counties on the side of Taihang Mountain.
Others were afraid of Liu Zhiyuan's black face, but Gao Song was not afraid. He wore a leather robe with a distinct Khitan style, and his bald hair was clearly visible on his head that was deliberately not wearing a hat.
"King Peiping, the conditions for great stability are still valid. It is impossible for the Khitan to cede Yunzhou, but as long as these thousands of people can be released back, the four states of Dai, Shuo, Wei, and Yi south of Yunzhou can be handed over to us. The King of Peiping and the Han people from the four states can also stay."
Liu Zhiyuan looked at the hair on Gao Song's head and couldn't help but sneer, "Yunzhou is the land of China. Any talk of cession will only make you laugh!"
Gao Song had an indifferent expression on his face, "Whether it is ceded or returned, it doesn't matter to us and the people outside the Great Wall, but Yunzhou really can't give it.
Because Wu, the eldest son of Da Xiangwen who wanted to support King Dongdan, wanted to be the emperor, without Yunzhou, we would not be able to fight against the emperor's younger brother Yelu Lihu, and the King of Beiping also knew this.
If the king insists that we return to Yunzhou, then we might as well surrender to the emperor's brother Li Hu. "
It turned out that after Yelu Wuzhi returned to the north, he gathered the remaining defeated generals along the way. Although he was constantly attacked by the Han people in Hebei, he finally escaped back to Youzhou because Zhang Zhao did not send out large troops to pursue him.
After joining the thousands of defenders in Youzhou City, there were more than 10,000 soldiers and horses.
They jointly elected Yelu Bei's eldest son Yelu Ruan as emperor, occupied Youzhou, Yunzhou and surrounding areas, and expressed their desire to cooperate with Liu Zhiyuan many times.
As for why they still recommended Yelu Ruan at this moment? There is nothing we can do about that.
Even the Khitan people were horrified by the cruelty of Shulu Ping and Yelu Lihu's mother and son.
You must know that the Queen Mother dared to force the ministers to die in front of Yelu Abao's coffin.
At that time, Zhao Siwen, a minister of the Han Dynasty, asked her why the queen was not buried. Shuluping immediately said, "It's not that I don't want to go underground to follow the late emperor, but I can't go because my sons are young and weak and the country has no owner!"
Then he cut off his right wrist with his own hands and calmly sent it to Yelu Abaoji's coffin as a burial substitute.
How cruel! No, it should be said that she was vicious and frightened everyone, so she was nicknamed the Queen Mother of Broken Arms.
But his son Yelu Lihu was even more ferocious and cruel than Shuluping, and his brain was not very good, he knew how to kill people for fun, and he didn't look like a human king.
If Yeluwuzhao and the others went back like this, they would definitely be beheaded and their tribe would be annexed.
Because Shulu Ping and Yelu Lihu, mother and son, no longer needed them at all. They swallowed up their tribes and eliminated all those close to Yelu Deguang. Only then could the mother and son firmly control the Khitan.
Therefore, for the sake of their own safety and power, the Khitan soldiers and generals who returned from a disastrous defeat collectively elected Yelu Ruan.
They also hoped that the 7,000 men under Gao Song's command would join them. In this way, with 20,000 men, they could barely fight against Shuluping and his son.
Liu Zhiyuan weighed for a long time. He didn't believe that without Yunzhou, Yelu Wuzhi and others would succumb to Shuluping. However, he didn't have the capital to gamble now, so he could only turn around and persuade Gao Song.
"You, Gao Mohan, are not Khitan. Even if you are, even Er and other emperors have died in Henan. Can you still not see the general trend of the world clearly?
The rise of the Han Dynasty and the decline of the Hu Dynasty is inevitable. Why can't we stay in Hedong, join a certain family to destroy the kid from Hexi, and enjoy the glory and wealth of the Central Plains? "
Gao Song laughed inwardly, you Liu Zhiyuan only have less than 50,000 troops, and your elite level is not as good as the Liao army that went south last year. How can you defeat the King of Zhou?
But of course he would not say this on face, "A certain person is nearly forty years old, and all his original children have been killed in Goryeo. If even his children in Liaoyang are gone, I am afraid that he will have no future in this life."
Moreover, most of the soldiers and horses under his command have family members outside the fortress. Their hearts are uneasy and the army is anxious to return. If they are forced to stay, they may not have much fighting power. Please have mercy on us and other foreign barbarians. "
Liu Zhiyuan was indeed unwilling to let these thousands of people go, but if he didn't let them go, he didn't seem to be able to take advantage of them.
It's just that now Zhang Zhao occupies the land of Henan, as well as the rear areas of Guanzhong and Longyou in Hexi Province. It is really impossible to fight against the tens of thousands of people in Hedong alone!
The envoy from the Liao Kingdom on the side saw Liu Zhiyuan's expression softening and immediately spoke to persuade him.
"When I came here, my lord and Dachangwen told my ministers that if the King of Beiping was willing, my lord would be willing to stay with the King of Beiping in Dingzhou.
At that time, if the king has other conditions, he can discuss them face to face. Now that the Southern Dynasty is in great power, we two sides need to watch each other and help each other! "
Having said this, Liu Zhiyuan could only nod. Dingzhou is now half in the hands of Liu Zhiyuan and half in the hands of the Khitans. It is a good place for a meeting.
So he said to the Khitan envoy: "That's good, why not set it in a month. At that time, a certain family will have a quiet time with your Lord in person."
Qiande Palace, Chongde Palace, Zhang Zhao is listening to Hebei's report.
This time Liu Zhiyuan seemed to have received huge benefits. He occupied five or six states in Hebei, and his territory almost doubled.
But in Zhang Zhao's eyes, Liu Zhiyuan's expansion also gave him a clear understanding of Hedong's military strength, which was still in the fog.
Zhang Zhao discovered that Liu Zhiyuan's headquarters had less than 30,000 infantry and cavalry in total, and the rest were almost all Hedong Fan tribe cavalry.
With such little strength, if Zhang Zhao were Liu Zhiyuan and he was already that old, why would he be struggling if he quickly surrendered south and became a hereditary prince?
He seems to occupy most of Hebei now, but it only takes one battle and his true colors will be revealed immediately.
Without soldiers and horses, no matter how much territory they occupy, it will be in vain. The overall strength of Hedong is probably far inferior to that of Meng Shu and Southern Tang.
While Zhang Zhao was listening to the report, the old brothers came into the palace noisily.
From Yan Jin and Ma Yaozi to Man Xiong and Dunzhu, plus Murong Nobunaga and Li Cunhui, this is Zhang Zhao's core force.
The old brothers all got the hereditary titles, and they were all very happy.
However, after Zhang Zhao waited for them to sit down and drank a few glasses of wine, he suddenly sighed.
Ma Yaozi touched the prince's crown on his head out of habit, and said to Zhang Zhao proudly.
"Sage, are you worried about the situation in Hebei? Huh! Liu Zhiyuan is so clueless. He has a weak army and a few generals who are still resisting. Such ungrateful people, please ask the saint to send someone to Hebei. With only 20,000 troops, they can surely capture this farm slave alive!"
As soon as the others heard this, they immediately got excited and scolded Liu Zhiyuan one after another, saying that they wanted to share the saint's worries.
Zhang Zhao waved his hand, "There are dead bones in Liu Zhiyuan's tomb. I'm not worried about this person, but I just received news from Khotan.
King Hamid of Persia actually sent troops to attack and kill Rashid Saliman, and also wanted to annex Huwen City.
The Zhenyuan Kingdom advocated that Bingzhong colluded with Jide Nyimagon, the king of Tubo Guge, and also blocked the road to Tianzhu. "
Rashid Salaiman was an important chess piece that Zhang Zhao placed in the northeast of Huwen City (Kabul) to control the trade routes. He also sent people to the seaside near Yanqi and participated in the event to recommend Zhang Zhao as Yinli Khan. He was considered a relatively Be loyal.
The Zhenyuan Kingdom claimed that Bingzhong was Cao Yanmian's uncle, and the Zhenyuan Kingdom was an important country established by Zhang Zhao after he destroyed Xia Xi of Tianzhu.
The original intention was to use it to control the Tianzhu continent, but only a few years after leaving, Zhang Bingzhong closed the door and wanted to stand on his own. He didn't even send anyone to congratulate Zhang Zhao on his birthday and on his enthronement.
"Huwen City and Tianzhu were conquered by us in the past with a narrow escape. Without the kindness and trust of the saints, the Persian kings Hamid and Zhang Bingzhong would have lost their heads long ago. How can they enjoy wealth again?
If you are so ignorant of loyalty, please ask the saint to give me a letter of five thousand in vain. I will cut off the heads of these two thieves and come back to offer them to the king! "
After Bai Congxin heard this, he shouted angrily.
Hearing this, this group of old brothers recalled the glorious days in Hezhong, Khorasan and Tianzhu, and one by one they wanted to fuck Hamid and Zhang Bingzhong.
Among the crowd, only Murong Nobunaga lowered his head, looking at the howling Bai Congxin and others, and suddenly thought that his cheap father's hereditary title might not be so easy to get.
I guess he will know soon what the price is?
