The Song Dynasty has been deliberate for 16 years, only to know that it is the Water Margin

Chapter 457
Early the next morning, Zhao Tong got up and walked around the house.

This mansion is not as big as the palace in Tokyo. Although Xining Prefecture is a majestic city, its city area is far incomparable to Tokyo, so the mansion cannot be built as vast and grand.

However, this mansion has everything it should have, including a front, middle and back hall, a study and a back room, and a martial arts performance venue. It can be regarded as a scaled-down version of the Prince Qin's Mansion in Tokyo, about one-fifth of the original size.

But this is one of the most pangshuo places in Xining Prefecture. Compared with Xining Zhizhou Yamen and Qingtang Temple, Longyou Duhufu is not as spacious as this place.

Zhao Tong took a walk, followed by Zhou Chu. The only guards in Tokyo were Zhou Chu, Wu Xiaodao and Qian Wenxi, who followed Longyou.

"Let's just settle the matter. I'll give you a house." Zhao Tong said calmly.

"Does the prince know?" Zhou Chu felt a little embarrassed from behind.

"I know, it's not like I haven't seen you two flirting with each other..." Zhao Tong stopped and said, "They are both big and small. Now that we are getting married, we can still hurry up and get a baby. In two years, I might not even be able to have one. ."

Zhou Chu immediately blushed with shame. He and Mei Niang had already agreed to report the matter between the two of them. If Zhao Tong allowed it, the marriage would be done immediately, but it happened to be that they had to move to Long. Right, so I delayed it.

"I thank you for your kindness. I am so grateful that I have nothing to repay. I am willing to go up the sword and down the sea of ​​fire for you, without any hesitation!" Zhou Chu knelt down on the ground with a "pop" and kowtowed.

Zhao Tong frowned and kicked him: "Get up and talk!"

Zhou Chu got up from the ground and asked Qiqi Ai Ai: "Your Majesty, will my subordinate choose a date with Mei Niang and then report to the Prince?"

"Choose, choose!" Zhao Tong was actually very worried. There were so many direct subordinates, a total of 200, but there were less than ten who had married.

He would try to reason with these people when he had nothing to do, but it would go in one ear and out the other, and then forget about it. He would rather work hard every day, play with sticks, and discuss martial arts than start a family.

In fact, he pays these subordinates a lot of money every month, and usually gives them red envelopes during the holidays. Even if they marry a girl in a place like Tokyo, it is not a problem at all, but no one takes the matter of starting a family seriously.

But how can you do it without starting a family?Zhao Tong shook his head and said: "Don't be too patronizing about yourself. Please enlighten a few people in the house when you have time. Although this girl from Xining Prefecture is not as refined as Tokyo, she is better in her bold and straightforward personality. If you choose to get married as soon as possible, you will be better off." The king’s concerns.”

Zhou Chu thought for a while and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, Xiaodao is easy to talk to. Before his father passed away, he specifically told him to get married and have children. He also wanted to have a family, but he never met the right one, Qian Wenxi... Your Majesty. I know he is a weirdo, but as for Lei San and others, there is no way I can convince him."

Zhao Tong sighed and shook his head. In addition to the people in the mansion, there were so many people in Suiyu Tower. It was really a headache.

At this moment, someone suddenly ran over from a distance: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Zhao Tong looked at Shi Jin and said, "What's the matter, Dalang?"

Shi Jin said: "Your Majesty, the Xihe army is coming. They have already arrived at the city. Liu Duhu went to the top of the city to take command and asked his subordinates to report to the Prince."

Zhao Tong narrowed his eyes: "Lead the way, I will also go to the city to take a look."

After a while, Zhao Tong came to the city and saw Liu Suiyun wearing armor and looking out from the battlements.

"What's going on down there?" Zhao Tong asked.

Liu Suiyun saw him coming and saluted hurriedly: "Your Majesty, the other party should have more than 3 people, under the banner of Yao and Xin, but Yao Gu didn't come, it should be his nephew Yao Pingzhong and the Xin brothers."

Zhao Tong nodded: "There's nothing left for them outside the city, right?"

Liu Suiyun said: "No, after the prince entered the city yesterday, his subordinates asked the people at the racecourse to pull all the horses into the city, and all the trenches and traps were laid out."

Zhao Tong walked to the battlements and looked around, only to see a large army arrayed about a stone's throw away, including both horse and infantry, with a ratio of about [-] to [-]. He said, "Is this all the cavalry in Xizhou?"

Liu Suiyun nodded and said: "My lord, that's not all. Based on the number of people, in addition to the Zhenwu Army and the frontline troops in Lanzhou, all the remaining troops that can be mobilized have been sent here."

Zhao Tong sneered: "Originally I wanted to defend the city, but now I see that it's not too much to eat. It's just that these people are going north to fight against the Liao Kingdom. It's just a matter of letting them suffer a little bit. I guess it won't take long before the official order comes." Then it will come and they will all withdraw."

Liu Suiyun said: "What the prince said is absolutely true. Let them know how powerful they are when they attack the city."

Zhao Tong looked into the distance and thought for a moment. At this moment, the soldiers and horses on the opposite side were not moving, and they had no intention of setting up camp. He said: "You don't have to wait for them to attack the city. As long as they dare to step into the arrow field, they will launch directly. Don't worry about the cannons." Stone arrows and crossbows, Longyou’s most indispensable thing is stones and feather shafts.”

Liu Suiyun said: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will make arrangements now."

Watching him go to deliver the order, Zhao Tong rubbed his chin and thought, this Qingtang City is a dry city, there is no moat around it, it is protected by the high height of the city and the dangerous terrain, but it is very easy to defend and difficult to attack, even worse than those with moats. It is difficult to defeat. When the Song Dynasty attacked Hehuang twice, it took more than 3 troops to finally conquer it. Although it is not as good as before, it is not that more than [-] people can come to stroke the tiger's beard.

At this time, a horse from the opposing army suddenly stepped out and galloped towards the city, seemingly wanting to shout.

Zhao Tong said to Shi Jin behind him: "Bring Zhang Sanshi Bow."

Shi Jin turned around to get his bow and arrow, and saw the horseman running and shouting: "Is the King of Qin in the city?"

Zhao Tie took a look, but didn't recognize him, but he came from Xin Zi's banner, so he might be a brother of Xin Xingzong.

Xin Xingzong was the commander-in-chief of the military and horse capital at Xihe Road, also called Duqianju, which was lower than the general manager of the military and horse capital. The general managers of the military and horse capital along the way were all concurrently held by pacifiers, so his military power in Xihe Road was second only to that of the military commander. Appease Yao Gu.

Zhao Tong is not optimistic about the Xin family. The Xin family is the local leader of Xihe. Xin Xingzong's father Xin Shuxian was the general who followed Tong Guan and Wang Hou to attack Longyou. From then on, the Xin family joined Tong Guan.

Later, after the Battle of Longyou, Xin Shuxian fought against Xixia again, accumulated military merit, changed his literary qualifications, and served as the magistrate of Huangzhou to provide for his retirement. The Xin family took root in Hehuang.

It can be said that the Xin family has been all-pervasive in Xihe over the years, annexing land, seizing fertile farmland, monopolizing business, and infiltrating the military. They are like a local emperor. Even the traditional Xihe economic strategy and appeasement have given it three points.

Although there are generals and warlords in the northwest, no matter whether it is the Zhong family, the Zhe family, the Yao family, or other young generals such as Liu, Yang, Gao, etc., even if they are arrogant and domineering on weekdays, they are not as good as the Xin family. Too much.

The Xin family was the dominant one in Xihe. Not only did they bully and shout at some officials in Xihe, but they also excluded other generals who came to Xihe to serve as officials. They simply regarded Xihe Road as their own home, and many matters were dealt with. No one else is allowed to get involved.

Xin Shuxian has four sons and a nephew, all of whom serve in Xihe. The sons’ sons, nephews’ sons, and many clan members are officials in Xihe. Even if there are managers and appeasement envoys above, they have no control over many things. There is nothing you can do, most of the time you just turn a blind eye.

Therefore, in Zhao Tong's mind, if he wants to control Xihe, even if he only controls half of the territory west of the Yellow River, the Xin family must be eliminated, because the Xin family's home base is in Huangzhou, and Huangzhou is one of the three states in Hexi that he must capture. It was impossible for the Xin family to take refuge in him, and even if they did, he would not be relieved.At this time, Zhao Tong took the bow and arrow handed by Shi Jin, took the string and shot at the cavalry commander running in the distance.

The three-stone bow is the strongest among the conventional bows and arrows in the Song Dynasty. Generally speaking, it is just a decoration and has a symbolic meaning. For example, during martial arts competitions, the bow power competition is the highest. But no one pulls it at all, because It is impossible to pull. Those who can pull the three-stone bow have been famous since ancient times and their names will be passed down to future generations.

As for the arrows used with the three-stone bow, they are also different from ordinary ones. They are heavier than ordinary feather arrows, and the arrow clusters are larger and heavier. Because the thrust of the bow string is too strong, if the arrow body is light, it will lose its accuracy.

But Zhao Tong easily drew the bow at this moment, and then shot out an arrow. He didn't care who the person who ran from the banner of Xin Zi was, whether he was a member of the Xin family or a general, he would let him go if he dared to enter the place where he could shoot an arrow. He never comes back.

The arrows were like flowing fire, so fast that it was so fast that they were in front of the cavalryman. The poor cavalryman had no time to react, and was hit directly under the chest by the arrow. What kind of chainmail general armor? At this moment, it was as if it was made of paper, and the egg-sized arrowheads were driven directly into the seams of the armor by the three-stone strong bow, and then torn apart. The strong inertia directly pushed the arrows through the chest.

The rider on the horse fell down without even making a cry. The horse ran forward for a few more steps before it felt something was wrong and stopped to look back at its master. When he saw his master lying motionless on the ground, he ran over and let out a loud cry. "Slimy" whine.

When the Xihe soldiers on the opposite side saw this scene, the team immediately became restless. They saw another person running out from under the big banner with the word "Xin", but he was wearing light golden armor and a red cloak. This person took a few steps forward, but he seemed to be afraid of arrows. The arrow suddenly stopped and screamed loudly: "King Qin, why did you kill my descendant of the Xin family?"

Although the voice was far away, Zhao Tong could hear it clearly. He raised his eyebrows. The tone of his voice was a bit familiar. Looking at the man's clothes, he already judged in his heart that it was Xin Xingzong.

He met Xin Xingzong when he was conquering Fangla, and in order to prevent this man from robbing Han Shizhong of his merits, he specially asked Zhe Kecun to go search for him. If Zhe Kecun hadn't happened to stop him, Han Shizhong would have lost none of his military exploits.

He had a very bad impression of Xin Xingzong, because in normal history this man not only took the credit from Han Shizhong, but also from Song Jiang.

In normal historical development, Song Jiang and Liangshan soldiers also participated in the expedition against Fangla.

After Zhang Shuye surrendered Song Jiang and Liangshan, he reported to the Ming court and arranged for his army to march into Xihe to attack Hangzhou. At that time, Hangzhou had already fallen into the hands of thieves. Fang Qifu was stationed in the city with [-] troops. The Xihe army could not attack for a long time. In the end, Song Jiang used a trick to defeat Hangzhou and capture Fang Qifu alive.

However, Wang Zhen, the commander of the Chinese army, wanted to record the merits of Song Jiang and others, but Xin Xingzong said: "Song Jiang and others were originally big thieves. Although they had merit in breaking the city, they were only atonement for their previous sins."

Wang Zhen couldn't compete with him, and he was afraid of Tong Guan, so he had to give up.

Therefore, the quality of Xin Xingzong can be seen, and his domineeringness is rare among the generals of the Western Army. This is true outside, let alone Yu Xihe.

Zhao Tong glanced at him coldly from the top of the city, and then looked at Liu Suiyun, who had returned with the order.

Liu Suiyun understood immediately, raised his hand, and the defenders shouted loudly: "Those who advance will die! Those who advance will die!"

The voice was loud and loud, shaking the sky.

In the distance, Xin Xingzong's face was so angry that he took a few steps back with his horse clicking. He turned around and looked behind him, only to see that everyone on the horse behind him also looked ugly.

In fact, he didn't want to pick up this time. Although the imperial court's will allow the seizure to capture the Qin King, it did not clearly explain what the Qin King had committed the crime, what was rebellion or the side, so he had been drumming in his heart.

He knew very well who King Qin was. He had only heard of his name before, but the battle at La in the south of the Yangtze River made him see what it meant to use soldiers like a god. Moreover, in his heart, King Qin was a prince. His crime is nothing at all. After all, he is the son of an official, and he is a prince. Maybe he will be pardoned after the official's family calms down.

So he didn't want to lead troops, but Yao Gu wanted to send him, and almost mobilized all the troops except the defenders.

Yao Gu had his own reasons for doing this. From the stern words in the imperial edict issued by Zhao Tong, who led the cavalry into the country without regard for weapons and reported urgently for [-] miles, he estimated that the King of Qin was in all likelihood a rebel. As for why the edict was not clearly stated , that is, the official family has a good face, and he refused to speak out directly but was betrayed by his son. He knew Emperor Daojun, so he sent Xin Xingzong and Yao Pingzhong with heavy troops.

But Xin Xingzong couldn't figure this out, and now he saw a Xin family member shot to death by a cold arrow in the city, and couldn't help but feel resentful in his heart.

"General Yao!" he shouted toward the other side.

Yao Pingzhong is currently the second deputy general of Xihe Road. Although he offends Tong Guan and is looked down upon by Tong Guan, he is still from the Yao family and Yao Gu is his father, so his official position has been gradually rising in the past two years. Climbing.

Hearing this, he immediately rode over and said, "What are your orders, Commander Xin?"

Xin Xingzong said: "Now the four gates of Xining City are closed, and cold arrows are fired from the top of the city to hurt people. I think the King of Qin must be in the city. The only way to capture him is to capture the city."

Yao Pingzhong clicked his eyes and said: "Then attack..." He thought to himself, you are the commander, why are you asking me if you want to attack the city?Could it be that you want me to take the lead?

Xin Xingzong said: "Then I'll trouble General Yao to take someone to test it out first."

When Yao Pingzhong heard this, he shook his head like a rattle, looked at the Xin family disciples under the banner of Xin Zi, and said: "Commander, this Xining City is majestic, what use can I have with only 3000 people under my command? I think I have to make up for it no matter what. Five to seven to eight thousand is enough to test, otherwise there really are traps and trenches in front of the city, and these 3000 people are not enough to fill the gap between the opponent's teeth."

Xin Xingzong frowned when he heard this. Yao Pingzhong was not like other generals. He could do whatever he wanted. After all, he was a member of the Yao family and a disciple of Yao Gu. He could not use his power to overwhelm others, so he said with a cold face: "Okay, then I’ll send another three thousand.”

After saying that, he gestured behind him, and immediately a member of the Xin family led the troops out. Yao Pingzhong's face twitched when he saw it: "Okay, let's go over and test it out."

Then the two teams separated and headed towards Xining City. Because it was a dry city, there was no need to build a wooden bridge, so the people behind them all carried thick tree trunks and planned to hit the city gate.

But as soon as these soldiers entered the city and shot the arrows, they heard the sound of drums from the top of the city, and then saw countless cannons and stones falling, as if they were blocking the sky and the sun, and the arrows were like locusts, so dense that they could not even see the sky.

"Oh my god!" Yao Pingzhong shrank his neck in fear, turned his mount and ran away.

The children of the Xin family over there couldn't go anywhere, so they turned their horses' heads and retreated.

Xin Xingzong looked dumbfounded from the rear, and the other soldiers were also dumbfounded. They had never seen such a violent artillery attack and arrows flying. This was simply heartbreaking!

Normally speaking, since we are defending the city, we must highlight the word "defend" and not waste it at will. All weapons and equipment must be used just right. Otherwise, once they are used up and there is nowhere to replenish them, how can the city be used? Shou?Just rely on fighting each other with swords and guns on the city wall?That's not far from losing the city.

Xin Xingzong looked at the two generals who ran back in a hurry, his face livid. In just a few breaths, the soldiers in front were smashed to death and one to two hundred people were shot, making it impossible to charge forward.

He gritted his teeth, secretly thinking about his luck, stared and was about to speak, when suddenly there was a loud "bang", and a crossbow was fired from somewhere in the city, hitting him three feet in front of his horse. at.

Seeing this, the war horse raised its head and neighed. He immediately trembled in fear on the horse, and cold sweat instantly flowed from his forehead. He hurriedly ordered: "Retreat half a mile back, retreat half a mile back..."

(End of this chapter)