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

Chapter 486: Deploy troops, come here

At this moment, Liangzhou City was in chaos. After Liu Shizhong and others opened the west gate and fled in a hurry, the news spread quickly.

The generals all fled with their men, but the remaining soldiers had no intention of continuing to defend the city. They fled away from the city in panic.

But these remaining soldiers had no horses and could not run away even if they wanted to. Walking out of Liangzhou was like seeking death. Many of them took off their armor and hid in their homes, pretending to be ordinary people.

However, some of them did not have a house to settle down and usually lived in the military camp. After mutual discussion, the only option was to surrender, so they opened the city gate, put up big white flags, and knelt down to greet the Song army.

Not long after, Zhang Xian led his troops over and showed the heads of three people from Liu's division to the other party. Then he gathered the people in the camp and sent people to notify General Lu, and successfully entered Xiliang Mansion in Liangzhou.

It is inevitable to purge Liangzhou after taking it. Let the surrendered troops go door to door to identify the deserters. If there are any hidden deserters, they will be caught and executed on the spot. No more surrender will be accepted.

These Xixia soldiers had been given a chance before, and it was safe to take the initiative to surrender in Kaicheng. Most of them had wrong intentions in hiding and then surrendering after finding out, so they cut them off with one knife to save subsequent trouble.

As for the governor of Liangzhou, he was also found during the city search. He took two women and hid in the cellar of a house, hiding a lot of gold and silver with him. After being captured and interrogated, he did not kill them directly, but tied them up. The next day, together with the military intelligence and battle reports, they were sent to Zhuoluo.

Two days later, Zhao Tong sat in the lobby of the Tongjun Department and watched the military report. It was expected that Liangzhou would be captured, but he was overjoyed to succeed in such a short period of time. He immediately ordered to double the reward items. Go to Xiliang.

Then he interrogated the governor of Liangzhou, but he didn't ask too many questions. After all, the people in power in that kind of place were mostly unlucky people with unsuccessful official careers, so he went directly to jail and left him alive until later.

The next day, Zhao Tong began to organize his army. At this moment, he suddenly received a secret letter from Liu Suiyun, stating that the Xixia army was attacking Xizhou!

Xizhou is the capital of Xihe Road, but there are not many troops at the moment. Most of them have been transferred to destroy Liao. They sent troops to support Lanzhou before, but they were lost. Now there are only about [-] people in the city.

It took the efforts of Hezhou, Minzhou, Taozhou, and Gongzhou to gather these soldiers. Those four states are currently in a semi-abandoned state, with only a few hundred soldiers in the city.

Liu Suiyun asked Zhao Tao if he wanted to cross the Yellow River to aid Xizhou.

Zhao Tao sighed after reading the letter. It is not impossible to fight on two fronts. After all, the opposite side is Xixia, which is not a taboo for military strategists. However, his current army and horses are too few and cannot withstand the consumption. If he crosses the river and starts another war with Xixia, no matter Baoxi Prefecture or occupying Xizhou, both gains outweigh the losses.

The general left behind in Xizhou now is Yao Pingzhong, who has the final say in military affairs. According to his secret explanation before, Yao Pingzhong naturally knows what to do next.

Zhao Tong thought for a moment and wrote a letter to Liu Suiyun. Liu Suiyun also knew that Yao Pingzhong had taken refuge. He gave a few instructions in the letter, then sealed it with wax pills and sent a horse to Huangzhou.

Then Zhao Tong began to mobilize troops and asked Zhang Xian to bring back all the two thousand cavalry who attacked Liangzhou and leave one thousand infantry. In this way, Liangzhou would have one thousand cavalry and four thousand infantry left, and hundreds of troops would be surrendered. If General Lu takes over They came down to repair the city defenses and relied on heavy crossbows and weapons. These people were enough to defend the city.

Zhao Tong then dispatched Gai Zhucheng's troops to Zhuoluo. Gai Zhu didn't need to release too many people now. After all, the eastern part of Huangzhou was across Qinwangchuan, so he only left 1000 men to guard. Yang Zhi and Xu Ning led the rest. All troops and horses were stationed in Zhuoluo.

In this way, Zhuoluo had more than 7000 people, including more than 3000 cavalry and nearly 7000, and the remaining [-] vine armor and more than [-] ordinary infantry.

He divided the generals and horses and planned to send only [-] ordinary infantry to guard Zhuoluo, while the remaining [-] or so people would march eastward to Shikawa.

Fuchuan is the westernmost county seat of the Xishou Baotai Military Division. This place has experienced wars for a long time and often changes hands. Sometimes it is on the Song side, sometimes on the Xixia side. It has been occupied by Xixia for seven or eight years now.

To the north of Shichuan is Lingbo Mountain, and behind it is Roulang Mountain. Behind Roulang Mountain is the famous Huizhou City.

Huizhou is currently the seat of the Xishou Baotai Military Division. It is close to the Yellow River and guards the main road. It has always been a battleground for military strategists. Like Fuchuan, it has changed hands many times in history, but it has been firmly held by Xixia for the past 30 years. in hand.

Huizhou is a large border city and has always maintained a heavy army. Xixia crossed the Yellow River to attack Lanzhou and sent troops from Huizhou.

Zhao Tong planned to capture Fuchuan, and this place would be separated from Huizhou by Roulang. In this way, it would reach Liangzhou in the west, the Ancient Great Wall in the north, Roulang Mountain in the east, and Qinwangchuan in the south. This would give him a small base area in Xixia. Get some firm footing.

He had made all preparations and was about to set off for the expedition in three days when suddenly the soldiers at the city gate came to report that Miss Lin, who had entered the city a few days ago, was here again.

Zhao Tong thought for a moment after hearing this. He was very dissatisfied with the conditions offered by Concubine Jing last time. He actually only wanted to use two archery skills in exchange for Yuan Guo and Yuan Ji. He didn't give Shan Hai Zhi Jing and didn't do anything about the money. Lift up.

If it wasn't Lin Wanfeng who came, he wouldn't let him go. He would just hang him outside the city to show Yuan Jing, don't dream all day long and take advantage of him.

As for the two countries fighting against each other and not killing envoys, that is a saying from the Middle Ages. In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, people kept their word and made a fortune. They spurned despicable villains, respected men who were upright and aboveboard, and acted magnanimously.

However, since the return of the Three Kingdoms to Jin at the end of the Han Dynasty, the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, and the chaos of the Five Hunan Empresses, the soldiers have done evil things, rarely being upright. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms, they have also done poisonous things and used all possible means. , where will there be another war between the two countries, and the envoy's rhetoric will not be cut off.

Zhao Tong thought about it for a moment. Lin Wanfeng should have come to send a message again. He didn't know what Yuan Jing would add to the bargaining chip.

He actually doesn't care much about the arrow martial arts at the moment. He already has enough skills to use. It doesn't matter if there are more or less. The main thing is that he wants to force the other party to ask for more money. But looking at the last situation, the other party seems to care about the money. heavier.

I don’t want to give away my martial arts skills, and I don’t even mention the money. Do I really think that I am easy to talk to?Zhao Tong couldn't help but sneer.

Originally, if Lin Wanfeng hadn't come, it would have been the final discussion last time. He didn't have the patience to go on endlessly because of the affairs of several Yuan family members. He also had to carry out military operations here, so he had no time to fight with the other party endlessly. If you get annoyed, just kill a few people in the prison and let the envoys take away their heads.

He said to the messenger: "Go find General Du and bring someone over."

The soldier took the order and went out. He continued to read the military report. After a while, Du Kuo shouted outside the door: "General, the men are here."

At noon, the sun was shining brightly outside, and the door of the hall was open. Zhao Tong squinted and looked outside and saw two women.

One of them was Lin Wanfeng in a blue shirt and plain skirt with light eyebrows.

The other one has a slim figure, wearing a snowy white skirt, and her appearance...

Zhao Tong rubbed his eyes. At this moment, the sunlight was shining into the hall. He looked at the two of them and it was a bit dazzling, so he motioned to Du Bo to lead them in.

Du Bu escorted the two women into the lobby, while Zhao Tong's eyes still fell on the other woman.

This woman has a very good face shape, with an oval face and a pointed chin, but her appearance is very ordinary. She cannot be said to be beautiful or ugly. She is the kind that is difficult to find in a crowd.

Especially because of the woman's complexion, Zhao Tong suddenly frowned and twitched the corners of his mouth.The woman's complexion was scorched yellow and dull, like gourd skin.

This... Zhao Tong feels familiar. It's not the woman's appearance, but the color of her skin.

He couldn't help but reach out and touch his face. Isn't it the same as when he was disguised?

If he dressed up right now and stood side by side with this woman, some people would believe him if he said they were Hulu brothers and sisters.

The woman's face had been changed, and it must be the same as the face-changing drug he used to use, and there were still traces of the change on her facial features, which was more meticulous than every time he dressed up.

Zhao Tong stared at the woman closely, and the woman looked at him with good eyes. There was no expression on her face, as if she was scrutinizing him.

When Lin Wanfeng saw Zhao Tao staring at him, he said, "General, this is Zhiling, my direct disciple of the Divine Bird Palace. This time, he was also entrusted by Concubine Jing to come to discuss redemption with the general. ."

Zhao Tong leaned back in his chair and remained silent for a long time, his eyes drifting back and forth between the two of them.

Lin Wanfeng suddenly felt embarrassed. She had wanted to go back to Tianshan directly after she went back for a business trip last time, but something felt wrong when she thought about it. It might be possible for her master's marksmanship to be leaked in one way, but it was absolutely impossible to leak both ways. meeting!

Sister Yuan 28 can use the marksmanship skills of two masters in succession. If she said that it was not taught by someone in the sect, she would never believe it.

Since Song Guan is the master of Yuan 28th sister, he should be the one who taught both emotions and principles. But what is the origin of this person and who is he?

Lin Wanfeng thought about it for several days. Zhou Tong didn't tell her carefully about the matters within the sect. He only taught her martial arts for two years and then left. The sect knew that there were three senior brothers above her. The eldest brother was Hebei Yuqilin, Lu Junyi, and the other two have not been named at all, and their background and identity are even less clear where they live.

She thought that General Song was young and not like his senior brother Lu Junyi. Could it be the other two?So I came to Zhuo Luo again this time, planning to confess my identity when I had the opportunity to see if my guess was correct.

However, General Song didn't speak at this time, and his eyes were looking around. She couldn't help but frown. Although General Song was a bit arrogant and domineering, he didn't look like a ruthless and unreasonable person. She didn't know what he was looking at!

Zhao Tong reached out and touched his chin. Bai Zhan took the tea. Naturally, there was only one cup. He picked it up and took a sip. He put it on the table and finally said, "What did Yuan Jing bring again?"

Lin Wanfeng heard this and looked at Zhiling next to him. Zhiling opened his mouth, but his words were as sweet as a warbler, which did not match his appearance: "This general, Concubine Jing said that the general's previous requirements were a bit too high, and he also had to complete his archery skills. Hezhi Sutra costs another 10 taels of silver, Yuan Guo is not worth the price at all, but if everyone is included, it is not impossible to consider."

"Everyone?" Zhao Tong laughed loudly: "Is this general going crazy after looking at that Yuan Jing? If we want to redeem everyone, we will need at least 50 taels of silver!"

50 taels?Lin Wanfeng's expression changed slightly. This kind of money is definitely a huge amount in Xixia. Xixia is no better than the Song Dynasty, and its business is meager. Only livestock and ironware can generate some money. 50 taels is even if the Xixia court sells horses every year. After deducting the cost, You can't make that much either.

Some so-called big families, including important officials in the imperial court, would struggle to come up with these, or even not be able to come up with them at all.

Only the royal family can easily come up with so much money, but it is impossible for the Xixia royal family to use so much silver to redeem several Yuan family members.

"General, you're kidding..." Zhiling raised her slender eyebrows, not expecting Zhao Tong to open his mouth.

"I'm not joking!" Zhao Tong said calmly: "Furthermore, 28 has become my disciple and cannot be redeemed. Yuan Guo has changed his name to Liu Guo and has taken an official position under me. It is up to him to decide whether to leave or not. As for Yuanji...hehe."

He stopped talking, closed his eyes to rest, and stopped talking to the two girls.

Zhiling's face was so yellow that he couldn't see any other expression. After a moment, he smiled slightly and said, "Before my daughter came, Concubine Jing asked me to tell you who the general is from the Western Army. Maybe I am an old acquaintance."

"Want to make friends?" Zhao Tong said without batting an eye: "Then she made the wrong calculation. I have never known her, and I don't believe that anyone in the Western Army would dare to associate with someone of her status. It’s better not to use this stratagem to alienate people, it’s of no use to me here.”

"General...can't you tell me your name?" Zhiling did not defend himself after hearing this and continued to ask.

Zhao Tong's face moved, and after a few breaths he said, "This is General Yao Pingzhong!"

Lin Wanfeng listened and looked a little nervous. It turned out that this Song general was called Yao Pingzhong. Thinking about it... he was one of the two unknown senior brothers?
Zhiling was silent for a long time, and then said: "As far as I know, General Yao Pingzhong of the Western Army is currently trapped in Xizhou, and there is no way he can come to Zhuoluo!"

ah?Lin Wanfeng was immediately stunned and looked at Zhao Tong hurriedly. Zhao Tong's face was neither red nor white, and he said calmly: "The one in Xizhou is fake, this general is the real one."

Zhiling smiled: "It's okay if the general doesn't say anything. Just now the general said that 28 has become a disciple, so forget it. Yuan Guo must be taken away, and Yuan Ji... The general didn't finish his words. I don't know what else is there." Advice?"

"Yuanji must abolish his martial arts!" Zhao Tong said coldly.

Yuanji is a master and a member of the Xixia Yuan family. He must not be kept. Even if he is not killed, his martial arts must be abolished, otherwise it will be too dangerous.

Zhiling looked at Zhao Tao and said slowly: "If the general has ruined his martial arts, it would be better to kill him directly. Otherwise, even if he is redeemed, he will not survive."

"That's your business." Zhao Tong said: "It is Yuan Jing who wants to redeem everyone. This only includes lives and does not include martial arts. However, I can ignore other people, but Yuanji absolutely cannot!"

Zhiling said: "For 50 taels of silver, as well as archery and martial arts skills, does the general think it is reasonable to redeem it like this?"

Zhao Tong slowly opened his eyes: "I also think it is unreasonable, but in front of the two armies, life and death are determined by life and death. Yuan Guo is a member of the army. If he dies, he will die. What is there to redeem? The rest is to come Saving people is actually suspected of assassinating me, so they all deserve to die! I am a little confused, why Yuan Jing wants to redeem them all?"

Zhiling said: "Of course I don't know what Concubine Jing is thinking, but she is my senior sister. She said she wants to redeem people, so I can just pass the message on her behalf."

Zhao Tong said: "Yuan Jing is your senior sister?"

Zhiling said: "Concubine Jing is the palace master's direct disciple, and my daughter is her junior sister."

Zhao Tong said: "If you can't completely make the decision for her, you should go back to Xingqing and tell Yuan Jing not to send people to interfere with her in the future. One general will kill one, and a pair of generals will kill a pair!"

"This..." Zhiling took a breath and said, "Concubine Jing told me before my daughter comes that she can make the decision for her!"

Zhao Tong narrowed his eyes: "In this case, the 50 taels of silver must not be lost, and Yuanji must be abolished. If you agree, I will return to Xingqing to get the money. If you don't agree, you can leave the city, otherwise I will If you change your mind, neither of you can even think of leaving!"

(End of this chapter)