The heavens set sail from the courtyard

Chapter 393 Pleading
The British public stood in front of the map, with a hint of anger on his face.

Ever since Xixia's 20 troops entered the Song Dynasty, the Duke of England's face has not looked good.

In the past three months, the British public has not had a good night's sleep, and has been thinking about how to drive the 20 Xia army out.

Originally, he had already discussed with the prefect of Gyeongju that Gyeongju would hold back the Xixia army for a month. He tried to get around to the back and sneak attack the Xixia army, forming a two-sided attack with the Gyeongju army.

But the plan couldn't keep up with the changes, and the British government hadn't started to act before the imperial court's decree arrived.

The official Zhao Shu expressly prohibited the British princess from taking the initiative to attack, and focused on defense, waiting for the arrival of imperial reinforcements.

At the same time that the British Duke received the imperial edict, Zhao Shu also sent two supervisors.

Supervising the army is a unique system established by the Song Dynasty. Originally, Song Taizu restrained the generals with civil servants and eunuchs in order to control the excessive power of the generals.

Later, it gradually developed into a supervising army that is better than generals, and can even affect the military decision-making of generals.

Because the supervising army represents the imperial power, they have the right to report directly to the officials, and if they make small reports casually, the generals will have to eat and walk around.

Although the British prince has a high position and authority, he cannot openly disobey the official royal orders.

The 20 troops on Shaanxi Road stood still, and Gyeongju became a lone army.

The British Duke received battle reports from Gyeongju every day, seeing each city fall into the hands of the Xixia people, he was heartbroken.

Fortunately, Wang Gang was more powerful, and he insisted on blocking the main force of the Xixia Army in Dashun City for nearly two months.

The British Duke also knew that it was a miracle that Wang Gang was able to survive until now, but he did not have an imperial order, so he really couldn't send troops to support him.

Later, Emperor Xia Li Liangzuo divided his 20 troops into two groups. He led [-] troops to continue to besiege Dashun City, and the remaining [-] troops captured the rest of Gyeongju.

The British Duke instantly guessed the purpose of Li Liangzuo's attack on the Song Dynasty.

Emperor Xia wanted to take Qingzhou and bring the land of one state into the territory of Xixia.

The British Duke carefully analyzed it on the map. The geographical location of Gyeongju is extremely important, and it is a line of defense for the Song Dynasty to resist Xixia.

More importantly, once Qingzhou falls into the hands of Xixia, Da Song will not only be a barrier, but the hinterland of the Central Plains will be directly exposed to Xixia's iron hooves.

Gyeongju is so important, Duke Ying is even more anxious, but at this time he doesn't want to support Dashun City.

Because Li Liangzuo divided the army into two, which gave the British Duke an excellent opportunity.

The chance to completely defeat Li Yangzuo.

Just as the British prince was thinking, his general Li Fengcheng ran in suddenly.

"Marshal, imperial reinforcements have arrived."

The British Duke was shocked and ran out of the tent happily.

This time the imperial court sent a hundred thousand troops, led by the eldest son of the emperor Ying Wang Zhao Xu.

The British Duke personally went out to meet Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu didn't come alone this time, he brought a dozen followers, and the army was stationed not far away.

"The old minister pays homage to His Royal Highness King Ying." Duke Ying did not dare to put on airs in front of King Ying.

"Please come, Duke of England." King Ying said: "My father asked me to come this time because I learned from the Duke of the State, and all the troops under the King are dispatched by the Duke of the State."

The British Duke was delighted to hear that.

Leading troops in battle is most afraid of laymen leading experts. Originally, there were two superintendents in the army who were already intimidating. If King Ying comes again, how can we fight this battle.

It would be better if King Ying took the initiative to give up power now.

"This king is here to introduce the Duke of England. This is General Gu Tingye, the son of Marquis Ningyuan."

The person next to King Ying is Gu Tingye.

This time the official Zhao Shu sent King Ying and Gu Tingye to train them.

The British general put the two into the camp, and Gu Tingye was immediately attracted by the map.

"How is the battle going now?" King Ying asked the Duke of England.

The British general told King Ying and Gu Tingye about the situation on the battlefield.

When Gu Tingye heard that his good brother had been guarding the lonely city alone for almost two months, he became impatient.

"Mr. Ying, why didn't you rescue Dashun City?"

King Ying coughed and said, "Ting Ye."

Gu Tingye also knew that his tone was wrong, and said, "Master, now that our two armies have joined forces, can we immediately support Dashun City?"

The British public looked at King Ying's face and did not blame Gu Tingye.

"The Western Xia army is divided into two, one part is trapped in Dashun City, and the other part is still wandering in Gyeongju, which just gives us a chance to win."

King Ying nodded and said: "Dividing the troops will make us weak, and with the Xixia Army going deep alone, we can just take down this large army."

"Yes."

Gu Tingye became anxious and said, "Could it be that we just watched Dashun City be breached!?"

The British Duke said: "The key to this battle is how long Dashun City can last. As long as we annihilate a large army and come back to help, we will win."

Gu Tingye was worried about Wang Gang's safety, and he disagreed with the British Duke's point of view.

"National affairs are the most important thing." Ying Wang Zhao Xu finally grabbed Gu Tingye and said, "You can't give up such a good opportunity for a Dashun City."

Gu Tingye gritted his teeth and fought hard: "His Royal Highness Ying, can you give me 1 people, and I will go to Dashun City to support myself."

King Ying frowned and said, "Don't abolish the government for personal reasons. It's not like you don't know the disadvantages of Xixia's division of troops."

Gu Tingye suddenly knelt down in front of King Ying and begged, "Your Highness King Ying, Chang Feng is my brother, I can't just watch him die! Ten thousand is not enough, five thousand is fine."

The British official standing aside saw Gu Tingye's emphasis on love and righteousness, so he couldn't help but secretly nodded.

"You should know that there are 10 Xixia main forces outside Dashun City. What's the use of bringing 5000 people there?" King Ying helped Gu Tingye up, and persuaded:
"This king also wants to save Mr. Sheng, but you have to put the overall situation first!"

Gu Tingye's eyes were so red that he was about to cry. What King Ying said clearly meant to give up Dashun City.

As a commander, abandoning Dashun City was a very correct decision, and Gu Tingye couldn't say a single mistake.

But Gu Tingye couldn't bear the thought of Wang Gang being killed by the Xixia butcher knife at a young age.

At this moment the British Duke finally spoke.

"Your Highness King Ying, in fact, it is not impossible to allocate 1 people to support Dashun City. You must know that Dashun City supports us for one more day, the more beneficial it is to our plan.

If Dashun City is breached, Emperor Xia will definitely join another army, and it will be difficult for us to divide and attack. "

King Ying made sense when he heard it, besides, as the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces, the Duke of England would give him face no matter what he said.

"Everything is arranged by the British government."

Gu Tingye was overjoyed and thanked the British public a thousand times.

The British Duke left Gu Tingye alone and taught him military advice face to face.

"You go to Dashun City now, and bring more food and grass. This commander estimates that Emperor Xia will not be able to capture Dashun City, so he must adopt the strategy of closing the city. There should be a shortage of food in the city."

Gu Tingye clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Duke Ying."

The British Duke sighed and said: "Actually, I admire Mr. Shan very much. As a civil servant, he has led the people of the city to support him to this day. It is very remarkable. If it weren't for my duty, I really want to fight side by side with him."

Gu Tingye chatted with the British public and private for a long time, and then led [-] elite soldiers to rush to Dashun City.

…………

Dashun City on the other side has been besieged by the Xixia army for nearly two months.

Since seven days ago, the food in the city has been about the same. If there is an underground river in the city and there is no shortage of water sources, Wang Gang doesn't know how to survive.

Wang Gang lost weight for two rounds, his body was covered in blood, and he had no time to wash off. All his food and lodging was on the top of the city wall, and only 3000 of his original [-] soldiers remained.

In order to save food, the people in Dashun City only ate one meal a day, and the rest of the food was provided to the army.

After the Xixia army sealed off the city, it reduced the pace of the siege, which seemed to give Dashun City a chance to breathe, but in fact it was very vicious.

Some people in the city were too hungry to bear it, and there were voices of surrender, but fortunately they were suppressed by Wang Gang.

"My lord, eat something!"

Kong De came over with half a bowl of porridge, saying it was porridge, but in fact there were not a few grains of rice in the bowl, which was no different from water.

"How much food is there in the city?" Wang Gang frowned.

Kong De wondered: "The food storage has bottomed out, and most of the brothers have not eaten today."

Wang Gang asked with a sullen face, "What about the common people?"

"The people have no more food in their hands, and many people are eating tree roots and bark."

Wang Gang looked at the Xixia barracks below the city and said, "We can't hold on any longer."

Kong De was startled and asked, "My lord, do you want to abandon the city?"

Wang Gang raised his eyebrows, and asked Kong De, "Are you afraid of death?"

Kong De said without hesitation: "Subordinates are not afraid of death."

Wang Gang smiled and said, "You never thought about surrendering?"

Kong De said: "Even if my subordinates die in battle, they will never surrender to Xixia."

Wang Gang looked at the dark sky and said, "I want to do something to kill me, do you want to go together?"

Kong De was puzzled and said, "My lord, what do you mean by that?"

Wang Gang slammed his fist on the city wall, and said: "Instead of sitting still and waiting for death, it is better to fight to the death. Killing one more Xixia person is also profitable."

(End of this chapter)