In Feng'an in the northwest, a large group of people and horses slowly approached the unfinished earthen walls of the fortress. Many people led their horses and walked slowly, and the horses nibbled the autumn grass with seeds on the ground as they walked.
Li Yiyin looked at the vast grassland in the east, his expression tired and excited. It was not easy to gain the support of the Tangut tribes and some tribes of Tubo and Uighur. The troops that had just been gathered had taken a lot of effort and hard work.
The chances of winning this time are very high and we will definitely succeed. Li Yiyin said to his generals, the Emperor of Xu State has been poisoned and is in danger, the prince is only a few years old, and I heard that there are many people in his country who have rebelled and have no time to look west. It is time for us to seize the opportunity to restore the country.
All the generals nodded in agreement. The sudden withdrawal of Xu's army some time ago and the meeting with the Liao envoys all confirmed that there was civil unrest in Xu.
If we recapture Helan Mountain, we can cooperate with the Liao Kingdom in the north. At that time, we can use the Liao army for support, retreat to fight with Xu Jun, advance to recapture Hengshan and regroup.
Li Yiyin then ordered all the troops to rush to the northeast. As they advanced, they saw that the grassland oasis was deserted, with no human habitation and no military activity.
A few days later, the coalition forces were approaching the Lingzhou Plain along the Yellow River.
Li Yiyin was very excited by the magnificent natural scenery, including the yellow and green grassland, the sparkling river, the spectacular mountains in the distance to the north, and the endless desert as far as the eye could see.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, there was a sudden bang. Li Yiyin and others looked up and saw a flame flying towards the sky, and then exploded with another bang, sparks flying.
"Oh no!" Li Yiyin exclaimed.
As soon as he finished speaking, the faint sight of men and horses emerged from the rolling hilltops on the north side, followed by the sight of green and red colorful banners. In the woods on the north bank of the Yellow River on the right wing, the noise of men and horses and the sound of horse hooves were also heard.
The allied forces immediately stopped and there was a commotion. Some people shouted in Tangut language: "Oh no, we've been ambushed." Others shouted in Tibetan and Uighur languages, but Li Yiyin didn't understand what they were shouting.
He turned around and shouted: "Order the left and right wings to prepare for battle. Fight the enemy. Anyone who disrupts the morale of the army will be killed."
The messengers from the various divisions who stayed in the central army followed the instructions and sent out fast horses to pass on the message. The sound of horns and drums followed, and a large number of troops and horses were in an uproar.
On the northern hillside, cavalry were rushing down. At first glance, it seemed as if the whole mountain was filled with horses and men. The elite cavalry of the Xu army's vanguard were wearing bright armor, gleaming in the sun, and it looked like steel was surging. The scene was terrifying.
At this moment, Li Yiyin suddenly discovered that the troops behind the coalition forces in the west were turning around and running. He widened his eyes and shouted: "Send someone to stop those people from fleeing!" Xu's army only had Feng Jiye's border cavalry, and the force was small. Don't be afraid.
Someone said: There are Uighurs behind us, how can they listen to us
There was an envoy from the Uighur tribe in the central army who complained loudly: Lord Li said that Xu was in turmoil and could not withstand a single blow. How come we were ambushed as soon as we arrived
Li Yiyin was furious, his face was ferocious, and his voice was hoarse from shouting: Damn it, when others are in civil strife, they will surely be able to win without bloodshed! We are here to fight, to fight!
The Xu army on the northern hillside had a large formation, but only two or three thousand cavalry could be seen. Li Yiyin simply couldn't imagine that an army ten times larger than the enemy could be frightened into fleeing by two or three thousand cavalry.
The troops on the rear wing galloped away, and this situation immediately spread to the entire army like a plague, and even the Dangxiang troops began to run away.
Li Gong, let's go. The general advised, with this situation, we can't fight anymore.
Li Yiyin was still sitting on his horse, looking up and sighing, with his chest puffed out as he faced the cavalry approaching from the north. A huge feeling of despair and anger was like a whirlpool; he felt as if he was being sucked into it, falling into the abyss.
Li Gong
Li Yiyin suddenly became furious, drew his sword and shouted, "We can definitely win this battle. This is a must-win battle."
Amid the rumbling sound of galloping horses, Xu Jun's cavalry came straight. Countless coalition troops and horses all ran to the west. In the wilderness in the distance, there were many people and horses, like a torrent. Only Li Yiyin was left where the coalition troops had originally stood, holding a military flag in his left hand and an iron sword in his right hand.
Li Yiyin lowered his head, his gray hair on both sides of his helmet was messed up by the wind. He slowly raised his head, his red eyes were full of bloodshot, he gritted his teeth, raised his iron sword high, and shouted: Kill the lone rider and charge straight at the front of Xu Jun's iron cavalry.
As soon as one arrow was fired from the Xu army cavalry, Li Yiyin felt his seat empty, and his horse neighed and fell to its knees. He screamed and fell off the horse, with stars flashing before his eyes.
Li Yiyin supported himself with his hands, picked up his weapon, slowly climbed up, and limped a few steps. He saw the agile cavalry rushing past him on both sides, and no one paid any attention to him.
Li Yiyin shouted and rushed forward. The one-handed sword was too short, and before he could reach the cavalry on horseback, the man rushed over, shouting: Oh, how powerful!
Hahaha, there was a burst of laughter all around.
Li Yiyin's face flushed red, and he turned around and chopped at another target, but was still easily avoided by the fast-moving cavalry.
The grief and anger were all in vain, just like a punch hitting cotton. Li Yiyin gradually calmed down, stood in the middle of the crowd, threw away the military flag, glanced at the iron sword in his hand, and slowly raised his sword.
Suddenly there was a sound of a string, Li Yiyin screamed in pain, and the sword in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.
A big man on horseback pointed with his bow and said: "He is the leader of the Tanguts, Li Yiyin. I can kill anyone but him. I will capture him alive and take the credit. Maybe I can make him a hereditary marquis."
Not long after, Tokyo received an urgent report from the northwest: Feng Jiye led 3,000 cavalrymen to defeat the 30,000-cavalry coalition of Dangxiang, Tibetan natives and others (the number of cavalrymen could not be verified), and captured the leader Li Yiyin alive and escorted him to Tokyo to offer as a prisoner.
Guo Shao was overjoyed when he heard the news. He didn't do anything, but the border troops solved the border troubles. It was really easy. He said that Feng Jiye was not only good at herding sheep, but also good at fighting.
However, the prisoners were still on the way, and there was no urgent military report that could be delivered over hundreds of miles, so he could only wait patiently.
Guo Shao took this matter very seriously, not because of the battle itself, but because of the relationship. In any case, Guo Shao would never let the Helan Mountains and Pingxia areas escape Daxu's control because of the relationship.
It was not the time for a decisive battle against the Liao Kingdom. If they attacked the Liao Kingdom by force, they would need a large number of cavalry, and Daxu obviously did not have enough cavalry. But before the counterattack, the most reliable way was to continuously weaken the resources available to the Liao Kingdom and increase the source of their own war horses.
Guo Shao suppressed his provoked emotions, calmed down, and felt a little tired. The Liao people's strange poison was slow to infect and slow to cure. Guo Shao had been getting better for almost two months, but he was still not fully recovered.
He left Jinxiang Palace early and ordered the eunuchs to carry him to Madam Lu's place, wanting to meet his benefactor.
As the group carried the sedan chair into Xuanyou Gate, they saw Concubine Li Yueji kneeling on the side of the road. Eunuch Wang Zhong turned to see Guo Shao's attitude, but Guo Shao remained calm, so the group carried the sedan chair and continued to move forward without saying a word.
Stop. Guo Shao said softly.
Li Yueji bowed and said: Your Majesty, I know that my father has raised an army to fight against Your Majesty and committed the unforgivable crime of treason, but I dare not abandon the grace of my father's life and upbringing. I beg Your Majesty to be magnanimous.
Guo Shao thought: Who told you that I want to kill Li Yiyin
Li Yiyin's resistance with weapons could be considered treason in a righteous sense, but it was completely different from treason by domestic officials.
Pingxia Province was the territory of the Tanguts a few years ago, and now most of the population is also Tanguts. Guo Shao would not think that he had acquired the land by stationing a few thousand guards there. He kept exiling Han criminals to that place, and even paid for oxen and grain. What was the point of all this effort
Now that Li Yueji is marrying into the royal family of Daxu, it is a natural advantage for the two families to be closer. Guo Shao can't think of any reason to abandon this relationship.
If Li Yueji's biological father was killed, this marriage would not be asking for trouble. The key point is that after Li Yiyin was arrested, there would be no harm to Guo Shao.
Guo Shao thought for a while and said: I am a little embarrassed, let Concubine Li get up first.
Her Majesty Li Yueji looked at the big man behind the curtain with her watery eyes.
The eunuch Wang Zhong said: The virtuous concubine cannot force the emperor.
"I obey your order." Li Yueji then stood up.
Alas, Guo Shao sighed, waved his sleeves, and the eunuchs lifted the sedan chair again.
He lamented that he had to pretend to be in front of Li Yueji and said that he was in trouble. But sometimes he was really helpless, and only in this way could he reduce the hatred around him.
After the poisoning incident, Guo Shao became less and less arrogant. A little palace maid almost took his life. Guo Shao thought of Zhao Sanlang in the past, a powerful figure with the emperor's will, who died at the hands of a commoner Dong Er; Li Yun, who dared to rebel, also died at the hands of an unknown soldier around him.
Guo Shao thought that he should act gentle and tolerant to the little people he could get to know. Otherwise, even the First Emperor would not be Jing Ke's opponent within ten steps, and would be chased all over the room.
When we entered the courtyard where Madam Lu lived, a group of women were already waiting at the door. They bowed respectfully and a voice of "Long live Madam Lu" was heard.
Guo Shaodao: Stand up.
The eunuch Wang Zhong and another young eunuch helped him down from the chair. Wang Zhong whispered: Your Majesty is kind and tolerant to others, but there are always people who do not know what is good for them. It is really disheartening.
Guo Shao said casually: It is precisely because I have accumulated virtue that in times of crisis, there are still many loyal ministers who disregard gains and losses and loyally plan for the country.
After hearing this, Madam Lu couldn't help but say: Your Majesty is truly a benevolent monarch.
Guo Shao thought of the thick stack of roster files that he had signed with his own hand not long ago, and did not comment.