June 27th, midnight.
The small boat with its sail burned suddenly began to accelerate, and it rushed straight forward towards the gap in the fleet that was about to close.
The young marshal on the Liao ship had never seen this before, so he quickly waved his flag and issued orders. At this time, the wind was southeast, and the small boat without a sail was heading northwest. The big ship should have had an advantage by filling up the sail, but it watched the small boat go away. How could this be justified?
Yelu Hongji was furious. He saw that the boat had used some magic to speed up on the water and was sailing without wind. He could not stop it. So he ordered the boats to beat drums to cheer and urge the fleet to chase. Jin'er, who was wounded by the arrow, climbed up and hurried to stop it.
"Your Highness, you must not do that. This place is only a few miles from the river border of Bazhou. If you beat the drum, it may alert the Song army there. It is better to send spies into Bazhou to investigate and see the military preparations of the Southern Dynasty and whether Di Qing is alive or dead. It is better to wait until the Northern Courtyard cavalry horses are fat in autumn and the military rations and weapons are in good order before using swords and weapons."
"My cousin doesn't know the art of war, but she can still observe some celestial phenomena. Look at the two stars in the sky, they are the guardians of the heaven. Now the alien star is invading the heaven in the north, and the moon in the north is a bad omen of war, damage to the crops, floods, and the death of generals. It is just in time for the hero to enter the Central Plains from the north. As the saying goes, if you don't take what God gives, there will be disaster. If you wait until autumn, you will lose the initiative. It is better to seize the water stronghold of Bazhou today, so that there will be a ferry, allowing our cavalry to calmly reach the south bank."
"Don't be rash, Prince. When the stars change, we always have to look at them afterwards to see the signs."
"Is there any other explanation for this sign of the powerful ruler's invasion of the south?" Yelu Hongji laughed loudly and suddenly stopped to think for a moment. Thinking carefully, could it be that there is another powerful ruler in the north of Liao? After thinking about it, the bitter cold places in the north are nothing more than Mohe and Jurchen, and there is nothing to be afraid of, so he laughed again.
"Come here, help my cousin to heal her wounds. Beat the drums to encourage them and stop the people on the boat."
At once, more than a dozen war drums were beating on the ship, and other large ships around also followed suit, beating war drums, and the sound shook all directions.
Yelu Hongji turned his head proudly, only to see that the nemesis star that was so dazzling when Taiwu was dancing just now seemed to be a little dim? He suspected that it was just the mist in the lake that blocked the light in the morning, but the brightness of other stars around did not seem to change. But it didn't matter. As long as the two countries went to war, it didn't matter even if the guest star, a sign of the destruction of Song, went out. There was a lot of discussion in the court about this military expedition. It was nothing more than that they thought that they had just fought against Xixia two years ago and it was not favorable. Now they were not strong enough to go south to fight. Besides, it was midsummer and the horses were not yet strong enough, so it was too early.
Of course, he knew that the so-called lack of manpower and insufficient horses were all excuses used by the war-stopping faction to delay time. By the time the horses were fat in autumn, the guest star would probably have disappeared, and they would naturally change their rhetoric, saying that the opportunity had been lost and that it was not possible to use troops. In short, they did not want to break the alliance and go to war with the Song Dynasty.
However, he had another reason. He wanted to take this opportunity to consolidate his military power. Seeing that his father's time was running out, he was about to make an unparalleled achievement. It was inevitable that he would be blocked from ascending the throne in the future, or be hindered by powerful ministers after he sat on the throne.
As for whether the nemesis is a good omen, and whether the Taiwu's yin and yang are useful, they are secondary. The yin and yang techniques and the method of stargazing were not originally the strengths of the Khitans, but were the techniques of the Central Plains. This time, they were borrowed to silence the stop-war faction and to boost the morale of the army. Once a few victories were won, morale would be boosted and there would be no need for these supernatural things.
What he feared now was that the guest star suddenly disappeared, which would inevitably affect the determination of the court and the morale of the army. Seeing that the small boat had escaped, it would be better to start the war without waiting for them to report. It was an established fact, so he had to fight. He estimated that the people in the Song Dynasty were in panic this year. As long as the army was deployed, the entire Hebei Province would fall into his pocket. The army would probably be able to cross the Yellow River in the spring of next year.
On Shen Kuo's boat, several sailors were holding onto the crossbar and pedaling vigorously. Although they had never seen this thing before, their functions were clear at a glance. Because it was very similar to the waterwheel used to transport water in the fields, except that it was not transporting water but slapping water. Compared to paddling, the paddle was on the water for half of the time, so when the waterwheel was slapping water, seven or eight paddles would slap the water for every rotation of the paddle wheel, and the efficiency increased dramatically.
Arrows flew in from outside, hitting the outer deck with a crackling sound. Shen Kuo also stuck his head out from the side to observe the water wheel hitting the water and secretly took notes.
Xu Chong at the back held up a shield, looked ahead and steered the boat. As a man from the northwest, he was not familiar with water and should not have been steering the boat. However, no one dared to steer the boat in the rain of arrows. Everyone was rushing to pedal the bicycle, so he was the only one left to steer the boat.
Just as they were about to lose their exit due to the enemy ships closing in on them, unexpectedly, the deafening sound of drums from the large ship actually gave the sailors on the pedals a drum beat, so their steps became more coordinated and their speed actually increased a lot.
"It seems that every time the oar falls, a wave is created, and the waves surge forward and backward, sometimes rising and sometimes falling. If the front and back waves offset each other, the speed will be eliminated, and if they overlap, the speed will increase?" Shen Kuo said.
"Still looking at the water? Hurry up and get me a shield." Xu Chong shouted. He was still in danger. Arrows were flying from all directions and his shield could hardly block them.
Shen Kuo quickly took another shield from the cabin and used it to block his side. The two men hid behind the shields and smiled at each other.
"Did you see the arrow I shot just now, hitting that bitch right on the shoulder?"
"I saw her standing next to the young master. She must be a royal noble. He just asked you to listen. It seems that he wanted to appease her and invite her to marry into the family."
"I don't trust her. I wish I could hit her right in the face." Xu Chong said, but his words were not sincere. When he raised his hand to shoot the arrow just now, his hand was still a little low. Whether it was because he had not used the crossbow for a long time or because he felt sorry for it, he himself could not tell.
The small boat slipped out from the last gap between the two closed ships. It was so close that the ships on both sides took out poles and hooks to try to hook the small boat, but it still slipped away.
Once they escaped the encirclement, the small boats turned south in front of the fleet without waiting to get out of the arrows' range. The big ships could not take advantage of the wind, but the small boats went faster against the wind and ran half a mile in a blink of an eye. However, the enemy ships behind did not retreat, but changed rowers, lowered the sails, and paddled together to catch up.
"Brother Shen, you see that fleet is far from catching up with us, why don't they return?"
"I see, they are not here to chase us, they are here to start a war."
"Then, aren't we letting a wolf into the house?" Xu Chong said in horror, and rarely quoted an idiom.
"I hope the inspection department has made preparations on the earthen city wall."
"When we arrived, there was nothing prepared on the shore. Even if there was, there were only the hundred cavalrymen we brought with us."
"At this moment, the drumbeats are shaking the earth. I'm afraid they have heard it too. They should be prepared, right? One hundred cavalrymen are indeed a little less."
Shen Kuo unconsciously looked at his Tianguan guest star, but found that it seemed to be a little dim. It seemed that there was a possibility that it would disappear today.
A few miles away, on the top of the earthen wall, soldiers were setting up five crossbows on the shore.
Huang Shang, the Taoist priest who escorted the Heavenly Master from the capital to Bazhou, was wandering around the city wall. He saw that everyone on the construction site was sighing, except for the big monk Huai Liang, who was looking into the distance with his hands behind his back, as if he was thinking about something but not panicked at all.
He knew why the people here were so scared. There were only about 200 soldiers from the patrol office and the soldiers who escorted the objects. In addition, there were more than 90 imperial guards brought by Shen Kuo and Xu Chong, totaling 300 people. In the distance, drums were beating through the sky, and it seemed that a large fleet was coming, probably chasing Shen Kuo and his men. There were at least several thousand people on the boats. How could they resist?
He first went to the military tent at the back to see the Heavenly Master. The Heavenly Master seemed calm and composed, sitting in meditation with his eyes closed, neither opening his eyes nor speaking a word. This made him feel a little relieved, so he came out again to find Huai Liang.
"Master, the guest star in the sky seems to be much dimmer than yesterday ?"
"Oh, the young Taoist priest has been observing along the way?"
"My master told me to watch the star every day and report any changes to him. I remember that when we were in Bianliang four days ago, the master said that the evil star would disappear in three or four days? But it is still in the sky."
"I was just talking at the time." Huai Liang said indifferently, "This evil star is shining. I guess it is a star that burned out billions of years ago outside of the universe. Its extinction has long been determined, and it is not something I can predict."
"Then...then you still say it will be destroyed?" Huang Shang took a breath and found that the monk was not telling the truth.
"Aren't I afraid that the Heavenly Master would not want to come ?" Huailiang suddenly changed from a great monk to a greasy and smiling face.
"My master has also told you that our sect does not have any method to get rid of the evil star, but you insisted that it was okay. The evil star will naturally be destroyed here. Now you have this face..."
"Little Taoist priest, please stop being upset. Let me explain. First, without the Heavenly Master, I'm afraid it won't work. This is also a dispute over the destiny of the Song Dynasty. Since the Heavenly Master is the national master, he must come. Secondly, I have also read through the astronomical records of various dynasties. Although there is no fixed rule for the appearance of this guest star, it never exceeds one month. Now is the first month. Moreover, although this guest star comes and goes abruptly, there are some signs that can be grasped."
"What kind of signs?" Huang Shang asked quickly.
"Even before this guest star disappears, it will suddenly become brighter for a few days, which is the sign of the last rays of light. In addition, its light will also change slightly, from red to orange, and then to white. Although I don't know the original reason, it is very likely that the star has run out of fuel and its combustible materials have been exhausted."
"However, even if it dissipates in the next few days, the enemy ships are approaching."
"Maybe. Do you know what's in the other car that came with us?"
"I don't know. The car's windows were kept shut day and night. It seemed to be just a baggage carrier."
"It seems that your master didn't tell you. Haha, your master is also a very stable person. He knows the truth in his heart, but he didn't tell you."
"What is it?"
"Let's go and see how the shore defense is."
"What kind of shore defense is there? Bazhou was a non-military place as agreed upon back then. There are no high walls or deep moats. There are only a few feet high walls, which are lower than the walls of ordinary large manors. Apart from the few strange crossbows we brought, there are no weapons that can reach the river surface. How can we talk about shore defense?"
"These rapid-fire crossbows are what we want."
Huailiang said as he arrived at the construction site in front. The bed crossbows had already been installed. The arrows were shorter and thinner than the five-foot arrows of the bed crossbows. They were grouped in groups of eight and placed in a square box.
"Is this the crossbow that the master has modified? Is it really that powerful?"
"Yes, Master Yu Hao wanted to design a larger crossbow based on the Wu Hou Lian Zhu Yuan Rong. Although he had the blueprint, he never completed it. Shen Kuo got me the second volume of the Wood Classic and showed it to me. In fact, there were several mistakes so it couldn't be completed. I pondered over it for several months and finally succeeded."
The monk walked to the wooden box holding the long arrows and proudly touched the first arrow. The arrow had a large tip but was not very sharp, which looked strange.
"Why can't Zhuge Yuanrong be used as a reference?" Huang Shang asked.
"From what I have seen in the past few decades, there is only one thing about machines: 'the situation changes and the back and forth does not last long.' Therefore, although Wu Hou's crossbow can fire continuously, it cannot shoot far."
"Master, could you tell me more about this?" Huang Shang was also a person who liked to gossip.
"Haha, you know that water has momentum when it is high. The bow has momentum when it is bent? When water flows to a low place, it loses momentum. When the arrow flies out, the bow is no longer bent, and its shape is gone. The water is still water, and the arrow is still an arrow, but they have lost momentum. This is what I call the change of shape and form, which cannot be reversed. Therefore, the key to the continuous crossbow is how to accumulate momentum, and not to lose all the momentum in one shape change, but to accumulate momentum in multiple shape changes. Therefore, Zhuge Yuanrong only held the bow in one hand and the pressure rod in the other. He had to press the rod every time he shot an arrow, which was not effective. Although he shot continuously, the arrows could not be shot far."
"This idea that the power is declining and cannot last long seems similar to the idea of ​​my Taoist sect that the Dao is declining day by day?"
"Yes, Daozu also saw the rotation of the heavens, the withering and flourishing of plants, the rise and fall of nations, and the changing of situations, which are difficult to reverse. However, the great Dao is simple, but difficult to describe. As the saying goes, the Dao that can be described is not the real Dao, and the name that can be named is not the real name."
"Laozi said: The way of heaven is like drawing a bow! The high ones are suppressed, the low ones are raised, the surplus ones are reduced, and the deficiencies are given. It turns out that the master's interpretation is also reasonable. It is indeed the way of heaven to reduce the surplus and make up for the deficiencies." Huang Shang seemed to have an epiphany. The monk liked the transparency of this little Tao. In fact, in terms of its cleverness, it was not inferior to Shen Kuo.
"Master, listen to the drumbeats. The enemy has moved. Will Master Shen and his men be captured?"
"No, they will have already set out when we arrive. However, I have seen the blueprints left by Shen Kuo. The idea of ​​the speedboat is amazing. It is June and the wind is southeast. Even if the enemy ships chase us, it will be against the wind. However, his speedboat is not limited by the wind. Haha, of course they can't catch up..."
As he was talking, he saw a thin mist flashing in the river ahead. A small boat came out through the darkness. The boat was studded with arrows like a hedgehog. There was no sail on the mast, but it was running fast. A man stood on the bow, and it was Shen Kuo.
"I said, he has a speedboat and nothing will happen to him."
The monk excitedly climbed down the earth wall on the shore to meet Shen Kuo.
Over there, Shen Kuo also saw more flags on the earthen city and several newly installed crossbows, and knew that help had arrived. He also saw the tall monk from afar and was so excited that he jumped off the boat and shook hands with the monk.
"Master, you are here."
"Haha, I'm here, bringing with me the two pillars of the imperial dynasty, to help in this war."
"The Heavenly Master is here too?" Shen Kuo asked. He was not making a random guess, because he saw Huang Shang standing beside him.
"Here I come."
"You are still talking nonsense, the pursuers are coming." Xu Chong limped. He was shot in the buttocks and was helping a sailor to come over.
"Okay, let's go to the city defense first." The monk turned and said to a sailor, "Thank you, big brother boatman, for steering this boat across the river."
"But we are going to rely on small boats to block the river? There are so many enemy ships behind us, I'm afraid we won't be able to block it."
"The boatman just needs to keep it horizontal. It will be used in a ritual later."
When the sailor heard that it was a ritual, he did not ask any more questions and started to steer the boat. The rest of the people followed suit and entered the city.
In fact, there was no city defense, just an earthen wall with a tax collection office inside. The group climbed up the earthen wall. Over there, the archers were pulling the capstan to tighten the string of the crossbow. Shen Kuo saw at a glance that this crossbow was not a three-bow crossbow with two bows facing forward and one facing backward, but eight bows stacked together, four vertical and four horizontal. The soldiers struggled to turn the capstan, and the bows were stretched with it.
Shen Kuo saw through it at a glance and asked, "Master, is that a repeating crossbow?"
"Yes, the crossbow is a repeating crossbow, and the arrows are flaming arrows. There is no open flame, but it will ignite as soon as it is fired."
"Is it the flint-lock arrow?"
"Oh...you know this name?" Huailiang was surprised.
"It's not that I know, it's that there's already one over there."
Shen Kuo took an arrow from his side and handed it to the monk: "The arrow used over there just now is also the same, but it is not used by the regular soldiers, just to play tricks. I pulled this arrow off the mast."
The monk took a look at it and said, "It is indeed Yu Jing's work, but it is not good enough. It is not as good as my revised one."
"How good is the Master's?"
"You'll know soon." The monk said, keeping the secret.
As they were talking, the sound of drums was deafening not far away. Dozens of large ships broke through the morning mist and were right in front of them. The ships were full of archers. The drums on the large ship with the "Marshal" flag stopped, and the rest of the ships also stopped beating their war drums. Suddenly, the river was peaceful and solemn.
The young commander stood at the bow and saw Shen Kuo on the top of the city wall. However, he was standing on the big boat and was a few centimeters higher than Shen Kuo, so he could see into the city. He couldn't help but burst into laughter. The laughter penetrated the night sky and echoed on the top of the city wall.
"I heard that you are Shen Kuo?" Yelu Hongji said loudly after laughing.
"I am Xiaoke." Shen Kuo saluted on the top of the city wall.
"My cousin said that you are also a great talent who has repeatedly ruined her plans. When I saw your speedboat, I had some ideas. You didn't run away after getting ashore. Are you here to welcome me or do you want to surrender? My cousin, if she doesn't want to marry that warrior who secretly attacks people, she can also marry you into her Xiao family. Isn't it better to be an official here than to study hard in your Song Dynasty?"
"Don't worry, my Lord. I am here to welcome the Liao envoys. However, this is Song territory and we cannot give in any further. If the envoys have any diplomatic matters, please disembark and come to the yamen to discuss in detail."
While the two were chatting and talking, Jin'er, who had her wound bandaged, secretly came to Yelu Hongji's side. When she heard that the form wanted to marry Shen Kuo as a son-in-law, her face turned red, and then she thought: It's not impossible.
When she looked at the top of the city again, she was shocked because she saw the monk. When she was a spy in the capital, she had been asking about the capable people in the Song Dynasty. She knew that this monk had caused chaos in Tokyo during the Maitreya Sect and was a powerful figure worthy of fear. This monk was also the third of the four people she secretly ranked to be eliminated first.
Seeing Huang Shang again, she thought, since he is here, could it be that the Heavenly Master is here too? She was a little scared, because of the four people who could save the Song Dynasty, it seemed that three of them were on the top of the city?
"Do you think that my huge fleet is an envoy?" Yelu Hongji said. He noticed that Shen Kuo deliberately did not reveal his intention to invade the south, and seemed to want to save the situation. He was not in a hurry, so he might as well play with him and see if there were any ambushes behind the broken city. In fact, he was a little guilty, because the courage of the Liao Kingdom in using troops lies in the cavalry, but today there are only infantry. If the Song cavalry came from the darkness behind the city after landing, they might not be able to seize the bridgehead, and they would have to lose the huge fleet that they had secretly built over the years.
The two sides were deadlocked for a while. The Northern Courtyard Grand Witch couldn't help it and winked at the Crown Prince Yelu Hongji. Yelu Hongji nodded and asked him to go out and test the situation.
The witch, wearing a ferocious mask, walked to the bow and pointed at Shen Kuo: "You young boy, stop talking nonsense here. Since you want to stop my army, don't you know the will of heaven?"
"What destiny!" A loud shout came from the void.
The person who spoke was not someone else, but Zhang Zhenren, a Taoist priest who was dressed in Taoist attire and looked as awe-inspiring as a god.
"Zhang Sizong? You are here too?" Tai Wu felt a little uneasy. He was confident that he could scare Shen Kuo and his ilk, but he didn't expect that the Imperial Master of the Song Dynasty was also here. Now they were equals.
"If you can come, why can't I come?" Master Zhang said, twirling his beard.
"The nemesis of destiny has arrived. Even if the Heavenly Master comes, it will be useless. You must know that the reign of your Great Song Dynasty has come to an end. This is the will of heaven."
The great witch shouted and pointed to the horizon, only to find that the guest star had disappeared. It was there just now, and if it was blocked by clouds, the Tianguan star was still shining. How could it suddenly embarrass itself...
He squinted his eyes and looked carefully, and found that it was still there, but it suddenly dimmed a lot. At this moment, he could still see a faint starlight. Why did the star not shine at this critical moment? Could it be that the destiny of the Song Dynasty was not over? He noticed that the guest star was getting darker a few hours ago, so he urged the prince to use troops today, fearing that he would not be able to see it tomorrow. Unexpectedly, it disappeared so quickly?
A group of people on the top of the city wall also followed Tai Wu's hand and looked. Those with good eyesight could vaguely see the guest star, but people with poor eyesight like Shen Kuo could not see it at all.
"The nemesis of destiny has left..." Master Zhang said calmly, feeling a little empty inside. "In fact, I didn't cast any spells. I just arrived and drank a cup of tea. I haven't burned the talisman yet, but this star left on its own."
This old Taoist is a very insightful person. He was just hesitating whether to go up to the top of the city wall, but when he saw that the nemesis had dimmed, he hurried up. He did not say that he had extraordinary magical powers, but only said that the stars dimmed as soon as he arrived. In the midst of light wind and clouds, he surpassed the situation of the Tai Wu on the opposite side.
"Haha, the guest star has appeared. What was supposed to come has already come. Even if it disappears now, the Song Dynasty will have come to an end."
"How will it end? The Imperial Master, please tell me."
"I have already used the method of exorcism. At this moment, the Supreme General in Dongjing City is probably dead. If the country loses its leader, doesn't that mean that Song Dynasty will lose its destiny?"
Tai Wu hurriedly tried to make amends for himself. Since the guest star didn't give him face on the spot, he might as well tell him an unverified method of warding off evil. In fact, he also learned from the spy Jin'er that Di Qing was seriously ill and would not live long. At this moment, he could not lead the troops or fight a war, so it was obviously right to say that the country had lost its chief general.
As soon as he finished speaking, the gate of the earthen city in front of him creaked open.
Yelu Hongji was delighted, thinking that perhaps the Grand Master had frightened the Song people, and some of them opened the gates and surrendered the city.
Only the sound of crisp horse hooves was heard, and a man and a horse slowly came out from the gate.
A general sat on a six-foot-three-inch tall horse, but the man was wearing a mask, his true face could not be seen. He was wearing golden armor, a few strands of white beard were visible from behind the mask, and he held a long spear in his hand, looking majestic like a demon descending to the earth. He walked slowly and leisurely in front of thousands of Liao people.
Yelu Hongji was shocked because this man brought back his memories. In his early years, he had once entered Bianjing among the envoys who came to celebrate the birthday of the Song emperor, and had seen Di Qing on the parade ground, looking exactly like this god.
"You... who are you? Why are you playing tricks on me?"
"The Liao envoy doesn't recognize his old friend?" the general on horseback asked with a smile.
"Old friend? What old friend?"
"You and I have met once. On the emperor's birthday, the Crown Prince came to the court as an envoy from Liao. We had a competition of riding and archery on the training ground at that time."
The general took off his mask, revealing Di Qing's true face.
At this moment, everyone on the city wall was sweating, because the old man had long been unable to stand up straight and could no longer ride a horse. Today, he had to grit his teeth and mount his horse to hold his spear to carry out the empty city plan, only because the Privy Council was too slow to mobilize troops. At this moment, the nearest reinforcements were still two hundred miles south of Yingzhou. If the Liao Kingdom seized the city at the boundary river, it could be used as a support to continuously send cavalry over, and then the war in Hebei would be difficult. Today, he came here to stop the war, hoping that his dying old bones could play a role for the court again. As long as they survive this year, the haze in the hearts of the people of the Song Dynasty will gradually dissipate, and the so-called hints created by the Maitreya Sect that the country's fortune is about to end and the destiny has been lost will be forgotten. The morale of the people will inevitably recover, and they will not be afraid of a war.
Xu Chong was sharp-eyed and saw blood seeping out of the old man's battle robe on his back. He knew that when he straightened his back, the old wound had been broken again. It was a pity that this old general had also sacrificed his life.
Yelu Hongji at the bow was also startled. He knew that this was the real Di Qing and he had indeed seen him before.
"Your Majesty, it's better to shoot arrows volley by volley..." Tai Wu whispered in his ear.
"No, if the arrow is launched, it may be out of control." Jin'er reminded.
Smoke and dust were seen rising behind the city. Soon, more than a hundred elite cavalrymen came around the city from both sides and protected Di Qing.
"Your Majesty the King of the North Courtyard, we can't deploy our troops under the earthen city at the mouth of the river, so we can only bring a few of these men. If Your Majesty goes ashore, you can naturally observe the might of our Song Dynasty army from behind the city. Hahahaha..." Di Qing laughed and retreated as he was escorted by everyone.
Controlling the reins to retreat is a very advanced horsemanship. Di Qing was no problem in galloping on the battlefield in the past, but at this moment he still let the reins run freely and slowly retreated, which shows that his archery and horsemanship skills have not declined, and it seems that he has been practicing galloping.
Yelu Hongji also observed carefully, and could not see any sign of old age on Di Qing. He could still show off his horsemanship in front of , and refused to turn his back to him. How could he know that it was not that Di Qing was arrogant, but that he could not let him see the abscess on his back burst and bleed profusely.
Di Qing slowly retreated into the city gate, and the 100 riders split into two groups and retreated around the city, disappearing in the blink of an eye. The gate of the earthen city slowly closed.
This scene was really strange and bizarre, but it shocked Yelu Hongji, and he was a little suspicious. If he was told that there were still a large group of soldiers behind the city, he would not believe it. He was in a hurry to use troops today, but Shen Kuo had seen through his intention and wanted to strike first. What he feared most was that he would not be able to use troops in time, causing the cavalry to not have time to arrive at the battlefield. The Song Dynasty now had cavalry, but although he had many people, he did not have cavalry.
"Your Majesty, I think they only have about a hundred cavalrymen, and there is nothing behind this city wall." Tai Wu said.
"Cousin, don't move rashly." Jin'er said.
Yelu Hongji hesitated, and then looked around, and saw that his soldiers were all a little timid. He knew that things were not going well. Just now, the witch had performed a magic trick, saying that the nemesis of the Song Dynasty was gone, and now the nemesis was gone, and he used the method of aversion, saying that the pillar of the Song Dynasty, Di Qing, was about to die. But he watched him come out for a stroll.
He actually didn't really believe in these supernatural things, and he just used them to boost morale, but now he also understood the headache of magic backlash. Shaman dance can indeed boost morale, but the soldiers saw that the magic failed, and the morale disappeared in an instant. On the top of the city, the group of people from the Song Dynasty did not tear their faces apart, and called themselves Liao envoys. They also left a way for themselves to retreat. If the opportunity to fight is really lost, it is better to retreat.
"Your Majesty, the morale of the people of Song Dynasty is at its weakest right now. If we retreat, we will have no chance in the future." Tai Wu's words awakened Yelu Hongji.
"So what if it's Di Qing? The Song Dynasty has too many officials and tired soldiers. There is no time to mobilize a large army here. There are only a hundred people." Yelu Hongji became energetic again for a while.
Behind the earthen city, Di Qing, who had already fallen off his horse, heard what Yelu Hongji said. He panted and shook his head. What Yelu Hongji said was true. The bureaucracy below the Privy Council of the Song Dynasty was redundant, and the rules and procedures were complicated. Taizu was afraid of the military generals and set up layers of inspections and obstructions. Although Henan and Hebei were not far away, the nearest reinforcements were only 800 people from the south of Yingzhou. If Yelu Hongji's army disembarked, they would occupy the south bank in a blink of an eye.
People on both sides hurried over to help the old man up, but the old man refused to leave and waited at the door.
After Yelu Hongji shouted at the top of his lungs, no one on the other side of the city responded. He couldn't help but burst into laughter. It seemed that with one order, the 3,000 infantry on the boats would rush down, and the big thing would be accomplished. Maybe they could capture the Heavenly Master of the Great Song Dynasty and the general in one fell swoop. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
"Amitabha. Your Majesty, can you please allow me to speak for a moment?" Finally, a monk from the top of the city wall answered.
"Monk? Are you the monk Huai Bing that Jin'er mentioned, the one who holds the secrets of heaven and is the best monk after Yu Hao?"
"Miss Jin'er's words are not true. Even when Yu Hao was here, I would still be number one in the world."
Shen Kuo, who was somewhat frightened, was almost amused by the monk. Master Huailiang really should not be a monk. His competitive spirit was too unsuitable for Buddhism.
"Oh, you are so arrogant, aren't you afraid of making mistakes?"
"I'm not afraid. Even if Wu Hou is reborn, I'd be second to him. People of this world are not to be trifled with."
"Now that my heavenly troops are approaching, what can you, the number one in the world, do to me?"
"Your Majesty wants to take advantage of the Song Dynasty's crisis to deploy troops. I am outside the country and will not stop you. However, Your Majesty, do you know what is the Song Dynasty's strongest military force?"
"The southerners lack horses, and the only weapons they can use are crossbows and heavy axes. I have also penetrated deep into Song territory, and have seen a lot."
"Yes, it's Xiao Taling who is at the foot of Danzhou City..."
"In the end, it's just these old stories... You Song Dynasty can't show any other great sites. Now we also have this bed crossbow, and I have at least 70 or 80 powerful crossbows on these ships. If we were to compete with crossbows, I could instantly destroy your earthen city into pieces."
"Hahaha." The monk laughed.
"You don't believe me? I see you only have four or five crossbows on the top of the city wall. How can you resist my fleet?"
"Your Majesty, please look over there." The monk pointed to the paddle-driven speedboat that Shen Kuo had landed on the river after escaping. Now it was lying across the river, slowly rising and falling with the waves.
"This boat is indeed interesting. After we capture the city, I will drag it back and disassemble it for careful study. It will only take a few years for my troops to reach the river network in the south of the Yangtze River, and it will certainly be useful to them."
"I'm afraid the king can't disassemble it."
But the crossbow on the top of the city wall began to turn. The guards around Yelu Hongji hurried forward to protect him, but he shouted them back. He had already seen that the crossbow arrows were not aimed at him, but at the boat full of arrows. I don't know what this monk is going to show. When the boat escaped just now, it was hit by thousands of arrows but was not damaged at all. What will happen if this crossbow shoots a heavier arrow?
The monk only nodded, and in a moment, eight arrows were fired from the crossbow, all of which hit the boat. Not only were they hit by arrows, but where the heavy arrows hit, a fire suddenly broke out, and in a blink of an eye, the boat turned into a fire boat, burning into a pile of charred wood floating on the water.
Yelu Hongji was shocked. He had not expected such a powerful crossbow. If such a weapon were to come at him, even if he had many ships, he might not be able to resist it.
He looked at the five crossbows on the top of the city wall and was instantly frightened. The Tai Wu beside him was also frightened and dared not persuade him to use troops.
"Your Majesty, today we are visiting late at night, and the river envoy has no preparations. He can only perform some fireworks to celebrate. Why don't you come early tomorrow and set up ceremonial flags, gongs and drums, and carriages to welcome us? How do you think?"
The two sides were not far apart, and when the monk saw the prince's face turn pale, he knew that the time had come and he gave him a way out.
Yelu Hongji was speechless for a moment, and the two sides fell into a terrifying silence again. The people on the top of the city wall didn't know whether this earthen city would still exist in a moment. Behind the city gate, Di Qing also clung to the city gate and looked through the crack, completely ignoring his own wounds.
All the available moves have been used. Now it depends on whether this empty city plan can scare the opponent.
"Hahahaha..." Yelu Hongji laughed. "Master, what you said is different. I came here today for the sake of maintaining friendship between our two countries, not for the purpose of using military force. It's just that your market was closed a few months ago, and merchants cannot trade, so I came here to ask a few questions."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Yelu Hongji was taking the initiative to find a way out.
"The market is always available, Your Majesty, don't worry about it."
"This is the best. I think it will be dawn soon..." He looked towards the east. Even the outline of his nemesis could no longer be seen. If he didn't leave early or late, was the Song Dynasty really destined to be prosperous?
"I think we should send someone tomorrow to discuss the matter of restoring the market. Now the east wind is strong, it's time to go back. Come on, set sail!"
At the command, all the ships raised their sails and, taking advantage of the east wind, began to return north.
Na Jin'er stood at the bow of the boat and looked towards the top of the city.
Xu Chong looked at her from the top of the city wall, and saw her sighing, rubbing the arrow on her back and returning to the cabin. Xu Chong sneered and limped down the city wall.
This disaster of war was avoided without a major war and this incident is not mentioned in the history books of Song and Liao.
In the blink of an eye, two years of peace and prosperity in the Song Dynasty had passed. Everything disappeared.
In the third year of Zhihe, it was the third month of spring.
A fat old donkey was walking on the embankment of the Bian River outside the east gate of Tokyo. At this moment, the embankment was already covered with green grass, a scene of early spring. The donkey was quite dissatisfied because there were two people sitting on its back. A beautiful woman sat in front and a handsome young man sat behind.
The woman's face was rosy and shy, and her waist was plump, as if she was a few months pregnant. The young man had a few wisps of beard and looked like a steady young man.
"Sir, we have been traveling in the south for the past few months, but we still haven't been able to find my sister. It's such a pity." said the woman.
"Looking back two years ago, I took this road with your sister to the capital, but unfortunately things have changed."
"I think we should stop looking for her. If my sister were still alive, she wouldn't want anyone to find her."
"Yeah, I won't look for it anymore."
When Shen Kuo saw the flowers blooming on the tea tree in front of him, he controlled the reins, walked to the tree, picked a camellia flower, and put it on Hu Yong'er's temples.
"Do you like it?"
"I like it. You know I like pink peach blossoms more. Sister likes this camellia."
"I thought you wearing this camellia would also remind me of her for a moment."
Hu Yong'er looked pretty and leaned her head on his chest obediently.
"In the past one or two years, the capital has also seen major changes."
He looked around at the vendors hawking their wares and the children running around in the spring scenery. The haze of two years ago had been swept away, and the place was filled with singing and dancing.
"Yes, Mr. Yan has also passed away." Yong'er said sadly.
"Di Gong is gone too. But our Song Dynasty is still flourishing."
Just as they were feeling inspired, they saw people in front of them worshipping at a small shrine on the dirt road. They let the donkey run wild and heard an old man in the countryside say, "I heard that the fox fairy here is very effective, so people from all over the country come to worship. I have brought incense and candles here, hoping that the fox fairy lady can bless my family to have a boy next year."
"I also hope that next year, I can give birth to a boy." Yonger said.
"Then you can protect yourself."
The couple on the donkey smiled at each other.
Then Shen Kuo sighed again. There has been no change among the people. They still believe in these stories about ghosts and foxes.
When they arrived at the city gate, they saw an officer coming to greet them from afar. It was Xu Chong.
"Mr. Shen... I was kept waiting for so long. The letter said it would arrive the day before yesterday, but I waited and waited, and only saw you today."
"Thank you General Xu for coming to meet us. My husband and I went to the Songzhou Yue Lao Temple to have fun during the spring outing, and we were late..."
As they were talking, a gong sounded from the city gate. People on all sides stepped aside, some even kneeling down in the street.
"What is this..." Shen Kuo asked.
"My lord, you don't know that the Immortal has returned to Mount Longhu. The Emperor has specially sent General Hong to lead 500 soldiers to escort him."
"Why is there such a big scene?" He saw flags flying in the distance and a long team of soldiers and horses were coming to lead the way.
"Hey, it's still the same thing from two years ago."
"What's the matter?" Shen Kuo was confused for a moment.
"It's still the Jade Purity Palace where the thirty-six celestial beings and seventy-two earthly demons left."
"That is a completely untrue story. There is no such thing as the Heavenly Gangs and Earthly Demons."
"That being said, if you want to appease the people, you can't say that. So over the years, the Heavenly Master has been going out of the capital and has captured the thirty-six Heavenly Generals and seventy-two Earthly Fiends. The government felt that if they were kept in the capital, they would be used by someone with ulterior motives, so they asked the Heavenly Master to send the one hundred and eight demon kings back to the Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain to suppress them, so that out of sight, out of mind."
Shen Kuo couldn't help but shake his head. He saw a group of hundreds of people playing music coming from the main road, passing through the city gate and heading into the distance.
"Don't you know that using magic to defeat magic will backfire?" He sighed, "Since you know that you will be used by people with ulterior motives, how can there be no one with ulterior motives when you arrive at Longhu Mountain? The incident of the Heavenly Book is a lesson not far away."
"Hey, you don't know the pain of the government. Bao Longtu said that the government can't see too far ahead and can only accommodate the people for the time being. By the way, what did you see and hear during your trip to the south?"
"I have seen and heard a lot, but I can't tell you about it." Hu Yonger said coquettishly.
"Why don't you tell me? Do you think I'm just a warrior?"
"No, no, Sister Yong meant that she would talk to Master Huailiang and Yang Chunguan together later."
"Haha, okay, let's talk about it together. By the way, Mr. Bao wants to know, are you going to Beijing to take the imperial examination this year?"
"Hey, I've discussed with Sister Yong and decided to spend a few years looking for his sister, so we won't take the exam this year. Let's wait a few more years."
The three of them chatted and laughed as they went into the city. The Heavenly Master, along with his team of 108 demon kings, also left the city with music and drums.
(End of full text)