Traveling back to the Northern Song Dynasty: Picking up a princess as my wife

Chapter 404 Emperor Li Zhen of Han Kingdom personally visits Weizhou

By the time Xiao Kun received the news that Shazhou City had been captured by the Mongol army, it was already noon the next day. He had already arrived at a point more than fifty miles north of Jinchang City. Looking at the Western Liao army behind him, he frowned.

"These Mongol barbarians are truly despicable. Pass on my military order: all troops are to march towards Guazhou. Also, send someone to inform the garrison in Guazhou to be on high alert, as our last supplies are all there."

With the order given, the 100,000-strong Western Liao army turned their horses around and began a rapid march towards Shazhou City. In fact, Shazhou was dispensable to the Western Liao, at most a midway supply battle, but if these 40,000 to 50,000 Mongol troops were not completely annihilated, they would not be able to launch a full-scale attack on Jinchang City.

In the magnificent Prince's Mansion in Jinchang City, a Western Xia scout rushed in and reported anxiously: "Your Highness, our scouts at the front have reported that the Western Liao army has suddenly changed direction and is heading straight for Shazhou City."

Upon hearing this good news, Li Wan's lips involuntarily curled into a smile, his brows brimming with undisguised joy. He knew this meant that reinforcements from Western Xia were almost upon them, and perhaps only two more days of patience would suffice for them to arrive like timely rain. At that time, even if the Western Liao cavalry launched a full-scale attack, determined to conquer Jinchang, with his exceptional command skills and personal charisma, holding the city for two days would be no difficult task.

"Hahaha... Third Master Xue," Li Wan laughed heartily, her eyes gleaming with wisdom, "the Western Liao troops went to great lengths to attack Shazhou, not only missing their chance but also throwing themselves into disarray, thus buying us precious time!"

In stark contrast to Li Wan's barely concealed excitement and joy, Xue San involuntarily frowned. According to intelligence gathered by spies carefully planted within the Western Liao army by the Han Kingdom, this Xiao Kun was vastly different from the previous Yelü Yuedan. His meticulousness, decisiveness, and attention to detail were extraordinary. Logically, he should have been able to see through and escape his carefully laid scheme, rather than falling into the trap so easily.

Xue San calmly asked Li Wan, "May I ask how many light cavalrymen Your Highness still has in the city that can be mobilized?"

Although she didn't understand why Xue San suddenly asked this question, Li Wan still replied, "Besides the Iron Falcons, there are still three thousand light cavalrymen. I wonder if Master Xue has any plans?"

Xue San stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Please lend us these three thousand cavalrymen, Your Highness. I suspect this is a scheme by the Western Liao army. We will send someone to lead these three thousand cavalrymen out of the city to investigate. Please grant us permission, Your Highness."

After listening to Xue San's words, Li Wan thought about it carefully and realized that it made perfect sense. If those 100,000-plus Western Liao troops hadn't gone to Shazhou, but instead suddenly turned around and launched a surprise attack on him, then his Jinchang City would really be in danger.

At this moment, north of Shazhou City, Zhe Luo sat on horseback, gnawing on a leg of lamb. He would occasionally pour wine from his wine bag into his mouth to relieve the greasy taste of the lamb.

Cunying frowned, full of doubt: "General Zheluo, this Shazhou City is within our grasp. Why don't we seize it now and instead give up this hard-won victory?"

Before the words were finished, with a soft "whoosh," an ancient book landed squarely in Cunying's arms.

Zhe Luo smiled and said leisurely, "The Art of War says, 'Warfare is based on deception!' These are the words that Master Xue once gave me. I have heard that this book is the sacred classic of military strategists in the Han Dynasty, called 'The Art of War by Sun Tzu.' If you and I can study it diligently, we will surely gain something from it."

Just half a day after they left Shazhou City, an elite cavalry force from the Western Liao Dynasty galloped in from the west and entered the city, which was in ruins.

The commander of a thousand men, his eyes gleaming, surveyed the ruins of the city. A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips: "It seems Yelü Yuedan and his entourage have no hope of winning the first battle. Issue my order to continue searching for any trace of the Mongol army. I want to see where they can escape to in this world!"

Having said this, the thousands of cavalrymen marched in a mighty procession toward the Alashan Grassland to the north, raising clouds of dust. At the same time, an eagle soared into the sky, cutting through the air and swiftly flying eastward, carrying the message that reinforcements from the Western Liao were about to arrive, soaring through the heavens.

To successfully capture the Xiping Military Command of the Western Xia Kingdom, the Western Liao army deployed its full strength, determined to seize this vital Silk Road. The reason? The annual tax revenue from the passing caravans alone was astronomical.

In Weizhou City of the Han Kingdom of China, a military helicopter roared down onto an open space in the city. After the helicopter came to a stop, as the cabin door opened, Li Zhen led a group of high-ranking officials of the Han Kingdom out one by one.

Zhao Guodong had been eagerly anticipating this moment, and his heart was filled with excitement. He led his officials to kneel down without hesitation. The cold stone slabs did not touch their skin, and they shouted "Long live the Emperor!" in unison, their voices shaking the roof tiles.

Inside the prefectural hall, Li Zhen asked with concern, "Zhao Guodong, are the disaster relief supplies I sent enough?"

Zhao Guodong smiled and replied, "Rest assured, sir, I have already quickly allocated those precious supplies to the areas most severely affected by the disaster. As for the city, the disaster is relatively minor, and our reserves can barely sustain us."

Li Zhen nodded in satisfaction. Although he had brought a large amount of disaster relief supplies from the modern world, there were too many places in the Han Kingdom that had been affected by the disaster, so he could only prioritize supplying the areas most severely affected by the snowstorm.

Li Zhen: "I heard that Prefect Zhao killed quite a few people in order to provide disaster relief?"

Upon hearing Li Zhen's question, all the officials from Weizhou in the hall tensed up. According to the laws of Han, Prefect Zhao Guodong had no right to kill those corrupt officials; he could only imprison them and wait for the Han Prosecutor's Office to investigate and convict them.

Zhao Guodong knelt down with a calm expression and said, "Guodong hereby begs forgiveness from His Majesty the Emperor. During this disaster relief effort, I was also anxious, and those people had ulterior motives. They had already controlled the area for a long time and had a lot of personnel and equipment. I had no choice but to use this swift and decisive method to eliminate these scoundrels. I already knew the outcome when I did this, but I do not regret it."

After saying this, Zhao Guodong kowtowed heavily to Li Zhen and lay prostrate on the ground awaiting Li Zhen's judgment.

After a long while, Zhao Guodong felt uneasy. The thunderous rebuke he had anticipated from Li Zhen did not come. Instead, a pair of broad, kind hands gently helped him up from the cold ground. He looked up in surprise and saw that it was Emperor Li Zhen of the Han Kingdom who had personally reached out to help him.

Looking into Zhao Guodong's astonished eyes, Li Zhen smiled warmly: "Hehehe... If I were to punish such a loyal and diligent official as you for such a trivial matter, wouldn't that confirm my reputation as a tyrant? What you did was reasonable and even a great act of kindness. Not only will I not punish you, but I will also promote you greatly!"

Upon hearing this, the officials of Weizhou almost jumped up on the spot. If Prefect Zhao Guodong had been promoted, then they should be promoted too. So the officials bowed to Li Zhen again to express their gratitude.