OBS Chapter 348: Guarding the Twin Cities Alone
Chapter 348: Guarding the Twin Cities Alone
Regent Zhao Defang ignored Gao Yingxiong. Although the other party was cautious and suspicious, he only shot a hundred arrows to force them to retreat, but did not kill them. The two generals on the city wall were discussing something, which showed that they were half-believing and half-doubting the Song army.
"I am Zhao Defang, the son of Taizu, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty. The big guy next to me is Gao Yingxiong, the son of Gao Huaide, the founding hero of Bohai County. If you doubt our identities, you can send someone down to the city to verify and confirm it." Zhao Defang continued to try.
Gao Yingxiong also shouted at the top of his voice, "That's right! This is the regent Zhao Defang, the son of Taizu. My father is the founding hero, Prince of Bohai Gao Huaide. The fierce general commanding the army behind is Cao Wei, the son of the founding hero, Duke of Lu Cao Bin.
Send someone here and we will prove it to you."
The old general on the wall stared at Gao Yingxiong, his voice trembling with excitement, "Young Master, it should be correct, it is the Song army that has come to rescue us. The Gao Yingxiong below looks very much like his father Gao Huaide when he was young, he must be Gao Huaide's biological son!"
The major general looked at the excited veteran and said cautiously, "Uncle Li, go down to the city and verify the other party's identity. Be careful to find out why they came from the territory defended by the Tanguts. What kind of agreement did they reach with the Tanguts in exchange for letting our Han army return home?"
After thinking for a while, he said, "No matter what kind of agreement they reach, as long as the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty has not forgotten our garrison, we can abandon the city and follow them back home."
The old general agreed and asked the soldiers to lower him down the city wall in a basket.
The man climbed out of the hanging basket, adjusted his worn armor, straightened his back, and walked toward Regent Zhao Defang and others with solemn steps.
Regent Zhao Defang took the lead and jumped off his horse. The others also dismounted and stood still, waiting for the old soldier with untidy beard and worn armor, but standing straight.
The old general stood ten steps away from the crowd, looking carefully at Regent Zhao Defang and Gao Yingxiong, tears gradually welling up in his eyes. He was already convinced that these people in front of him were people from Song, and this army was the Song army.
He looked at the Regent Zhao Defang and asked in a hoarse voice, "This young general must be the son of General Gao Huaide. May I ask, which son of Emperor Taizu are you? Why should we trust you?"
Gao Huaide was delighted. "The old general has a very good eye. He confirmed at a glance that I am my father Gao Huaide's biological son. Your Highness, the Regent, please prove your identity quickly!"
Regent Zhao Defang did not blame the other party for his rudeness. He took out a gold-inlaid jade token from his body and said, "I am Zhao Defang, the fourth son of Taizu. This is a dragon-patterned token that only the princes of the Song Dynasty have. You can check it carefully."
The old general did not take the dragon-patterned token with trembling hands. He did not recognize this thing at all and had no way to verify it, but he was also sure of the identity of the person in front of him, the prince. No one in the Song Dynasty dared to pretend to be a member of the Song Dynasty royal family.
The old general suddenly knelt on one knee with excitement, clasped his fists over his head, and said, "General Li Xin, I pay my respects to the prince!"
Regent Zhao Defang hurriedly stepped forward, stretched out his hand and pulled up the old general, his heart aching, his eyes red, "General Li, please stand up, you have suffered so much over the years!"
The old general burst into tears at the prince's words, and said with a choked voice: "It doesn't matter if it's a little bit hard. As long as we know that the emperor of the Song Dynasty and the people have not forgotten us, the lone army that has been struggling to hold on behind the enemy, we will have no regrets!"
Regent Zhao Defang felt a little ashamed. The emperor of the Song Dynasty and the people had no idea that there was an army in the enemy's rear that had been struggling to defend the isolated city for decades! Yan Xiaoqing had only found out about this news in the past few days and immediately reported it.
Holding the old general's rough and wrinkled hands, Regent Zhao Defang felt mixed emotions: moved and in admiration, sad and guilty. For so many years, they had defended the two isolated cities of Guazhou and Shazhou behind enemy lines, preferring death to surrender. How much loyalty, sincerity, and bravery and fearlessness this required!
"General Li, is the commander in the city a descendant of the Zhang family?"
"Yes! Your Majesty, the commanders of Shazhou City and Guazhou City are all descendants of the Zhang family. The commander of Shazhou City is Zhang Xiangchen, the fourth son of the old governor, and the commander of Guazhou City is Zhang Junpeng, the eldest grandson of the old governor.
By the way, the young master asked me to ask how the Song army came to the heart of the enemy country, and whether the two countries reached some kind of agreement in exchange for us being released back to the Song country?"
Gao Yingxiong laughed loudly and interrupted, "Old General, the prince brought a large army to destroy the Western Xia Kingdom and came to take you home."
"Really?" This news was unbelievable. The old general's lips trembled with excitement. "Your Majesty, will you lead our Song army to destroy the Western Xia Kingdom?"
Regent Zhao Defang nodded with a smile, "To be precise, half a month ago, I led my troops to attack Xixia. In a few days, we quickly captured Xiazhou, Xiping Prefecture and Xiliang Prefecture, and approached the city of Xingqing Prefecture. After a battle, Li Yuanhao of the Xixia Kingdom was a man of great wisdom and opened the city gates to surrender and submit to the Song Dynasty. Li Yuanhao is in the army behind us, and the land of Xixia has been re-incorporated into the territory of the Song Dynasty!"
Although Regent Zhao Defang did not elaborate, General Li could imagine that if Li Yuanhao, the King of Western Xia, had not suffered a great defeat and suffered heavy losses and was unable to resist, he would never have surrendered.
"Your Majesty, you are wise and brave. You destroyed a country in more than half a month. You are truly a great hero!" General Li, who was not good at speaking or flattering, could not find many words of praise in his mind, but his adoring and admiring eyes expressed the respect in his heart.
He took General Li to the army behind for a tour. General Li no longer had any doubts. He was just excited and looked at the powerful, well-equipped and high-spirited Song army with tears in his eyes. He kept praising them, but it was just one word: "Good! ... Good! ... Good!"
Shortly after General Li returned to the city from the hanging basket, the gates of Guazhou City opened, and soldiers in tattered armor and with pale faces and thin bodies marched out in a line. Groups of ragged, skinny civilians followed behind, shedding tears of excitement, to welcome the Song Dynasty army that had come to rescue them.
Young Master Zhang Junpeng brought a few personal soldiers to the Regent Zhao Defang, and knelt on the ground with a plop. "Zhang Junpeng, the defender of Guazhou City of the Great Song Dynasty, pays respect to His Majesty the Regent!"
Regent Zhao Defang hurried forward and personally helped the brave and resourceful young man up. "General Zhang, please stand up. Three generations of your Zhang family have fought to the death for decades to defend Guazhou City and Shazhou City for the Song Dynasty. Your loyalty and tenacity are commendable and admirable!"
Zhang Junpeng smiled bitterly, "Your Highness, to be honest, we have been looking forward to the emperor sending the Song army to rescue us these years. If the Song army doesn't come, we won't be able to hold on for a few more years.
More than 80,000 soldiers and civilians in Shazhou City and Guazhou City either died in battle or starved to death."
Looking at the ragged, skinny, and malnourished soldiers and civilians, Regent Zhao Defang felt sad and moved, and patted Zhang Junpeng on the shoulder.
"I am here with the Song army. Your days of suffering are over!"
The army did not enter the city. Regent Zhao Defang led people to deliver food and meat into the city so that all the soldiers and civilians could have a full meal first.
Zhang Junpeng has sent someone to deliver a letter to his fourth uncle Zhang Xiangchen, who is defending Shazhou City, asking him to come to Guazhou City to pay homage to His Royal Highness the Regent.
The people of Guazhou City, who had not had a full meal for a long time, gathered together, young and old, happily cooking rice and meat. When they held the broken bowls with the fragrant rice topped with meat, they ate with tears streaming down their faces.
Regent Zhao Defang inspected the dilapidated adobe houses on both sides of the street. In the blockaded and isolated Guazhou City, there was a shortage of goods and food, and people had a hard time making ends meet.
Zhang Junpeng introduced that every time the crops planted outside the city were harvested, the Tanguts would come and rob them. Every harvest season was the season when these Han soldiers and civilians would fight for food with the enemy.
Regent Zhao Defang greatly admired this young man who was talented, calm, and strong-willed.
"Junpeng, please consider whether you want to take these 80,000 soldiers and civilians back to the Song Dynasty, or continue to guard the border for the Song Dynasty?"
Zhang Junpeng pondered for a moment, "Your Highness, I have been thinking about this question all night. Returning to the homeland of the Song Dynasty has been the dream of many of us for many years. However, most of the old people have passed away. How can the young generation born here feel like returning to their homeland even if they return to the Song Dynasty?
Your Highness, you have promised that the Song Dynasty court will properly resettle those who return to their hometowns, and you have also promised that those who stay here will be protected by the Song Dynasty army. Let all the soldiers and civilians make their own choices!
As for me, three generations of our Zhang family have been defending here for the Song Dynasty. More than a dozen of our grandfathers’ generation died in the battle. My fourth uncle, I and two brothers were all born here.
We all remember that we are Han Chinese and people of the Song Dynasty, and we still want to stay here, guarding the border for the Song Dynasty for generations, so that this place will always be on the map of the Song Dynasty’s territory.”
Regent Zhao Defang's eyes lit up, "Good! I was right about you. Even though the Zhang family has been through countless difficulties and hardships, they have never lost their innocent hearts.
Junpeng, you are intelligent and have a broad vision, which is enough to take on the great responsibility. I will report to the emperor and order you to be appointed as the governor of Xixia Province, and serve as the highest local official of more than a dozen states here.
Not only will I send troops to garrison here, I will also send a group of talented and ambitious officials to help you govern this territory. In less than three or two years, this will surely become a pure land with abundant resources, people of all ethnic groups living and working in peace and contentment.”
Zhang Junpeng was flattered. "Your Majesty, it's rare that you value and trust me so much. I will work hard to govern Xixia Province. I will do my best and will not hesitate to sacrifice my life for you!"
Regent Zhao Defang smiled happily, "Mr. Governor Zhang, I will first dispatch a group of officials from the Ministry of Works to build canals to divert the Yellow River water, so that this flood-prone river can be used to irrigate more land and fertile fields, ensuring that millions of people can produce enough food."
Zhang Junpeng bowed excitedly, "Your Highness is wise! Your Highness has a unique vision. After walking around the territory of Xixia, you can find out the root cause of the people's lack of food and clothing in this barren land of Xixia Province over the years. It is really admirable!"