The prince is more stable

Chapter 1031 Standoff Between Two Armies
How much benefit can one gain from destroying a country?

This question is very abstract and has no standard answer.

The main source of benefits is the country's treasury, granaries, land, and the long-term benefits derived from its strategic location.

Of course, this also includes the wealthy, powerful, and landlords who plunder and exploit the country.

When the Ming Dynasty fell and Li Zicheng captured Beijing, he looted a staggering 70 million taels of silver from the mansions of powerful officials and nobles. This amounted to only the cash and silver, not including fixed assets and land.

Before this, Emperor Chongzhen had been begging his ministers in the capital for donations to fight the enemy. He practically knelt down to them, but only managed to raise 200,000 taels of silver. As a result, the rebel army broke through the city, and those powerful ministers who refused to contribute money were back to square one.

History is full of ironic facts.

Therefore, there is no right answer to how much benefit one can gain from destroying a country.

We should not only look at the wealth of a country, but also at the wealth of its powerful and wealthy officials.

The Western Xia was located in the northwest, and although it appeared desolate and barren with very little arable land, it was not actually poor.

Putting everything else aside, just by guarding the Silk Road every year, they can reap countless benefits for no reason, collecting tolls from caravans until their hands cramp.

Furthermore, the Western Xia state was founded by the Tangut Qiang people, an extremely aggressive ethnic group that had repeatedly invaded and plundered neighboring countries over the years. Their army even disguised themselves as bandits to rob passing caravans of goods and money.

The Western Xia treasury may not have been wealthy, but its elite private class comprised a large number of rich people.

This is one of the reasons why both the Song and Liao dynasties had their eyes on this country and were determined to destroy it.

The Song Dynasty was short of money, and so was the Liao Dynasty. Both great powers were plotting to destroy the Western Xia and then devour this prize to replenish their own resources.

Now that Xingqing Prefecture, the wealthiest capital of Western Xia, has been occupied by the Song army, the Liao Dynasty has undoubtedly missed out on a huge windfall.

Yelü Chun could not tolerate this. It was no longer a question of whether he was willing to give up. There were still countless eyes watching him in the Liao capital, those eerie green eyes, all waiting for the Liao army to destroy the Western Xia and bring back a huge amount of money, cattle, sheep and luxury goods from the Western Xia.

If Yelü Chun dares to return empty-handed, not only will the entire court not let him off the hook, but Yelü Yanxi will also be utterly disappointed in him, and Yelü Chun will never have a chance to turn things around in the court again.

Three days after the Song army occupied Xingqing Prefecture and defeated the reinforcements, 100,000 Liao troops rushed south, heading straight for Xingqing Prefecture.

Before capturing Xingqing Prefecture, Zhong Jianzhong had deployed many scouts and agents in the northern part of the Western Xia Kingdom. In his eyes, the Western Xia Kingdom was not worth mentioning. His main concern was the Liao army, so he had to keep a close watch on their movements.

Just as Yelü Chun led his 100,000 Liao troops out of camp, scouts urgently sent a report to Xingqing Prefecture.

Zhong Jianzhong immediately began to deploy his more than 50,000 Song troops.

Twenty thousand Song troops remained in the city, while the rest withdrew outside Xingqing Prefecture and set up camps on the east and west sides. The two armies were less than a hundred miles from Xingqing Prefecture, forming a pincer movement.

The Liao army moved faster than expected. Zhong Jianzhong had just finished deploying his troops when the 100,000 Liao soldiers arrived a hundred miles away from Xingqing Prefecture.

Having just set up camp on the vast, desolate plain, Yelü Chun did not waste a moment and immediately dispatched a military envoy to Xingqing Prefecture to request an audience with Zhong Jianzhong.

Zhong Jianzhong received the Liao army envoy in Xingqing Prefecture.

At this time, Xingqing Prefecture had completely fallen into the control of the Song army. The Western Xia garrison in the city had been wiped out, the city defenses had been taken over by the Song army, and the Western Xia nobles and officials, along with their ruler Li Qianshun, were escorted to Bianjing to be presented as prisoners.

Zhong Jianzhong temporarily appointed several civil officials from the army to serve as prefects, responsible for the daily administration of the city.

After the brutal street fighting within the city, most of the Western Xia people in the city had been killed by the Song army. The surviving people were basically compliant citizens, and the city's security was basically restored.

Wars of annihilation are never peaceful; the number of lives lost, whether military or civilian, is in the tens of thousands.

The hostile armed forces within the city have been eliminated, and the survivors must continue to live. The change of kings on the city walls may simply mean that for ordinary people who have no will to resist, it is just a matter of having a new emperor to kneel and submit to.

After the Song army occupied Xingqing Prefecture, under the orders of the temporary government appointed by Zhong Jianzhong, the shops, restaurants and markets in the city reopened to customers after a brief period of chaos and reorganization. Various daily necessities and grains were also continuously replenished into the city by the Song army.

When the Liao army envoy entered Xingqing Prefecture, he was greeted by a scene of lasting peace and stability.

It should be noted that Xingqing Prefecture had only been occupied by the Song army for four or five days, yet it had already restored order, with people and merchants coming and going in droves on the streets, as if they had no idea that the city had just experienced a brutal bloody battle.

The military envoy walked down the street and could not even smell a trace of blood, nor see a single corpse of a fallen soldier.

Dynasties rise and fall, and the once-powerful Li family seems to have been erased from existence, becoming nothing more than a grain of sand in the annals of history spanning thousands of years.

Zhong Jianzhong's temporary command tent was located in the former prefectural government office in Xingqing Prefecture. After occupying Xingqing Prefecture, there were still many things to deal with after the occupation, and Zhong Jianzhong had been extremely busy these past few days.

Zhong Jianzhong really made a concerted effort to squeeze out time to meet with the Liao army envoy.

The military envoy was very polite to Zhong Jianzhong and did not dare to waste any words. He directly made his request on behalf of Yelü Chun, the commander-in-chief of the Liao army.

The alliance between the two countries was still in effect, and the Liao army hoped that the Song army could open the gates of Xingqing Prefecture and allow 10,000 Liao troops to enter the city and take over the city's defenses together with the Song army.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Jianzhong sneered and immediately rejected the military envoy's request.

He didn't even bother to come up with a reason for refusing, and only said one sentence to the Liao envoy: "Tell Yelü Chun to come over and tell me in person that you are not worthy of my attention."

From the moment they met until the end, Zhong Jianzhong uttered only this one sentence before ordering his personal guards to escort the Liao envoy away. The Liao envoy, looking dejected, left the city and returned to his army camp.

The first negotiation after the alliance between the two armies was completely fruitless.

Yelü Chun's face was ashen, and he already had a bad feeling.

Judging from Zhong Jianzhong's behavior and attitude, the Song army seems to really intend to monopolize the spoils, which means they have no intention of abiding by the alliance between the two countries.

Yelü Chun's mood grew increasingly heavy. He had long been aware of the fragility of the alliance between the two countries and had prepared a plan for how to deal with the situation should the two armies break the alliance.

He just didn't expect that the Song army would break the alliance so quickly, and that he, as the Liao army commander, had only been in command for a few days.

Now that the Song army has occupied Xingqing Prefecture, the Liao army has lost the initiative. All sorts of unfavorable factors are weighing on him alone. Yelü Chun couldn't help but regret that he shouldn't have taken on this task.

"Send word: send fast horses at an 800-mile distance to the capital and report the true situation of the Western Xia campaign to His Majesty," Yelü Chun ordered in a deep voice.

"Furthermore, tomorrow morning, the entire army will break camp and continue south, reaching the city of Xingqing and forming an encirclement of Xingqing."

The Song army wanted to conquer Western Xia, and Yelü Chun could not allow Zhong Jianzhong to succeed.

Therefore, Yelü Chun planned to use military force to press on the border, creating an atmosphere of breaking the alliance and attacking the city, in order to force Zhong Jianzhong to compromise and give up the defense of Xingqing Prefecture.

The following morning, the Liao army broke camp and continued south.

In the afternoon, 100,000 Liao troops arrived at the city of Xingqing, forming a three-sided encirclement of the city.

Yes, the Khitans also learned the basic military strategy of "surrounding three sides and leaving one side open".

At this moment, Zhong Jianzhong stood on the city tower of Xingqing Prefecture, squinting as he observed the Liao army closing in like a tide outside the city, as well as the Khitan banners that blotted out the sun. The terrifying aura that seemed to be able to devour everything made the sky and earth change color, and dark clouds covered the city.

Zhong Jianzhong remained completely calm, instead revealing a mocking sneer at the corner of his mouth.

With just one glance, he saw through Yelü Chun's thoughts.

They attempted to use the overwhelming force of 100,000 troops to force the Song army to compromise, surrender the city's defenses, and allow the Liao army to occupy it.
You're all delusional. If our Great Song Dynasty were so easily compromised and yielded, how could it have achieved its illustrious reputation today?
Yelü Chun, the Liao emperor's uncle, was an old acquaintance of the Song army.

Despite repeated defeats against the Song army, Yelü Chun fought on despite his setbacks. Countless Song soldiers earned military merits from him. Given his contributions to the Song Dynasty, he should be affectionately known as "Yelü Jianguo" (meaning "Yelü Founder of the Nation").

He was once defeated by the Emperor multiple times in Zhen Ding Prefecture, north of the Song Dynasty, at the Juma River. Each time he was utterly humiliated. If it weren't for his status as the Emperor's uncle, he would be in kindergarten by now...

Today, Yelü Chun once again led his troops to confront the Song army. It seems that he still hasn't learned his lesson from back then and really thinks that the Song Dynasty is still as easy to manipulate as it was many years ago.
Zhong Jianzhong stood on the city wall, staring expressionlessly at the Liao army that had surrounded him from three sides.

Outside the city, the Liao army had formed an encirclement. Under the banners that blotted out the sun, a rider slowly emerged from the ranks and rode towards the city gate.

As the knight drew closer, they realized that he was none other than Yelü Chun, the commander-in-chief of the Liao army.

Yelü Chun was quite bold, daring to come alone to the city walls and enter the range of Song army firearms when the army was facing off against a massive enemy force. Yet, Yelü Chun remained fearless, even sporting a slight smile on his face.

One hundred paces from the city gate, Yelü Chun reined in his horse and stood still, looking up at the city tower.

Perhaps it was a telepathic connection between the two commanders, for the moment Yelü Chun looked up, his gaze locked onto Zhong Jianzhong, who stood on the city wall beneath the Song army's banner.

Their eyes met in mid-air, clashing, and they remained silent for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, smiles appeared on both of their faces at the same time.

Yelü Chun raised his voice and said, "Yelü Chun, the Prince of Beiping of the Great Liao and Commander-in-Chief, requests to meet with Commander Zhong of the Great Song outside the city. Is that alright?"

On the city tower, Zhong Jianzhong laughed and said, "We'll meet in half an hour, two hundred paces from the city gate."

After speaking, Zhong Jianzhong turned and walked down the city wall, while Yelü Chun also turned his horse around with satisfaction and returned to the central army formation.

As Zhong Jianzhong descended from the city tower, his smile vanished, and he said calmly, "Order Deputy Commander Guo, who is stationed outside the city, that our army of over 30,000 troops stationed on the east and west sides outside the city should now break camp and assemble in the direction of Xingqing City."

"We are just waiting for the signal fires to be sent from inside the city. Once the Liao army makes any unusual moves, our army will immediately attack the Liao army camp and swallow these 100,000 Liao soldiers in one gulp!"

"If anything happens to me after I leave the city and I am detained by the Liao army, Vice Commander Guo will take over command. Do not worry about my safety; you must annihilate this Liao army!"

After speaking, Zhong Jianzhong ordered his personal guards to bring his warhorse. Once mounted, he ordered the city gates to be opened, and he rode out of the city alone.

Yelü Chun had such courage, daring to enter the range of Song army firearms alone. How could the commander-in-chief of the Song Dynasty be inferior to him?
The city gate opened a crack, and Zhong Jianzhong went straight to the front of the Liao army after leaving the city.

The Liao army surrounding the city was densely packed, with a well-organized formation, exuding a suffocating and chilling aura.

Zhong Jianzhong, however, was completely unaware of this. Instead, he spurred his horse to run faster and faster, and in just a few breaths, he was already a hundred paces away from the front of the Liao army.

This distance was already within the range of the Liao army's crossbows.

Reining in his horse, Zhong Jianzhong roared, "Zhong Jianzhong, the Pacification Commissioner of Huanqing Road of the Great Song Dynasty, has arrived! Yelü Chun, please come out and speak!"

(End of this chapter)