Back to the Song Dynasty: The Rise of an Empire

If the Tang Empire won, it would say to its opponents: "You damn well behave yourself in the future, or be careful that I wipe out your entire clan. Pay tribute obediently every year!"

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Chapter 281 The border is in dire straits, and the Tangut army of 300,000 marches south!

Pan Weizhi, who was in the Longyou Protectorate, had not received any intelligence from Huanqing Prefecture recently, and he began to feel anxious.

Huanqing Prefecture was a fortress for defending against the Western Xia and a crucial part of the northwest defense.

Since the Jiaozi incident last year, the imperial court has been cultivating a large number of spies in the northwest to infiltrate the Dangxiang people.

However, time was limited, and the Imperial City Guard's spies in the Northwest were not yet fully developed.

Pan Weizhi's concerns were quickly addressed, as Peng Shuheng, the only Imperial Guard who survived from Shentangbao, nearly died from his serious injuries.

Before he lost consciousness, he mustered all his strength to say, "Cao Sheng betrayed us, Huanqing Prefecture fell... Dangxiang... Dangxiang..."

The rebellion at Shentangbao was only the beginning. The collapse of the northwest was a major event in the third year of the Jingkang era, enough to shake the entire Song Dynasty.

Zhao Huan quickly calmed down from his anger, and scouts kept returning from the northwest, reporting a lot of information.

Currently, the main area that has fallen is the Huanqing Prefecture area, while the prefectures and counties along Qinfeng Road and Yongxingjun Road still exist.

Qin Prefecture and Chang'an are now fully prepared for war. The three armies north of Qin Feng Road have one core leader: Wu Jie!

At this moment, Yue Fei had also arrived at Jingzhao Prefecture and was preparing his troops for departure.

Among the Bao'an Army were generals such as Yao Pingzhong and Liu Yanqing, and in the prefectures and counties of Gengbei, there were also many other generals such as Zhe Keqiu.

The Protectorate General of Longyou, located further northwest, was somewhat weak. Fortunately, Zhao Huan had already dispatched a group of generals, including Wang Yuan, to guard the Protectorate General of Longyou at the beginning of this year.

Three days later, Yue Fei's Divine Martial Army left Chang'an and headed towards Qin Prefecture.

Wang Kuian was overjoyed to hear that Yue Fei had arrived.

Currently, the tremors on Huanqing Road have affected Qinfeng Road to varying degrees, and a large number of disaster victims have fled from Huanqing Road in the west.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of the three armies of Qin Feng Road were all petitioning Wang Kui'an to lead an expedition against the rebels and avenge the fallen soldiers.

Wang Kui'an dared not act rashly, after all, he knew nothing about military affairs. The emperor had only temporarily appointed him as the military commissioner to keep watch for the emperor.

If he were to rashly send troops into battle and suffer a defeat, he would likely be executed by the emperor.

Yue Fei has now arrived outside Qinzhou City, and Wang Kuian, along with a group of officials from Qinzhou, has personally gone to welcome him.

Wang Kuian guessed that, given the emperor's personality, since he had sent Yue Fei, he must have a very important purpose.

Because Yue Fei had made great contributions in the conquest of Jiaozhi, he was now a major general and the emperor's brother-in-law. Wang Kuian respected Yue Fei greatly and dared not use his position as military commissioner to pressure him.

At that time, Yue Fei was a highly sought-after figure throughout the Song Dynasty.

The achievement of conquering Jiaozhi alone is worthy of being written about extensively and boasted about.

They welcomed Yue Fei into Qinzhou City and invited him into the governor's mansion.

Yue Fei asked, "What is the current situation on Huanqing Road? Does anyone know the details?"

Wang Kuian said, "To be honest, the Imperial City Guard's spies have suffered heavy losses in the Huanqing Road border area. So far, the intelligence we have is very limited, and the information sent back is changing every day."

“Rebels are everywhere on Huanqing Road.”

Yue Fei frowned: "Why would Cao Sheng rebel at this time?"

The question he asked was the question of everyone present.

The timing was incredibly coincidental, as the imperial court's two armies were respectively suppressing bandits in Hedong and Hebei.

But at this very moment, chaos broke out in the Northwest.

Moreover, the chaos erupted so rapidly that it caught everyone off guard.

Clearly, this was premeditated.

Who is behind all of this?

Wang Kuian said, "I think it was the Tanguts who were stirring things up behind the scenes. Otherwise, even if Cao Sheng had ten more men, he wouldn't have dared to go this far."

Yue Fei said, "Wang Gui, you lead three hundred men out to explore the details of Huanqing Road. Remember, do not act rashly."

Wang Gui immediately replied, "Yes, sir!"

Wang Kuian asked, "I wonder how Brother Pengju plans to deal with this?"

"There's no need to talk about countermeasures. As the art of war says, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' Our army should immediately investigate the situation and make plans after we have a complete grasp of the details of Huanqing Road."

Suddenly, an urgent report came from outside: "Report... General, the Dangxiang Richard has led an army of 300,000 across the border and is heading towards Huanqing Prefecture!"

His words shocked everyone present!

...

Zhao Huan paced back and forth in front of the map, seemingly deep in thought. Then he looked at Huanqing Road, a strategically important location in the western border region of the Song Dynasty.

Cao Sheng's rebellion was unexpected by Zhao Huan.

The furious emperor's greatest desire now was to capture Cao Sheng and bring him before him, to have him torn to pieces.

Zhong Shidao said from the side, "Your Majesty, this old minister believes that Yue Fei should be the commander of the left wing and Wu Jie the commander of the right wing, to rush to Huanqing Prefecture to provide reinforcements. Wu Jie should be appointed as the Huanqing Pacification Commissioner to suppress the rebel army."

"allow!"

Zhao Huan, however, did not give this question any thought and answered rather casually.

Zhao Huan asked Li Gang, "It's already July, how's the number of one hundred muskets?"

Li Gang said, "Everything is ready!"

"Can we produce another 900 units in two months?"

Li Gang was slightly taken aback, then said, "If we include all the people from the East and West workshops, it is still possible to produce 900 muskets in two months."

"Very well, I need another 900 two months from now. You must hand them over."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Why was Zhao Huan no longer in a hurry about the situation on Huanqing Road?

Because at present, Yue Fei and Wu Jie, two famous generals recorded in history books, are like wolves lurking in the night. As long as the imperial court issues an order to mobilize troops, Yue Fei and Wu Jie can march west at any time.

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