dingdiange:

Faced with the unreasonable demands of the Liao Kingdom, Fan Zhongyan and Wang Deyong were both amused.

In fact, both Wang Deyong and Fan Zhongyan experienced the Battle of Chanzhou. At that time, one was fifteen years old and the other was twenty-five years old.

They were deeply shocked to learn that the Liao Kingdom had captured several important towns on the Song Dynasty border in less than a month, defeating hundreds of thousands of Song troops.

From the perspective of later generations, the fact that Emperor Zhenzong of Song signed a humiliating treaty after winning the Battle of Chanzhou was obviously due to his weakness and incompetence.

However, looking at it from the perspective of people of the time, one can actually understand the feeling that in the blink of an eye, all the civil and military officials in the court were discussing moving the capital south.

Because the Liao offensive was so swift at that time, in September the Liao army attacked Weilu Army, Shun'an Army, Beiping, Baozhou, Dingzhou, Qizhou, Jizhou, Beizhou, Deqing and other places. By November, they had crossed the Yellow River and directly captured Chanzhou.

Although not all borders were breached, many places still resisted the Liao army's attacks. Even in the Battle of Yingzhou, Yingzhou Governor Li Yanwo put up a tenacious resistance and defeated the Liao army, killing more than 30,000 Liao soldiers and obtaining millions of trophies such as armor, soldiers, arrows, poles, and shields, achieving a great victory.

However, the defeat in the local war did not stop the Liao army's advance. They marched southward with unstoppable force and were only a hundred kilometers away from the Song Dynasty capital Kaifeng Prefecture, as if they were going straight to the imperial capital.

Seeing the Liao army getting closer and closer, the officials of the Song Dynasty were terrified and the talk of moving the capital became popular.

Therefore, being driven to Chanzhou, just over 150 kilometers from his capital, was a feeling that later generations could never fully comprehend. Therefore, it's understandable that Emperor Zhenzong of Song was still in shock.

But the Song State today is completely different.

Not to mention how many fortresses and camps the frightened Emperor Zhenzong of Song built and how many troops were stationed on the Hebei Road after the Battle of Chanzhou on the Song-Liao border, just to say that the Song Dynasty now has a batch of new weapons and equipment, it is no longer what it used to be.

What's more, there are a group of elite northwestern border troops who are good at fighting as the vanguard, and a commander like Fan Zhongyan who is very good at playing the turtle tactics. Just like what he did in the northwest in history, he built bunkers mindlessly, advanced slowly mindlessly, built strong camps, and fought stupid battles. It was a bit stupid, but it was effective.

It is impossible that the Liao cavalry would really dare to clash with the Song army's walls, artillery, grenades, and thunder bombs with their flesh and blood.

So to sum up.

The Song Dynasty today is no longer the Song Dynasty thirty-six years ago. The Liao Dynasty today is also declining and is no longer the Liao Dynasty that once dominated the world.

Now Fan Zhongyan just wants to say, I am standing in front of you Liao Kingdom, do you think I am still the same as before?

"Your Excellency is joking."

Wang Deyong laughed heartily and then said, "The Liao Kingdom marched south with great momentum, but now they have suffered a setback in Baosai and cannot advance an inch. How can they be so greedy and demand too much?"

Liu Liufu argued, "Although our army is indeed blocked and cannot advance south for a short time, don't forget that our army has swept through many of your Song territory's military camps and fortresses. Even Wangdu and Beiping are under siege, and Gaoyang was almost captured by us. It's not that we can't capture the city, but that our lord is kind-hearted and willing to have a sincere conversation with you."

"Oh? Talking sincerely means tearing up the contract we signed back then and brazenly invading our Song Dynasty? You call that sincerity?"

Fan Zhongyan complained, "Now that you can't take the city and have suffered heavy casualties, you're asking for peace. Even with your eloquence, you can't hide the Liao army's decline. Do you still dare to act so arrogantly and bully the Song army, which is weak in terms of weapons?"

"You are certainly mighty, General, and the Song army's grenades and artillery are certainly powerful. But let me tell you, General, my lord does not believe that the Song army has an endless supply of grenades. Our Liao army alone has over 100,000 cavalry and nearly 200,000 infantry. If a real battle breaks out and we run out of firearms, can the Song Dynasty still hold the city?"

Liu Liufu spoke these cruel words in a calm tone, saying softly, "Furthermore, Yuan Hao has invited our lord to join him in attacking Song. Although the Minister of State Affairs cleverly attacked and defeated Yuan Hao before our lord left for the south, he still has a fighting chance if he regroups his forces."

"Does the Minister of State really believe that a life-or-death battle with the Liao and Xixia will keep the Song safe? I don't think so. After all, those so-called grenades are unlikely to kill anyone in one go. They're just scary to look at."

By the end, Liu Liufu was already full of confidence.

In fact, this confidence was just an act, because the Liao people were not sure how many firearms the Song army had. At least they fought with Western Xia first and then with Liao. Until now, the grenades have not stopped, causing tens of thousands of casualties to Western Xia and Liao.

But he knew that there shouldn't be a lot of this stuff in stock, because the Song army had already used a lot of hand grenades in the many battles with the Western Xia and Liao. And this thing actually had little lethality, it was mainly to make people afraid.

As long as they overcame their fear, heavily armored soldiers could still fight this thing. The key was that horses were easily frightened, which would render the Liao Dynasty's main fighting force completely useless.

If the Liao Dynasty competed with the Song Dynasty in infantry, it was obvious that it could not win.

So Liu Liufu planned to trick the Song army to see how confident Fan Zhongyan was.

Upon hearing Liu Liufu's words, Fan Zhongyan didn't show any guilt. He just squinted his eyes and replied, "If your Excellency thinks that the Song Dynasty doesn't have enough hand grenades, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. We don't have many now, but we still have a million, which is more than enough to defeat the Liao army."

Liu Liufu stared at Fan Zhongyan, trying to find any trace of lying on his face, but unfortunately Fan Zhongyan was calm and composed, and he didn't let him see any flaws at all. He even looked like he was sure of winning, which made people feel very uneasy.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!