The ancient city walls were so thick that they could not block cannons, and even rocket launchers could not penetrate or destroy them. But the same could not be said for the city gates. Even if they were just thick iron gates, they could withstand an ordinary siege vehicle, but it would be a pipe dream to withstand those terrifying artillery shells.

However, Yelu Zongzhen did not dare to send a large army to take advantage of this opportunity.

What if the Song army doesn’t attack?

Yelu Zongzhen smiled bitterly and said, "My father-in-law is right. I have indeed taken things for granted. The Song Dynasty today is no longer the Song Dynasty it once was. It is unrealistic to use such a simple trick to drive Fan Zhongyan away."

As soon as they arrived at the place, they set up camp and then slowly surrounded the city.

This meant that the Liao Kingdom’s counter-espionage plan had failed.

Of course, the telescopes used by the Song people were not made of plastic, but were made of iron sheets. They consisted of an objective lens and an eyepiece, and could magnify more than ten times at most.

So from a place four or five kilometers away, it looked like it was only three or four hundred meters away, and people standing on the city wall could be vaguely seen.

The original farmlands and villages were occupied by the Song army, and a large number of Han people either fled or were relocated by the Song army. Then camps were built one after another, and surrounding walls stood in rows.

There is indeed no solution.

"hehe."

But unfortunately, Yelu Zongzhen obviously did not fall for it, which made Fan Zhongyan very regretful.

"Fan Zhongyan is truly insidious and cunning. It's a shame that Zhao Zhen trusted him so much that not only did he not get replaced, but he even lost many of our accomplices in Kaifeng."

Wang Su saw that the sky was quite gloomy even during the day.

But in this era, the height of the city walls is no longer enough to defend against the enemy. Because they can use cannons to bombard your city gates, and one shot will blow the city gates to pieces.

Zhang Jian consoled him, "Your Majesty, there's no need to underestimate yourself. If this plan succeeds, that's great. If it doesn't, that's fine too. The most important thing now is what countermeasures we should come up with."

Moreover, the climate is getting colder and colder. I think there will be heavy snow in Youyan area before December, or even throughout the twelfth month.

The Emperor of Song issued an edict, and although he sent two military supervisors, they were both acquaintances of Fan Zhongyan and close confidants of Zhao Jun, and basically would not impose much restrictions on him. Therefore, this edict was actually a declaration to the world of the court's trust in Fan Zhongyan.

Yelu Zongzhen's brows furrowed even more.

Yelu Zongzhen fell silent.

"Then why not wait a little longer? By then, all our troops in Dading Prefecture and Liaoyang Prefecture will be ready. Once we have all our forces, we can always find a solution."

Before the war officially began, the espionage war had already begun on another battlefield.

On the city wall, Yelu Zongzhen patted the parapet and sighed.

Zhang Jian said, "Perhaps this is the only way to take a gamble."

He thought about it for a moment and quickly understood what Zhang Jian meant.

Fan Zhongyan put down the telescope in his hand, put his hands behind his back, and looked towards the distant northeast. His purple robe swayed in the wind, and his eyes were full of anticipation and nervousness.

Yanyun, which had been lost for a hundred years, will finally return to its homeland in his hands. What an exciting thing it is.

(End of this chapter)