The smoke from the great victory at Heifengzhai outside Juyongguan has not yet cleared.
Yang Dingguo and Li Chenghua were about to make a concerted effort, relying on the dangerous terrain of Heifengzhai and the abundant food and grass they had captured, to completely block the retreat and lifeline of Zuo Xianwang's army.
And cooperate with the Youzhou defenders to attack from both inside and outside, and achieve success in one battle.
The morale of the soldiers was also high because of this overwhelming victory, and they were eager to fight.
However, at this moment, a group of people wearing Dayin official robes actually passed through the intertwined battle lines of both sides and arrived at Zuo Xianwang's camp.
The visitors were none other than the Minister of Rites Su Zheyan and the Minister of Honglu Temple Zhou Tingyu, who had come to negotiate peace on the orders of the new emperor Yin Zhao.
Zuo Xian Wang was in a state of panic because his logistics had been cut off and he was at a loss as to where to advance or retreat.
When he saw the envoy from Yin Dynasty, he was furious at first, but then his eyes rolled and a plan came to his mind.
He feigned anger and slammed the table, rising to his feet. "Negotiation? Your Yin Dynasty Emperor sent envoys to ask for peace, while at the same time sending a large army to cut off my food supply and attack my rear!"
"Is this your sincerity in seeking peace? If you want to negotiate, first punish Yang Dingguo and Li Chenghua, these two treacherous lunatics who treacherously provoked border conflicts!"
"Send me their heads, and I will consider withdrawing my troops!"
Su Zheyan and Zhou Tingyu were struck by lightning when they heard this.
They never expected that the five battalions of the capital, which were supposed to be confronting the King of Jin, would appear here and win such a great victory!
This completely disrupted the court's plan of "pacifying the country before resisting foreign aggression" and attempting to make temporary peace with the Northern Di!
Su Zheyan did not dare to delay and immediately sent the news back to the capital by express delivery of 800 miles to report that Yang Dingguo and Li Chenghua had gone north without authorization, raided the Black Wind Village, and that Zuo Xianwang had punished the two.
Capital city, Taiji Hall.
When the new emperor Yin Zhao saw Su Zheyan's urgent report, instead of being happy about the great victory on the front line, he was furious and his face turned ashen:
"Rebellion! Truly a rebellion! Do Yang Dingguo and Li Chenghua still regard me as the emperor? Do they still respect the laws of the court?"
Gu Dingming and Cui Kaiji stood by, their hearts filled with shock and anger.
Gu Dingming immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, calm down! These two have disobeyed your orders and mobilized troops without authorization. This is tantamount to treason!"
"Although we have luckily won, we have completely angered the Left Wise King and sabotaged the court's peace talks. His intentions are worthy of death! His crimes deserve execution!"
Cui Kaiji echoed this sentiment with a sinister tone: "Master Gu is absolutely right. This trend must not be allowed to continue! If everyone follows suit, won't the country be ruined?"
"Your Majesty, please issue an immediate decree to strip these two of their military power and bring them back to the capital for questioning. This will demonstrate the majesty of the court and show Prince Zuo Xian our sincerity in negotiating peace!"
What Yin Zhao feared most at the moment was internal chaos. After hearing what the two said, he felt that it was exactly what he wanted, so he immediately issued an order:
Send an imperial envoy holding the emperor's sword to immediately go to the front line in Youzhou, remove Yang Dingguo and Li Chenghua from all their posts, and arrest them and bring them back to Beijing to be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for trial!
The five battalions of the capital led by him were temporarily commanded by the imperial envoy and were ordered to immediately evacuate the dangerous Black Wind Village and Juyongguan Pass and return to the capital to wait for orders!
The imperial envoy rode at full speed to Yang Dingguo's army to announce the decree.
When Yang Dingguo and Li Chenghua received the imperial edict, it was like a bolt from the blue!
They fought bloody battles, turned the tide of the war, and lifted the siege of Youzhou, but not only did they fail, they were even convicted?
"Your Excellency! We must not withdraw our troops at this time!"
Li Chenghua's eyes were red with anxiety. "Our army has now secured the vital point of Juyong Pass. Prince Zuo Xian has lost all his food and supplies, and his army is in turmoil. This is the perfect opportunity to defeat him in one fell swoop!"
"Withdrawing troops now would be like letting a tiger return to the mountains, and all our previous efforts would be wasted!"
The imperial envoy snorted coldly and held up the imperial edict:
"General Li, do you intend to disobey His Majesty's order? His Majesty's will is clear and unambiguous. Your unauthorized actions have disrupted the overall situation of the court! Immediately hand over your military seals and return to the capital with me to apologize!"
Yang Dingguo sighed to the sky, and in an instant he seemed to have aged ten years, with a chill in his heart.
He looked at the other soldiers around him and knew that if he disobeyed the order, the tens of thousands of men under his command would instantly turn from national heroes into rebels.
"I... obey your order." Yang Dingguo uttered these words with difficulty and slowly handed over the military command.
Li Chenghua was filled with grief and indignation, but he had no choice but to hand over power.
Tens of thousands of elite troops were forced to destroy their own Great Wall at the critical juncture of victory. They watched helplessly as the victory that was about to be achieved turned into nothing, and their morale instantly plummeted to the bottom.
Yang and Li were stripped of their military power and returned to Beijing in disgrace with the imperial envoy.
The new commander-in-chief knew nothing about military affairs. The first thing he did after taking office was to strictly implement the imperial edict. He ordered the army to abandon the Black Wind Village and Juyongguan Pass that they had captured with great difficulty, and the entire army set out to return south to the capital.
During the army's retreat, morale was low and they were completely unprepared.
How could King Zuo Xian, who had already received the news and secretly regrouped his forces, miss this God-given opportunity?
He personally led the elite cavalry and launched a fierce ambush when the army reached a dangerous valley!
The Yin army was caught off guard, the command was chaotic, and the morale was low, so it collapsed in an instant!
A bloody massacre took place in the valley!
Tens of thousands of elite soldiers from the five battalions of the capital were killed, scattered, or escaped, and almost all of them were wiped out!
Only a small number of remnants managed to escape.
After this battle, Zuo Xian Wang not only completely eliminated his worries, but also seized a large number of weapons and equipment, and his arrogance became even more arrogant.
He immediately led his troops to the city of Youzhou again, and "invited" the frightened envoys Su Zheyan, Zhou Tingyu and others back to the camp.
This time, Zuo Xian Wang's negotiation conditions became extremely harsh and tough:
"Cede the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun! Pay an annual tribute of one million taels of silver and one hundred thousand pieces of silk! Open up trade! Otherwise, don't blame me for crushing Youzhou with my iron hoofs and marching straight to your capital!"
Su Zheyan's face turned pale. He knew very well that agreeing to such conditions would be tantamount to treason and would surely bring him eternal infamy.
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