Dali had actually joined forces with Tubo. What surprised Zhao Huan even more was that the Shengjie Army, a local armed force that was not very impressive, defeated Gao Liangcheng's Dali army with only 3,000 men at the cost of 2,237 casualties.
Liang Zifan of Liuhe Town felt nothing for defeating Li Ziqian and Zhao Huan of Goryeo, as he had confidence in Yue's army. Moreover, they had already set up defenses in Liuhe Town from the beginning to prevent Goryeo invasion.
Although Zhao Huan was surprised by Zhu Qing's capture of Quanzhou, he thought about it carefully. The Iron Wolf Army was the elite of the elite of the Song Dynasty, the ace of the aces, so it was not surprising that they were able to capture Quanzhou.
The Shengjie Army's victory over Gao Liangcheng astonished Zhao Huan. These local forces lacked even a single decent weapon, and some were discarded weapons from the regular army. For example, there were rusty spears, bows discarded from the Shenbi crossbows, and armor that was nearly scrapped.
The Imperial Guards' unused weapons, left to mold in the warehouses, were finally used by the Xiang Army. It was this army that actually crushed the Lie Rao attack. Zhao Huan didn't feel anything after killing over ten thousand enemies; his greatest achievement was defending Chengdu Prefecture.
Chengdu Prefecture spared the countless Song citizens from the ravages of war, a feat of which was paramount. The victorious army, despite suffering over two-thirds casualties, was still able to return victoriously, whereas a typical combat force would be declared a failure if it suffered only one-third casualties.
Reward! A generous reward! It's rare in the history of the Song Dynasty that the Shengjie Army could achieve such a feat. Zhao Huan's hand trembled as he carefully drafted an imperial edict and handed it to Cao Dongsheng: "Take this and send it to Bian Jing. Have the Privy Council stamp it and file it, then send it to Chengdu Prefecture!"
Cao Dongsheng respectfully accepted the imperial edict and bowed before leaving. He then notified the post station and ordered the soldiers to rush it to the capital, who would then issue an edict commending Chengdu Prefecture.
In Chengdu Prefecture, the imperial court urgently dispatched 20,000 troops from Guangnan and Hainan to garrison Chengdu. Zhang Ma was appointed a third-rank official and concurrently the prefect of Chengdu Prefecture, while Wen Zhengming was promoted to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the Shengjie Army. All officers and soldiers of the Shengjie Army were promoted one level higher, their salaries doubled, and the families of those killed in action were exempted from rent—all these were their dues.
After this battle, Zhao Huan deeply understood the importance of border defense. He began to deploy troops on the border between Dali and Tubo to prepare for defense. If it were not for the victorious army, the situation in the southwest would have been disastrous.
Gao Liangcheng fled with his remaining troops into Dali territory. Many tribesmen feared punishment if they returned. Consequently, many generals abandoned their armies and fled, abandoning countless supplies along the way. By the time they reached the Dali capital of Yangzhumie, only around 9,000 remnants remained.
When Gao Liangcheng returned home, the first to attack him were none other than members of the Gao clan. The Gao clan held important positions in both military and political affairs in Dali, and they surrounded Gao Liangcheng and accused him of his mistakes in the battle.
"Liangcheng, you are trying to destroy Dali. How can you be worthy of the people of Dali by acting so pretentiously!" The first person to jump out was Gao Xuantai, the patriarch of the Gao family and the Grand Secretary of the Palace.
Gao Xuantai, over ninety years old, was the patriarch of the Gao clan. His six sons all held positions in the imperial court. As the patriarch, he held immense power, making him the one Gao Liangcheng feared the most.
"Clan leader, this time it was my fault for not calculating carefully and I fell into the trap of the Song Dynasty. I just realized that Chengdu Prefecture only had 3,000 soldiers. If it weren't for the double-dealing Zu Zan of Tubo, Chengdu Prefecture would have been ours by now!" Gao Liangcheng argued.
"How dare you!" Gao Xuantai slammed his cane on the ground. "How many times have I told you not to act rashly? You imprisoned the king and then led troops to attack the Song Dynasty. Do you know that the Song Dynasty is not so easy to deal with? Even the Jurchens are no match for them, and the Mongols are now exhausted. I heard that the Song Emperor has personally led the army to Shanxi. I estimate that Dali may become Song territory this time. Right now, we should think about how to improve the relationship between the Song Dynasty and Dali. This is the most important thing! If the Song Dynasty sends troops to Dali to punish us, what will we do?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the Gao family members began to blame Gao Liangcheng.
Gao Xingming, the lieutenant commander of the imperial guards, pointed at Gao Liangcheng and cursed, "The rulers of Dali have always been respectful to the Song Dynasty, fearing they would incur the wrath of their superiors. And for what? We are a weak nation, surviving in the cracks. We rely on the doctrine of the mean. We don't fight, we endure humiliation, and that's how we achieve peace and prosperity. And now, you're trying to touch the Song Dynasty's tiger whiskers! Let's see how you'll explain this to the Song court!"
Especially the older ones, Gao Liangcheng's uncle called him a beast, and his second uncle called him a bastard. Everyone was spitting and accusing Gao Liangcheng of wrongdoing.
Gao Liangcheng became angrier as he listened, and his face began to turn red. Seeing his murderous aura, everyone was so frightened that they took a step back and dared not move again.
"Enough!" Gao Liangcheng said coldly, "Why didn't you do anything when I got benefits for you? You all know how much benefits you get from following me every year. Now I just failed in the battle, and you start to blame me. Your conscience has been eaten by dogs!"
Uncle Gao Liangcheng pointed at him angrily and said, "You beast! What are you talking about? You! How dare you talk to your elders like that!"
Gao Cong was his second uncle, though only four or five years older than him. Gao Cong also pointed at him: "Bastard! Bastard! My Gao family..."
With a 'chi' sound, Gao Cong hadn't finished his words when a long sword pierced through his chest. Gao Liangcheng grinned and drew his sword: "Swear! Try to curse again!"
Gao Cong opened his eyes wide in horror. He never thought that his own nephew would dare to harm him.
Gao Liangcheng's uncle recoiled in fear, but Gao Liangcheng slashed with his sword again, killing him. Gao Liangcheng raised his bloody sword and said, "Who else is there? Who else is still unconvinced, you shameless people? If it weren't for me, Gao Liangcheng, you'd be nothing! You would have been exiled by the emperor in the hall long ago, and now you're blaming me. I might as well tell you something! I'm going to go on another expedition, and I'm going to fight the Song Dynasty!"
Everyone looked at this madman in horror. He was about to push Dali into an abyss. But he was the current prime minister and held a large military force. This madman killed his uncle in the blink of an eye. What else could he not dare to do? No one dared to stand up and say a word.
"Get out of here!" Gao Liangcheng shouted. He had seen through these tribesmen. They were all selfish, flattering him whenever he needed them. Now that he was in trouble, they were taking advantage of his misfortune. If Duan Yu hadn't been wary of the large number of troops he commanded, these tribesmen would have been demoted or demoted long ago.
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