Chapter 242: Wang Quan's End

This was a comfortable and enjoyable journey. If we hadn't seen the tragic scenes of villages burned and looted by the Liao army during their retreat, we would have been in a very happy mood. Fortunately, after walking a few hundred miles to the south, we saw a peaceful and tranquil scene, and everyone's indignant mood finally relaxed and became happy.

Siyu sighed, "For ordinary people, a little hardship and fatigue is nothing, as long as they can live a life without war and disaster! How great it would be if our Song Dynasty never had wars?"

Luo Li thought of the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty more than a hundred years later, when countless Han people were killed by foreign butchers. The Southern Song Dynasty, which was in a corner, had the most prosperous economy in the world, but it was only two hundred years later, it was trampled to pieces by the Mongolian cavalry, and tens of millions of Han people were brutally massacred. The Yuan Dynasty almost destroyed the once brilliant Chinese civilization.

All of this is closely related to the policy of suppressing military power and promoting culture initiated by the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties.

: "Peace is won with fists." These words came out of his mouth with a heavy heart. Luo Li explained, "Even if the people of Song don't want war, as long as they live a prosperous life, wouldn't those foreign rulers who live in poverty want to eat this piece of fat meat?"

"No!" Little Meng Qian said decisively, "They are robbers at heart. They will bring people and weapons to rob."

Luo Li smiled. Such a young child can see through the nature of things.

: "Humans are intelligent primates, and they keep fighting for the survival and reproduction of their tribes. Meng Qian, Meng Xue, have you ever thought about what you want to do when you grow up?"

Meng Qian lowered his eyes a little shyly, "Originally, I wanted to join the army when I grew up, and kill Khitans to avenge my parents.

However, Grandpa Ghost Hand wants us to be doctors when we grow up, and I... I have already promised him."

Does the Ghost Hand Poison Doctor like this brother and sister and want to take them in as disciples? Luo Li thought of this, and asked with a smile: "It's not bad to be a famous doctor instead of a general. Can you let go of the revenge for your parents?"

Meng Qian looked up at Luo Li, with no hatred in his eyes but only peace: "Princess, Grandpa Ghost Hand has taken my sister and me to kill four Khitan nobles personally, and my parents' revenge has been avenged."

"When did it happen?" Luo Li asked in surprise.

Hong Gu interrupted, "After taking them to Yizhou, the Ghost Hand Poison Doctor took them out for a day and a night."

"We went to Zhuozhou City. Grandpa Ghost Hand took us to Zhuozhou City and let us kill four Khitan nobles with knives to avenge our parents." Meng Qian explained.

Little Meng Xue raised her head and looked at Luo Li and said, "Princess, my hands were shaking when I held the knife. Grandpa Ghost Hand said, think about the tragic death of your parents. I... remembered the way my mother and father died, and my hands started shaking even more, and I stabbed the beast in the eye with the knife. I... I had nightmares for a few nights, and in my dreams I took a knife to kill that evil ghost."

[What a sin! Ghost Hand, this cruel and cunning old man, let such a young child kill people with his own hands. He is really cruel and hard-hearted.]

Luo Li secretly complained about the cruelty and insidiousness of her old disciple, but when she looked at the state of the two children in front of her, she was not frightened by the blood on her hands. Instead, she felt a kind of peace after her parents' revenge. This is probably the result that Ghost Hand wanted! ………

Wang Quan knelt on the ground trembling with fear, not daring to raise his head. He and Pan Mei had tried their best to push the King of Qin into the dangerous fire pit, but he was unscathed by his strength, and he repeatedly defeated the enemy army with his elusive "guerrilla warfare" behind the enemy. This, it's not my fault!

The task of killing the King of Qin was not completed. I thought that after returning to Beijing, I could be promoted to a higher position with no merit but hard work. After meeting the emperor with the expectation, I angered the emperor.

The emperor's voice was filled with anger. "Wang Quan, I trusted you and gave you the important task of supervising the army, but you are such a bastard!"

These words were too harsh. The emperor, who was the emperor of the nine-five states, actually cursed. Wang Quan was so scared that he trembled all over. He felt the urge to urinate in his lower abdomen. He barely held back the dripping in his crotch, but he still didn't know why he was a bastard. He kowtowed and confessed his guilt in a daze: "Your Majesty, I deserve to die!"

"Although Yang Ye was a surrendered general of the Later Han Dynasty, he has always been loyal to me. You actually dared to plot and almost killed him, causing me to almost lose a loyal and good general.

Wang Quan, don't you have a brain? At that time, the Liao army was in high spirits and our army was in decline. If you had killed Yang Ye and the Huoshan Army who were able to fight, how dangerous would the war situation on the front line be?

Wang Quan, you actually dared to harm Yang Ye and the Huoshan Army at such a critical moment, you really deserve to die!"

Wang Jien secretly complained in his heart, [If it weren't for the fact that our army was not fighting well and was in a critical moment, Wang Quan would not have died if Yang Ye was killed. If Wang Quan had killed the King of Qin, he wouldn't have died. Wang Quan secretly breathed a sigh of relief .

Although the emperor was angry and spoke harshly, Yang Ye was still alive, so his head should be safe. But he could forget about promotion or reward. If things went wrong, he might even be demoted and fined.

"Your Majesty, I know my crime! It was the wrong strategy that I and Marshal Pan decided on. We shouldn't have let General Yang Ye take only 3,000 Volcano Army soldiers to actively fight against the main force of the enemy.

I shouldn't have led 10,000 elite cavalry and 3,000 archers to ambush at the entrance of Chenjia Valley, mistakenly believing that Yang Ye's Volcano Army had been wiped out. I wanted to preserve the strength of the Song Dynasty, so I led more than 13,000 elite soldiers and retreated without supporting Yang Ye.

Your Majesty, I know my crime and am willing to be punished."

Pan Mei next to him was almost mad to death!

It was you who came up with the idea of ​​forcing Yang Ye to lead 3,000 Volcano Army soldiers to attack the main force of the Liao Army. I just had some small thoughts and didn't speak up to stop it. How did it become the strategy we decided on? It was

you who took the initiative to take the job of leading 10,000 elite cavalry and 3,000 archers to Chenjia Valley to support Yang Ye. You ran away early because you were greedy and afraid of death. How dare you say that you wanted to preserve the strength for the Song Dynasty?

You are really a black-hearted and shameless villain!

Pan Mei spoke very calmly and pleaded for Wang Jianjun: "Your Majesty, please calm down and let me report the details before you punish Wang Jianjun.

Wang Jianjun always boasted that he was familiar with military books and was better than Zhuge Liang. The idea of ​​sending Yang Ye to lead 3,000 Huoshan soldiers to actively attack the main force of more than 40,000 Liao troops was a brilliant plan he came up with after thinking hard all night.

Although I thought it was a bit risky, Yang Ye agreed and proposed two plans after his defeat to lure the enemy to a terrain suitable for an ambush. Langshan, our elite cavalry and archers are ambushing at the entrance of Chenjia Valley to support the Huoshan Army and ambush the main force of the Liao Army.

I also think that if this battle is carried out according to the plan, it will turn defeat into victory and reverse the situation of our army's ineffectiveness.

Wang Jianjun took the initiative to ask for a retreat and led 10,000 elite cavalry and 3,000 archers to ambush at Chenjia Valley to support the Huoshan Army to ambush the main force of the enemy.

However, Wang Jianjun only stayed in Chenjia Valley for half a day, and guessed that the Huoshan Army had been annihilated, so he retreated with his troops.

Wang Jianjun was also kind-hearted in saving the lives of his soldiers, and he loved his soldiers like his own sons. Yang Ye and the soldiers of the Huoshan Army were a little disappointed and hated Wang Jianjun. Yang Ye was so angry that he punched Wang Jianjun a few times to vent his anger for the soldiers who died unjustly.

Your Majesty, I dare not lie or hide the details of this matter. Please judge and decide for me. "

Pan Mei's words were in the name of pleading for mercy, but in fact they were absolving himself of responsibility. He also accused Wang Quan, which made Wang Quan angry and resentful, but he did not dare to fight back. Pan Mei, who was in a high position of power, was the father-in-law of the third prince and a royal relative.

The Secretary Chu Zhaofu was already staring at Wang Quan angrily with fire in his eyes! This kind of talentless and shameless villain, who was greedy and afraid of death, would kill many Song Dynasty soldiers on the battlefield if he was entrusted with the important task of supervising the army next time.

"Your Majesty! Wang Quan was greedy and afraid of death. He fled in the battlefield and harmed friendly forces. His crime is unforgivable! I ask Your Majesty to sentence him to death, so as not to discourage the soldiers who were fighting on the front line at the border. "

Marshal Cao Bin, commander of the Eastern Army, and his deputy marshal Gao Huaide, who had failed in the Northern Expedition because of their command errors that led to the interruption of the food supply and the defeat at Qigou Pass, had not dared to speak. At this moment, they were filled with righteous indignation and echoed in unison: "Your Majesty, please sentence Wang Quan to death!"

Wang Quan was shocked! Death penalty? Are you military generals going to rebel? I am a civil official. As a military supervisor, although I made some mistakes on the battlefield, I would be demoted at most. You crude soldiers actually want to kill me?

"Your Majesty, although my command was inappropriate, the crime does not deserve the death penalty! Taizu's will was to rule the country together with the scholars and officials, and Your Majesty has shown great care and favor towards civil officials. I am a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, not a military officer. Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty."

Wang Quan was so anxious that he blurted out what was in his heart. Civil officials of the Song Dynasty could not be put to death for committing crimes, but military officers would be put to death for making mistakes. The

emperor was so angry that his face turned blue. He picked up the inkstone at hand and smashed it, "Pass on my decree to put Wang Quan in the prison of the Ministry of Justice and execute him in three days!"

Wang Quan was really scared this time, and he kowtowed desperately for mercy: "Your Majesty, please spare my life! ... Your Majesty, please have mercy on me. I know my crime. Please have mercy on me! ..."

Wang Quan, who was dragged out by the guards, kicked his legs desperately and cried for mercy. His body was wet with water and smelled of urine...

The emperor glanced at Pan Mei coldly, and Pan Mei shuddered in his heart.

"Pan Mei, as the chief commander, made a mistake of not paying attention. I am disappointed and will be fined for one year."

Pan Mei breathed a sigh of relief, knelt down and apologized. "I know my crime. Thank you for your grace."