Chapter 348: Defending Two Cities Alone

Regent Zhao Defang ignored Gao Yingxiong. Although he was wary and suspicious, he only shot a hundred arrows to force him to retreat, but did not kill him. The two generals on the wall were discussing something, which showed that they were half-believing and half-doubting the Song army.

"I am Zhao Defang, the son of Taizu, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty. The big guy next to me is Gao Yingxiong, the son of Gao Huaide, the founding hero of Bohai County. If you doubt our identities, you can send someone down to the city to verify them." Zhao Defang continued to work hard.

Gao Yingxiong also shouted at the top of his voice, "That's right! This is Zhao Defang, the son of Emperor Taizu and the Prince of Regent. My father is Gao Huaide, the Prince of Bohai, a founding hero. The brave general commanding the army in the back is Cao Wei, the son of Cao Bin, the Duke of Lu, a founding hero.

Send someone over and we will prove it to you."

The old general on the wall stared at Gao Yingxiong, his voice trembling with excitement, "Young Master, it should be correct. It is the Song army that has come to rescue us. The Gao Yingxiong below looks very similar to his father Gao Huaide when he was young. He must be Gao Huaide's biological son. "Zi!"

The major general looked at the inexplicably excited old general and said cautiously: "Uncle Li, you go down to the city in person to verify the other party's identity, and ask them clearly why they bypassed the territory defended by the Dang Xiang people. What kind of agreement did they reach with the Dang Xiang people in exchange for letting our Han army return home? "

After thinking for a while, he said again: "No matter what kind of agreement they reach, as long as the Emperor of the Song Dynasty has not forgotten our garrison, we can abandon the city and follow them back to our homeland."

The old general agreed repeatedly and asked the soldiers to lower him down the city wall with a basket.

The man climbed out of the basket, tidied his worn-out armor, straightened his back, and walked solemnly step by step towards Regent Zhao Defang and others.

Regent Zhao Defang took the lead and jumped off his horse. Others also dismounted and stood still, waiting for the old soldier with unshaven beard and worn-out armor, but standing straight.

The old general stood ten steps away from the crowd, carefully looking at Regent Zhao Defang and Gao Yingxiong, tears welling up in his eyes. He was convinced in his heart that these people in front of him were Song people, and this army was the Song army.

He looked at the Prince Regent Zhao Defang and asked in a hoarse voice: "This young general must be the son of the old general Gao Huaide. May I ask, which son of Emperor Taizu are you? Why should we trust you?"

Gao Huaide was amused, "The old general has a good eye. He confirmed at a glance that I am the biological son of my father Gao Huaide. Your Highness, please prove your identity quickly!"

Prince Regent Zhao Defang did not hesitate . Blaming the other party for his rudeness, he took out a gold-inlaid jade token from his body and said, "I am Zhao Defang, the fourth son of Emperor Taizu. This is a dragon-patterned token that only the princes of the Song

Dynasty have. You should verify it carefully." The old general's hands were shaking and he didn't take the dragon-patterned token. He didn't recognize it at all and couldn't verify it, but he was also convinced of the identity of the person in front of him as a prince. No one in the Song Dynasty dared to pretend to be a member of the royal family of the Song Dynasty.

The old general was so excited that he suddenly knelt on one knee and clasped his fists over his head, "I am Li Xin, the humble general, and I am here to see

your majesty!" Regent Prince Zhao Defang hurriedly stepped forward, stretched out his hand to pull up the old general, his heart aching and his eyes red, "General Li, please stand up, you have suffered a lot these years!"

The prince's words made the old general burst into tears instantly, and he said with a choked voice, "It doesn't matter if we know that the emperor of the Great Song and the people have not forgotten this isolated army that has been struggling to defend the isolated city behind the enemy, we will have no regrets!"

Regent Prince Zhao Defang felt a little ashamed. The emperor of the Great Song and the people had no idea that there was an army that had been struggling to defend the isolated city for decades behind the enemy's rear! Yan Xiaoqing had just found out about this news a few days ago and immediately sent a letter to report it.

Holding the old general's rough and cracked hands, Regent Zhao Defang felt mixed emotions, moved and admired, sad and guilty. For so many years, they had defended the two isolated cities of Guazhou and Shazhou behind the enemy lines, and would rather die than surrender. How much loyalty, sincerity and courageous faith did this require!

: "Old General Li, are the defenders in the city descendants of the Zhang family?"

: "Yes! Lord, the defenders of Shazhou City and Guazhou City are both descendants of the Zhang family. The commander of Shazhou City is Zhang Xiangchen, the fourth son of the old governor, and the commander of Guazhou City is the eldest grandson of the old governor, the young master Zhang Junpeng.

By the way, the young master ordered me to ask, how did the Song army come to the heartland of the enemy? Did the two countries reach some kind of agreement in exchange for us being released back to the Song Dynasty?"

Gao Yingxiong laughed when he heard this, and interrupted, "Old general, your master brought a large army to destroy the Western Xia Kingdom and came to take you home."

: "Really?" This news was really unbelievable. The old general's lips trembled with excitement. "My Lord, you led our Song army to destroy the Kingdom of Western Xia?"

Regent Prince Zhao Defang nodded with a smile. "To be precise, half a month ago, I led my troops to attack Western Xia. In a few days, we quickly captured Xiazhou, Xiping Prefecture and Xiliang Prefecture. The troops were at the gates of Xingqing Prefecture. After the battle, Li Yuanhao of the Kingdom of Western Xia recognized The man of the time is a hero, open the city gates and surrender to the Song Dynasty. Li Yuanhao is in the army behind, and the land of Western Xia has been re-incorporated into the territory of the Song Dynasty!"

Although the Regent Zhao Defang did not elaborate, General Li could imagine that if Li Yuanhao, the King of Western Xia, had not suffered a great defeat and suffered heavy losses and was unable to resist, he would never surrender.

"Your Majesty, you are wise and brave. You destroyed a country in more than half a month. You are really a great hero!" General Li, who is not good at speaking or flattering, really can't find a few words of praise in his stomach, but the adoring and admiring eyes express the respect in his heart.

He then took General Li to tour the army behind for a tour. General Li no longer had any doubts. He was just excited and looked at the Song army with strong soldiers and horses, excellent equipment and high morale with tears in his eyes. He kept praising them, but it was just one word: "Good!... Good!... Good!" Not long

after General Li returned to the city from the hanging basket, the gates of Guazhou City opened, and groups of soldiers with tattered armor and pale faces walked out in a line. Groups of ragged, pale and thin civilians ran out behind them with tears of excitement to welcome the Song army that came to rescue them.

Young Master Zhang Junpeng brought several personal soldiers to the Regent Prince Zhao Defang, and knelt down on the ground with a plop. "I am Zhang Junpeng, the defender of Guazhou City of the Great Song Dynasty, and I pay my respects to Your Highness the Regent Prince!"

Regent Prince Zhao Defang hurried forward and personally helped this brave and resourceful young man up. "General Zhang, please stand up. Three generations of your Zhang family have fought to the death to defend Guazhou City and Shazhou City for the Great Song Dynasty for decades. Your loyalty is commendable, and your tenacity

is admirable!" Zhang Junpeng smiled bitterly . Zhang Junpeng smiled and said, "Prince, to tell you the truth, we have been looking forward to the emperor sending the Song army to rescue us these years. If the Song army doesn't come, we won't be able to hold on for a few more years.

More than 80,000 soldiers and civilians in Shazhou City and Guazhou City have either died in battle or starved to death."

Looking at those ragged, pale and thin soldiers and civilians who lack nutrition, Regent Prince Zhao Defang felt sad and moved, and patted Zhang Junpeng on the shoulder.

"I am here with the Song army, and your days of suffering are over!"

The army did not enter the city. Regent Zhao Defang led people to deliver food and meat into the city so that all the soldiers and civilians could have a full meal first.

Zhang Junpeng had sent a letter to his fourth uncle Zhang Xiangchen, who was defending Shazhou City, asking him to come to Guazhou City to pay homage to His Royal Highness the Regent.

The people of Guazhou City, who had not eaten a full meal for a long time, gathered together and happily cooked rice and meat. When they held the broken bowls filled with fragrant rice and meat, they ate until tears streamed down their faces.

Regent Zhao Defang inspected the dilapidated adobe houses on both sides of the street. After being blocked and isolated from the enemy, Guazhou City was short of goods and food, and people had to make a living in hardship.

Zhang Junpeng introduced that the crops planted outside the city would be snatched away by the party members every time the grain was harvested. Every year during the harvest season, these Han soldiers and civilians would fight for food with the enemy.

Regent Zhao Defang admired this young man with outstanding talent, a calm mind, and a strong will.

"Junpeng, you should consider whether to take these 80,000 soldiers and civilians back to the homeland of the Song Dynasty, or continue to guard the border for the Song Dynasty here?"

Zhang Junpeng pondered for a moment, "Prince, I have been thinking about this problem all night. Being able to return to the homeland of the Song Dynasty has been the dream of many of us for many years. However, most of the elderly have passed away. How can the younger generation born here have the feeling of returning to their homeland even if they return to the Song Dynasty?

Prince, you promised that the Song Dynasty court would properly resettle those who returned to their hometown, and you also promised that those who stayed here would be protected by the Song Dynasty army. So Let all the soldiers and civilians choose for themselves!

As for me, three generations of our Zhang family have been defending here for the Song Dynasty. More than a dozen of our grandfathers died in the battle. My fourth uncle, I and my two brothers were all born here.

In our hearts, we all remember that we are Han Chinese and people of the Song Dynasty. We still want to stay here and guard the border for the Song Dynasty for generations, so that this place will always be on the map of the Song Dynasty. "

The Regent Prince Zhao Defang's eyes lit up, "Good! I was right about you. Even though the Zhang family has been struggling to support themselves despite all the difficulties, they have not lost their innocent hearts.

Junpeng, your intelligence and vision are enough to take on the responsibility . "You are the governor of Xixia Province, and you are the highest local official of more than a dozen states here.

I will not only send troops to garrison here, but also send a group of talented and ambitious officials to help you govern this territory. In less than three or two years, this will surely become a pure land with abundant resources, people of all ethnic groups living and working in peace and contentment."

Zhang Junpeng was flattered and surprised, "Your Majesty, it is rare that you value and trust your subordinates so much. Zhang Junpeng will spare no effort to govern this Xixia Province conscientiously, and I will do my best to serve you until my death!"

Regent Prince Zhao De Fang smiled happily, "Governor Zhang, I will first transfer a group of officials from the Ministry of Works to build canals to divert the Yellow River water, so that this flooding river can become a blessed river to irrigate more land and fertile fields, ensuring that millions of people can be self-sufficient in food."

Zhang Junpeng bowed excitedly, "Your Highness is wise! Your Highness has a unique vision. After walking around in this Xixia territory, you can find out the root cause of the lack of food and clothing for the people in this impoverished area of ​​Xixia Province over the years. It is really admirable!"