Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 277 Longhe's Northern Expedition, Liao Kingdom Pays Tribute (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
That matter was thus settled.

Indeed—with Gu Rui making a firm decision, this campaign became unstoppable throughout the Song Dynasty, and all the necessary decisions were made in a short period of time.

Kaifeng.

Imperial decrees were continuously issued and, through a well-developed postal system, quickly reached the border regions.

This time, the Song Dynasty did not launch a full-scale attack as before, but instead precisely revealed its two-pronged approach—the main force on the eastern front, led by the renowned general Zhong E, commanded 200,000 elite imperial guards. They marched from Youzhou through Juyong Pass, splitting into two routes. The northern route, personally led by Zhong E, headed straight for the Liao Dynasty's Zhongjing Dading Prefecture; the southern route, commanded by Guo Kui, advanced north from Zhengding Prefecture to contain the Liao Dynasty's Nanjing Circuit garrison.

This arrangement is intended to emulate Gu Jin's ambition to launch a northern expedition and directly seize the heartland of the Liao Kingdom.

On the western front, veteran general Wang Shao was stationed in Yanzhou, commanding the northwestern border army and building a defensive line relying on the natural barrier of Hengshan Mountain.

At the same time, the valiant general Liu Changzuo was dispatched with 10,000 light cavalry to frequently harass the eastern border of Western Xia. This move served both to prevent Western Xia from taking advantage of the situation and to use offense as a form of defense, making it difficult for Western Xia to provide full support to the east.

This was a strategy devised by Gu Rui and his soldiers after much discussion.

The Western Xia and the Liao Dynasty were interdependent; if one fell, the other would be vulnerable.

Now that the decision has been made to wage a large-scale war, we must make thorough preparations and absolutely not allow either side to hold back the Song Dynasty's progress.

The key to this battle is speed!
If we are held back, no matter how strong the Song Dynasty is, it will never be able to defeat the two countries combined.

This is inevitable.

Because, no matter what, Gu Rui had to make a choice.

—Which country will be the primary target of our attack?
After careful consideration, Gu Rui has given his answer.

That's right, it's the Liao Dynasty.

It's not about carrying on the legacy of our ancestors.

In fact, this is the most suitable choice for the current situation. The Liao Dynasty is stronger than the Western Xia Dynasty, and the Western Xia Dynasty has a history with the Song Dynasty and a grudge against the Liao Dynasty.

There are countless methods involved, leaving it to Gu Rui to devise and maneuver.
April of the first year of the Longhe era.

—War has broken out again.

This was the reign title that Gu Rui specifically requested in order to boost the morale of the army.

“Long” signifies prosperity and sublimity; “He” refers to harmony and also implies “harmony under heaven”, that is, the unification of the world. This title does not directly mention conquest, but emphasizes achieving unification in prosperity and harmony, which is the posture of the kingly way.

The very use of this reign title demonstrates Gu Rui's determination.

It aligns with the desire for the unification of the nine provinces.

To stop war with force.

When the news spread, the entire land of Kyushu was shaken!
Even though the people of Kyushu were already used to the various struggles between the Three Kingdoms, this large-scale war still immediately caused a stir in all directions.

As for the relationship between the Western Xia and the Liao Dynasty, the response was also very swift.

Almost instantly.

The entire world is watching the movements of the Song Dynasty with bated breath!

July of the first year of the Longhe era.

The main force of the Song army on the eastern front, like a sword drawn from its sheath, swiftly thrust northward from the Youyun region. Zhong E personally led 100,000 elite troops out of Juyong Pass, successively capturing the Liao state's Fengsheng and Guihua prefectures, with his army's advance pointing directly at Ruzhou.

This seasoned general, a veteran of many battles, was a master strategist. He used the Divine Arm Archer Battalion as the vanguard, and advanced with heavily armored infantry in formation, causing the Liao army's defenders along the way to suffer repeated defeats.

There was absolutely no preparation whatsoever.

And like before, none of the things from the past battles are there anymore.

Under Gu Rui's orders, the entire Song Dynasty fully displayed its attitude, showcasing the accumulation of nearly a century.

Various upgraded equipment wreaked havoc on the battlefield.

Even in cavalry warfare, the Song army was in no way inferior to the Liao army, and with thunderous force, they directly invaded Liao territory.

Various messages kept spreading.

—The whole world was shaken!
The Song army's offensive completely shocked everyone.

This also fulfilled Gu Rui's established strategy, allowing him to make a name for himself with lightning speed at the very beginning of this great battle.

The Song Dynasty was indeed too powerful.

A century of accumulation has given this country a profound cultural heritage that is hard for others to imagine.

Even in terms of the weakest aspect—food supplies.

With the restoration of the Grand Canal and the continuous improvement of the military settlement system, the Song Dynasty can now support itself to finish this great war.

This alone is enough to demonstrate just how terrifying the strength of the Song Dynasty is now.

Liao Dynasty, Ruzhou City Wall.

The smoke of war had not yet dissipated, and the city walls were covered with deep marks from the arrowheads of the Divine Arm Bow. The defending general, Yelü Han, leaned on the crenellations, gazing at the endless Song army camps outside the city. His hands, which were used to drawing bows and shooting eagles, were now trembling slightly.

"Is this really the Song army?" he murmured to himself, his voice filled with unprecedented solemnity.

fear
Unbelievable
All sorts of emotions erupted at this moment.

If even he, the general in charge of defending the city, was like this, let alone the other garrison troops in the city.

Even with the help of the terrain.

The city of Ruzhou is now a scene of devastation.

This was completely beyond everyone's expectations.

They couldn't hold them off!

The thought almost instantly came to Yelü Han's mind, but as a member of the Liao royal family, he had to forcefully suppress it.

He has to get through this no matter what!

At this moment, Vice General Xiao Wulila, with a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around his shoulder, staggered over and said, "General, I have just counted the casualties. The Song army's arrows are more effective than ever before."

"Their crossbows have a range more than 30% greater than ours, and their arrows are specially designed armor-piercing spikes; our leather armor offers no protection whatsoever."

Yelü Han's expression grew increasingly grim, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "We must hold on no matter what!"

As he spoke, he paused slightly.

After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he continued, "His Majesty's secret envoy arrived this morning, saying that he has already sent an envoy to Western Xia."

Although Empress Dowager Liang did not give a clear answer, she must have understood the principle of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold".

"We just need to keep dragging this out!"

"As long as Western Xia makes a move, these Song dogs will definitely retreat!"

"These people are capable of such combat."

"They must be the elite troops of the Song Dynasty."

"They will absolutely not allow the Western Xia to attack their rear!"

As he concluded, perhaps to comfort himself, he repeated, "It definitely will!"

Seeing this, Xiao Wuli naturally fell silent as well.

However, he did not say much.

Under Yelü Han's sharp gaze, they had no choice but to boost morale once again, preparing to meet the Song Dynasty's next offensive.
Time flies by.

Throughout the entire land of Kyushu, war raged on all sides.

Gu Yi had been carefully observing the situation in various places and using the Spirit Jade to intervene at crucial moments.

It can be said--

This battle is not only a test for Gu Rui, but also an opportunity for Gu Yi to grow, allowing him to make up for his biggest weakness, which is his understanding of ancient warfare.

This is indeed a great opportunity to hone one's skills.

Gu Yi understood this very well and had been analyzing the wars across the world, occasionally working with Gu Rui to devise some tactics.

Although he couldn't win all the time, Gu Yi could still feel that he had made significant progress.

Even so.

Given the current global situation, it is still impossible to determine the fate of the world in one battle. The Song Dynasty is indeed very powerful.

At the beginning, just as Gu Rui had planned, they managed to seize a lot of territory by surprise. However, as the war dragged on, the Liao army gradually adapted to the intensity of the Song army.

Furthermore, based on the various aspects of the Song army, a series of entirely new tactics were devised.

It can be said that the terrain has been utilized to its fullest extent.

This was indeed an era that produced a great number of talented people. Heroes from all over the world were as numerous as carp crossing a river. Although the Song Dynasty had the Gu family, it was impossible to recruit all the talents under its command. These people became the key factors that influenced this battle.

Including the Western Xia.

As the situation continued to change, the actions of Western Xia completely exceeded Gu Rui's expectations.

Instead of remaining locked in a stalemate with the Song army outside the defensive line set up by Gu Rui, they actually crossed the Xijing Road and participated in the great battle between the Song and Liao dynasties.

This did indeed have a significant impact on the Song Dynasty.

This is essentially what warfare with cold weapons was like.

Equipment is secondary; what truly matters is the morale of the soldiers and the availability of supplies.

The morale of the Song army was indeed terrifying.

But this was only the beginning. As time went on, even commanders would get tired of the daily battles, let alone ordinary soldiers.

In addition, there is the unusual climate. The cold of the northern frontier is indeed a fatal problem. Even the Gu family today cannot solve this problem, and this will eventually force the Song army to stop.

November of the third year of the Longhe era.

The Song army camp was located north of Guizhou, at the junction of Nanjing Road and Zhongjing Road of the Liao Dynasty, overlooking the Sanggan River.

The crackling charcoal fire inside the tent could not dispel the bone-chilling cold.

Gu Rui put down the battle reports from various armies in his hand, walked slowly to the hanging map, and traced his finger across the area that was already under the actual control of the Song army.

"This war cannot be fought anymore." He sighed softly, his tone filled with resentment, but even more so with clarity.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Vice Commander Liu Changzuo was the first to stand up, staring intently at Gu Rui, his voice urgent: "Grand Tutor, what makes you say such a thing?"

"Although our troops are suffering from the severe cold, the soldiers are fighting bravely and their morale has not dropped!"

"My men, though their hands are covered in frostbite, can still grip their weapons tightly, waiting for your command!"

"Grand Tutor, please grant me another 10,000 cavalry—no, 5,000 will suffice!"

"This humble general is willing to pledge that before the winter solstice, I will turn Yelü Renxian's old camp upside down!"

His voice was as loud as a bell, causing dust to fall from the top of the tent.

Before he could finish speaking, Qu Zhen, the vanguard general sitting below, abruptly pushed aside his stool and stood up. His face, still bearing the marks of an arrow wound, was contorted with rage: "Grand Tutor, this humble general fought alongside Commander Zhong all the way to capture these hundreds of miles of land south of the Sanggan River!"

"So many fine young men have been buried here, how can we easily retreat?"

"The Liao people are already at their last gasp. As long as we can hold out through this winter, we will surely be able to storm Yuanyang Lake in the spring and bring it back into the territory of our Great Song Dynasty!"

"Grand Tutor! This humble general is willing to be the vanguard, fighting to the death without retreating!"

"The general is also willing to go!"

"Fight to the death and never retreat!"

"Please, Grand Tutor, reconsider!"

"..."

The calls for battle echoed throughout the main tent in an instant.

Even though every general's face showed undisguised exhaustion, the determination in their eyes was clearly visible.

They were unwilling to give up.

Because the Song Dynasty had already paid far too high a price for this battle.

Although many places have been captured so far.

But they still felt it wasn't enough.

But how could Gu Rui not understand this principle?
In fact, among all the people present, he was the real radical.

However, as the Grand Tutor of the court and the head of the Gu family, he had no choice but to consider the bigger picture.

Even if we could reclaim Yuanyangbo, what then?
Is it possible to wipe out the Liao Kingdom in one fell swoop?
No!

The soldiers of the Song Dynasty were exhausted. This winter was even colder than the previous two. Not only was morale low, but even the cotton-padded clothing in the logistics supply was becoming scarce.

How can this battle continue?
How many more lives will the Song Dynasty have to pay for this so-called Mandarin Duck Lake?

Until this moment.

Gu Rui finally understood everything Gu Jun had done in the past.

For those of them who bear the weight of the world on their shoulders, there are times when they truly cannot move forward any further.

He can't make this choice.

Because for the Song Dynasty, the effort required was disproportionate to the benefits!
Thinking of this, Gu Rui raised his hand to stop the commotion among the generals, his gaze sweeping over each face, and calmly said:
"The brothers are all tired."

"Let them get some rest."

"The time is not yet ripe."

After nearly three years of intense competition, Gu Rui had already proven his abilities.

His various arrangements for the court ensured its stability, and his repeated ambushes of enemy troops on the front lines brought him unprecedented prestige.

Upon hearing this, General Zhang fell silent.

No matter how unwilling they were, they had to admit that Gu Rui was right.

The Song army was indeed extremely exhausted.

The same applies to them.

In an instant, the tent was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, with only the howling wind outside, gust after gust, blowing through everyone's hearts.

Seeing the generals looking like deflated balloons, Gu Rui stood up again and said softly to comfort them, "But rest assured, this is a time for our Song soldiers to rest, not for the Liao."

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's wait and see."

The generals all raised their heads simultaneously, their expressions shifting.

They seemed to have caught a whiff of something.

In the past two years, whenever Gu Rui has such a tone and expression, it often means that he has an unexpected strategy.

Could it be this time...?
Facing the probing gazes of the crowd, Gu Rui simply smiled faintly and said nothing more.

The soldiers involuntarily raised their heads, their expressions all changing.

They seemed to have sensed something!
Over the past two years, whenever Gu Rui has taken such actions, he has always employed some unexpected strategies.

What is this now?
Meeting the gazes of his soldiers, Gu Rui smiled faintly and said nothing more.

Actually, this matter is quite simple.

The Song army was indeed finding it difficult to sustain its operations, but the same was true for the Liao state!

The areas that the Song Dynasty successively seized over the past three years, including Fengsheng, Guihua, Ruzhou, and even the southern bank of the upper reaches of the Sanggan River, were by no means insignificant borderlands.

It was one of the most prosperous agricultural areas and core pastures in Nanjing Road of the Liao Kingdom, and an important barrier protecting Zhongjing Dading Prefecture.

Losing these prefectures and counties meant that the Liao Dynasty not only lost a large number of people, taxes, and sources of warhorses, but also that its political heart, Zhongjingdao, was now wide open and directly exposed to the threat of the Song army.

And this is just the basics!
The Western Xia forces are still lingering within the Liao Kingdom.

Although the two countries are now more and more closely connected, what kind of friendship exists between countries?
Gu Rui absolutely refused to believe that there would be no animosity between the two countries!

The Liao royal family will certainly have something to consider!

Gu Rui's idea was very simple: even if this war ended here, the Liao Kingdom must continue to weaken!
What he wants is for the Liao Kingdom to pay tribute!

(P.S.: I'm begging for monthly votes and recommendations! I'd be incredibly grateful for your support.)
(End of this chapter)