Chapter 132 Two Gifts

Although the Western Xia main force resisted fiercely for a time, it eventually collapsed rapidly due to insufficient strength and various objective and subjective conditions.

Among them, the Western Xia commander Weiming Chage was killed in battle, the Black Bull Totem was captured, and when his body was found, it had been hit by at least seven or eight Shenbi crossbow arrows, and almost all the blood had drained.

Po Xi Army commander Weiming Ji died in battle, Zhuosheng Army general Weiming Yu surrendered, and Iron Harrier commander Weiming Yi'e led a small number of Iron Harriers to break through to the south.

In response, Yue Fei only sent thousands of light cavalry to pursue, and then ordered the entire army to clean up the battlefield, preparing to rest for a day, and then leisurely cross the river to take Lingzhou.

Unexpectedly, that afternoon, before the battlefield was cleaned up properly, someone suddenly crossed the river from the opposite bank, representing several large Fan tribes, willing to act as internal support to offer Lingzhou... Qu Duan personally interrogated them, but found that the reason why the opposite bank was so eager to surrender was extremely laughable.

It turned out that a large tribe in the city on the opposite bank had come to support from Yanzhou in Hengshan, and was not from Xingling, so they had long been disturbed by the movement in Hengshan. And today, this force took advantage of the opportunity when Chage crossed the river and the Song army pressed in large numbers, and suddenly controlled the city defenses of Lingzhou in a semi-mutinous manner.

Weiming Renli and Weiming Yunge, who were left on the opposite bank, were caught off guard under the city and immediately fell into chaos. Seeing this, other tribes also took the opportunity to give up crossing the river, which was the incredible scene that Chage saw that morning. And now, as the rest of the families besides that tribe watched Chage's army being completely wiped out on the west bank of the river with complicated emotions, they finally realized that the general trend was irreversible, so they simply surrendered.

"I ask you." In the afternoon sun, Qu Duan sat on the ridge in front of the iron elephant, continuing to face them coldly. "Since you haven't controlled Lingzhou City and are blocked outside the city, how dare you tell me that you want to offer the city? The one who should offer the city should be the one who holds the city, right? Besides, since they hold the city, they naturally have the intention to surrender. When our army crosses the river and arrives at the city tomorrow, they will naturally open the gate. Why do you want to do cheap business here?"

"Let Qu Dutong know," the Fan general who came hurriedly replied in a flustered manner. "Although that's the case, there's also a saying... the family in the city is originally the garrison general of Yanzhou, and at this time, Yang Zheng, the prefect of Huanzhou opposite Yanzhou, has already taken the lead in pursuing with light troops from the ancient Great Wall road north of the Han Hai. If they travel day and night, they might arrive early tomorrow morning... If you say these two families have no connection, does Dutong believe it?"

Qu Duan finally narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Fan general, who was fluent in Chinese and good at rhetoric, was overjoyed when he saw this, and didn't care about his face: "Dutong's current situation is that Chage's main force is gone, and although there are 20,000 soldiers on the opposite bank, they are divided into three groups, and they are all frightened birds... At this time, as long as there is the Great Song Royal Army, no matter who arrives first, it will be a situation of complete victory! If Yang Zheng arrives, the credit on the other side of the river will all belong to the Rear Army of the Imperial Guards!"

Qu Duan sneered, but did not answer, just turned on his horse and went to Yue Fei's banner.

Hearing about the situation on the opposite bank, although Yue Fei didn't care much about this kind of thing, since the situation was like this, there was no reason to refuse Qu Duan, who might cooperate more closely in the future, especially since Qu Duan proposed that Wang De's troops, who had the least merit in this battle, could lead the matter... So he immediately agreed, just telling the other party to act cautiously and not to be greedy for merit and fall into an ambush.

Since Yue Fei gave face, Qu Duan naturally reciprocated, and then took the initiative to guarantee that he would cross the river again at night to launch a surprise attack.

Enough of the idle talk, not to mention the end of the great battle here, and how Qu Duan and others couldn't wait to go to fight for the merit of Lingzhou at night, only to say that on the afternoon of late April, Zhao Song's official, who didn't even know that a great battle had just broken out, finally arrived at his loyal Youzhou City after two days of hard travel.

It can only be said that although Hu Yin was not there to properly arrange everything, Lu Bentzhong, who was actively performing, could handle some mundane affairs with a few eunuchs, and coupled with the fact that Jie Yuan and Yue Chao were both veterans, and Dong Xian and Zhai Cong had already isolated the danger in the east, the trip to Youzhou did not have any unexpected events.

As usual, the Dangxiang leaders flocked to him, and as usual, Zhao Guan's family came forward to feign and stabilize people's hearts.

"Your Majesty, those who arrived today are mostly tribal leaders from Yinzhou, Shizhou, and the Zuo Xiang Army..." After the brief meeting outside the city, the monarch and his ministers entered the city, and before the evening banquet began, Lu Bentzhong reported solemnly. "But those who came are only the second sons of the tribes, the old tribal elders who are old and don't care about things, and those who are in power in their prime don't seem to have come."

"Why is this so?" Zhao Jiu, who had just taken off his armor and put on a red robe, frowned slightly.

"I think it's still because the three places in the east are close to Suide and Jinning, and the Jin people still have tens of thousands of troops there." Lu Bentzhong quickly offered the answer he had thought of. "They are timid and have no insight, so although they submitted a letter of surrender, and let the two commanders Dong and Zhai enter their cities, they still dare not come with their entire clans to make a decision."

Zhao Jiu took the hard-winged futou from the somewhat flustered Liu Yan's hands, and put it on himself with his head lowered, but then asked, "So, today seems lively, but there are actually no key figures?"

"That's not the case..." Lu Bentzhong immediately mentioned a name. "Renduo Baozhong is here, the white-bearded old man who took the lead in bowing to Your Majesty ten miles outside the city today, and then offered the camel."

After putting on the hard-winged futou, Zhao Jiu couldn't move easily, but he was still a little surprised: "Is there anything special about this person? I thought it was just because he was old, so he was at the front... But that white camel is good, docile and majestic."

"Your Majesty." Lu Bentzhong immediately laughed. "It's normal for Your Majesty not to know this person. In a remote rural area, what are the top heroes in the seven prefectures in front of the world? Besides, even if this person has some skills, it's all in the past."

Zhao Jiu began to tie the golden belt around his waist, and Lu Bentzhong continued to explain slightly.

It turned out that the Renduo tribe was originally a large tribe in Hengshan, but its tribe gradually became famous in the world, and gradually stood out, only relying on two people.

One of them was the Western Xia Hengshan Military Supervisor during the Shenzong Dynasty, called Renduo Weiding. This person was cunning and fought with the Great Song Dynasty a lot, and it was mostly him who planned against the Great Song Dynasty and took the initiative to attack the Great Song Dynasty more often. But as the saying goes, those who are good at swimming drown, and those who are good at attacking die in battle. This person was once blocked by the Song army on his way back while attacking Huanqing Road, and ended up dying without a burial place.

But even so, this person's decades of operation ultimately allowed the Renduo tribe to stand out and become the representative tribe of the Hengshan Fan tribe.

Hearing this, Zhao Jiu, who had tied the golden belt, finally smiled slightly: "I understand. During the Shenzong Dynasty, he was the main force against Western Xia, and this person was the military supervisor on the most important Hengshan front line of Western Xia, so this person's name must have been mentioned a lot in the Imperial Song Dynasty... Not to mention, half of the literary talent of this dynasty was in the Shenzong Dynasty, there were many famous people, and things at that time were often mentioned, and even he became famous."

"That's the reason." Lu Bentzhong also relaxed and said.

"As for the other person, it should be this Renduo Baozhong." Zhao Jiu was dressed and stood in the distance, slightly serious. "Let me guess, although I don't know what he is to Renduo Weiding, judging from his age, this person should have gained some fame in the wars of the Zhezong Dynasty, and can be considered a local famous general whose name can be recorded in history books?"

"That's right." Lu Bentzhong saw that Your Majesty was ready, and his speech speed also increased a bit. "However, this person is known for two major events that have nothing to do with military affairs... One is helping Little Liang Queen kill Liang Yibu; the other is that there are rumors that this person planned to surrender to the Imperial Song Dynasty about thirty years ago because his military power was taken by Chage. After the incident, Li Ganshun did not kill him, but only dismissed him. I didn't expect him to still be alive now... Of course, this kind of person is not worth mentioning in the final analysis, but he is the most qualified and has the most presence at today's banquet, so I specifically came to remind Your Majesty."

Listening to him, he seemed more like a schemer seeking political power than a general. Zhao Jiu was thinking wildly in his heart, but on the surface, he just nodded, and then glanced at Liu Yan without saying a word.

Liu Yan understood and led dozens of armored soldiers out first. Lu Bentzhong also hurried to leave, and Zhao Guan's family, under the guard of more than a dozen Imperial Guards, stopped for a while before slowly walking out.

Outside was a hall that was very simple in the eyes of the Song people. There was no one in the hall except for a few guards. Outside the hall, the courtyard was suddenly open. Many armored soldiers stood at the base of the courtyard walls inside and outside, and nearly a hundred tables were neatly placed in the empty courtyard, with some thin wine and green vegetables.

This was the former base of the Western Xia Jianing Army in Youzhou City. Next door was a temple of an unknown sect. Zhao Guan's family chose this temple as his palace, and because the hall was narrow and cramped, he simply abandoned the hall and came to the courtyard, where generals could originally be ordered, to set up a banquet.

It was the longest day of the year. Although it was a banquet, it was indeed evening, but the light was still extremely sufficient. Zhao Jiu turned out from the hall and saw everything at a glance.

The hundred or so people in the courtyard who were qualified to attend, from the several ministers and generals who had accompanied him, as well as the Fan tribes of Hongzhou, Longzhou, and Xiazhou who had brought troops to Jintang City long ago, to the local and eastern Hengshan Fan tribal leaders who had first seen Zhao Song Guan's family ten miles outside the city this afternoon, including Renduo Baozhong, the leader who was already seventy or eighty years old, had already prepared when Liu Yan, Lu Bentzhong and others turned out. At this time, seeing Zhao Guan's family in a red robe, they were even more shocked in their hearts, and eight or nine out of ten directly knelt down and kowtowed, performing a great salute... which made the few accompanying civil officials who were originally just bowing a little embarrassed.

Of course, without eunuchs around, Zhao Guan's family was too lazy to pretend, just waved his hand casually to let everyone get up, and then sat down on his seat.

The banquet then began.

But to be honest, at a banquet in the Northwest, still in the former territory of Western Xia, still with Dangxiang people as the main guests, and yet in front of the emperor, it was not good to compose poems, and it was basically impossible to play drinking games... Zhao Guan's family could only open his mouth and ask everyone about their well-being, and make some political promises.

However, although they were political promises, no one dared to ask this official about the specific arrangements after the war, whether to relocate the Fan households inland, whether to retain the Fan soldiers, what the treatment of the Fan soldiers would be, whether to give the Fan tribal leaders solid official duties after the dust settled, and how to reconstruct the administrative divisions of these places. This official also did not take the initiative to mention it.

This made the whole banquet seem a little bland.

Of course, with the war undecided, this was also reasonable.

"Your Majesty."

After three rounds of wine, Renduo Baozhong, who was sitting in the front row on the right side and had white hair and beard, slowly stood up with a wine glass, seemingly toasting, and no one cared.

And sure enough, this person first toasted to wish Zhao Guan's family longevity, but after drinking, he did not sit down, but took the opportunity to hold the cup and clasp his hands to ask for a word.

"General Renduo, please speak." Zhao Jiu did not take it seriously, especially since his clothes made it difficult for him to have extra gestures, and it was difficult to express importance even if he wanted to.

"I was born in a barbarian land and have long admired the Wang Hua (civilizing influence of the king). Today, I am honored to see Your Majesty, so I have two gifts that I would like to offer to Your Majesty. Please accept them with a smile." Renduo Baozhong first tried his best to lower his body and put down the wine glass, and then stood up again and bowed slightly, his movements slow and sluggish, obviously his age had really arrived, rather than pretending to be old.

When this person stood up alone just now, Zhao Jiu was still a little worried because of the other party's reputation, but seeing this, he also felt a little ridiculous, but he did not show it on his face, and calmly responded:

"Didn't General Renduo already send that white camel? I like it very much. How are there still gifts?"

"Let Your Majesty know that the camel was found by the local prefecture and county officials. I just think that I am old, and the color of my hair and beard matches the color of the camel's fur, so it looks good to lead the camel, so I was asked to present it... This thing cannot show my loyalty, nor can it be considered my gift." Renduo Baozhong said slowly. "The two gifts I am talking about now are what we have spent a lot of effort on in private for Your Majesty's hard work on this trip."

Zhao Jiu immediately responded: "In that case, please present them!"

Renduo Baozhong raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this, and looked back at the direction of the courtyard gate... Naturally, such a banquet required a thorough body search, and gifts could only be sent in after inspection.

Liu Yan went down in person, and after a while, two armored soldiers entered with him, and Liu Yan himself quickly returned and whispered in Your Majesty's ear.

Renduo Baozhong rarely mustered his spirits, staring at Zhao Song Guan's family's reaction, and under his gaze that did not shake for a moment, Zhao Guan's family did not show any surprise or discomfort when he heard the words, and even the hard wings on his head did not shake at all... At this moment, Renduo Baozhong also scolded himself for being ridiculous, and then returned to normal.

The gifts were presented to the emperor, and the armored soldiers opened them and took them out. It was a bloody head, the kind that could not even be preserved with lime. As soon as this thing came out, Lu Bentzhong and Zheng Zhichang, several civil officials, turned pale, but the rest, including Zhao Guan's family, did not show any extra expression, at most just curious.

Renduo Baozhong did not beat around the bush, but slowly stepped out of the line and knelt down next to the head:

"Your Majesty, this is the head of Xiao Jüdellu... Before Yinzhou, Shizhou, and Zuo Xiang discussed returning to the right path, but they felt that they had no merit to survive, so they came to ask me, and I suggested that they take this person's life and be sure to offer this person's head before Your Majesty's arrival today, to show their intentions... The leaders and soldiers of the three places have not arrived, all because they went to fight for Your Majesty."

Zhao Jiu rarely shook the hard wings on his futou, but glanced at Lu Bentzhong, who was pale, and after Lu Bentzhong heard these words and was glanced at by Your Majesty, his face became even paler.

"Who is Xiao Jüdellu?" Zhao Jiu knew that this was not the time to care about Lu Bentzhong's incompetence in these matters, so he directly asked without changing his expression.

"Reporting to Your Majesty." Renduo Baozhong continued to answer seriously. "This person is a Dangxiang person, but he is a Dangxiang person from the Liao Kingdom, and he is ranked as the Southwestern Pacification Commissioner of the Liao Kingdom... In the past few years, the Jin people went south, and the world was in chaos. Just like General Li Yongqi and Li Shifu and his son entered Xia from Suide, this person also led more than 100,000 Khitan, Xi, Bohai, Mongol, and Dangxiang mixed Hu people into Xia from the Liao Kingdom. He originally disdained surrendering to the Xia Kingdom, so he first went to attack the Zhezhi Fengzhou and Linzhou, preparing to establish a career there, but he was defeated and fled, leaving only 30,000 to 50,000 Khitan mixed Hu people. He could only surrender to Li Ganshun through the channel of Weiming Heda, the commander of Xiazhou, and thus obtained support from Hengshan, and then established a foothold in the area behind Xiazhou and Yinzhou, and even captured Jianning Village in Linzhou as his base. Li Ganshun used him to be the northeastern barrier of Western Xia, to isolate the Jin people."

Moreover, Lu Bentzhong was a smart man after all. After hearing that this person had led more than 100,000 former Liao people to escape to Western Xia, he suddenly realized that this gift was exactly the practical gift that Zhao Guan's family really needed!

The general trend of Western Xia was actually roughly determined after Yue Qu and Hu's surprise attack on Xingqing Prefecture succeeded, and Wu Jie's pressing into Hengshan in the same way made the overall situation impossible to reverse. But next, this battle was very interesting, especially how to arrange Yelu Dashi, contain Yelu Dashi, and control Yelu Dashi, this ally...

And the Liao Kingdom's survivors were Yelu Dashi's weakness, which occupied a vast area but had very few people. Before, there were 70,000 to 80,000 in Zhao Heda's place, and now there were another 30,000 to 50,000 in Xiao Jüdellu's place, which was enough to make Yelu Dashi lower his posture. And obviously, this Renduo Baozhong was old and cunning, but he smelled some wind from the matter of Zhao Heda being expelled, and forcibly found a practical merit for the tribes in the eastern end of Hengshan from the situation of being forced to surrender.

But thinking of this, Lu Bentzhong became more and more uneasy... Thinking that he had come here this time, it was the first time he had been officially used after his father retired and he became an official, but he was compared to this by an old man in his seventies or eighties. It was simply a disgrace to his face. He didn't know if Your Majesty would still think he was useful after this matter?

On the other side, Zhao Guan's family certainly had no intention to care about Lu Bentzhong's gains and losses. After realizing it in his heart, he was overjoyed, but he did not show much on his face. He just nodded slightly, and then made a joke with a straight face:

"If the first gift is a head, is the second gift a map?"

Renduo Baozhong was stunned, obviously not understanding Zhao Guan's low-level joke. Not only that, but he was a little uneasy because Zhao Guan's family did not show any joy. He just said seriously again: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the second gift is not a map, but a city..."

This time it was Zhao Jiu's turn to be stunned, but it was only a stun, and he blurted out: "Is it Lingzhou? I remember that Wu Jie has a military report saying that your nephew Renduo Shita is the garrison general of Yanzhou, and he was the first to be sent to Lingzhou by Chage this time, so he asked Yang Zheng, who is familiar with your nephew, to pursue him."

"Your Majesty has spoken the truth." Baozhong became more and more respectful. "I have an agreement with Shita... Chage enters Lingzhou, cutting off the roads before and after, which is a dead end in the art of war. He cannot even afford to delay, so he can only cross the river in a hurry to fight. I asked him to contact the other major tribes and communicate with Commander Wu and Commander Yue, so that he can take Lingzhou City for Your Majesty and cut off Chage's thoughts."

"Won't Chage suspect your nephew?" Lu Bentzhong finally couldn't help but ask. "You must know that you, General, were dismissed because you planned to return to the Imperial Song Dynasty."

"Let this superior know." Baozhong looked back and said. "Although I am a recognized rebel of Western Xia, my brother, Shita's biological father, died under the sword of the Imperial Song Dynasty, so Chage will not suspect him."

Lu Bentzhong was stunned for a moment, obviously unable to turn his mind around to the way of thinking and style of the border tribes.

On the other hand, Zhao Jiu was still not in a hurry: "Then I ask you, did you communicate with your nephew before or after Chage went west?"

Baozhong hesitated for a moment and knelt on the ground: "After... The decision to attack the Xiao Ju tribe was made after Weiming Heda was expelled."

Zhao Jiu sat still, just nodding slightly, driving the two hard wings on his head to shake slightly: "Then I ask you again, do you know what kind of behavior your actions are in the eyes of the world?"

"I don't understand many principles, but I probably know that it is considered a fickle villain... Because my actions do have the suspicion of seeing the wind and taking advantage of the situation." Baozhong's hair and beard were all attached to the ground, revealing a tight scalp, but there was no hesitation in his words. "I think if Your Majesty kills me at this time, the world will only say that I brought it on myself."

"Combined with your actions in the Western Xia court struggle that day, it is almost considered eagle-eyed and wolf-backed." Zhao Jiu still did not change his expression. "Killing you would just be killing you... Renqing, I have some vague plans for the Dangxiang people. The specifics will have to wait until this battle is over before discussing with the prime minister and the envoys."

"Yes." Renduo Baozhong did not seem to hear that his surname was mispronounced by Zhao Guan's family.

"Not to mention other places, the seven prefectures of Hengshan are too narrow. I plan to merge them into about two prefectures, or two prefectures and one army, depending on the later situation."

"Yes."

"For the Dangxiang people, I can only say some definite ideas to avoid breaking my promise to you... First, I will not relocate inland, but I will change surnames and customs. After things settle down, all the Dangxiang tribes must have a Chinese surname. As for Li Yuanhao's rule of keeping his head but not his hair, keeping his hair but not his head, I will reverse it here, keeping his hair and keeping his head, and abandoning his hair and abandoning his head... The Western Xia rebellion has lasted for a hundred years, and the root cause is that the Dangxiang people cannot return to Han. In the future, I don't want to see the Dangxiang people identify themselves as a group and isolate the Fan and Han people."

"Yes."

"The local people are good at fighting, and are semi-pastoral and semi-agricultural, and most of them are good at riding, so I will definitely use the Dangxiang soldiers... First, I want to expand the Imperial Cavalry Army. Those who are selected into the Cavalry Army are no different from the Imperial Regular Soldiers. The leaders of the various tribes must not stop the warriors from doing it themselves; second, I do need some auxiliary soldiers who know how to take care of camels and war horses... But the so-called tribal leaders are only between the Han system and the Fan system. I only recognize the Han system and recognize official positions. I don't recognize any tribal leaders. It is okay to use this identity to talk to me now, but after this battle, it will be courting death."

"... Yes."

"But I also know that there is a century of blood feud between the two countries, especially here in Hengshan, which has been in rebellion for more than 150 years. Today, it has returned to the right path. In the future, those people from the Western Army will come to restrain you. You will also feel uneasy in your hearts." Zhao Jiu finally sighed. "In case you make trouble again, it would be annoying to repeat it over and over again. I am afraid that if you use a corner of the land, the country's great plan to attack the Jin will be missed... Renqing, you are sitting idly in Hengshan. If you have ever been interested, you should know that my intentions are actually easy to figure out, that is, in a word, in order to attack the Jin and unify, I can endure anything! For this matter, I have endured the powerful ministers, the Confucian scholars, the bureaucrats, the bad habits in the army, the alienation between the north and the south, the landlords, the monks and Taoists, the powerful and wealthy merchants, and the return of the Second Saints to the south, and I am afraid that I will have to endure Yelu Dashi... Then naturally I can also endure you a little!"

Renduo Baozhong kowtowed repeatedly: "The various tribes of Hengshan will never drag down Your Majesty's great cause of attacking the Jin! I also hope that Your Majesty will show some pity for the hardships of the people here!"

"You all have to be pitied." Zhao Jiu said disapprovingly. "Guanzhong is also bitter, the Central Plains is also bitter, you at least have not experienced large-scale wars. As for taxes, Bashu, Jiangnan, and Jingxiang are all more bitter than each other... I remember them all! I can only guarantee to treat everyone equally!"

"That's enough!" Renduo Baozhong raised his head slightly.

"But you, Renqing, should also remember that if someone really makes trouble and causes the slightest delay in the great cause of attacking the Jin, I will never tolerate it... Especially in recent years, the situation has been slightly better, and my temper has risen day by day, not as easy to talk to as it used to be." Zhao Jiu finally came to a conclusion slowly. "In the next few days, you will follow me, act as a gate attendant, and be responsible for the affairs of the Dangxiang Fan tribe... Do you know what the official position of gate attendant is?"

"I know." The white-haired Renduo Baozhong was overjoyed, but he became as awe-inspiring as Lu Bentzhong, who was sitting idly by and watching this scene.

As for the surrounding local bureaucrats, Fan tribal leaders, including the accompanying Imperial Guards officers and eunuchs, they were mostly stunned at this time, probably because the levels were too different.

Zhao Jiu received two gifts, and was too lazy to continue perfunctory here. He just drank another cup of wine, and seeing that the sky was getting dark, he turned back to the temple next door to settle down.

Hundreds of miles away, as the sun set, chaos suddenly broke out inside and outside Lingzhou City.

Weiming Yunge also chose to wait until dark before launching a surprise attack on the city in order to rescue Weiming Renzhong, Wang Shu, and Cao Guozhang. However, the surprise attack was not smooth. Many tribes took action but did not put in much effort, and the family that occupied the city, namely Renduo Shita's tribe, quickly reacted after the initial confusion and fought with Weiming Yunge's men at night.

In the dark night, people's hearts were turbulent, their positions were different, and many people harbored ulterior motives. The surprise attack quickly evolved into street fighting, and the street fighting turned into melee and looting... Before long, the second largest city in Western Xia was ablaze with fire.

And this fire was like a signal to remind the Song army everywhere.

On the opposite bank of the river, Yue Fei personally saw the chaos on the opposite bank from the river bank, and knew that it would not be fake, so he immediately urged Qu Duan and Wang De to lead their troops across the river to seize the city, to clear out the remaining Western Xia troops and control the situation.

On the other side, in a small stronghold northeast of Lingzhou City, adjacent to the Great Wall, Yang Zheng, the prefect of Huanzhou, saw the fire rising from afar, and did not hesitate any longer. He ordered the entire army to throw down their supplies and launch a surprise attack on Lingzhou.

In this way, it was only the second watch (around 9 PM), and the infantry of the Central Army of the Imperial Guards under Wang De poured into the city from the west without any resistance. Qu Duan then led his cavalry to sweep the main streets, arresting Dangxiang rebels who were looting, killing, and raping, and driving the surrendered Fan soldiers to carry water to put out the fire.

In the chaos, after learning that the Song army had entered the city, dozens of Han officials, including Wang Shu and Cao Guozhang, the ministers of the Western Xia government, committed suicide. Pu Wang Weiming Renzhong, who was also in the government office, stayed until the end, and after confirming that everyone had committed suicide, he personally lit the firewood and debris that he had ordered his subordinates to pile up outside the government office during the daytime mutiny, burning the government office to the ground and burying himself.

As soon as the fire started, Weiming Yunge didn't know whether he was sad or relieved, but after all, there was no reason to sit and wait for death in the city anymore, so he led the remaining thousand people out of the city, and then did not dare to go north along the Great River, so he could only turn to the desert.

In the dark night, perhaps because there were too few soldiers, Yunge and his party did not meet with Yang Zheng, and actually escaped.

However, after finally stopping in the desert to rest for a while, and looking back at Lingzhou City, where the fire was gradually dying down, he was stunned to hear that the highest-ranking big figure in the team, Shu Wang Weiming Renli, whom he had rescued twice, had committed suicide with a dagger on a camel.

It seemed that he had chosen to end his life shortly after leaving the city.

Yunge did not say a word, and fell beside Renli's body, not shedding a tear, but feeling lost and frightened.

As dawn approached, Lingzhou City was filled with smoke, and what greeted the city was an execution - Qu Duan, the commander of the Imperial Cavalry Army, sat on the iron elephant, standing in front of the state government office, which had become ruins. Wang De was riding next to him on the left, sneering, and Yang Zheng, the prefect of Huanzhou, on the right, did not dare to ride a horse, but stood with his hands clasped in front of his old superior, appearing solemn. People who didn't know him would think he was a groom pulling a horse.

In front of the street, hundreds of Dangxiang leaders and officers, either burned by fire, or injured, or covered in dew, were completely embarrassed, but could only stand on both sides of the street, lowering their heads and not speaking. In the distance of the street, thousands of Dangxiang Fan soldiers were tightly bound. Thirty people at a time were continuously escorted by Song soldiers to the street between these leaders, and then publicly beheaded as a warning to the public.

These were all criminals who had taken advantage of the chaos last night to loot, kill, set fires, and rape. There was a reason to kill them.

In this way, the killing continued until the morning. As the heads of thousands of rebels fell to the ground, Zhao Guan's family, who was far away in Youzhou, finally received his second gift.

"Master Lu."

Just as the heads were rolling in Lingzhou City, Ren Duo... Ren Baozhong, the newly appointed gate attendant who had officially changed his name, could not wait to see the only person in the palace who could be considered his superior.

Lu Bentzhong, who was drinking millet porridge, looked up in surprise. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that Ren Baozhong had become much younger, and even his scalp had become tighter... It was obvious that this person was much older than his father, okay?

"Master Ren..." Lu Bentzhong was a member of a famous family after all, and still had some cultivation, so although he was vigilant about this, he immediately got up and clasped his hands to each other, and used the honorific title of gate attendant. "What can I teach you?"

"Yes." Ren Baozhong clasped his hands in response. "In fact, I would like to offer another gift to Your Majesty... If this gift is offered, the hearts of the people in Western Xia will be more stable. But this matter must be decided by Master Lu."

"Oh?" Lu Bentzhong immediately became interested. "Why didn't you offer such a generous gift together yesterday?"

"I only found out today." Ren Baozhong was full of energy. "It turns out that Your Majesty has traveled west for half a year this time, and did not even bring a concubine! And after asking, I found out that Your Majesty only has two noble concubines, but there are enough children, and it just so happens that it does not matter... Do you think... is this a good thing for both the public and private?"

Lu Bentzhong instantly realized what the other party meant. Out of some instinct, he immediately wanted to open his mouth to refute, but for some reason, the words came to his mouth, but he was speechless. On the contrary, after thinking about many concerns, this Master Lu was actually moved.

ps: Continue to offer sacrifices to the new book *Zhao Zhou*.