Chapter 410 The Situation in Hehuang
"Why, do you think it's worth killing so many people if gunpowder is successful?" Zhao Xing said coldly.
"I don't dare!" Cao Mian said quickly.
In fact, he did think so in his heart. He had seen the power of gunpowder. The hundreds of people who died were nothing more than some craftsmen and soldiers.
With gunpowder, any dangerous city can be easily destroyed.
The Liao Kingdom was difficult to deal with, with nothing more than cities and cavalry.
With the city there, it would be difficult for the Song Dynasty to capture it in a very short time, but the Liao Kingdom had many cavalry and could support it very quickly.
But with gunpowder, the city could not hinder the Song Dynasty's soldiers and horses, and gunpowder also had a certain effect on the cavalry.
If it was like this explosion, if enough gunpowder was prepared, a big crater could be blown up, and the cavalry would still be able to fly.
Not to mention hundreds of people died, even if thousands or tens of thousands of people died, it was all worth it in his opinion.
Just seeing Zhao Xing angry, he naturally didn't dare to say it.
"Hmph!"
Zhao Xing snorted coldly and said: "This accident shows that the gunpowder was successful in the first place, but there were problems in other aspects, and the death was completely avoidable."
Zhao Xing also knows that sometimes some necessary sacrifices are unavoidable.
What he was most angry about was that this sacrifice was not necessary, and most of the people who studied gunpowder were dead.
Then you have to start over again.
Cao Mian lowered his head and did not dare to breathe.
"I am also responsible for this incident. I will provide compensation for the dead craftsmen and soldiers, and move the firearms supervisor farther away from Bianjing. In addition, do not limit the number of gunpowder experiments that craftsmen can use in the future, but we must ensure safety!" Zhao Xing said .
"Yes!" Cao Mian breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
"Go down!"
After sending Cao Mian away, Zhao Xing pondered.
Although this accident made him feel a little uncomfortable, as Cao Mian said, the gunpowder was successful.
This success does not mean that there is no need to continue research, but that gunpowder can already be used on the battlefield.
However, Zhao Xing was not in a hurry. It was not enough to have gunpowder to deal with the Liao Kingdom, not to mention that this was not the opportunity to take action against the Liao Kingdom.
After the Great Wall is built and Xixia is eliminated, it will be the time to launch troops against the Liao Kingdom.
It's just that the civil strife in Liao is now on the way to calming down. Once it does calm down, the construction of the Great Wall will inevitably be hindered.
"I hope the British troops sent out will have an effect."
Yelu Zhongyuan fled to the grassland, and it was difficult for Zhao Xing to provide help.
We can only pray that the British troops will be effective.
…………
Because there was no shock afterward, people's hearts gradually calmed down.
News came from Dong Zang that he promised to move his family to Hehuang.
It's just that relocation is not a trivial matter, and it's snowing on the plateau now, and there are Xixia soldiers watching eagerly.
Once discovered by Xixia and they send troops during the migration, they will inevitably suffer heavy losses and even be in danger of death.
After Zhao Xing consulted with Han Zhang, he responded with a letter to Dong Xiang and another letter to Gu Tingye in Hehuang.
…………
Hehuang
On the outskirts of Hezhou City, inside the Song Army camp.
Gu Tingye looked at the map and said: "This group of idiots from Tubo, if they hadn't listened to me and suffered a huge defeat, they would have defeated the Qiang people this time, and they would have been very likely to succeed in recruiting them to surrender!"
"Alas." Wang Shao sighed: "Tubo has been dazzled by several consecutive victories."
"These people are not stupid at all to be on guard against the Song Dynasty. If they hadn't banned reinforcements from entering Hehuang, why would they have been in such trouble?" Gu Tingye said bitterly.
The imperial court sent reinforcements, but the Tubo tribes felt that it was not difficult to deal with the Qiang people now, and they were unwilling to let the Song soldiers and horses enter Hehuang.
Gu Tingye had less than 30,000 soldiers and horses in his hands. After the last sneak attack, the Qiang people were very wary of the Song Dynasty soldiers and horses led by Gu Tingye.
The other side was all cavalry, and with the other side being so alert, Gu Tingye couldn't do anything to them.
At first, Tubo was okay with listening to Gu Tingye's advice. Later, when Tubo saw that the Qiang people were being defeated and lost many cities, their self-confidence swelled, and they began to listen less and less to Gu Tingye's advice.
"Zhong Huai, I think there is something wrong with the leader of Gexi. During this period, he has been instigating Tibet's attitude towards the Song Dynasty." Wang Shao said.
"This person is either plotting something, or he has secretly defected to Xixia. He wants to force us to retreat." Gu Tingye sneered.
"General!"
Sheng Changwu said: "Why bother? The pass into Hehuang is in our hands. If we forcefully move troops into Hehuang, Tubo still dares to fall out with us?"
"It's not a big deal to fall out, but without winning over the Qiang people, even if we force troops to move into Hehuang, we won't be able to completely control Hehuang in a short time. By then, Xixia will definitely intervene, and Tubo will forcefully move troops because of us. They will also lean towards Xixia, which will be even more disadvantageous." Gu Tingye shook his head.
If there was no Xixia, Gu Tingye would not care whether the Tibetans agreed or not, and would have forcibly mobilized troops long ago.
Despite the fact that the Tubo and Qiang people had gone through successive major battles, both sides still had hundreds of thousands of troops combined.
If the 30,000 additional soldiers and horses sent by the imperial court were transferred to Hehuang, he was sure to use 60,000 soldiers and horses to destroy the Tubo and Qiang people in Hehuang.
The problem is that with Xixia on his side, he cannot do this, otherwise it will be equivalent to forcing Tubo and the Qiang people to defect to Xixia.
Xixia is the reason why Gu Tingye is in a dilemma at this time.
Originally, if the Tubo tribes had listened to him, and the Qiang people would have experienced another major defeat, they would have been very likely to win over them.
Then he can unite with the Qiang people to destroy Tubo.
But after the Tubo tribes won several victories, their self-confidence was overwhelming, and there were people who were instigating them, so they didn't listen to him at all.
Instead, the Qiang people won a great victory and had a chance to breathe.
The Qiang people were definitely not willing to surrender at this time.
"Report!"
At this moment, a soldier ran in and saluted: "General, there are angels coming from Bianjing to convey the will!"
"Where's the angel?" Gu Tingye asked quickly.
"The angel has almost arrived at the camp!" the soldier replied.
Upon hearing this, Gu Tingye quickly took Wang Shao and others to greet him outside the camp.
After waiting for a while outside the camp, I saw a group of cavalry of about a hundred people roaring in from a distance.
When the cavalry came closer, Gu Tingye recognized the armor on the cavalry. They were the imperial guards of the Palace Front Division.
"Welcome the angel!" Gu Tingye led everyone to bow and salute.
The leading general turned over and dismounted, and said in return: "General Gu has misunderstood. I am no more than an envoy in front of the palace. This time I was ordered to deliver a letter to General Gu. I am not an angel!"
Because he needed to go deep into Hehuang, Zhao Xing did not send an internal servant, but ordered a commander from the former department of the palace to deliver the message.
When Gu Tingye heard this, he knew it was not a formal imperial edict, but he still politely invited the people into the camp.
After getting the letter, Gu Tingye asked Yuan Wenshao to be responsible for the good reception, and returned to the Chinese army camp with Wang Shao and others.
Gu Tingye first bowed in the direction of Bianjing, then opened the letter and read it.
"Zhonghuai, what did your Majesty say in the letter?" Wang Shao asked quickly when he saw Gu Tingye reading the letter.
"Zichun, take a look!" Gu Tingye handed the letter to Wang Shao.
(End of chapter)