binnovel Chapter 341: The Flower of Famous Generals Withers
Chapter 341: The Flower of Famous Generals Withers
When Yelu Xiuge was fleeing to the grassland with more than 100 soldiers, he encountered 40,000 reinforcements brought by Yelu Xiezhen. After telling the story of the annihilation of his army with great grief and shame, he fainted from anger.
Yelu Xiuge, who was taken back to Shangjing, never regained consciousness and lay in bed like a living dead for more than two years. Today is the day when this famous general who has spent his entire life in the military and dominated the world comes to an end.
After receiving the news, Empress Dowager Xiao and the young emperor came to the Prince's Mansion to see him off. The death of Yelu Xiu'ge, a famous general and the King of the Northern Court, was a pain in the hearts of the Khitan people of the Liao Dynasty. Moreover, the last battle of Marshal Yelu Xiu'ge's life was a tragic defeat. Nearly 100,000 Liao troops were wiped out by the Song army, shaking the foundation of the Liao Dynasty.
The King of the South Courtyard, Yelu Xiezhen, and the King of the North Courtyard, Yelu Xiu'ge, are both members of the royal family. Yelu Xiu'ge is Yelu Xiezhen's elder. Today, he is here to help preside over the funeral as the younger nephew of the royal family.
The young emperor lit a stick of incense and couldn't help weeping. He was pushed to the throne at a young age, and one of the three pillars of support in his mind suddenly collapsed.
Empress Dowager Xiao took the incense handed to her by the palace maid, bowed, and put it into the incense burner with her own hands. Her heart ached and her eyes turned red, almost shedding tears.
One of the pillars supporting the Liao Kingdom fell down. Was it a sign that the building was about to collapse? The heartbroken Empress Dowager Xiao glanced at the young emperor with a childish face beside her. It seemed as if a heavy stone was pressing on her heart.
Yelu Xiezhen looked at the silver threads in Empress Dowager Xiao's black hair at the temples, and the fatigue and depression that could not be concealed on her beautiful face, and he sighed in his heart!
The Empress Dowager, who was once so tenacious, wise and courageous, was also hit hard and looked tired and depressed.
Zhao Defang, Song is now rich and prosperous, with strong soldiers and horses. When are you going to take over Liao and Xixia? Our Liao soldiers and Xixia warriors are already ready to fight to the death!
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please go to the back and have a rest!" The princess, who was dressed in plain clothes and had white flowers in her hair, bowed and invited them.
Empress Dowager Xiao reached out and pulled her up, comforting her: "Princess, please accept my condolences and take care of yourself. This palace still depends on you to support it. If you have any difficulties, please come to the palace and tell me. Marshal Yelu Xiuge has fought for the Liao Kingdom and made countless contributions. I and the emperor will not treat you unfairly."
Princess Yelu hurriedly thanked him with tears in her eyes. Although the Queen Mother was also a woman, she was broad-minded and wise. She never blamed Yelu Xiu'ge for the disastrous defeat that caused the Liao Kingdom to fall into a state of national decline. Instead, she always overcame all objections and suppressed the voices that wanted to punish Yelu Xiu'ge.
Empress Dowager Xiao and the Emperor did not stay long. After drinking a cup of tea and comforting Princess Yelu, they returned to the palace. …
Since the Song Dynasty implemented the New Deal reforms, the situation has improved day by day. The people, who have land to farm, enough food to eat and clothes to keep warm, can truly live and work in peace and contentment.
After the poor people at the bottom of society no longer have to worry about food and clothing, they can save some money and buy some daily necessities. During festivals, they can also buy fish and meat to improve their meals. The increased consumption of the large base of people at the bottom of society has promoted the prosperity of business.
The aristocratic families and wealthy landlords who were left with only a thousand acres of food-grabbing land while the rest of the land was snatched away by the Regent's new policies were arrested and imprisoned, and their property was confiscated, and their families completely declined.
Those who were good at judging the situation had other profitable businesses besides huge amounts of land. After shifting their energy and financial resources to business, the heads of the aristocratic families and the wealthy and powerful families were surprised to find that although the new policy reforms increased commercial taxes, their business was better than before and they could make more money than before.
As a result, the enthusiasm of the people who had their own fields was unprecedentedly high, the grain yield per mu increased, and the number of mu of reclaimed land reached the highest level since the founding of the Song Dynasty.
The improvement in the consumption level of the entire nation promoted the prosperity of business, and tax revenue increased several times. The abundant treasury made Kou Zhun, who was promoted to the Minister of Revenue, happy every day.
The military reform has also been thoroughly completed. Except for the Moyun Cavalry and Feiyun Cavalry, which are the personal armies of His Royal Highness the Regent, the imperial guards guarding the capital have been carefully selected and reduced to 50,000 troops.
Regent Zhao Defang also formed four new armies with strong combat effectiveness. Each army had 20,000 troops. War horses, armor, weapons, divine arm bows, and thunder bombs were standard equipment for each new army.
The commander of the first army of the new army was Yang Yanzhao, who had made great military achievements, and the main backbone was also the Yang family's Volcano Army.
The commander of the second army of the new army was the young general Cao Wei, the commander of the third army was Gao Yingxiong, and the commander of the fourth army was Cheng Yu. The regent Zhao Defang boldly reused the two young generals and also argued with the civil and military officials in a domineering manner before making the decision.
It is worth mentioning that the number of female soldiers in the Big Foot Women's Corps has also expanded to three thousand.
Pang Ying, the commander of the first battalion of the Big Foot Women's Army, lived up to the princess's expectations. His son took after his tall mother and his handsome father, which was a combination of the good and the bad. When his son was three months old, Pang Ying moved into the military camp with his family, and led the way in training his 1,000 female soldiers every day.
After every day of hard training, Pang Ying was covered in sweat. After eating a big pot meal with the female soldiers in the barracks, he returned to the family compound behind the military camp.
She first looked at her son who was coaxed to sleep by his nanny, chatted for a while with her old mother who was doing needlework, and then went to the lower room to take a bath.
Pang Ying took a shower, then quickly washed his clothes, hung them on the rope in the yard, and went back to his room to rest.
Shen Qiu, a member of the Women's Army, was concentrating on tinkering with a bronze model under the candlelight. When the lights in the room dimmed, Shen Qiu looked up at his tall and sturdy wife and smiled apologetically, "My wife, go to bed first! I have to be busy all night."
Pang Ying looked at the bloodshot in Shen Qiu's eyes and walked up to him distressedly, "My husband, you have been busy for two consecutive nights. If you continue like this, you will become as thin as a stick.
You must go to bed early tonight, have a good rest, and tinker with your cannon tomorrow."
"No! The prince said that everything is ready except for the east wind. I must develop this cannon as soon as possible. When the prince leads his troops to conquer the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia, this cannon that can fire gunpowder will be a powerful weapon!"
Pang Ying picked up Shen Qiu without saying anything, put him under his arm, and walked towards the inner dormitory.
"Oh! Oh!...My wife! You...you put me down. How can people see me like this? Can't I just walk by myself?..." Shen Qiu kicked his hands and feet, but his protests were ineffective.
Pang Ying threw her husband onto the bed, took off his shoes, and covered him with the quilt. "Have a good sleep, or I'll throw that broken thing of yours away tomorrow."
Shen Qiu was defeated, his heart warmed, a smile appeared on the corner of his lips, his eyes were gentle, "My wife, you are also tired all day, let's sleep together!"
Pang Ying took off her boat-sized shoes, opened the quilt and crawled into the bed. She stretched out her long arms to hold her husband's waist and asked, "My husband, if the cannon you've been tinkering with is successfully made, will the prince send troops to attack the Liao Kingdom?"
Shen Qiu pressed his face against the softness of his wife's chest, which exuded the fragrance of a fresh bath. He greedily took a few deep breaths and answered in a muffled voice: "The prince said that he would send troops to the north in March after the Chinese New Year. If the cannon cannot be made, we can only bring thunder bombs. I want to make the cannon so that I can add a powerful weapon to the prince's northern expedition army."
Pang Ying gently rubbed Shen Qiu's head with his big hands, feeling extremely proud of his husband. The princess had personally praised him, saying that Shen Qiu alone was as powerful as an entire army!