novelonline Chapter 1181 Home
Chapter 1181 Home
Chapter 1181 Going Home
Wang Kuo followed his father in Xihe Road since he was young, while Zhang Yue was training in the enemy's staff while in Xihe Road.
After Zhang Yue returned to the court, he stayed in Xihe Road. After Zhang Yue was appointed as prime minister, he returned to the court and worked for a year.
Zhang Yue always regarded Wang Kuo as his son or nephew.
Wang Kuo was fully aware of the dispute between his father Wang Shao and Zhang Yue, and he had a fair opinion in his heart.
In his eyes, his father Wang Shao was an authoritative figure who had the final say. He wanted his soldiers to be loyal and die for him. If they obeyed his words, they would be rewarded; if they disobeyed, they would be severely punished or even executed.
He once saw with his own eyes that Wang Shao ordered a dozen soldiers who had followed him for many years to cut off their wrists because of some minor mistakes. Over the years, he had never doubted it for a moment and cut off their wrists on the spot without saying a word.
The scene of more than a dozen hands being chopped off frightened Wang Kuo, but his father Wang Shao remained calm and composed.
But Zhang Yue is approachable and often allows his subordinates to show their strengths and give them space to develop, even allowing them to go against his will to a certain extent. But the premise is that you have to get things done well.
When it comes to military talent, Wang Shao is definitely better than Zhang Yue, but when it comes to who they work for, the people below them definitely tend to be on Zhang Yue's side.
It is true that when working for Zhang Yue, the people below him have more autonomy.
There was a sentence in the edict that Zhang Yue gave to Wang Kuo that made his own decision.
Therefore, Wang Kuo decided to act according to his own ideas. When his soldiers heard the news that the Guiyi Army was massacred by the Dangxiang, they began to back off. Some even felt that they had completed the instructions from their superiors and could now report back.
However, Wang Kuo did not do so. He personally led his troops north to search.
At this time, the navy told Wang Kuo a good news. It turned out that they found a living person among the corpses drifting from upstream to downstream. The other party claimed to be Cao Zhongshou, the current leader of the Guiyi Army.
Wang Kuo was overjoyed and immediately returned to the navy camp to meet Cao Zhongshou, who had escaped death.
In fact, Cao Zhongshou was also lucky. After the Dangxiang people shot him and his subordinates with arrows that day, they did not even examine the bodies but threw them directly into the river nearby.
Cao Zhongshou survived the wound because of the chain mail. After the Dangxiang people took off his chain mail and threw him into the river, Cao Zhongshou woke up immediately under the stimulation of the cold water. Fortunately, the armor was taken off, otherwise Cao Zhongshou would have drowned in the river.
Cao Zhongshou, who had drunk a lot of river water, was floating in the river. He was seriously injured and was doomed to die, but at this time he met the Xihe Navy anchored downstream. They fished Cao Zhongshou out and reported it to Wang Kuo.
Wang Kuo was overjoyed when he saw Cao Zhongshou, as he knew that half of his mission was accomplished.
Cao Zhongshou, who was seriously injured and had a high fever, insisted on getting up from the bed and bowing to Wang Kuo when he saw him, saying, "Thank you, General, for saving my life!"
Wang Kuo helped the man up and said, "I came here on the orders of the court to help you. I dare not say that I have done you any favor."
Cao Zhongshou bowed again and said, "I request to return to my homeland and pledge my loyalty to the Emperor of the Song Dynasty forever. I also ask the General to save my people."
Wang Kuo helped Cao Zhongshou up and said, "Brother Cao, the court ordered me to support the Guiyi Army. Now that I have arrived here, I will not sit idly by."
“No matter how difficult it is, there is no reason to return empty-handed.”
"Thank you, General!"
After Wang Kuo appeased Cao Zhongshou, he returned to the cabin and complained to his attendants: "I thought the Guiyi Army was brave and good at fighting, but now it seems that they are still far inferior to the Dangxiang Army."
The generals had also learned of the Guiyi Army's tragic defeat. One general said, "I thought we could accept an elite force for the court, but now it seems that the Guiyi Army is not very strong. It is meaningless for us to save them from Renduo Baozhong's pursuit."
"If we force them to go to Lanzhou, not only will it anger the Tanguts, but it will also cause our army to perish here."
Wang Kuo said: "No, we should immediately prepare to go north to meet the Guiyi Army."
The generals on both sides were doubtful and said, "I am still worried. Even if we rescue the Guiyi Army and settle them down, will the court be worried that they will rebel? How many troops will we need to prevent them from rebelling?"
Wang Kuo said to the crowd, "You are wrong. This matter is not about how many people are rescued, nor about the return of the Yi Army. It is about the court's response to the Han people in the northwest. As long as you are willing to return to Han, the court will not let you down."
"The emperor and Lord Zhang have settled this account!"
After that, Wang Kuo ordered the navy to march north to Lianglizabo, while he himself led 500 navy soldiers on foot to the place Cao Zhongshou mentioned to meet up with the Guiyi Army and the Long family's tribe.
When Wang Kuo arrived there, he indeed saw the old, weak, women and children from the two tribes who had retreated, among whom there were very few strong and healthy men.
When the other side learned that they were Song soldiers, they all fell to the ground and cried loudly. Seeing them lying on the ground and asking for help, Wang Kuo and the other 500 Song soldiers were all moved.
"Please General, take us back to Han!"
To be honest, Wang Kuo had considered his own interests more before, but after seeing the miserable plight of the Guiyi Army, he immediately forgot all these things.
In particular, Wang Kuo saw a woman with injured legs and feet holding a baby in her arms and legs, and the baby begged Wang Kuo to accept the baby, and then he committed suicide on the spot.
Wang Kuo made a decision. He immediately led all the women, children and injured people to where the navy was stationed and helped them get on board.
Although there were many naval ships in Xihe River, they were all small boats and could not carry many people.
Therefore, we had to allow as many elderly, weak, women, children and injured people on board as possible.
At this moment, human nature is both glorious and despicable.
After carrying nearly 10,000 people in one go, the Song Dynasty navy was fully loaded, making it almost impossible to sail.
Then the Xihe navy hoisted the sails, rowed the deep-drafted boats, and slowly left the shore, embarking on the journey back east. All these people were so happy that they could board the navy's boats and return to Han territory alive, and they all cried.
The tens of thousands of remaining people were both happy and sad as they watched their loved ones board the ship and return home.
Two different destinies separated them. Many people knew that this might be the last time they would see each other in their lives. They kowtowed to each other, and a scene of sons bidding farewell to their fathers, wives bidding farewell to their husbands, and brothers bidding farewell to their brothers was played out.
There was a sudden cry on the shore.
Wang Kuo and five hundred Song soldiers saw this scene on the shore. He didn't intend to do anything that would go down in history, and he didn't even know why he did it.
But Wang Kuo did not choose to board the ship. He looked at the baby in the cradle in the armor in front of him, and then led the people on the shore to return east by land.
Not counting the 10,000 people who just left the ship, more than 60,000 people returned to the east, and in the end there were only less than 10,000 people left.
Most of the remaining people were young and strong, so they walked much faster.
However, when they arrived at the bank of the Yellow River after traveling day and night, they suddenly saw smoke and dust billowing behind them. It turned out that the Dangxiang army had arrived.
The Yellow River is roaring on the side, there are vast fields here, and on the opposite side are loess plateaus.
Under the setting sun, Wang Kuo led 500 naval soldiers and the best warriors from the two tribes to line up with their backs to the river. The leader of the Long family said to Wang Kuo, "We can't win."
Wang Kuo nodded and said to his attendants, "We are in this desperate battle. We may have a chance. Are there any brave men who would die with me?"
The leader of the Long family drew his sword and was willing to follow.
Seeing the smoke and dust in the distance stop, Wang Kuo and three hundred elite soldiers left the battlefield and shouted, "Are there any generals who can fight against the army?"
A group of more than ten riders came galloping from a distance.
But I saw that the dozen or so riders stopped far away, threw their weapons on the ground, and then moved forward more than a hundred steps.
He stopped about a hundred steps away from Wang Kuo's formation.
The leader asked, "Is that the general on the other side Song? Tell me your name?"
Wang Kuo left the battle and said, "General Wang Kuo, I wonder who you are?"
The other party said in a very familiar voice: "So you are Wang Chunyang's son. I am very sorry that I didn't fight with your father."
"I am Nita Hosotada!"
When people in the rear heard this name, they were all shocked. It was this man who massacred tens of thousands of his own people.
Everyone hated and feared Nida Baozhong.
Wang Kuo looked at the other party. This Renduo Baozhong and his father Renduo Yading were both famous generals of Xixia. Before, Xixia had been attacking Mingsha City for a long time but failed. Li Bingchang, the king of Xixia, replaced the generals in the battle and let Renduo and his son lead the battle, and finally captured Mingsha City.
After the last defeat of the Dangxiang in Lanzhou, Li Bingchang sighed that it was the lack of their participation that led to the defeat of the Dangxiang.
Liang Yimei had always regarded the father and son as a thorn in his side and had tried his best to exclude them. Now that Liang Yimei was dead, Li Bingchang was not foolish and entrusted them with important tasks. Wang Kuo knew that his own emperor also valued them very much and believed that they were the decisive figures in the success or failure of the Liangzhou campaign.
Renda Baozhong said: "After my lord and Song made peace, the two families have not invaded each other and have lived in harmony. What is your intention in leading your army into my territory and kidnapping my people?"
Wang Kuo said: "These people all voluntarily submitted to our dynasty, so the court sent me to take them back. I didn't mean to offend them. As for the matter afterwards, the court will give you an explanation!"
Renda Baozhong said: "How can you say that they invaded my territory without any offense? If I let these people go, how will the world look at me, Renda Baozhong?"
Wang Kuo said: "They will praise your kindness."
Jinda Baozhong said, "What if I don't want you to take them away?"
Wang Kuo said: "We have no choice but to fight."
After hearing this, Nita Baozhong hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, I agree. Let them live."
Wang Kuo was stunned. He did not expect that Renduo Baozhong would agree so readily. He said, "The court will reply to you as soon as possible."
Jinda Baozhong nodded and rode away. Then he stretched out his hand and suddenly many cavalrymen appeared all over the mountains and plains, their iron armor reflecting the sunlight. It was unknown how many soldiers and horses had followed the other side to this place.
The scene of the Dangxiang troops suddenly emerging from the ground shocked Wang Kuo and his men.
The Dangxiang cavalry circled Wang Kuo's troops half a circle and then left.
Wang Kuo knew very well that if the enemy took up arrows and shot at them, his 300 elite soldiers would be killed immediately. Yet he still had the audacity to talk about fighting to the death with Renda Baozhong.
Wang Kuo watched Renduo Baozhong leave with sweat all over his forehead, thinking to himself, I used to think that taking Liangzhou would be easy, but now that Renduo and his son are not eliminated, it will be very difficult.
Just as Wang Kuo was thinking this, a huge cloud of dust suddenly rose in the south.
It turned out that the Song army had crossed the Yellow River from Lanzhou to meet the troops returning from the east. No wonder Ren Duo Baozhong showed mercy. He did not want to fight the Song army in Lanzhou after annihilating this group of Song troops.
The rescuers came with 5,000 light cavalry led by the fierce general Wang Wenyu.
Wang Kuo saw Wang Wenyu rushing to this scene with his own eyes, and he felt relieved immediately.