Chapter 797 - 47: Every Strike Deadly, Renowned and Feared

"Beside Jingyuan Road, how many new and old graves are there, left unattended?"

"For a millennium, the belief that the Gu Clan upholds is for the countless people of Kyushu, for all the common people in the world!"

"And not for you fickle and treacherous nations!"

Gu Rui was naturally adept at such matters as raising a banner against Western Xia.

However, what he was saying at that moment wasn’t about raising a banner.

Its meaning had only one point.

— Why should the Gu Clan show mercy to foreign enemies?

In the past thousand years, when had the Gu Clan ever been merciful to foreign enemies?

Actually, everyone misunderstood the current situation under heaven.

The concept of unifying Kyushu indeed still existed.

But for Song, Liao, and Western Xia, all three were pure foreign enemies.

There is only one legitimate authority.

Western Xia is contending, Liao is contending, and the Great Song is contending too.

If this isn’t an external enemy, then what is it!?

Upon hearing this, the Western Xia envoy immediately fell silent. He wanted to refute something but didn’t know how, so he could only leave in a huff.

And to this, Gu Rui did not intervene.

— Of course, this storm against the Gu Clan would naturally not subside so easily.

While resisting the main force of the Great Song Army, Western Xia was also inciting civil unrest.

They wanted to use this to make the Gu Clan hesitant.

But they ultimately underestimated Gu Rui.

Gu Rui didn’t even need to take proactive measures; great scholars would naturally advocate for the Gu Clan!

Including the people of the Great Song.

Now, the influence of the Gu Clan throughout the Great Song was exceedingly transcendent.

This transcendence naturally stemmed from their status.

Ever since Emperor Zhao Kuangyin passed away, the power of the entire Great Song had almost always been in the hands of the Gu Clan. The current flourishing era of the Great Song was created by the Gu Clan.

How could the people not look up to the Gu Clan?

As for the people of Western Xia... it was the same.

In the past, they might have cursed the Gu Clan.

But now, everything was different.

This time, Gu Rui had given a strict order prohibiting soldiers from harming the populace, fundamentally ensuring the foundation of the Great Song.

Moreover, the people of Western Xia were initially living worse than those in the Great Song... and now a natural disaster had occurred.

All these factors were pushing Western Xia into an uncontrollable situation.

...

The twelfth year of the Longhe era, at the end of September.

— Youzhou is in crisis!

After resting for three days, Zhong E’s army, riding on the victory in Xiazhou, marched north along the Wuding River, laying siege to the city of Youzhou. Although the garrison there was larger than that of Xiazhou, their morale was already in disarray.

Facing the Song Army that was like a tiger, carrying the momentum of a tidal wave, the garrison had no will to fight.

In just two days, the garrison collapsed instantly.

With the fall of Youzhou, the last southeastern barrier of Xingqing Prefecture was completely breached. The vanguard of the Song cavalry could already see the shimmering waters of the Yellow River, exposing the Xia capital completely to the enemy’s advance.

Almost simultaneously, Yao Si’s unit, after capturing Shizhou, did not rush westward but quickly split their forces northward, feigning a direct assault on Yinzhou.

The Western Xia Jingsai Military Command stationed at Yinzhou indeed fell for the ruse.

Perhaps because the internal situation in Western Xia was too dire at the time, in their panic, they hurriedly contracted their forces to defend and await reinforcements.

This move effectively isolated the Western Xia garrison in the Hetao Region, causing almost all of them to surrender to the Great Song. Vast fertile pastures and rich fields in the Hetao Region were left undefended and were seized by the Song Army.

And it wasn’t over yet.

The Qiang army led by Dong Zhan, after besieging for over twenty days, finally broke through the main camp of the Xiping Military Command.

The defending general was killed in battle, and the remaining forces fled to the west.

As the news spread, various southwestern tribes of Western Xia turned against them, no longer supplying grain and soldiers to Xingqing Prefecture, instead beginning to harass the retreating Xia army.

In just a few months, the situation changed entirely!

Not only had Liao maintained its offensive, but under these conditions, Western Xia showed signs of impending defeat!

It was too lethal!

Gu Rui’s forces struck precisely at the life veins of Western Xia.

And as the news spread more widely.

Within the Great Song, even many people began to have ambitions of directly annihilating Western Xia, and then Liao, to unify the land.

But of course, Gu Rui couldn’t help but have such thoughts as well.

Yet he also understood.

This was impossible.

Currently, although Western Xia and Liao harbored mutual hatred and were even at war.

But when faced with national demise.

In the spirit of shared survival, both countries would undoubtedly unite again against the Great Song.

And as for the Great Song—

It had yet to acquire the promised territories and tributes from Liao, and the newly conquered lands of Western Xia had not been properly settled; all these needed time.

Under such circumstances, dreaming of conquering the world in one battle was obviously unrealistic.

Gu Rui naturally understood this.

In fact, when he devised the strategy to weaken both nations simultaneously, he had already considered that this matter might still need to be handed over to future generations.

He was no longer young.

Over the years, he had invested significant efforts for the entire realm.

An excellent strategist often plans far beyond others.

During this war, he did not personally go to the front lines because he had health issues.

Many matters, he could only leave to future generations to accomplish!

...

Time flew by swiftly.

The entire realm kept changing with the coming and going of various pieces of news.

And the developments were not beyond Gu Rui’s expectations.

With the situation in Western Xia becoming increasingly severe.

In Longhe’s twelfth year, December.

Liao.

In the northern border of the Central Capital Road, Luoma River Valley.

The chilly wind blew, stirring the withered yellow grass scraps, and swaying two great banners facing each other across the temporary camps— the white command flag of Western Xia and the black wolf flag of Liao.