With the surrender of the Great Zhou, the so-called alliance of the four countries was already dead.
While rushing to Handan City, Ouyang Shuo ordered the Chamberlain of Dependencies to send envoys to Qin, Tang and Song, asking them to seriously consider submitting to the Great Xia.
"The Great Xia's unification of China is unstoppable and cannot be reversed by human power. I do not wish for the people of China to face the threat of war after resisting the natural disaster. If the Kings of Qin (Tang and Song) are willing to submit, I will treat them with respect. I hope you will consider it carefully and give me an answer. "Ouyang Shuo said.
On the 1st of June, Ouyang Shuo returned to the capital and so did the envoys.
On the 5th of June, a week had passed since the envoys left, but there was still no reply from the three countries. Ouyang Shuo realized that the three countries would not give up until they saw the coffin and were prepared to fight to the death.
The Emperor's attachment to power was far deeper than Ouyang Shuo imagined. He would rather die than submit. Since that was the case, he could only see the truth on the battlefield.
…
On the 10th of June, after a short rest, the Hedong Army returned to Hedong Province. Together with the Soaring Eagle Army, they launched a pincer attack on the Qin Dynasty from the east and west.
Han Xin was still leading the Leopard Army to monitor the Tang Dynasty.
To be on the safe side, Ouyang Shuo ordered the Red Eagle Army to lead the Second Corps of the Brave Tiger Army westward from Ludong Province to the Central Plains Province to assist the Leopard Army in deterring the Tang Dynasty.
Needless to say, Ouyang Shuo's target was the Song Dynasty.
In order to reduce casualties, they had to pick on the weak. Among the three countries, the Song Dynasty may have the largest territory, but in terms of overall national power, it was the weakest.
Firstly, when Lord Chunshen retreated from Jingchu Province, he brought half of the province's essence to Ludong Province, leaving behind half an empty shell.
Moreover, the Song Dynasty had only taken over Ludong Province for half a year and suffered from a rare natural disaster. They suffered heavy losses and had a weak foundation. Unlike the Qin and Tang Dynasties, although they only occupied half a province, they had cultivated for two to three years.
Secondly, compared to the Qin and Tang Dynasties, the Song Dynasty lacked famous generals and their soldiers lacked courage.
The Qin Dynasty had Wang Jian and Wang Ben, but the Tang Dynasty was even more impressive. Even without the God of War Li Jing, they still had Li Ji, Hou Junji, Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Yaojin.
In comparison, the only general that the Great Song could send out was probably the emperor, Zhao Kuangyin.
In order to destroy Great Song, Great Xia was prepared to mobilize the first, second, and third legions of the Yulin Royal Guards, the first, second, third, and fourth legions of the Xiangjiang Army, and the first, third, and fourth legions of the Brave Tiger Army.
A total of ten legions, seven hundred thousand soldiers.
Throughout the middle of June, Great Xia was making final preparations for the war of annihilation and the possible war between Qin and Tang. By the 25th of June, all the armies were in place.
The rations and resources were also in place. A great battle was about to break out!
…
On the 26th day of the sixth month, Xu Da commanded three corps of the Yulin Royal Guards and charged into Jingchu Province from the border of Xiangnan Province. At the same time, Zhang Xutuo commanded the Xiang River army to advance from Jiang Chuan Province to Jing Chu Province.
The Brave Tiger Army under Sun Bin's command charged in from the border of Anan Province.
The three armies completely sealed off the south and east of the Song Dynasty. They were prepared to advance steadily from the south to the north and from the east to the west. They were going to use the strategy of nibbling away at the Song Dynasty and forcing it to surrender.
Ouyang Shuo was very patient.
At the same time, Di Chen and Lord Chunshen, as well as [Imperial Wind] who was being reorganized, used their respective influence in Jingchu Province to instigate and create opportunities for the army.
Zhao Kuangyin, who was unwilling to be killed, mobilized five hundred thousand Great Song Imperial Guards to obstruct them along the way.
Looking at the situation, even if this was not an evenly matched war, it would be a protracted war. Even if Great Xia had the advantage in military strength, it would not be easy to conquer Jingchu Province.
Once the war dragged on, it would be a lose-lose situation.
At this moment, Li Jing, who had been leading his troops to attack Tubo, finally found the ghost behind the Tubo Dynasty. It was the Ashoka Dynasty of the Indian Region, which lived next to Tubo.
Mentioning the Ashoka Dynasty gave Ouyang Shuo a headache.
The number of players in the Indian Region was similar to that of the Huaxia Region, but there was only one King City, unlike the Huaxia Region which had nine King Cities. Such a setting created a freak dynasty.
What did it mean for five million Imperial Guards to be gathered in one city?
Even in the seventh year of Gaia, the number of Imperial Guards of the Ashoka Dynasty still reached four and a half million.
Therefore, as early as last year, Ouyang Shuo realized that the biggest obstacle for Great Xia to conquer India in the future was not the Peacock Dynasty, nor the Gudo Dynasty, but the Ashoka Dynasty that had always kept a low profile.
After a few years of expansion, the Ashoka Dynasty, with the King City of Delhi as its core, expanded to the surrounding areas. Today, it already occupied more than one-third of the territory of the Indian Region.
Not only was it a threat to Great Xia in the future, but it had also become a great threat to the Peacock Dynasty and the Gudo Dynasty.
According to the information obtained by the Black Snake Guards, after the destruction of all the large territories, the Peacock Dynasty and the Gudo Dynasty showed signs of joining forces. Their purpose was to deal with their common enemy, the Ashoka Dynasty.
As long as the Ashoka Dynasty existed, the two dynasties could forget about having the right to speak in the Indian Region.
Unexpectedly, Ashoka's ambition was so great that when the Peacock Dynasty and the Gudo Dynasty were joining forces, he could still find the energy to extend his tentacles into the Huaxia Region.
This was something that Ouyang Shuo could not tolerate.
After reading the battle report submitted by Li Jing, Ouyang Shuo was silent for a long time before he said coldly, "Ashoka, since you've joined in, don't think about escaping unscathed. Do you really think that you can do whatever you want with four or five million troops?"
"Men!"
"Here!"
"Pass the order to the frontline. No matter the cost, we must end the battle to destroy the Song Dynasty within half a month."
"Yes!"
The Ashoka Dynasty's involvement in the Tubo war made Ouyang Shuo realize that he had to quickly end the war between the three countries, even if he had to pay the price of some casualties.
Only then could he reorganize the army and deal with the threat of the Ashoka Dynasty with all his might.
Ouyang Shuo was really not sure if the Ashoka Dynasty would take the opportunity of the Great Xia falling into the quagmire of war to continuously increase their troops in Tubo and pose a direct threat to the Flying Bear Army led by Li Jing and even the western region of the dynasty.
Ouyang Shuo could not take this risk.
"Summon Honglu Minister Zhang Yi!" Ouyang Shuo ordered.
"Yes!"
After a while, Zhang Yi hurried over.
Previously, the Honglu Minister Zhang Yi had sent envoys to the three countries, but all of them returned with nothing. This made Zhang Yi very ashamed. As soon as he saw the emperor, he apologized to the emperor. "The Honglu Minister Zhang Yi did not handle this matter well. Your Majesty, please punish me!"
Ouyang Shuo waved his hand, not wanting to pursue this matter. He only stared at Zhang Yi and said in a deep voice, "Send another envoy to Xiangyang and tell Zhao Kuangyin that the Great Song Dynasty has to surrender within ten days. Otherwise, once Xiangyang is conquered, I will exterminate the entire Zhao Family!"
"Yes!"
Zhang Yi's heart trembled, and his back became wet. He had never seen the emperor so angry.
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