Chapter 603: Establishing a Crown Prince and Leading the Army North to Yanyun
When Lin Hao entered the hall, Zhao Heng immediately said:

"There is only one thing I want to say today, and that is that I plan to make Prince Sheng Zhao Zhen the crown prince. What do you think, my dear ministers?"

After hearing what Zhao Heng said, all the civil and military officials in the court became excited. Recently, there have been rumors circulating in the palace that the emperor is suffering from some kind of hysteria.

It is said that he has nightmares every night and his health is getting worse day by day.

Before, everyone was skeptical, but now they believe it completely.

After all, no matter how the officials petitioned before, the emperor had always refused to give up his opposition to the crown prince, but today he took the initiative to establish a crown prince.

Could it be that the emperor’s health can no longer hold on?

However, all the civil and military officials in the court looked at Lin Hao and Xiao Qinyan, obviously waiting for these two big men to speak.

Then Lin Hao and Xiao Qinyan looked at each other, instantly understood each other's meaning, and said in unison:
"The official sage!"

As Lin Hao and Xiao Qinyan spoke, the ministers immediately shouted:

"Your Majesty is wise, and there is no point in waiting for us!"

The ministers said in unison, followed by a flood of flattery praising his achievements.

"Since all the nobles have no objection, then this matter is settled!"

Then Zhao Heng glanced at Cui, who immediately said:
"Issue an imperial decree to appoint Prince Sheng Zhao Zhen as the crown prince, confer titles on Xiao Qinyan as the crown prince's grand tutor, and Lin Hao as the crown prince's grand tutor!"

"As for the prince's guardian~!"

Having said that, Zhao Heng paused and glanced around the civil and military officials in the court, but all the officials he was familiar with were gone, and he was not very familiar with the others.

So Zhao Heng could only helplessly say: "Everyone may recommend candidates for the crown prince's guardian!"

In fact, Zhao Heng was not satisfied with either Lin Hao or Xiao Qinyan, but now that the two of them had already established their power, if he did not choose them, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Therefore, he hoped to choose a strong person who could suppress Lin Hao and Xiao Qinyan to serve as the Prince's Guardian and be responsible for the Prince's safety.

Looking at all the civil and military officials in the court following the lead of Lin Hao and Xiao Qinyan, Zhao Heng sighed in his heart.

In fact, what he hoped most was that there would be numerous factions in the court. Otherwise, if all the civil and military officials in the court were of one mind, he would not be able to sleep well.

The problem is that this trend has already appeared in the court. Just when Zhao Heng was still thinking about it, suddenly the guards came to the hall with messengers.

"Your Majesty, urgent news from eight hundred miles away!" The panting messenger saw Zhao Heng and immediately shouted:

"Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from Yanmen County eight hundred miles away that the Liao army has invaded the border. Your Majesty, please send troops to rescue!" The messenger handed Gao Hu's urgent report to Eunuch Cui.

"What?" Zhao Heng was shocked.

Zhao Heng was horrified when he heard this. How come Song and Liao were fighting again? They had signed the Treaty of Chanyuan and had finally put down the border threat, how come they were fighting again!
Zhao Heng hurriedly read the memorial received from Eunuch Cui. It turned out that since Gao Hu led 50,000 troops to Yanmen to confront the Liao Kingdom, the border has finally calmed down temporarily.

Unexpectedly, the Liao Kingdom started another border conflict. Zhao Heng then looked at the civil and military officials in the court and said:

"My dear ministers, do you have any countermeasures?"

A group of civil servants began to criticize the Liao Kingdom, but when Zhao Heng asked for a solution, they all stopped talking like ducks with their necks strangled, and then looked at Xiao Qinyan silently.

The generals were ready to make a move, but when they saw that Lin Hao didn't say anything, they could only remain silent and wait for Lin Hao's decision.

Seeing that all the civil and military officials in the court were cowardly and silent, Zhao Heng was immediately furious:

"Useless, a bunch of useless. You guys are so reasonable on weekdays, but you are useless when the critical moment comes!"

"What use is there for me to have you~!" He then threw the memorial to the ground, and it then slid down the stairs.

For a moment, the whole court was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. However, this situation was intentional by Lin Hao, and naturally it would not remain deadlocked forever.

So Lin Hao stood up and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead 50,000 troops to drive out the Liao army. If Your Majesty can give me 100,000 troops, I will not only drive out the Liao army, but also take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun for Your Majesty!"

Zhao Heng looked at Lin Hao suddenly, trying to see whether Lin Hao was sincere or just lying, but he saw that Lin Hao looked calm and even seemed eager to try.

Afterwards, Zhao Heng calculated in his mind that Lin Hao had now become the representative of the military. If he could allow Lin Hao to go to the border to fight against the Liao Kingdom, it would just weaken his control over the military.

By the way, throw Lin Hao, the guy who often appears in his dreams like a nightmare, far away.

He could also take this opportunity to transfer Gao Hu back, so that he could regain control of the military power in Bianliang and get the entire court back on track.

It would be even better if Lin Hao died outside. In this way, there would be no need for the above to do anything and Lin Hao's forces could be eliminated directly.

Thinking of this, Zhao Heng made up his mind and prepared to place a heavy bet, taking out a big enough chip to attract Lin Hao.

So Zhao Heng walked up the jade steps step by step, and came to Lin Hao and said confidently:

"If Marquis Jing'an can really take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun for our Song Dynasty, I will grant you the throne!"

"Wow!" As Zhao Heng promised the throne as a reward for regaining the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the entire court was immediately shocked.

All the ministers, civil and military, were shocked. Even Xiao Qinyan felt a little dry in the mouth when he heard this. This was the throne!

This was the throne that had been passed down from generation to generation. The fact that the emperor placed such a heavy bet on it truly shocked all the civil and military officials in the court.

Upon hearing this, Lin Hao expressed his opinion without hesitation:

"I thank you for your grace. If I fail to take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, I will die as a token of my guilt!"

······
At the same time, in the Queen's bedroom.

"My queen, news just came from the previous dynasty that the emperor has appointed Prince Sheng as the crown prince, and has appointed Xiao Qinyan as the crown prince's grand tutor, and Marquis Jing'an as the crown prince's grand tutor. However, the position of the crown prince's junior protector is temporarily vacant!"

A eunuch was reporting to Liu Wan what happened in the morning court, and then he reported to Liu Wan about the Liao invasion and Lin Hao's volunteering to lead the troops to retake the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

"Yes, I understand!"

In fact, Liu Wan was not surprised at all when Zhao Heng appointed Zhao Zhen as the crown prince. It was something she had expected.

However, Lin Hao's volunteering to lead the troops was beyond her expectation, as this was not their previous plan.

At this time, a figure walked in from outside, without caring about the gazes of the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs, and directly hugged the current queen from behind.

"You damn ghost, you haven't come to my place for two days. Tell me, have you been bewitched by some vixen in the harem?" The queen turned around and hugged Lin Hao, and hit him on the chest a few times as if she was acting coquettishly or angrily.

"Tsk, this Lord Marquis despises those mediocre women in Zhao Heng's harem. How can they compare to the Empress?"

"Oh!" Liu Wan seemed to be interested after hearing this, and said with a smile: "Then tell me how I am better than those vixens?"

"They~, aren't as sexy as you!"

Liu Wan hit Lin Hao hard a few times before letting him go. She then frowned and asked:
"By the way, why do you suddenly want to lead the troops to take back Yanyun? This is not an easy task!"

"What are your plans for the future? Don't keep me in the dark!"

"Actually, my plan has never changed..." Then Lin Hao put the queen on the bed and slowly told Liu Wan his plan bit by bit.

Finally, Lin Hao said:
"Not only will you be able to become the empress, but you will also be able to solve the problems left over from the Song Dynasty. What do you think~!"

Liu Wan was lost in thought on the rooftop. It took her a long time to come back to her senses. Then she looked at Lin Hao with complicated eyes.

If everything goes according to Lin Hao's plan, there will be no problem for her to become the empress, and she, Liu Wan, will definitely leave her name in history books, although her reputation may not be very good.

But being an empress, how many people have been able to do it in the past thousand years? Even if the time is not long, it is attractive enough.

······
After three days of preparation, Lin Hao bid farewell to Zhao Pan'er and his daughters and headed straight for Yanmen County with an army of 100,000.

Half a month later, Yanmen County was completely under the control of Lin Hao, and Gao Hu handed over 50,000 troops to Lin Hao and then returned to Bian Jing.

Afterwards, Lin Hao made dozens of space equipment, took all the supplies for the 100,000-strong army, and led the 50,000-strong army all the way north to Datong Prefecture, Xijing of the Liao Kingdom.

As for the remaining 100,000 troops, they continued to confront the Liao army on the border. In fact, although there were only 100,000 troops, there were actually 200,000 civilian laborers responsible for logistics.

In ancient warfare, the ratio of regular troops to civilians was generally one to two or even more, so as to maintain the combat capability of the regular soldiers.

But Lin Hao himself was responsible for carrying all the supplies for the army, but among the 50,000 troops he led, there were still 20,000 people responsible for logistics.

However, these 20,000 were actually reserve troops carefully selected by Lin Hao to supplement the casualties in battle.

And all of them had been trained in the use of flintlock muskets, but their performance was inferior to that of the other 30,000 people.

Yes, that's right. This time Lin Hao plans to sweep across the Liao Kingdom with muskets, but it is not a pure firearms army. There are also about three thousand dragoons, that is, rogue cavalry who fight with short muskets.

The reason why they are called rogue cavalry is because of their fighting style. Ancient cavalry usually attacked the enemy's weak links from the side or rear in order to undermine the enemy's morale, or they would chase after the enemy.

But Lin Hao's dragoon is different from the Western dragoons. The Western dragoons maneuver on horseback and fight on dismount, making full use of the cavalry's tactical mobility and the musketeers' firepower, but will not participate in cavalry charges.

The same thing is that they will not participate in the cavalry charge, but Lin Hao's dragoons will not dismount, but will charge towards the enemy in a semicircle.

When you are close to the enemy and within the range of the musket, open fire, then turn and escape. If the enemy is chasing you, throw a grenade on the ground. If the enemy is not chasing you, reload and charge in a semicircular route again.

In short, the tactics are quite rogue. This is the rogue tactics of Lin Hao's dragoons. Of course, these dragoons are more focused on harassment operations and undermining the morale of the enemy.

The real decisive battle was fought in the infantry battle line. Five rows of musketeers took turns shooting the Liao cavalry in line.

When the enemy approached, Lin Hao first used the crossbow to fire giant crossbow arrows filled with gunpowder and iron slag. When the enemy was closer, he used a small catapult to fire iron grenades.

This new tactic caught the Liao cavalry off guard, and it took only three days to wipe out the field forces of Datong Prefecture in Xijing.

After an hour of artillery bombardment and a huge amount of explosives buried under the city wall, Datong Prefecture was captured in just one day.

Afterwards, Lin Haoben divided his troops into two groups. One group led a thousand dragoons and ten thousand musketeers, heading west to recover the states along the way, and finally stationed in Shuozhou.

Lin Hao led another large army southward to ambush the army that had received the news and was about to return to Datong Prefecture to prepare reinforcements.

You have to know that Lin Hao had tens of thousands of muskets and was invincible in field battles. Coupled with the dragoons' pursuit, he defeated the 50,000-strong Liao army in one fell swoop, captured nearly 30,000 people, and seized nearly 60,000 horses.

After defeating the southern army, Lin Hao ordered the troops left behind in Yanmen County to escort some of the prisoners back to the Song Dynasty, and also dispatched another 30,000 troops to take over the defense of Datong Prefecture.

When the Liao Kingdom received the news that Xijing had been captured and the invading army from the south had been defeated, it quickly dispatched 100,000 troops to Datong Prefecture.

However, because the five capitals were at different distances from each other, the first to arrive was Liao Nanjing (now Beijing). Lin Hao once again used ambush tactics to ambush and defeat the reinforcements coming from Nanjing.

When the reinforcements from Zhongjing arrived, Lin Hao had already led 50,000 troops straight to Nanjing, Liao, and won the battle, and also captured Jizhou (Tianjin).

As a result, two of the five capitals of the Liao Kingdom were conquered by Lin Hao. Afterwards, Lin Hao arranged for the 20,000 troops that had been waiting in Hejian Prefecture for a long time to march north to take over the defense of Liao Nanjing.

Although Lin Hao captured Liaoxijing and Liaonanjing, the 300,000 troops from the other three capitals surrounded these two places.

However, Lin Hao didn't care about it at all. Instead, it was exactly what he wanted. Then Lin Hao used these two places to tie down the 300,000 troops.

Although it was said that there were 300,000 troops, in fact there were only about 100,000 cavalrymen, and the rest were either civilian laborers for logistics or mounted infantry, and were not to be feared at all.

Later, while the Liao Kingdom was besieging Liaoxijing and Liaonanjing, Lin Hao quietly led his army to Zhongjing Dading Prefecture, hiding during the day and moving at night.

There is no need to be afraid of tactics as long as they work. Therefore, the result of attacking Zhongjing Dading Prefecture was naturally self-evident. Zhongjing Dading Prefecture was captured very smoothly.

At this time, Lin Hao's victory news also reached Bianliang, the capital of the Song Dynasty.

"What?" Zhao Heng took a deep puff of the opium, and then looked at the battle report sent by Lin Hao with full attention. Lin Hao actually captured Liaoxijing and Liaonanjing.

Afterwards, whether it was because of the opium or because he was too excited, Zhao Heng felt like he was floating in the air.

When the ministers saw Lin Hao's achievements, they immediately began to flatter him:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Marquis Jing'an actually conquered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun!"

At this time a voice said:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Marquis Jing'an has taken over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun for the Song Dynasty. This is truly cause for celebration!"

Then Xiao Qinyan continued:

"But the emperor promised before that if Jing'an Hou conquered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, he would be made king. I wonder how the emperor plans to arrange it?"

Zhao Heng's eyes widened when he heard this, and he did not respond to Xiao Qinyan's question.

At this time, most of the civil and military officials who had been suppressed by Lin Hao had been recalled by Zhao Heng, and either returned to their original posts or replaced the officials arranged by Lin Hao and Xiao Qinyan.

For example, the demoted Ke Zheng, the former Prime Minister Ke, returned to the court and served as the right prime minister.

Seeing Zhao Heng's attitude, Ke Xiang immediately stood up.

(End of this chapter)