In the Yanzhou Pacification Envoy's yamen, Li Zhang arrived here with great utmost care. After entering the city, he didn't even go to the inn, but came directly to the yamen. He immediately asked someone to notify Liu Ping of the yamen to receive the order. Li Zhang also went to the lobby to wait. After a while, a gray-haired veteran walked out quickly.

Li Zhang had never met Liu Ping, but he thought that even Liu Ping, who was from a military family, was a civil and military genius and even passed the Jinshi, he thought he should be a strong man with a burly figure, otherwise he would not have killed five bandits in his twentieth year.

However, when he saw Liu Ping, Li Zhang was surprised to find that the other party was neither tall nor strong, but was a moderately sensual old man. Moreover, he was wearing casual clothes at this time and looked more like an ordinary teacher than a general who commanded thousands of troops.

Liu Ping also didn't know Li Zhang, and Li Zhang just asked someone to inform Liu Ping that he did not report his name, so Liu Ping was also looking at Li Zhang at this time, probably not expecting that the minister who sent the imperial edict would be so young.

Li Zhang did not introduce himself, but cleared his throat before saying, "General Liu, this time I came to pass the imperial edict on His Majesty's order. Please let your left and right retreat!"

When Liu Ping heard Li Zhang's request to let everyone around him retreat, he was also stunned because there was no such rule for receiving orders. Instead, he had to make the people around him kneel down and accept the orders, unless the content of the imperial edict was inconvenient to leak, which also made Liu Ping immediately retreat, and then knelt down and bowed and said, "My minister Liu Ping received the orders!"

"I am the order of Haotian, and I am dedicated to the will of Taizu and Taizong, and I am determined to send troops to recover Yanyun's land..." Li Zhang immediately read the imperial edict in a stern manner.

In later TV dramas, "The Emperor's Imperial Edict said by Heaven", but this imperial edict actually started with Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, while the imperial edict switches of the Song Dynasty generally started with "I was given the order of the Jun" or "I received the order of Haotian". This is recorded in the "Song Dynasty Collection of Great Edicts".

Although Zhao Zhen's imperial edict was written in a stinky and long way, the meaning was actually very simple, which was to tell Liu Ping that he wanted to send troops to recapture the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun occupied by the Liao Kingdom, so he decided to appoint Liu Ping as the chief general of Hebei Road, governor of Hejian, and Zhending all the troops. In addition, he also dispatched 50,000 troops from the northwest and followed Liu Ping to Hebei to recover Yanyun.

Liu Ping had not received any news before. In fact, the reason why Li Zhang asked other people to retreat was to keep it a secret. This time, the attack on the Liao Kingdom was unexpected, so only a few people from the center knew about it in advance.

So when Liu Ping heard that Zhao Zhen decided to attack the Liao Kingdom and appointed him as the commander of the troops this time, he immediately showed an excited expression. After all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but then he felt a heavy pressure. After all, although the opportunity was good, he had to seize it. If he was not good at his troops, he would be a sinner of the Song Dynasty.

When Li Zhang finally finished reading the imperial edict, Liu Ping was still kneeling on the ground in a daze. At this time, he had calmed down and thought about how to use troops to seize this opportunity and solve the threat from the north for the Song Dynasty. As for his personal honor and disgrace, he no longer cared about his personal honor and disgrace. After all, the task this time was too heavy, and he was even worried that he could bear it.

"General Liu, if you have any questions, please ask me!" Li Zhang also reminded him when he saw Liu Ping kneeling there and did not move.

Li Zhang's words also made Liu Ping wake up, and he immediately stood up to take the imperial edict, and then asked Li Zhang: "I don't know what the angel is called?"

Angels do not refer to later creatures that have wings and regardless of gender. In fact, in ancient times, angels refer to the envoy of the emperor, and they don’t know how to translate them in later generations. As a result, the meaning of angels has completely changed.

"Li Zhang, the Marquis of Dingbei, had worked under General Cao." Li Zhang did not hide his identity at this time. He smiled and said, "He came to the northwest this time and did not let someone inform him of his identity before, but there was no need to hide it from Liu Ping."

"Li Zhang!" Liu Ping also showed a shocked expression when he heard Li Zhang's name, and then he politely said, "It turns out that the angel is Li Duwei who developed muskets and cannons. No, it should be Dingbei Hou. Liu was so ruthless just now!"

Li Zhang is famous in the army, especially the invention of muskets and artillery, as well as the invention of new gunpowder, and the excellent performance in the musket army on the battlefield, all made Li Zhang occupy a very important position in the army, so Liu Ping was also very surprised when he learned that the person in front of him was Li Zhang.

"General Liu, don't be polite. Does General Liu have anything else to ask about this attack on the Liao Kingdom?" Li Zhang asked again at this time, and at the same time he also wanted to take this opportunity to listen to Liu Ping's opinions.

Liu Ping pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "Your Majesty's decision to recover Yan Yun must be related to the civil strife in the Liao Kingdom. However, although we know that there was a civil strife in the Liao Kingdom, we don't know the details. You came from the capital, so there must be more detailed information, right?"

"Yes, the Liao Emperor Yelu Zongzhen failed to launch a coup..."

When Li Zhang saw that Liu Ping was not in a hurry to express his opinion, he first asked about the Liao Kingdom's information, which made him look at Liu Ping a little higher, and now he also explained the civil strife in the Liao Kingdom in detail. After all, these are very important for Liu Ping to attack the Liao Kingdom in the future, and may even affect the direction of the war.

"According to the latest news, the current situation in the Liao Kingdom is still in a stalemate. Yelu Zongzhen and his son are probably both concerned. In addition, they have to gather a large army, so they have not taken action for the time being. The court is now strictly blocking the news of attacking the Liao Kingdom, so as not to be stimulated by the outside world, Yelu Zongzhen and his son will join forces. When they really fight, it will be the day for us to send troops!" Li Zhang finally spoke again.

After listening to Li Zhang's introduction, Liu Ping showed a thoughtful expression again. After a while, he spoke again: "Your Majesty is very considerate. The Emperor and Empress of the Liao Kingdom are indeed a good opportunity for us to regain Yan Yun, but I want to know how much power the court can give me this time?"

Liu Ping's question was not aimless, but asked the most critical question. He did not ask the court for power, but wanted to exert his power freely. After all, the Song Dynasty had a long history of restraint on military generals, and it was difficult to exert freely even on the battlefield. For example, Zhao Zhen sent troops to Dangxiang last time, but there were also military supervisors in the army following him. If he had any decision to make the military supervisor suspect, then the military supervisor had the right to suspend his command.
Chapter completed!