The situation in the northwest has developed beyond expectations.

Zhao Guan's family temporarily summoned important ministers to the Wende Hall.

Zhao Ning's mind was running rapidly, and he was keenly aware of the huge strategic advantage Liu Qi would bring to the Song Dynasty after he captured Yinzhou.

This strategic advantage can not only check and balance Xixia, but also make up for the Song Dynasty's current huge losses in the green and white salt trade.

It can even affect the Jin Kingdom's trade war with Hebei and Hedong.

However, ministers are now debating whether the imperial court should send an imperial envoy to supervise Yinzhou.

Cai Mao said: "Yinzhou is related to the overall situation of Song and Xia. When Xixia learns that Yinzhou has been lost, it will use all the strength of the country to come. This is a big matter. Zhang Jun and Zhang Xianggong need to sit in Jingzhao Mansion to lead the overall situation. Yinzhou also needs someone.

A person of high moral character and high esteem is in charge of the overall situation on the front line, so the imperial court should send someone there immediately."

Xu Han said: "Xu Xi's incident happened first, why bother to do it again and make the same mistake again?"

Shao Pu, the Minister of Household Affairs, said: "To compete for Yinzhou, Shaanxi will mobilize various armies. It is related to the allocation of military expenditures. We must not ignore it. I also agree that a person with high moral character and high prestige must be sent to the front line to command the overall situation on behalf of His Majesty."

Zhao Ning said: "Liu Qi is not only the envoy of Yanyan Road, but also the commander of the front line, why do we need to send him again?"

"The affairs in the imperial court are very slow, all because of the bloated personnel. I think Zhang Jun's arrangement is reasonable. Everything on the front line is subject to Liu Qi's dispatch. As for money and food, I remember that the Ministry of Revenue has allocated a large number of people to fill the pension?"

Mei Zhili said: "Everything respects His Majesty's arrangement, the past 20 million guan have been allocated, and the rest is being transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Do we want to use the remaining 20 million guan first to use it as military expenses?"

"No! The 20 million yuan is to stabilize the people of Shaanxi. The pension funds must not be transferred privately."

The imperial court launched a large-scale investigation in Shaanxi, which has caused people to panic.

What can stabilize the overall situation is to replenish pensions and military pay owed in the past.

This involves the game of various classes.

The court investigated officials and military officers.

Pensions compensate grassroots soldiers. As long as grassroots soldiers can receive pensions, they will not be led astray.

It would be difficult for them not to be led astray, and it would be very difficult for those who want to cause trouble.

Just like Xihe Road, Wang Yi wanted to surrender to Xixia. The operation was very difficult and he had to hide the entire army.

After a bold person like Li Yanxian found conclusive evidence about this matter, Wang Yi was immediately cast aside by everyone as soon as it was made public.

The pension only meets the most basic guarantee, and the military governor's office reshapes the army's ideology with the "Jingkang New Military Law".

At this time, both material security and spiritual security must be taken care of together. Neither can be left without the other, nor can it be tampered with, otherwise it will inevitably lead to group suspicion.

Zhao Ning continued: "Zhang Jun said that the tea should be imported into China first to pay for military expenses and to arrange for Shaanxi merchants to transport grain. This is feasible, so we don't want to cause trouble."

"Right now, the northwest is too far away from Tokyo. Everyone here doesn't know much about the front line. There is no need to focus on front line affairs. I think the court should start preparing some post-war arrangements."

Shao Pu said: "Speaking of post-war arrangements, I think we can take advantage of this opportunity to completely recapture Hengshan to eliminate the troubles of Xixia. In this way, the northwest military expenditure can be greatly reduced to prepare for the resistance against the Jin people."

Shao Pu brought the topic to the front line again.

Zhao Guan's family felt a little unhappy. These important officials in the court always tried their best to interfere in the frontline war.

None of them know how to fight, but when they talk about fighting, they all get full of energy and talk about it, destroying the enemy's country invisibly.

At this time, Zhang Shuye came out and asked: "Shilang Shao, let me ask you, how to recapture Hengshan?"

Shao Pu said: "Since we have captured Yinzhou, we will naturally attack Shizhou and Xiazhou immediately and control Youzhou in one fell swoop."

Zhang Shuye continued to ask: "How many troops, how much food, and how much armaments are needed?"

Shao Pu replied: "An army of 300,000, with half a year's supply of food and grass, and two million stones of food and grass, requires 5 million in military expenses."

Zhang Shuye asked reluctantly: "Oh, can you elaborate?"

Shao Pu replied: "It will take half a year to seize Hengshan. The army of 300,000 will be paid 900,000 guan for half a year, and 2 million guan will be spent on food and grass. It will use people's strength to build cities and walls, and it will provide a pension of 1 million guan."

Four million and nine hundred thousand dollars."

Zhang Shuye said solemnly: "When will the 300,000-strong army arrive in Yinzhou? Where will the two million shi of grain be collected before arrival? Can we guarantee that it will arrive before the 300,000-strong army arrives in Yinzhou?"

Shao Pu replied: "Zhang Jun and Prime Minister Zhang have issued a mobilization order. The three hundred thousand troops can naturally arrive in Yinzhou. As for the food, we can send tea to China and France and let the merchants transport it."

"If we call all the merchants, we can't guarantee that the two million stones (240 million catties) can arrive before the 300,000 troops arrive. What will the 300,000 troops eat in Yinzhou?"

Shao Pu said bravely: "Then let the 300,000 troops collect food on the spot and enter Yinzhou!"

"You asked the army to collect food?" Zhang Shuye's tone became sharp, "What should we do if someone along the way takes this opportunity to collect excessively, oppress the people, and cause civil strife among the people?"

"This..." Shao Pu couldn't answer.

Of course he couldn't answer it. He was a minister in the Ministry of Accounts and worked in finance. He knew nothing about front-line business and insisted on intervening in business matters. How could he answer a professional question when he was asked a professional question by a professional?

People who talk about things always ignore the underlying logic of how things work.

What they said seemed reasonable at first glance, but when asked about the more specific implementation level, it completely failed to withstand scrutiny.

Capture Hengshan in one fell swoop?

If Hengshan is so easy to get, can Xixia survive for so many years?

If you can win a war thousands of miles away just by sitting at home and looking at a map, wouldn't the Song Dynasty be able to unify the world in history?

You must know that the Song Dynasty governed the country according to the text, and those who could read maps and make theoretical deductions were like crucian carp crossing the river.

Why do we lose ground every time we fight a key battle?

This is because the gap between theory and reality is too big.

As for the 300,000 troops that Shao Pu mentioned, before you transfer to Yinzhou, you have to arrange the food first, right?

From Suide to Mizhizhai and then to Yinzhou, the roads are winding and rugged through the large and small hills in the eastern part of Hengshan Mountain.

How much manpower, mules, oxen, and horses will be used?

After these tools are requisitioned, what will be done on the local fields?

If the food cannot be guaranteed to arrive safely, and the 300,000-strong army will soon run out of food, and the Xixia people take the opportunity to fight decisively, won't they stage another defeat in Yongle City?

The people sitting in the office are not stupid, let alone bad. These people are top academics, they have quick thinking, amazing memories, and they play office politics slyly. How can they be stupid?

They just lost their imagination about the logic of grassroots affairs and became arrogant because they sat in the office for a long time.

It's like the top class has lost its imagination about the poverty at the bottom.

That’s why the top class would say: If you don’t have food to eat, you can eat meat!

Shao Pu was ashamed when he was asked, and the ministers represented by Shao Pu who wanted to take the opportunity to capture Hengshan in one fell swoop also stopped talking.

Shao Pu said in a strange way: "I am a low-ranking official with few talents and little knowledge. I would like to hear Mr. Zhang's advice."

Zhang Shuye said: "Don't think about capturing Hengshan. Make defending Yinzhou your current goal. In the area from Suide to Yinzhou, build a large-scale walled city first. After consolidating the capture of Yinzhou, it will bring us

The advantages."

Zhao Ning sighed again in his heart, Zhang Shuye's views on military affairs were still reliable.
Chapter completed!