Four hundred and ninetieth chapters whetstone
Today was originally ten days. Li Zhang took Douzi to visit Han Qi and had a meal with Han Qi. Now Han Qi is no longer in the firearms surveillance, but goes to Kaifeng Prefecture to be a prosecutor, in charge of the trial of cases. Kaifeng Prefecture has two departments on the left and right, each department has one prosecutor, and takes turns to try the case. Although the grade is not very high, the power is very great.
Kaifeng Prefecture was very special in the Song Dynasty. Many prime ministers even held positions as prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture before. Generally, officials who entered Kaifeng Prefecture as officials would be more likely to enter the center in the future. Therefore, as long as Han Qi performed well in Kaifeng Prefecture, he would probably enter the center directly in the future. It can be said that he had already stepped into the core of the court with half his foot.
Han Qi and Han Qi were also very dedicated to Douzi's affairs. Not only did he teach a lot of experience in the exam on the spot, but he even asked Douzi to come to him often so that he could also give Douzi's knowledge from time to time. Li Zhang also asked Han Qi privately, but Han Qi was still very sure of Douzi's knowledge. As long as he performed stably, it should not be difficult to pass the Jinshi exam, which also made Li Zhang relieved again.
However, just after Li Zhang and Han Qi had dinner, the people who summoned him into the palace came to him. Li Zhang had to say goodbye to Han Qi and enter the palace. When he saw Zhao Zhen, he realized that Zhao Zhen had captured Xingzhou City, but Li Yuanhao took people to escape beyond their expectations. You must know that it is winter now, and he has moved with so many people, but he is taking great risks. Perhaps a heavy wind and snow can cause them to lose more than half of their population.
"The court decided to send someone to deliver the letter. It was obvious that he had given up the preparation for pursuing Li Yuanhao. What do you think about this?" Zhao Zhen and others said slowly after reading the war report. He is becoming more and more familiar with the government, so he can see through the other party's plans at a glance.
"Report to Your Majesty, I think Zhao Zhen is doing a good job. The army sent troops for several months, and the northwest is in a very hard time. The soldiers in the army are already very hard. If they pursue it, something might happen, and it might even cause the Dangxiang to counterattack. All the results of the early stage may be discarded. So I think consolidating the results of the current one is the most important thing." At this time, Prime Minister Lu Yijian was the first to express his opinion.
Speaking of Lu Yijian, in the original history, he was dismissed from prime minister shortly after Zhao Zhen took office. It was not that he did something wrong, but that the queen Guo in Zhao Zhen's history, said bad things about Lu Yijian. Zhao Zhen's consideration was that he dismissed Lu Yijian for some reasons. However, he soon regained his post. Instead, the Empress Guo was deposed by Zhao Zhen, and she was accompanied by Qinglan and Ancient Buddha throughout her life. Of course, this Empress Guo was deposed not because of Lu Yijian, but she did more of it herself.
"I also think General Zhao has done a good job. Xingzhou has been captured. The previous goal has been achieved. The weather is too cold now and it is no longer suitable for military use. Instead, you can prepare to take over Xingzhou and other places next year!" At this time, other ministers also expressed their consent.
Li Zhang also agreed with this matter. Moreover, the reason why Zhao Zhen was chosen as the main general was not that Zhao Zhen was more talented than others. In fact, if we talk about the ability to command troops, Liu Ping and others were not worse than Zhao Zhen, and even stronger. However, Zhao Zhen had an advantage that others did not have, that is, calmness. After all, this was Zhao Zhen’s first battle after taking power. Even if he couldn’t win, he would never lose. Zhao Zhen was obviously more suitable than others.
Seeing that everyone agreed with Zhao Zhen's decision, Zhao Zhen nodded at this time: "I also think General Zhao's decision is very good, but Li Yuanhao escaped with the main force. According to the battle report, Li Yuanhao abandoned most of the wives, old and weak, and took away 20,000 elite troops. I am worried that after the beginning of next spring, he will lead troops to counterattack, which may affect Xingzhou's subsequent plans."
Previously, Li Zhang suggested to Zhao Zhen that the Xiang army could be sent to Xingzhou to farm. Zhao Zhen also discussed this matter with Lu Yijian and others. Although some people opposed it, most people thought that this matter was actually feasible. After all, Xingzhou is a newly built land and if there is no population filling, it will not be able to rule in the future. Many Xiang army was originally a burden to the court, and now it can be used to kill two birds with one stone.
However, although Xingzhou has been captured, Li Yuanhao has fled and has 20,000 troops in his hand. If he continues to send troops to harass Xingzhou in the future, it will definitely disrupt the imperial court's plan to farm in Xingzhou, and even force the Song army to station heavy troops in Xingzhou, which will be a new burden.
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the old story of Emperor Taizong of Tang attacking Goguryeo that I mentioned?" Li Zhang suddenly smiled and said with a smile. He and Cao Wei had expected Li Yuanhao to escape before, but they thought that Li Yuanhao would escape after the warmth of spring, but they did not expect that the other party was more decisive and directly abandoned Xingzhou City and took the risk of running away. However, although Li Zhang was unexpected, he was still prepared for this matter.
"Che...hehe, Li Qing, you mean to take the initiative to harass me!" Zhao Zhen's eyes lit up when he heard this, but because he was too excited, he almost called out the word "cousin". This title is usually nothing to call in private, but it is a bit inappropriate in this formal occasion of discussion.
"Your Majesty is wise. Dangxiang used to occupy Xingzhou and had nearly one million people under his command. Li Yuanhao's momentum was at its peak. But now he is defeated and even Xingzhou is lost. Even if he has 20,000 troops to fight, it can no longer pose a great threat to our Song Dynasty. However, he has another use, that is, as the whetstone of our Song army, he will send troops from time to time to invade. It can train troops and make Li Yuanhao unable to develop agriculture and animal husbandry. Without agriculture and animal husbandry, Dangxiang people will definitely be short of supplies. Maybe we don't have to send troops in the future, and he will fall down by himself!" Li Zhang said calmly at this time.
However, when Li Zhang said the words, especially when he heard the three words "wistling stone", Lu Yijian, Xue Kui and others were all shocked, because they all heard something in Li Zhang's words. If Li Yuanhao was a wiltling stone, where would the sharpened knife be used? What is worth using this knife in the Song Dynasty? This question does not need to be answered at all, and everyone has an answer in their hearts.
Thinking of the above, Lu Yijian and others looked at each other, and then looked at the young Zhao Zhen and Li Zhang. Compared to their ministers, Zhao Zhen obviously had a more tacit understanding with Li Zhang. Even though Li Zhang is just a small martial arts school supervisor now, he can already participate in political affairs. Moreover, Li Zhang's boldness and enterprisingness are also affecting Zhao Zhen. I don't know whether this is a good or a bad thing for the Song Dynasty?
Chapter completed!