Hearing that the fire had even alarmed the inner circle, Zhao Guangyi did not bother to talk to the Forbidden Army general anymore and hurriedly greeted him out of the door. The person who came was none other than Gu Ruoli, the deputy of the chamberlain, and Zhao Guangyi explained to him what had happened. , Gu Ruoli was also overjoyed. He put out the fire so quickly, which showed that the officials were determined to rectify the fire hazard in Kaifeng. Now they have achieved great results. When they go back and talk about it, the officials will be happy. At that moment, Gu Ruoli beamed and hurried away. Went back to announce the good news.
After the court meeting the next day, Zhao Kuangyin deliberately stayed with his brother. The two sat in the Wende Hall and talked over wine. Zhao Guangyi then recounted to him the details of yesterday's firefighting. After hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin was overjoyed and praised him repeatedly. : "Second brother is really good at managing Kaifeng Mansion. With you in charge of Kaifeng, fighting for the world for my brother, and annexing the four directions, I have no worries. Hahaha, this Yang Hao is really good, young and promising, he is a man who can be created Talent."
Yang Hao worked diligently under Zhao Guangyi and treated him with great respect. Zhao Guangyi's initial dislike for him because of Cheng Dexuan's incident has disappeared, and he has begun to pity him. He has visited Huo several times these days. Qingyuan, chatting and laughing with Yang Hao, had the intention of recruiting him. Now that he saw officials praising his subordinates, he felt honored and hurriedly echoed a few words of praise. Then he asked about the war in the south. .
When the battle to conquer Han was mentioned, Zhao Kuangyin was even more happy: "Second brother, if you don't ask about this, I am just about to talk to you. Pan Mei and Yin Chongke led their troops to Lingnan and have already captured Hezhou City. This is the news I just received yesterday afternoon."
"Have you captured Hezhou City?" Zhao Guangyi was also overjoyed when he heard the news, and couldn't help but praise: "Pan Meizhen, a real tiger general, actually captured Hezhou so quickly. The eldest brother's strategy is really clever. In order to separate and advance, we should go alone." Along the way, the brothers had a lot of arguments with the eldest brother, but now it seems that the eldest brother's decision was the right one."
Zhao Kuangyin laughed loudly after hearing this, and felt very proud in his heart. When the troops were about to be sent out and the attack plan was formulated, the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Government, headed by Zhao Guangyi, advocated adopting the successful example of Qin Emperor and Han Dynasty's expedition to Lingnan.
After Qin Shihuang unified the Central Plains, he sent General Tu Sui to lead an army of 500,000. The troops were divided into five groups to attack Lingnan. One army blocked the ridge of Dancheng, the other guarded the fortress of Jiuyi, the first guarded the capital of Panyu, and the third guarded the southern fields. In the border area, an army with a surplus of Ganzhishui fought in the Baiyue jungle for three years before finally pacifying this place. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was in the battle to eliminate the South Vietnam Kingdom, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also divided his troops into five groups. After a battle After a protracted and heavy-loss war, Lingnan was finally pacified.
This tactic divides the troops into different groups and advances hand in hand, which can create a strong deterrent force. At the same time, it can force the enemy to fight at the same time on a long front. It is difficult to take care of each other. This is a steady and steady offensive strategy. The two great heroes of Qin, Emperor and Han Wu unanimously adopted it. This tactic has its own reasons.
There were the most civil servants and generals in the court who tended to imitate the Qin and Han strategies, but this plan was ultimately vetoed by Zhao Kuangyin. Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty could use their five fingers to seize Lingnan, but they could not. They could not copy the methods of Ying Zheng and Liu Che.
Although dividing the troops to attack is very powerful, it can make the enemy exhausted and help each other, but the troops required are too huge, and the military supplies are also consumed too much. He has fought too many battles in the southern and northern expeditions in the past few years. He didn't have that many soldiers and horses, and he couldn't plunder every penny of their hard-earned money from the people who had just recovered their strength to use it as food and fodder.
Therefore, after he sent out scouts and fully understood the national conditions of the Southern Han Dynasty, he boldly decided to go all the way according to his own conditions and concentrate the superior forces into a heavy fist to take Lingnan directly, one by one.
Break.
The risk of doing this is that if the opponent arranges it properly, the expeditionary force is likely to be surrounded and annihilated from all sides, or the enemy army can defend the city and wait for work, while the Song army will be exhausted. If it cannot succeed in one fell swoop, it will lose morale and be defeated miserably in Lingnan.
.
However, judging from the intelligence he had, the emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty was fatuous, the court was corrupt, and morale was low. Although he was waiting for work, it was difficult to organize a decent resistance due to the favorable location and people. Now it seems that his judgment was correct.
Yes, he did not imitate Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han, but he also achieved great success, and of course he was very proud of it.
"Hezhou has been captured, Hezhou has been captured!" Zhao Guangyi was very excited. Thinking carefully about the geography of the Southern Han Dynasty, Zhao Guangyi said excitedly: "Great, next, we can take Guizhou directly through the Yuecheng Ridge Road.
.”
Zhao Kuangyin laughed like a child. He shook his head and smiled mysteriously at his brother: "Otherwise, otherwise, guess again."
"Isn't it from Guizhou?" Zhao Guangyi said in surprise: "How is it possible? This is a shortcut from north to south. Taking the Yuezhou Ridge Road can avoid the long journey from west to east. This is one of the ways.
Water transportation is convenient for transporting grain, grass and baggage. This is the second reason. Guizhou is the strategic location of the Five Ridges. If we conquer this city, it will be like entering an uninhabited country. This is the third reason. Why not take Guizhou?"
Zhao Kuangyin said: "Second brother, all the warships of the Han Dynasty are based in Guizhou, and Guizhou is the gateway to Lingnan. How can such an important military place not be heavily guarded? We have only a few soldiers, and it has taken a long time to transport military supplies and food over long distances.
I'm afraid I won't be able to help him, and I won't be able to directly attack his vitals."
He put down his chopsticks, walked to the Imperial Bookcase, took out a scroll, and spread it out on the table. Zhao Guangyi walked over, and Zhao Kuangyin pointed: "Second brother, look, after Pan Mei took Hezhou, the northern defense line of the Han Dynasty was cut in two, and they were separated from each other.
It was difficult to respond. My brother ordered Pan Mei to use local materials and supervise the construction of warships, so that he could directly attack Guangzhou. After the Han Dynasty gathered heavy troops in Guangzhou, he would surprise Zhaozhou on the western front. Once Zhaozhou was won, Guizhou would become
Once we have captured Gucheng, we will then attack Guizhou from the flank."
Zhao Kuangyin said: "The northern front and the western front have changed hands successively. At that time, Pan Mei can march forward with his army and directly take Lianzhou, Shaozhou, Yingzhou and Xiongzhou on the eastern front of the Han Dynasty. By then, the capital of the Han Dynasty will be
Panyu is in my pocket."
He picked up the jade ax and swung it on the map. Then he waved it forward and said confidently: "Once the Han Kingdom is obtained, the Tang Kingdom and Wu Yue can be expected to be destroyed, and then..." His eyes narrowed slightly, and the jade
The ax moved to the north of the map in the direction of Youyun Sixteen States, and he tapped it gently, revealing an evil spirit between his brows.
At this moment, a little Huang Men'er came in, raised his fly whisk, bowed and saluted, "Official, the Third Chief of Staff, Chu Zhaofu, has something important to see you."
"Lao Chu is here? Hahaha, please invite him in." Zhao Kuangyin said with a smile.
When he was doing the capital inspection in the Later Zhou Dynasty, Chu Zhaofu was the quartermaster, and the two of them had always been familiar with each other. Now that Zhao Kuangyin has become the emperor, he has no airs about him in private. In addition, he is in a good mood today, and he actually
I used the word "please".
The little yellow gate hurriedly agreed, bowed and retreated. After a moment, Chu Zhaofu ran in in a panic.
Zhao Kuangyin laughed at the sight and said: "Old Chu, you look like your butt is on fire. Now you are trying to trick someone. You have to be calm when things happen. Haha, what's the matter? You are so anxious to see me?"
"The official family, something big is not going well, something big is going to go wrong, oh, I have seen the official family."
"Okay, okay," Zhao Kuangyin said impatiently: "What's the big deal? Please explain it clearly."
"Yes, yes," Chu Zhaofu swallowed, sweating profusely and said, "The official family will not have enough food."
Zhao Kuangyin was startled, then laughed and said: "How could it be? How many people do you have in your family? The salary I give you is quite large, why is there not enough to eat?"
Chu Zhaofu said with a mournful face: "Guan family, it's not that the food in the minister's family is not enough, it's... that the food for the more than one million people in our Kaifeng Prefecture will soon be insufficient."
Zhao Guangyi couldn't help laughing after hearing this: "Old Chu, are you not awake or are you drunk? Our Song Dynasty has a full treasury and a full warehouse. Why is there not enough food for some reason?"
Chu Zhaofu gave a heavy kick, and his two hat wings suddenly flapped up and down: "Guan family, Mr. Zhao, Lao Chu is not talking nonsense, the food in Kaifeng is really not enough. Look, I just knew that
, our existing food is only enough to last until the winter solstice. By then, the river will freeze and the food will not be transported in, and everything will have to be driven by the northwest wind."
Zhao Kuangyin became anxious when he heard this and asked quickly: "Old Chu, don't talk nonsense. Please explain clearly what is going on. You...you old bastard, you should speak the truth!"
Chu Zhaofu wore a big beard, stared at a pair of mung bean eyes, and said innocently: "Guan family, that's what happened. We have a population of one million in Kaifeng, and we consume countless amounts of rice every day, and we have an endless supply.
Transport grain and grass from the local area to Kaifeng. In the past, these matters were taken care of by Deputy Envoy Luo Gongming. When the government treasury stored grain but there was insufficient, a group of grain ships were immediately mobilized to transport grain to make up for it. But this matter was not done by ministers.
Understand, this has been going on for several months, and no one from below has reported to me how much food is missing every day, so no one has transferred food to replenish the treasury. The food brought into Beijing on weekdays is not enough for the people.
For normal food, part of it must be raised from the treasury, so we eat and eat, and now we have exhausted several grain depots."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi's expressions changed. They are people who do big things, and there are always people taking care of these things for them. No matter how talented and wise they are, they cannot take care of everything, including food issues.
It has always been solved very well and has never been a problem, so they never thought that there would be a problem in this area. However, they are not unaware of how important food is. How could they not panic when they heard what Chu Zhaofu said was so dangerous?
?
Zhao Kuangyin suddenly said nervously: "What's the situation now?"
Chu Zhaofu said: "I have asked the planners in the yamen that there has been no grain storage for several months. If we continue to sit back and eat, by the time of the winter solstice, the entire Kaifeng will have no grain left. When there is a heavy snowfall, countless people will die."
He will die of cold and hunger. If we start transporting food quickly from now on..."
Zhao Da and Zhao Er asked in unison: "So what?"
Chu Zhaofu thought about what the government official said to him, and said: "Excluding the normal daily consumption of food, the food stored in the granary can support the people of Kaifeng through this cold winter."
Zhao Da and Zhao both breathed a sigh of relief, and Zhao Kuangyin said: "That's good, it's really a false alarm. You, old Chu, are really frivolous when it comes to talking and doing things."
Chu Zhaofu grinned and whispered: "The officials told me that in the next few days, there will be frequent rains. The water level in some river sections will be high and the water level in some river sections will be low. The grain boats will easily capsize, and this grain will not be available." So good luck. When the river freezes in winter, water transportation will be completely stopped. If we rely on land alone, the grain carried by hundreds of mules and horses will not be as much as one ship of grain..."
His voice became softer and softer as he spoke. Zhao Kuangyin looked at him suspiciously and asked, "What does this mean?"
Chu Zhaofu said politely: "This means... that is... by the early spring and February next year, when the rivers are dry and shallow and it is difficult to transport grain, all the food in Kaifeng Mansion will be eaten up. At that time... still There will be a famine and people will starve to death..."
"You old man!" Zhao Kuangyin ran away on the spot, grabbed the jade ax and threw it over. When Zhao Kuangyin got anxious, he liked to hit people with the jade ax he played with as a paperweight. Several ministers in the court were injured by him. He had changed his ax several times, and Chu Zhaofu knew it well. As soon as Zhao Kuangyin raised his hand, he squatted on the ground, and the jade ax flew over his head with a "whoosh", and he heard " "Ouch!" I didn't know who was unlucky.
"I want to kill you, you old man. I have left all the money, food, taxes and taxes to you. How did you become the third envoy? Where is the sword? Get my sword, I want to chop it with one blow. This old killer!"
Zhao Kuangyin was really crazy with anxiety. Just now he was thinking about dominating the world and becoming a great hero. This was not a good thing. In the blink of an eye, he went from a nouveau riche to a broke man. Zhao Guangyi hugged his frantic elder brother and said to him. Chu Zhaofu shouted: "Master Third Secretary, do you have any emergency plan? Tell me quickly to avoid the anger of the officials."
Chu Zhaofu stood up from the ground and said dryly: "Guan family, if you want to prevent famine and prevent people from starving to death, now... there is only one way."
Zhao Kuangyin immediately calmed down, leaning half of his body outside Long Shu's case, and asked urgently: "What can I do? Tell me quickly, tell me quickly."
"Uh..., now we have to hurriedly mobilize enough ships, buy enough food, and transport it to Kaifeng before the ice freezes and seals the river. It will be enough to eat when shipping resumes next spring. But now there is only one plan, that is... that is... to Various places are preparing to transport grain from Lingnan to Kaifeng."
Zhao Kuangyin gritted his teeth and roared: "I have only a hundred thousand soldiers and horses in Lingnan. Can the grain and grass feed the millions of people in Tokyo? Besides, I have transported all the grain to Kaifeng. What will happen to my army in Lingnan? What do you think? !”
Chu Zhaofu trembled with fright and quickly defended: "Guan Jia, I haven't finished speaking yet."
Zhao Kuangyin said angrily: "You say it, you say it!"
Chu Zhaofu swallowed his saliva and said again: "The officials and I also know that the grain to be transported to Lingnan is not enough for Bianliang, not to mention that the army in Lingnan cannot be ignored. What I mean is to transport part of it to Bianliang and the other part were shipped to Lingnan. The soldiers could not be deprived of food, but...but I am afraid that the war against Han will have to be cancelled. General Pan Mei will have to bring all the troops back before they run out of food. .”
Zhao Kuangyin closed his eyes and said feebly: "So what, my Lord Chu? Okay, even if I agree with you and let Pan Mei bring people back, he will still have to eat my rations when he returns to Bianliang. You The little grain that was brought back was not wasted at all, but it all fell into their stomachs. Where is my Kaifeng Mansion? Where is my Bianliang City? What should I do with my millions of people?"
He became excited again as he spoke, and Chu Zhaofu hurriedly said: "I still have something to say. At this time, we must use the strategy of dividing the army and stationing the fields."
Zhao Kuangyin was stunned and said curiously: "Dividing the army into farmland, how do you explain this? Please tell me in detail."
Chu Zhaofu said: "If we want to wait until the spring flood next year when grain ships enter the capital again without starving the people to death, we can only divide the army into farming. General Pan's 100,000 troops cannot be brought back to the capital, and they must be disbanded on the spot. , disarm and return to the fields, so that their food rations can be provided locally and they will not have to use the food stored in Bianliang."
Zhao Dazhao and Zhao looked at each other in shock. They had no idea that this genius would come up with such a genius idea.
Seeing that they were silent, Chu Zhaofu just thought that the good idea he came up with was in line with his wishes. He couldn't help but cheer up and said: "Of course, there are still too many imperial troops left in Kaifeng. These strong men consume the most food, and they also We need to lay off most of them and let them return to their families to farm. At the same time, all the watercraft, civilian ships, and all the ships that can be requisitioned are used to purchase and transport grain in the Jianghuai area..."
The more he talked, the more excited he became. He put his index fingers together in the middle and said smugly: "With this two-pronged approach, I can guarantee that no one will starve to death in Bianliang City next spring. I wonder what the officials think?"
"You...you you...you..." Zhao Kuangyin pointed at Chu Zhaofu, his beard trembled, and he was so angry that he couldn't say a complete sentence. Chu Zhaofu couldn't help being afraid when he saw it, and he shrank his neck , said pitifully: "Guan family?"
Zhao Kuangyin couldn't hold back his breath. He took a deep breath, then swung his halberd outward and shouted: "You...get out!"
"Ah? I obey the order!" When Chu Zhaofu saw something was wrong, he turned around and ran away.
"Come back!" Zhao Kuangyin was so angry that he could not speak coherently. He said with a livid face: "Listen to me, you are the third envoy of the imperial court, and this is your responsibility. I will not withdraw troops from Lingnan, I will not The imperial army will be disbanded. I want the people of Kaifeng to spend the winter safely and no one will starve to death! If you can't do that, I will kill you and give the world an explanation, get out!"
Chu Zhaofu's face was so horrified that he immediately ran away with his head in his arms.