Northern Song Dynasty: I became Zhao Ji Chapter 268 I am famous as a brave general in the west, and I will definitely put an end to the worries of the northwest.
Chapter 268 I am famous as a brave general in the west, and I will definitely put an end to the worries of the northwest.
A month ago, Guo Cheng, a famous general who had made extraordinary achievements in the Xixia war, received an imperial edict from Zhao Guan's family to return to Beijing to report on his duties. Today, he was also summoned by Zhao Guan's family to Chui Gong Hall.
When he heard Zhao Guanjia ask how to deal with the changes in the Xixia Kingdom when the Song Dynasty "aided the Liao Dynasty to fight against the Jin Dynasty", he naturally had his own opinions and suggestions because he had been fighting with the Xixia Army for many years.
However, Guo Cheng secretly saw the leader of the Privy Council, Yan Guogong Zheng Juzhong, as well as Cao Fu, Zong Ze, Li Gang, who were recently promoted to imperial officials by Zhao Guan's family, and the white-faced and light-bearded young man behind him.
Zhang Jun.
Zheng Juzhong and the five courtiers all looked at each other in confusion.
Guo Cheng also had some concerns in his mind: none of these old ministers or new ministers favored by the emperor dared to speak first. Guo Cheng, a general who has been fighting against Xixia in the northwest all year round, naturally had no reason to be the first to speak.
Although Zhao Ji spent more than a year traveling to the Song Dynasty and tried his best to improve the status of military commanders,
However, the idea of "valuing literature over military affairs" that had been formed for a long time in the Song Dynasty was deeply rooted in the bones of almost every citizen of the Song Dynasty. This made Guo Cheng, a general, very fearful of the civil servants in the court.
He is a sensible man,
Military generals kill enemies on the battlefield, with swords and spears, to achieve immediate results, life and death!
The civil servants' temple harmed people, and they were criticized verbally and written for a long time, implicating nine ethnic groups!
…
Zhao Ji, who was sitting on the dragon throne, could see people very accurately.
He saw Guo Cheng, a general of the Western Army who had been specially summoned to the palace for discussion. He seemed to have something to say, but he looked around and did not dare to express his opinions and suggestions first.
Zhao Ji smiled slightly and said to Guo Cheng: "Xinzhi, it's been three days since I returned to Beijing from a long distance, right?"
Guo Chengcheng was frightened, knelt down and recited: "It has been three days since I returned to the capital. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty! Long live my emperor!"
When Guo Cheng heard that the Emperor Zhao Guanji of the Song Dynasty actually called him by his name instead of his name, he felt favored by Zhao Guanjia!
Guo Cheng, who had been in the Western Army of the Song Dynasty fighting against Xixia for many years, was originally just an ordinary soldier.
He had been in the army for more than forty years. Because of his repeated military exploits in the war against Xixia, the imperial court also gave him the promotion he deserved.
Today, Guo Cheng is a general guarding one side.
However, Guo Cheng knew that the Song Dynasty was so big that there were many third-grade generals like him in the Western Army. If you look at the entire Song Dynasty, there were also many, there could be dozens.
Or hundreds of times, Guo Cheng has never counted. At the same time, it is impossible for Guo Cheng to immediately recognize a third-grade military general for the first time, let alone be able to directly call him like the Zhao Guan family.
Say the other person's words.
This was Guo Cheng’s first time meeting a saint.
He originally thought that Zhao Guan's family would never recognize him.
Because, in the past, Zhao Guan’s family dealt with Wanji every day,
Nowadays, there are still many things to do...
However, he, Guo Cheng, was wrong!
‘Just now, Zhao Guanji actually called me by the name of Guocheng!!!’
'This shows how much the Zhao Guan family values me, Guo Cheng!'
Zhao Ji smiled slightly and stood up from the dragon chair.
Liang Shicheng, the eunuch who was standing by, immediately wanted to help him.
Zhao Ji waved his hand slightly, and the sensible Liang Shicheng immediately shrank his fleshy and round body and accompanied Zhao Guan's family behind him.
Zhao Ji calmly walked in front of Guo Cheng who was kneeling in the main hall. He stretched out his hands, personally helped Guo up, and praised Guo Cheng:
"Believe it or not, he fought in the Xixia Kingdom with great bravery, killed many enemies, and repeatedly performed extraordinary feats. I have already known about it.
If you believe me, I will be free of any courtesy and will be given a seat!"
Guo Cheng was so moved that tears flashed in his eyes...
Liang Shicheng hurriedly called to the young eunuch outside the palace and took the royal stool into the palace.
When the young eunuch placed the imperial stool behind Guo Cheng and asked him to sit down,
Guo Cheng glanced at Zhao Guan's family and stood in front of him. Other important ministers such as Zheng Juzhong, Cao Fu, Zong Ze and Li Gang were still standing in the hall. He did not dare to sit down even if he died.
Zhao Ji smiled slightly and said to Liang Sicheng, add six more stools and a table.
I like to sit around with you, drink tea, and discuss state affairs."
Liang Shicheng obeyed the order and ordered the eunuch to place an Eight Immortals table and seven stools in the center of the Chui Gong Hall.
Zhao Ji was sitting on a stool, his right wrist resting on the Eight Immortals table, tapping the table with his fingers from time to time, looking at Guo Cheng, Zheng Ju and other five people with a smile, and said casually:
"Today is not a court meeting. Dear ladies, please take your seats and do not be restrained."
"I would like to thank the official family for giving me a seat..."
Zheng Juzhong, Cao Fu, Zong Ze, Li Gang, and Zhang Jun sat in front of the Eight Immortals table in turn.
Guo Cheng, who was the last to take his seat, sat on the far right side of Zhao Guan's house.
Zhao Ji saw that the muscular general Guo Cheng had some gray hair on his temples. He was nearly sixty years old this year.
Guo Cheng, the defense envoy of Xiongzhou, did not wear a helmet and crown because he entered the palace today. He was wearing a bright red court dress and a long-winged black gauze hat.
Zhao Ji relied on his own historical knowledge and knew that Guo Cheng was a loyal and brave general who was good at fighting.
Guo Cheng was from Zhong'anbao, Deshun Army. As a young man, he enlisted in his hometown to join the Western Army of the Song Dynasty.
After joining the army, Guo Cheng made some military exploits in the battle against Xixia and was promoted to the Jingyuan Road Enshrinement Officer.
Guo Cheng was only seventeen or eighteen years old when he joined the army. Now he has gray hair on his temples and is nearly sixty years old. For the past forty years, Guo Cheng has been in the Western Army of the Song Dynasty, fighting on the northwest border.
Because of his repeated military exploits in the war against Xixia, Guo Cheng was finally promoted to the present-day Jingyuan Qianju.
Zhao Ji, the traveler, knew that Jingyuan in the Song Dynasty had jurisdiction over the two prefectures of Jing and Yuan; it was equivalent to the area east of Liupan Mountain and west of Puhe River in Gansu and Ningxia before he had traveled through.
Jingyuan Qianju was a temporary commander-in-chief of the army appointed by the Song Dynasty. His official rank was generally a third-grade official or a second-grade official.
Since the emperors of the Song Dynasty were afraid of rebellion by military generals, official positions such as Jingyuan Qianji, which were in charge of the military and civilian internal affairs of a large area, were not often awarded.
It was precisely because the Western Army of the Song Dynasty had been fighting against Xixia all the year round, and there were often Wu incidents on the border, so Guo Chengcai was appointed to the official position of Jingyuan Qiangju due to his military exploits and more than 40 years of military experience.
Jingyuan Qian governed Guo Cheng, who is now the third rank.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! When Zhao Ji studied the history of the Song Dynasty before traveling through time, he knew that Guo Cheng in history not only made many military exploits in the war against Xixia, but also that after the Jingkang Incident, he was the leader of the Southern Song Dynasty.
In the early years of Jianyan, the nearly 70-year-old Guo Cheng still led his army in the unlost territory in the northwest, personally inspecting and supervising his troops to build fortifications to resist the Xixia Army, an ally of the Jin Kingdom...
It was the middle of winter, and Xia soldiers often came to harass and destroy Guo Cheng's defenses. While commanding the battle, he patrolled day and night and supervised the construction of the army and civilians. He slept in the open air and was "exposed to the snow". He eventually fell ill due to overwork and died in the Southern Song Dynasty.
In the fourth year of Emperor Jianyan's reign (AD 1130), he died of illness at the construction site of fortifications.
Zhao Ji once saw this record when he was reading history books: In the fourth year of Jianyan of Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty (i.e. 1130 AD), veteran general Guo Cheng became ill from overwork and died in the army.
When the integrity envoy Wang Xiaojie was taking care of Guo Cheng's funeral, he reported his deeds to the court, saying that Guo Cheng was "a brave general famous in the west" and an "incorruptible official who cares about money and loves charity".
Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou was moved by Guo Cheng's deeds and wrote in his own handwriting: "Guo Cheng served the country with loyalty and made great contributions to the people. It is appropriate to carry it in the sacrificial ceremony."
The Southern Song Dynasty court built a temple for Guo Cheng and sculpted a golden body. After the Guo Temple was built, Emperor Gaozong personally wrote a royal inscription "Ren Yong" and hung it high above the temple gate.
…
Zhao Ji doesn't just rely on his own historical knowledge to recognize and employ people.
When he was preparing to summon Guo Cheng back to Beijing to report on his duties a month ago, he asked his subordinates to verify Guo Cheng's military exploits in the past forty years since he joined the army.
As a result, Zhao Ji was delighted that the military exploits that Guo Cheng in this world had accomplished in the past forty years were exactly the same as the military exploits of the famous Song Dynasty general Guo Cheng that Zhao Ji had seen in history books before he traveled through time.
Gotta get it right.
For example: In July of the fourth year of Yuanfeng (1081 AD), Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, the official army of the Song Dynasty was divided into five groups to conquer Xixia. Among them, 50,000 troops commanded by Liu Changzuo, the general manager of Jingyuan Road, were the main force, preparing to attack Xiping Prefecture Lingwu in Xixia.
city……
At that time, the 19-year-old young Guo Chengjun was promoted to junior high school after he had captured many heads of the Xixia Army and accumulated military exploits.
At this time, Guo Cheng of the primary school also came into the appreciation of Liu Changzuo, the manager of Jingyuan Road.
The General Manager of Jingyuan Road in the Song Dynasty was comparable to a certain military district commander in later generations; even to some extent, his jurisdiction was wider than that of a military district commander, because the General Manager of Jingyuan Road not only managed the military but also had jurisdiction over the district.
Internal civil affairs.
When Liu Changzuo, the general manager of Jingyuan Road, was preparing to go on an expedition, he dismissed the doubts of his old generals and appointed Guo, a newly promoted young general, to be the vanguard officer...
Guo Cheng led thousands of troops as a vanguard, defeated the Xia army at Mo Nai Pass, and took the lead to attack Lingwu City. In the chaotic battle between the Song and Xia armies, Guo Cheng took the lead, leaping on his horse and swinging his sword, killing Lingwu.
The general of the Xia garrison in the west of the city led his troops to capture Wuling City.
In this battle, Guo made his first contribution and was rewarded with the fourth rank...
…
Zhao Ji thought back to this point, and he knew that the veteran Guo Cheng, who was sitting in front of the Eight Immortals table and closest to his right hand side, now looked like he was slightly stout and his temples were already gray;
However, forty years ago, the 19-year-old Guo Cheng led his troops to a surprise attack on Lingwu City in Xixia. He should have been as heroic as Huo Qubing of the Han Dynasty who marched straight in and attacked the Huns!
Guo Cheng led his army to conquer the Xixia Kingdom in the Battle of Wuling City. This was the beginning of his battle to become famous, but it was not the end. What was even more glorious was the Battle of Pingxia City sixteen or seventeen years later...
In March of the fourth year of the Shaosheng reign of Zhezong of the Song Dynasty (1097 AD), the Song army built a Pingxia city on the border of Xixia and wanted to choose a general to guard it.
This newly built Pingxia City will become a thorn in the side of the Xixia people, both in terms of its name and the military and strategic implications of its location.
Choosing which general to guard the newly built Pingxia City became a big headache for Weizhou coach Zhang Kai at that time.
Zhang Kai asked his subordinates: "Who can take on the important task of guarding Pingxia City?"
Without thinking, the generals replied in unison: "It must be Guo Cheng."
Weizhou coach Zhang Kai transferred Guo Cheng to lead his troops and stationed in Pingxia City...
Sure enough, not long after, Xixia gathered tens of thousands of elite troops and attacked Pingxia City with all their strength.
Guo Cheng, the chief defender of the city, judged the situation between the enemy and ourselves and chose a strategy to defend the city. When the Xia army came to attack, they used defensive equipment and bows and arrows to fight back on the city...
Facing the Song army in Pingxia City, the Xixia army could not hold on and attacked forcefully. They were still unable to break through the city, so they all returned without success...
The following year, in the first month of the fifth year of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty (AD 1098), the Xixia court sent famous generals such as Ami, the commander of the army, who was famous for his proficiency in warfare, and Le Dubu, the supervisor of the Xishou army, to lead his troops and capture the city.
Pingxia City, waiting for an opportunity to invade the hinterland of the Song Dynasty...
Weiming Ami, who is the leader of the Xiang Qiang tribe in the Xixia Army, learned from the experience and lessons of the Xixia Army's forcible attack on Pingxia City last year and their defeat.
He believed that Pingxia City was built with high walls and deep ditches, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Then he prepared for a long war, surrounded Pingxia City without attacking it, and cut off all grain transportation channels outside Pingxia City. In this way,
If Pingxia City is besieged for a year and a half, Pingxia City, which is a thorn in the side of the Xixia people, will collapse without attacking.
In the first month of the first year of Yong'an in Xixia (AD 1098), the Sixth Route Army of the Xixia Kingdom, Weiming Amian, and the supervisor's sister, Le Dubu, led tens of thousands of troops in the name of animal husbandry and camped outside the city of Pingxia, hoping to die first.
After pacifying Xia City, they then launched a massive attack on the interior of the Song Dynasty...
Weiming Amian's strategy was to encircle without fighting. He brought his tribe's family members and more than 100,000 cattle and sheep outside Pingxia City. Their Xia army did not have to worry about food and grass problems, while the Song Dynasty troops in Pingxia City
The army will not be able to survive. After the Song army in Pingxia City has been trapped for several months, the food in the city will be exhausted and the Song army will collapse.
However, when Guo Cheng, the commander-in-chief guarding Pingxia City, saw Weiming Ami's troops approaching Pingxia City, he learned through the scout horse that the Xia army was coming this time, followed by Cheng who could not see the end.
A herd of cattle and sheep.
Guo Cheng then guessed that this time the Xia army wanted to fight a protracted war outside Pingxia City. They probably wanted to cut off the external food routes that supplied Pingxia City and adopt the strategy of siege but not attack.
Guo Cheng took advantage of the fact that before the Xixia army encircled Pingxia City, he sent several groups of scouts to report to Weizhou commander Zhang Kai with his handwritten military report.
In his handwritten emergency military report, Guo Cheng also explained his plan to defeat the enemy...
…
Weiming Amian, the commander of the Sixth Route Army of the Xixia Kingdom, led his troops to camp outside Pingxia City. A few days after besieging Pingxia City, he saw that the Song army in Pingxia City was still the same as last year, only holding on to the city. He thought to himself
The plan to pacify Xia City will be successful.
As a result, the Xixia army under Weiming Amian gradually relaxed their vigilance, believing that the thousands of Song troops in Pingxia City would never dare to take the initiative to fight.
Guo Cheng is not going to fight for the time being, but he is waiting for a good opportunity to defeat the enemy. That is to wait for the arrival of reinforcements from the Song Dynasty, and to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop against the Weiming Amian headquarters of the Sixth Route Army of the Xixia Kingdom.
After Song general Zhang Kai's reinforcements arrived, Guo Guoguo personally led three thousand elites in the city to attack the camp of Weiming Amian at night, and directly entered the camp of the commander of the Xixia army...
In this battle, the Song army under Guo Cheng and Zhang Kai cooperated with the outside, killed nearly 10,000 enemies, and captured more than 3,000 Xixia soldiers, including the famous Xixia general, the Sixth Route Army Weiming Ami, and his wife and children.
Imprisoned...
Countless Xixia soldiers under Weiming Ami were defeated and fled in the chaos.
When the Xia army was defeated, there were more than 100,000 cattle and sheep that could not be taken away in time, and they all became spoils of war for the Song army led by Guo Cheng and Zhang Kai...
After Guo Cheng and Zhang Kai led their troops to a surprise attack on Weiming Amian's headquarters and won a great victory, they continued to pursue the enemy for hundreds of miles, broke several Xixia camps, and took advantage of the victory to capture the Tiandu Mountain area of Xixia Kingdom...
News of the disastrous defeat of Weiming Ami's army spread back to the Xia Kingdom, causing panic in both the government and the public...
Before Zhao Ji traveled through time, when he was reading history, he saw the reaction of the "Xia Lord" to the disastrous defeat of Weiming Amian's troops recorded in the history books. It was a short four-character "Xia Lord was shocked"!
In Zhao Ji's view, twenty-three years ago, the "Xia Lord" at that time should have included two people. One was Li Qianshun, who was 12 years old when he ascended the throne when he was three years old and had not yet taken charge of the government;
The other one was Li Qianshun’s biological mother, the Empress Dowager Liang, who was in charge of the government.
The battle in which Guo Cheng and Zhang Kai led their troops to defeat the main Xixia army shocked the Empress Dowager Liang, who relied on her mother's party to rule, and the young man Li Qianshun, who had been talented and resourceful since childhood...
This will definitely leave a big shadow in the heart of Li Qianshun, the young hero of the generation...
According to the history of Xixia that Zhao Ji knows, four years after the Xixia army suffered a disastrous defeat in Pingxia City, sixteen-year-old Li Qianshun took charge. He eliminated the Queen Mother Liang's group that controlled the government, and vigorously rectified the political situation in Xixia during the reign of the Queen Mother Liang.
Corrupt politics and a weak military…
Li Qianshun, who felt that his Daxia Kingdom was restored, had often sent Xixia troops to invade the borders of the Song Dynasty in the past twenty years...
Zhao Ji secretly analyzed: Li Qianshun probably wanted to avenge the shame of the Xixia Army's defeat in Pingxia City, right?
…………
At this time, Liang Shicheng, the great eunuch who was standing behind Zhao Guan's family, took the teapot from the young eunuch and poured half a cup of fragrant tea for Zhao Guan's family.
Liang Shicheng, who was very good at reading officials' glances, used his eyes to ask for instructions from Zhao Guan's family:
'Old slave, am I serving tea in order according to the rank of these officials sitting around the Eight Immortals table?'
Zhao Ji smiled slightly and ignored Liang Shicheng's solicitous look.
He directly took the teapot from Liang Shicheng's hand and said to Guo Cheng, a brave veteran who was famous in the west:
"Guo Aiqing fought against Xixia in the northwest, and his hard work and merit are great. I offer tea instead of wine to pay tribute to Guo Aiqing!"
Veteran general Guo Cheng was treated with great courtesy by the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, and he was frightened...
…
Guo Cheng picked up half a cup of fragrant tea poured by Zhao Guanjia himself. After drinking it, his internal organs felt warm.
Zhao Ji said to Guo Chengdao: "There are often wars between the Song Dynasty and Xixia. Guo Aiqing has been fighting against Xixia in the northwest for more than 40 years, and has repeatedly made extraordinary achievements!
In the battle of Lingwu City and the battle of Pingxia City, Guo Aiqing fought mightily!
Today, I invite Guo Aiqing and all the courtiers into the palace, just to listen to what Old General Guo has to say.
If the Song Dynasty sent troops to aid the Liao Dynasty to fight against the Jin Dynasty, would it be possible for Xixia to stab the Song Dynasty in the back?"
After Guo Cheng heard this, he did not answer immediately. After thinking for a while, he answered from his heart:
"In my humble opinion, I, the Song Dynasty, sent troops to aid the Liao Dynasty to fight against the Jin Dynasty, and the battle went smoothly, but the Xixia Dynasty did not dare to act rashly!
If the Song Dynasty sends troops to aid the Liao Dynasty to fight against the Jin Dynasty, and the war situation does not go smoothly, given the profit-seeking character of the Xixia king and tribal generals,
Definitely unable to resist the temptation of alliance offered by the Jin people,
At that time, Xixia will definitely take the opportunity to invade our northwest border of the Song Dynasty!"
Zhao Ji nodded. Guo Cheng's analysis was somewhat similar to what he was thinking.
Zhao Ji has deduced these two situations countless times in his mind.
Now, he heard that Guo Cheng, a veteran who had served in the northwest army for more than 40 years, thought so too, and he wanted to hear what Guo Cheng had to say about how to deal with it.
Zhao Ji personally brought half a cup of fragrant tea to Guo Cheng, the famous brave general in the west, and asked:
"Guo Aiqing, do you have any strategy to cut off Xixia's intrusion?"
At this time, the privy councilors sitting around the Eight Immortals table with Zhao Guanjia and Guo Cheng, Duke of Yan Zheng Juzhong, imperial censor Cao Fu, Zong Ze, Li Gang, Zhang Jun, all raised their ears;
They want to first listen to the opinions of Guo Cheng, a veteran of the headquarters who has experienced hundreds of battles, and then offer their own strategies to Zhao Guan's family...
Guo Cheng clenched his fists and gritted his teeth: "..."