Chapter six hundred and ninety-seven: Recovering Xizhou
The trio of Cai Que, Huang Lu, and Zhang Zhi are indeed the new talents in today's political arena.
There are indeed many people in the temple who oppose the opening of the Hehuang border. In the history of another time and space, due to the leadership of Wang Anshi, Wang Yu and his son, all the pressure for the opening of the border was on the New Party.
But now he was taken over by Han Jiang. After Han Jiang left office, Wu Chong, the deputy privy envoy, took the lead. Even in order to support his son-in-law and Wen Yanbo, there was a rift between Feng Jing and Feng Jing.
After all, Wu Chong's energy was far different from Wang Anshi's, so the resistance in the court was also extremely large.
At this time, Cai Que and the others stood up to speak out for the matter, forming strong support for Wu Chong in the temple public opinion.
Among the three, Cai Que was the most shrewd and eloquent.
Huang Lu looked at Cai Que from the side. Zhang Yue had highly recommended Senior Brother Cai among his classmates, but now he did not expect that the two of them would become irreversible.
Cai Que was indeed unscrupulous in his selection of officials, but he took great care of Zhang Yue, Huang Lu, and even Zhang Zhi, and treated his friends with sincerity.
The most controversial issue in the court today is the campaign against Mu Zheng. Why did Mu Zheng rebel because he had always been submissive to the court? Did Zhang Yue and Wang Shao mismanage their strategy?
Or why must we capture Hehuang?
Cai Que said when the officials were chatting: "You asked me whether I want to take Lintao, so I ask you, do you know whether Xixia wants to take it?"
The officials said: "I have never heard of it."
An official said: "Now that Lord Xia is young and weak, how can we talk about taking him?"
Cai Quedao: "It's true that Lord Xia won't take it today, but in the past Li Liangzuo wanted it."
"How can I see it?"
Cai Quedao said: "Li Liangzuo is an extraordinary person. He planned to use large troops to intimidate the Qiang of the Qing and Tang Dynasties. He wanted to conquer the city with a victorious army and marched to the west of Qinfeng Road. If he had not been killed, the Xia people would have succeeded today."
Zhang Zhidao: "I heard that Li Liangzuo is indeed a hero. He was able to kill powerful officials when he first came to the throne. This cannot be done unless he is a powerful person. Moreover, this person also accepted people from this dynasty, went out and in with them, and lived on friendly terms.
There is indeed a long-term vision.”
One person said: "What Li Liangzuo accepted is the abandoned person of this dynasty. How can it be ethical?"
Cai Quedao: "Zhang Yuan also abandoned people in the past, but...it was this Jingwen who conspired with Li Liangzuo to approach Taocheng. If Xixia is allowed to take over this place, will you be able to sleep peacefully?"
All the officials nodded.
It turned out that the Xixia people also planned to take Lintao, but due to the death of Li Liangzuo, the matter was abandoned, which gave the Song Dynasty an opportunity.
One person asked: "Won't Xia Kingdom come to fight today?"
Cai Que said with a smile: "Li Yuanhao and Li Liangzuo could compete in fashion, but now they can't!"
Cai Que's eloquent words could not convince everyone, but they gave a guide to the public opinion in the temple. Don't underestimate the public opinion in the officialdom. It is also an important reference for the decisions of the ruling officials.
On this day, all the ruling officials gathered together in the Chongzheng Hall, and Zhang Shouyue, the official in charge of the affairs, went to the hall to report the matter.
Zhang Shouyue once served as the governor of Qin Feng Road. At that time, he was in charge of the Gouban Department and was regarded as the predecessor of Wang Shao and Xiang Bao. The officials summoned him to ask how to deal with Mu Zheng and the follow-up to the capture of Lintao City.
To be honest, the officials commissioned Zhang Yue to conduct a military expedition to Xizhou. When they first learned that Mu Zheng and Dangxiang were invading, the officials were still worried and repeatedly ordered Guo Kui to protect Weiyuan Fort no matter what.
When the officials learned that Zhang Yue and Wang Shao had defeated Mu Zheng and even captured Lintao City, the headquarters of Xizhou, they were overjoyed.
However, when the officials were waiting for the definite news of victory from the front, they unexpectedly received a memorial from Guo Kui impeaching Wang Shao for taking Lintao City without asking for orders.
Then there are two generals, Wang Shao and Gao Zunyu, each showing their merits.
The officials and the ruling officials were not clear about the situation on the front line for a while. Is it a reward or a punishment?
Zhang Shouyue is a famous general and has guarded Qinfeng Road for six years. He is most familiar with border affairs. There is no further news on Qinfeng Road. Zhang Shouyue's judgment is a very important reference.
The officials were so worried that they repeatedly called Zhang Shouyue to the palace to inquire. This was the third time in a month that Zhang Shouyue went to the palace, and each time the emperor and his ministers played each other for more than a quarter of an hour.
This treatment puts even the Prime Minister to shame.
The tall white-haired veteran Zhang Shouyue arrived at the Golden Palace. The official said to Zhang Shouyue: "Zhang Qing is alive! I asked you Zhang Yue yesterday, whether Wang Shao can handle the Hehuang incident? Tell the ministers your true words
Let’s talk about it.”
Zhang Shouyue said: "Reporting to your majesty, yesterday your majesty's counselors said that your majesty came to us with the power of heaven and nothing was wrong. But Mu Zheng and Dong Fei have always been loyal and obedient, and it is really not suitable for your majesty to invade..."
The big shots in the court were silent for a while. Wang Anshi was inclined to send troops to Hehuang, but he did not strongly support it. Wen Yanbo was inclined not to send troops to Hehuang, but because of Wu Chong, he did not actively oppose it.
Wang Gui's attitude can be ignored.
The person in the palace who had the most vehement objections to sending troops to Hehuang belonged to Feng Jing.
Feng Jing's attitude was originally quite tolerant, and his personal relationship with Wu Chong was okay. However, in order to be in power, he inherited the political legacy of his father-in-law Fu Bi. Fu Bi firmly opposed the use of troops.
Therefore, even though Feng Jing is unwilling to fight, he still must oppose it.
Zhang Shooyue continued to explain why he could not conquer, but Wu Chong had already spoken out: "Your Majesty, it seems to me that it is quite the opposite. The military expedition is like Anlu Mountain, and people like Shi Siming may seem to be obedient, but it will be difficult for them to accept the orders of the imperial court.
I heard that in the past, when the emperor was elected, he could allow his generals to take bribes, but he never allowed his generals to be arrogant. If the generals cannot be controlled, how can they be obedient to me?"
Zhang Shouyue did not dare to contradict Wu Chong and consciously stepped aside.
Feng Jing came out and said: "Your Majesty, even if Mu Zheng has some disobedience, your Majesty must decide the matter of the expedition. If you fail to ask for instructions when the opportunity arises, it will be Guo Kui's heavy responsibility. How can several border ministers do it so rashly?"
Wu Chong said: "Gao Zunyu, if Wang Shao wanted to capture Lintao before, of course he had to communicate with Guo Kui first. But Guo Kui was at odds with Wang Shao, so he killed him first and then reported!"
Feng Jingdao: "But now that Lintao has been captured, Mu Zheng will not be willing to give in. He will fight hard, and he will raise troops in the fight. How will the imperial court bear the burden?"
The official said: "I think there is nothing wrong with Kaiyuan, but troops are used every year. There is a country in the world, and it is normal to use troops. But if there are no troops for a long time, it is strange and shocking to hear about the use of troops."
At this time, Wen Yanbo came to an end and said: "Your Majesty, don't forget Han Jiang's lessons learned from the past."
Wang Anshi said: "Han Jiang had to retreat because the Khitan sent troops, otherwise our army would have taken Hengshan."
Wu Chong also said: "That's true. How can it be that just because Han Jiang acted inappropriately, he will never fight again for the rest of his life?"
Feng Jingdao: "This is because the name is not right and the words are inconsistent. If the soldiers are unknown, things will not be accomplished. The imperial court uses troops as teachers to achieve fame."
Wu Chong said: "The so-called division's reputation lies in its discipline. The imperial court failed to control the Tibetan tribes before, so that although Mu Zheng was the governor of Hezhou, Zhang Yue recruited Qiang in Weiyuan and did not invade the territory, but he raised troops to fight.
, and also colluded with Dang Xiang and Dong Fei, is this what the governor of this dynasty did?"
Feng Jingdao: "But I heard that Mu Zheng was talking about Zhang Yue invading his territory and taking away his salt wells."
The official made this very clear: "Zhang Yue and Mu Zheng had an agreement about the salt well."
Feng Jing said: "Your Majesty, Mu Zheng is just afraid that Zhang Yue will gradually invade him."
…
After everyone argued for a while, Wang Anshi came out and concluded: "The debate on principles has been going on for several months, and now it is useless."
"The problem lies in whether Mu Zheng can be eliminated. If Mu Zheng can be eliminated, it will not be a foreign invasion. If Mu Zheng refuses to obey and repeatedly raises troops, then the capture of Lintao will be a failure."
Officials deeply believe that, in fact, in the end, any war must be justified or unjustified to whether it can be won.
This is the principle of winning a king and losing a bandit, and it remains true in ancient and modern times.
Even if he could win for a while, Mu Zheng, with the support of Dong Xiang and Dang Xiang, had been fighting non-stop with the Song Dynasty in Xizhou. Without money and food, the Song Dynasty would still lose even if it kept winning.
Zhang Yue analyzed it very clearly with himself in his memorial.
Wu Chong said: "Your Majesty, now in Xizhou, all the money and food for the Tongyuan Army comes from Qinfeng Road, but Guo Kui used Wang Shao to embezzle money from the market, even smuggled green salt, and falsely reported the number of farmland. How can he succeed?"
"Your Majesty, why don't you appoint one of his confidants to take charge of various aspects and get rid of Guo Kui's system? This way you can succeed."
Wen Yanbo said: "But if it is an establishment, it will require more troops and more money and food."
Wu Chong said: "Zhang Yue and Wang Shao are both powerful. It should be noted that there are only nine people in the mountain, and the success will fall short. Now that we have set up Xizhou, Huizhou, and Tongyuan Army, why waste money and food?"
Feng Jing asked: "If Zhang Yue, Wang Shao and others have to hold the post for a few more years, won't it become the system of Jiedu Fangzhen again after a long time?"
Wu Chong said: "How can things be accomplished when we have to employ people and also doubt them? I ask your Majesty to think about it early and make some mistakes. In the years of Wang Shao, let him make great achievements!"
The official said: "I have thought before that since the appeasement department at the edge of Qinfeng Road belongs to the economic and strategic department, it should be dealt with separately. However, Guo Kui is a veteran and it is not easy to transfer. I think it is better to set up Xihe Road as the economic and strategic appeasement department.
, what do you think?"
Don't set up a road to comfort?
Shaanxi Road currently has four Jinglue appeasement envoy roads, Qinfeng, Fuyan, Huanqing and Jingyuan. If there is another Xihe appeasement envoy road, there will be five Jinglue appeasement envoy roads.
Wu Chong was overjoyed and said: "This decision belongs to your Majesty. Your Majesty has dedicated two people to this matter, and they will do their best. He will control the Xia Kingdom at the same time and restore the old realm of the Han and Tang Dynasties. This is fundamental, and it will not waste the people or damage the wealth."
The officials consulted Wang Anshi, and Wang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, the wooden levy must be removed as soon as possible. The new defeat of the wooden levy can break the bamboo in one fell swoop. As long as there is a lot of gold and silk, and the official position is recruited, Zhang Yue and Wang Shao will do everything.
If you are restrained by the elbow, you will not dare to draw broadly, and you will lose your square inch."
"Once the wooden levy can be launched, Dong Fei and the Xia Kingdom will be under my control. The rest of Shaanxi's economic strategy and appeasement envoys will be able to go high and have nothing to do."
After hearing Wang Anshi's performance, the officials were very happy and beaming.
But at this time, Wen Yanbo and Feng Jing also said that setting up the pacification envoy Luzi would be a big deal. Once the Xihe Economic Strategy pacification envoy was actually established, Xixia and Dong Fei would know the Song Dynasty's intention to embezzle Hehuang, and a war would definitely be inevitable.
Great war.
This is something that the current financial and material resources of the Song Dynasty cannot support.
When it comes to money, officials are also at a loss.
It is still necessary to appease Mu Zheng again and then return the captured Lintao City to the opponent. This is the true way of Rouyuan.
When the officials heard this, they sighed and said: "I want to control Di Yi at the same time to fulfill the ambition of my ancestors, but now the court affairs have not been completed. There are not enough soldiers, not enough food, and there are no generals in the court!"
Hearing what the official said, the officials were speechless.
At this moment, the horse came to accept Li Xian's report, and at the same time he attached a good report.
Mu Zheng was unwilling to be defeated and wanted to capture Lintao City again, but Wang Shao defeated him. Mu Zheng vented his anger and killed Li Duke and his son. All his troops rebelled.
The entire territory of Xizhou has been conquered!
