Enriching the country and strengthening the army is the foundation. We can only talk about morality. The theory of vertical and horizontal is pragmatic rather than pragmatic. This statement is in line with the wishes of the official Wang Anshi.
"In the past, the Wu Dynasty reformed the state of Chu to equalize the nobility of Chu, and leveled its salary. It damaged its surplus and made up for its shortcomings. Chu was strong because of it. I think the reason why the Han, Wu and Tang sects were able to defeat the barbarians was to strengthen China first, and not to dominate it.
It’s true.”
The phrase "what is damaged and what is left to make up for what is deficient" comes from the Tao Te Ching, and when applied to the reform method, it means destroying the merger system of powerful families.
But at this time Feng Jing came out and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that benevolence and morality should be the basis for governing a country. Now that we are aggressively attacking the Xia Kingdom, the Xia Kingdom and the Khitan are closely dependent on each other. The Khitan will be greatly shaken. If both countries attack together, how dare I ask?
How can we enrich the country and strengthen the army within three to five years so that we can fend off the enemy? Is this arrogant plan useless?"
Feng Jing spoke, and the official nodded and said: "Feng Qing's words are true. You cannot make war without judging the situation."
All the ministers knew what the officials were thinking. Although they had the ambition to use troops against Xixia and restore our homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties, they were afraid that the Khitan and Xixia troops would invade. Once this happened, they seemed to have no other choice but to retreat.
Therefore, once the court officials say this, the officials will be frightened.
Zhang Yue came out and said: "Your Majesty, I look at the four barbarians in the world. The south is not to be feared. The western barbarians are weak and have few rulers. The power is held by relatives. The ruler has no ambition to do business and has no system to restrain his superiors. This is sincerity for progress.
At this time, all the Northern Yi need to do is to pay attention and not to control them at the same time. The Lord of Khitan has been in power for twenty years and is not an unreasonable Lord. All we need to do is dispel his suspicions, give him small benefits, and allow him generous gifts.
But how come there is such a thing as the two countries attacking each other at the same time?"
"As long as the Western barbarians are defeated, the Northern Barbarians alone will have nothing to fear. The so-called vertical and horizontal schemes are all in this way, and it doesn't take the talents of Su Qin and Zhang Yi to figure them out!"
The official Long Yan was delighted, Feng Jing's words were brilliant, but Zhang Yue's refutation was even more brilliant.
If the people who play chess are all sensible people, then the learning of vertical and horizontal is nothing more than this, then the resurrection of Su Qin and Zhang Yi will be useless, so everyone should stop pretending.
The official had already seen Zhang Yue's strategy for controlling the summer when he discussed it with the prime ministers at the Zizheng Palace. He also believed that as Zhang Yue said, the possibility of Khitan taking the initiative to attack the Song Dynasty was very small, but no matter how small,
This is also possible.
As the leader of a country, you cannot easily risk the future of your country and nation.
The official was still worried and asked: "The Xia Kingdom did not enter the country in the same way this time. They only expressed gratitude without making an oath, and they did not mention the boundaries of the roads. It seemed that they were going back on their word. Zhang Qing wanted to see if it was the Khitan who gave the Xia Kingdom a gift."
Support and courage, so Xixia is so bold and overturns the previous proposal?"
The officials asked, and all the ministers looked at Zhang Yue.
But seeing Zhang Yue's "upright" reply: "Your Majesty, it's not that the Khitan country is powerful, but that your Majesty is worried that the country's power is not enough to sustain it."
Wang Anshi and Wen Yanbo were both slightly surprised. What's wrong with Zhang Yue speaking so "straightly" today?
When Zhang Yue said this, the official said very humbly: "Yes, I am worried about the Khitan. Even during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Khitan's enemies could not be controlled. Now the imperial court has no comprehensive measures in Hebei."
Zhang Yue said: "I believe that if you want to conquer the world, you must first assess the situation. Now that the four barbarians are not as weak as they are now, it is the time for the border ministers to collect real merits for Your Majesty."
"The only problem that Khitan has now is that he saw his country using troops against the Western Yi, so he felt insulted and crossed the river to cross the border to cause trouble. However, he did not dare to engage in a big fight, so as not to arouse my wrath. He was not even allowed to send envoys on this matter. He only had to use the borders to make trouble.
I just want to protect myself. I believe that the current problems of the imperial court should be caused by the lack of treatment, rather than the fact that the Khitan has not been subdued."
"I have no other strategy for protecting the Khitan!"
Zhang Yue once again put his official career in front of everyone to ensure that the Khitan would not send troops to attack the Song Dynasty, and the officials nodded slowly.
Wang Anshi asked aloud: "Yesterday, the Zhuozhou border reported that the Khitan moved the boundary stone thirty steps without authorization, and the defenders killed two Khitan soldiers. How should we deal with it according to the regulations?"
Zhang Yue said: "The Khitan is so big that they can compete with me for thirty steps. Will this reduce our national power and increase the strength of the Khitan? From this we can see that the Khitan has no other agenda. The fault of killing people is ours, but we can order the border
If the general and the Khitan are unable to settle the matter, then the guard should be reprimanded."
"Rebuking the guard general, doesn't that chill the heart of the general?" Cai Ting asked.
Zhang Yue said: "This dynasty will give small benefits to the Khitan and give them generous gifts. If China wants to control the barbarians, it must first control its subordinates and keep them on our side. Only then can we blame the enemy for their misdeeds."
"Only by controlling something can we control it. The wider the control, the wider the control. If the Xiyi and Qingtang Dynasties did not fight for thousands of miles of land, but they came to care about these thirty steps, wouldn't it be ridiculous? If
If we can defeat Xixia in one battle, we don't need to fight with the Khitan, and we can win the territory of thirty steps. If we can't defeat Xixia, even if we compete with the Khitan for thirty steps, we still can't control their arrogance."
Cai Ting seemed to be ashamed of Zhang Yue's words and asked: "I don't know if Zhang Jing's strategy can protect the Khitan from other strategies, but can it ensure that the current national strength can defeat the Khitan?"
Zhang Yue said: "From what I see, the reason why our dynasty cannot defeat the Khitan is not because of insufficient financial resources and national strength, but because of a lack of care?"
"What's the matter?"
Zhang Yue said: "During the reign of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, Guo Jin was guarding Hebei, and the Khitan did not dare to offend him. However, Guo Jin was forced to commit suicide by his subordinates. From then on, the Khitan regarded China as a nobody."
Guo Jin was a famous general of the Song Army who had repeatedly defeated the Khitans. However, because such a famous general was not from Song Taizong's confidants, he was forced to commit suicide by the supervisors.
After Zhang Yue said something, something was wrong on Cai Ting's face. Zhang Yue's words could compare him to the general who forced Guo Jin to commit suicide.
The officials were also a little ashamed. This matter was indeed Taizong's fault. Didn't he also have this worry when he summoned Zhang Yue back to the capital?
As for Wang Anshi, his expression was a bit complicated at the moment.
Wu Chong thought to himself what had happened to his son-in-law today. He spoke without any scruples, and was not at all like his usual cautious self.
Is it really better to lead troops in the northwest than to stay in Beijing?
While he was talking, a minister came to the palace and said: "Your Majesty, a great victory, a great victory!"
The officials were a little confused when they heard about the great victory. If it was a great victory between Hebei and the Khitan, it would be worse than a great defeat.
"Tell me clearly, where is the great victory?" Cai Ting stepped forward to congratulate him. This official did not understand the rules.
But when he saw the other party, he said: "Yes... it's a great victory in Xihe!"
Zhang Yue, who was in the palace at the moment, couldn't help but be surprised, and immediately looked at Wang Anshi.
"The remnants of the Mu Zheng Party were building momentum in Minzhou to attack Xizhou. After the deputy envoy Wang Shao heard about it, he and General Wang Junwan led their troops to defeat the enemy in a preemptive strike and surrendered throughout Minzhou."
The officials were overjoyed when they heard this. Xihe Road actually captured another state, and Wang Shao led the army independently on the premise that Zhang Yue was not at Xihe Road.
The Song Dynasty can add another color block to the northwest territory. It is one step closer to restoring the homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties.
But Zhang Yue didn't think so. He wasn't jealous when he saw Wang Shao making great achievements, but he thought of another reason.
He was still the nominal coach of Xihe Road, but Wang Shao launched the campaign when he was not at Xihe Road. What does this mean?
Yes, the reason was that the Minzhou tribe wanted to attack Xizhou, but anyone with a discerning eye would know it was nonsense at a glance.
It is 80% that Wang Shao led his troops to conquer Minzhou when he was not in Xihe to show his ability.
Wang Shao can still win the battle with him or without him in Xihe.
Zhang Yue had no doubt that Wang Shao wanted to replace him, so he launched the battle.
But the problem is that a campaign to regain a state cannot be launched just by Wang Shao, a deputy envoy for economic and strategic affairs.
The Economic and Strategy Department can mobilize troops and horses, but the dispatch of grain, grass and baggage must be coordinated by the Transport Department.
So did Cai Yanqing take the initiative to cooperate with Wang Shao? Impossible, Cai Yanqing could not bear this responsibility if the battle failed.
Therefore, a battle of this scale must be approved by the central government if he is not in Xihe. In other words, Wang Anshi gave Wang Shao's acquiescence to send troops to attack Minzhou.
In other words, Wang Anshi tacitly allowed Wang Shao to seize Minzhou when he was not at Xihe Road.
From the beginning, Wang Anshi did not want him to return to Xihe to command the army, but had already chosen Wang Shao to replace him and command the northwest.
I was in the Zizheng Hall a few days ago, and I was fighting for so long in front of the imperial court today, and in the end I was making wedding clothes for others.
The official did not expect so much at the moment. At this moment, he was still immersed in the joy of regaining Minzhou. As Zhang Yue said, the most important thing was to regain thousands of miles of Xihe Road at one time. At this time, we must not let the Khitans
A moment of provocation disrupted the order of things.
As for Wang Shao, he is indeed a talented person and can successfully send troops when Zhang Yue is not in Xihe.
Zhang Yue said at this moment: "Your Majesty, the Xihe Road has been restored, the people's hearts are unstable, and Minzhou is afraid that the troops will be dispersed, leaving Hezhou empty. Please call for your Majesty to immediately strengthen the defense of Hezhou."
After listening to Zhang Yue's words, everyone felt jealous of Zhang Yue.
Cai Ting said: "Your Majesty, Mu Zhengxin has been defeated. The marriage between Dong Xiang and Xixia is a fool's errand. What should we fear?"
Wu Chong said: "I think it is better to be cautious."
Wang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, why not temporarily entrust Wang Shao to control the troops of Qin Feng and Xihe."
Compared with Zhang Yue's proposal to control four armies, restraining two armies is more acceptable. As for Wang Shao, who has always been known as a good warrior, if he said that he controlled two armies before, there were doubts, but this time he captured Minzhou
His military exploits should be enough for him.
Now it is a temporary word, but in a few days there will be no more temporary word. The officials also agreed with this decision and said the word "Zhunzou".
This time the palace discussion also ended, and Wang Anshi got what he wanted.
Wang Anshi walked out of the palace without much joy. In fact, what Zhang Yue said in the palace just now would have occurred to him without the other party reminding him.
As for whether Zhang Yue was jealous of Wang Shao's military exploits, Wang Anshi was not.
"Save it!"
Wang Anshi stopped Zhang Yue who came out of the palace with Wu Chong.
Wu Chong took the lead, and Zhang Yue stepped forward and asked, "Do you have any advice for me?"
Wang Anshi could feel a bit of anger in Zhang Yue's words. Wang Anshi stopped Zhang Yue this time, wanting to change the relationship between the two, and told him his decision to recommend the other person to be a Hanlin bachelor.
However, Wang Anshi understood Zhang Yue's tone, so he put the matter back and said: "What you just said in the palace were all words of gold and stone..."
"I don't dare to accept it. My husband has no other instructions, so I have resigned."
After hearing what Zhang Yue said, Wang Anshi was so angry that he lowered his face and said one word: "Okay."
