Zhang Shen's rebuttal would have been just listened to by someone else. But Zhang Yue was very serious and patient.
Zhang Yue has always adhered to Zhang Yue's belief that he should not easily overpower the other party because his official position is lower than his own. Moreover, the other party's qualifications were much higher than his own, so Zhang Yue showed full respect.
Zhang Shen said: "In order to attack Xizhou and Hezhou, 60% of Qinfeng Road's elite troops were deployed to Xihe Road. Now the Qinfeng Road troops, regular soldiers and soldiers stationed in one place totaled less than 40,000. I sent another 10,000 troops before.
We need reinforcements, we really don’t have any more troops on hand.”
Zhang Yue thought to himself, if you allocate 20,000 soldiers and horses to lead the rescue, if that doesn't work, why not 10,000?
However, Zhang Yue said: "Jinglue is right."
When Zhang Yue saw that Zhang Yue had not arrived, he forced him to send troops to rescue Xihe. He felt that Zhang Yue was very knowledgeable about current affairs.
Zhang Shen said: "Now the prince is trapped in Minzhou with all his troops, Jing Sili, Wang Hou lost his army and lost territory due to defeat, and Gao Zunyu insists on defending Dingxi City. This is the disadvantage of the current situation, but from the overall situation, I think this defeat is a win."
good!"
Seeing Zhang Shen staring at him, Zhang Yue said: "What does the strategy mean? Three roads are trapped, how can it be a good thing to lose troops and lose ground?"
Zhang Shen laughed and said: "Zhang Longtu, there is no need for you and me to pretend to be confused."
"If Prince Chun had not reached this point, how could you return to Xihe? I'm afraid you would have been invited to another county by Mr. Wang!"
Zhang Yue heard this and thought to himself, what you said was true. However, he pretended to be angry and said: "What are these words? Our army has suffered a defeat. It is still unknown whether I can turn the tide."
Zhang Shen said with a smile: "Zhang Longtu, aren't you back? To be honest, I have seen it a long time ago. The prince is indeed a talented general, but even if he keeps winning, he will never win Xihe. Once the court is short of money and food,
, then how were these places captured, and how were they sent back?"
"Zhang Longtu is the only one who came to Xihe to clean up the situation. Even if the front is defeated, wouldn't it be gratifying for you to be in charge of Xihe again? To be honest, it has been reported that you returned to Xihe to reopen the business.
Regarding the matter of the Lue Mansion, not only me, but every official on Qinfeng Road in Xihe River is not excited about it, they all feel that the crisis can be turned into peace."
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "What you said, Mr. Zhang, makes me feel ashamed. The area between Qinfeng Road and Xihe Road is shoulder to shoulder, and it's like a cold mouth. You and I are each responsible for the same thing.
As ministers of the imperial court, in this critical moment, when life or death is at stake, we must work together to tide over the difficulties together!"
Zhang Shen said with a smile: "What Long Tu said is absolutely true. Now that the government is fully supporting you in regaining Xihe, Zhang should take the overall situation into consideration and fully cooperate."
Zhang Yue asked: "If Mr. Zhang has anything to say, you can just say it, as long as I can help."
Zhang Shen said: "Long Tu told the truth. The third division ordered Cai Yun to coordinate the system's money and resources. Last year, I transferred a lot..."
Zhang Yue interrupted and asked, "How much of a deficit is there?"
Zhang Shen said: "It's almost 700,000 to 800,000 yuan. Can Wu Shuxiang say something to Longtu? In the name of supporting Xihe Road, we can give him some time."
Zhang Yue said: "This matter...I can't make the decision for Lao Taishan on this matter, but for the deficit of 700,000 to 800,000 guan, I can lend you 500,000 guan for withdrawal first, and you can settle the account first, and in the future
Give it back to me."
Zhang Shen said happily: "Thank you Long Tu, the money will be returned within three months."
Zhang Yue finally understood. No wonder Zhang Shen was eager to come back. It would be nice if Wang Shao didn't add insult to injury. He might even go to Wang Anshi to sue Zhang Shen. It didn't seem like he would help him cover it up.
After the two of them finished speaking, they set off from Luting and returned to Qinzhou City.
The wealth of Qinzhou City was far better than that of the desolate Xihe Prefectures. When the officials, generals and wealthy merchants in the city learned about Zhang Yue's arrival, they all went to pay homage and congratulate him.
However, Zhang Yue did not meet them all. He only met with several large grain merchants in Qinzhou and asked him to prepare grain and send it to the Xihe front line.
As for the dinner that Zhang Shen held to thank Zhang Yue, Zhang Yue also declined.
In the officialdom, greetings and greetings are too annoying, so the more Zhang can do, the calmer he is. Fortunately, his official position is high enough now, and he is not afraid of offending others even if he refuses, which makes people feel honest and reserved.
After canceling the dinner, Zhang Yue and Zhang Shen studied the current situation in Xihe together. Now Dong Xiang sent his general Qingyi Jie Guizhang and led tens of thousands of troops to attack Hezhou. Jing Sili and Wang Hou led the defeated army to occupy the key points.
Defend wherever you go.
Wang Shao's army was circling in the mountains of Minzhou, and now it was plunged into the vast sea of war between the Qing and Tang Dynasties and the Tibetan people.
The Xishou Baotai, Zhuolu and Nan military supervisory departments of Xixia have been besieging Dingxi City guarded by Gao Zunyu for a month.
Gao Zunyu sent letters to the capital one day at a time to express his concern, describing the situation as very critical.
Many Tibetan tribes in Xihe also acted as wall guards, swaying left and right. The soldiers and horses of the Song army were ambushed from time to time, and the food routes were cut off from time to time.
The Tibetan tribe was so outrageous that they colluded with Mu Zheng to attack Xizhou where Cai Yanqing was stationed, with the intention of cooperating with both internal and external forces to capture it in one fell swoop. Fortunately, Cai Yanqing saw through it.
Even Xizhou, which had been in operation for many years, was almost lost. One can imagine the situation of the Song army in other cities and villages.
From Zhang Shen's mouth, Zhang Yue knew that Minzhou, Huizhou, and Hezhou were currently under attack, so how to break the situation?
Zhang Yue had previously heard from the emperor that many ministers in the court suggested abandoning Minzhou.
It is said that there are many mountains and forests in Minzhou, and there are unruly people in the poor mountains and rivers, so the victory is of little value. On the contrary, defending this state will involve a lot of troops from the imperial court.
So let Wang Shao retreat first, abandon Minzhou, and hold on to Hezhou and Huizhou.
But Zhang Yue believed that Minzhou should not be abandoned, because although Minzhou was barren, it connected Taozhou, Jiezhou, Yuanjun, Jiezhou, and Qinzhou. Once Minzhou was abandoned, the Song army lost this important transportation road.
It is necessary to send more troops and horses to strengthen the defense of the states connected to Minzhou. This is very costly.
Therefore, Zhang Yue still insists on keeping Minzhou. In addition to the above considerations, there is also the fact that Minzhou is also an important route from Zhangyan to Sichuan.
Xixia has green salt, and Shaanxi has salt salt, so there is no salt shortage in the northwest, but Sichuan and Shu are the ones lacking salt.
As long as Zhang salt can be sold to Sichuan and Shu, then this will be a steady stream of revenue. This income can greatly reduce the cost of the Song Dynasty's rule in Xihe.
So Zhang Yue and Li Shen discussed it all night and decided to send troops to capture Minzhou first to relieve their worries.
Of course, whether Jing Sili and Gao Zunyu can hold on is also a question.
According to what Zhang Yue knew about Gao Zunyu, this man was cautious by nature (cowardly and afraid of death) and would generally not put himself to death. Zhang Yue felt that he should listen to his words with a 70% discount.
Moreover, this person had a history of falsely reporting the enemy's situation in the past. When he knew that the news about Tabaicheng was lost, Gao Zunyu sent 10,000 people from Zhang Shen to defend Huizhou. In addition, his previous unit was also the Song Army's on Xihe Road.
They are elite, so there shouldn't be any big problems.
As for Jing Sili and Wang Hou, it is difficult.
However, it takes more than ten days to send troops from Qinzhou to Hezhou, while it only takes a few days to send troops to Minzhou.
After regaining Minzhou, you can take advantage of the situation and go north to save Hezhou.
Therefore, Zhang Yue and Zhang Shen negotiated and Zhang Shen recruited another 5,000 people in Qinzhou. Then Zhang Yue transferred 12,000 troops from Qinfeng Road, plus the Japanese army from Bianjing, to enter Minzhou to suppress the enemy.
.
After discussing these matters overnight, Zhang Yue and Zhang Shen jointly drafted a memorial to explain the matter to the emperor.
Zhang Yue has the power to make decisions on the spur of the moment. For such military operations, he can advocate for himself without asking for instructions on everything. But making decisions on the spur of the moment does not mean that he can not report to the emperor. This is like not taking the emperor seriously.
Zhang Yue wrote in his memorial that to quell the Xihe Rebellion, we must build a strong position from a high position in order to achieve success. Minzhou is backed by the Qinling Mountains and is the channel connecting Sichuan and Shu. Once our army rejects this, we will look in all directions.
With all roads accessible, Tibetan thieves and enemy invaders can be defeated at once...
After writing this, it was already dark.
Today we will mobilize elite troops from all over Qinfeng Road to Qinzhou, and in a few days the vanguard will enter Minzhou. Zhang Yue simply did not sleep, so he rode on horseback to inspect Qinzhou City.
The war in Xihe has lasted for three years. Soldiers, horses, money and food all have to pass through Qinzhou City before heading to the front. Therefore, Qinzhou is far more prosperous than it was back then.
It's better to have a curfew in the city, but outside the city, it's all night in the grass market. Many teahouses and restaurants are still open. The most conspicuous ones are dozens of brothels with colorful buildings, which seem to have been built overnight.
generally.
Is this still Qinzhou City three years ago?
Many soldiers on Xihe Road chose to buy houses and fields in Qinzhou, and the generals either brought people from their hometowns to live in Qinzhou, or installed several rooms for concubines in Qinzhou city.
However, the people of Qinzhou were also extremely miserable. Many people were eating moldy food and drinking dirty water by the trenches outside the city. When they saw Zhang Yue, a man like Zhang Yue, they swarmed up to ask for money.
Although these people were dispersed by his followers, Zhang Yue still felt unbearable.
Recovering Qingtang would allow the people to live a good life, but since they could not recover Qingtang, the imperial court kept suppressing it, and wouldn't the people's lives become even more miserable?
Then as Fu Bi said, it is only right not to talk about military matters for twenty years.
Zhang Yue rode his horse for a tour outside the city and returned to the shogunate. He said to several aides: "No wait, let's set off for Minzhou today!"
After hearing what Zhang Yue said, Cai Jing and others were surprised.
Zhang Yue and Shen Kuo both urged Zhang Yue not to take risks lightly. Zhang Yue said, "It doesn't matter. I have three commanding cavalry accompanying me. Generally, the Tibetan tribes don't dare to embarrass me, and even assassins don't dare to harm me."
After several people tried to persuade them, they couldn't stop it. Zhang Yue talked to Zhang Shen. Zhang Shen also objected, but Zhang Yue couldn't wait and led more than a thousand cavalry into Minzhou first, while Zhang Shen waited for more than 10,000 cavalry.
After the army was mobilized, it entered Minzhou.
Although the cavalry under Zhang Yue's command was only a thousand men, they had to recruit Tibetan tribes who were close to the Song Dynasty when passing by, and used salt money to recruit Tibetan tribes to send troops to accompany them.
This area is mostly populated by cooked potatoes, so they are very cooperative.
After entering Minzhou for two or three days, Zhang Yue had recruited many soldiers.
After having soldiers and horses, Zhang Yue sent people to the rebellious Tibetan tribe to appease them and told them to forget the blame, but they must select the best members of the tribe to join the Song army. As for the stubborn Tibetan tribe, Zhang Yue immediately sent troops to attack.
When Zhang Yue arrived at Dangchang Village where Wang Shao was located, he had recruited tens of thousands of Tibetan troops and defeated three disobedient Tibetan tribes.
