Chapter 236: On the Soldiers of Xixia, the war is more than filling lives
When Xiao Tang came to the Lue Mansion, he was just verifying with the military commander the achievements of the generals under his command to appease Jingnan, and rewarded and punished them according to their merits. The captured thieves Duan Sanniang, Duan Wu and others were sentenced to be taken to the city cao to be executed.
Punishment was a certainty. The reason why Zhongshi came to the capital was because of the increasingly tense relations between the Song and Xia border areas, and he came to the Privy Council to report to the Privy Council about the border defense of the Western Army.
The Song Dynasty and Xixia have been at war with each other this year. It seems that it was because Xiangtong had achieved great success and wanted to be crowned a king based on his military exploits (according to historical facts, he also did it and became the first minister of the Song Dynasty to be crowned a king while he was still alive).
. Now Tong Guan has controlled Xihe, Lanhuang, Qinfeng, and is also serving as the military governor of Wuxin Army. At present, he also plans to move inland Xiangyong and archers to enrich the strength of the Western Army. If he can pacify the army in one fell swoop
After a century of border troubles in the northwest, are you worried that it will not leave a mark in history?
At this time, Zhong Shizhong frowned. According to the opinions of him and his brother Zhong Shidao, now is not the best time to start another war with Xixia. But Tong Guan went to war for fame and honor. During the war with Qingtang Qiang, Tong Guan
He dared to secretly withhold Song Huizong's order prohibiting sending troops, and instead deceived the commander-in-chief Wang Hou into sending troops to regain the four states, thus achieving his first achievement in Tong Guan's battlefield. Now that he has great power, who can persuade him?
Xiao Tang saw that Master Zhong was silent, and he also knew that Xiao Zhong and Tong Guan were inseparable in appearance, so he asked: "Xiao Zhong, Mr. Xiao Zhong, came to the capital this time to manage the border areas and the war with Xixia."
Coming?"
The eyes of the seed masters were condensed. It is said that no matter where Xiao Tang is an official and a commander, he is the pacifier of South Jingxi Road. In his eyes, he is just a late-born junior who has just entered the war. However, the seed masters have also heard that
This Xiao Tang seems to be very favored by the Holy One, and Lu Da, the former governor of the government, and Han Cunbao, a subordinate of the Western Army who was his uncle's father-in-law at that time, also admire this person...
Thinking of the elaboration of this kind of division, he asked Xiao Tang: "Now Commander Tongjie is recharging his energy and recruiting troops. He is also urging another army to conquer Xixia. Whether there will be a war or not, I don't know if Xiaodu Yuhou will be there."
What’s your opinion?”
Xiao Tang was slightly startled, but when he saw the master's eyes were deep and full of meaning, he also thought in his heart: Since this little gentleman wants to test me, I can't show my timidity in front of him, so he said: "What the hell...
It's a major military matter, please forgive me for saying this: if we look at military strength and strategy alone, this battle must be fought. But if we put the overall interests of the country first... I think it's too early to go to Xixia at the moment."
Xiao Tang's answer was far beyond the expectations of the seed master. He raised his eyebrows and asked again: "Oh, how can you see this?"
Xiao Tang cleared his throat and said eloquently: "The younger generation said that this battle should be fought because the Xia people were in danger of occupying Hengshan, and the Hengshan Qiang were brave and good at fighting, surpassing Xixia. In the past, Xixia merged with the river to form a stronghold, and the roads between Qin and Jin were blocked.
, became the most difficult obstacle for our army to advance in Lingzhou. The last time the Xia people defeated Pingxia, our army took the opportunity to build a fort on Fuyan Road, so that Fuyan, Hedong and Linfu roads were connected in a line.
Hengshan is actually the national bloodline of the Xia people. If we can take down Hengshan in one battle, the Xia Kingdom will be completely controlled by our Song Dynasty, and the day of its collapse is not far away!"
After hearing this, Master Zhong had a look of appreciation on his face. He nodded with satisfaction and asked, "Then why did Du Yuhou say it was too early to conquer Xixia?"
Xiao Tang shook his head and sighed: "Not to mention that the Xixia Kingdom has more than 300,000 people who can control strings, and they are good at concentrating superior forces to defeat them one by one. Coupled with their advantageous position, every time there is a battle, they will be able to grasp the movement of our army.
Moreover, the Xia people are good at guerrilla tactics and are flexible and changeable, sometimes moving forward and sometimes behind. And our army is better at defending the city in formations, which often gives the Xia people an advantage. If our army wants to capture Hengshan, how can Xixia not use all its strength?
The soldiers of the whole country come to fight? In this case, it is a victory or a loss, or both.
Now that our army has laid down its foundation in building a fortress in Hengshan, it can encroach as much as possible without spending the entire country's strength to decide it in one battle. What's more... just like the previous victory at Pingxia City, the Liao Kingdom became a success
The three pillars of power will definitely not allow the Song Dynasty to destroy Xixia. At present, the power of the Liao Kingdom has not declined. Even if the Song Dynasty paid the blood of tens of millions of soldiers, it can only be exchanged for a situation of being attacked from both sides, wasting national power and people's wealth.
But what’s the use?”
To be fair, Tong Guan's idea is not only correct, but also has a very strategic vision. As long as Hengshan can be mastered, it will not only be a natural barrier that can be attacked and defended, but it is also the most fertile land in Xixia. Not only the livestock industry and
Agriculture is very developed, and it is the main producing area of salt and iron in Xixia. In the past wars between the Song Dynasty and Xixia, the logistical supplies stretched for 700 miles. Once the enemy cut off the food route, they would have no choice but to collapse without a fight.?
At that time, the Xixia army relied on the favorable geographical location of Hengshan to defeat the camps stationed by the Song army one by one. For example, in the Song-Xia war, the defeats at Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan, and Dingchuan Village were all defeated by the Xia army in this way.
However, although Tong Guan's strategic policy was correct, one general's success would lead to thousands of deaths. Tong Guan was too eager for quick success, and it could even be said that he wanted to satisfy his pursuit of power and fame at the expense of the blood and corpses of countless soldiers.
The same goes for constantly encouraging Song Huizong to conquer Xia, and later tearing up the century-old alliance between Song and Liao to unite Jin to conquer Liao...?
What's more, in the later Song-Xia war, Tong Guan and Zhong Shidao led the army to completely conquer Hengshan, causing Xixia to suffer another devastating blow. At that time, Xixia was on the verge of subjugation and completely lost its geographical advantages and strategic initiative.
At that time, the Song Dynasty did not need to use force. It only had to hold on to Hengshan, which produced salt, iron, and rice to supply Xixia's national strength. Xixia, with most of its land being desert, could only gradually decline.
But the Xixia Kingdom, after all, had the support of the Liao Dynasty, and when the Liao Kingdom was almost in trouble, the Jurchens, the real enemy of the Song Dynasty, had already risen...
Only then did Master Zhong show a look of surprise, and he unconsciously looked up to Xiao Tang a little more. He praised: "I also feel that the time is not yet ripe to send troops to attack Xia. It's a pity...
...well!"
During these days, among the Zhongshi, Zhongshi Dao and Tong Guan had a dispute because Tong Guan was too eager to conquer Xia and actually wanted to persuade Song Huizong to attack Hebei and Jingdong and send hundreds of thousands of local brave archers to Da Da
The Western Army of the Song Dynasty and the generals and generals knew that these militiamen and village warriors were not professional soldiers at all. Most of them had low combat effectiveness. They were just trying to save Tong Guan's life and sacrifice their lives to fight against the fierce and good-fighting Xixia army.
What's more, regardless of victory or defeat, the roads in the Song Dynasty will be empty of inspections and defenses, which will make the world's strongmen and bandits rampant and cause chaos. But Tong Guan, who is already red-eyed about claiming the title of public king, will pay attention to such "irrelevant things"
"Little things?
After some conversation, Master Zhong's impression of Xiao Tang became very good. He was pleasantly surprised to find that this young man not only accurately analyzed the overall military situation between Song and Xia, but also had completely consistent strategic ideas with the two brothers.
At present, many brave and war-like generals among the generals of the Western Army have been attracted by Tong Guan, and they are also urging the imperial soldiers to seize the important land of Hengshan in one battle as soon as possible. However, Zhongshi did not expect to meet a confidant in the army in the capital.
, I feel like I regret meeting you too late.
"Hou Xiao Du Yu is really knowledgeable and insightful. It's better to meet him by chance than to invite him. Since Han Jiedu intends to hold a banquet, how about we discuss it in detail?" Master Zhong said warmly to Xiao Tang with a smile in his eyes.
