The first means of judging the grassland is armament, which is aimed at auxiliary and recruiting cavalry. The second is food, which will be targeted at all forces in the entire grassland. Without Yan Yun, the food of the nomadic people is bound to become scarce.
Situation. The third is trade, whether it is salt, iron or wool, it can play a role in adjusting the entire grassland.
Zhao Xi had already planned this before the battle to annihilate Beiliao.
In the era of cold weapons and backward technology, Zhao Xi had long considered the issue of grassland governance or restraint. But he really couldn't think of any better solution.
Zhao Xi finally had to adopt this method of raising tigers and leopards in captivity...
Is raising tigers a problem? The question is whether you raise tigers or not. Tigers will eventually grow. Such problems will still exist long into later generations.
Captivity can at least control the power of tigers and leopards, which is conducive to the Song Dynasty's control of the grassland to a certain extent. I dare not say absolute rule.
Everyone can understand the thoughts of the officials. I have to admit that the officials are truly far-sighted.
The army on the northwest road left a loophole, which was a stroke of genius.
As we all know, the Northern Liao Emperor's earlier escape would definitely lead to complaints from all parties in the Northern Liao court. The reason why the Northern Liao Emperor escaped was because he wanted to continue his career as emperor.
Therefore, the escape route of the Northern Liao Emperor could never be northwest... At that time, perhaps the Northern Liao Emperor knew that the Song Dynasty's northwest army was launched. Whether it was from the idea of continuing his imperial career, or from the northwest of the Song Dynasty
Due to the military's concerns, the Northern Liao emperor would only choose Dading Mansion or Linhuang Mansion in Zhongjing in Northern Liao.
The gap in the northwest allowed Bei Liao to escape. The moment they chose to flee westward, there was a basis for breaking with the Bei Liao court.
Regardless of whether the Northern Liao emperor's power could be completely annihilated in the end, from now on, a force opposing the Northern Liao court would be established.
Coupled with the auxiliary cavalry who are about to enter the grassland, the recruitment of cavalry... the grassland in the future will definitely be a melee situation. The imperial court retains the cavalry team, which is a cavalry team that has accepted the teachings of the Jiangwu Hall.
Relevant non-military forces that contain the grassland...Obviously, the imperial court can affect the future direction of the entire grassland to a certain extent.
"The officials, have you thought that Yelu Hongji would escape early?"
Very shocked. After the whole plan of the official family was sorted out, all the ministers were shocked.
Although Wen Yanbo was a young man in the official family, he had experienced the amazing strategies of the official family, but like this today, it is too amazing... This is almost like a prophet of uncertainty!
"No. I can't tell that the Emperor of Northern Liao will escape early. When I drafted the encirclement, my purpose was to annihilate the Emperor of Northern Liao in the encirclement."
"The reason why the gap in the northwest encirclement was left was to allow the troops of Bei Liao to escape through this gap, thereby establishing a certain power in the northwest region of Bei Liao, and thus to connect with the northeast of Bei Liao, that is, the ancestors of Bei Liao.
The land is divided.”
"After the imperial court has completely wiped out the entire Nanjing Road, it will send a large army to cross the Yanshan Mountains and go directly north to cut off the connection between the eastern and western forces of the Northern Liao Dynasty from the middle, and finally defeat them one by one as much as possible."
"My intention is to first calm down the Northern Liao and Liaodong areas, and then consider the northwest. We can even let the Xizhou Uighurs take over the Northern Liao's power in the northwest for the imperial court first..."
Under the current situation, the government's strategy can still be implemented, right? It should be possible to continue to promote the pacification of the grassland first from the east and then from the west.
The Northern Liao Dynasty would always cooperate with the Song Dynasty's strategy to release information...
Just when the frontline headquarters of the Jin Prefecture in the Great Song Dynasty was formulating the specific implementation details of the next strategy of moving east and then west, news came from Dading Prefecture of Northern Liao Dynasty: The emperor of Northern Liao Dynasty summoned his old troops in Dading Prefecture to defend the glory of the Khitan people to the death.
, to ensure that the ancestral land of the Khitan people would not be lost, and to block the Song Dynasty south of Yanshan Mountain.
It has to be said that the Emperor of Northern Liao was also a good hand at propaganda work.
Under such circumstances, even if he abandoned all his soldiers and fled first, he could still find an excuse to call on the entire Khitan people.
It seems that he escaped in advance just to arrange the defense of the Khitan ancestral land earlier...
"Yelu Hongji is dragging the Khitan people with him to support him even before he dies!"
Perhaps only the king can understand the king's intention. Zhao Xi is very shameless for Yelu Hongji's tricks!
"Officials should not underestimate the appeal of an emperor. Although he abandoned all forces, he was still the only king in Northern Liao, and the entire Khitan ethnic group still respected him."
"At this time, Yelu Hongji should be able to gather the remaining soldiers of the Northern Liao Dynasty on the grounds of the survival of the Khitan ethnic group. The military morale will even be more cohesive than before, and the combat power will be improved. Even those tribes will devote all their resources to it.
Support Yelu Hongji to continue fighting."
"The centripetal force of ethnic groups cannot be ignored by officials. Whether in the Song Dynasty or the Northern Liao Dynasty, the cohesion of ethnic groups is stronger than a dynasty!"
How could Zhao Xi not understand what Wang Anshi said? It is precisely because of this that he is not ashamed of Yelu Hongji's actions. He is not uniting the Khitan ethnic group, he wants to drag the entire Khitan ethnic group into the abyss!
"The purpose of this expedition of our Song Dynasty is to annihilate the Northern Liao Dynasty. The life and death of the emperor of the Northern Liao Dynasty will determine whether our army will succeed in this war. In other words, for our Song Dynasty, the emperor of the Northern Liao Dynasty must die."
"Not to mention Dading Mansion on the Zhongjing Road, even Linhuang Mansion on the Upper Jing Road, as long as Yelu Hongji doesn't die, our army will not stop attacking for a day."
"At this time, Yelu Hongji has united the Khitan people, doesn't he want all the Khitans to die with him?"
"In the battle of Hebei Road, could it be that Yelu Hongji couldn't see that Northern Liao was vulnerable to the Song Dynasty? Since it was destined to die, why bother? If it was really for the Khitan ethnic group, Yelu Hongji's most correct approach
At that time, he took his royal descendants and surrendered directly to our Song Dynasty."
"However, he did this because he wanted to think about what the Song Dynasty wanted and was anxious about what the Song Dynasty was anxious about. The original goal of this battle was to annihilate the effective forces of the Northern Liao Dynasty as much as possible, that is, to annihilate the Khitan ethnic group and the eight ancient Khitan tribes.
Extended power."
"Yelu Hongji gathered the Khitan people together, which saved me the trouble of running towards the army..."
Isn't that right? I just thought that Bei Liao had once again gathered its combat power, but I forgot that Bei Liao's combat power was like a chicken and a dog, vulnerable to a single blow in front of the powerful Song Dynasty team.
The boredom of the purge operation had long since made the soldiers tired, and they wished that there would be a war at any time... Especially after the imperial court announced the rewards for this war, all the armies in the entire Song Dynasty were even more howling to fight.
It's time to attack Linhuang Mansion.
Especially those who recruit cavalry and assist the cavalry team.
With the Song Dynasty relying on such superior military strength and never-ending supply of new armaments and food, their ambitions were not even limited to the three hundred miles north of Yanshan...
The vast area of Bei Liao is still prairie. For those Dangxiang people and Tubo people, it is all wealth and territory.
The soldiers of the Song Dynasty were from the Central Plains ethnic group. They were a farming people and were not good at herding. In other words, the huge Northern Liao Dynasty would most likely end up among their auxiliary teams...
Not to mention all of it, even 20 to 30% was left to them, which was not comparable to the small space of Xixia.
Most people have a feeling that the demise of Xixia does not seem to be a bad thing for Dangxiang...
When Yeluhong called on the Khitans to unite to resist the Song Dynasty's attack based on Linhuang Mansion, Xiao Gangbu also arrived at the Tuanling Ridge Jiedushi area in Northern Liao...
"Commander, do we want to go back to Linhuang Mansion?"
"Go back? What are you going back for? To plead guilty to Your Majesty? To admit that we killed the Liao Dynasty's military commander? To ask for His Majesty's punishment? Or should we go back to accompany His Majesty to fight against the Song Dynasty, and then let His Majesty abandon us again?"
Isn't Xiao Ao also a discerning person, he is very clear about the current comparison of Song and Liao's combat power... They are not on the same level at all, how to fight against them?
Your Majesty wants to die, and your Majesty must die, but he cannot let the entire Khitan die with him. He can't say this yet, but he knows in his heart that he not only knows the fate of the emperor of Daliao, but also understands the Song Dynasty's expedition. Determination.
"Commander, what should we do next?"
"Before the war, didn't the Xizhou Uighurs plunder countless livestock from Daliao? Now let's take them back!"
The lieutenant general did not understand the commander's thoughts. The Song State occupied the entire Yanyun, and even continued to go north to occupy more land in Daliao.
The commander-in-chief did not consider taking action against the Song Dynasty, but wanted to ask the Xizhou Uighurs to recover those animals...
The lieutenant general didn't understand Xiao Ao... Xiao Ao didn't have a choice.
At this time, he continued to fight against the Song Dynasty, just to beg for a beating. He brought out only 30,000 Orulus, plus the less than 100,000 horses and men from the Jiedu Mansion in the collapsed ridge, it was simply not enough for the Song Dynasty.
As for what His Majesty did in Linhuang Mansion, it would only make it easier for the Song Dynasty to annihilate more Khitans.
Now, since he, Xiao Hebu, has arrived in the northwest first, opening a way out for the Khitan people has become a top priority.
According to clan records, whenever the Central Plains dynasty was strong and powerful, it was the day when their nomadic tribes moved to war.
My ancestors also traveled westward when the Central Plains dynasty was powerful. At this time, it was only right for me to open up the westward journey for the Khitan people and leave a way out, instead of fighting the powerful Song Dynasty like your majesty.
"Isn't that Xiao Huan?"
When Xiao Huanbu also led his army to march towards the Xizhou Uighurs, Zhao Xi also received the report.
"In the official family, Xiao Tabuye, named Welituan, is the grandson of Gaojiu, the uncle of the country. He is upright in character. In Xianyongzhong, he was appointed Marquis of Langjun. In the first year of Dakang, he was the envoy of Zhangmin Palace and the princess of Zhao Kingdom. I paid homage to the Prince Consort. After three years, I learned about the layout of the Han palace."
"When Yelu Yixin was planning the Northern Liao emperor's grandson, Xiao Gaobu also gave advice, and thus gained the attention of the Northern Liao emperor. He made outstanding contributions in the battle to quell Yelu Yixin's rebellion in Bei Liao. He was the key to this Hebei Dao war. Deputy Commander."
The secretary who accompanied the army told the story of Xiao Gaobuye.
"Isn't this Xiao Huan a smart man?"
Zhao Xi praised Xiao Gaobuye's behavior and could not deny it. It didn't matter, Zhao Xi had never thought about expanding the territory of the Song Dynasty to the extent that it spanned the Eurasian continent in his lifetime.
The strength of a dynasty is not only reflected in its territory. If the governance ability cannot keep up with such a large territory, the final result will only be that it will fall apart very quickly.
Let’s not talk about the cases of blind expansion of enterprises in later generations. Let’s talk about the previous dynasty. The vast territory and governance capabilities were not consistent, which was the source of destruction.
"The officials, how should they deal with Xiao Huan? Don't they do anything about it?"
Wang Anshi also felt that there was nothing he could do about it, but he was not sure how ambitious the officials were.
"How to deal with it? Fight over it? Not to mention that the number of troops of the current imperial court is not enough for the expedition. Even if the expeditionary force of 100,000 or 80,000 can be defeated, so what? Can the imperial court convert the entire Western Region? Or should we say
Can the imperial court send officials who are qualified enough to serve in that part of the Western Region?"
"If the final result of sending troops on an expedition is the governance form of Jisi Prefecture, why would the imperial court need to conquer it? As long as the Song Dynasty remains strong and powerful, more forces in the surrounding areas will definitely ask for annexation in the future."
"Now, the top priority of the imperial court is to consider how to make the Northern Liao Dynasty disappear. Xiao Huanbuye's intention may be able to divide the various forces within the Khitan ethnic group, which will be beneficial to our goal of quelling the Northern Liao Dynasty in the Song Dynasty."
Indeed, in the original idea, Zhao Xi was worried that the Beiliao troops who fled to the northwest would respond to Yelu Hongji's call and lead their troops to assemble from the northwest to Linhuang Mansion.
If that were the case, the Song Dynasty would have to send a large army directly north from Bei'an Prefecture to intercept reinforcements from the northwest of Bei Liao, or to avoid being harassed by the northwest Liao army when attacking Linhuang Mansion.
As for the power of the Imperial City Division in the far northwest, there is no way to know the true number and combat strength of the troops.
Now, the Song Dynasty can completely ignore the northwest and only need to concentrate its efforts on attacking Linhuang Mansion.
"The officials, Gao Yongchang, sent an envoy to Bianliang to request the imperial court to give him support. He said that when he received the imperial court's support, he would go north from Suzhou, conquer Chenzhou, and march to Liaoyang to help us defeat the Song Dynasty.
Destroy Northern Liao."
"At the same time, Gao Yongchang promised that after the Northern Liao Dynasty was annihilated, he only needed to restore the territory of the original Bohai Kingdom and be controlled by the imperial court forever..."
Even Wang Anshi thought Gao Yongchang was ridiculous after seeing such a negotiation in the name of request. He had no idea of his own weight.
"Send a message to Gao Yongchang and ask him if he still wants to take over all the Tokyo Road in Beiliao? I really don't know what to say."
"Tell the Fourth Son that from now on, the entire maritime channel in Suzhou will be blocked, and any maritime merchants will be prohibited from trading with Gao Yongchang. In particular, food and other related necessary materials will be prohibited from arriving in Suzhou."
"Inform those maritime merchants who come from afar that anyone who trades with Gao Yongchang will be classified as the enemy of the Song Dynasty. On the entire ocean, both the navy of the Song Dynasty and the merchants of the Song Dynasty will be obliged to deal with them.
its attack."
I really don’t know what to say. After gathering a mob of three to five thousand people, you talk about terms with the Song Dynasty without shame? And you still send envoys? You really think you are a person.
This will make you want to die and not be able to go!