In the first stage of the northwest campaign launched in the spring of the sixth year of Jianyan, the Song Dynasty took advantage of everything.
Almost all the walled land taken away by Xixia after Jingkang was taken back in an orderly manner, and Yan'an was gradually surrounded by both sides... This is natural, because Xixia itself was unable to effectively defend outside the traditional defense lines, and at the same time , the Jurchens, who are the real bearers of military bargaining chips, have been unable to assume important responsibilities in the war.
What's going on with the Xixia people? What's going on with the Jurchens? It couldn't be simpler to say...that is the problem of offensive and defensive military affairs in the Middle Ages.
To be precise, it is a question of cost between offense and defense.
When both sides have mature artillery technology, it would be ridiculous to use ancient words such as "Ten Sieges" as a standard. But the problem is that even so, if the attacker wants to defeat the defender, he still needs to form the defensive team first. Doubling the combat power, civilian strength and logistical reserve advantages before taking action.
In this case, when there is not much difference in combat power between the two sides, the attacking side will inevitably suffer more setbacks in general, while the defending side will have a higher probability of success in general. The so-called strategic confrontation will naturally form at this time. And if there are geographical dangers between the two sides that naturally increase military costs, such as the Yellow River, the Yellow River, and the Yellow River, then this confrontation pattern will be further strengthened.
Therefore, the key lies not in Wanyan Wushu's judgment speed, nor in Li Qianshun's decisive direction, nor in the combat effectiveness of the Jin army, nor in the number of Xixia soldiers and horses, nor in the deliberate calculation of the Song army and the forced In response to the disharmony between the two sides after the war, the war progressed to this year, and the strategic balance between Song, Jin and Xixia was re-established.
At this time, whoever gives up defense and attacks will always seem to lose more than he gains from theoretical expectations.
Of course, this also raised a natural question, a question that Li Qianshun kept testing and Wanyan Wushu kept doubting - if this was the case, how could the Song Army be able to launch an offensive? Even if Is it in Yan'an on the other side of the Yellow River? Why did the Song people reserve so much grain, grass, military supplies and ordnance in one year? Why were the Zhao and Song officials so decisive?
Was it the easy pacification of the South after Yaoshan and the easy recovery of Jingdong that made him so arrogant that he lost his true judgment?
If this is the case, it is naturally a good thing, but even so, it is still the same sentence, no one dares to bet!
"We don't have the ability to attack, at least we can't really fight a decisive battle on the battlefield of Hengshan-Yan'an." In front of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum in Qiaoshan, north of Fangzhou City, Zhao Jiu, who was looking at the mausoleum standing with his hands behind his back, listened attentively. After summarizing the military information and suggestions, the famous commander directly gave the answer. "Because once we really attack at this time, it will be a battle of at least 100,000 people. A battle of 100,000 people. As long as the opponent persists in not fighting for two months, It is enough to overwhelm our logistics, and we will naturally be defeated without a fight... Therefore, we are not allowed to expand the scale of the war at will without an order."
Han Shizhong and Wu Jie, who came back from the east and north to report on the war situation, looked at each other and just said yes together.
In other words, this is the advantage of having an emperor sitting in charge, or this is the reason why Zhao Jiu, although he no longer goes to the front line, must come to keep an eye on the front... Don't think of these 'famous generals from ancient times' as small things. Aries, in fact, if he hadn't been here, Wu Jie and Han Shizhong would probably have taken advantage of the current war situation and attacked Yan'an directly. Yu Wenxuzhong couldn't hold them back at all, and Hu Yin might hold them back, but not necessarily It's so easy.
In fact, if they had predicted Hu Yin's attitude in advance, these military leaders would even take action directly while soliciting opinions. By then, it would be an established fact and they would have to let Yu Wenxuzhong and Hu Yin wipe their butts.
But since the Emperor was here, they didn't dare to do this. They could only come here to ask for instructions first, and they even had to gather two people together to look down on them... But unexpectedly, the Emperor could make them give up their previous plans with just one word.
"But we have to fight... The only key point of this battle is actually to ensure that the main Xixia field force behind Hengshan cannot retreat." Zhao Jiu turned around and spoke on the steps in front of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum.
"But we can't let the Xixia people panic to the point of mobilizing the whole country." Hu Yin stepped forward and crossed his hands before Han Shizhong responded. "On normal days, naturally the Xixia people would like to mobilize the whole country. In this case, after a few consecutive
The second delay can drag Xixia to death... But now, according to the message sent by Hu Shilang, the Khitan people sent people back to Xiliao in early March to inform Yelu Dashi to send troops, so who knows when the 30,000 Khitan army will come
Yeah, that's the real key."
"That's right." Zhao Jiu nodded with his back to the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum. "Xiliao is the key."
Western Liao... After knowing that Yelu Dashi's core ruling area had been transferred to the Western Regions and that it still had more than 30,000 troops, the civil and military forces of the Song Dynasty unconsciously changed the name. It was no longer Northern Liao, and it was no longer the remnant.
Instead, he used an appropriate name, namely Xiliao.
"I understand." Han Shizhong immediately responded. "As long as you bluff..."
"Yes, it's just a bluff." Zhao Jiu nodded again.
"It's just an official." The yellow-faced Wu Jie suddenly frowned and interrupted. "Is Xiliao really reliable?"
"I don't expect to destroy Xixia in one battle." Zhao Jiu also frowned. "As long as the Hexi Corridor is opened, it will be considered a success. Once Hexi is opened, one will break the arm of Xixia, and the other will bring Xiliao into the game and suppress Xixia.
, the third one connects the Western Regions, so that the country no longer lacks horses...Yelü Dashi has suffered repeated defeats, and has become more and more courageous after more than ten years of defeat. These figures, with their calculations and unintentional, lead an army of 30,000 people and Pengju 30,000 people.
How can we not even take the empty six counties of Hexi with a combined attack from left and right?"
"I don't mean that." Wu Jie crossed his hands solemnly in reply.
On Fangshan Mountain, Zhao Jiu, Hu Yin, and Han Shizhong were almost all startled. Even Yang Yizhong, who was standing by, and Lu Benzhong, who had just come from the capital to report the news, were also slightly startled... Obviously, everyone
People instantly understood Wu Jie's hint.
Of course, in the current scene, there is no need to hint.
"Guanjia." When Wu Jie saw Zhao Guanjia come to his senses, he immediately stepped forward and reminded seriously, "Liao people are not Yi Yu's generation... I have no doubts about Yelu Dashi's talent, nor am I worried about the Khitan's fighting power, let alone
We are worried about the problems of the six counties in Hexi, because no matter whether they are Jin people or Xixia people, even with the intelligence of Zhuge Wuhou, they may not have calculated the Khitan people in the Western Regions from the beginning. This plan is basically ours.
It’s like having a secret, as long as you show off your power and bluff in northern Shaanxi, you can reap the benefits... However, I’m afraid that Yelu Dashi and Xiliao will go too far smoothly!”
"What happens if you go too far?" In the warm March wind, Zhao Jiu became completely serious.
"What I mean is that Li Qianshun is almost fifty and has been the leader of the country for forty-seven and eight years. How smart and capable is he still? If he had not reacted in time, he would have been stabbed all the way to Xingqing by the Liao cavalry along the Hexi Passage. What should the government do?" Wu Jie became more and more solemn. "Moreover, the Liao Kingdom and Xixia Kingdom have been married for generations. Before the Jinren's victory at Yinshan, Li Qianshun relied entirely on the Khitan people. The queen was Princess Yelu, and the prince was Yelu's grandson. Therefore, Xixia Kingdom Among them, not only the party members have a favorable impression of the Khitan people, but there are even the accompanying ministers who came with Princess Yelu and are still in high positions. When the time comes..."
"When the time comes, if Yelu Dashi occupies Xingqing Mansion, will it be impossible to lose the big tail?" Zhao Jiu followed the other party's intention. "Will it follow the story of Yanjing and bite us hard? Will it become the third one according to Xingling?" Two Li Yuanhao?"
"I don't think so." Just before Wu Jie was about to speak, Hu Yin once again took the lead. "As far as Xiliao and Yelu Dashi are concerned, the Jurchens are the most powerful enemies that will destroy the country. They are the most powerful enemy in front of them. As long as the twenty Jurchens are Ten thousand households are still there, so if Yelu Dashi has any sense at all, he will not start a fight without authorization..."
"So what?" Unexpectedly, Zhao Jiu chose to support Wu Jie this time. "As far as the Song Dynasty and me are concerned, the Jurchens are also a great enemy to destroy the country. Faced with the enemy, as long as the two Jurchens on the other side of the river are Ten thousand households are still there, so if I still have half a semblance of sense, I will not start a full-scale war with Xiliao just because of friction over a mere piece of land... Because the Khitan people are not Dangxiang people, and the Dangxiang people will only choose to follow them between the Song and Jin Dynasties. The Jin Kingdom is against us, but the Khitan people will choose to follow us and fight against the Jurchens."
Hu Yin was slightly startled.
"There will definitely be no war, but friction and testing are inevitable." Zhao Jiu sighed in surprise. "The key is not to show cowardice, not to submit... I think I can remind Pengju a little about this, and he will Proper disposal...the key lies in the land of Xingling, which must be guarded against."
"The officials previously promised six counties and four divisions in Hexi, and there was no land for Xingling..." Lu Benzhong interrupted hastily.
"This matter has nothing to do with Xu Wuxu. It will be decided on the battlefield. After experiencing the alliance on the sea, how can we still trust the verbal agreement?" Zhao Jiu shook his head impatiently, and then passed over Han Shizhong, who had been very honest recently, and went directly to Wu Jie said, "What did Wu Qing say?"
"I still mean what I said in the secret letter before." Wu Jie became more energetic and hurriedly presented the plan he had prepared before. "You can contact the governor of Xixia Xiazhou in advance, Wei Ming Heda. This person's original name is Xiao Heda, but he died. After the fall of the Xixia Kingdom, the aide of Princess Yelu Nanxian has been holding military power in Xiazhou for a long time. After the fall of the Liao Kingdom, many Khitans in and outside Han Dynasty also defected to him, but were stopped by Li Qianshun... The official family, Yichen Look, the reason why the Khitans in Xixia could endure the death of Princess Nanxian and the prince was only because of the prestige of Li Qianshun who had been in power for more than 40 years. And once the Yelv Stone appears in the hinterland of Xixia, they may not be unable to do something. After the death of the Khitan queen and prince, most of these Khitan people are now in Xiazhou, an important town behind Hengshan."
You must know that Wu Jie, as the actual person in charge of the northern Shaanxi front line, has been hanging out on the Xixia border for nearly twenty years. He has long known the details of Weiming Heda, and has reported the matter to Zhao Guan's family long after Yelu Dashi's plan came out. , and then there is a plan... What he means is that he is planning to send troops to Yelu Dashi and directly instigate the rebellion in Weiming Heda before Yelu Dashi crosses the Hexi Corridor. In this case, the party members will not be able to take care of both ends, and may even This would give the Song Dynasty the opportunity to directly seize the Hengshan defense line.
But Zhao Jiu had not agreed before.
But this time, after hesitating for a moment, the official still chose to shake his head slowly: "I still mean the same thing, I still can't expose the existence of Yelv Dashi in advance... Wu Qing also said that Li Qianshun has been emperor for nearly fifty years. He has great prestige in the country. Since he can kill his wife and son and then safely appoint Wei Ming Heda, it can be seen that he is still somewhat heroic. If he fails, everything will be lost."
"What about the land of Xingling?" Wu Jie seemed a little uneasy. "If Yelu Dashi went to the land of Xingling, Weiming Heda responded in Xiazhou, and the heavy troops in the Hengshan area surrendered to Yelu together with the state army. Dashi, what should I do?"
"Let Yue Pengju make a decision on his own." Zhao Jiu thought for a while and gave a decision that made Wu Jie slightly stunned. "Send the discussion and information here and let him decide how and when to send troops. Where to send troops... we are hundreds of miles apart, there is no need to say too much, I can trust him."
Wu Jie opened his mouth to speak, but finally fell silent, while Han Shizhong also hesitated to speak.
"Wu Qing." After Zhao Jiu finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hands and asked, "Did you hear something?"
As soon as these words came out, Han Shizhong, Lu Benzhong and others were startled. Yang Yizhong remained expressionless, while Hu Yin narrowed his eyes slightly.
As for Wu Jie, he finally became a little panicked.
"Wu Qing is different from other handsome ministers." Seeing this, Zhao Jiu sighed and walked down from the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum with his hands behind his hands. The others were so surprised that they followed him. "Han Qing from the left army, Zhang Qing from the right army and I We are friends in times of need. Yue Qing of the former army, Li Qing of the middle army, and Zhang Qing of the navy army have a tacit understanding with me. Qu Qing of the cavalry army has also been polished in front of me for a whole year... Only Wu Qing, although Yaoshan We cooperated well with me at that time, but in essence, we can only be regarded as ordinary monarchs and ministers who know each other well, and we are not as profound as the others and know the root cause from the inside. "
"I really have little merit and insufficient qualifications." Wu Jie hurriedly responded from behind. "I can't compare to the other Jiedu."
"So you want to ask for some military honors?" Zhao Jiu asked as he walked. "In order to consolidate his position? Or do you want to prove that the army behind the imperial camp is capable of fighting?"
Wu Jie was silent for a moment, and then replied honestly: "I'll report it to the official, I'll have it all."
"Then you must have really noticed some rumors and trends." Zhao Jiu confessed the facts in a calm tone. "There are many people in the rear army of your imperial camp and the left army of Han Shizhong's imperial camp who are corrupt and bending the law. I just You will know when you get to Chang'an... It was Hu Qing who reported it, but I have heard about many things before. Do you think you can hide those things in your army from me, or from Hu Qing, who has been the censor Zhongcheng? Sir?"
"I am incompetent in running the army." Wu Jie's yellow face finally turned pale. "But it is precisely because I know that Hu Caosi is a selfless person, so I want to make some military achievements as compensation and proof."
"Then do you know that when Hu Qing reported these matters, he repeatedly begged me to be lenient and to postpone the response, because the military and national affairs are just around the corner?" Zhao Jiu remained expressionless and continued to ask as he walked.
Wu and Han both looked back at the dark-faced Hu Yin behind them, but felt relieved for a moment.
"But does Wu Qing know?" Zhao Jiu continued, but couldn't help but sneer. "I hesitated for a long time before agreeing, and there are some things in it that I will not be swayed by due to military achievements and time... For example You love to make Yang Zhengcai the governor of Huanzhou in his thirties, but you like to torture and kill concubines, and you also like to skin people like Fan Qiong. Do you think I can tolerate such a person? This person is the one you let him in this battle He has made great contributions to the world, and I will definitely kill him after this battle. And if I were you, for his own good, I should find a way to let him die on the front line."
Shocked, Wu Jiefu turned pale again: "I really don't know about this."
"I don't know if I don't know. After all, Yang Zheng is just a criminal case, but I don't believe you if you say that you don't have any clues in your heart." Zhao Jiu responded with emotion. "Because I have it in my heart. Just think about it and you will know that the chaos in the past few years
How many people in the world dare to do anything with a knife in their hands, tearing out hearts and lungs, breaking abdomens and limbs, slaughtering cities and exterminating families? We have all come out of that kind of bad thing, who has never seen it?
Nowadays, times have changed, and some people can't change their faults, while others don't care after seeing too much... I have known for a long time that such people and things are inevitable. But Wu Dutong, you have to remember
, I can't tolerate this kind of thing at all! Because I must be an innocent man. The Song Dynasty was a bit dirty in the past, but now it must be an innocent big country. How can I tolerate this kind of unscrupulous nature?
Things?"
"I have remembered it!" Wu Jie responded, not knowing exactly what he was remembering.
"Besides, I can't bear the matter of farmland at all." Zhao Jiu's tone became colder and colder as he walked down the stairs. "Farming is the foundation of Guanzhong's stability. It's only been a year and a half now, and it's actually...
Are military officers occupying large areas of conferred land? The local government will investigate, but the army still has to protect it. If you don't know about this, it is a complete deception... I don't know if you read the Di Di newspaper or not.
What I said to those dignitaries in the palace during the sacrifice ceremony at Yuetai is that anyone who dares to tamper with the fields is no different from treason in my eyes... After this battle, if I don't deal with these people completely, I will
Not named Zhao! Wu Qing!"
"I'm here."
"Do you know what I mean now?" Zhao Jiu suddenly stopped and turned around, so shocked that Wu Jinqing stood still on the spot and did not dare to move.
"minister……"
"If I were you, I wouldn't think about these messy things, because you shouldn't think about things other than military matters, and there's no need to think about them... Basically, I, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, will never let his
The soldiers in the imperial camp have been wronged, but they will not allow their own soldiers to deteriorate so quickly."
"Yes." Wu Jie walked around and bowed his head.
"Go!" Zhao Jiu, who was wearing a plain cotton robe, spoke condescendingly and patted the other party's shoulder. "Don't have too many ideas. In everything, the military strategy comes first, and the front line comes first... And if it is a military matter, but you have ideas, no matter how many
Whether it is allowed or not, I still say it boldly, I will definitely consider it properly."
"Yes." Wu Jinqing bowed his head again and hurried down the mountain.
Throughout the whole process, Han Shizhong, who was originally invited by Wu Jie, remained silent obediently, showing no sign of a big brother.
"Official family." However, Han Shizhong didn't say anything, but someone else spoke. Seeing Wu Jie hurriedly leaving, still on the mountain road surrounded by the Imperial Guard, Hu Yin responded directly. "Two major officials in Kansai."
The Royal Camp cannot be called degenerate, but old habits die hard, and compared to the past, the past two years have actually been better."
This time, Han Shizhong finally nodded and agreed.
Zhao Jiu also nodded, but soon shook his head again: "Like internal affairs, there is a long way to go!"
This time, Hu Yin, Han Shizhong, Yang Yizhong, and Lu Benzhong almost nodded in unison.
And a moment later, when Zhao Jiu was hesitating whether to stay on the mountainside to enjoy the flowers, suddenly Liu Yan, the number two figure in the Imperial Banzhi, appeared directly on the mountain road and delivered an urgent report.
"Call Wu Jie back." Zhao Jiu just glanced at him and then ordered, and the urgent report was transferred to Han Shizhong and others.
"What do you say?" After a while, Wu Jie hurriedly turned back and climbed halfway up the mountain. There was not a few drops of sweat on his face. Zhao Jiu was not polite when he saw this and asked directly.
"The Jurchens are also bluffing!" Wu Jie took a quick look and immediately gave the same judgment as Han Shizhong. "In the final analysis, the Jurchens still did not dare to cross the river, so they had to focus on the Hezhong Prefecture, a key area in Guanzhong...
In fact, we don’t dare to cross the river. We can only cross Zhongtiao Mountain and hit a dozen flat land.”
But this time, Zhao Jiu also nodded directly: "Han Qing and I both see it this way, so how does Jin Qing think we should respond?"
"In order to let the officials know, we naturally have to bluff." Wu Jie held the secret document and blurted out. "Why don't you ask the Prince of Yan'an County to lead his troops back to Tongzhou? However, it seems that there are still some shortcomings, because we don't know the Jurchens
How many soldiers and horses will be gathered? Should I ask my younger brother Wu Lin to lead some of the imperial army to Tongzhou to listen to the distribution of the Yan'an County King? "
"But if so," Hu Yin suddenly interrupted. "Will the Dangxiang people who were attracted behind Hengshan just relax and divide their troops back to protect Xingqing Mansion?"
"That's right." Han Shizhong, who had been keeping quiet in front of the officials and Hu Yin for almost the whole day, finally said it with certainty. "In my opinion, instead of reducing the Hengshan-Yan'an front line, we must put a little pressure there...
It's right to bluff, but you should consider the overall situation and bluff wherever you need to bluff, instead of just looking at the two sides of Pujin."
"It's a simple matter." Zhao Jiu just thought about it for a moment, and then suddenly laughed in the warm spring breeze. "Wu Qing doesn't move, Han Qing doesn't move his troops in Danzhou, and he can even attack Yan'an properly. As for Pujin...
...I personally went with Yue Qing to Tongzhou to confront Wushu across the river... You must know that no one in the world understands the word bluff better than me!"
Several people around were stunned, but it was Lu Benzhong who was the first to react: "Wonderful!"
PS: I'm sorry, I lost my temper yesterday... I'm thirty, I don't have a house, a car, or a wife, so I have to break up with my family... It's my fault that I didn't ask for leave, so I apologize to everyone.