Prime Minister

Chapter 1233 Yi Shuai (2 chapters in 1)

Chapter 1233 Yi Shuai (two chapters combined into one)

"Your Majesty, the judge of Dengwen Drum Court, Lü Shengqing, reported that Han Zhen's attack on Weizhou turned defeat into victory and he was unable to retreat. He ordered the second general of Huanqing Road, the military commander Zhong Zhen, to attack Weizhou City with nearly 10,000 troops, but they were attacked by the Dangxiang troops."

"Afterwards, Han Zhen was worried that the court would find out, so he did not allow the defeated army to enter Huanzhou City, which resulted in the troops being followed and attacked by the Tangut troops, and another thousand men were killed! Twenty-three Han and Fan generals of the third general of Huanqing Road died in the battle, and more than half of the troops were killed."

"I will also cite 17 illegal things Han Zhen did during his tenure as Privy Councilor!"

When the government heard the news of Weizhou's defeat, they were shocked and angry.

When Han Zhen had sent troops without an imperial decree, he did not mind it very much, for he would not obey the orders of the army when they were away from home. When Zhang Yue was a general, he also did not obey the imperial decree.

The generals on the front line already have autonomy, let alone Han Zhen, who is the Privy Councilor who controls six routes.

In his heart, Han Zhen actually secretly supported the attack on Weizhou. This was also a test to see if the Dangxiang would be unable to recover after losing Liangzhou. If the Dangxiang really watched the Song Dynasty easily occupy Weizhou, he might consider ignoring the opposition of Zhang Yue and other ministers and raising six armies within one or two years to destroy the Dangxiang in one fell swoop.

Who would have thought that the Dangxiang actually had such a powerful force? After losing Weizhou, they counterattacked so swiftly and with such fierce troops.

It really surprised him.

Feng Jing said: "Your Majesty, I am the second most powerful general in the army of Huanqing Road. I was the first to replenish my troops and supplies after the defeat of Lingzhou in the third year of Yuanfeng. But I still couldn't fight against the elite troops of the Dangxiang."

"Your Majesty, you must not underestimate this enemy."

Zhang Yue listened to Feng Jing's words and thought that in history, when the five routes attacked the Dangxiang, the Song army had already defeated the Dangxiang army in the field, but the battle organization and logistics were weak. But they ignored that the Dangxiang were also improving. When it came to the battle of Yongle City, Xu Xi confidently ordered Gao Yongneng and Qu Zhen to lead the elite of the Western Army to defeat the Iron Harriers outside Yongle City in the field, but they were unable to charge and were defeated. At this time, the Western Army realized that they had underestimated the enemy.

In history, after conquering Xia City, Zhang Qie reported in his later reports that he had also narrowly won the battle and almost became the second Yongle City.

What Feng Jing said was true, but after hearing what Feng Jing said, the officials were furious.

He was already in a bad mood after hearing the news of the defeat, so he said directly to Feng Jing: "It's so easy for you to say that. How about going to Huanzhou and replacing Han Zhen as the commander?"

What the emperor means by this is that you, Feng Jing, should get out of here.

Zhang Yue also felt that the emperor's words were excessive. Although his opinions were often opposed by Feng Jing, he knew that this was due to the ancestral system of "different opinions interfering with each other", and the two of them had a good relationship in private. Even Cai Que became a relative of Feng Jing.

Feng Jing only opposed it verbally, which was already good compared to other old party members such as Sima Guang.

The emperor was angry, and this sentence was enough to chill Feng Jing to the bone.

Feng Jing said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, I am too old to be in charge of the army. I would like to be a minor official in the local area."

In fact, Feng Jing was old and sick, and he had long wanted to quit, and he repeatedly requested to leave. But there was Wang Gui in the New Party, and Cai Que thought that there was no one like Feng Jing in the Old Party, and if someone else came, everyone would still argue, and they were really not as good as Feng Jing.

The emperor was already very tired of Feng Jing saying: "Since you want to go out, I can't keep you. And take Heyang to prepare for the Khitan to go south!"

At this point, Wang Gui, Zhang Yue, Cai Que and others all knew that Feng Jing was definitely going to leave.

Feng Jing said: "I obey your order."

Feng Jing left, and the position of Privy Councilor became vacant. Who would replace him? Where could he find another old party member like Feng Jing?

Not long ago, Xue Xiang died of illness while in office.

Suddenly, two positions became vacant. Wang Gui and Zhang Yue had already negotiated privately many times, and the government also had candidates in mind.

But this is not the key issue at the moment.

"How to deal with Han Zhen? Who else can resist the Tanguts besides him? How about Lu Huiqing?"

The government plans to replace Han Zhen, but who else can do the job besides Han Zhen?

Zhang Yue thought to himself that he asked Lu Huiqing to be a thug to deal with Han Zhen, not to let Lu Huiqing replace Han Zhen.

Zhang Yue came out and said, "Your Majesty, if the Tanguts and Khitans form an alliance to deal with our dynasty, then the land of Taiyuan will be extremely important, and Lu Huiqing must be stationed here."

The emperor nodded. He and Zhang Yue both had a consensus. Although Lu Huiqing was not a good person, his ability was unmatched in the world. Once the Khitan and the Tangut united, the location of Taiyuan would be crucial.

After counting all the people, only Lu Huiqing is here.

Zhang Yue had already had a plan in mind, which was to re-establish the governor of Xihe Road and promote Wang Hou, who had conquered Liangzhou this time, to replace Li Xian, who had returned to the capital, as the governor, in charge of Xihe and Qinfeng routes.

Then Shen Kuo, the governor of Jingyuan Road, was appointed as the governor of Jingyuan Road, Huanqing Road and Fuyan Road. However, unlike Han Zhen who was the privy councilor before, Shen Kuo was in charge of the six routes. He only served as the secretary of the Privy Council.

Finally, there was Lu Huiqing, the prefect of Taiyuan Prefecture, who, as a scholar of Guanwen Hall, led the Hedong Road alone.

After Xihe Road captures Liangzhou, it will switch from offense to defense, and the focus of the court will shift to Jingyuan Road. As long as Wang Hou can gain a firm foothold in Liangzhou and control the Hexi Corridor, the national strength of the Tanguts, who have lost the benefits of trade, will be gradually eroded. At the same time, the Song Dynasty can obtain a steady supply of trade benefits by reopening the Silk Road.

As for Shen Kuo, he was stationed in Jingyuan Road and used the method of shallow attack and construction with the strength of three armies. He started from the Huaide Army with Pingxia City as the core and built the fort all the way from under the noses of the Dangxiang people to Mingsha City.

As long as the Song army captures Mingsha City, the troops and food supplies of Xihe Road can be transported eastward along the Yellow River by boat, and finally join forces with Jingyuan Road to attack Lingzhou City!

After taking Lingzhou City, the Dangxiang were finished!

This was not Zhang Yue's original idea. Since the Qingli period, at least dozens of Western Army commanders or border generals have proposed this to the court. Zhang Yue didn't care whether the Dangxiang knew about it or not. I would still play against you even if it was an open card.

Historically, after Li Xian's five-pronged attack on the Dangxiang failed, he thought that he should take the Jingyuan Road and station troops in Mingsha City, so that Lingzhou City would fall without being attacked.

Of course, this is also the reason why Zhang Yue and Han Zhen broke up.

Han Zhen was originally in charge of Huanqing Road because it was located among the six roads and he could coordinate them in the middle.

However, after Han Zhen took charge of Huanqing Road, he was too deeply influenced by the generals of the Western Army. As long as he was there, he could not avoid the route of attacking Hengshan. Zhong Yan, who advocated the Hengshan strategy in history, was just a representative. After Zhong Yan died, he asked his son Zhong Pu to submit his will and let his son inherit his career.

Of course, the military group of the Western Army was cultivated by Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi at that time, and later succeeded by Han Jiang and Han Zhen. In contrast, Zhang Yue trusted the Xihe Road military group that he had built up.

The Xihe Road military group was personally cultivated by Zhang Yue and Wang Shao. Although there were some members of the Western Army, they were basically independent. In his plan, the Hengshan attack was secondary, and there was no plan for the Hengshan attack at all. This undoubtedly dashed the expectations of the Western Army generals.

Therefore, the conflict between Zhang Yue and Han Zhen is also a conflict between the two military groups.

In short, even if he captured Liangzhou, Zhang Yue had no plan to attack Hengshan, but would go straight to Lingzhou via Jingyuan Road.

Zhang Yue said: "People like Han Zhen are so self-righteous and calculating, coveting rewards and influencing the decisions of the central government. I think we must ask him the reason and call him back to the capital for questioning. As for the Privy Council, Shen Kuo, the governor of Jingyuan Road, will take over temporarily."

A general like Han Zhen must be handled with caution.

The 17 illegal acts listed above against Han Zhen were of no use to him. Only when the left and right central authorities decided to charge him with this crime and combine it with the defeat in Weizhou, and the other party tried to cover up his faults, could they take him down.

To be fair, if Zhang Yue was not the prime minister, he would be unwilling to deal with Han Zhen.

But like Lü Gongzhu, there is nothing you can do about it. If you are in this position, you are bound to offend people.

The emperor heard Zhang Yue and said, "Approved!"

While they were talking, the Yintaisi hurriedly came in to report that the prefect of Xiongzhou reported that the Khitan envoy had entered the country again with a letter from the state. According to his companion, the Liao Dynasty had already formed a marriage alliance with the Dangxiang, and they wanted the dynasty to withdraw its troops from the Dangxiang, return the captured Liangzhou land, and execute the traitor Yelu Yixin.

As soon as these words were spoken, the official's expression changed drastically.

……

Jingyuan Road.

Pingxia City.

Huluchuan passes not far from the city. The once vast plain is now covered with city signs standing side by side. The Dangxiang scouts who used to regard this as a smooth road took a look from afar and took a detour away.

Since Shen Kuo became the governor of Jingyuan Road, he set up fortifications at strategic locations. This extreme border area, where the Dangxiang cavalry galloped crisscross, has gradually become an important town on the border of Jingyuan Road.

In the cold winter, Shen Kuo, wearing a black hat, a purple robe, and riding a skinny horse, suddenly inspected Pingxia City among a group of guards, generals, and entourage.

Shen Kuo stopped his horse at the foot of the city and looked at the rolling Tiandu Mountains in the distance. This was also the former nest of the Dangxiang. Before Pingxia City was built, the Dangxiang cavalry came out from Tiandu Mountain and could drive straight to Weizhou City in the heart of Jingyuan Road in just one day.

Shen Kuo ordered his men not to make any announcement and to inspect the granaries and pastures in the city first after entering the city. When the governor of Pingxia City, Cheng Guocheng, learned that Shen Kuo had come in person, he was surprised and immediately led the city's chief supervisors, guards, and inspectors to greet him.

At this time, Shen Kuo had already asked about the liquor tax and the money and grain in the city. Shen Kuo was quite satisfied with the morale of the soldiers in the city. The soldiers were all wearing bright armor and stood solemnly while guarding various places, without smiling.

Guo Cheng came to Shen Kuo's side and saw hundreds of officers and soldiers standing there. There were generals like Zhe Keshi, Wang Shunchen, etc., as well as officials at all levels.

Guo Cheng brought the city's envoys and personal soldiers to pay homage, and Shen Kuo nodded and said a few words of comfort. It is well known that Shen Kuo is one of the few officials who does not put on airs and does not care about ostentation. As a general, he often brought a small number of followers to inspect the key places on the road.

Sometimes Shen Kuo would just wear a tattered jacket, and no one could tell that he was actually a great governor.

Shen Kuo had the advantage of being able to identify talent. The people he selected might not necessarily be loyal and reliable, but each of them had outstanding strengths. For example, Guo Cheng was originally a general under Liu Changzuo.

Shen Kuo saw that he had the talent to lead troops, so he immediately promoted him and entrusted him with the important task of being the governor of Pingxia City.

In addition, Shen Kuo also paid great attention to the source of information in recent years and cultivated a lot of spies. He constantly sneaked into the territory of Dangxiang through monks to collect information. This time, the alliance between Dangxiang and Liao was also the first news Shen Kuo found out and reported to the court.

Therefore, after serving as the governor for several years, the generals of Jingyuan Road initially thought that Shen Kuo was quite stupid and disapproving of his behavior.

But over time, everyone began to admire him, especially the talents he recommended to the court, who were eventually appointed and promoted. Officials and generals suddenly realized that Shen Jinglie had such a strong background in the court!

Now everyone in Jingyuan Road sincerely admires Shen Jinglie.

After Shen Kuo finished paying homage to the City God, he immediately entered the city government office. After a short rest, he met with the local foreign leader.

The Mingzhu, Miezang, Kangnu and other tribes all lived near Pingxia City. In the past, when Li Yuanhao invaded, they followed them south. During the Xining period, Emperor Shenzong also wanted to recruit them and gave them money and goods, but these tribes immediately gave the money and goods given by the Song Dynasty to the Dangxiang.

Since the construction of Pingxia City in the Song Dynasty, they have now followed the trend and have become registered residents of the Song Dynasty.

Shen Kuo asked these leaders about the news of the Dangxiang people, their harvest and their preparations for the winter. A moment later, Liu Changzuo, deputy governor of Jingyuan Road, arrived here with dozens of generals.

As for Jingyuan Road, compared with Huanqing Road, Fuyan Road is relatively independent. It seems that Liu Changzuo, the deputy general manager of the Jingyuan Road army, has always been excluded by the generals of the Western Army. When Wang Zhongzheng was in charge of Jingyuan Road, Liu Changzuo was constantly bullied by others, which led to Wang Zhongzheng's very bad impression of him.

However, Shen Kuo admired Liu Changzuo's talent very much, and the two even made a private agreement to become teacher and student.

Although Liu Changzuo was older than Shen Kuo, this was not a common practice in official circles.

Shen Kuo said to Liu Changzuo: "Before the construction of Pingxia City, the front line was the Xining Fort of the Zhenrong Army. Li Xian suggested to the emperor that it was 400 miles from Xining Fort to Mingsha City, and it would be easy to build more than ten cities from here to Lingzhou. But the emperor thought it was too difficult and would cost too much money and food."

"But after I built Pingxia City, I not only protected Weizhou behind me, but also protected the border town Zhenrong Army. In order to protect Pingxia City, I built Zhenqiang, Jiuyang, Tongxia, and Dangqiang four camps near Pingxia City, and repaired Xiaoguan."

"Now I have built the fort all the way to Shangyikou. The Dangxiang have attacked many times to prevent our army from approaching and building the city, but they were all repelled by you, Brother Zijing. The court was able to capture Liangzhou this time because you tied up a large amount of Dangxiang manpower and material resources at Shangyikou, and also cut off the Dangxiang's recruitment and grain storage areas in Tiandu Mountain and Huluchuan."

Liu Changzuo said: "I am ashamed to accept the credit. Even if I have made any contributions, they are all due to the teacher's planning, dispatching and commanding."

After Liu Changzuo was nearly killed by Wang Zhongzheng last time, he has now learned the rules of officialdom and starts to flatter and flatter people whenever he meets them.

However, despite saying this, there was still the pride and bravery of a great general on his face.

Shen Kuo said, "When we failed at the Lingzhou city, both you and I were demoted. Now the court has seen your contribution, and I have reported to the emperor and have restored you to your original position recently."

Upon hearing this, Liu Changzuo was overjoyed and said, "Thank you very much, teacher, for your cultivation."

Shen Kuo smiled and said, "In the past few years, I have been following Prime Minister Zhang's advice to build a large-scale wall-building near Tiandu Mountain and Huluchuan. Every time we capture a point, we build a fortress. At the same time, we build more fortresses to cover the flanks and food routes, and advance step by step. In just two years, our army can fully control Tiandu Mountain and the Huluchuan River Valley and use the manpower and food here."

"I repaired more than 200 miles of the 400 miles of road from Xining Village to Mingsha City that Li Xian mentioned."

"But I am worried that the Tanguts and Liao will not give us this opportunity, so I came here in person to prepare for a rainy day and to give you instructions in person."

Liu Changzuo asked: "The Liao army is approaching?"

Shen Kuo nodded and said, "According to intelligence reports, the Liao Kingdom has resorted to the same old tricks again, stationing troops in Yunzhou and Daizhou to force our dynasty to return Liangzhou."

Shen Kuo said, "Shaanxi has many rivers and valleys. So before, the Dangxiang came in one route, and we divided into four routes to fight separately, which made it easy for them to be defeated one by one. If we take Tiandu Mountain and Huluchuan, it will be different. Xihe Road, Qinfeng Road, and Jingyuan Road will all be connected into one piece. Therefore, this is the strategy of using a point to lead the whole area that the Prime Minister secretly taught us."

"So Pingxia City will be the place that the Tanguts must attack from now on! It is also the place that our army must rescue."

Liu Changzuo said: "Teacher, you can predict the future, you can be called a god. I ask you to make all the arrangements for me."

Shen Kuo said, "It's not that I don't trust you. I also trust Guo Cheng whom you recommended, but this place is extremely important."

……

The next day, Shen Kuo held his tent in Pingxia City, and all the generals and officials from the vicinity of Jingyuan Road, including Liu Changzuo, arrived in the city.

Shen Kuo was a man who was simple and easy to do things. He could be extremely picky about the details of any matter, but in daily receptions he avoided all the red tape and pomp and circumstance, and just sat in a temporary hall wearing a purple robe.

Although Shen Kuo tried to be frugal, the officials and generals below did not dare to be careless and each of them paid him a respectful visit.

Except Liu Changzuo who had a seat, the rest were standing.

Shen Kuo said, "When I came to Jingyuan Road this time, I asked General Dazhang how to defend Pingxia City."

"Grand General Zhang told me something: when the fighting troops are outside, the defenders can defend the city. I agree with this."

"When the enemy outnumbers us, the soldiers don't have to rush to help. Even if we win, the siege may not be lifted. The reinforcements must remember to advance slowly and cautiously."

"As long as there are strong soldiers outside, even if we don't fight, it's not cowardice."

"When General Da Zhang was in charge of Xihe Road and defeated 70,000 Tangut troops at Taoshui, he once said that the Tangut troops were a distant invader and it was difficult to fight them, but they would be ambushed and defeated if they were taken back with them."

Shen Kuo was preparing for a rainy day. Although he didn't know when the Dangxiang would attack, he was making preparations in advance.

He always prepares for any eventuality.

While they were talking, a lieutenant suddenly came in and said, "Please accept my order immediately!"

Shen Kuo was surprised and asked, "Is there an imperial decree?"

"We have reached the city gate."

Shen Kuo got up from his chair without saying a word. Officials such as Liu Changzuo followed Shen Kuo and waited for the imperial edict at the gate of the headquarters.

Soon the messenger arrived at the headquarters and asked, "Are you Shen Kuo?"

"I am Shen Kuo."

"Shen Kuo, listen to my orders!"

Shen Kuo bowed and listened to the other party saying: "Han Zhen will temporarily resign from his post as acting Privy Councilor. Shen Kuo will temporarily take charge of the Privy Council. He will temporarily take Jingyuan Road as a garrison and control the troops of Jingyuan Road, Huanqing Road, and Fuyan Road!"

After hearing this, Liu Changzuo and other generals were overjoyed.

Shen Kuo was promoted, although he was only the temporary director of the court, but something must have happened to Han Zhen in Huanqing Road.

It won’t be long before Shen Kuo’s temporary title is removed after such an appointment, and he will become a full-fledged acting privy councilor.

Shen Kuo was a little confused and had not yet come to his senses from this appointment.

The messenger helped Shen Kuo up and said, "Governor, you have worked tirelessly in Jingyuan Road, and His Majesty and the Prime Minister have seen it all."