Prime Minister

Chapter 1076: Song-Xia War (2 chapters combined into 1 chapter)

Chapter 1076: Song-Xia War (two chapters combined into one)

Xizhou.

Li Xian gave the secret order to dispatch troops to the military governor Zhang Zhi and the deputy general manager of the army Wang Hou for review.

Zhang Zhi and Wang Hou were accustomed to the emperor giving orders directly to frontline generals without going through the Privy Council.

Zhang Zhi looked at the secret edict which stated that Li Xian would stay in charge of Xihe Road and Qinfeng Road.

The governor of Jingyuan Road and Xihe Road was Wang Zhongzheng. He was very dissatisfied that Shen Kuo, the governor of Jingyuan Road, had to obey the orders of a eunuch.

It’s not that they discriminate against the other party because they are eunuchs. Li Xian is also a eunuch, but the other party is both civil and military, and can respect the opinions of the generals in the front.

But he knew what kind of person Wang Zhongzheng was. When he was the commander of Xihe Road, he had a conflict with Zhang Yue over executing the emperor's orders. The lawsuit between the two was finally brought before the emperor, and the government withdrew Wang Zhongzheng.

After that, Wang Zhongzheng slandered Zhang Yue again and again. Zhang Yue could no longer bear it and dragged Wang Zhongzheng off the emperor's carriage, humiliating him.

Suddenly, the conflict between the two became public.

Before, Wang Zhongzheng was in charge of Jingyuan Road and he and Zhang Zhi had nothing to do with each other. But now he was in charge of the troops of Xihe Road and wanted Zhang Zhi to obey his orders. Zhang Zhi had some thoughts in his mind.

Li Xian saw Zhang Zhi frowning and knew that he was a person who showed his emotions on his face.

Li Xian liked the other party's temperament. From his experience dealing with Zhang Yue, Zhang Qie, and Zhang Zhi, the three governors of Xihe, all the people in the Zhang family were not easy to deal with.

In terms of using troops, Zhang Yue seems to be the worst one, and he is also very reserved in his dealings. But he is very skillful and can lead by example, so the generals below him all obey him.

Zhang Qie planned carefully before taking action.

Before the Battle of Taoshui, Liang Yimei, the prime minister of Western Xia, arrived with a large army in high spirits and challenged the Song army everywhere, but Zhang Yu just kept silent and avoided the attack.

When the Xia army saw that the Song army did not come out, they carried out large-scale demolition in Xihe Road, allowing their soldiers to loot and burn the fields.

The Song army could not bear to see this and repeatedly asked Zhang Qie for battle, but Zhang Qie said, "Anyone who dares to talk about fighting will be killed."

It was not until Li Xian successfully negotiated with Aligu and ceded a state in exchange for Qingtang's withdrawal that Liang Yimai was shocked to learn of the peace talks between Song and Qingtang and withdrew his troops immediately.

The Xia army, which had returned with a full load from looting in Song territory, encountered the angry Song army led by Zhang Yu at Taoshui.

In the Battle of Taoshui, only one tenth of the 70,000 Western Xia troops were killed.

As for Zhang Zhi, he was upright and brave, able to share the hardships with the soldiers, and was very popular. This person was born with charm. Li Xian looked at his resume since he took office and found that not only the emperor praised him all the way, but also Wang Anshi praised him.

This forced the later councilor Zhang Yue to "criticize" him a few times to prevent him from showing off his edge.

Zhang Zhi persuaded the Guangrui Army to surrender, and later assisted Zhang Yue in repelling hundreds of thousands of Chen's Liao troops on the border.

However, Zhang Zhi's shortcoming is that he is too "straight".

Li Xian comforted Zhang Zhi and said, "Your Majesty's edict said that this is the restraint before the division. After conquering Mingsha, the two armies will be united and a general commander will be appointed!"

Zhang Zhi said: "That would be the best. If we attack Xingzhou and Lingzhou, and this person draws a picture to control us, wouldn't it be a sign of defeat?"

Li Xian thought about it and thought, the emperor may be suspicious of your Zhang family. If we attack Xingzhou, it may be difficult to appoint someone from your Zhang family as the commander-in-chief.

You must know that Zhang Yue and Zhang Qie have already taken over Qing Tang. If Zhang Zhi were to defeat Xixia, the emperor would have trouble sleeping at night with such a family around.

Li Xian said: "I will report this to His Majesty on behalf of the commander!"

Zhang Zhi paused and said, "Your Majesty's imperial edict said that we should start the war together with Jingyuan Road and Fuyan Road in June, but I think we should attack Lanzhou a month in advance!"

"Attack Lanzhou? A month in advance?"

Li Xian was surprised.

Zhang Zhi said: "That's right. Our Xihe Road is located in the upper reaches of the river. We can attack by land and water. Now Qingtang has surrendered."

"You can let Qing Tang Lord Dong Zhen lead his troops to leave Huangzhou, while my main force from Xihe Road will attack Lanzhou! Let's take this place first!"

But Zhang Zhi waved his hand and heavily covered the location of Lanzhou on the map.

Li Xian looked at the map and said, "That's right. Dong Jian will send troops to pretend to leave Huangzhou and attack the enemy from behind. I will attack Lanzhou and pretend to go straight to Ganliang. I will dispatch Xixia troops to defend this place, and then leave Huizhou and join forces with Jingyuan Road to take Mingsha and Tiandu Mountain!"

Wang Hou smiled and said, "That's right. Since we took Huangzhou, Xixia has deployed heavy troops in Liangzhou for defense, fearing that we would cut off their trade routes. Once our army makes a move to take Liangzhou, Xixia will definitely defend it with all their might."

"Although this is a feint, it may not be the case next time."

Li Xian said: "Great plan! Great plan! First we will make a feint towards Ganliang, but actually take Lanzhou. After we take Lanzhou, the situation in Henan will be complete. After that, the governor will lead the army out of Huizhou and take Tiandu Mountain directly."

"We will immediately sign a petition and submit it to the Emperor!"

Zhang Zhi and Wang Hou both clapped their hands and laughed, saying, "That's how it should be!"

The three of them immediately jointly submitted a petition and reported it to the emperor as soon as possible.

……

It would take at least ten days for a letter to arrive from Xizhou to Bian Jing, but now Zhang Yue had improved the post road using the postal method, so the letter could be delivered to the emperor’s desk in just eight days.

After reading the letter, the emperor decided to use the troops from Fuyan Road as the main force in this attack on Xia.

Jingyuan Road was second, while Xihe Road only sent out more than 20,000 troops.

However, he was also tempted by the suggestions of Li Xian, Zhang Zhi and Wang Hou. If they pretended to attack Ganliang and captured Lanzhou, it would certainly attract a lot of Western Xia troops and create a good opportunity for advancing to Jingyuan and Fuyan Road.

The emperor showed the letter to Xu Xi, who said without hesitation, "Your Majesty, this plan is feasible!"

The official asked, "Do you feel the same way?"

"But I am afraid of being distracted. If Xihe Road attacks Lanzhou, it will attract heavy troops from Western Xia to the south. What should we do if Zhang Zhi takes the Tiandu Mountain line?"

Xu Xi said: "Your Majesty, the Western bandits may not be willing to send out all their forces to fight with us for Lanzhou. Besides, as long as we can capture Xingzhou and Lingzhou, even if we lose Xizhou and Lanzhou, it will still be a good deal for me!"

The official paced and thought for a moment before saying, "That's right."

The emperor immediately ordered Xu Xi to write a handwritten edict.

The imperial edict is as follows. I know the priorities and urgency of things. But I leave the military affairs to the generals. If they can know how to take advantage and avoid harm, then why do I need to make predictions? This is really difficult.

Now I am sending you to face the enemy and choose your own way. If you can show your might and encourage the soldiers of the three armies, go straight to the nest of owls and work together with the generals to capture the ugly ones, this is the best strategy.

You can carry out the matter of leaving Ganliang and attacking Lanzhou as you see fit.

After the imperial edict was issued in Xihe, Li Shunju brought Zhong Yan's memorial to the emperor to the capital.

In his memorials, Zhong Yan strongly advocated attacking Xia. He said in the memorial, "Xia has no one but Bingchang, a little boy. I went there and lifted his arm to make him surrender."

The emperor was overjoyed when he read Zhong Yan's letter, and issued an imperial edict to commend him, appointing him as the deputy envoy of Huanqing Road, giving him a golden belt and 10,000 taels of silver. He also wrote in the imperial edict that if Xia was defeated, Zhong Yan would be comparable to Di Qing and Guo Kui.

To put it bluntly, it was a Privy Council promise made to Zhong Yan.

Fuyan Road was indeed the top priority of this expedition. All the elite imperial guards in the capital, including Kaifeng Prefecture, Jingxi and Jingdong, were transferred to Fuyan Road and came under the command of Gao Zunyu. The government also transferred Yao Lin, a famous general of the Western Army, as the deputy commander-in-chief of the troops of Huanqing Road.

Although Zhong Yan and Yao Lin were officials in Huanqing Road, they were employed in Fuyan Road because the government still wanted Gao Zunyu to control everything.

Finally, the emperor ordered Li Shunju to report to the ministers of the Secretariat and the Privy Council the general strategy of advancing troops along Fuyan Road and Jingyuan Road.

Wang Gui and Yuan Jiang knew a little bit beforehand, but Feng Jing, Xue Xiang, Zeng Xiaokuan and Zhang Qi only learned the details of the emperor's military expedition now. They had been kept in the dark before, and the emperor had never discussed it with them.

Li Shunju went to the capital to report to the two governments. It was basically just a notice, and you just needed to know it, instead of discussing it.

The emperor had such a plan, and the two ministers were very moved when they heard it, and they almost cried with gratitude. The emperor finally told us the strategy of attacking Xia at this critical moment, which was really touching.

The emperor also ordered Cai Bian and Li Shunju to go to Zhang's mansion to report to Zhang Yue separately.

Zhang Yue had nothing much to say. He was not a famous general and was only a third-rate general in terms of deploying troops. In the past, he relied on Wang Shao, and later on the collective performance of his staff and Zhong Shidao.

He was only good at using his power to suppress others, and once the two sides were evenly matched, he would give in. So Zhang Dun and Wang Shao always said to others that Zhang Yue was a "clumsy general", and it was not an exaggeration.

He felt that there was something wrong with the government's deployment of the troops this time, but he couldn't tell what was wrong. However, he still appreciated Zhang Zhi's ability to "make his own decisions" and independently make plans to feint and attack Ganliang and capture Lanzhou in response to the government's decision.

Although it was a "show stealer", after the capture of Lanzhou, the corresponding defense line of the entire Xihe Road and Qinfeng Road was complete, and the danger of the Yellow River was obtained. There was no need to be on guard against the heavy troops of the Western Xia crossing the Yellow River and going south through Lanzhou.

At the same time, we also made preparations for the next attack on Liangzhou.

Zhang Yue immediately replied to Li Shunju that he was a little worried about Fuyan Road, but had nothing else to say.

Li Shunju reported to the emperor, who did not listen to Zhang Yue on strategy but obeyed him on tactics. He also transferred 3,000 troops from Di Yong, the second son of Di Qing, another general of the Western Army, to Gao Zunyu's camp.

Di Yong was originally going to go to Jingyuan Road or serve as a reserve for Huanqing Road, but the government listened to Zhang Yue's advice and strengthened the troops in the direction of Fuyan Road.

Before May, the government completed the final arrangements for the attack on Xia.

Xihe, Qinfeng Road included generals Li Xian, Zhang Zhi, Wang Hou, Miao Shou, Li Hao, etc., not counting the arrangements for attacking Lanzhou and Liangzhou, the four generals had more than 20,000 troops.

The officials in Jingyuan Road included Wang Zhongzheng, Shen Kuo, Zhong Shidao, Liu Changzuo and others, seven generals with more than 50,000 soldiers and more than 100,000 civilian servants.

The governors of Fuyan Road included Gao Zunyu, Zhong Yan, Xia Yuanxiang, Yao Qi, Di Yong and others, a total of 16 generals, 100,000 soldiers and more than 200,000 civilian servants.

Before conquering Mingsha, Wang Zhongzheng was in charge of the troops of Xihe, Qinfeng and Jingyuan routes, and sent messengers to the three routes.

Gao Zunyu was in charge of the three military routes: Huanqing Road, Fuyan Road, and Hedong Road (Linfu Road).

The three armies agreed to meet together at the foot of Xingzhou City and then decide on the candidate for the chief commander of the attack on Xia.

It is a strange thing that Wang Zhongzheng and Gao Zunyu, a eunuch and a relative of the emperor, actually became the supreme commanders of the two armies in the war to destroy the country. In name, Wang Zhongzheng and Gao Zunyu were controlled by the Secretariat and the Privy Council, but in fact they took direct orders from the emperor.

Before issuing the order to advance, the emperor used the traditional art of the Zhao family to "issue the battle plan" to the generals, stipulating that in the future, the advance must be reported once a day, and if the generals on the front line encountered any major events, they must ask the emperor for permission.

Even Gao Zunyu and Zhong Yan applauded this. Zhang Yue had not yet completed the construction of the postal route for the Fuyan Road, which made it beyond the reach of the government.

It was hard for Shen Kuo and Zhang Zhi's troops.

However, direct government command also has its advantages. When it comes to money, food, weapons, and equipment, the Secretariat, the Privy Council, Shaanxi, and the officials in Hedong dare not neglect the supply. They simply supply them regardless of cost, and their efficiency is extremely high.

In the past, it would take a long time for 10,000 shi of military rations to reach the front line, and there would be a 30% discount. Now, for the sake of the government's face, all rations are only 10% off. Don't miss it if you pass by.

As for the war horses that the troops are short of, all vehicles should be provided.

In the Song Dynasty, the treasury was piled up like a mountain within ten years of the reform. The emperor himself was very frugal, reluctant to wear clothes, patched up the torn dragon robe and wore it again, reluctant to add a dish, only three or five small dishes a day, and the imperial kitchen was not allowed to serve delicacies, and the concubines were restricted from comparing with each other.

The emperor did not go on tours or build palaces, and was extremely stingy with himself.

However, he was extremely generous when it came to the war against Xia, and all the shortfall in military supplies was allocated from the Fengzhuang warehouse.

Zhang Yue repeatedly said that the people of Shaanxi were poor and exhausted, and the government had also realized its mistake. On the basis of exempting the five-class households from labor service in the first year of Yuanfeng, this year half of the two taxes were exempted. At the same time, money was taken from the Fengzhuang Treasury to subsidize the civilians who joined the army, and officials were required to personally deliver the money to the civilians' homes. Anyone who dared to embezzle the money would be exiled three thousand miles away.

The government issued repeated orders, forbidding officials to mistreat the people by levying conscription.

The emperor had made a desperate attempt to invade Xia. A vast map slowly unfolded before him. A series of names of enemy troops and their military numbers crisscrossed the map and caught his eye.

Behind them were Shaanxi, hundreds of thousands of civilians and millions of people from the Hedong Second Route. The money, grain and supplies that were transported forward in an endless stream like strong and powerful arteries were slowly tilting towards the northwest corner with the force of a mountain pressing down on one's head!

The ambition of reviving the country, carrying on the legacy of the six sages, and recovering the homeland of Han and Tang all depend on this battle.

May of the second year of Yuanfeng.

When the imperial edict was sent to Xihe Road, it was delivered personally by Tong Guan, and brought rewards to Dong Zhen, Wen Xixin and other members of the Qingtang tribe. The money was of course taken from the Fengzhuang treasury, and it was promised that after they conquered Liangzhou and Qingtang in the future, the money would be shared by all the Uighur tribes.

Dong Zhan and Wen Xixin were also very supportive and stated that the Qingtang tribes plus the Ganzhou Uighurs would send out a total of 80,000 troops to besiege Ganliang from two directions.

As for Li Xian, Li Hao, Wang Shan, Miao Shou, Zhao Sizhong, Bao Shun and others, they led more than 100,000 mobilized Han and foreign soldiers to besiege Lanzhou City.

Zhang Zhi and Wang Hou led four generals and 20,000 troops to station in Huizhou City.

Just like the war against Xia in the third year of Xining, Xihe Road will serve as an assist and attack Liangzhou and Lanzhou one month in advance of Jingyuan Road and Fuyan Road.

……

The Song army mobilized a large force this time. Not only was it known to everyone in Shaanxi, but even the Western Xia had heard the news as early as March and April that the Song Dynasty was going to launch a large-scale attack on Xia.

Western Xia had a lot of intelligence in Shaanxi and Hedong. Li Bingchang, Queen Mother Liang and Prime Minister Liang Yimei already had a rough understanding of the Song army's troop concentration and the general directions of the troops.

In contrast, the Secretariat and the Privy Council of the Song Dynasty were kept in the dark by the government and knew nothing about it.

When the news of the Song Dynasty's large-scale attack on Xia reached the Xia Kingdom, the court was shocked and there were several shocks in Xingzhou City overnight.

Once a big country is mobilized, it is very terrifying. The ministers of Western Xia seemed to hear the earth-shaking sound of war drums, trumpets and horse hooves coming from afar, and seemed to see the red military flags and endless military formations under the smoke.

In a blink of an eye, the Song army's divine arm bows shot out a rain of arrows that covered the sky and the sun, and the Song army's foreign cavalry, who were also members of the Dangxiang tribe, launched a devastating attack on their people!

The war is really coming!

After the defeat at the Battle of Taoshui and Qingtang's surrender to the Song Dynasty, there was a loud voice throughout Western Xia that the national strength of Western Xia was no longer as strong as it was during the time of Li Liangzuo, let alone during the time of Li Yuanhao.

During the Song Dynasty, there were many famous generals and wise counselors, such as Zhang Yue, Cai Ting, Zhong Yan, Wang Shao, Zhong Shidao, etc. Their deeds were well-known to people in Western Xia. The name of Zhang Qie was even enough to make children stop crying.

At this moment, everyone in Western Xia realized that the survival of the Xia Kingdom seemed to be imminent?

When the court encounters such a situation, there have always been two lines of attack: one advocating peace and the other advocating war.

The pro-peace faction was headed by Li Bingchang and Li Qing, the rulers of Xia, while the pro-war faction was headed by Queen Mother Liang and Liang Yimai.

Xingqing Prefecture of Western Xia.

This is also the destination where the two armies of the Song Dynasty will meet this time.

In the first year of Baoyuan, Li Yuanhao established his capital here and proclaimed himself emperor. He renamed Xingzhou to Xingqing Prefecture, and it has since become the capital of the Western Xia Kingdom.

In Yuanhao Palace.

Li Bingchang, who had just taken power, was still a little thin. He still wore traditional Dangxiang clothing in the outer court, but when he returned to the inner court he changed into Han clothes.

It is well known that Li Bingchang wanted to change the Han system and be friendly with the Song Dynasty.

"The Eastern Dynasty has mobilized troops in Fuyan Road, Jingyuan Road, and Xihe Road. At the same time, according to the report from our leader in Qingtang, Dong Jian received a generous reward from the Song envoy, and the Golden Arrow Order has been issued to all troops to assemble!"

Li Qing said: "Your Majesty, after the defeat at Taoshui, Dong Zhen and Aligu surrendered. The Song Dynasty is no longer the same as it was in the past. We cannot fight. If we fight, we will surely lose!"

Upon hearing about the defeat at the Battle of Taoshui, Liang Yimai, the prime minister of Western Xia, turned pale. This was the greatest shame in his life, as he was defeated by the Song general Zhang Yu.

"I think we should ask for peace with the Song Dynasty on the condition of ceding the five states of Dingnan!"

When these words were spoken, all the civil and military officials in the Western Xia court changed color.

The Five Dingnan Prefectures, namely Xiazhou, Suizhou, Jingzhou, Youzhou and Yinzhou, were the birthplace of Western Xia. The leader of the Dangxiang people was named the Jiedushi of Dingnan Army by the Tang Dynasty for his meritorious service in defeating Huang Chao. These five prefectures have always been a must-contest for the Dangxiang people.

The Song Dynasty once recovered it, but in order to avoid a pincer attack from Liao and Xia, Emperor Zhenzong of Song ceded the five states of Dingnan to Western Xia, which then became difficult to control.

The Five Prefectures of Dingnan were comparable to the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun of the Liao Dynasty to the Western Xia. Are they going to be ceded to the Song Dynasty just because of a single word from the Han minister Li Qing?

As soon as Li Qing said this, the officials began to talk about it.

There is indeed panic and fear, but there is more anger and shame.

"Li Qing is a traitor!"

Li Qing's words were opposed by the tribal chiefs of the Liang family. Many young generals were not afraid of the Song Dynasty, but instead asked the Liang family to fight.

(End of this chapter)