"Your Majesty, with all due respect, General Zhongwu's decision to go to Liao was a helpless move. You may think that Mr. Wang will seize power as soon as he goes to Xinzhou, but does he really understand military affairs?"
"If General Zhongwu really works with him, then who listens to whom?"
"What should I do if General Zhongwu makes a correct suggestion but is rejected?"
"Presumably General Zhongwu also saw this, so he gave up on Xinzhou, where he had just laid the foundation, and went to Baozhou out of desperation."
Li Di talked a lot while talking, and it was Bao Zheng's turn to speak. He said: "Your Majesty, I estimate that when General Zhongwu first arrived in Baozhou, he did go to recruit troops. But after learning about the defeat of Xinzhou, he himself
If we know that we have not been able to catch him, then just as Li Xianggong said, we will come to surround Wei and rescue Zhao, and go straight to Liao."
"General Zhongwu's memorial clearly states that the Liao army will send a total of 200,000 troops, and 100,000 have already reached the outskirts of Xinzhou. Now General Zhongwu wants to first severely damage the remaining 100,000 Liao troops, and then force
The Liao Kingdom retreated 100,000 people to join our Song army. This is equivalent to indirectly reducing the pressure on Xinzhou, and it can be regarded as a way to solve the problem."
Zhao Zhen, who was sitting on the dragon throne, finally understood what he was saying. Su Shi was probably afraid of being squeezed out and oppressed, so he had no choice but to give up Xinzhou and lead the army alone.
I just didn't expect that Wang Deyong was such a waste, that a good situation was turned into a mess by him, and then the three tribes took advantage of the loophole, making the situation so unfavorable to the Song Dynasty.
Seeing that Zhao Zhen was deep in thought and silent, Li Di and Bao Zheng looked at each other, and the former spoke again:
"Your Majesty, I know what your Majesty is worried about. In fact, there is no need at all. General Zhongwu is a man who can't even stand up. In addition, he has a very good relationship with His Highness King Jing, and he is not on good terms with his ministers. In this way
Except for relying on the imperial power, it is difficult for people to survive independently."
"In this case, why not take advantage of his talent in leading troops and give him more power so that he can reverse the unfavorable situation of the Song Dynasty?"
"Your Majesty, you don't need to be suspicious of people, but you don't need to be suspicious of people you employ."
As soon as Li Di finished speaking, Bao Zheng on the side added: "Your Majesty, are those who recommended Wang Deyong to go to the north really worried that General Zhongwu's meritorious service would be too great? They were just worried about the Song Dynasty's policy of suppressing military power and emphasizing civility.
There will be changes that will affect their interests and power."
"In the final analysis, these people are jealous of talents and abilities, and insist on doing things they cannot do well, so that they ignore the Song Dynasty for their own selfish interests. They are the main factors that really affect the power of the Song Dynasty."
"That's enough." Zhao Zhen finally spoke, interrupting Bao Zheng.
Zhao Zhen is very smart, otherwise he would not be able to secure his position as emperor. How could he not understand the thoughts of those princes?
But the fundamental problem is that in this regard, he and these ministers have the same pursuit.
That is, the policy of emphasizing culture and suppressing military power cannot be changed, and the emperor's robe cannot appear again.
This was also the fundamental reason why even though Su Shi had won the battle at the front, he still agreed when other ministers suggested that Wang Deyong go to the north.
In the final analysis, the ministers are just executing his will.
Zhao Zhen still needs to be on guard against Su Shi.
In other words, for everything
Zhao Zhen must be on guard against generals who can win battles and have more and more authority.
But now it seems that the northern border of the Song Dynasty is too dangerous, so dangerous that it will damage the foundation of the Song Dynasty. In order to reverse the situation, Zhao Zhen has to give Su Shi more trust and even power to reverse this situation.
situation.
At least Su Shi must first resolve the crisis in the Northern Territory of the Song Dynasty.
After settling the matter, we can discuss it later.
"I want to make Su Shi the deputy commander of the Hebei Route Army. How about that?"
After thinking about it, Zhao Zhen opened his mouth and made a suggestion.
Being the deputy commander of Hebei Road did not bring any promotion to Su Shi's official rank, but it had more practical significance. In this way, Su Shi's command of the Song Army in the north was justified.
The important thing is that with this reward, Su Shike's troops exceeded the limit of 50,000.
"Yes." Li Di thought for a moment, knowing that this was Zhao Zhen giving in, and a sign of supporting Su Shi, so he nodded in approval.
"Your Majesty is wise." Bao Zheng said, bowing his head to the end.
In fact, both of them understood that Zhao Zhen was still on guard against Su Shi. Otherwise, he could have given Su Shi the full command of the Northern Territory, or he could have directly given him the name of an imperial envoy, giving him the power to act expediently. This was the real trick.
Got the power.
But Zhao Zhen did not dare to really hand over all the Song troops in the north to Su Shi.
He may really be worried whether Su Shi will take this opportunity to establish an independent banner. If that is the case, even if he has no idea, will those under him have any?
Just like Song Taizu was pushed to the throne by his subordinates, wasn't it?
emperor
ah.
When you say you are mighty, you are truly mighty. When you call yourself the Son of God, you mean all people surrender to you, and you get what you want.
To say he is pitiful is really pitiful. He is afraid that others will take away his position, so he is extremely nervous at all times, and everyone becomes the person he has to guard against.
No wonder many emperors like to call themselves lonely. If they think like this for a long time, no one can trust them. So what are they if they are not lonely?
Of course, Su Shi would only sneer at this if he knew it, and would only say that it was a sign of lack of self-confidence.
He will not worry that the people below him will be disobedient or disobey him.
This is also related to Su Shi’s powerful system. Just like the Black Cavalry, their daily consumption is huge. Who can afford to support them except Su Shi?
If the Song Dynasty was willing to spend so many resources and gold and silver to build an army, it would also be very powerful.
"Su Tianyou has sent a lot of gold and silver to the treasury. The escorts have not left yet. You two dear friends may wish to go over and have a chat with them to understand their current situation. If you need anything, you can report to me.
If you come here, I will support you."
After finishing talking about the business, Zhao Zhen casually waved his hands to the two important ministers, and as they were retreating, he muttered to himself casually, "Hey, it's hard for me too, I just don't know what's going on below.
Sir, how many people can understand me?"
This sentence seems to be an exclamation, but it is the focus of today's conversation.
Obviously, this is what Zhao Zhen wanted to say, or what he wanted to convey to Su Shi through his two ministers.
When Su Shi went on the expedition, he clearly agreed that he would be responsible for the support of the northern border. But after winning two battles, the imperial court
So Wang Deyong was sent to pick peaches. Speaking of which, Zhao Zhen made a mistake.
Now he had to use Su Shi again. Zhao Zhen was afraid that the other party would have a grudge, so he called Li Di and Bao Zheng, and they added officials and sighed, just to send a signal. He was not easy either. Some things
He had no choice but to do so, hoping that Su Shi could understand him.
Li Di and Bao Zheng's steps were stagnant, but they quickly walked away again.
They already knew what Zhao Zhen meant, and now they were going to find the person sent back by Su Shi and have a good talk with him.
The most important thing is to tell the other party all the recent events in the court. The most important thing is Zhao Zhen's attitude.
The two of them are going to be lobbyists for Zhao Zhen.
Although they were considered to be on Su Shi's side, they were also very optimistic about Su Shi.
But if Zhao Zhen really had a firm will, they would still be ministers of the Song Dynasty and would still speak for the Song Dynasty.
To put it bluntly, if Su Shi really had other thoughts that he shouldn't have, the two of them would still support Zhao Zhen and not Su Shi.
This is the power of the emperor's power. He will make you sacrifice your life and make you feel wronged, but the one who feels wronged is himself.
Isn't that right? Li Di and Bao Zheng, who previously thought Zhao Zhen was unfair, now have to speak up for Zhao Zhen.
This is evident from how powerful Zhao Zhen is.
...
There was great chaos in the southern border of Liao Kingdom.
In just half a month, dozens of large and small cities and villages in the southern border were conquered, with smoke rising into the sky and constant cries of killing.
After Zhang Jian lost the new city, he fled to Fanyang City in Zhuozhou, where he began to recruit troops again and accumulate strength.
The 40,000-strong army was defeated in one battle, and many cities were destroyed.
After the capture, Zhang Jian suffered a defeat, which aroused extreme dissatisfaction with Xingzong of Liao Dynasty.
It's just that Xingzong of Liao, although his ability was mediocre, didn't like to start wars. Especially in the later period of his rule, the senior officials of Liao got into the bad habit of enjoying themselves. But speaking of it, he was still good to the ministers below.
.
In history, during the period when Liao Xingzong was the emperor, although there were internal struggles among the top officials of the Liao Kingdom, they never made it public.
When his ministers performed meritorious service, he was never stingy with rewards.
Just like Liu Liufu before, who caused so much trouble, Liao Xingzong had no intention of questioning him in the early days, which shows that he was also a benevolent monarch.
Now that Zhang Jian had lost the battle and lost his territory, even though Xingzong of Liao was displeased, he did not say that he would be transferred back to face charges. Instead, he chose to continue to trust him and give Zhang Jian a chance to make meritorious deeds.
Zhang Jian, who was in Fanyang City, was grateful for the emperor's trust and eager to prove himself. These days, he only slept for two hours a day and spent the rest of the time at work.
With almost sleepless efforts, 50,000 Liao troops once again gathered in Fanyang City.
Of the 50,000 Liao troops, 20,000 were newly recruited soldiers, and their strength was only mediocre. But Zhang Jian still believed that it was time to counterattack.
Sun Wenfu, a representative figure of one of the seven major surnames in the Liao Kingdom.
At this time, he was standing next to Zhang Jian, watching the 50,000 Liao troops gathering in the city, preparing to leave the city to fight with the main force of the Song army.
"Sir, is there any news from General Xiao?" Sun Wenfu looked at the army leaving the city and saw that Zhang Jian seemed to be in a better mood, so he asked the question he wanted to ask before.
Zhang Jian did not answer immediately, but hesitated for a moment before saying:
"There is no news. It must be Su Shi who has blocked the channel to communicate with General Xiao."