Chapter 162: The South Building is Only in the Far West (4)
The Zhong family, since Zhong Shiheng was promoted and promoted by Fan Zhongyan, has gradually become the branch with the deepest foundation and the highest reputation among the generals of the Western Army.
Zhongshi Hengsheng had eight sons, Zhongji, Zhongdi, Zhongzhen, Zhongyong, Zhonge, Zhongsuo, Zhongji, and Zhongyi. Among them, Zhongji, Zhongdi, and Zhonge had outstanding military achievements, and the people in Guanzhong called them the "three
kind".
Among the third generation, Zhongshi Dao, the son of Zhongji, was the most famous. He became a disciple of Zhang Zai and became the backbone of Guan School. He was proficient in Confucianism, passed the exam very early, and was appointed as a civil official. He also inherited the family tradition and was capable of both literary and military skills.
Relatively speaking, although Zhong Pu, Zhong E's son, is a rare good general, his future is far less promising than Zhong Shi Dao, who has broken through the boundaries of civil and military affairs.
After the officials formulated the strategy to exterminate Xia, they quickly transferred the famous Zhong Shidao (Zhong Jianzhong) and his younger brother and right-hand assistant Zhong Shizhong to Hedong and Hebei, leaving only the less famous Zhong Pu.
, which caused a lot of discussion among the generals of the Western Army.
Everyone thought that in order to avoid the Zhongshi Dao, the officials took advantage of the breeze of extermination of the summer, which made the Zhong family more powerful and more difficult to suppress.
Now it seems that this is probably another way of checking and balancing the government. He gave the Yao family and Liu family, the three giants of the Western Army, the credit for exterminating Xia, and then left the great credit for recovering Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures to the Zhong family
and the new generation of generals who were nurtured.
Zhao Si looked at the expressions of everyone present and seemed to understand what they were thinking, with deep eyes and a smile without saying a word.
"Mr. Xigu, Master Wang, everyone, now that Xixia has been eliminated, only the Khitan people in the north are left.
"The strength of the Khitan people has been estimated after several years of investigation by the Military Intelligence Bureau. I believe everyone has seen the detailed information."
Those present here are all civil servants and generals from the third rank/deputy general and above, as well as close associates, who are qualified to see the first-class confidential information - "The Detailed Rules of the Military and Political Affairs of the Northern Liao Dynasty in the Second Year of the Apocalypse".
"Some people believe that by taking advantage of the power of the Xia Dynasty and marching northward, our Song army will be able to recapture the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun in one fell swoop. They have absolutely no idea of the hardships of the battle to destroy the Xia Dynasty, so they say such heroic words!" Zhao Si sighed slightly.
One breath.
He just said that there are some people. In fact, in Kaifeng City and local areas, there are not a few people who have this kind of thinking.
Most of these people were scholars, but also merchants, traders, and other ordinary people. They had seen the Song Army and the Xia Army fight in the past, and they always won less and lost more. Suddenly, the Song Army reversed the trend, won consecutive battles, and was wiped out in one fell swoop.
Xia Kingdom.
So I thought my destiny was in the Song Dynasty, and I couldn't help but feel my blood boiling, running straight to my forehead. From the previous blind pessimism and disappointment, I suddenly went to the other extreme - arrogance, arrogance, and arrogance.
In order to cater to this trend of thought, some newspapers blindly promoted the power of the Song Army and dismissed the Liao Army as worthless with their eyes closed. They also said that the soldiers and people of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures had suffered in Liao for a long time, and that when the Song Army went on its northern expedition, it would definitely
"Eat the slurry in the pot to welcome the king's master." When the time comes, it will be like a broken bamboo.
This noisy argument added fuel to the uproar of the "blind victory over Liao" theory, making people restless and restless. Even a group of college students studying in Chengjun, Biyong, Henan Normal University and other colleges and universities wrote letters one after another
, demanding the Northern Expedition to further enhance the country’s prestige.
Therefore, the construction of defensive castle complexes in Taiyuan, Hedong, Zhending, and Hebei became an inappropriate and wasteful move that wasted money and people, and was severely criticized by some people.
Zhao Si glanced at Zhong Shidao and asked, "Uncle Yi, tell me, where did the Song Dynasty's campaign to exterminate Xia begin?"
Zhong Shidao raised his head, his eyes were like stars, and said loudly: "In response to your Majesty's words, I think that the battle to destroy Xia will begin with the battle of Pingxia City."
Zhao Si nodded approvingly, "Uncle Yi, keep talking."
"It's your Majesty. In the battle of Pingxia City, the Xia army was defeated, which severely damaged the reputation of the Liang family of the Hou Party, and also severely affected the strength and morale of the Xixia army. Taking this opportunity, the Xia leader Li Qianshun joined forces with the Liao people , Jiu killed Liang Hou, and then began to eradicate the strength of the Liang Party in Xixia."
The way of cultivating teachers can be talked about.
"However, the Liang family has one family and two queens, and has been in charge of Xixia's state affairs for thirty-five years. It is deeply rooted. Li Qianshun eradicated the Liang party's influence, which naturally caused internal chaos. His Majesty has the insight of thousands of miles and saw the weaknesses of Xixia. In the name of patrolling the border, he launched the He In the Battle of Huang, we lured the enemy deep into the territory, made circuitous divisions, and wiped out the enemies one by one. The blood of Xixia was ruthlessly spilled. At this point, our army has taken the initiative on the battlefield."
"From the Battle of Henan in the third year of Yuanfu to the Battle of Liangzhou, they were all executing the official strategy - continuously bleeding Xixia, leaving it without any chance to breathe and recover. In the first year of Tianqi, I, the Song Dynasty Under the mediation of Bei Liao, they temporarily negotiated peace with Xixia. However, they launched another battle. They used economic means to block the border between Song and Xia, not allowing a grain of summer salt to enter the customs, and not allowing a grain of grain to leave the country...continue to let Xixia of blood.”
The reason why the entire Western Army was so convinced of Zhao Si was that besides the fact that this official was really good at fighting, he was also full of tricks.
Economic warfare, espionage warfare...all kinds of means beyond everyone's imagination were used in turn, causing Xixia, which was originally extremely powerful, to be tortured to the point of dying.
"After preparing for so many years, His Majesty finally waited until the moment when Xixia's strength was at its weakest. His Majesty made a decisive decision and devoted all the efforts of the whole country to destroy the Xia Kingdom. Therefore, the battle to destroy Xia did not take place in just a few months last year, nor did it take place in Hehuang At the time of the battle, it started with the battle of Pingxia City."
Having said this, Zhong Shidao paused and continued: "This strategy is also fully consistent with the three fast and one slow as well as observation, fast, fierce attack and iron law. Early preparation and observation, calmness, adequate preparation, observation Comprehensive, once a loophole is discovered, attack quickly, seize the enemy's weakness and pursue it..."
After Zhong Shidao praised Zhao Si's strategic deployment, the topic shifted to Northern Liao.
"For Beiliao, it is actually the same as dealing with Xixia. We must be patient enough and wait for it to reveal its fatal weakness..."
After hearing this, Zhao Si finally spoke again.
"Uncle Yi is right. The most taboo thing in a war is to fight a war in the middle of nowhere. The target is uncertain, the situation is unclear, and the time has not come... these are all types of war. In any case, the war will be difficult. Victory or defeat all depends on God's will." At this point, Zhao Si's tone became solemn.
"Military and national affairs are related to the survival of the country and the safety of the people. It is extremely irresponsible to rely entirely on God's will. Huaiyi, can you explain to everyone why the time to attack Beiliao is not mature yet?"
"Here!" Zhao Huaiyi stood up and responded. As a military attaché born in Huaidelang, he was Zhao Si's close confidant.
"According to intelligence, with the cooperation of Emperor Tianzuo and several favored ministers, Northern Liao was indeed corrupted by officials and the people were in dire straits. However, the foundation of the Liao army, the Khitan tribe, is still basically intact. The center and local areas of Northern Liao, It has rotted and festered, but the grassroots members are still barely maintaining the status quo. But we believe it will be over soon."
Having said this, Zhao Huaiyi raised his head, with a kind of conviction in his eyes, and his body was filled with a temperament that was completely different from the traditional Song Army military attache.
"Rotation and oppression have spread to the Khitan people's strongest ally, the Xi tribe. The dignitaries are living in intoxication, and the tribesmen are in dire straits. Now this situation is also spreading to the Khitan tribe. The dignitaries have long been poor. It’s extremely luxurious, and the tribesmen are about to fall into dire straits.”
Zhao Si looked at his attendant Zhao Huaiyi, using a motherly and doubtful tone, as if he was pronouncing someone's fate.
This was inferred by the Military Council based on various intelligence, and it was consistent with the history it knew.
After more than ten years, the Wanyan tribe of the Jurchens rose rapidly, and their offensive against the Northern Liao Dynasty was overwhelming. It was not that the Wanyan tribe was so brave, but that the upper class of the Northern Liao Dynasty was rotten, and the people of all ethnic groups in the lower class hated this regime. There was no People are willing to shed a drop of blood for it.
"Excuse me, little brother, how long will it take?" Zhong Shidao asked expectantly.
Zhao Huaiyi said nothing and turned his gaze to Zhao Si.
Zhao Si calculated in his mind that according to history, it would take another ten years for the Jurchens to take the lead in rising up. After kicking the Khitans a few times, it would take fifteen years for this former behemoth to fall.
He has deployed so many moves intensively, which has greatly weakened Beiliao's strength and promoted its decline.
Zhao Si said firmly: "Five years, we will definitely find opportunities in five years."
Then he said: "But no matter now or in the future, when we face the Northern Liao Dynasty, we must first be invincible before trying anything else. We must first build up our defense group firmly and have no worries before we dare to attack boldly. Those foolhardy generals don’t understand these things, you must understand them!”
"Yes!" Everyone in the lobby responded in unison.
"It is not my style to defend without attacking, nor is it the style of our army. I once swore by the Yellow River that I would never let a mile of this mother river be outside our territory in the Song Dynasty. Therefore, the sky in the eastern part of the Yellow River Loop The German Army, Yunnei Prefecture, Dongsheng Prefecture and Shuo Prefecture will be our next strategy targets. But now our Song Dynasty and Northern Liao Dynasty are still good-neighborly and friendly brotherly countries. So the main force to realize this strategic deployment is not you. The Jinning Army is not the Ningxia Army that merged the Pingxia and Dingbian armies..."
Zhao Si said meaningfully: "What your Jinning Army has to do is to guard the border and cooperate with the orders of the Privy Council."
Hearing this, everyone here thought of a name, Xuanwu Banner, which was being formed and reorganized in Mobei. This chapter has been completed!
