The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs.
The Song Dynasty's Western Expedition has become a foregone conclusion. Even the weak Han Dynasty still has its own dignity. Moreover, the Song Dynasty is not the weakest to a certain extent. It can even be said to be a unified dynasty with certain military strength.
This war was not only the Song's revenge for Xixia's invasion, but also had a long-term strategic purpose. If the northwest was pacified for ten or even twenty years, the Song Dynasty would eliminate its weakness against the Liao.
Although Ye An did not know how to lead troops in the Western Expedition, he still participated in this extremely high-level court meeting. Zhao Zhen needed his war experience in the northwest, and he also needed him to serve as an advisor to the Grand Master of Tianzhang Pavilion.
However, with Wang De at his side, Ye An was not worried that he would be asked by the emperor and the central minister to produce military atlases and the like. Those things were not only harmful to people, but also completely useless waste.
The iron triangle headed by Xia Song, assisted by Han Qi, and Fan Zhongyan has been formed. They are the backbone of the civilian group's military deployment against Xixia and are also the command center. Cao Yi, as the commander-in-chief of the military, is naturally the real executor.
Han Qi was in charge of the Jingyuan Road, and Fan Zhongyan was in charge of the Yanyan Road. After the Battle of Yanzhou, the Xixia army invaded the northwest border of the Song Dynasty more and more frequently. They tried every means to lure Li Yuanhao's main force into the Song Dynasty, and then ambush and kill the enemy.
This is the consensus reached at the court meeting, and the attitude of the Song Dynasty has changed somewhat.
The reason why the court is discussing the military affairs in the northwest today is that Han Qi's documents have been sent to the court. He decided to send troops from Jingyuan and Yanyan to counterattack Xixia, as a way to counter Li Yuanhao's march south to plunder the Song Dynasty and attack
Punishment of Yanzhou.
However, Fan Zhongyan, who also served as deputy envoy, objected. His documents also arrived. He believed that the Song army lacked horses and even less cavalry. A large-scale attack could not be coordinated by infantry and cavalry. At the same time, it would also add unnecessary extravagance to the transportation of logistics and grain.
.
The best approach is still the one drawn up before, the strategy of luring the army into a trap, luring Li Yuanhao's army to Yanyan, a mountainous and complex road, instead of taking the initiative to attack and exposing the army to the flat terrain of the Five States and Three Armies like Jingyuan Road.
place.
Xia Song did not support anyone's decision. Instead, he submitted all the issues between the two people to the court and asked the emperor and important ministers to discuss the outcome.
This may be the safest suggestion. After all, these three people are also important officials in the court. Xia Song does not want to offend any of them, and Ye An knows that this guy only wants to be promoted in the official position and has no intention of taking responsibility.
With his talent, couldn't he see that Fan Zhongyan's plan was the safest. At this time, the gains outweighed the losses. Even if the strategy of luring the enemy deep failed, there would not be much loss to the Song Dynasty, but this guy didn't want to offend Han Qi.
Things on the battlefield will be troublesome once they are involved in the officialdom. What Ye An is most worried about will eventually happen in this hall. Some people support Fan Zhongyan's plan and believe that safety is the best, while some people support Han Qi's plan and believe that defending against the enemy is more difficult.
The best strategy is to look outside the country.
For a while, the courtiers were quarreling at the court meeting. Zhao Zhen showed his indecisiveness at this time. Seeing his eyes flickering from side to side, Ye An knew that he himself had no plan.
What is the essence of court discussion? It means that different opinions and plans are given, and then the emperor chooses a feasible one and hands it to the people below to implement it. In many cases, it is decided by the emperor's will, and only requires the ruler to have extraordinary abilities.
and outstanding vision.
It's a pity that Zhao Zhen didn't. He was considered a good king in terms of governing the country, but he was a complete layman in the field of military affairs. How could an emperor who had never even been to Tokyo know the dangers on the battlefield?
So he turned his attention to the pillar where Ye An was. Now Zhao Zhen is used to looking for Ye An beside the pillar. No matter what rank he is in, no matter what kind of mission he is on, as long as he looks for the palace pillar, he will be able to find it.
I found his figure, but the position of the palace pillars was different.
It was the same today. Ye An was leaning against the palace pillar. The censor wanted to scold him, but he glared back, as if he had brought the palace pillar in the palace.
"Why didn't Ye Qing say anything today? You are a soldier in the army. You live in Huanzhou and Ganliang. You have repeatedly fought against the party members. Li Yuanhao is your defeated general. Why didn't you say a word?"
No matter what he was afraid of, Ye An felt that Zhao Zhen really didn't know how to make a decision right now, so he decided to throw the blame away from himself, but he would not take the blame.
He pulled out the Chao Hut from his waist and bowed: "Your Majesty, I believe that the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly due to many factors... Our army is the best at military formations, while the Dangxiang people are best at cavalry advance. Duke Fan's method is safe and sound.
Even if you are not strong enough, you will not suffer losses, but if you are not aggressive enough, you may not be able to achieve miraculous results. As for Han Gong's method, it is very open and close, but if you plunge in headfirst, it may be difficult to escape."
"What's the difference between what Ye Hou said and what he didn't say?!"
Sure enough, as soon as Ye An's voice fell, someone immediately turned on the saliva mode and spat at him. Yes, these officials knew nothing about military matters, but when they attacked people, they left no room at all, even if
Ouyang Xiu also shook his head slightly and sighed: "A man has the strength to carry a cauldron, and he should also have the courage to bear it!"
That was a dead end. When he saw the official came up and spat at him, and he did it so cheerfully, he felt that Zhao Zhen would feel uncomfortable being spat on by Bao Zheng in the future.
But Ye An endured all the verbal quarrels, but someone once again said to him: "This is what the fighting men who come out of the army are like this. Even if they have literary qualifications, they are all the same. But the good men outside Donghua Gate are better than those in the army."
Not even a little bit stronger!"
The wat board was swung up like lightning, and with a sound of breaking through the air, it struck hard at the pouted mouth. First there was a tooth-piercing sound [snap--], and then there was a sound like an animal's [ouch--]
Howl.
The young speaker's teeth and half of the ivory wat board flew out in full view of everyone, causing a vacuum to immediately form around Ye An. A group of veterans frowned slightly, but did not say anything. Even Zhang Shixun did not blame himself.
He just frowned and shook his head.
"Insolent! Ye An, you have no superiority, you are arrogant and domineering, you have lost etiquette in front of the palace, you are daring, you beat an official, you should be punished for your crime!!"
The "Four-Character Mantra" was immediately sprayed out, and the firepower was so fierce that Ye An couldn't help but praise his good eloquence. He looked closely and saw that the person in the front was Youyan Zhengtian Kuang.
His own Ma Tsai was beaten, so it was natural for Tian Kuang, as the eldest brother, to step forward. Ye An was quite satisfied with the person who proposed the court proposal. At least he was not Meng Lang who supported Han Qi's massive attack when his head got hot.
Ye An laughed and said: "The soldiers of the imperial dynasty serving their lives in the northwest are much better than this crow who knows how to fight among themselves! If such a person had been in the army, he would have died countless times, and he dared to do it without knowing anything.
What is the clamor here? What is he doing when a certain person dares to face the enemy directly when he is commanding the army? Where is he when a certain person is serving the country?! At this time, a dispute breaks out. We should fight, but it is a pity that the Jinwu Guards are not in the palace, otherwise...
Hum hum!"
Seeing Ye An weighing the half piece of Chao Hut in his hand, even Tian Kuang felt his scalp numb. What Jin Wuwei was holding in the palace was a golden melon...
"In the official family, the court discussion should be the priority at the moment, and the disagreement between the censor and Ye Hou should be discussed later."
The beaten Yan Guanyi was carried out. Zhao Zhen sat on the throne without saying a word, but his eyes were like daggers. In his opinion, Ye An was too presumptuous.
"You might as well finish what Ye Qing has to say."
This was the final conclusion given by Zhao Zhen. Obviously, he did not intend to pursue Ye An for committing murder in public, but Ye An bowed and said: "I have informed the official family that I am willing to go to the northwest and lead the army on an expedition!"
Zhao Zhen hesitated slightly. He did not expect Ye An to ask for military power so simply. Indeed, it was the best choice for him to go to the northwest. The great champion general, not to mention intimidating the enemy, also made Li Yuanhao and the entire party fearful.
the location of.
"Ye Qing is an important weapon of the country. I have ordered Cao Yi to be the general manager. If Ye Qing goes there, he will be afraid of being subordinate to others. This matter will be discussed later. I wonder who Ye Qing thinks is the appropriate way to use the military between Han and Fan?"
Knowing that Zhao Zhen would not let him lead the troops to the northwest, Ye An said slowly: "I think Duke Fan's method is more appropriate!"
Everyone showed a natural expression. No one knew that the relationship between Ye An and Fan Zhongyan was very good, but Ye An said: "When the country uses troops, everyone is happy when they win, but when they lose, they cannot lose again. Jinmingzhai, Sanchuankou,
In Dingchuan Village, the country has been defeated twice in succession. If there is another defeat, not to mention the morale of the army, even the people will be terrified..."
Although the words didn't sound good, all the courtiers nodded one after another. Yes, the Song Dynasty really couldn't afford to lose at the moment, and it couldn't afford to lose again.