The crowd in the Daqing Palace gradually became silent, and all the ministers stood quietly waiting for Renzong Zhao Zhen to speak. Zhao Zhen looked worried and tired. He glanced at the ministers, old and young, tall and short, and sighed: "My beloved sir,
These major events today have given me quite a headache. Each one is important. After I was rewarded for this first major event, I couldn't bear to announce it to all the ministers. I kept it on my desk for more than ten days, indecisive."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, wondering what was causing the emperor to be so worried. Of course Lu Yijian, Yan Shu and others knew about it, but since the emperor didn't tell them, it was naturally inconvenient for them to tell them.
"Your Majesty, it would be better for me to tell the story for you. This matter is my fault and I am fully responsible." Han Qi, who was tall and strong, walked out of the train and knelt at the foot of the stairs and said loudly.
Zhao Zhen looked at the dusty look on his face, and then sighed and said: "That's fine, Han Qing can tell all the ministers about this, and then get up and talk."
Han Qi looked depressed, thanked En and stood up. He was silent for a long time and said in a low voice: "My lords, the war in the northwest has suffered major disadvantages. Half a month ago, our army and the army of the Western thief Li Yuanhao encountered each other in the Beihaoshuichuan of Weizhou. The Western thief was among our army.
The plan fell into place and more than 6,000 people were killed. General Ren Fu and other generals and officers, including hundreds, died in battle and martyred their country."
Han Qi choked with sobs and burst into tears. He seemed to have returned to the tragic battlefield before his eyes. After the defeat, Han Qi personally led the army to respond and immediately ordered the army to retreat. On the way, thousands of fathers, brothers and wives of the fallen soldiers were crying on Han Qi's horse.
Beforehand, the scene was vivid and miserable.
The ministers were in an uproar. They had always thought that the war in the northwest was just a stalemate, with victory and defeat being a tug-of-war. Everyone knew in their hearts that as long as there was a stalemate, Xixia Li Yuanhao would definitely retreat; the protracted war was
In the battle of attrition, the gap in national power would eventually exhaust Li Yuanhao. Although the Song Dynasty also suffered its own losses, this was the best outcome compared to failure.
Unexpectedly, 6,000 people were killed in the battle of Haoshuichuan. According to this ratio, at least 20,000 people died in the battle, and the total strength of the Northwest Song Army was only 100,000. In this way, the balance of strength suddenly tilted towards the Xixia Army.
, I was afraid that something big was going to happen. One day, a hundred thousand troops of the Western Bandits were approaching Weizhou. There was no danger to defend Weizhou. The minister ordered the retreat to Huaiyuan City, and appointed Ren Fu and Sang Ze to lead 28,000 people.
To defend against the enemy, before leaving, the minister once told Ren Fu, "Encircle and attack his belly and back. If you can fight, fight. If you can't fight, then set up an ambush to rob him of his return path. You need to be disciplined. If you violate the discipline, even if you have merit, you will not be able to fight."
Kill them.', initially they won a small victory in Zhangjiabao. After the Xia army retreated, they discarded supplies along the way. After receiving the report, the minister was shocked and realized that it was a false defeat. He hurriedly ordered people to fly on horseback and ordered Ren Fu not to pursue him, but Ren Fu was greedy for credit.
, when the messenger arrived, he had already led his army to pursue Haoshuichuan in Weizhou, which led to this defeat, my minister..."
"Deputy Ambassador Han, are you trying to shirk the blame? Ren Fu is dead. You are talking like this now to put the blame on Ren Fu. This is not appropriate." Lu Yijian directly interrupted Han Qi's narrative,
Loudly.
Everyone agreed one after another, accusing Han Qi of being unreasonable and using dead people to justify his crimes.
"I am just reporting based on the facts. I know I am guilty, but I will take responsibility for my fault. Naturally, it is not my fault that I must report to the emperor."
"What you said is grand. Could it be that the emperor has wronged you? You still need to appeal yourself. If I remember correctly, I am the one who took the lead in attacking the decisive battle with the Xia army. You think that delaying the time will make you financially weak and it will be difficult to support it.
In the first year of Kangding, you came to Beijing to offer advice to the emperor and once said: Although Yuan Hao invaded the country, he only had 40,000 to 50,000 troops. We followed the road and defended ourselves with heavy troops. Our forces were weak and we were at a loss when encountering the enemy. If we join forces together, we should encourage them.
Go forward, take advantage of the thieves' arrogance and laziness, and they will be defeated. Are these your exact words?"
Han Qi said: "These are my exact words, but..."
"Since these are your true words, when you said there were only 40,000 to 50,000 bandit soldiers, why did Yuan Hao's 100,000 troops appear again in the battle of Haoshuichuan today? And you strongly advocated an attack, but Ren Fu just respected
It's your destiny to say that he is greedy for power and hastened forward at this time, and is inconsistent and inappropriate."
Han Qi said dejectedly: "What Prime Minister Lu said makes sense, but what the official said was last year when we had 50,000 or 60,000 troops. The situation has changed drastically now and is very different from last year, so..."
"Mr. Han, I originally admired you for your courage and courage, but today you have made me look down on you. Your reasons are simply untenable. Last year, you were fifty to sixty thousand, and this year you are one hundred thousand.
Could it be that Yuan Hao could produce twice as many troops? Or did the Liao Kingdom borrow troops from him? It is obvious that you made a mistake in judging the situation, and you must take full responsibility for this."
Han Qi was speechless and his expression was extremely ugly. He would not change his attitude this time and could only bear these responsibilities by himself.
Emperor Renzong sat on the throne with his chin in his hands and listened to the two debates without saying a word. This was his old habit and his brilliance. He never participated in the disputes between his ministers and did not openly show favoritism. Regarding this matter
For him, what he is more concerned about is not who is guilty or who bears responsibility, but what should be done next?
But the relevant people need to be punished, that's for sure, so he doesn't say anything and just listens quietly.
"The responsibility cannot be borne by Deputy Han alone, the ministers also have the responsibility." Fan Zhongyan, who had gray, black, and withered hair, suddenly stood up. This gentleman Fan Xiwen was not amazing in appearance, with layers of wrinkles on his face left by the years and wind and frost.
The ax left the mark of the guest.
"Master Fan, what is your responsibility? This matter has nothing to do with you. You are stationed in Yaozhou with your troops, so this matter has nothing to do with you." Han Qi said while squinting for fear of involving another person.
"Master Han, you and I are jointly responsible for the military affairs in the northwest. We should be jointly responsible for the affairs in the northwest. How can you say that I have nothing to do with it."
Han Qi was so anxious that he almost jumped up and scolded his mother. I have to tell the truth and hope that the emperor will punish me lightly. It's better for you, but you just took the blame on yourself.
Fan Zhongyan didn't take it seriously and said calmly: "Your Majesty, not only do I have the responsibility, there are also people who have to take the responsibility."
Zhao Zhen said quietly: "Are you talking about Mr. Xia?"
"It is Lord Xia. As the economic and strategic envoy, I and Deputy Envoy Han are both his deputies. The three of us should share the responsibility for this defeat."
Everyone's eyes turned to Xia Song, who was standing behind Privy Councilor Du Yan. Xia Song was short in stature and had a fair face. However, looking at his appearance, one would never have guessed that this man was the commander-in-chief of the 100,000 Song Army in the northwest. Seeing this man on the street would be mistaken for him.
He thought he was from a wealthy family, but if you look into his eyes, you will find that there is a coldness in his eyes that will chill you to the soles of your feet.
At this moment, Xia Song's face was ashen. When he saw everyone's eyes on him, he knew that he couldn't escape this time, so he cursed secretly and knelt down.
"Your Majesty, I believe Lord Xia is not primarily responsible for this defeat. In the past, when Han and Fan were ordered by the emperor to go to the northwest, Han Qi asked the emperor to grant him and Fan Zhongyan full military responsibility. At that time, I and Lord Xia objected.
But later, in order to take into account the situation in the northwest, it was agreed that Han Fan could make his own decisions on military affairs, and Mr. Xia was in charge of all logistics matters. This was a military issue, and naturally had nothing to do with Mr. Xia. Mr. Fan said that the three of them shared the responsibility.
I think it is very inappropriate to force Mr. Xia to take responsibility."
The person who spoke was the Privy Councilor Du Yan. The Privy Council was the highest military organization of the Song Dynasty. In other words, the Privy Councilor's position was the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces. As soon as Du Yan's words came out, the weight could be imagined.
Zhao Zhen frowned and said: "What Du Aiqing said makes sense, I remember this clearly. Han Qi, Fan Zhongyan, you must not forget what you said in front of me that day."
Fan Zhongyan kowtowed and said: "The guilty minister must bear all the blame for his death, but this matter is indeed related to Mr. Xia. How dare I make random accusations against others."
"Oh? Then tell me your reasons." Zhao Zhen knew that the Northwest would ultimately have to be supported by Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan. As long as Fan Zhongyan could tell his reasons, he wouldn't mind dragging Xia Song along to punish him.
When we come back, if there are more people, we can give him a lighter punishment later. After all, if three people share the responsibility, the guilt will be much smaller psychologically.
"The Battle of Haoshuichuan was a military defeat on the surface, but in fact there was another reason that the emperor was unaware of. Ren Fu led a forward force of 28,000 people to Huaiyuan to intercept the Western bandit soldiers. At that time, military affairs were urgent, and each man only had
After bringing a day's rations, Deputy Ambassador Han asked Mr. Xia to count the provisions and escort them to the front line for relief. However, Mr. Xia's provisions had not yet been sent to the front line after the war. At that time, Ren Fu's army had been out for four days. It can be imagined that Ren Fu's army had been out for nearly three days.
Ten thousand people have been hungry for three days and are fighting against Yuan Hao's hundred thousand troops. How can they be undefeated? Ren Fu's reckless advance was due to lack of caution, but who is to blame for the backup?"
The more Fan Zhongyan talked, the more excited he became. He gritted his teeth and wanted to slap Xia Song on the head, who was kneeling next to him.
"Xia Song, is this happening?" Zhao Zhen was angry. Xia Song had always done things well, how could he make such a big mistake this time?
"Reporting to your Majesty, I deserve to die for my crime. Lord Han did talk to me about this matter that day, but the food stored in the military camp has been exhausted. If it is transported to the front line, what will the tens of thousands of troops in the rear camp be fed? The transshipment allows Panda to supply the army.
Food is getting less and less, and I am a clever woman who cannot make a living without rice, so I have no choice but to do it."
After hearing Xia Song's explanation, everyone was dumbfounded. All the grasshoppers on a rope were pulled out one by one, and none of them could escape.
The eyes of the ministers turned to Pang Ji who was standing behind Yan Shu. Zhao Zhen had a terrible headache. Seeing that everyone was involved, it would be really interesting if Pang Ji said that the supply of the third division was insufficient and pulled out Yan Shu.