Chapter Seventy-Five Seven: Battle Preparation Four
Now that the Yeli brothers are no longer opposed, the trend of other people's opinions has changed from opposition to approval. Since there is a war, the direction of attack has been put on the agenda.
According to Li Yuanhao's idea, this should be a hard bone to chew on. Since a big battle is going to be fought, the Song Dynasty will hit the sore spot. The best target is the two groups, Yan Yan and Huan Qing, who have been quite active recently.
Fan Zhongyan was stationed here, and Di Qing, who was wearing a mask, once led his troops to capture Youzhou City. Although he was quickly beaten back, it really made the monarchs and ministers of Daxia feel sick.
In response to Li Yuanhao's suggestion, the Yeli brothers secretly shook their heads. This was the old habit of rejoicing in success. Yanyan and Huanqing were on the eastern front, which was the closest barrier to Bianliang, the capital of the Song Dynasty. The Song Army's 150,000 troops in the northwest were
Most of them are deployed on the Fuyan and Huanqing roads, just to hold on to resist the enemy. If they are easily broken through, it will be fine.
In comparison, although Jingyuan Road and Qinfeng Road on the west road are said to be guarded by 100,000 troops, in fact, they can only fight no more than 50,000. Most of them are improvised and miscellaneous troops; the only concern is the body.
Han Qi sits on Qinfeng Road in Qinzhou.
Regarding Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan, there was a song circulated in the Song Dynasty army, "There is a Han in the army, and Xixia's heart goes cold when he hears it. There is a fan in the army, and Xixia is frightened when he hears it." Such songs have long been heard in the Xixia army.
, in fact, although it is a bit exaggerated, it also tells some truth. With Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan guarding the northwest, the Xixia army did not dare to make mistakes; although after the victory of Haoshuichuan, Li Yuanhao sent a message to Han
Qi and Xia Song said: "Xia Song has never stood up, Han Qi is not surprising. Sichuan is full of dragons and tigers, and he is still talking about military aircraft." They were proud, but all the frontline people who had dealt with Han Qi, Fan Zhongyan and Xia Song
The general knew in his heart how terrifying the officials who guarded the northwest in the Song Dynasty were.
However, this time it was not the Yeli brothers who spoke against it, but a Han minister named Zhang Yuan of His Highness. This man was originally from Huayin County, Huazhou, Yongxing Army Road, Song Dynasty, and was considered quite talented in the local area.
, won the local people's praise for being "a chivalrous person" and "a man of great courage and talent".
However, this person's luck seemed to be a bit bad. He failed in several imperial examinations, so he thought that his talents could not be extended, so he decided to rebel against the Song Dynasty and join Xia.
During the year, he and his friend Hu Hao heard that Li Yuanhao had the ambition to establish a country and become emperor, so they came to Xixia. At this time, he changed his name to Zhang Yuan, and his friend named Hu changed his name to Wu Hao.
After arriving in Xingqing Mansion, there was no way out. In the Xixia Kingdom, which was full of Dangxiang people, the status of the Han people might not be much higher than that of mules, horses, pigs, and dogs. So the two drank and wandered around all day long, and one day they met in a tavern.
A pen was written on the wall: "Zhang Yuan and Wu Hao came to drink in this building." When the patrol saw them, they knew they were not from Xia because the word "Hao" in Wu Hao's name conflicted with Yuan Hao, so they were taken down and sent away.
To Yuan Hao.
When Yuan Hao asked them why they violated the taboo of their names and entered the Xia Kingdom, the two loudly said: "You haven't cared about your surname yet, but you have to pay attention to your name?" Yuan Hao's original surname was Tuoba, and his ancestors were given the surname Li by the emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the surname of Li by the emperor of the Song Dynasty.
Giving the surname Zhao can be said to be multiple surnames for one person. This is tantamount to exposing Li Yuanhao's scars and saying that Li Yuanhao is capricious. In normal times, he would be beheaded as soon as he said such words, but that day Li Yuanhao happened to be in trouble.
The long-awaited wife was in a good mood. Not only did she not blame them, she also released them and entrusted them with important tasks.
The two were quite trusted after they defected to Xia. Shortly after Li Yuanhao proclaimed himself emperor and founded the country, he appointed Zhang Yuan as Zhongshu Ling, and Wu Hao was also re-employed later. When Zhang Yuanyuan's family was detained in Suizhou by the Song Dynasty, Li Yuanhao sent spies to correct the edict of the Song Dynasty.
He actually successfully rescued Zhang Yuan's family, which made Zhang Yuan loyal to Li Yuanhao wholeheartedly.
In the wars between Song and Xia for several years, Zhang Yuan used his understanding of the Song people to come up with many strategies and achieved many results;
The plan was proposed by Zhang Yuan, but the person who executed it was too stupid, and ultimately failed.
Zhang Yuan never disobeyed Li Yuanhao's suggestions in public, but he actually opposed it today. This made everyone a little puzzled. Li Yuanhao was also very surprised, but he knew that since Zhang Yuan publicly opposed, either his brain was kicked by a donkey, or he was
There were major errors and omissions in the proposal, and Zhang Yuan had no choice but to raise objections.
"Why does Zhang Qing object? Is there any reason?" Li Yuanhao asked politely.
"Your Majesty, I certainly have a reason. I just heard the emperor say that this battle is the last battle before the peace talks between He and Song Dynasty. Although I don't agree with the peace talks with Song Dynasty, since King Yeli and the emperor have reached a consensus, this battle will
Naturally, there is no need for the minister to say anything; he thought, since the result of the battle is used as a bargaining chip to negotiate peace with Song Dynasty, then only one factor should be considered in this battle, not who to fight, but whether to win; if this battle is defeated,
Not only was it not a bargaining chip to suppress the Song Dynasty in peace talks and provide favorable conditions, but it was used by the Song Dynasty. Not only did the peace talks fail, but there was also the worry of destroying the country." Zhang Yuan talked eloquently.
"How presumptuous, you don't even believe that I, the Great Xia Cavalry, can win in a battle. You want to destroy your prestige and increase the ambition of others. After all, you are a Han, a white-eyed wolf who cannot be raised well." Li Jiqian had long disliked Zhang Yuan and arrested him.
Take advantage of the opportunity quickly.
Li Yuanhao also had a gloomy look on his face. He suppressed his anger and said coldly: "Zhang Yuan, you must be careful when speaking. This battle is bound to be won. What is your purpose of being discouraged here?"
Zhang Yuan straightened his chest and said nonchalantly: "Your Majesty, I don't like false promises. My Daxia cavalry is indeed brave and invincible, but the people of Song Dynasty are not soft persimmons. You can't rely on guesswork in a war. If you say you can win, you have to plan and arrange it."
What? What if this is the case, my Daxia cavalry has already reached Bianliang City, what is the actual situation? Aren't they trapped on the border and unable to advance? I am not blaming the soldiers for their incompetence, I want to remind the emperor and everyone not to underestimate the Song people.
Since we are going to fight this time, we must win. No matter who we fight, as long as a big victory is used as a bargaining chip, we can force the Song Dynasty to negotiate; the emperor's proposal to attack the strongest point in the northwest border of the Song Dynasty is really not possible.
If necessary, we don’t need to sacrifice the weak to attack the strong, we can win a big victory on anyone, there is no need to take risks.”
Everyone suddenly felt that Zhang Yuan's words did make sense. Wouldn't it be more reliable to pick a soft persimmon than to risk defeat to attack Fan Yan and Huan Qing who were guarding Fan Zhongyan? Especially the Yeli brothers, they even agreed with Zhang Yuan.
Zhang Yuan's view is that their troops must not experience another major defeat, and it is indeed unwise to fight with Fan Zhongyan. Originally, they thought that Yuan Hao was so happy that he proposed to attack Fan Zhongyan, but now Zhang Yuan's view coincides with theirs.
.
Li Yuanhao looked at Zhang Yuan and said coldly: "In your opinion, where should we attack? Don't forget that there is Fan Zhongyan in the east and Han Qi in the west. No one is easy to mess with. According to what you said, we should
We can only cross the Liupan Mountains to attack Lanzhou, but it's a pity that horses are horses after all, and they can't fly."
Zhang Yuan pretended not to understand Li Yuanhao's teasing, and said sternly: "Your Majesty, let me give you an analysis. The troops of Yanyan and Huanqing in the east are not considered for the time being, but Jingyuan and Qinfeng in the west definitely have
The article can be written; although Han Qi is on the East Road, he is guarding Qinfeng Road, and his government is in Qinzhou, hundreds of miles away from the border; facing us face to face in front of him are Jingyuan Road, Weizhou, Yuanzhou, Jingzhou, etc.
The state capital was originally under the control of Wang Yan, but based on detailed reports, it seems that Wang Yan will be transferred to the capital to take up a post, but a newbie will come to Jingyuan Road to take charge. Of course, it is not ruled out that the Song Dynasty court will order Han Qi to take up the post, but I think it is possible
Not much; Wei Chen believes that no matter who takes over, the handover will be a time of chaos and instability. At this time, attacking the Jingyuan Road will result in a great victory. This is the direction of our attack."
Li Yuanhao touched his chin and nodded slowly. Zhang Yuan's analysis was very reasonable. It seemed that the Jingyuan Road was indeed the direction to attack, and the chance of winning was quite high.
Zhang Yuan continued: "Among the states on the Jingyuan Road, I think Weizhou is the best target. Although Yuanzhou is slightly ahead, it is also closer to Huanqing Road, making it easier for Fan Zhongyan to rescue him, while Weizhou is isolated in the west.
, it is an isolated city, which is an excellent goal."
Ye Li Wangrong interjected: "How do you know that Han Qi will not support from behind? Wouldn't Fan Zhongyan come long distance to reinforce?"
Zhang Yuan cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty is right, it is indeed possible, but based on the recent performance of the Song people, what they are most worried about is fighting me in the wild. What they are better at is shrinking and defending; we just need to make a gesture
, showing that he is about to attack the Yan, Yan and Huan Qing roads, Fan Zhongyan will definitely not dare to provide support without authorization. However, our army can change its route halfway from east to west and directly attack Weizhou. At the same time, the Jianing army commanded by Commander Li can send people to feint attack.
The northern walled city of Yanzhou restrained Fan Zhongyan; our army was very powerful and could reach Weizhou at lightning speed. Even if Fan Zhongyan realized what he was doing, he would not be able to rescue him, and Han Qi would also be unable to rescue him, not to mention that he actually had soldiers and horses at hand.
Not many. In my estimation, he will at most send some of his troops to support, while the rest will huddle up and take precautions."
The ministers all nodded, thinking that Zhang Yuanyuan was right. He first feinted to advance eastward, and then quickly advanced westward. There was not much time lost in between. A hundred thousand troops could arrive at the gates of Weizhou City overnight. Even if Fan Zhongyan found out that he had been tricked, he would still be ready.
It will take at least five or six days to send troops for rescue. They can use methods such as hijacking reinforcements halfway or simply taking Weizhou quickly, leaving Fan Zhongyan with no choice but to withdraw his troops.
Li Yuanhao weighed it up. Although he was inclined to defeat Fan Zhongyan, not only because it would be more intimidating, but also because it would open the door closest to Bianliang and occupy the Qingzhou area of Yanzhou. He would like to do so anytime in the future.
Attacking Bianliang was accomplished overnight; but Li Yuanhao also had to consider the consequences of defeat, which he could not bear. After considering all kinds of considerations, Li Yuanhao approved Zhang Yuan's suggestion.
"What do you think of Zhang Yuan's plan?"
"We think it is feasible and relatively safe." Everyone said one after another.
Li Yuanhao raised his hand and said: "Okay, since everyone thinks it is feasible, let's proceed according to Zhang Yuan's plan. The left and right armies immediately gathered in Huizhou and ordered people to find out who would take over in Weizhou. At the same time, they also made detailed arrangements to find out who would be the successor to Weizhou.
As for the whereabouts of Su Jin who captured Ning Ming, God bless him, I hope he is in Weizhou City, so that I can capture him alive and peel off his skin and cramps."