The situation in the fifth year of Yuanfeng was that the Song Dynasty was preparing for war on all fronts along the Hebei line.
In the early Song Dynasty, the situation where Zhao Kuangyin and other generals such as Li Hanchao were stationed in various states was gone forever.
Emperor Taizong's subsequent two Northern Expeditions failed, and as he became more and more wary of generals, the situation was set for civil servants to lead the army.
Because of the loss of Youyan's natural security, Hebei's defense line was in a state of chaos.
In the late Taizong period and the early Zhenzong period, the Song army repeatedly failed in field battles against the Liao Dynasty. As a result, the Song Dynasty could only guard a few fortified cities in Hebei and allowed the Liao cavalry to plunder at will in Hebei.
Finally, there was the humiliating peace negotiation of the Chanyuan Alliance.
Since then, the Liao State has always pursued deterrence diplomacy towards the Song Dynasty.
In another time and space plane, from the increase of coins in Qingli to the demarcation of borders in Xining, the Liao Kingdom succeeded repeatedly.
When forcing the Song Dynasty to change the Sui coins to tribute coins, the Liao envoys even threatened the Song envoys face to face and said, We have strong Liao soldiers and horses, and everyone has the intention to go south. You are in danger of destroying the country because of a small issue of face.
, it will be too late to regret by then.
In the relationship between Song and Liao, the Song Dynasty has always been in a state of extreme humiliation.
During the Xining period, the officials and Wang Anshi were also ashamed of this, but in the end they had nothing to do. Wang Anshi advised the officials that these were problems left over from history, and we can only accept the reality now.
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Therefore, Zhang Yue decided to reorganize Hebei's military equipment and fully prepare to fight the Khitan.
The truth is this: things are often two ways.
It's like people always have a period of time when they are in trouble. I made up my mind to study hard, but within a few days various difficulties came.
It's too cold today so I'll have to wake up later.
A certain big V said not to work too hard.
It's okay to play for a while.
Learning requires understanding the balance between work and rest.
I must study hard tomorrow.
So sleepy!
Countries are different from people. Countries are more rational, but making excuses always means the same thing.
When Xiao Derang, the general envoy from the Liao Kingdom, came to the Song Dynasty again, many officials began to persuade the emperor to obey.
But these bureaucrats, who are human beings, are also very strategic in their persuasion.
Some officials believed in their hearts that the Song Dynasty could not defeat the Liao Kingdom, but you couldn't write this in writing, so the whole article was full of high-sounding words about using morality to influence foreign barbarians. Many ministers persuaded the emperor, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty followed the martial arts and signed the order.
In Zhitai, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty tied up his raincoat and went to attack the country of Liaodong. It was an act that was not worth the gain.
Later generations thought that these officials were pedantic and that they really believed that these people were full of benevolence, righteousness and morality and could use their morality to influence foreigners.
In fact, it is internally caused by the conservativeness and laziness of officials.
Officials know that when there is a war, everyone has a responsibility.
The Liao army's cavalry moves south, what should you do as a city guarding official? There are tens of thousands of Khitan cavalry outside the city.
You look back around the city and you see that the city is in disrepair, the treasury is empty, and there are only hundreds of old, weak, sick and disabled archers in the whole city.
Seeing this, your heart felt cold, so thinking of your future situation, you immediately wrote a letter to object.
But other officials knew that the imperial court would definitely make large-scale changes and reorganize the army and cultivate martial arts.
When the city is in disrepair, it is repaired; when the treasury is empty, it is collected from the people; when the soldiers and horses are old, weak, sick and disabled, soldiers are recruited and trained.
But doing these things does not require a lot of energy, material and people's financial resources. I am just a humble official, how can I shoulder such a big responsibility? Are all the decision-makers in the court just eating shit?
It's the same as why you don't want to get up to study because it's too cold.
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Of course, there are those who oppose it, and there are also those who are actively preparing for war.
After Zhang Dun arrived in Dingzhou as the commander of the border, he immediately proposed the strategy of exchanging extremes for one. In fact, Wang Chao, the border general who advocated Zhenzong, had proposed something similar.
What Zhang Dun meant was that when the Liao army bypassed the strong city and headed south to drink from the Yellow River, our rear frontier troops did not return to support Bianjing, but instead went deep into the territory of the Liao Kingdom and captured Youyan, which caused signs of instability in the rear of the Liao Kingdom.
At the same time, Zhang Dun also made a bold request to the imperial court to combine the two Dingzhen roads into one and put them all under his command. He would organize the field regiments against Liao.
The officials expressed their appreciation for Zhang Dun's idea, while the courtiers believed it.
This move will repeat the outcome of the Chanyuan Alliance, when Wang Chao held an army of 100,000 and stood still. Therefore, the proposal was dropped, but the officials still allocated money to Zhang Dun to recruit Tiaodang and Qingqi in Dingzhou for field battles.
purpose.
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After Zeng Bu arrived in Yingzhou, he proposed to reorganize the Tangbo defense line in Hebei Province.
The terrain of Hebei is high in the west and low in the east. It originally had ancient ponds such as Jiujiudian and Yongnusu.
From the time of Taizong, the strategy of using rivers and lakes to resist the Liao cavalry going south was decided.
Then passing through Renzong and Zhenzong.
Arriving in Xiningzhong, Shen Kuo finally talked about the Tangbo defense line in Hebei.
Taking the Xu, Bao, Sha, Tang and other rivers as its source, and the Minghou, Jige and Wuyan springs as its sources, it merges with the Hutuo, Zhang, Qi, Yi, Bai and other rivers in the east, so it sinks Yuanluo in the northwest of Zhibao Prefecture and ends in the east.
The mouth of Nigu Haikou in Cangzhou is several hundred or eight hundred miles apart, and some are as wide as sixty miles away, and they are still used as fences.
Many people claim that the Hebei Tangbo Defense Line can withstand at least one million troops.
Although this is an exaggeration, when the Liao cavalry went south to plunder, the pond could act as a hindrance and at the same time give the people a place to hide.
After the Tangbo defense line was weakened, it evolved into Baiyangdian and Wen'an depressions.
However, man-made facilities like ponds cannot be maintained without maintenance. During the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, ponds dried up and he was unwilling to stop dredging. In order to benefit the rice fields, the common people often drained the accumulated water, and the Yellow River overflowed. From then on, the defense line of ponds was
When the Jin soldiers marched south, they were both in form and in reality.
During the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, it seemed that Henan was prosperous and prosperous, but in fact it was not the case at all.
Whether it is a pond or a baojia, it requires money to maintain it. Huizong did not take this plan at all.
In addition, Zeng Bu also advocated the continued maintenance of Yusai.
In places where there were no ponds, the Song army planted elm trees as fortresses to hinder the Liao army's cavalry from going south. Historically, in order to send troops to the Liao Kingdom, Tong Guan thought that the elm fortresses were too troublesome, so he ordered them to be cut down.
However, the ban has not been strict in recent years, and people often cut down trees secretly.
Although Zhang Yue thought that Yusai was of little use, the wind and sand in Bianjing were too terrifying.
Planting trees to protect wind and sand is also useful.
Therefore, after becoming the Prime Minister, he ordered the people to strictly prohibit felling and continue to expand the scope of Yusai.
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After Chen Xiang, the governor of Daming Prefecture, died of illness and took office, Zhang Yue was appointed Zhang Heng as the governor of Daming Prefecture.
Zhang Heng once sent an envoy to the Liao Kingdom and astonished everyone with his archery skills. He also advocated the Northern Expedition to capture the eight states behind the mountains. This time Zhang Heng learned about Daming Mansion and served as the center of the Four Routes in Hebei Province.
After Zhang Heng took office, he proposed to build a barrier city in an important area of Hebei Province, that is, to build a small city outside the city gate to cover the city gate.
At the same time, Zhang Heng proposed to set up additional naval forces in Mizhou so that they could cross the sea and attack.
Finally, Zhang Heng also said to Shangshu, "Use soldiers as a city and the heart as a soldier."
Hebei has always had elite soldiers and brave generals. In the past, the Jingsai Army in Shanggu, the Xiaoqian Army in Xiongzhou, and the Tingzi Army in Changshan were all elite, capable of fighting the Liao cavalry in the field. At the same time, they mobilized rural soldiers and mobilized the people's hearts, so that the people of Hebei could fight with them.
A responsible attitude towards protecting one’s homeland.
Under Wang Anshi's protection method, Hebei's rural soldiers were indeed trained.
Although Zhang Yue changed the law of protecting armor and abolished the law of protecting horses, he still followed Wang Anshi's strategy of attaching great importance to protecting armor in Shaanxi and Hebei.
Although the previous strategy was not adopted, officials familiar with military affairs have been sent to Hebei from time to time to review the training of Hebei's rural soldiers.
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There are different opinions on Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu and Zhang Heng. This is also closely related to the character of the coaches along the way.
Zhang Dun advocated limited field warfare, that is, elastic defense, which was consistent with his generally aggressive character.
Zeng Bu also advocated building defenses. Although it seemed conservative, it was also an attitude that would not compromise with the Khitan.
Zhang Heng had both views and advocated mobilizing the people. He advocated a large-scale defense in depth, using Dingzhen Yingsan Road to drag the Khitan troops south, and then using Damingfu as the defense center. This is actually the same as the defense strategy of Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty in history.
It’s almost the famous Tanghe Formation.
From the three viewpoints, Zhang Yue actually had high hopes for Zhang Dun. A stubborn defense like Zeng Bu would not succeed. If it is a defensive war, only flexible defense is correct.
In the battle between Xihe Road and Dangxiang, Zhang Kai's Battle of Taoshui is a model of flexible defense. Use fortified cities to hold on and organize soldiers outside.
Here I have to mention the warlords of the Five Dynasties. Whether it was the Later Tang, the Later Jin, or the Later Han, their territory, soldiers, horses, manpower and material resources were far inferior to those of the Song Dynasty, but they all won through field battles with the Khitan. The cavalry of the Liao State was not strong, but this is
Compared with Jurchen.
If he encountered the Jurchen cavalry in later generations who defeated 2,000 Song troops with 17 cavalry or defeated 30,000 Xixia cavalry with more than 1,000 cavalry, Zhang Yue would definitely not make any plans for field battles for the time being.
Although the Liao cavalry was not strong, its victory was due to its large numbers. Therefore, Zhang Dun's flexible defense proposal was not yet mature.
Therefore, the flexible defense that is useful for the Dangxiang cannot be used against the Khitan, and the Western Army's methods cannot be applied to the implementation of the Liao's grand strategy.
Zhang Yue did not set up the highest military officer in Hebei because he planned that once the Liao army broke into an important area like Damingfu, Zhang Heng would stand firm and wait for reinforcements. He would lead the third auxiliary army from the capital to the north and Dingzhen Yingsan Road would outflank the rear. In this way, the Liao army would
It will fall into a situation where Song troops are present in the front, middle and rear.
Therefore, Zhang Yue leaned towards Zhang Dun's idea of flexible defense, and finally chose Zhang Heng's strategy of large-depth defense. As for Zeng Bu's strategy of building Tangpoyu Fortress on the front line, it was also correct, as it could hinder the delayed Khitan cavalry from moving south.
But it was impossible for Zhang Yue to concentrate his forces on external defense.
External defense can fend off enemies at home and abroad, minimizing Hebei's losses. On the contrary, in-depth defense will cause Hebei to be ravaged by Khitan cavalry, but there is nothing that can be done.
As for the water diversion troops reaching Mizhou, it is also a move and can be used as a counterattack in the future.
We must borrow the wisdom of the ancients. What we read in the history books of later generations is just a fragment like a photo, but their lives are all in the form of videos. Later generations of history readers do not understand the cause and effect, so they make rash judgments and feel that something is wrong.
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In fact, basically the ancient people's disposal methods, although not the optimal solution, are not much different.
Zhang Yue's general policy towards the Liao Dynasty was also a continuation of what Fu Bi proposed: "If you don't rely on it, you won't come; if you don't rely on it, you can't attack; if you don't rely on it, you can't attack; if you don't rely on it, you can't attack."
In order to avoid a war between Song and Liao, it is necessary to prepare strategies for future wars between Song and Liao. Don't take chances and relax your armaments just because you think the Liao will not go south.
The best solution is to seek unity through struggle and promote negotiation through fighting.
Under Zhang Yue's strong initiative, the entire Hebei Fourth Army was preparing for war on all fronts, and war clouds suddenly gathered.
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However, the day after Han Zhongyan returned to the Song Dynasty from his official career, side reports came that the Liao army invaded and attacked Xiaonanhe Village in Cangzhou, killing and wounding the people, breaking through the fortress, attacking the Song army, and stripping away all the armor of the dead Song soldiers.
The Liao army not only broke through the city wall, but also killed the people of the Song army.
Before leaving, the Liao cavalry all fired arrows at the walled city. When reinforcements from the Song army arrived, they saw that the outer walls of the walled city were covered with arrowheads, and there were few intact tiles on the towers.
This move is not just a naked provocation.
As soon as this incident came out, the government and the public were shocked, and the talk of war and peace with the Khitan once again surfaced like a pulse wave.
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But the senior officials of the imperial court knew that this was a warning from the Liao Kingdom.
Here Han Zhongyan cursed a dog, and the Liao Kingdom's revenge came, and it came very quickly.
Deep in the palace, Empress Dowager Gao heard about this and immediately persuaded the officials.
Empress Dowager Gao said to the officials: "Your Majesty, although the king defeats people with martial arts, he must ultimately rule with virtue."
"Dang Xiang's hatred of humiliating Emperor Renzong has taught him a lesson. Now we should put people's livelihood first."
The official said: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, when felling trees, we should first remove the branches and leaves, and then cut down the roots. Liangzhou is just like the branches and leaves. I have cut down all of them, and now only the two states of Xingling are left."
Empress Dowager Gao said: "With the support of Khitan, it cannot be conquered overnight, but it is better to pay attention to people's livelihood. Since officials use the metaphor of planting trees, I think that governing the world is like planting trees. First consolidate the roots, and then the branches and leaves will not be enough to cause trouble. As long as the branches and leaves are not enough to cause trouble."
If the imperial court can be cured, why worry about border troubles that cannot be cured?"
The officials couldn't help but hesitate after hearing this.
Empress Dowager Gao spoke earnestly and sincerely: "The official family, Song and Liao Dynasties had nothing to do, it was the border ministers who disturbed themselves. Lu Huiqing, Han Zhen, Shen Kuo, etc. are all treacherous people. They seem to be for the imperial court, but in fact they are all for themselves.
Selfishness. Putting selfish desires above the interests of the court."
"Although you reuse Zhang Yue, you should not be too indulgent. If you really want to fight with the Liao Kingdom, the century-old peace in the hands of your ancestors will be destroyed."
Although they did not agree with Empress Dowager Gao's proposition, the officials did have doubts.
Empress Dowager Gao said: "Han Zhongyan is the son of Han Qi, and he is also a person who knows the state of the country. This time he sent to Liao and provoked the Lord of Liao with words. Could this be someone's instruction?"
The officials thought, what does it mean to be reasonable? Before Han Zhongyan returned to Zhang Yue, he drafted a proposal for promotion to Hanlin bachelor. It was clearly under Zhang Yue's instruction.
What should we do next? Han Zhongyan scolded the Liao Kingdom for killing soldiers and horses of a Song army in a walled city, and then used arrows to show their authority?