After summer comes, the Huluchuan River Valley becomes lush with water and grass.
Many tribes took advantage of the opportunity to herd horses and herd sheep.
In the morning light, the mountains, rivers and valleys are a peaceful scene.
Just then, hundreds of armored cavalry came galloping from a distance, which shocked the Tibetan people and dispersed far away.
The handsome flag of this armored cavalry has the word "Shen" written in big letters.
After the cavalry arrived, they were all on guard. A purple-robed official rode a maroon Hexi horse and walked slowly over.
This purple-robed official is none other than Shen Kuo, the privy envoy.
After Shen Kuo was promoted to the Privy Envoy of the Three Routes, he moved the court from Qingzhou Huanzhou to Jingzhou.
The Jingyuan Road Marshal's Mansion was moved to Zhenrong Army City, and Liu Changzuo, the general manager of the military and horse capital, was stationed here, Peng Sun, the deputy general manager, led his troops to the front line of Huaide Army, and General Guo Chengzhi was stationed in Pingxia City.
Although the palace was in Jingzhou, Shen Kuo himself often visited the front lines of the German Army.
Seeing the scene of the Tibetan people scattered, Shen Kuo said: "The Tibetan people are still very afraid of me! How do you treat me on weekdays? And this river valley is very good, why don't we cultivate it?"
The general on the side said: "Haojiaoxingyuan knows that these are all the people from this place. Originally, Pingxia City went north to the bank of the Hulu River, which was the place for farming. The land is not unattractive, and we do not want it. It’s all because the Western thieves lurk here day and night, waiting for opportunities to loot. In the past, farmers here have been killed many times, and our border troops also massacred them in revenge.”
"With such a vendetta, all the Tibetan people are afraid of him."
Shen Kuo said: "This means that you are not doing things right."
"Both Xi'an Prefecture and Xihe Road continue to lure the Yanbian tribe and provide fields for horse cotton seeds."
"If we can build a farming fort here and recruit local farmers to make a living, when the fields mature in autumn and summer, we will plan to purchase grain and grass for garrison purposes."
When the general was uneasy, Zhang Gen came forward and said: "Xingyuan. As far as I know, there are many Han people in Huluchuan. Can you try to recruit Han people from the Tibetan tribe in this area? Not only will the money be rewarded ten times, but as long as If a Han from the Fan tribe joins him, he will be given ten Fan followers."
Shen Kuo praised: "This is a wonderful method!"
To put it bluntly, Zhang Gen's policy meant that Party Xiang would convert Han people into commanding the Fan army.
This can not only make the Dangxiang people suspicious of these Dangxiang Han people, but also allow them to use them for their own purposes.
Not only giving money, but also doing things for officials... Shen Kuo looked at Zhang Gen with a loving look on his face and said: "Good plan, good plan!"
Zhang Gen was overjoyed when he heard this.
The Shen Kuo shogunate had long been accustomed to this scene.
Shen Kuo is now Zhang Dang, and Zhang Gen is his future grandson-in-law.
Therefore, Zhang Gen was like a fish in water in Shen Kuo's family. As long as the suggestions he made were slightly bright, Shen Kuo would praise them and adopt them if he could.
Zhang Gen had a smooth journey, and the staff didn't know whether it was because of their abilities or connections, or maybe both.
However, Shen Kuo's move was absolutely conniving without any bottom line.
Shen Kuo said to the general: "Did you hear that? Just follow the instructions."
General Weiwei.
…
Shen Kuo and his party returned to Qiang Village to rest.
Not many days.
All the generals along Jingyuan Road and Huanqing Road arrived, and the magistrate of Xi'an Prefecture also arrived.
Now the governor of Xi'an Prefecture is a famous general of the Western Army.
Previously, Xi'an Prefecture was under the jurisdiction of Qinfeng Road, but Shen Kuo wanted to make a neat plan and kept asking the court to put Xi'an Prefecture under the jurisdiction of Jingyuan Road.
Qin Fenglu refused.
The two sides argued for a long time, but in the end Zhang Yue supported Shen Kuo and allocated the troops and horses of Xi'an Prefecture to Jingyuan Road for dispatch.
Shen Kuo immediately recommended that his confidant Zhe could be the military governor of Xi'an.
Facts have proved that under the leadership of Zhang Yue and Shen Kuo, this move was particularly necessary.
A huge map made of several sheets of sheepskin is spread out.
This is the situation during the confrontation between Song and Xia on Jingyuan Road.
The top is Lingzhou in Xixia.
At the bottom, from left to right, are Xi'an Prefecture (Qinfeng Road), Huaidejun (Jingyuan Road), and Huanzhou (Huanqing Road) of the Song Dynasty.
The map carefully displays all the mountains, rivers and cities.
It would have been nice if the Song Army's military map could clearly mark the states and counties, but Shen Kuo's map was different. Not only was he meticulous down to the walls of the city, but he also created an unprecedented scale map similar to that of modern times.
The situation in Song and Xia is clearly marked on the map.
In terms of the originality of these details, Shen Kuo can be called a genius.
In short, when this drawing was taken out, the generals were almost shocked.
Shen Kuo felt it was normal.
Zhe Keshi said on the side: "After our army entered and built along the Tiandu Mountains, the Western bandits also blocked the road with their forts and used their forts to oppose our forts in order to resist our army's advance. However, in order to advance and build, the Western bandits forcibly took away the land cultivated and pastured by the people.
, many people came to join our dynasty."
"Recently, the Western bandits have attacked and killed many border guards. I have also recruited some people to lead the way, visit, intercept, capture, and summon people. I have also attacked and harassed the Western bandits along the border."
Since Li Bingchang, the leader of the Dangxiang Kingdom, became the son-in-law of the Liao Kingdom last winter, the Song Army gave up its plan to recruit Xixia through peace negotiations.
The Song army again advanced from Xi'an Prefecture, Huaide Army, and Huanzhou to build.
In addition to Tiandu Mountain, the direction of Huaide Army and Huanqing Road did not stop, and they moved westward to Shentangbao and Baibao City, and set up a new frontier army.
Especially Baibao City. After Qingli Dangxiang rebelled against the Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan and other border officials believed that Hengshan must be taken to contain Dangxiang. If we get Jintang and Baibao City, Hengshan will be ours.
Now the Song army is in Jintang and Baibao cities and has successfully built them.
After hearing the report from the three generals, Shen Kuo nodded calmly.
Then he said to the generals: "Although you are advancing the construction, don't forget that the key point is from Huluchuan to the north. Building the city along this line and heading directly to Lingzhou is the imperial court's strategic plan."
Xu Xi, an aide, said: "Recently, I have been impeached by officials and three of our ministers. I have heard that various roads are vying for construction and making contributions day and night, but I have not heard of Westerners fighting for the whole country. I guess we must not be in a hurry."
"If you can't control his life, what's the point of wasting money and killing people to enrich the country?"
The generals heard a commotion.
Xu Xidao said: "Lv Huiqing has been successful in attacking and fortifying in Hedong many times recently, and he even asked the imperial court for leave to serve as an envoy. For a mere small victory, nearly a thousand people were recommended at one time."
"But the DPRK and the Central Government impeached us for recklessly entering the building, which is really hateful."
The generals were all angry after hearing this, and they probably all cursed Lu Huiqing in their hearts for being a traitor.
Shen Kuo said: "In accordance with the decree of Prime Minister Zhang Jun, our army extended the Huluchuan River to build, and defended instead of attacking, luring the party members to attack us before autumn. However, our army built nine fortresses after winter, but there was no one.
One effort."
"The party is either attacking with a small group of soldiers and horses, or building a city to build a city, but refuses to send out a large army. What can I do?"
Zhang Gen knew that Zhang Yue ordered Shen Kuo to continue to use the method of advancing construction to lure Dangxiang to send out a large army to attack the Song Dynasty as before.
However, no matter how the Song army advanced in the three directions of Huanqing Road, Xi'anzhou and Jingyuan Road.
Dangxiang's army did not go out. They only used forts to forts to resist the Song army's advance, and then used light troops to attack and kill the Song army's farmers or border guards. They would never send out hundreds of thousands of troops to attack the city as in the past.
The Song Army's fortresses were all built right under Dang Xiang's nose, but the opponent's strategic power was extremely high and he still remained motionless.
This time it was Shen Kuo's turn to be anxious.
Zhang Yue's mission to the Privy Council of the Three Routes was to inflict a heavy blow on Dangxiang's army before autumn at all costs, and to use it as a bargaining chip for the imperial court to negotiate with the Liao after a great victory.
But I don't know if Dangxiang has learned the lesson well. Even if the Song Army's fortress continues to build forward, they just won't come out.
Even though Baibao, an important site like Baibao, was successfully invaded by the Song army, it remained motionless.
A general said: "Perhaps our judgment was wrong. Although the Huluchuan Valley Road can lead directly to Lingzhou, it is not as important as Hengshan to the Western Bandits."
"Since our army has entered the construction many times and the party has ignored it, it is better to rebuild Hengshan."
Xu Xi said: "Three groups of soldiers and horses have already spread out towards Lingzhou and built Huluchuan together. There is no way to rebuild the road to Hengshan now."
"What's more, the court has just asked the imperial court for 500,000 dan of grain, 800,000 bundles of horse fodder, 500,000 guan of money, and one piece of defense equipment for the 800-step and 1,000-step city! Now we have arrived at Pingxia City
!”
Shen Kuo said: "This is what Prime Minister Zhang ordered the Privy Council to allocate. You have also seen that now the imperial court in Jingyuan and Huanqing 2nd Road can be said to respond to all requests."
“If you want money, give money; if you want people, give people.”
"The Prime Minister's work is different from others. The Prime Minister sent me, Shen Kuo, to show my generosity in scriptures and paintings. All the responsibilities are on us, the commander-in-chief. We are told to act when we see the benefit and not to force what is beyond our ability. Therefore, our actions will be successful without failure.
"
Zhang Gen laughed secretly after hearing this. As an official, he should always praise his backers in front of his subordinates.
It's a matter of killing two birds with one stone.
Always speak good things about people in front of others and never speak ill of them behind others. This is the secret to a successful career as an official.
When the generals heard that Shen Kuo had removed Prime Minister Zhang one after another, they were in great admiration. After all, that big backer is there, who in the entire northwest doesn't know about it? There is no need for you, Shen Kuo, to mention it every day and show your loyalty in every meeting.
Even if you show loyalty, the way is still so superficial.
Shen Kuo asked the court for food and money, and Zhang Yue readily agreed and delegated authority to Shen Kuo for painting.
Shen Kuo said: "If our prediction is correct, the invasion of the Western Bandits is imminent, and all troops and horses need to have regulations and plans! Everyone will obey the order!"
"There are dangerous passes along the road, where thieves and horses can be controlled. Soldiers and generals from all walks of life need to be assigned to their respective positions, and the responsible committee will ambush and guard them one by one!"
"Soldiers, generals, envoys, and envoys were divided into dangerous places, each of them trying to intercept the thieves and horses so that they could not go deep enough to plunder people's houses!"
"As for the places where people and estates are prosperous, thieves and horses will never invade the place. Except for the soldiers and officers who are responsible for ambushes, if the thieves from the west are unexpectedly revealed and are coming, all the soldiers and horses are allowed to evade in advance.
.You can tell people to move property and other things to the thieves and horses for the time being. They can't go anywhere. They are dispatched without prior orders, causing people to be surprised and suspicious."
"If there are thieves and horses encroaching on the road, in addition to appointing soldiers and generals to guard and ambush at key and dangerous passes, the rest of the troops and horses should still be divided into leaders and stationed at key and convenient places. Be cautious and don't waste time.
Fight. If there is an opportunity to take advantage of it, you can send troops. The chief officer will judge the strength of the thieves and go forward to cover the attack separately or stand side by side. If you dare to wait and see, you will miss the opportunity and military law will be implemented!"
"When thieves come in large numbers, they must attack them in waves. When they return, they will immediately pursue them. Or they may lie in ambush in advance, waiting to intercept and attack. They will take advantage of the opportunity to react and respond to the incident temporarily!"
After listening to what Shen Kuo said, the generals basically followed the strategy of Taoshui and Lanzhou's victory in the three-pronged military strategy.
Lure the enemy deep into the city and lead the party's troops to attack the fortified city. Some of the troops will defend the city and the rest will be distributed outside.
If the enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered, we will fight. If the enemy is outnumbered, we will retreat. In short, no wasteful fighting is allowed.
Finally, when the enemy is unable to attack the city, all troops outside gather to ambush the enemy on their way back!
The plan is very good, but it remains to be seen whether Dangxiang will fulfill Shen Kuo's wishes and gather his army to go south to attack the fortified city built by the Song army in the Huluchuan Valley.