Six hundred and sixtieth eight chapters straight to the point
The bonfire in the Song Army camp is burning.
Night falls on all sides, the sky is extremely dark, and you can hear the sound of the Yellow River water and the sound of horse hooves one after another.
In the distance, the soldiers on the left and right looked at Wang Shao and Zhang Yue, who were talking under the bonfire. They seemed to be having an argument.
In the end, the two broke up unhappy.
Zhang Yue returned to the tent with an unhappy expression, but saw Han Tong following closely behind him and asked, "What do you have to say?"
Han Tong whispered: "Let me tell you, this king Shao is afraid of the difficulties and dangers and refuses to cross the river. Why should I tell him anymore? I will just take away his military power for resisting the decree and then...
…”
Han Tong made a killing gesture with his hand as a knife.
Zhang Yue frowned when he saw this and said: "What are you talking about? I have a relationship with Wang Zichun, but I can't make a move in the end!"
Han Tongdao said: "Shenren must not be merciful. I have more than ten trusted men on my side. When the time comes, Shiren will ask them to enter the account and speak. I only need a word of instruction from you and I will deal with Wang Shao. I will give him a violent death when the time comes."
"
"Please rest assured, Sheren, that nothing will go wrong in this matter?"
"Do you really want to kill him?" Zhang Yue's expression changed again.
Han Tong nodded and said with a murderous tone: "Sheren, this Wang Shao has many confidants, and the soldiers in the army often obey his orders. I just want to capture them alive, fearing that some of them will not obey, so it is better to kill them and then bring out the imperial edict."
"A man who sacrifices himself for a general must not be benevolent as a woman! I heard that this time I leave the capital, Your Majesty will give you Shang Fang's horse-killing sword!"
"I have something about Shang Fang's horse-killing sword, and you also know about it."
Tongdao Han said: "Yes, your majesty is worried that someone will be domineering and disobedient if he sacrifices himself to lead the army, so he gave this thing in advance. When the time comes, he will kill Wang Shao, hang his head outside, and show Shang Fang's horse-killing sword again. No one will say anything."
Not a word."
Zhang Yue said with a look of unbearability: "I really didn't mean to kill him, but... you see, if you follow what he said, if you break the road and take Tiandu Mountain..."
Han Tong said every word: "Absolutely not. According to Xuan Xiang, our army must cross the Yellow River, otherwise it will be a victory or a defeat! Military orders are like mountains, and military law is ruthless!"
Zhang Yue looked at Han Tong seriously, then said with a helpless smile: "Okay, it's up to you, but... I still don't want to do it unless it's absolutely necessary."
Han Tong said eagerly: "You can no longer be kind to a woman when you leave others behind."
After a while, Zhang Yue seemed to finally make up his mind, patted Han Tong on the shoulder and said: "That's fine, if it's not a last resort, I still don't want to do this. Now call your general, lieutenant general, and let me give you a few instructions.
When the time comes, kill Wang Shao and let them take charge of the army to avoid chaos. And you also call Lu Guang here, and I will also ask him what he wants."
Han Tong couldn't help but be overjoyed when he saw that Zhang Yue had made up his mind.
Zhang Yue looked at Han Tong's back and remained silent for a long time. Soon Lu Guang arrived.
Zhang Yue asked him straight to the point about Wang Shao's plan to move to Tiandu Mountain where the Xixia Palace was located because he was unwilling to cross the Yellow River.
Lu Guang heard this and said: "Now that a large number of Xia cavalry have appeared in the north of the Yellow River, they have already understood our army's actions. It is too risky to cross the river again. I think a surprise attack on Tiandu Mountain is a good idea."
"Whether crossing the river or attacking Tiandu Mountain, I have no objection. Of course, everything depends on the opinions of others."
Zhang Yue nodded noncommittally.
Zhang Yue then consulted several generals for their opinions.
When it was still dark the next day, Han Tong went out of his tent to relieve himself, but he never returned.
After his companions left the camp, they found Han Tong's body and learned that he died violently for unknown reasons.
At this moment, the Song army was fetching water from the river and cooking pots.
Zhang Yue and Wang Shao rode side by side and looked at the Xixia cavalry on the other side of the river, who were wandering and investigating. The Xixia army stationed on the other side last night suddenly disappeared at dawn, leaving only an empty camp and a cold bonfire.
There are still sporadic cavalry lingering on the hills.
"I guess there must be Xixia elite soldiers lying in ambush in the valley on the other side of the river, just waiting for us to cross the river."
Wang Shao pointed his riding whip and said.
Zhang Yue said: "This guess may not be accurate."
Wang Shao said: "No matter whether it is accurate or not, I don't want to take risks. Yes, if I kill Han Tong, will I be in trouble?"
Zhang Yue said: "That will happen in the future."
Wang Shao nodded and said: "If you don't do it, you won't stop. Do you want Wang to take action again and get rid of Lu Guang as well?"
Zhang Yue said: "No need for the moment, I tested his tone last night."
"Killing is the best policy!"
Zhang Yue said: "I have my own sense of proportion."
After saying this, Wang Shao and Zhang Yue looked at each other and smiled.
Zhang Yue didn't know when he arrived here, and he no longer cared about killing people.
That night, he had already agreed with Wang Shao's intention in his heart, but he was afraid that Han Tong and Lu Guang would be dissatisfied and inform the officials and Han Jiang, so he acted as if he opposed the march to Tiandu Mountain to test their intentions.
Han Tong is Han Jiang's Yuan Sui and there will definitely be trouble if he kills him, but Zhang Yue will never tolerate a Yuan Sui who dares to point fingers at him, especially when life and death are at stake.
Therefore, Zhang Yue could only follow Han Tong's advice and no longer be kind to women.
But at this moment, Zhang Yue was still uneasy in his heart. Indeed, when Zhang Yue forced Wang Shao to fight and led his army to cross the Yellow River, he thought of many times in history that Tong Guan forced Liu Fa to fight, and in the end the entire army was annihilated.
Zhang Yue said to Wang Shao: "Back then, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty listened to Yang Guozhong's slander and forced his brother Shu Han to go out to Tongguan to fight. In the end, the entire army of 200,000 men was wiped out."
"This time I forced you to cross the river with lingering fear."
Wang Shao laughed and said, "Even if Wang doesn't comply, someone will capture or kill Wang, right?"
Zhang Yue looked at Wang Shao and said: "Zichun, you must remember this sentence, military must serve politics."
After Zhang Yue finished speaking, he secretly laughed at Han Tong. He was really stupid. With more than a dozen of him, he managed to capture and kill Wang Shao. Regardless of whether he could succeed or not, what should he do if he mishandled the situation and provoked a mutiny?
Han Tong didn't know Wang Shao's prestige among the Tibetan and Han armies, so he killed him and Wang Hou, and half of the Tibetan army immediately fled.
Wang Shao listened to Pin Zhangyue's words and said: "Wang learned the lesson, and Sheren finally chose to believe Wang! To be honest, when Sheren first came to Qinzhou, Wang was afraid that Sheren was coming to seize Wang's life.
meritorious."
"oh?"
Wang Shao said: "Xiaguan has been operating in Guwei for six or seven years. This place is my hard work. Wang is not willing to share this credit with others. Li Shizhong, Dou Shunqing, and Han Zhen didn't have this idea at the beginning, but Guwei is what it is today.
It was Wang who worked hard with his sword and gun, and he was unwilling to give up any effort to them, so they complained about Wang in front of the officials."
Zhang Yue thought to himself, I have seen it a long time ago. Wang Shaoshang is jealous of Zhiyuan for sharing the work with him. How can he not be jealous of himself?
Wang Shao suddenly laughed and said, "But today, Wang finally realized that he is judging the heart of a gentleman with the heart of a villain."
Zhang Yue said: "Zichun! Is your ambition just to regain Lanhui? If so, you should really be afraid that I will share the credit. But if it is more than that, it can only be said that your vision is too small."
Wang Shao said: "What does Shiren mean by saying more than this?"
Zhang Yue picked up his riding whip and pointed towards the north bank of the Yellow River: "Of course we will destroy this Xia Kingdom!"
Wang Shao's heart fluctuated slightly when he heard this, and then he said: "Forgive me for being blunt, but with the current national strength of the Song Dynasty, we still can't do it."
"You are not optimistic about this battle at Hengshan?"
Wang Shao shook his head and said: "Even if we capture Hengshan, it will take five to six years to destroy the Xia Kingdom, not to mention that the imperial court may not have a chance of winning."
Zhang Yue said: "That is, if it doesn't happen in five years, it will take ten years. If Xixia is not destroyed, our Song Dynasty will be tired of it day and night, and sooner or later it will not survive."
"But what? If you make a great contribution today, the imperial court will be on guard and will not allow you to continue to lead the army. If you are transferred away and someone is replaced to attack Hehuang, can you ensure that he is as good as you?"
Wang Shao said without hesitation: "Of course not."
In another time and space in history, Wang Shao won a great victory in Hehuang. Wen Yanbo, who had always opposed the move to open the border, said that Wang Shao was so powerful in Guanzhong that anyone dared to disobey him.
Wang Shao also had military exploits in the border areas, which automatically triggered the worries of the entire court. Even if Wen Yanbo didn't say so, the Yushi Yanguan would not leave a general to command the army outside for a long time.
Therefore, Wang Shao was transferred back to the court. Although he was awarded a high official and a generous salary, the court was unable to make any further progress on the Hehuang River.
Because no one else is as good as Wang Shao.
He is Wei Qing and Huo Qubing of the Song Dynasty.
When Zhang Yue said this, Wang Shao fully understood what Zhang Yue meant.
He always used benefits to save people, but suddenly he felt a little ashamed in front of Zhang Yue.
Zhang Yue said: "I passed Tongguan and entered Shaanxi. Along the way, I saw that the people were in extreme hardship. They were all tired of the war. If the Xia State was not defeated, the imperial court would have no time to breathe and its national power would be difficult to develop."
"Zichun, you and I have heavy responsibilities."
…
The next day, the Song army continued to test crossings on the upper and lower reaches of the Yellow River, and made attempts to cross the river. When the Xixia cavalry patrolling along the river saw it, they shot arrows at the Song army's ferry.
Troops were constantly sent to harass the city, and the pastures were set on fire along the river, using a scorched-earth policy to prevent the Song army from herding horses here.
At the same time, any ships on the Yanhe River were scuttled and burned.
The Xixia and Tibetan armies tried their best to prevent the Song army from crossing the river.
After Wang Shao also made several attempts to cross the river, he again assumed the posture of attacking Dalao City, cutting wood on all sides, as if building siege equipment.
But three days later, the Xixia people suddenly discovered that the Song Army camp on the river bank was empty.
At this moment, tens of thousands of Xixia cavalry had gathered on the other side of the Yellow River. They were supposed to wait for the Song army to cross the river before crossing halfway to intercept them, but they found that the Song army had disappeared.
As for Zhang Yue, Wang Shao and his Qingqi had already set off first, captured the pass of Quwu Mountain, and then led their army to cross Quwu Mountain.
The top of Quwu Mountain was still covered with snow, and the mist between the mountains was confusing. It was January or February when the army entered the mountain, and the spring rain had not yet fallen, but the vegetation at the foot of the mountain had already revived, and the mountain scenery was lush and green everywhere.
There are many famous temples and ancient temples in the mountains here. Zhang Yue and Wang Shao knew that both Tibetan and Xixia people worshiped Buddhism very much. Therefore, when they sent troops to pass by, they stationed people in front of the temples in advance and did not allow soldiers to harass them.
At the same time, Zhang Yue and Wang Shao also brought Master Zhiyuan to the temple to worship the Buddha, and were received by the monks.
Immediately the army descended the mountain, and the leading light cavalry descended the mountain first.
Wang Shao ordered Wang Hou to lead his light cavalry to attack Tiandu Mountain first, and they fought with the Xixia army in a decisive battle. When they heard the report from the front, Zhang Yue and Wang Shao both knew that they had met a strong enemy this time.