After the daily feast, the emperor watched as the governors drafted a reward for Xihe's military exploits.
For those listed in the list named by Zhang Yue, they were all awarded with brocade jackets and gold and silver belts.
Each of the soldiers from Zheng Xihe Road was given five salt notes.
Those who were seriously injured were transferred to an official position and given ten salt notes.
Anyone who kills the leader of an enemy chieftain will be transferred to the second official position and given thirty strings of salt banknotes.
After killing the enemy's leader, he was transferred to the three officials and given fifty guan of salt banknotes.
"Those who transport supplies will be given three strings of salt and banknotes by the civil servants."
The official was very satisfied after seeing what the governors had submitted and said, "This way Zhang Yue won't complain about the court's fuss."
All the officials laughed when they heard this.
The official said: "Let's draw up an edict and reward based on this."
Wang Gui said: "Your Majesty, the envoy from the Xia Kingdom has arrived in Qinzhou for resettlement. Cai Yanqing, the envoy of Qinfeng Road, asked whether he should come to Bianjing or choose a minister to come to Qinzhou to negotiate with him?"
The officials laughed and said nothing.
Wen Yanbo came out and said: "Xia Kingdom has repeatedly sued for peace in the past. It seems that Li Yuanhao was extremely cunning at that time. He often defeated our army and then sued for peace, pretending to be respectful. Is this suing for peace credible?"
Wang Anshi reported: "Your Majesty, after our army marched directly to Hehuang, the Xia Kingdom was shaken. Now that Mu Zheng has fallen and Guizhang is dead, the Xia Kingdom is shaken. Its Prime Minister Liang Yimi knew that he was invincible, so he
Send envoys to seek peace."
Feng Jing said: "How can this be a shock? Dong Xiang still defends Huangshui. Although he talks about peace, he still refuses to accept it, and Taozhou has not been recovered. Is the Xia Kingdom really afraid?"
After hearing this, the official said: "There are many tribes in the Minhe tribe. Now that the Mu Zheng has been surrendered, if the government is properly managed, Xixia can be controlled. This is the so-called strategy of using barbarians to attack barbarians."
"If I order Zhang Yue to gather the troops and horses of the Fan tribe at Xihe Dian for a review and practice, and use the strength of the troops to defeat the enemy, the Xia State will immediately respond to me with a Dian Dian. If this continues for many years, the whole Xia State will definitely do harm to itself.
This is what the Art of War says, 'Those who can do nothing'."
After hearing this, everyone thought about it. The Song Dynasty first captured Xihe, and then asked Zhang Yue, the military envoy, to lead the Xihe Fan army in a military parade. As if they were about to cross the Yellow River, Xixia would definitely be forced to gather troops and horses to deal with it, and there was no way.
We must really send troops. If we do it a few more times, Xixia will definitely be afraid.
This strategy can be said to be brilliant. Who suggested it to the emperor?
Wen Yanbo and Feng Jing glanced over and saw Wang Yu beside them.
The other party looked proud, it was obviously his suggestion to the emperor at the sutra banquet before.
The officials couldn't wait to say: "How do you think about this strategy?"
Wang Yu came out and said, "I think this strategy is feasible."
Wen Yanbo and Feng Jing both glanced at Wang Yu, and the emperor coughed slightly. He also pretended not to see Wang Yu agreeing with his behavior.
Wang Yu said: "As long as Xixia is frequent in Dianji, Xixia will suffer its own consequences within a year or two. This is the strategy adopted by Wu in the past. This must be done to manage the barbarians."
"Therefore, I think there is no need to accept Xixia's peace proposal!"
Wen Yanbo and Feng Jing thought to themselves, what happened to Wang Yu?
Wen Yanbo said: "Your Majesty, the Qing and Tang Tibetan tribes like Ru Mu Zheng are not accustomed to fighting. Xixia only needs to send two troops at most to control it."
Feng Jing added: "Your Majesty, from the fourth year of Xining to the fifth year of Xining, before Zhang Yue returned to Hezhou, he and Wang Shao spent 16 million yuan to fight in the northwest. They only spent money and salt.
Seven million banknotes were spent." Jiao
"And from now on, it will be four million guan per year, and the Shaanxi Transportation Department's total cost of raising troops along the way will be 14 million guan."
"Only Yongxing is the only one in the world. Qin and Feng's Second Road are more impoverished than other roads. Every year there are wars, wars, and various miscellaneous levies. The number of people who have lost their families is unknown. It is really not appropriate to raise more troops."
After listening to Wen Yanbo and Feng Jing's words, the official felt a little uncomfortable, and finally said: "The reason why I want Zhang Yue to pacify Xixia is so that the people in Shaanxi will no longer suffer like this. It's not because I don't care about public opinion."
Cai Ting, deputy envoy to the Privy Council, said: "I believe that Shaanxi controls the upper reaches of the world and can control the destiny of the world. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. All those who do things often start from the northwest, so the imperial court must attach great importance to it."
"Lanzhou is the southern corner of the Xia Kingdom. It is like a sharp knife inserted between Hehuang and Longyou, cutting off the road between Gansu and Liang, making communication between the inland and the western frontier impossible."
"At the same time, the land like Lanzhou seems to be wise and solid, and the land like Shengru is the most fertile, and the farmland can also supply military supplies in the future. I think that if Xixia really wants to seek peace, I will order it to cede the land of Lanzhou."
Wen Yanbo and Feng Jing both shook their heads. Xixia was willing to cede Lanzhou. This was too natural.
But the officials listened and realized that Xixia had only an isolated city in Lanzhou south of the Yellow River. Once Lanzhou was captured, the Song Dynasty's situation in Xihe would be complete.
Wang Anshi reported: "I think Cai Ting's strategy is feasible."
The official nodded and said, "It would be best if the Xia Kingdom is willing to cede Lanzhou. What if the Xia Kingdom refuses to cede Lanzhou?"
Cai Ting said: "Xi Xia refused to cede it, so Zhang Yue and Mu Zheng were ordered to lead Xihe soldiers and horses to the north to defeat the two prefectures of Gan and Liang!"
Liangzhou was the seat of Wuwei County in the Han Dynasty, and the administrative seat of the Liangzhou Governor's Department was in Liangzhou.
After Liangzhou was taken away by Tubo at the end of Tang Dynasty, Li Yuanhao of Xixia rose up and captured Liangzhou and Ganzhou.
Li Yuanhao attaches great importance to the management of Liangzhou. Liangzhou Prefecture is the capital of Hexi, and its status is second only to Xingqing Prefecture.
Once the Song army was able to break Liangzhou, it would shock Xixia just like the Song Dynasty had broken through Chang'an.
The official was very excited after hearing Cai Ting's opinion. Recovering an important Han and Tang town like Liangzhou was a huge temptation for him.
He asked Wu Chong, who had just been promoted to the post of political counselor: "What do you think?"
When Wu Chong was just promoted by the officials and at the height of his career, he felt so passionate that he could repay the emperor for his kindness.
But he just received Zhang Yue's letter yesterday, and he has always believed in his son-in-law's explanation.
Wu Chong said: "Your Majesty, do you remember what Zhang Yue said to your Majesty when he left Beijing?"
The official paused for a moment and said, "I remember that Zhang Yue said that he would destroy wood for half a year and collect Dong felt for two years. As for summer production..."
The official said that he realized that he was a little over the top. Because of Zhang Yue's great victory at Tabai City, he became very anxious.
He is very generous and is not stingy with the general's rewards, which makes him look like a wise king.
Therefore, he had no hesitation in agreeing to Zhang Yue's reward list of more than 5,000 people. At the same time, the emperor actually wanted Zhang Yue to go one step further. Not to mention Mu Zheng Dong Xiang, he could directly defeat Xixia in one breath.
Got off.
Wu Chong said: "Since the Qingli Night Rebellion, the court officials have believed that the Xia Kingdom has no strengths and have refused to face up to its strength. They all have the intention of defeating it in one fell swoop. Therefore, we often ignore the determination and fighting spirit of the Xia people, so that
Defeat again and again."
"When the city of Luowu was first built, Xixia was willing to send more than 300,000 troops to fight. But now that our army is attacking the Qing and Tang Dynasties, the Xia Kingdom once again gathered troops in Lanzhou. On the one hand, it wanted to attack Xizhou and cut off my return, and on the other hand, it asked for peace. Its strategic intentions are all
It’s unknowable.”
"I think we must be cautious again and again."
After listening to Wu Chong's words, the official couldn't help but feel like he was waiting for cold water to be poured on his face.
At this moment, the official suddenly sighed and said: "It took three years for Emperor Gaozong to conquer the ghosts, and another three years for Duke Zhou to conquer the east. These three years are so long, how can I wait?"