Prime Minister

After Minzhou was lost and regained, Zhang Yue led Wang Junwan, more than 2 people from the Xihe Road Third Army who cultivated the way of teachers, and nearly [-] people from the Fan Army who returned to Hezhou.

The Song army has always had a tradition of recruiting rebels as soldiers in the local area, which is the legendary Zhao'an.

One of the moves is to solve local hidden dangers, and the other is to use thieves to control thieves.

Minzhou, Taozhou, and Diezhou are poor in one word, so when Zhang Yue went to conquer Hezhou, he also brought along the seven clans of the Mu family in Minzhou, the imperial order Zheng from Diezhou, and Guo Si from Taozhou.

Mu Zheng and Dong Zhan's general Gui Zhang Qingyi were in a hurry to attack Hezhou. Zhang Yue didn't dare to neglect. After recovering Minzhou, he rested for a day before urging his troops to advance.

Zhang Yue's army arrived at the junction of Minzhou and Taozhou and stationed there, and called all the generals to inspect the terrain.

Zhang Yue pointed to the mountains and rivers in front of him and said to his staff: "This is the key point of communication between Minzhou and Taozhou. If we can set up a fort here, we can block the enemy soldiers from Taozhou and prevent the wooden conquest from returning." Come, who of you is going to beg for life?"

All the staff looked at me and I looked at you, but Shen Kuo, who had always been taciturn, said, "I would like to give it a try."

Zhang Yue said: "Okay, this fort is called Guzang Fort, and the Governor of Cunzhong will supervise this matter."

Shen Kuo immediately said yes.

Zhang Yue said to Wang Junwan again: "Choose a general who can lead troops to assist him."

Wang Junwan agreed.

We all know how to build a fortress under the eyes of the enemy is a very risky thing. Gao Zunyu has always firmly refused such a thing, so that it has aroused dissatisfaction among the officials.

Zhang Yue also asked about the recruitment of civil servants from the local area.

Wang Junwan said about the difficulties: "Minzhou has been short of food for a long time, and it was difficult to enter because of the inconvenient roads."

Zhang Yue said: "This matter should be settled on the salt banknotes. Xihe Road has its own salt well, not only does it not need to dissolve the salt, but also has spare energy to sell it abroad. You can ask Yuan Chang about this."

Cai Jing nodded and said: "Don't worry, General Wang, the original Jiaozi business in Chengdu has been merged into the Xihe Road salt banknote business, and businessmen from Sichuan and Sichuan can also exchange salt banknotes through the Jiaozi they brought with them. The most important thing now Once Minzhou was won, the salt road on the Lizhou Road to Sichuan and Sichuan was completely opened up."

"Combined with years of accumulation, many local Fan tribes in Minzhou have begun to use salt banknotes. Although salt banknotes have been depreciated recently, the people of the Fan tribes have been using them. If salt banknotes are used to buy food and labor from the local Fan people, the local Fan People are acceptable."

Zhang Yue said: "There is one more thing I haven't told you. The third department has set the annual quota of salt banknotes for Jieyan and Xihe salt. Yongxing Road is 91 guan, Qinfeng Road is 150 guan, Xihe 63 guan."

After hearing this, all the staff were overjoyed, which meant that Xihe Road could earn an additional 63 guan salt bills a year.

And another good news is that Fanmin has acquiesced in the circulation and use of salt banknotes after years of Fanhan trade, and has also made a certain contribution to alleviating the inflation of salt banknotes.

In the final analysis, the final outcome of a war is money, food and grass.

Zhang Yue said: "Then the matter is over, and the money, food and manpower of the Tibetan Ministry are bought with salt money."

Everyone said yes.

At this moment, a fast horse came galloping down the mountain suddenly, and a soldier conveyed the message to Zhang Yue solemnly: "Commander, our army was defeated in Hezhou, Jing Sili died in battle, and Bao Yue rebelled." !"

Zhang Yue almost froze when he heard the words, the thing he was most worried about happened.

Except for Zhang Yue, the rest of the people turned pale when they heard about it.
Zhang Yue calmed down and asked, "What happened a few days ago?"

"Reporting to Commander-in-Chief, there is no news in Minzhou, this is already five days ago."

Zhang Yue heard the words and remained silent. He had just arrived in Minzhou five days ago, and it was too late even if he led troops to save Hezhou.

Jing Sili and Blind Medicine were all killed in battle, so it is conceivable how heavy the loss of the Song Army was.

……

At this moment, the city of Bianjing is experiencing a hurricane that is hard to see in a century.

The wind was so violent that the people couldn't keep their eyes open on the road, and many roofs were blown up by the strong wind. After news of the wind and Jing Sili's defeat and death spread to the capital, people were panicked for a while.

Wen Yanbo and Feng Jing are meeting the officials in the Zizheng Hall at the moment.

The official family also just received the report of Xihe's defeat, and what was sad was that they couldn't say a word, and they felt a little uncomfortable covering their chests with one hand.

The official said to Wen Yanbo: "Wenqing, please continue."

Wen Yanbo was a little worried when he saw the official's pale face, but he continued to say: "Your Majesty, Jing Sili's army lost ground and died on Xihe Road. After Wang Shao was demoted again, many officials in the court discussed that Hehuang was already dead. In a non-aggressive place, I thought of retreating early in the morning to avoid the edge, just in case..."

Having said that, Wen Yanbo hesitated for a moment.

"What if? Wen Qing said it's okay." The official asked.

Wen Yanbo said: "Your Majesty, in order to conquer Xihe, the soldiers and horses on Qinfeng Road have been spared. If our army is completely wiped out in Hezhou, not only Xihe Road will be lost, but Qinfeng Road will also be lost. Sending troops, even the Yongxing Army can't keep it."

The official's face twitched when he heard this, and he thought again and again: "But...but Zhang Yue just recovered Minzhou."

Wen Yanbo said: "Recovering Minzhou is only a small victory, but losing one Hezhou is better than losing ten Minzhous."

Feng Jingdao: "Your Majesty, the third division has done some calculations a few days ago. After the construction of Xihe Road, the imperial court spends more than 400 million guan every year. It is really difficult to provide for it for a long time."

"We also calculated that if we continue to open the Xihe River, the people in Shaanxi will become increasingly impoverished, and the imperial court's finances will continue to be depleted. How can we rely on taxes from a few states and counties? In the long run, we can only rely on the imperial court's supply."

After hearing Feng Jing's words, the officials fell silent.

At this time Wen Yanbo said again: "Your Majesty, Cai Ting reported yesterday that the Khitan sent envoys to Xiongzhou to negotiate with us. The Khitan envoys said that if the border troops were not withdrawn, the Khitan king would lead the army to attack. Don't be surprised at that time. The king does not miss brotherhood!"

Wen Yanbo, Feng Jing glanced at you, and my words shook the official's heart.

When Zhang Yue sent troops, the officials had high hopes for him, but as Zhang Yue left the capital for a long time, the high hopes became a burden. Now the news of Jing Sili's defeat almost broke the last nerve of the officials.

The official thought over and over again: "The Xihe Road has been fought for so long, and it is true that the wages are countless, and the people are quite hardworking. Although I let Zhang Yue command the army, it is not necessary for him to recover the homeland that was lost in Fanbang back then. The two love ministers have said so, and the imperial decree tells Zhang Yue to stay on guard, not to engage in military confrontation, but to stay out of the way for the time being."

Feng Jingdao: "Your Majesty, you granted Zhang Yue the right to make decisions on the fly. If there is an imperial decree, I am afraid that he will not be able to change his mind at this moment."

The officials were a little annoyed when they heard this, but what Feng Jing said made sense after thinking about it carefully.

The official looked painful and said: "Then let Li Xian go, let him go out of Beijing and tell Zhang Yue not to send troops for now, but to guard Xizhou. If the enemy army is strong, I... I can allow him to retreat for the time being." Tong Yuan Army!"

Retiring to the Tongyuan Army is equivalent to Zhang Yue's work for nothing in the past few years, and the countless money and food he invested in the past were also wasted.

But at this point, the officials can't care so much anymore, he is already at a loss.