Prime Minister

Chapter 804 I Can't Wait
After the day's sutra feast, the emperor watched the chief executives draw up a reward for Xihe's military exploits this time.

For those listed in Zhang Yue's list, they will all be rewarded with brocade jackets, gold and silver belts.

From Zhengxihe Road, each soldier will be given five guan of salt and banknotes.

Those who were seriously injured were transferred to an official and given ten pennies of salt money.

Those who kill the leader of the enemy chieftain will be transferred to the second official, and will be given [-] pieces of salt money.

Kill the enemy leader and transfer to the third official, and give fifty guan of salt money.

"Those who transport materials will be given three pieces of salt and banknotes by civil servants."

The officials were very satisfied after seeing what the chief executives had to say: "In this way, Zhang Yue won't complain about the imperial court's slapstick."

All the ministers laughed when they heard the words.

The official said: "Let's draw up rewards based on this."

Wang Gui said: "Your Majesty, the envoy from the Kingdom of Xia has arrived in Qinzhou to resettle. Cai Yanqing, the envoy of Qinfeng Road, asked whether he should come to Bianjing, or choose a minister to negotiate with him in Qinzhou?"

The official laughed and said nothing.

Wen Yanbo came out of the squad and said: "In the past, Xia Guo often asked for peace. It seems that when Kuangxiao (Li Yuanhao) was very cunning, he often defeated our army and then asked for peace. He pretended to be respectful. Is this peace request credible?"

Wang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, after our army took Hehuang directly, the Xia Kingdom shook up and down. Now that Mu Zheng has fallen and Guizhang is dead, Xia Kingdom is shaking up and down. Liang Yibu, the Prime Minister of the country, knows that he is invincible, so he Send envoys to seek peace."

Feng Jingdao: "What's the shock? Dong Zhan still sticks to Huangshui. Although he talked about peace, he still refuses to accept it, and Taozhou has not recovered. Is Xia Guo really afraid?"

The officials heard this and said: "The Minhe tribe has a lot of tents. Now that the Mu Zheng has come down, if the emperor is properly managed, they can take control of Xixia. This is the so-called strategy of attacking the barbarians with the barbarians."

"If I ordered Zhang Yue to gather Fan troops and horses at the Xihe River for a rehearsal, and falsely use the momentum of the army to defeat the enemy, the Xia Kingdom must immediately respond to me. If this happens every year, the whole Xia Kingdom will inevitably harm itself. This is what the art of war says about 'those who are unable to work'."

After hearing this, everyone thought about it. The Song Dynasty first seized the Xihe River, and then let the Jinglue envoy Zhang Yue lead the Xihe Fan army for a military parade. As if they were going to cross the Yellow River, Xixia must be forced to mobilize troops and horses to deal with it. We must really send troops, and we must be afraid of Xixia if we do it a few more times.

This strategy can be described as brilliant, who suggested it to the emperor?
Wen Yanbo, Feng Jing glanced over, and saw Wang Yu beside him.

The other party looked complacent, obviously he had suggested the emperor at the sutra feast before.

The officials couldn't wait to say: "How do you discuss this policy?"

Wang Yu came out of the squad and said: "I think this strategy is feasible."

Wen Yanbo and Feng Jing all took a look at Wang Yu, and the Son of Heaven coughed lightly. He also pretended not to see Wang Yu's behavior of agreeing with him.

Wang Yu said: "As long as Xixia frequently gathers, within a year or two, Xixia will harm itself. This is also the strategy of taking Wu in the past. It must be like this to manage the Siyi."

"That's why I don't think it is necessary to accept Xixia's peace talks!"

Wen Yanbo, Feng Jing thought, what happened to Wang Yu?
Wen Yanbo said: "Your Majesty, Ru Muzheng of the Qing and Tang tribes is not accustomed to fighting. Xixia only needs to send troops with at most two military supervisors to defend them."

Feng Jing said again: "Your Majesty, from the fourth year of Xining to the fifth year of Xining, before Zhang Yue returned to Hezhou. He and Wang Shao used 600 million yuan to send troops to the Northwest. Only money and salt bills are enough. It took 700 million guan.”

"And in the future, it will be 400 million guan every year, and the Shaanxi Transshipment Department will spend a total of 400 million guan to raise soldiers along the way."

"Only Yongxing is the only one in the world. Qinfeng Erlu is more poor than others. Every year, there are peace purchases, hemming, and various miscellaneous levies. I don't know how many people have lost their homes. It is really inappropriate to raise troops."

After hearing Wen Yanbo and Feng Jing's words, the officials felt a little uncomfortable, and finally said: "I want Zhang Yueping to flatten Xixia so that the people along the way in Shaanxi will not suffer from this kind of suffering. It's not that they don't understand public opinion."

Cai Ting, deputy envoy of the Privy Council, said: "I think that Shaanxi can control the fate of the world by occupying the upper reaches of the world. It has been a place that military strategists have fought for since ancient times. All those who do things often start in the northwest. The court must pay attention 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 roads leading to Gansu and Liang, preventing communication between the interior and the west."

"At the same time, the land like Lanzhou is like Zhigu, and the land like Shengru is the most fertile. In the future, farming can also supply military supplies. I think that if Xixia really has the heart 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, which was taken for granted.

But the officials listened to the idea. Xixia is south of the Yellow River, and there is only an isolated city in Lanzhou.Once Lanzhou is taken, the Song Dynasty's situation in Xihe can be consolidated.

Wang Anshi said: "I think Cai Ting's strategy is feasible."

The official nodded and said, "It would be best if Xia Guo is willing to cut off Lanzhou, but what if he refuses?"

Cai Ting said: "Western Xia refused to cut it off, so we ordered Zhang Yue and Mu Zheng to lead Xihe soldiers to the north to destroy the Gan and Liang prefectures!"

Liangzhou was the location of Wuwei County in the Han Dynasty, and the headquarters of the Liangzhou Governor's Department was in Liangzhou.

Since Liangzhou was taken away by Tubo at the end of Tang Dynasty, Li Yuanhao of Xixia rose 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 can break through Liangzhou, it will shock Xixia, just like the Song Dynasty was broken into Chang'an.

The officials were overwhelmed by Cai Ting's opinion, and it was really a huge temptation for him to regain Liangzhou, an important town in the Han and Tang Dynasties.

He asked Wu Chong, who had just been promoted to be a political advisor, "What do you think?"

When Wu Chong was just promoted by the official family and was also a holy family, he really wished that his blood would surge, so he took the words to 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 confession.

Wu Chong said: "Your Majesty, do you remember what Zhang Yue said to His Majesty when he left Beijing?"

The official paused for a moment and said: "I remember, Zhang Yue said that he went for half a year to conquer wood, two years to collect Dong felt, and as for making summer..."

The official said here that he realized that he was a bit on the top, because Zhang Yue's big victory at the foot of the white city, so he became very eager.

He is very generous, and he is not stingy with the rewards of the generals, which seems to be a wise gentleman.

So he can agree to Zhang Yue's reward list of more than 5000 people without hesitation. At the same time, the emperor actually thinks that Zhang Yue can go further, not to mention Mu Zheng and Dong Xing, and just let me put Xixia on the ground in one breath. up.

Wu Chong said: "Since the incident in the past night of Qingli, all the courtiers have thought that Xia Guo has no advantages, and they are unwilling to face up to its strength. Lose and lose."

"When the city of Luowu was first built, Xixia was willing to send more than [-] troops to fight. Now that our army is attacking Qingtang, Xia Guo once again gathered troops in Lanzhou. On the one hand, he wanted to attack Xizhou and cut off my way back. On the other hand, he asked for peace. Unknowable."

"I think you have to be careful again and again."

After hearing Wu Chong's words, the officials couldn't help feeling like they were waiting for cold water to splash on their faces.

At this moment, the official sighed suddenly: "It was three years before Emperor Gaozong defeated ghosts, and it was three years for Duke Zhou to conquer the East. How long has the three-year period been? How can I wait?"

(End of this chapter)