The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

() Su Jin smiled and said: "Your Majesty Qi Zuo, I didn't quite understand at the beginning. What caused Li Yuanhao to entangle 10,000+ troops to invade our northwest roads. The war has dragged on to exhaustion. A small Li Yuanhao occupies less than one of the tenth of the land in Song Dynasty, and the population of the people is less than 300 million. What did he use to spend with us until today? What kind of details does he have to struggle with 10,000 people? + The army put on a posture of swaying troops south?"

Zhao Zhen said: "Yes, I also want to ask these questions. If it is said that a few years ago they relied on stored food to confront our Great Song Dynasty at the border, and they could handle small-scale battles. The onslaught of the army is puzzling."

Su Jindao: "I have discussed this answer with Han Shuai and Fan Shuai for a long time. Under the inspiration of the two generals, I finally understood the reason. Li Yuanhao is desperate for this battle. His purpose is not to send troops south to annex our Great Song Dynasty, although he I really want to, but he doesn't have the ability; the peace talks between the two sides have been going on for a long time, and the western thieves, relying on the advantage in the northwest, must have made a lot of conditions for the lion to open their mouths. The victory forced us to sign the covenant under the city; this is the madness before death, the so-called end of the crossbow; Then they can go around and attack the two roads of Yanyan and Huanqing, and the entire northwest barrier will collapse, and our capital city of the Great Song Dynasty will be exposed to their eyes." ..

Everyone suddenly realized that if Weizhou fell, according to the development situation, the situation Su Jin said was very likely to happen.

"It's a joke. It's said that the Western Bandits are at the end of their strength. After taking Weizhou, how can they fight again? It's nonsense." Xia Song stayed in the Northwest and fought with the Western Bandits for several years. He is an expert and wanted to deceive It's not easy for him.

Su Jin smiled and said: "Master Xia is right. If the western thief takes Weizhou, it is true that they will have no power to fight. When the war first started, I told the two commanders Han and Fan that even if Weizhou fell, I also want to use the 12 soldiers and civilians defending the city of Weizhou to wipe out half of his [-] invading enemies, so that they have no power to attack; , they must also be powerless to attack, so in fact none of the situations I mentioned above will occur.”

Everyone shouted, is this guy a chameleon?What I said just now was that the situation was critical, but Xia Song immediately changed his words. Could it be that this guy dared to talk nonsense in front of the emperor's officials?

Su Jin waved his hand and said, "Everyone, be quiet and listen to me."

Du Yan sneered and said, "Master Su is treating us like monkeys."

Su Jin smiled and said: "How dare you, Mr. Du is not a monkey, how dare you play tricks on you; what I want to say is that if Weizhou falls, will you worry that Qinzhou will be breached and threaten the safety of the capital? You will only do it after the fact." Knowing that the Xia army is at the end of its strength and has no power to fight anymore, if Weizhou is swept away, will you be worried if you don't understand the situation? Once you are worried, the peace negotiation conditions proposed by the western thieves and the safety of the capital It is very likely that we will agree to the terms of the peace negotiation under heavy pressure, and that will hit Yuan Hao's plan, and Li Yuanhao actually played this idea."

Everyone silently thought about this possibility. They had to admit that once Weizhou fell, the army of 10,000+ western thieves would approach the southwest. Considering the safety of the capital, it is absolutely possible to negotiate a peace hastily. However, the conditions proposed by the western thieves are too cruel They proposed that the Song Dynasty should recognize Xixia as a country, offer 50 taels of silver and millions of guan each year, and allow party members to transit through the border for grazing, logging, and planting, and asked Song to open the export restrictions on banned cotton, steel, etc.; these conditions Once the promise is made, it will be a great blow to Da Song. It is tantamount to feeding a white-eyed wolf with fat. Knowing that it will bite back after being fattened, it is a great humiliation to continue to fatten it.

Zhao Zhen understood what Su Jin meant, and he was also weighing the possibility of agreeing to the conditions. He asked himself, if the safety of the capital was threatened, he might decree to agree to the terms in order to keep the capital. Su Jin's words were not fabricated out of thin air. In Zhao Zhen's mind, nothing is more important than the safety of the capital; he will not hesitate to pay a huge price for it.

"The process of the battle is actually very simple. The western thieves attack the east and attack the west, pretending to attack the east road, Yanyan and Huanqing, and then use the mobility of the cavalry to quickly approach the city of Weizhou; their strategic intentions have long been understood by me and Han Fan. See through, but the momentum of the 10,000+ army is still unstoppable; there are [-] cavalry from the western thief Yuzhou Jianing Army on the east road, and Fan Shuai can't divide his troops to rescue him. Weapons and food played a big role, and Qinzhou, where Han Shuai is located, still allocated [-] elite soldiers to reinforce under the tight defense situation, and brought in a large amount of food and weapons. The victory played a huge role."

Su Jin turned around and saluted Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, expressing his gratitude.Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi hurriedly returned the gift, praising Su Jin in their hearts for not forgetting to mention their contributions at all times, they are quite friends.

"The West Bandit's tactics are simple. They relied on their numbers and power to launch a strong attack from the very beginning. I have to say that the West Bandit Army Ji Yanming's combat power is not bad. The first day's attack on Weizhou City Wall was broken through. Fortunately, we The state army and civilians fought to the death and retreated the enemy army, but the western thieves did not take advantage of their numerical advantage to attack the city in all directions and spread our defense forces, so they passed through the danger."

"After the West Thieves lost their first battle, they understood this, and prepared to build a large number of ladders to attack the city. I ordered people to burn the trees on Longshan Mountain in the west overnight, and cut off the wood where the West Thieves built the ladders. I didn't dismantle the siege vehicles to build a ladder, and in the subsequent fierce battles, both sides suffered heavy casualties; but Weizhou's troops were too small to consume the western thieves, so I had no choice but to take the risk and lead my subordinates, Ma Han, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu, to four Wei Dutou and eight other masters crossed the snow-capped mountains and sneaked into Huizhou City, where the enemy's grain and grass were hoarded, and burned hundreds of thousands of stones of grain and grass in the army of western thieves; With all my strength, I repelled the frenzied attack of the thieves before the food and grass were burned, buying time for my actions in the rear; the thieves had no food to eat, so naturally they retreated without a fight."

Su Jin briefly explained the process of the war in an understatement. Although Zhao Zhen had already heard it from Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi last night, and now he listened to it again from Su Jin, he still felt sweat running down his spine.

This is the first time for most officials to hear about the battle process. The scene of 10,000+ troops attacking the city is chilling when you think about it. What is even more incredible is that Su Jin led a dozen people into the enemy's rear and burned the enemy army. Food and grass, although Su Jin didn't go into details, but you can imagine with your ass, the place where food and grass are hoarded is naturally heavily guarded, and the dangers are hard to imagine. This courage alone is enough to look down on the world.

"Master Su's move is comparable to that of General Wei Qing in the Han Dynasty who led five hundred cavalry to raid the king's tent of the Huns. It is even worse. He has extraordinary courage and courage, and his loyalty is commendable!" The deputy prime minister Jia Changchao, who was not very talkative, actually spoke; His words also represent everyone's aspirations. Su Jin's image in the eyes of everyone suddenly becomes taller. Even Xia Song, Du Yan, and Pang Ji, who hate Su Jin deeply, have to admire Su Jin. Ask yourself, if they In defending Weizhou City, do they have such decisive courage?

Zhao Zhen sighed and said: "What a soul-stirring battle, Su Aiqing can be said to be an all-rounder in civil and military affairs, Wen is the number one scholar of my dynasty, and Wu is the Optimus Prime of the Northwest, my dynasty is lucky!"

Su Jin blushed and said, "My Majesty, I am not as brave and fearless as you think. At that time, I was also terrified, but if the city is destroyed, I will die. I have no choice but to fight desperately."

Everyone couldn't help smiling, and they got closer to Su Jin in their hearts. It turned out that he was also afraid of death at that time, so he didn't have to be too ashamed when he waited.

"Actually, you don't have to go by yourself, you can just send someone to go. How can you be a chief officer to take risks in person? It's a bit of a nonsense." Zhao Zhen said.

Su Jin said: "That can't be done. I'm not as good at defending the city as anyone who deploys everything, and I came up with this plan. All the plans are in my heart. First, I can't let others take risks. Second, No one is more sure of success than me, so I will use my strengths to avoid weaknesses, and those who are good at defending will guard it, and I, who is good at making trouble, will make trouble."

Zhao Zhen and everyone laughed. Su Jin was telling the truth. Although he was praised as an all-rounder in both civil and military affairs, everyone understood that Su Jin was a fledgling stubble after all. He still lacked experience in confronting the West Thieves face to face.

Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "This battle is very proud of our country's prestige. Once this battle is over, the situation has changed a lot. This is the credit of the three of you. Today's top priority is to reward the three. The list of relevant meritorious personnel, After the three of you go down to the court, you plan to report it, and discuss the merits and rewards together."

Su Jin and the other three hurried forward and knelt down on the ground. Zhao Zhen waved his hand, and Huang Peisheng, the chief servant, slowly took out a prepared imperial decree and said loudly: "Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Su Jin, listen to the decree!"