Qian Song

Chapter 56 Zhao Ji's Response (Read More!)

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Recently, Zhao Ji has been in a good mood.

Zhao Song has been obsessed with recovering the Sixteen States of Yanyun since the founding of the country, and it is very likely that it was achieved during his dynasty.

If that's the case, from the point of view of merit, he Zhao Ji is the emperor of the Song Dynasty second only to Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, and he must be famous in history.

In addition, the letter that Zhao Ji wrote to Wanyan Agu because of his lack of geography said, "According to Yanjing and Guanzhou City, it was originally a Han land. If you want to restore the old, you can transfer Zilai and Khitan silver silk to discuss. Although there is no national letter, forgive me." Don't speak nonsense." The mistakes in " have also been initially resolved.

——Before, Zhao Ji didn’t know that Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures included Yandi and Yundi. He thought that Yanjing and Guanzhou were Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. As a result, he wrote a letter to Wanyan Agu I want Yandi, but I don't want Yundi.

This is undoubtedly an extremely serious diplomatic error.

Fortunately, after the mediation of Zhao Liangsi and other envoys, Wanyan Aguda let go, saying that after they captured Liao Emperor Tianzuo Emperor Yelu Yanxi, Yundi could also be returned to Zhao Song.

Even if this is the case, there are still Liaoxi Corridors in Luan, Ping, and Ying that can allow Hu people to go south, but if the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun can be recovered, it will be enough to greatly reduce the defensive pressure on Zhao Song.

The key point is that Luan, Ping, and Ying states can also plan slowly, step by step.

It seems that everything is developing in a direction that is beneficial to Zhao Song.

Under such circumstances, Zhao Ji certainly had reason to be happy.

Zhao Ji summoned Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Zhao Liangsi and other ministers who supported the recovery of the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun to plan the Northern Expedition together.

Zhao Ji said: "Today the recovery of Yanjing is a foregone conclusion. The important affairs of the soldiers and the country, the place of death, the way of survival, must be investigated. Everything is foreseen, and if it is not foreseen, it will be abandoned. What are the rules and regulations, dear friends?"

Wang Fu echoed at the first moment: "What the officials say is very true. If there is no war, the temple will count as the winner. It must be counted as more. Now the civil strife in Khitan continues, and the people are in dire straits. Our Great Song Dynasty is in peace and prosperity. The soldiers are strong and the horses are strong. Join the Jin to destroy the Liao , is a god-sent opportunity to restore the territory of the Han and Tang Dynasties, in one fell swoop..."

The strategy of uniting gold and destroying Liao Dynasty was first developed by Tong Guan.

Even Zhao Liangsi, who has been threading the needle for Lian Jin to destroy Liao, was dug from Liao by Tong Guan himself.

Ordinarily, at this time, Tong Guan should be very interested.

But at this time Tong Guan was silent.

Seeing Zhao Ji, he restrained his smile and asked Tong Guan: "Tong Aiqing, it's okay to say something if you have something to say."

Hearing the words, Tong Guan took out the "Ping Yan Policy" that he had prepared long ago, and reiterated his own attitude: "The officials and veterans think that we should take Yunzhong first, and then take Yandi."

Zhao Ji disagrees with Tong Guan's point of view.

Zhao Ji felt that the mountains and rivers in the Hedong area were full of dangers, easy to defend and difficult to attack, so the recovery of the cloud land above the Hedong area was just icing on the cake, and its importance was far from comparable to that of Yandi.

You know, as long as the land of Yan is not in the hands of Zhao Song for a day, the cavalry of the Hu people in the north can run wildly in Hebei at any time, and they can hit the city of Bianliang in Tokyo in a few days, which is really unsafe.

So Zhao Ji directly dismissed Tong Guan's claim: "I think it's better to take Yanjing first."

Wang Fu immediately agreed: "What the officials said is absolutely true! The first thing to do is to attack the city, and if you take Yanjing first, Xijing may be destroyed without attacking."

But Tong Guan still insisted on his own opinion: "Yanjing city is well-defended and heavily guarded by the Liao army, so it is not easy to attack, but Yunzhong's defense is weak and its troops are limited. If we take it, we can capture Juyong and Zijing Pass, and then attack Yanjing with Jurchen. Jing, you will definitely be able to regain all your strength."

Seeing that Tong Guan insisted on his own opinion and expected Tong Guan to help him recover Zhao Ji from the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, he said: "Let all the generals brainstorm ways to win."

After speaking, Zhao Ji glanced at Wang Fu without any trace.

Wang Fu understood and nodded slightly.

Soon after, Zhong Shidao, Liu Yanqing and other senior generals of the Zhao and Song Dynasty came to Bianliang City, Tokyo for the pre-war meeting.

Then two plans were placed in front of Zhong Shidao, Liu Yanqing and other senior generals of the Zhao and Song Dynasties:
One plan is to go north from Daizhou, first take the three states of Wei, Ying, and Shuo, and then capture Liaoxijing.

Another plan is to go north from Xiongzhou, cross the Baigou River, occupy Zhuozhou, and then attack Yanjing.

For these two plans, Zhong Shidao, Liu Yanqing and other senior generals of the Zhao and Song Dynasties debated endlessly.

But after a few days of debate, it turned out that the plan to capture Yanjing won the support of more senior generals of the Zhao and Song Dynasties.

Zhao Ji was very satisfied with the result, and then formally issued an edict ordering the imperial army on Huanqing Road and Yanyan Road to switch defenses with the Hebei imperial army.

——The two forbidden troops on Huanqing Road and Yanyan Road are the main force of the Western Army, that is, the elite of the elite. They are transferred to the front line of Hebei to prepare for the Northern Expedition.

The imperial guards on Huanqing Road and Yanyan Road had just assembled at the Daming Mansion in Beijing and were about to set off for Hebei when Chen Xun, the dispatcher from Huainan, suddenly made an urgent statement:
"Fang La gathered a strong crowd, and his tiger and ben army captured Hangzhou in one fell swoop. Most of the officials, gentry and nobles in Hangzhou were killed by the chief general Li Cun. The land property and family members were distributed to the people to gather thieves. The soldiers in the southeast were weak. To Ziman."

The fall of Hangzhou surprised Zhao Ji, and the Zhao Song Dynasty encountered an unprecedented crisis since its founding!
Zhao Ji was worried about the instability of the country, so he hurriedly sent his confidant eunuch Tan Zhen to the southeast to lead the local army and civilians to counter the rebellion and capture the bandits Fang La and Li Cun.

Tan Zhen was tall and burly, and it was hard to imagine him as a eunuch from the outside. Most people's first impression of him would be that he was a general.

And Tan Zhen has been packaging himself as a military general - he pays great attention to dressing, grooming, and usually likes to talk about military affairs, as if Sun Wu is reborn, Han Xin is reborn, has the ambition to swallow the world, and has the ability to conquer the rivers and seas.

In this way, Tan Zhen seemed to be Tong Guan's second, and Zhao Ji even planned to train Tan Zhen as Tong Guan's successor.

Since Tong Guan's old partner Wang Hou died of illness, the military situation in the northwestern frontier of the Zhao Song Dynasty mainly relied on Tong Guan to support it.

And Tong Guan led the army to fight against Tubo and Xixia, and his military achievements were outstanding, and his power shocked the northwest.

Ordinarily, Tan Zhen, who can only talk on paper, is not qualified to be compared with Tong Guan.

But who made Tan Zhen have a close relationship with Zhao Ji's favorite eunuch Liang Shicheng, and with Liang Shicheng helping Tan Zhen to build momentum, Zhao Ji really felt that Tan Zhen could replace Tong Guan in the future, just like Wang Fu replaced Cai Jing.

Who is this Liang Shicheng, with such great energy, that he can turn his hands into clouds and his hands into rain?

According to Liang Shicheng himself, he is the son of Su Shi.

The so-called chuzi refers to the son who was born to a pregnant concubine after being abandoned.

For Liang Shicheng's statement, many people expressed disbelief.

But it might be true.

During this period, famous literati like Su Shi generally had wives and concubines in groups. For them, women were playthings, even goods.

What's more, Su Shi is also a romantic talent of the waves among the waves.

It is said that when Su Shi was in Huizhou, he dismissed all the concubines around him, leaving only Wang Chaoyun as his companion.

It is not certain that one of the concubines who were dismissed by Su Shi happened to be pregnant, and then gave birth to Liang Shicheng.

And Su Shi didn't become Liang Shicheng's cheap father for nothing.

Because of party disputes, Su Shi's articles were banned, and the court ordered that all Su Shi's works be searched and destroyed.

Liang Shicheng complained to Zhao Ji and said: "What is the crime of the ancestors, so that he is still targeted after his death?"

This makes Su Shi's calligraphy and paintings preserved.

In addition, Liang Shicheng often helped Su Shi's descendants.

Leaving aside the possibility of being the son of Su Shi, Liang Shicheng himself has something to offer.

In the third year of Daguan, Liang Shicheng took the imperial examination, and he was ranked No. 11 in the first class of high school Jinshi, which made Zhao Ji very happy.

Since then, Zhao Ji trusted Liang Shicheng very much, and all the edicts issued by Zhao Ji came from Liang Shicheng.

And Liang Shicheng chose those small officials who were good at calligraphy to practice imitating Zhao Ji's handwriting, and mixed them in the imperial edict to promulgate, so that the court officials could not distinguish the authenticity from the fake.

In other words, Liang Shicheng could even change Zhao Ji's edict.

In short, Liang Shicheng, who is extremely favored by Zhao Ji, has all the power in the government and the public, and he can promote whoever he wants.

Even Wang Fu was able to replace Cai Jing as Zhao Ji's prime minister because he treated Liang Shicheng like a father and always called Liang Shicheng "Mr. Enfu".

People in Bianliang City, Tokyo, regard Master Liang as a "hidden prime minister", meaning No. 1 under the emperor, and his status is even higher than that of the prime minister.

Liang Shicheng also miraculously holds a hundred and ten official positions concurrently.

Tan Zhen was single-handedly promoted by Liang Shicheng, who was at odds with Tong Guan.

Zhao Ji did not send Tong Guan to suppress the chaos in the southeast at the first time, but sent Tan Zhen to suppress it first. Between" said to Zhao Ji: "It's a pity that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Zhao Ji thought, if Tong Guan and the Western Army were allowed to go south, the Yanyun sixteen prefectures might not be recovered in his lifetime. In that case, he would be like the previous emperors of the Song Dynasty, regretting his whole life.

The point is, this opportunity to regain Yanyun Sixteen States is too good, it would be a pity not to seize it.

Therefore, Zhao Ji appointed Tan Zhen as the envoy of the Liangzhe Road System, and first went to Hangzhou to see if he could wipe out the rebellion in the southeast without sending Tong Guan and the Western Army south.

In other words, Zhao Ji still had a slight illusion about recovering the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun.

This also shows from the side that although Zhao Ji is already very worried about the situation in the southeast, he obviously still doesn't pay enough attention to it.

After Tan Zhen received the order, he immediately set off to head south.

The goal is directed at - Zhenjiang!
……

(End of this chapter)