I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 466: The Song Dynasty lost a pillar in the northwest, and the perfect man fell

February 15th, afternoon.

A corner of the Jianyuan.

Su Liang was holding a wooden bucket in one hand and a wooden ladle in the other, watering three newly planted peach saplings.

You need to do some proper exercise after working at a desk all day, otherwise your limbs will become rusty.

He would go to the Longyu Army camp for training every now and then to maintain his figure and physical strength, and to improve his martial arts skills.

After all, health is the foundation of everything.

Also.

According to calculations by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, March 22nd was an auspicious day, so the wedding banquet for Su Zimu and Huang Yuner was set on that day.

Tang Wanmei will take care of everything, and Su Liang only needs to attend the banquet that day.

at this time.

An official walked over quickly.

"Su Sijian, Prime Minister Di wants you to go to the Privy Council to discuss important matters."

"Okay, I'll wash my hands and be right over." Su Liang said with a smile.

Because Su Liang had given many speeches in the army and held a military position, whenever the Privy Council had important matters to discuss, they would call on Su Liang to participate.

……

After a while.

Privy Council, meeting room.

Privy Councilor Di Qing, Deputy Privy Councilors Zeng Gongliang and Liang Shi were all present, with gloomy expressions on their faces.

As soon as Su Liang arrived, Liang Shi handed him a document and said, "Jingming, take a look at this information first."

Su Liang nodded, picked up the information and read it carefully.

"On the third day of the first lunar month in the sixth year of Huangyou, the various tribes of the Shengnuzhen gathered more than 700 people at the lower reaches of the Hunhe River and openly rebelled against the Liao. They killed more than 2,000 Liao soldiers and countless civilians, and looted countless properties in Tielizhou."

"On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, the Liao Kingdom's Pishi Army and Xiong Army, stationed in Changchun Prefecture, sent out 5,000 troops to hunt down the Shengnuzhen people.

"On the 17th day of the first lunar month, the Liao Kingdom's Pishi Army and Xiong Army were attacked by the Shengnuzhen Army, killing and wounding over a thousand people. The latter retreated and scattered in the mountains and forests.

"On the 21st day of the first lunar month, the Liao army sent out 10,000 soldiers to launch a full-scale hunt against the various tribes of the Shengnuzhen people near the Hunhe River."

……

This information came from a Song Dynasty spy lurking in Liao territory.

The Shengnu Jurchens were a tribe formed by the descendants of the Heishui Mohe. The three people from the Heishui tribe who came to Song last year were the Shengnu Jurchens.

Their tribe also participated in the war.

There are also some Liao people's evaluation of the Jurchens in the intelligence: they are as fast as monkeys when climbing mountains and as fast as rapids when diving into water, and three people are as powerful as one tiger.

Rumor has it that three raw Jurchens can kill a grown tiger with their bare hands.

The Jurchens were indeed tough.

More than 700 people captured a city, killed more than 2,000 Liao soldiers, looted countless properties, and even caused more than a thousand casualties to the Liao Pi Shi Army under attack, and then escaped unscathed.

You need to know.

The Liao Dynasty's Pi Shi Army was the most powerful cavalry of the Liao Dynasty.

It was built by Liao Taizu Yelu Abaoji, and gathered the best troops of Liao in the heart of the city, with a total of more than 30,000 soldiers and horses.

Equivalent to the upper four armies of the Song Dynasty's imperial guards.

If we only talk about the combat effectiveness of the cavalry, the Upper Four Armies would probably be unable to defeat the Pi Shi Army.

After reading the intelligence, Su Liang murmured, "These women are just as ruthless and fierce as the legend says!"

"The Jurchens have not yet gotten rid of their bestial nature. They do not respect human life, nor their own life. They are born killers!" Liang Shi, the deputy privy councilor, exclaimed.

"The Khitans are so cruel! They retaliate very quickly and kill civilians together. Many children, women and old people have died in this war!" Zeng Gongliang also spoke.

When the Song Dynasty went to war, it always killed soldiers but not the elderly, weak, sick and disabled civilians.

The Khitans and Jurchens killed anyone they saw. They would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let even one go. They truly regarded the lives of the people as worthless.

"War is like this. The only way to stop killing is to kill!"

Di Qing looked at Su Liang and said, "Jingming, there is civil unrest in Liao now, and we should also take some action. The three of us suggest that the Hebei Imperial Guards increase their troops and conduct drills at the border, so as to give them a taste of their own medicine. What do you think?"

"Sure. Things have changed. It's time to let them have a taste of what it feels like to have a large army approaching!" Su Liang said with a smile.

In the second year of the Qingli period.

Taking advantage of the Song-Xia War, the Liao Kingdom suddenly sent reinforcements to the Song Dynasty border, claiming that it would seize the ten counties south of Waqiao Pass in the Song Dynasty.

The Liao people claimed that these places should belong to Liao, and it was wrong for Zhou Shizong to seize them. In addition, Western Xia had been a vassal of Liao, and Song sent troops to attack Xia without informing Liao, which made Liao very dissatisfied.

These reasons are far-fetched.

In fact, they are taking advantage of the situation to rob and blackmail the Song Dynasty.

Afterwards, Fu Bi was sent as an envoy to negotiate with Liao, and the other party proposed either ceding land, marrying a princess, or increasing the annual tribute.

Finally, the dispute was settled by increasing the annual tribute of 100,000 taels of silver and 100,000 pieces of silk.

This matter has always been a shame in the hearts of the people of the Song Dynasty.

Now, there is civil unrest in Liao.

There is absolutely no problem for the Song Dynasty to retaliate. We can only say that this is retribution from the Liao Dynasty.

Di Qing and the other two were very happy to see that Su Liang agreed with this strategy.

Even if there was no friction between the two sides, increasing the number of troops on the border would scare the Liao Kingdom and make it more difficult for them to deal with the Jurchens.

At this time.

Zeng Gongliang said: "Jingming, can you think of a reason to increase the number of troops at the border in Hebei?"

"Aren't we seeking revenge? Do we need a reason?"

Di Qing smiled and said, "I also don't think a reason is necessary. But if there is no suitable reason, I'm afraid the emperor and the ministers of the Secretariat will not agree. After all, we are still brothers with the Liao Kingdom. If we don't have a legitimate reason, we will be condemned by the Liao people. We must be right!"

"How about the rehearsal for the military training to retake Yanyun?" Su Liang said with a smile.

"Jingming, stop it. Announcing this to the world is not to scare the Liao people, but to declare war!" Zeng Gong rolled his eyes.

Su Liang scratched his head and said, "We can say this to the Hebei Imperial Guards, and we will be training for the purpose of recovering Yanyun. As for the outside world, we can say... that there are Jurchens entering Hebei, and we are increasing our troops to capture them. How do you think?"

"This reason will not only make it impossible for the Liao people to refute, but will also make the Shengnuzhen people feel that we are their backers, and thus they will be more excited to rebel."

"It's feasible, it's feasible. No matter whether the other party believes this reason or not, we can make a reasonable argument, and that's enough!" Di Qing nodded and said.

Zeng Gongliang and Liang Shi on the side also nodded.

Su Liang thought for a moment and said, "This is not enough. If we increase our troops on the border, it will only help to contain them, kill more Liao soldiers, and make the Jurchens cause more trouble, but it will still be difficult to shake the foundation of the Liao Kingdom."

"We should involve the Donghai Jurchens in this civil strife."

The Donghai Jurchens are the same as the Su Jurchens.

They are a powerful family among the Jurchens.

Their living conditions were much better than those of the Shengnujur, and they always obeyed the management of the Liao Kingdom and basically had no dealings with the Shengnujur.

"Let the Donghai Jurchens be involved in the civil strife in Liao? But the raw Jurchens and the cooked Jurchens have no connection at all?" Liang Shi said puzzledly.

"The Donghai Jurchens are also Jurchens. They are not of the same ethnic group as the Khitans, so they naturally do not want to be suppressed by the Khitans all the time. The Jurchen rebellion is undoubtedly a good opportunity for them."

"I suggest sending a group of secret agents to infiltrate the Donghai Jurchen tribe and spread the message that 'the Khitans should be destroyed and the Jurchens should thrive'. As long as the instigation is in place, the Jurchens will certainly rebel against the Khitans. As for how much impact their resistance can have, it depends on how much they hate the Khitans!"

"Okay, leave this to me! When it comes to provoking trouble, our secret agent is definitely an expert!" Liang Shi said with his chest puffed out.

At present, all the secret agents in charge of investigating military secrets in the Song Dynasty were under the direct supervision of Liang Shi.

Di Qing, Zeng Gongliang and Su Liang all nodded.

They really trusted Liang Shi.

Since spies in the army were extremely dangerous, Liang Shi selected spies who were all married with children, not the only son in the family, flexible in handling matters, and willing to sacrifice for the country. None of them were cowardly.

……

The next day.

Di Qing reported the matter to Zhao Zhen.

The reason for finding the Jurchens who had entered the Song Dynasty also satisfied all the ministers in the Secretariat. That day, Zhao Zhen asked the Privy Council to draft an imperial edict.

He ordered Pang Ji, the deputy privy envoy and governor of Daming Prefecture, who was currently in charge of the Hebei Imperial Guards, to dispatch 30,000 Hebei troops to the border for training.

If there was a conflict with the Liao army, Zhao Zhen had only one requirement: absolutely no losses.

Even if the Liao Kingdom really dared to fight with the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty today would not be afraid at all.

There is real friction on the Hebei border.

The Song Dynasty doesn't mind how big the fire gets. If a war really breaks out, then it will be a war.

If the Jurchens could gain power and inflict heavy losses on the Liao, the Song Dynasty would definitely strike back without hesitation, taking the opportunity to recapture Yanyun and even occupy larger territory.

……

February 24th.

Thirty thousand Hebei imperial troops arrived at the Song-Liao border and set up camp for training.

The news was so great that it could be heard throughout Liao territory.

Three days later.

When the Liao emperor Yelu Zongzhen received an urgent report from the border garrison, he immediately summoned Yelu Chongyuan, Yelu Hongji and several ministers to the hall.

"That old Pang Ji said that Jurchens had entered Hebei and that the Song army was sent to capture them. That's sheer nonsense!"

"Does it take tens of thousands of soldiers to arrest people? They want to take advantage of the situation! They want to add insult to injury!" Yelu Zongzhen stood in front of the throne and roared angrily.

Yelu Hongji immediately stepped out and said, "Father, the Song people are just trying to scare us. Their reforms are in progress, and they don't dare to go to war with us. Moreover, the Tanguts experienced a severe cold last year and are very poor. If the Song people dare to declare war, the Tanguts will definitely cause chaos in the northwest. They are just trying to scare us and make the Jurchens more courageous to fight us. We don't need to pay attention to them, and we can only focus on eliminating the Jurchen chaos."

As soon as Yelu Hongji finished speaking, Yelu Chongyuan stood up.

"Brother, what my nephew said is nonsense that shows he does not understand the art of war! The Song people must have thought that we might think this way. If we do not increase our troops on the border and just keep eliminating the Jurchens, what should we do if the Song people really attack us? The people of the Southern Kingdom are all shouting to recover the homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties. If we think that they really dare not fight, they will fight instead!
"In addition, if the Jurchens gain power, the Song Dynasty will take the opportunity to invade. We have to be on guard. We must allocate the main forces to the border, and then think of ways to deal with those Jurchens!"

"Uncle, most of our troops are deployed to guard the Southern Kingdom. How can we deal with the Jurchens? You have no idea of ​​their destructive power!"

"Hmph, there are only a few thousand people. What are you afraid of? It's obvious that your people are not capable enough. If I were to send troops, they would have been wiped out long ago!" Yelu Chongyuan said with his eyes wide open.

"You...you...you want to seize the military power! If you can guarantee that you can destroy the Shengnuzhen within a month, you will do it. If not, you must hand over the 20,000 soldiers in your hands to me. How about it? Do you dare to bet?"

"Why not? But one month is too short. I need three months. If I can wipe them out in three months, you will give me the ten thousand soldiers in your hands!"

"One month!"

"Three months!"

"One month!"

"Three months!"

……

Yelu Chongyuan and Yelu Hongji started arguing as they talked.

The Liao officials standing by lowered their heads and did not try to stop the fight, because this was a common occurrence and the two men actually had selfish motives.

Yelu Chongyuan had 20,000 personal soldiers, all deployed on the border.

If more troops are sent to the border, he will naturally be the commander-in-chief and can use his power to control more soldiers.

Yelu Hongji's 10,000 personal soldiers were mostly deployed in the north.

This time, hunting down the Jurchens was also his job.

Unfortunately, he underestimated Sheng Nuzhen's ability and did very badly.

"Enough! Enough! Do you still take me, the emperor, seriously? Just by making a bet, do you think you can dispatch troops without my permission? Do you think I'm dead?" Yelu Zongzhen roared angrily.

Yelu Chongyuan and Yelu Hongji quarreled almost every day.

This troubled Yelu Zongzhen so much that he seemed to age much older as a result.

Yelu Zongzhen thought for a moment and said sternly, "Yelu Chongyuan, tomorrow you will go to the border. You only need to defend, not attack. If the other side attacks tentatively, don't make a big deal out of it. If you can calm it down, calm it down. Don't create chaos. If a war breaks out because of your mistake, I will punish you severely, and even hand you over to the Song people again to avoid a war!"

"I obey your command!" Yelu Chongyuan bowed.

"Yelü Hongji, I will give you another 6,000 Pishi troops, in addition to the 10,000 troops you have. You must wipe out the rebellion of the Shengnuzhen within two months. If you fail to do so, I will remove you from your position as the Grand Marshal of the Army!"

"Your son obeys your command!" Yelu Hongji also bowed heavily.

call!
Yelu Zongzhen took a long breath, looked down, and asked, "Do you have any objections?"

"Your Majesty is wise and I second the motion!" all Liao officials said in unison.

These Liao officials can now only say "second the motion".

There is no reward if you say it right, but you will be scolded if you say it wrong.

Yelu Zongzhen's temper was really bad, and the officials had all learned to be very smooth-talking and were all waiting to see how to take sides.

"Go away! Go away!" Yelu Zongzhen waved his hands helplessly.

In recent years, Yelu Zongzhen has been in a bad mood.

He believed that his governing ability was quite good, but ever since the Song Dynasty's reforms, the Liao Kingdom had been inferior to the Song Dynasty in every way and had been on a downward trend.

But there was nothing he could do.

Learning from the Song Dynasty's reforms had proven to be a wrong approach, so he could only pin his hopes on training troops to revive Liao.

To this end, he did not hesitate to make the people of Liao suffer further. He increased agricultural and commercial taxes twice last year, and in May this year, he planned to increase them again.

……

March 3rd, the spring is bright.

Outside Nanxun Gate, the willow trees are green and lush.

And at this time.

Under a willow tree outside the city, there was a soldier standing every three hundred meters.

This was specially set up by Kaifeng Prefecture and the Imperial City Administration.

"Liu" sounds like "stay", so many people like to break off willow branches when bidding farewell to friends in spring.

So much so that every early March, when the willow trees should be at their most beautiful, they are bald due to the people seeing them off.

In order to protect the city image of Bianjing, Bao Zheng ordered a ban on breaking willow branches.

If someone insists on picking willow branches to say farewell, then we should send them off for more than ten miles. There are willow trees on the official road more than ten miles away, and you can pick any from them. But you cannot pick a single willow branch from the willows outside Nanxun Gate.

at this time.

Suddenly, a horse galloped towards the Nanxun Gate at high speed, and the bells on the horse rang loudly.

The man on the horse is a postman.

There is a colorful feather inserted in its neck, and a wooden plaque with red paint and gold characters hanging around its neck.

As he ran, he shouted, "Urgent news from the Northwest Army, disperse quickly! Urgent news from the Northwest Army, disperse quickly!"

This is the fastest postman used by the Song Dynasty to transmit military intelligence - the Jijiaodi.

The courier will rush to the Forbidden City at a very fast speed, and the military information it conveys will be delivered directly to Zhao Zhen.

And this moment.

In the Censorate, Su Liang, who was reading the imperial report, felt his eyelids twitching and he felt uneasy. He always felt that there was a bad omen.

About a quarter of an hour later.

He Tan, the head of the Censorate, walked quickly to Su Liang and said with red eyes, "Jingming, urgent military information from the northwest. Lord Fan died of a cold in Qinzhou. The Qiang bandits looted Xihe Town, causing nearly a thousand casualties."

Hear this.

Su Liang suddenly collapsed in his chair, tears welling up in his eyes.

The northwestern pillar of the Song Dynasty fell.

The model of scholar-official who truly "worried about the world before worrying about himself, and was happy about the world after being happy about himself" fell.

The most outstanding civil and military figure of the time, the first-rate figure who supported the world, the teacher in the hearts of countless scholars, officials and students, has fallen.

Su Liang choked up and said, "Last month...last month, he wrote to me and said he was in very good health. How...how...just..."

Su Liang burst into tears and was too sad to speak.

Today is a day of great sorrow for all those who have learned of this tragic news.

(End of this chapter)