Became a feudal lord in the late Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 253 Five Ways into the Central Plains

In May, the Yongxing Military Road of the Song Dynasty was filled with enthusiasm. The peach blossoms bloomed and withered, and another summer was about to come.

Summer is generally not conducive to expeditions. Weather plays a huge role in ancient wars. Continuous rainstorms and scorching heat will be unfavorable factors. However, the Song Dynasty court still had no hesitation in deploying troops from all parties to fight this battle. No matter what, Zhang Xiaochun, a "new vassal town", must be killed in Hebei.

But no one in the court mentioned that a few years ago, there was a person who was more powerful than Zhang Xiaochun - now he is based on Yanyun and dominates.

Liu Ling spread his hands, and the soldiers on both sides quickly put on the black armor for him. There was originally a more sophisticated set of armor, but it was gilded. Liu Ling disliked it being too conspicuous on the battlefield, so he simply didn't wear it. wear.

Anyway, as long as Da Bao is there, the soldiers will know where he is.

Shi Liai stood in front of him, watching the soldiers help Liu Ling put on his armor. Liu Ling moved his arms slightly, and the armor on his body made a slight friction sound; Shi Liai looked at the King of Han in front of him, and vaguely remembered the heroic general who stood in front of him a few years ago.

Now, Yingwu has turned calm, and the King of Han is as powerful as a mountain. He slowly sits on the chair. Shi Liai comes back to his senses and bows to salute.

"According to the order of the Lord, seven thousand soldiers of Li Liangfu of Yunzhong Lulong Army, eight thousand soldiers of Liang Zhe of Victory Army, twelve thousand soldiers of Quduan Army of Anxi Army, eight thousand soldiers of Yelu Dashi of Tiande Army, Yandi Town The Northern Army had nine thousand soldiers, making a total of 46,000 soldiers;
Xia general Li Heda sent 20,000 reinforcements and returned to the king's command.

Recruited 150,000 auxiliary soldiers and civilians from Yunzhong and Heishan Town's Western Military Division and grassland ministries to maintain local support;
At this point, a total of five troops went south. "

The Nine Thousand Zhenbei Army was Liu Ling's headquarters. He was stationed in the central army and would not go into battle easily. Therefore, Shi Liai counted the Xia general Li Heda as one of his troops before the Song people started fighting. , as Liu Ling's order was passed on, most of the tribal cities within more than 400 miles of Xia Di surrendered, which opened the road to the northwest of the Song Dynasty.

The content of the remonstrance of Han Fang and other ministers was not disclosed, but their initiative to remonstrate this time was widely publicized, which caused some inconspicuous commotion.

Transforming the power of a vassal town into a serious imperial court is definitely not something that can be changed by just sitting on the throne, because there will inevitably be frequent power reorganizations and divisions. Some people will have their power reduced, and some people will have their power reduced. People will suddenly gain higher power.

The administrative model of the Han Dynasty was actually similar to that of a vassal town from the beginning. The King of Han always acted arbitrarily, but he was able to directly control most of his armies. Even though these armies were full of factions, he was still able to turn these tiger and wolf-like soldiers in the end. for one's own use,

"Converting a family into a country is just a name change for Gu, but how many subjects and soldiers does the Han have now? Can they change this idea immediately?"

A group of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister Han Fang, jointly signed a secret petition not long ago, hoping to persuade the King of Han to reduce the scale of the war or not start the war at all, and take advantage of the civil strife in the Song Dynasty to recuperate.

There is no doubt that this will be a big war, and it will be a small one. The national power of the Han Dynasty continues to skyrocket, but compared with the Song Dynasty, its size is still too small, and the latter only has more troops.

Bordering the Xia Kingdom was the Yongxing Military Road of the Song Dynasty. To the south of the Yongxing Military Road was the so-called Guanzhong.

The reason why it is said to be inconspicuous is that there can only be one reason for this kind of commotion: everyone thought that the King of Han was not as tough as before, but then, all the forces in the four hundred miles of Xia Di surrendered because of a royal order. , which made everyone see the majesty of King Han again.

The royal family and relatives may be knocked down to dust in one day, while the grass and grass may turn into dragons and soar into the sky.

But what remains unchanged is: everyone loves power, those who have less power will be resentful, and those who suddenly gain more power will only want more. From the beginning, Liu Ling has carried out his idea of ​​being able to act arbitrarily to every aspect. His reputation and power as King of Han must be recognized by everyone.

And if he wants to establish a healthy and functioning court, he must decentralize more power, but this move will be considered by some people as being weak, and will instead cause unrest. Simply using the system to force reforms will lead to turmoil, and using ideas to change the minds of people below is even more nonsense.

In this era, most people don't have enough to eat. Liu Ling allowed the common people of Yanyun to have one or two full meals a day, and he reached his current status with their desperate support. But why do the people of Yanyun praise him?
Because Liu Ling represents their interests, every time there is a great victory, a huge amount of money and food will be sent to Yan Yun to provide blood transfusions to the latter.

The current Han army is highly disciplined and hardly harasses the people. This is not because the soldiers really know how to pity the people, but because the food, salary and treatment given by Liu Ling are always the best, and most of them have deep roots. They all fall in Yanyun. As long as the surrounding conditions are rich enough, it is impossible for normal people to plunder their hometown.

Shi Liai has been an official in the Liao Kingdom for decades, and has followed Liu Ling all the way to the present. He actually sees things more clearly than Liu Ling.

But what made him even more impressed with Liu Ling was that sitting on the Dragon Throne was the ultimate in wealth and wealth in a person's life. I don't know how many people in history would rather risk beheading to enjoy that moment of sitting on the Dragon Throne, and Liu Ling was able to resist this temptation and insisted on slowing down the process.

Shi Liai opened his mouth and said: "Officials everywhere may be easy to talk to, but most of the soldiers below are ignorant warriors, and they may not understand the King's good intentions. However, Yan people are upright, and they are usually brave and aggressive. As long as they are given For their kindness, they can repay each other with death. This is called the generous people of Yan and Zhao.

However, if the king really wants to be patient and educate these people, I am afraid it will not be completed in three to five years. Many subsequent rules, official systems and even military systems will have to be changed accordingly. In fact, there is a ready-made one right now. look. "

"Da Song?"

Liu Ling laughed and said, "If you really want to learn from the Song Dynasty, wouldn't you be abandoning your martial arts skills?"

"The Song Dynasty has many shortcomings, none of which is redundant officials. Your Majesty may be disdainful of them now, but if this time we break through the Yongxing military route, fight all the way to Chang'an, and hold Guanzhong in our hands, thousands of miles away from the north to the south, then the Song Dynasty's redundant You will have to deal with official maladies when the time comes.”

Shi Liai paused and added: "I think we can let Han Fang and others make plans and discussions in advance. Anyway, they are sitting in the rear at this time, and it is useless to be idle."

"Okay."

Liu Ling lowered his head and thought for a while, then agreed to Shi Liai's proposal.

"However, Shi Gong is already old. If you are not in good health, how about I leave you to sit in the rear of Yinzhou this time?"

Shi Liai shook his head and replied: "I am still healthy. I can ride my horse to follow the king and see what Chang'an City looks like that can only be seen in the history books. When I think of this, I feel more energetic."

Liu Ling smiled and said: "Although we want to capture Guanzhong this time, Chang'an is at the southernmost part of the Yongxing Military Road. It means that our army has to penetrate the entire Yongxing Military Road. It is too difficult and dangerous, and we may not be able to see it. arrive."

"How about I make a bet with the king?"

"bet?"

"I bet that within three months the king will be able to take control of Guanzhong and dominate the Central Plains!"

(End of this chapter)