Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 475 Han Zhang's Analysis

"Your Majesty, urgent news from the north."

In Longtu Pavilion, Zhao Xing was reviewing notes when a eunuch hurried in holding a bamboo tube.

Sanshui hurried forward, took the bamboo tube, checked it, opened it, took out the urgent report inside, and handed it to Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing took it, opened it and started reading. When he saw the contents, his brows frowned.

"What a fool!"

After reading the content, Zhao Xing started cursing.

The urgent report was sent by Duke Ying, saying that Yelu Chongyuan was ambushed and killed by his son Nerugu.

Nerugu surrendered to Yelu Yixin and recruited the remaining troops and tribes of the grassland from Yelu Chongyuan.

After Yelu Yixin annexed Yelu Chongyuan's troops, his strength increased greatly.

Now the civil unrest in Liao is about to be quelled.

Empress Dowager Xiao's group relied on Shangjing City and was unable to resist Yelu Yixin at all.

Although Shangjing City was a large city with nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses, and sufficient food and grass, Yelu Yixin and Yelu Chongyuan were different.

Yelu Yixin has been operating for so long, and he has many confidants inside the city, not just those who are visible on the surface, but also who knows how many there are in secret.

After pacifying Yelu Chongyuan, the next step is to get rid of Empress Dowager Xiao. Whether he uses the emperor to control the princes or directly ascends the throne and becomes emperor, the civil strife in the Liao Kingdom can be pacified in no time.

Although the Liao Dynasty had been in chaos for so long and was seriously damaged, once the civil strife was quelled, there would be no problem for the Liao Dynasty to interfere with the construction of the Great Wall by the Song Dynasty.

Yelu Chongyuan, this idiot, deserves death.

If he was a little smarter, even if he was not a match for Yelu Yixin, as long as he existed, Yelu Yixin would have some reservations and would not necessarily provoke the Song Dynasty.

"Call all the ministers and heads of departments to discuss the matter!" Zhao Xing ordered.

"Yes!"

Sanshui responded and hurried downstairs to arrange for someone to summon him.

"One third of the Great Wall has been built, and the rest will be completed by the middle of next year at the latest. How can we delay?" Zhao Xing murmured.

Last year, progress was a bit slow because there were so many things to prepare.

The construction speed will be much faster from now on, and it will definitely be completed next year. Before that, we have to find a way to stabilize the Liao Kingdom.

After about an incense stick of time, Han Zhang and others arrived one after another.

Zhao Xing asked someone to pass the urgent report to them for review. After they finished reading it, he said, "You have read it all. Tell me, what should we do next?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked thoughtful and kept silent.

This matter is entirely the Liao Kingdom's business, and things have come to this point, there is simply no way out.

Unless the Song Dynasty sends troops to delay Yelu Yixin's attack on the capital.

But this is not very realistic. After all, the situation now is different from when Yelu Chongyuan was still alive.

When Yelu Chongyuan was alive, he had a lot of soldiers and horses on the grassland.

If Yelu Yixin wanted to wipe out the rebellion, it would not only require a large number of troops but also a long time.

But now Yelu Yixin has annexed Yelu Chongyuan's troops. Even if the Song Dynasty sends troops, Yelu Yixin can besiege Shangjing while dividing his troops to stop the Song Dynasty.

In this case, the Song Dynasty could only break the siege if it really captured a few cities of the Liao Kingdom.

It was not enough to just lift the siege, because most of the Liao army was in Yelu Yixin's hands. As long as the Song Dynasty withdrew its troops, Empress Xiao's side would still not be a match for Yelu Yixin.

In other words, if the Song Dynasty wanted to send troops, it would have to really fight a war with the Liao Kingdom. It could not fight for a while and then withdraw, but had to really fight a long-term war with the Liao Kingdom.

If this is really the case, then why build the Great Wall?
"Sir, please tell me." Zhao Xing said. Although he was a little angry with Han Zhang, it was undeniable that Han Zhang was still capable in military affairs.

In fact, people like Han Zhang can govern the local area and can be used as a counselor, but they are not suitable to be a general.

Take the Three Kingdoms period for example, a large number of counselors emerged, these counselors made suggestions and formulated strategies, and the generals implemented them according to their plans.

From this perspective, it seems that these counselors can fully serve as commanders, and the existence of military generals is somewhat redundant.

But in fact, strategy and commanding a war are two completely different things.

Counsellors plan the overall situation, while military generals command local wars.

To give a simple example, the counselor decides which city to attack and what the benefits and strategic significance of capturing it will be.

Military generals don't need to think about these things, they just need to think about how to capture the city.

Of course, many commanders also have a sense of the overall situation.

Generally speaking, counselors make plans and generals execute them.

Being able to formulate a plan does not necessarily mean that one can command troops to execute the plan.

To put it simply, it is the difference between paper talk and military action.

"Your Majesty, unless the Song Dynasty is willing to go to war with the Liao Kingdom now, there is no good way to stop it. The best we can do is delay it, which is meaningless."

Han Zhang paused and continued, "But I think Your Majesty doesn't need to worry too much."

"Oh?"

Zhao Xing said, "Tell me in detail why there is no need to worry."

"Although Empress Dowager Xiao is no match for Yelu Yixin, she is not a fool. Seeing that things are hopeless, she will most likely flee with the young emperor of Liao," said Han Zhang.

"Ok?"

Zhao Xing was startled and asked in surprise, "My Lord, you are accepting Empress Dowager Xiao and the young emperor of Liao?"

"No!"

Han Zhang smiled and said, "If the Song Dynasty accepts it, Yelu Yixin will definitely not give up, and war will surely break out in the north. Moreover, Shangjing is farther from the Song Dynasty than from Xixia and Hehuang. I think if Empress Xiao wants to escape, she will also escape to Xixia and Hehuang. The possibility of Xixia is not high, and the possibility of Hehuang is the highest."

Zhao Xing was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said, "Although what the Grand Master said makes sense, Dong Zhen may not accept Empress Dowager Xiao."

Regardless of whether Empress Xiao entered Hehuang or Xixia, Yelu Yixin would force them to hand over the prisoners.

If he went to Western Xia, he would most likely be used as a bargaining chip by Western Xia in exchange for the grassland that was taken away by the Liao Kingdom.

Even if Western Xia did not do so, it would not accept Empress Dowager Xiao and would come into conflict with the Liao Kingdom.

Empress Dowager Xiao must have known this, so Han Zhang said that it was more likely that Empress Dowager Xiao fled to Hehuang.

But although Dong Jian married a princess of Liao, he could not afford to offend Liao, so how could he accept Empress Dowager Xiao?

"Your Majesty and I have a different opinion. Dong Jian is likely to accept Empress Dowager Xiao and others." Han Zhang said.

Zhao Xing pondered for a while and said uncertainly, "My Lord, are you saying that Dong Jian wants to use Empress Dowager Xiao and others to expand his territory towards the Liao Kingdom?"

"Not bad!"

Han Zhang nodded and said, "Hehuang is sandwiched between the Song Dynasty, Xixia and Liao. In addition to these three countries, it is also connected to the plateau. If you want to expand your territory, you must either attack one of the three countries or return to the plateau. But in that case, you will still face the same situation as before. When you are defeated by Xixia, it will be difficult for the Song Dynasty to send troops to help.

There must be people in the Liao Kingdom who are loyal to Empress Dowager Xiao and the young emperor. Given their status, Dong Zhen can fully take advantage of this and seize part of the Liao Kingdom's territory.

After all, Yelu Yixin was a traitor and needed to stabilize the internal situation, which gave Dong Jian an opportunity to take advantage of. "

(End of this chapter)