Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 187 The Stubborn Fan Zhongyan
Zhao Xin knew that people like Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi all had their own ideas.

Once they have determined something, you cannot pull it back even if you use ten oxen to pull it.

to be frank!
Zhao Xin actually didn't have to play with them.

However, besides them, there are only a few people in the Song Dynasty who can really get things done.

You let Xia Song go?
Apart from taking the money given by his father and rewarding the soldiers generously, Xia Song could do nothing else.

or……

He could also directly bypass Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi and command Di Qing and others.

But now, these two people are at least ministers of state. If you don’t convince them, they will knock on your door sooner or later.

The bad news is that home is really outside.

In order to encourage Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi to speak actively, Zhao Xin also said: "Just think that the Song Dynasty has a tyrant emperor who insists on attacking Xixia. You should attack in a way that causes the least loss. What do you think, how should we attack?"

"The prerequisite is that we cannot stand still and run away after just one blow. The highest goal is to destroy Xixia, and the lowest goal is to at least capture a few cities."

"We also have to take the influence of the Liao Kingdom into consideration."

"If the Liao Kingdom mediates, what will be the response?"

"What I need is positive feedback, not saying it can't be done before it's even done."

"If everyone says it can't be done, then let's just not do it."

Fan Zhongyan also said: "But this thing can't be done."

This Fan Zhongyan is even more irritating than Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xin pointed at Fan Zhongyan and said, "Fan Zhongyan, if you do this again, I will remove you from your position as Vice Minister."

Fan Zhongyan continued, "Even if I were dismissed from my position as Vice Minister, I still think that we should not attack Xixia."

Zhao Xin took a deep breath and said, "I asked you to think of a solution! I didn't ask you to fight!"

Fan Zhongyan said, "Just thinking about it? If you think about it, Your Highness will want to fight."

Zhao Xin: "So what you mean is that you are no longer willing to give advice to the court?"

Fan Zhongyan said, "I am also giving advice to the court. Please allow me to say something unpleasant. Your Highness Prince Yu is still young and does not know the strength of Western Xia. Now that peace has finally been achieved, the two countries should continue to maintain peace. How can we provoke trouble again?"

"Your Highness, Prince Yu, please think about the people of the world. War is not a joke."

Zhao Xin was too lazy to talk nonsense with him.

Zhao Xin: "Are you really unwilling to give any advice?"

Fan Zhongyan bowed but said nothing.

Zhao Xin looked at Han Qi again.

Han Qi pulled Fan Zhongyan.

It seems to be saying, Lao Fan, there is no need, we are just giving some advice, and when the time comes, whether to fight or not is still up to the government, right?

of course!

Judging from recent rumors, the government basically doesn't care about anything anymore.

To be precise, he ignored the big matters and left them all to His Royal Highness Prince Yu, who only took care of some trivial matters.

But as a subject, one cannot be so stubborn as to be too lazy to make a decision.

Perhaps because he had been scolded by Zhao Xin once, Han Qi was still a little alert.

I know I can't make things too awkward.

Seeing that the atmosphere had become so tense, Ouyang Xiu also said, "Your Highness Prince Yu, I want to say something!"

Zhao Xin said, "Speak!"

Ouyang Xiu said, "In fact, I also think that we should not take the initiative to provoke Xixia. However, I think it is definitely right to prepare first. Even if we don't implement it, at least we have to have a plan. Mr. Fan is too stubborn. How can he not even make up his mind? In fact, His Royal Highness Prince Yu is a good man."

At the end, Ouyang Xiu added a clever sentence.

Then Cai Xiang and others also said: "Prince Yu knows the problems of the people that Prime Minister Fan is concerned about better than anyone else. When he was on a field trip, Prince Yu was most concerned about the people. Although it is a war, Prince Yu will definitely not ignore the people on the border."

"Yes! His Highness Prince Yu sighed every time he saw the displaced people."

Fan Zhongyan said: "Then your highness should know that this battle cannot be started."

Zhao Xin sat back in his seat and said, "Someone, get Fan Zhongyan out."

Only Han Qi was left standing there.

It's not right to go, and it's not right not to go.

Because to some extent, he and Fan Zhongyan are actually in the same group.

If I don't leave now, my reputation will be ruined after today.

Thinking of this...

Han Qi said, "Your Highness Prince Yu, I will go and persuade him."

Zhao Xin said, "No need. We have different ideals and cannot work together. Do you also want to learn from Fan Zhongyan?" Han Qi: "This..."

Zhao Xin: "Then tell me your suggestions. How to get money, how to get food, where to attack, how to conduct diplomacy with Liao."

Han Qi said: "I need some time."

He just wanted to leave early.

in fact……

Han Qi knew it.

The Song Dynasty could never defeat the Western Xia.

It’s okay to defend the city.

Field battle? Two legs, how to fight four legs?

The key point is that Western Xia is extremely poor, and it would not make much sense if you conquer it.

In fact, he was once a passionate young man and had a dream of conquering the Wolf's Lair and attacking the Yellow Dragon. However, this dream was shattered seven or eight years ago.

It is better for people to face the reality.

Don't dream impossible dreams.

It can be said……

Han Qi has grown a lot in the past seven or eight years.

Seeing that the other party said that it would take some time, Zhao Xin couldn't refuse to give him time, right?
Then he said: "Then I will give you three months!"

That’s kind and righteous enough!
Han Qi then said, "Your Highness, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

Zhao Xin: "Let's go."

After the two of them left, Zhao Xin felt a little better.

Then...

Start discussing what was said before.

Zhao Xin spoke first and told his plan.

"If we attack Liao first, Liao will definitely bring in Xixia as an ally to attack us from both sides, which will be disadvantageous to us."

"We can only attack Xixia first, and then Liao will definitely mediate. Therefore, we must be quick in destroying cities and strongholds."

"I plan to expand the territory of the Song Dynasty to the north, first to the Hengshan area, and to the west, to the Tiandu Mountain."

"North of Hengshan is a vast desert. Even for Xixia itself, it would be difficult to transport food and fodder from here."

"There is a salt pond near Tiandu Mountain. It is said that it can produce salt worth 140,000 or 150,000 strings of cash every month. This can cut off the economy of Western Xia. At the same time, it can also supplement ours. Moreover, Tiandu Mountain is very close to their capital. This is like planting a nail in their heart."

"After conquering the places, we must quickly build more forts, as long as we can conquer all these places."

"Western Xia's territory and economy will be greatly affected."

“That’s our goal in the first phase.”

"I can only say... it won't be easy. I'm afraid we'll have to fight several battles at least. Moreover, the enemy is likely to gather all the troops in the country, which is estimated to be hundreds of thousands."

"So in order to avoid being outnumbered, we must...form good cooperation and communication with the Northwest Army of the Song Dynasty."

"With less than 3,000 of us, it would be difficult to accomplish anything without their help. Moreover, we need them to send people to garrison and build castles in the places we conquer."

"After we defeat Xixia, we will turn around and slowly negotiate with Liao. By the way, we will see if we can find an opportunity to recover the seven states of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in Hebei."

"Whether it's fighting Xixia or Liao, a large number of war horses are needed."

"So in the next four years, we will buy a large number of war horses and pack horses from Tibet and the people."

"As for money, the cotton and silk from Xuchang and Nanyang are enough to pay for the purchase of horses."

"For food, we can use the Northwest Army nearby. We only have 3,000 people. Even if we add auxiliary troops, there will definitely not be much more."

"Next, I will have them start farming to prepare food and fodder for the war..."

In fact, Zhao Xin still wants to recruit some more people.

only……

He can't afford to support others with three thousand.

If I recruit again...

After thinking about it, Zhao Xin gritted his teeth and decided to recruit another 500 people.

Let's see if there are two sharpshooters among these five hundred people. He will give them the rifles equipped with Minié bullets.

See if you can set an ambush in the deep mountain canyons.

Or when facing a battle, you can specifically kill the key figures of the opposing team.

(End of this chapter)