The prince is more stable

Chapter 1010 The Veteran General of the Zhe Family
To guard against the Western Xia, the Song Dynasty stationed troops on the northwestern border many years ago, with a permanent garrison of about 200,000 soldiers.

This border army can be said to be the core force of the Song Dynasty. In terms of combat strength and combat experience, they are more abundant than the troops of the Palace Guard in Bianjing.

Throughout history, the most elite armies have often been border troops.

The current commander of the northwestern border of the Great Song Dynasty is Zhang Jie, who commands 200,000 troops.

Zhao Xiaoqian had dealt with Zhang Jie before, and he knew that this old general was a loyal man to the court. Therefore, when he ascended the throne, he not only did not replace the old general, but also rewarded him with honors and bestowed upon him a noble title.

In the six months since his ascension to the throne, under Zhao Xiaoqian's orders, 200,000 border troops in the northwest began to be equipped with firearms. Generals were transferred from Bianjing to the northwest to train the soldiers on how to use firearms, how to arrange new formations with firearms, and how to annihilate the enemy on the battlefield with military formations.

Training and drills is a very long process, let alone teaching 200,000 soldiers at the same time.

Therefore, in the more than half a year since Zhao Xiaoqian ascended the throne, the Northwest Army has had no combat missions and has been practicing firearms. Moreover, more than half a year is not enough time for them to form a strong fighting force.

This is why Zhao Xiaoqian preferred to transfer troops from Bianjing (Kaifeng) rather than use the Northwest Army, which was very close to Western Xia, in this war to destroy Western Xia.

With insufficient training in firearms and troop formations, and without the formation of combat effectiveness, sending 200,000 soldiers to the front lines inevitably resulted in unnecessary casualties.

Therefore, Zhao Xiaoqian only ordered the Northwest Army to play a supporting role this time, while letting Zhong Jianzhong's troops in Bianjing play the main role.

Until today, Zhong Jianzhong finally realized that his 60,000 troops were somewhat insufficient.

He needed to control the western front of Western Xia and the Silk Road, and he couldn't let the Liao army gain an advantage in Xingqing, the capital of Western Xia. He needed to send troops to both ends, but his 60,000 troops were obviously too few.

An urgent military report requesting reinforcements was sent to Zhang Jie, the commander of the Northwest Army in Xiazhou City.

Zhong Jianzhong requested Zhang Jie to send troops westward, entrusting Zhang Jie with the important task of controlling the Silk Road. Zhong Jianzhong, on the other hand, led his 60,000 soldiers straight to Xingqing Prefecture. He wanted to take down the capital of Western Xia before the Liao army arrived in Xingqing Prefecture.

Moreover, Zhong Jianzhong had made preparations. After the Song army captured the capital of Western Xia, the Liao army, in a fit of rage, might turn against the Song army at any time. Zhong Jianzhong also had to urgently construct a defensive line so that the Song army could still win a decisive victory even if the Liao army turned against them.

As for the Western Xia army, their combat strength was negligible, and Zhong Jianzhong didn't care.

It was not that we underestimated the enemy, but rather that since Zhong Jianzhong led his troops into Western Xia, the fighting strength of the Western Xia army that our army had encountered was truly pathetic.

The Western Xia army was also composed of multiple ethnic groups, mainly the Dangxiang Qiang people, but also included many Khitans, Uyghurs, and even Tibetans.

Regardless of their ethnicity, they could only fight with cold weapons. Under the crushing force of firearms, these armies could not withstand more than three volleys. After three volleys, the enemy's formation began to falter and they began to flee. After two more volleys, the order to advance was given, and the Western Xia army fled in large numbers.

This war was completely unexpected by Li Qianshun, the ruler of Western Xia.

During the Song-Xia War, Zhao Xiaoqian led 5,000 light cavalry to sweep across the territory of Western Xia, captured their capital, and took countless Western Xia officials prisoner. In the end, during the negotiations between the two countries, he even poisoned Empress Dowager Xiao Liang.

Do not underestimate these past actions. In fact, Western Xia has not yet recovered its strength. Li Qianshun was a capable ruler. After ascending the throne, he knew that he could no longer compete with the Song Dynasty militarily. Therefore, he decisively decided to close the country off and focus on internal affairs. In terms of diplomacy, he has been struggling to survive between the Song and Liao dynasties.

Unfortunately, Li Qianshun was still young and failed to see the true nature of the relationship between countries.

It's not that by closing the country off from the world, avoiding offending either side in diplomacy, and being extremely respectful to both the Song and Liao dynasties, one's country can continue to develop peacefully.

He was so wrong.

When a great power has the strength to annex another country, it will never talk about benevolence and morality with it; the so-called "non-aggression pact" is just a worthless piece of paper.

As the military strength of the Song Dynasty grew stronger, the demise of the Western Xia Dynasty was inevitable.

…………

Xiazhou City, Northwest Army Commander's Tent.

Before the war, Zhang Jie lived in the city, where he had his own official residence.

Officials and soldiers in the Northwest all called him "Commander Zhang," and even Zhao Xiaoqian often referred to him as "Commander Zhang" or "Bian Commander" in the memorials he reviewed.

However, Zhang Jie did hold an official position; his formal title was "Commissioner of Huanqing Road".

Huanqing Road was located in the northwest of the Song Dynasty, roughly corresponding to the area of ​​Gansu and Qinghai in later times.

When the imperial court suddenly decided to ally with the Liao Dynasty and launch a war to destroy the Western Xia, Zhang Jie, who was far away in the northwest, was so happy that he didn't sleep for a day and a night. He immediately summoned his generals to a meeting and even made arrangements for the strategy and tactics, the direction of attack, and the strategic objectives of destroying the Western Xia.

To everyone's surprise, the imperial court decided to destroy Western Xia, but instead of using the Northwest Army, it directly transferred the Imperial Guards from Bianjing. Moreover, the appointed commander was not him, but a fellow named Zhong Jianzhong.

Zhang Jie was suddenly doused with a bucket of cold water, feeling completely chilled. As a veteran commander who had guarded the border for many years, Zhang Jie was naturally unwilling to accept this, so he submitted a memorial to the throne, striving to regain the position of commander-in-chief and requesting to make contributions to the Song Dynasty.

He submitted several memorials, but they were ultimately rejected by the emperor.

The Emperor's tone was very tactful and gentle, mostly consisting of soothing words. He said that the Northwest Army's firearms training was insufficient and it could not form a combat force. He also said that Commander Zhang was getting old and his body might not be able to support the campaign. In recent years, the court has been focusing on cultivating young generals. He said that Commander Zhang should be mindful of the bigger picture and give the young people more opportunities.

Zhang Jie was deeply dissatisfied, but ultimately had no choice but to obey the imperial decree, ordering his Northwest Army to continue training and also dispatching troops to patrol the borders of the Song, Liao, and Xia kingdoms, clearing the perimeter of the battlefield for Zhong Jianzhong's forces so that he could focus on providing support.

This year, Zhang Jie is almost seventy years old. He is indeed a veteran general. He is getting on in years and was originally unwilling to admit that he was old. However, after being comforted by the emperor many times, Zhang Jie finally felt the vicissitudes of "a hero in his twilight years".

At this age, he can no longer deny his age. Zhang Jie has even decided that after the court destroys the Western Xia, he will submit a memorial to the emperor to resign from his official post and return to his hometown in Fujian to enjoy his old age.

Just as he was lamenting, "Since ancient times, beauties and famous generals are not allowed to grow old in the world," a fast horseman rushed into the Northwest Army camp.

The frontline commander, Zhong Jianzhong, urgently requested reinforcements, asking Zhang Jie to mobilize troops from the northwest to advance on the western front of Western Xia, wipe out all cities and tribes in northern Western Xia, and completely control the Silk Road.

Zhang Jie was overjoyed upon hearing the news. He had been disheartened, thinking that he and the Northwest Army were just spectators in this war of national annihilation. Unexpectedly, he received a pleasant surprise, and the Northwest Army had another opportunity to send troops and make contributions.

Zhang Jie immediately beat the drum to gather his generals. After three drumbeats, all the generals in the command tent had arrived. After learning the details, the generals from the Northwest were all beaming with joy and eager to seize the opportunity to lead their troops into battle.

Zhang Jie also had a smile on his face. This opportunity had fallen from the sky without any warning, but it just happened.

"The Northwest Army has 200,000 troops, which cannot all be mobilized. I have decided to send 100,000 troops to clear out the northern cities and tribes of Western Xia. The rest of the troops will remain stationed in the cities of the Northwest to guard against a surprise attack from Liao and Xia..." Zhang Jie stroked his beard and said in a deep voice.

The generals felt a chill in their hearts. Sending out 100,000 troops meant that their chances of leading the army were only fifty-fifty. Everyone was competing, and the process was bound to be extremely fierce.

Among the crowd of generals, an old general stepped forward first, clasped his hands in a fist and shouted, "Reporting to Commander Zhang, this humble general requests to fight!"

Everyone was startled and stared intently, then fell silent.

This veteran was also a famous general; his name was Zhe Kexing.

Judging from his surname, you can tell that he is a genuine general of the Zhe family army. Moreover, he has another identity: he is the uncle of Zhe Keshi, a border general in Youzhou.

After Zhe Kexing finished speaking, the command tent fell silent. This veteran general of the Zhe family army was highly respected and had made many meritorious contributions in guarding the northwest border for many years. He volunteered for the battle, and no one had anything to say or the right to argue with him.

Zhang Jie's lips curled into a smile, but before he could finish speaking, another person suddenly stepped out from inside the tent.

"Reporting to Commander Zhang, this humble general also requests to join the battle!"

The generals looked again, but the tent was silent once more.

The person who stepped forward this time was still surnamed Zhe, named Zhe Kerou. He was also a veteran, even older than Zhe Kexing. He was the eldest brother of the Zhe family in this generation and the uncle of Zhe Keshi, a border general in Youzhou.

Although the Zhe family were Tanguts, they had served the Song Dynasty on the frontier for generations. As early as the reign of Emperor Renzong, the court attached great importance to the Zhe family and allowed them to "hereditarily serve on the frontier."

Zhe Kerou's generation, the "Ke" generation, consisted of six brothers. Some died in battle, while others died young. Zhe Keshi's father, Zhe Kejun, died young. Zhe Keshi lost his father at a young age and was raised by several uncles.

At this moment, two famous generals from the Zhe family stepped forward inside the command tent, and the rest of the generals were immediately disheartened.

How can we even argue about this?
These two are veterans who are highly regarded and have volunteered to play, so there's basically no chance for anyone else.

Looking at the two veteran generals, both in their fifties and sixties, Zhang Jie smiled and said, "It is commendable that you two brothers volunteer for battle, but you are both in your fifties. Leading an army of 100,000 to fight is probably..."

Zhe Kerou, the eldest of the Zhe family's Ke generation, was furious. Although he was not young, he still had a very fiery temper and was most susceptible to being provoked; he would explode at the slightest provocation.

"How dare you underestimate me, Commander Zhang!" Zhe Kerou said angrily. "Although I am nearly sixty, I can still draw a five-stone bow, eat three dou of food a day, and still have the strength to lift a cauldron. I am not senile either. How can I not lead troops or go into battle?"

The younger brother Zhe Kexing chimed in, "That's right. If Commander Zhang doesn't believe me, any of the generals here can pick one out and fight us brothers. Whoever wins goes up. Who dares to accept the challenge?"

The two brothers swept their eyes across the tent, and all the generals turned their heads away, avoiding their murderous gazes.

No, no, you two are amazing, I won't argue with you.

Zhang Jie saw the reactions of everyone in the tent and couldn't help but sigh.

It seems that only these two veteran generals from the Zhe family are usable. If we ignore their requests to fight and appoint other generals instead, these two veterans will tear them to pieces.

(End of this chapter)