The prince is more stable

Chapter 206: Order to plunder
The strategies Zhao Xiaoqian proposed were actually nothing brilliant; they were all old tricks written in military strategies.

But his brilliance lies in that every word he said was an open conspiracy that could be told to the enemy with openness.

Open conspiracy is the most difficult to solve.

The Song army is besieging Yanzhou. Will you rescue it? If not, I will attack your Xixia capital.

The Song army abandoned Yanzhou and scattered, killing and burning everywhere in your Western Xia territory, harassing cities, villages and tribes. Will you pursue them? If not, I will rape and plunder, and make your Western Xia country a mess.

If you want to pursue us, my Song army will split into seven, eight, or even more than ten small units. How can you pursue us? Besides splitting up, how else can we pursue us?
Five thousand musketeers entered the territory of Western Xia and committed crimes that were even more heinous. Will you fight them?
If ten or twenty thousand of them were assembled, five thousand musketeers could easily destroy them. If they were equipped with war horses and high mobility, I could fight all the way to Ganzhou and Suzhou to the west of Western Xia.

You are furious and have once again gathered hundreds of thousands of troops to encircle and suppress me. Then the Song army under Zhang Yu, which was originally scattered everywhere, will become naughty again. Let me ask you, if you only care about your head and not your butt, do you still want your butt?

War also requires rhythm.

With 300,000 enemy troops invading and attacking the city, the Song Dynasty was originally on the defensive. However, once Zhao Xiaoqian came up with this strategy, the situation was instantly reversed. The Song Dynasty took the initiative to control the rhythm, and the Western Xia army was involuntarily led by the nose.

Whoever controls the rhythm will be the final winner of the war.

This is the power of Zhao Xiaoqian's conspiracy.

The biggest risk now is whether the 5,000 musketeers of the Dragon Guard Battalion can hold on.

After all, all the military forces of Western Xia will be concentrated on these 5,000 musketeers. If they can't hold on, then everything Zhao Xiaoqian said before will be invalid, and there will even be a risk of the Song army being wiped out by the Western Xia army.

Zhao Xiaoqian wasn't anxious. Who says I have to fight head-on? If there are too many enemies and I can't defeat them, I'll just run away.

What did Huo Qubing do back then? His 800 light cavalry turned the Xiongnu's rear upside down. My 5,000-man army, armed with muskets that surpass modern weaponry, couldn't withstand it. My trip was in vain.

The matter was of great importance, and everyone in the main hall fell silent.

Zhang Qie closed his eyes and pondered, carefully considering Zhao Xiaoqian's suggestion, going over every detail in his mind several times.

After a long while, Zhang Qie opened his eyes and said slowly, "The county marquis's plan is feasible!"

All the generals turned their eyes to the two of them.

Zhang Yu smiled approvingly at Zhao Xiaoqian, "I've been in regular correspondence with my colleagues in Bianjing. I heard there's a young man from my clan who's highly regarded by the government. I originally thought it was an exaggeration, but I didn't expect the marquis to open my eyes today."

"As expected of a young hero, to be so highly regarded by the government, you must be quite capable. After this battle, I am willing to be on equal terms with the Marquis of the County. After the battle, we will celebrate our victory and make it known to the public."

Zhao Xiaoqian pulled his face.

I appreciate it, I respect it, but when it comes to drinking... I only drink with women, not with old men.

Zhang Yu looked around at the generals and said in a deep voice, "Follow the Marquis's plan. All generals, immediately reorganize your troops and send out swift horses to order the troops in each city to assemble. Prepare the logistics, food, fodder, and weapons, and march to Yanzhou early tomorrow morning!"

All the generals stood up, clasped their fists, and responded loudly.

After everyone left, Zhang Qie was about to say something to Zhao Xiaoqian, but Zhao Xiaoqian spoke first.

"General Zhang, we must mobilize our troops quickly in this battle. It's extremely urgent. Ideally, we should have occupied Yanzhou and are heading towards Longzhou before the 300,000 enemy troops reach Hongzhou. In short, we must achieve victory as soon as possible."

Zhang Qie raised his eyebrows: "Why is the county marquis so anxious?"

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "If word of the invasion of 300,000 enemy troops reaches Bianjing, I'm afraid few officials in the court will be willing to resist. I'm worried that someone in the court will propose peace talks. If that were to happen, what would be the point of the Song Dynasty's border guards sacrificing their lives to resist?"

Zhang Qie's heart sank. In fact, he was also worried about the same thing as Zhao Xiaoqian, but as the commander-in-chief of an army, there were some things he couldn't say.

Zhang Yu had been guarding the border in the northwest for many years, and the defensive policy he adopted against the Western Xia was quite effective. If the court really intended to negotiate peace, not only would the blood of the soldiers be shed in vain, but all his efforts in the northwest over the years would also become a joke.

When the Song Dynasty negotiated peace, it lost not only money but also land.

The territory occupied by the enemy was an established fact, and the Song Dynasty could rarely reclaim it. Once occupied by the enemy, it was occupied.

More importantly, as long as the precedent of peace talks was set, the greed of Western Xia would never end. After peace, there would be war again, and war again, and then peace again. There would never be peace on the border between Song and Xia, and the territory would be gradually eroded.

"The county lord does not agree with peace talks?" Zhang Qie suddenly asked.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "If I had supported peace talks, I wouldn't be here."

"Marshal Zhang's news is a bit delayed. In fact, I was the one who advocated resistance during the Song-Xia War. Because of this, I even offended your cousin, Mr. Zhang."

Hearing Zhang Dun's name, Zhang Yu snorted angrily and said, "A villain who succeeds is not a good person!" Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes lit up. Eh? There seems to be gossip?
The two brothers from the same clan don't seem to get along very well.

The next morning, while the troops were still gathering, the 5,000 musketeers of the Dragon Guard Camp were already ready to go.

Zhao Xiaoqian naturally had to lead the team himself. This musketeer unit was the treasure in Zhao Xu's heart. Before leaving, Zhao Xu instructed that any action must be led and commanded by Zhao Xiaoqian personally, and this elite division must not suffer too many casualties.

The Song army was in short supply of war horses. After the Liao Kingdom occupied the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, there was basically no place to raise horses in the territory of the Song Dynasty, and the same was true in the northwest. The entire army had only 50,000 war horses in total, but Zhao Xiaoqian still asked Zhang Yu for 5,000 horses.

Musketeers are supposed to conduct highly mobile raids behind enemy lines, and without warhorses, they are useless.

Zhang Yu also knew the importance of the matter and allocated 5,000 fine war horses to him without hesitation.

Therefore, the five thousand musketeers were equipped with enough ammunition, ten days' worth of dry food, and various swords, crossbows, arrows and halberds. They were all fully loaded and ready to kill the enemy.

Outside Weizhou City in the early morning, five thousand soldiers on horseback watched Zhao Xiaoqian quietly.

The other 25,000 soldiers of the Dragon Guard Battalion were looking at their comrades enviously in the camp in the distance.

If they had not been short of muskets, they should have also participated in this raid behind enemy lines. But now they can only watch their comrades make money.

Rushing behind enemy lines means that fruitful military exploits are within easy reach.

Since the Military Service Law was promulgated, the value of military merit has skyrocketed. If you behead an enemy, you can get ten acres of fertile land. If you behead an enemy general, you can even become an official. Where can you find such a perfect deal with no cost?

Zhao Xiaoqian rode on his horse and looked around at the densely packed 5,000 soldiers of the Dragon Guard Camp.

After a long moment, he nodded with satisfaction. From the outside, it seemed that everyone's morale was good. Although there was silence, a murderous aura was already emanating from the team.

This is what a real army looks like.

As usual, the head coach will give a speech before departure.

Zhao Xiaoqian doesn't like long speeches. If he has to speak, he likes to talk about the practical stuff.

Pragmatic people like to do things in a practical way.

Clearing his throat, Zhao Xiaoqian said loudly, "This journey will be hundreds of miles long and will be very tiring. You will have to endure hardships, sleep in the open air, and march day and night. You will be injured, bleed, and even die in battle. But your hard work will not be in vain!"

The soldiers' attention was immediately attracted.

"After entering Western Xia territory, our mission is to harass their cities, villages, and tribes. I promise you that we will not enforce strict military discipline on this journey. You, my comrades, may keep any loot you find in enemy territory for yourselves. The Dragon Guard Battalion and I will not take a single cent!"

The five thousand soldiers suddenly became a little agitated, and their eyes gradually became excited.

This military order was unprecedented since the founding of the Song Dynasty. It was completely unscrupulous, yet strangely exciting.

You are so bad, I like it so much!
Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "How much wealth you can make from this battle depends on how hard you work. If you don't obey military orders and are weak in killing the enemy, you deserve to suffer poverty for the rest of your life, and even God can't help you!"

The soldiers burst into laughter, and their eager expressions said it all.

The morale of the army instantly rose at a speed almost visible to the naked eye, soaring into the sky.

"I am willing to follow the county marquis, fight bravely and never retreat!" Zhong Jianzhong also felt the high fighting spirit of the soldiers, and immediately seized the opportunity to clasp his fists and shout.

The soldiers moved in unison, echoing: "We are willing to follow the Marquis of the County, bravely kill the enemy, and fight to the death!"

The roar shook the sky and startled the crows.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled with satisfaction.

Don’t talk about feelings when you can talk about money. Feelings are fake, money is real.

A military order to plunder all the property for one's own use is worth a thousand words of sensationalism.

At this point, the army's morale is high and the soldiers are willing to die for their country.

"Okay, let's go!" Zhao Xiaoqian waved his hand and gave the order.

(End of this chapter)