Song Dynasty Cannon Fodder Counterattack Record

Chapter 237 Pirate Tactics
Seeing the solemn faces of Prime Ministers Wen Yanbo and Pang Ji, who were also privy envoys, Zhao Zhen hurriedly asked, "You two Qing family, what is the urgent military situation?"

Pang Ji first replied: "Your Majesty, I just received a report from the Hebei Economic and Strategy Commissioner, saying that three days ago, Li Buqi led the Zhenwu Army and the Police Division cavalry to the Great Wall to attack the Liao Army's grain road. There is no news so far."

Now there is a map of the situation of the two armies in Hebei hanging next to Zhao Zhen's imperial case, and Zhao Zhen quickly looked over it.Eunuch Li Yonghe quickly pointed out the location of the entrance of the Great Wall. Zhao Zhen saw that the entrance of the Great Wall was surrounded by signs representing the Liao Army, and couldn't help but gasped: "Is Li Buqi really going to the entrance of the Great Wall?"

Wen Yanbo said: "Here is Li Buqi's letter, which clearly states that he will enter the Great Wall to cut off the Liao people's food supply."

Zhao Zhen asked: "Then can Li Buqi come back?"

Wen Yanbo and Pang Ji didn't speak, but the meaning was already clear.Wen Yanbo said: "The report of the Hebei Economic and Strategy Department has attached Li Buqi's letter, please read it, Your Majesty."

Zhao Zhen hurriedly looked at Li Buqi's note, and saw that it was Xie En's last letter.Li Buqi said in his letter that in order to repay Zhao Zhen's kindness and save the Li people from the suffering of the war, he must cut off the Liao people's food road, as long as they force the Liao army back, and don't ask for horse leather to wrap their bodies.Between the lines, there is a feeling of generosity to die, and Zhao Zhen can't help but be moved.

Zhao Zhen read the Zhazi twice before raising his head with red eyes and said: "Li Buqi suggested in Zhazi to build a 'Martyr's Temple' to enshrine the soldiers who died for the Song Dynasty. What do you think?"

Wen Yanbo said: "I think that the hero who died for the country can be entitled to the royal ancestral temple, so there is no need to do anything more."

Although Pang Ji was also very moved by Li Buqi's act of sacrificing his life for righteousness, he still didn't take Li Buqi's suggestion seriously. Seeing Zhao Zhen looking at him, he used the dragging formula: "I think this matter should be discussed by the Ministry of Rites."

Whether to build the Martyrs' Shrine is not a matter of urgency.Wen Yanbo had decided that if Li Buqi really went to attack the Great Wall, he would die. He was eager to deal with the aftermath, and said, "Although Li Buqi is loyal, he is being reckless. Xia Ziqiao and Han Zhigui are worried that if Li Buqi falls Both the Liao Kingdom and the people's morale of our Great Song Dynasty are a big blow, so please make a decision early, Your Majesty."

Seeing that Zhao Zhen didn't understand, Wen Yanbo explained: "Li Buqi has made many inventions in recent years, and his reputation is well known to everyone. He is also rumored to be a famous general. If even he is defeated by the Liao people, then the soldiers of the common people will definitely benefit." If you fear the Liao people, the morale of the people will be hit hard, and the Liao people's ambition will be strengthened, and they will be at a disadvantage in the war."

"Ah? Then what should we do?" the emperor asked in surprise.

"Han Zhigui requested that if the news of Li Buqi becoming benevolent came, he would publicize Li Buqi's determination to take righteousness and become benevolent this time, so that the people of the world would know that his defeat was not a crime of war. In this way, the people of Liao will publicize in the future Li Buqi's defeat, the common people already know that Li Buqi is going to escape from death, failure is inevitable, so naturally they will not be frightened."

Zhao Zhen suddenly thought of a question, and hurriedly asked, "Is there no hope for Li Buqi to survive?"

Wen Yanbo and Pang Ji looked at each other, and finally Pang Ji said word by word: "The hope is slim, it's just a narrow escape."

Now the emperor said nothing more.After being silent for a long time, he said: "Okay. Just follow Han Qing's instructions. If there is any news, report it to me immediately. You should also draw up a charter first, and give generous compensation to the officers and soldiers who will fight this time. "

Adding generous pensions was originally the proper meaning of motivating soldiers to kill the enemy, so Wen Yanbo and Pang Ji naturally would not object.In their eyes, the news of Li Buqi's death or capture was only a matter of time.Seeing that Li Buqi's tie was full of generosity to die, it is almost certain that the news that Li Buqi died in battle will only come.So Li Buqi is doomed, and even Han Qi, who is extremely hostile to Li Buqi, doesn't mention that Li Buqi's dangerous actions are extremely dangerous, let alone speak ill of Li Buqi.

After Wen Yanbo and Pang Ji withdrew, Zhao Zhen's face was as gloomy as the bottom of a pot. The servants and maids in the palace all held their breath carefully, for fear that they would be punished if they made any noise.

It was also at this time that Zhao Zhen clearly realized that Li Buqi was a different existence to him than ordinary courtiers.But how different it is, he couldn't figure it out for a while, the first thing he thought of was that he might have great expectations for Li Buqi, thinking that Li Buqi had some ways to do everything, and the country would be lost in the future if Li Buqi died A pillar.

When Zhao Zhen was in a low mood, Gan Zhaoji, who had promoted the Imperial City Secretary, stepped forward carefully, so lightly that the emperor didn't even notice.He reported in a voice that was slightly louder than a mosquito humming: "Your Majesty, the police magistrate Lian Guangzhi asked to see him, and he has a plan to break the Liao Dynasty."

Although Gan Zhaoji's voice was very low, the emperor could still hear it clearly because the hall was too quiet.The emperor has been on the throne for more than 20 years, and his kung fu as an emperor has long been perfected.Hearing that Lian Guangzhi had a strategy to defeat the enemy, he quickly adjusted his mood and said, "Xuan!"

The Police Department is a special department, and now it is directly under the emperor, so Lian Guangzhi, the police judge, can directly meet the emperor. This is also a measure to check and balance the head of the police department.

After Lian Guangzhi entered the palace to salute, Zhao Zhen asked, "Lian Qing, what is your good strategy to break the Liao Kingdom?"

Lian Guangzhi said: "I have recently studied the past wars between Xixia and our Great Song Dynasty and believe that the reason why Xixia was able to fight against the Celestial Empire in a remote place is because it has the advantage of a large land and few people, and the advantage of nomadic cavalry. The combination made it easy for the Xia people to invade, but difficult for the officers and soldiers to attack. However, the Xia people took advantage of this advantage and continued to harass, so that the imperial court had to spend food and salaries above the border even if there was no war. If you are war-weary, the thieves will succeed."

"Nowadays, the Song Dynasty actually has such an advantage over the Liao Kingdom. If it can be used, it will make the Liao Kingdom exhausted in the short term and cannot go south with all its strength. In the long run, it may greatly reduce the taxes of the Liao Kingdom. Using soldiers to waste money is like being sick for a long time and gradually weakening."

Zhao Zhen regained his energy after hearing this, and immediately asked, "Quickly, what's the advantage?"

Lian Guangzhi looked left and right, Zhao Zhen waved his hand immediately, and Chen Lin ordered all the maids and eunuchs in the palace to retreat.Lian Guangzhi then said: "The advantage is the sea. I learned that there are many pirates in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The minister's plan is to secretly send people to recruit some pirates to harass the coast of the Liao Kingdom and make the Liao people restless. That's it. The Liao Lord must send troops, but the Liao people are not good at sailing, so they can only defend on the shore. In this way, we will encounter the difficulties that our Great Song Dynasty encountered when we dealt with Xixia and Liao. Due to the fact that the troops are isolated, but the rescue is not in time. Moreover, the pirates have been harassing them all the year round, so it is difficult for the people along the coast of the Liao Kingdom to farm and cook salt, and the taxes of the Liao Kingdom should be greatly reduced. Moreover, the people along the coast have lost their livelihoods, so they must feel resentment, and civil strife in Liao Kingdom will inevitably increase. If things go on like this, the Liao Kingdom will have a thorn in its back, and even if it wants to go south, it will be powerless."

"Because the pirates are being recruited privately, if the Liao Kingdom wants to use this to provoke, there is no excuse. The pirates live on the island. If the Liao people let me use this matter, I will only say that I am powerless to destroy them, or just pretend to be pirates. It has existed since ancient times, how can the imperial court wipe out all the pirates?"

Zhao Zhen's eyes lit up when he heard this, and asked, "I don't know how much this method will cost?"

Lian Guangzhi said: "If it is according to the minister's method, we only need to give the pirates some weapons for the time being, and there is no money from the court."

"Ah? Don't want to spend a penny from the court?" The emperor was shocked, and hurriedly asked: "How do we do it?"

Lian Guangzhi said: "I heard that the sea merchants are now going overseas to hunt seals and jellyfish. Not only are they short of crews, but they also lack farmers to provide them with food. But most of the people in the Song Dynasty did not want to travel thousands of miles. Overseas. Therefore, as long as you recruit pirates to provide them with a small amount of weapons, and tacitly allow them to sell the captive Liao people to sea merchants, then under the temptation of money, they will go to the coast of Liao to plunder. Even if they are in Liao If nothing is done by the sea, the Liao Kingdom will also send troops to guard against them."

"Oh? This..." For the emperor Zhao Zhen, Lian Guangzhi's method was too shocking, so he couldn't help hesitating.

Lian Guangzhi understood that Zhao Zhen sometimes abused good people, so he said: "Does your majesty deny that the Liao people's wives and children are scattered? But it was these Liao people who provided food, grass and soldiers to the Liao Emperor, and came to my Great Song Dynasty to rob us, which caused my great loss. I don’t know how many people in Song Dynasty have lost their wives and children. How to make the people’s homes in Song Dynasty whole is something that His Majesty, as the emperor of Song Dynasty, should consider.”

Seeing the embarrassment of the emperor, Gan Zhaoji quickly changed the conversation: "Even the judge's plan is very good, but the pirates are difficult to control. What if they also plunder the coast of Song Dynasty?"

Lian Guangzhi said: "This is easy to handle. In the future, we only need to build a strong navy so that the pirates don't dare to have delusions. It's just that building a navy requires money and food. Before the navy is established, we can rely on Shandong's own business Use the fleet to restrain the pirates, and choose a suitable person to rely on the merchant fleet to restrain the pirates."

The emperor asked: "Who can take on this important task?"

Lian Guangzhi said: "I have the courage to recommend one person, and it will surely succeed."

(End of this chapter)