White-robed Minister

Chapter 215 0213 [Military Deployment Plan]

Qingtang (Xining).

A marriage procession came from the east; the bride was the daughter of Empress Dowager Liang of Western Xia.

Last year, he was willing to cooperate with Xu Lai in sending troops to harass Mu Zheng and Dong Zhan of Xixia on several occasions. This year, he directly arranged a marriage between his children and Empress Dowager Liang of Xixia.

Upon hearing the news, Mu Zheng took the initiative to attend his cousin's wedding.

Dong Zhan also took his wife to Zongge City to welcome her.

The three parties met in an unusually harmonious manner, their relationship as close as if they were inseparable. In fact, just a few years ago, all three parties were constantly at odds with each other.

Wang Meng'e, the lover of Empress Dowager Liang and the commander of the Western Xia palace guards, personally escorted the Western Xia princess to Qing Tang for a marriage alliance.

After paying his respects to Dong Zhan, this man also bowed deeply to Dong Zhan's wife.

Because Dong Zhan's wife was the sister of Yelü Hongji, the emperor of the Liao Dynasty. After this marriage alliance, the Liao Dynasty, Western Xia, and Dong Zhan were all related by marriage!

A grand wedding was held in Qingtang.

Xia Saqiding, who had been under house arrest by Dong Zhan for many years, was also allowed to bring his wife and children out for activities.

"Brother, it's been over twenty years since we last met, hasn't it?" Xia Saqi Ding laughed.

Mu Zheng's eyes immediately welled up with tears. He hugged Xia Saqiding and wept, and the two poured out their hardships to each other.

The relationships within this family are a bit complicated, so let me briefly explain them—

There was a Tibetan monk named Li Lizun who, despite his immense power, could not directly become the ruler of Tibet due to his mediocre lineage.

Li Lizun then kidnapped Quesiluo, installed him as the Tibetan king, and married his daughter to Quesiluo.

Having acquired the title of Zanpu (king), Chosiro was unwilling to be controlled by his father-in-law any longer and was constantly looking for an opportunity to become independent.

Li Lizun, brimming with confidence, launched an attack on the Song Dynasty, only to be utterly defeated. Taking advantage of his father-in-law's defeat, Quesiluo, with the help of his confidants, escaped, moved the capital twice, and endured countless hardships before finally rising to power.

Li Lizun's daughter was also deposed and forced to become a nun by Quesiluo.

This nun is the grandmother of Mu Zheng and Xia Saqi Ding!

Xia Saqi Ding's father fled to Zongge City to establish himself.

Mu Zheng's father fled to Kangubao and established himself there.

After Quesiluo's death, his third son, Dongzhan, succeeded him as the Zanpu (king).

Thus, Dong Zhan (uncle), Xia Saqi Ding (nephew), and Mu Zheng (nephew) formed a tripartite balance of power.

Huangzhou originally belonged to Xiasaqiding's territory, but was attacked from both sides by Dongzhan and Western Xia. After a series of defeats, Xiasaqiding simply surrendered to his uncle Dongzhan, and was subsequently placed under house arrest by his uncle.

Mu Zheng seized the opportunity to take part of his cousin's territory and divided Huangzhou with his uncle Dong Zhan. After that, the uncle and nephew fought endlessly for control of Huangzhou.

When the cousins ​​reunite, they are both fellow sufferers and naturally have endless things to say to each other.

A few days later, the wedding was officially held.

Everyone got completely drunk, but Xiao Saqi Ding reminded his son to drink less and pretend to be drunk.

In the middle of the night, Xia Saqi Ding said to his two sons, "Don't make a sound, follow me."

The sons had already realized what was happening, and the eldest son asked, "Are we the only ones running away?"

Blindly snarling, Ding said with a ferocious expression, "Your birth mothers are long dead. The rest of your family members are nothing but a burden!"

The second wife of Xia Saqiding, as well as the wives of his eldest and second sons, were all arranged by Dong Zhan.

Although the two sons were reluctant to part with their wife and children, they did not say anything more.

The father and his two sons, leading their horses, left the wedding venue under cover of night.

Once they had gone some distance, Xia Saqiding looked back at the countless Qiang tents in the night, then mounted his horse and galloped eastward. His two sons quickly rode after him.

All three were dressed in silk robes for a wedding, clearly indicating they were top-tier nobles. They bypassed any fortified villages they encountered along the way, and the guards dared not stop them for questioning.

Upon entering the territory of Hezhou, the three were finally stopped by the Song army.

"Halt!" shouted the Song soldiers.

Xiasaqiding responded, "I am Xiasaqiding, the eldest grandson of the previous Zanpu (king of the Song Dynasty). I have come to seek refuge with the Song Dynasty with my son. The Western Xia and Dongzhan have already formed a marriage alliance, and after the wedding, they will discuss a joint military campaign with Muzheng!"

The Song soldiers in this village dared not neglect their duty and quickly escorted the father and his two sons to Hezhou City.

Gao Zunyu, who is now the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Western Route and the Prefect of Hezhou, immediately met with them upon hearing the news.

Gao Zunyu asked, "Is the news that Western Xia and Dongzhan have formed a marriage alliance true?"

Blindly replied, "I escaped on the night of the wedding while everyone else was drunk."

Gao Zunyu had actually received the intelligence, but he couldn't confirm it yet. Hearing Xia Saqiding say this, he immediately felt the situation was serious.

After asking more detailed questions, Gao Zunyu personally led the three to Xizhou.

"They've already arranged a marriage so soon?" Xu Lai was slightly surprised.

Gao Zunyu said, "The wedding was completed a few days ago. Things will be difficult from now on; we must go to war with Western Xia. But the imperial court..."

Previously, the Song army in the Xihe area had also fought with the Western Xia army, but it was only in Muzheng's territory that there were some small-scale skirmishes.

The imperial court would absolutely not allow us to launch an attack on Western Xia!

But given the current situation, we have no choice but to fight.

Especially in Xizhou, where Xu Lai was located, attacking Muzheng would require a much greater distance for troops, while attacking Lanzhou, the capital of Western Xia, would be much closer.

Xu Lai dismissed his attendants, leaving Gao Zunyu alone for a private conversation.

"General Gao, I plan to send troops to Lanzhou," Xu Lai said directly.

Lanzhou was the old name of the Sui and Tang dynasties. At that time, it was the garrison of the Xishou Baotai Military Command of the Western Xia. Li Liangzuo moved the Baotai Military Command to Lanzhou in order to attack Muzheng. As for the Baotai Military Command being moved north of Huizhou, that happened 20 or 30 years later.

Gao Zunyu exclaimed in surprise, "That's the garrison of the Baotai Military Command, and there's also the Henan Military Command dozens of miles away. Combined, these two military commands can muster at least 100,000 soldiers!"

Xu Lai laughed and said, "That's what the Western Xia say. How can a place the size of a palm recruit 100,000 soldiers? Besides, the area around Lanzhou is mostly inhabited by Qiang people, who have been exploited even more by the Dangxiang nobles this year and are now unable to survive, so they have come to surrender to the Song Dynasty."

Gao Zunyu was still hesitant: "Even if we can capture Lanzhou, if the court investigates, I'm afraid we'll be guilty of nothing."

Xu Lai explained his plan: "You spread the word in Hezhou that we are going to attack Mu Zheng and Dong Zhan, and occasionally send troops across the border to harass them. Mu Zheng, Dong Zhan, as well as Xixia and the Southern Army Command, will inevitably send troops to gather at Huangshui."

"They have too many troops; you might not be able to defeat them if you launch an offensive. You only need to defend the border fortresses. If we hold our positions in the terrain, it will be very difficult for the enemy to take them."

"I will join forces with Cai Jinglue. Cai Jinglue will send troops from Qinzhou and Gongzhou, claiming to have 100,000 men, to attack Xishi City (Dingxi), luring the Western Xia Baotai Military Command to send troops to its aid. I will then seize the opportunity to send troops from Xizhou, using firearms to quickly capture Kangubao and Xishi New City (both southeast of Lanzhou City), directly cutting off the Western Xia army's supply lines to Xishi City. We'll trap them!"

"The Western Xia army is in dire straits. Your Western Xia army will definitely abandon Mu Zheng and Dong Zhan, and their main force will come to fight me. You can then seize this opportunity to launch a counterattack and take the Huangshui Valley in one fell swoop!"

Gao Zunyu was already very familiar with the border geography, so he didn't need to look at the map anymore.

He began to formulate this extremely audacious battle plan in his mind.

The first step will definitely go smoothly. The allied forces of Mu Zheng, Dong Zhan, and Xixia will inevitably send troops, and it will be impossible for them to capture the Song army's fortified village.

The second and third steps will also proceed without problems.

The real key lies with Xu Lai. Even if Xu Lai successfully captures the enemy's fortress and blocks the retreat route of the Western Xia's eastern army, it will be crucial to ensure that the retreat is successful.

However, if the Western Xia's western army were to arrive quickly, Xu Lai would be caught in a pincer movement by tens of thousands of enemy troops and trapped there to his death!

It's impossible to say for sure who cut off whose retreat, but it's highly likely that Xu Lai's retreat was cut off.

Once Xu Lai suffers a major defeat, Xizhou will inevitably fall. Gao Zunyu's Hezhou will also be surrounded by the enemy on three sides.

Gao Zunyu's mind became increasingly confused, and he gradually became thirsty.

If they win this battle, even if the court investigates the responsibility for instigating the border conflict, the blame will fall on Xu Lai and Cai Ting, because Gao Zunyu never actually crossed into the Western Xia territory. Moreover, Gao Zunyu will have rendered a great service, allowing him to take over Huangzhou!

If we lose this battle, everything is over, there's no need to waste any more words.

It's a big gamble.

To gamble or not to gamble?

Gao Zunyu found it difficult to make up his mind.

Xu Lai continued his analysis: "Why do I dare to do this? Half of the area around Lanzhou is Mu Zheng's territory, and the other half is Xixia's territory."

"Mu Zheng's old stronghold was there before. He moved to Tabai City because it was too close to the Western Xia army's camp. When he moved, he took a large number of his followers with him, so Kangu Fort could not gather many troops."

"And what about the territory of Western Xia in Lanzhou? It's full of Qiang people who have been exploited by the Dangxiang nobles. These Qiang people have long been alienated from Western Xia and wish they could rebel on their own. This year, not only have many Qiang people come to join us, but I have also been secretly contacting the Qiang tribes there. Although the Qiang leaders are still hesitant, I have already swayed them with my words."

"If the Baotai Military Command of Western Xia in Lanzhou were to forcibly conscript local Qiang soldiers, and given that my supply lines have been cut off, this army would easily be routed, or even choose to defect on the battlefield. Because they simply don't want to fight!"

Gao Zunyu said, "If you only capture the area around Kangubao, you won't be able to cut off the Western Xia army's supply lines. They can still transport grain from the valleys to the north."

Xu Lai analyzed, "The north is all mountains, and the journey is long. We also have to requisition provisions on short notice. By the time the provisions arrive, the battle will already be over. Moreover, much of the provisions for the Western Xia army in Lanzhou were originally requisitioned from there. It probably won't be easy for Western Xia to requisition provisions a second time."

This reasoning gradually won Gao Zunyu over.

Gao Zunyu even took the initiative to help refine the plan: "If we can quickly capture Kangubao and Xishi New City, we can leave 500 soldiers to garrison Kangubao, and we need to leave more than 1,000 troops to Xishi New City. Minister Xu can lead the main force, along with the newly surrendered soldiers, to directly attack Xishi City (Dingxi), and together with Minister Cai, launch a pincer attack on the eastern route army of Western Xia. After annihilating this enemy, we can lead the main force back to Lanzhou and confront the western route army of Western Xia that is coming to the rescue."

Xu Lai said, "The key is to put on a good show and lure out both armies of Western Xia. If Western Xia doesn't move, we'll be helpless."

Gao Zunyu laughed and said, "If the Western Xia doesn't send troops, I can take the opportunity to recover the Huangshui Valley, while Prime Minister Cai can pretend to attack and occupy Xishi City (Dingxi). Either way, we won't lose out."

"Indeed, Chief Steward Gao is indeed brilliant," Xu Lai complimented casually.

Gao Zunyu stroked his beard smugly, having completely agreed to the plan.

Regardless of the outcome, he will have done good and no bad. If Xu Lai suffers a major defeat, he will immediately abandon Hezhou and lead his army back to Xizhou to defend it to the death; in this case, his good deeds will outweigh his bad deeds.

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