Chapter 108: A Family in China (Sixth)

Cai Jing's words gave people the feeling of seeing the blue sky through the clouds and mist. Originally, when Song Shenzong and his friends heard about the great defeat in Shanzhou and lost five cities, they were shocked. This was a great defeat that had never been seen in the history of the Song Dynasty. Although the Song Dynasty was weak for more than 100 years, they suppressed the alien race for more than 100 years. Who can not be surprised when they heard about the news of this defeat?

Song Shenzong was not only shocked, but also a little panicked and a little at a loss. The same was true for Wang Anshi and other ministers. What they thought was how to regain the five cities from Xixia as soon as possible and minimize the impact.

Over the past decades, the Song Dynasty developed a habitual thinking, that is, when it comes to fighting against Xixia, it is to fight in Shaanxi, mobilize heavy troops in Shaanxi, and fight to the death.

This habitual thinking made Song Shenzong and the others forget one thing, that is, the Song Dynasty is now facing a completely different situation. Because the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are about to be recovered, the best route of marching against Xixia will be in the hands of the Song Dynasty. Once this route of marching is back to the hands of the Song Dynasty, then there is no need to fight with Xixia in Shaanxi.

Fighting with Xixia in Shanzhou is beneficial to Xixia and is very unfavorable to the Song Dynasty. The main reason is that the terrain here is extremely complex, the terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Hengshan is not in the hands of the Song Dynasty, which makes the Song Dynasty in an extremely unfavorable position. However, Xixia is in a favorable situation where it can be attacked and retreated and can be defended freely.

This is a painful conclusion drawn in decades of Song and Xia war!

If we return to the Song Dynasty from the Yanyun land, the status of Shanzhou will be greatly reduced, and its role will be sharply reduced in the war against Xixia.

Starting from Yanyun Land, march westward and attacking the Hexi Corridor. Since Huo Qubing collected this place, it has become a traditional route of entry and has been used in this way for more than a thousand years.

Like the Song Dynasty, the fact that it did not go to Yanyun, but fought with Xixia in Shanzhou. This is the only case, because the traditional route of march was not in the hands of the Song Dynasty, so it had to be done.

At that time, the Song Dynasty was not unaware of the importance of the traditional march route. It once proposed to borrow from the Liao Kingdom and send troops from the Liao territory to attack the Western Xia. As long as it was individuals, they would refuse this proposal. The Liao Kingdom was planning to consume the Song Dynasty to the greatest extent and refused it rudely.

Therefore, for decades, the Song Dynasty had to fight against Xixia in Shanzhou.

Cai Jing's words make sense, not his first creation, but just picking up the magic weapons that our ancestors used. As soon as Song Shenzong and his colleagues understood, they were excited. The traditional way of march was the best way to march towards Xixia. If you march from Yanyun, there would be no such difficulty as marching from Shanzhou. The road here is smooth and you can engage in large-scale corps battles.

Shanzhou had a complex terrain, a dangerous terrain, easy to defend but difficult to attack, and was not conducive to large armies' combat. Therefore, although the Song Dynasty mobilized half of the elite troops in Shanzhou, it was too crowded and difficult to use.

As soon as he understood, Han Qi's heart sank. He knew that the opportunity he had finally waited for to regain military power was lost. As long as everyone understood the benefits of taking the traditional path of military advancement, who would still mobilize troops to Shaanxi?

Sure enough, as soon as his thoughts arose, he heard Song Shenzong laugh and said, "Haha! Fortunately, Cai Jing reminded me, otherwise we would have made a huge mistake! Well, the land of Yanyun is about to be recovered, and the Song Dynasty is facing huge changes, and we are still thinking as before. This is not good! This is not good! Very bad! Cai Jing, you first advocated this proposal, tell me, what should we do?"

This is the incomparable trust in Cai Jing. The ministers were very envious and looked at Cai Jing, wishing they could replace him.

Although Cai Jing was a famous treacherous minister in Chinese history and one of the "six slandering" of Song Huizong, his life was divided into two completely different trajectories. In the first half of his life, he was passionate and followed Wang Anshi's reforms and became a capable general in the new law. In addition, he was extraordinary, capable, and extremely smart, and was highly appreciated by Wang Anshi and Song Shenzong.

However, after the new law died, Wang Anshi was dismissed and Emperor Shenzong of Song was depressed and eventually died. The ministers of the reform were excluded and suppressed. As a capable general of the new law, Cai Jing was naturally the target of suppression. He was demoted and demoted again and again. After repeated suppression, he was depressed and gradually changed, and eventually became a treacherous minister and a famous slander in Chinese history.

However, during this period, he was full of passion and willing to shed all his passion for the people. Therefore, he was particularly respected by Emperor Shenzong of Song. He took his head and Emperor Shenzong of Song had a great impression of him, and he said that he was very close.

"The officials, I think that this matter only needs a decree to be sent." Cai Jing did not say anything more and said, "The officials only need to pass on a decree to Wang Shao and Wu Ji, and ask them to send troops to Xixia at the right time."

"Haha!" Song Shenzong let out a cheerful laugh and pointed at Cai Jing, saying, "Cai Jing, you are really a bit cunning. But this cunning head is good! Well, the land of Yanyun is being recovered. Although it is not far away, it takes some time. I cannot limit Wu Ji and Wang Shao's actions too much. I should give them enough time to let them send troops at the right time!"

Speaking of this, Song Shenzong's smile became even stronger and said, "Wu Ji, whenever I ask him to act cheaply, he will always give me a great surprise! If I ask him to act cheaply, he will have a robbery. If I ask him to act cheaply, he will have a great plunder. This time, I also ask him to act cheaply, so he will have a great victory, so he will have a great surprise, and he will have a great surprise in Zhuozhou and defeat the Liao Kingdom, chasing Yelu Hongji to heaven and have no way to enter the earth."

He said one by one, it was all facts, and the ministers couldn't help but laugh.

"I'd better let him do it cheaply when sending troops to Xixia! This is called a beginning and an end!" Song Shenzong was in a good mood, and said this easily, "But there is one thing that cannot be cheap, so I'll leave it to Wu Ji. As for Wang Shao, although he is my confidant general, fighting is not a problem, but Wu Ji is more good at this kind of tough battle. The weapon he planned to use to attack Zhuozhou is not useful yet. This time, let Xixia taste this taste!"

Wang Shao is also a general, so it is definitely not a problem to ask him to lead troops to fight Xixia. The problem is that he will encounter many tough battles. Speaking of tough battles, it is a headache for the ancients. Wu Ji is better at this matter.

In order to attack Zhuozhou, Wu Ji made complete preparations, and Song Shenzong knew about this. It was because Song Shenzong knew that Wu Ji was full of confidence and dared to issue military orders that he allowed Wu Ji's bold plan and had a great situation today.

However, the preparation was so full, but there was no time to use it. There were also many cities in Xixia, and it would be great if it was used to deal with Xixia. No one is more suitable for this matter than Wu Ji.

"What should the matter in Shanzhou do?" Han Qi was still unwilling to accept the wish and asked for an order: "The official, I am willing to go to Shanzhou to deal with Xixia and buy time for Wu Ji."

The land of Yanyun has not been recovered yet. Even if Wu Ji sent troops as fast as possible, it would take some time to prepare. It would be impossible to complete without a month or two. During this period, it is very necessary to stabilize the situation in Shaanxi. Han Qi's words were immediately approved by Sima Guang: "Yes, the official family! Although Yanyun's restoration is imminent, it is more appropriate to send troops from Yanyun to Xixia, but if Xixia takes the opportunity to fight, the situation in Shaanxi will not be good!"

After decades of fighting, Xixia invaded Shanzhou for the first time and captured five cities, which must be a high morale. Otherwise, I would be sorry for myself if I took this rare opportunity to fight and seize more cities.

If this is the case, the situation in Shanzhou will be extremely bad.

"Haha!" Song Shenzong disregarded his concern and shook his hand with a smile and said, "Didn't you listen to Cai Jing? The Song Dynasty is in control of the overall situation! What is the overall situation? As long as Yan Yun recovers, it is inevitable to send troops to Xixia. In this way, even if Shanzhou is lost and Guanzhong is occupied by Xixia, Xixia will not be able to cause trouble!"

If Xixia took this opportunity to send troops to Guanzhong and seize Guanzhong in one fell swoop, it would indeed cause great trouble to the Song Dynasty in the short term and cause a huge impact. However, in the long run, it would be difficult to save the decline. Because once Yan Yun recovered, the fundamental importance of Xixia was exposed to the attack of the Song Dynasty. The Song army could completely ignore Shanzhou and concentrate elite troops to attack Xingqing Prefecture, bringing the Xixia's nest.

In this way, no matter how much victory Li Zongbao and Liang Xi won in Guanzhong in Shanzhou, it would be meaningless.

This is the best interpretation of the overall situation!

"Not to mention, there are also Zhong Family Army, Yao An Army, and Li Xian, hundreds of thousands of elite Western soldiers in Shaanxi Province. They will not make the people of Xixia live a better life!" Song Shenzong was full of confidence and said, "It is only a temporary achievement for Xixia to capture the five cities of Anding. This time, if the Song Dynasty cooperates well, Xixia will perish!"

This is not a new situation in which Song Shenzong comforted himself, but a new situation in front of the Song Dynasty. Because at this time, the elite Xixia soldiers were in Shanzhou. If Wu Ji was moving fast enough, he would launch a large number of troops from Yanyun and attack Xingqing Prefecture. In the absence of the elite Xixia, it is likely to enter the hinterland of Xixia and destroy Xixia in one fell swoop.

"Haha!" Song Shenzong became more and more happy and laughed even more happily, saying, "If it was as expected, when the news of Yelu Hongji's defeat reached the Xixia people, the Xixia people would definitely be busy withdrawing their troops! Otherwise, they would be attacked on both sides and would be difficult to respond, and the country was destroyed only in a while!"

Hundreds of thousands of elite troops were trapped in Shanzhou, and Wu Ji came from the east. If the Xixia people still wanted to seize Guanzhong, they would be deceiving themselves and would not be able to achieve it. The best way is to abandon the victory they have already achieved and return to Xixia.

"The official family is wise!"

The ministers dared not doubt this conclusion at all and praised it in unison.

In this way, the defeat of Xixia did not have an excessive impact on the Song Dynasty, and the ministers were in a good mood.

Song Shenzong walked to the map and pointed his fingers on the map, saying, "After regaining the land of Yanyun, the Song Dynasty can regain Liaodong, march into the desert, send troops to the Western Xia, and take back the Western Regions. This is the overall situation! Well, there are many Han people in these places, who have split up since the demise of the previous dynasty. They live under the iron hoofs of foreign races. Now, I want to regain these lost lands, and China is not far away for a family family!"

His right hand slammed heavily on the map, making a "bang" sound.
Chapter completed!