. Zhao Pu's analysis hit the point. Zhao Jiong nodded approvingly and asked Wang Qian: "Tian Qinzuo has been besieging Lanzhou for more than a month, and the war has been delayed. Why?" Although Tian Qinzuo wrote about the Lanzhou war in his military book It has been reported long ago, but it is the emperor's intention to open up the air to check and balance each other. Furthermore, although Zoroastrianism was attacked in Lanzhou and could no longer be used, Wang Qian was still the person in the court who had the clearest understanding of the reality of Lanzhou. Zhao Jiong was also very interested in the fact that the more than a thousand soldiers left behind in Lanzhou could resist for a month under the siege of the army.
Wang Qian did not dare to neglect, and held up his hands and said: "The ones who stayed in Lanzhou were Chen De's right and left-hand men. General Xiao Jiu, the commander of the right army, had a thousand and five sergeants in the supply camp, Jincheng camp, and craftsman camp. Chen De was in Lanzhou. Although there are not many troops left behind, the border residents have always been tough. The residents of Lanzhou are led by sergeants to practice archery skills in their free time. Chen De also uses the Military Law Department to suppress the residents. Therefore, although there are few soldiers in Lanzhou City, there are many residents in the city. There are more than 10,000 strong men available. These strong men cannot leave the city to fight in the field, but they are more than enough to defend the city. Therefore, the number of troops defending the city actually exceeds 10,000. The 5,000 forbidden troops led by General Tian are really difficult to capture."
"Oh? There is such a thing," Zhao Jiong said with great interest, "If all the people in the cities in the north can come to the city to help in the battle like the strong men in Lanzhou, it will be very difficult for the Khitans to attack the strongholds."
Seeing that the emperor's thoughts suddenly turned to fighting against the Liao Kingdom, Cao Bin continued: "Master Wang's words are a bit biased. Although private households practice archery in their spare time, it is difficult to compare with the army. Not to mention the Forbidden Army, even the Xiang Army is not as good as it is. It is extremely prone to chaos, mutiny, etc., and it is not good for the enemy to take advantage of it." He looked at Zhao Jiong's expression, and did not seem to disagree, so he continued: "The moon is still lingering in Lanzhou, so Chen De must have secretly left more soldiers and horses to guard it. Since Taiyuan will not save Lanzhou, the imperial court's hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops are waiting to be guarded. They can send more troops and horses to conquer this isolated city."
"Your Majesty," after Wang Qian saw Cao Bin reporting, Zhao Jiong remained noncommittal and looked at himself instead.4049;, and then Bingdao: "What I am more worried about is that in addition to Ding Zhuang, there are more than ten thousand barbarians in Lanzhou City who Chen De looted from the grassland. Many of them are warriors who are good at riding and shooting." , if our army's siege is too urgent, it will be even more difficult for Xiao Jiu to release this group of barbarians to fight against our army in his desperation." His words put another weight on Zhao Jiong's weighing scale. At this time The Central Plains has gone through the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. Although it still regards itself as the Celestial Dynasty, it has lost some of its self-confidence in military force since the Han and Tang Dynasties. It is the consensus of the whole government that the Hu people are powerful in fighting.
"If Lanzhou is pushed too hard, it will be like a rabbit kicking an eagle to death." Xiao Jiu armed his group of grassland slaves in the craftsman camp. Whether they were plundering or fighting, they would cause trouble to the Song army. As for whether slaves can be armed and become soldiers, it was not within the scope of consideration by the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty. In their minds, soldiers and slaves were originally two levels that were not far apart. As long as these slaves were good soldiers, they were better than Those strong men who practice archery in their spare time are much better. If there were thousands of war horses in Lanzhou City to arm these slaves into cavalry, Tian Qinzuo would probably consider retreating.
"So, in this small city of Lanzhou, there are actually more than ten thousand soldiers, as well as the Hu tribe, and there is no shortage of equipment, food and grass. If we don't go to war, we won't be able to defeat it." Zhao Jiong mused, Tian Qin said Zuo had already received a military report. The Lanzhou garrison numbered far more than 1,500. In the past ten days, the Imperial Guards had attacked with all their strength, resulting in heavy casualties. However, the enemy troops at the top of the city seemed to be intact. Tian Qinzuo even accused Wang Qian of giving up. The intelligence inside the city was misleading the army. However, Zhao Jiong and Wang Qian were friends since they were young. Since he ascended the throne, all the officials he has used are either not familiar with military affairs, have shallow foundations, or have actually emerged in Taizu's time. Only Wang Qian is a confidant and has long experience. Apart from the fact that he believed in Zoroastrianism, Zhao Jiong was very satisfied with him. Therefore, the slander from others and even Wang Qian's belief in Zoroastrianism will not affect Zhao Jiong's view of him for the time being.;Reliance.
"In the opinion of the veteran, since Chen De was willing to surrender, he was summoned to serve as an official in the court. He was first isolated from his subordinates, and then the court slowly appointed officials to Hexi, replaced generals and selected troops. In this way, he could conquer thousands of miles of Hexi without losing blood. Land." Zhao Pu said.
"The Prime Minister's words are absurd. Then Chen De is an ambitious man. The above-mentioned peace proposal is just forced by the situation. He has tens of thousands of troops in hand and a place thousands of miles away. He can give orders as he pleases. An Ken sincerely surrenders to the court?" Cao Bin did not wait for Zhao Jiong to speak. He immediately retorted, which was completely contrary to his usual modest and gentlemanly behavior.
Zhao Pu shook his head slowly and said leisurely: "Does Privy Cao know Chen De very well? How could he know that he would not disarm and come to court. Furthermore, there are not only his family members in Lanzhou City, but also his trusted generals and the family members of more than ten thousand troops. They are all here. If they all die because he refuses to come to court, I wonder if his subordinates can still be loyal to him, and there will inevitably be some resentment in their hearts. The people in Hexi are separated, and the imperial court will withdraw some time to send troops to defeat it, which is not a big deal. Difficult." He stroked his chest with one hand and his beard trembled slightly, as if he was a mature man seeking a country. His prime ministerial demeanor was heart-wrenching.
"What if Chen De refuses to come to court?" Cao Bin asked, not to be outdone. He was not just a privy envoy. If he only knew how to be submissive, how could Zhao Jiong, who was bent on the Northern Expedition, leave his body to a plain meal.
Although he was fierce and powerful, Zhao Pu looked calm and replied calmly: "Then, as requested by Cao Shumi and General Tian, ??we will send more troops and horses to conquer Lanzhou. Send Chen De's family members to Bianliang, and your Majesty will build a Shuofang Jiedu envoy They lived in the mansion, and as for other men and women in the city, they rewarded the imperial soldiers, and they could be slaves or maids. The appointment of Shuofang Jiedu envoy was awarded to Lanzhou together with the situation in Lanzhou. At the same time, Dong Zunzhao was ordered to retreat from Lingzhou to Huanzhou. There are still tens of thousands of forbidden troops and nearly 100,000 Xiang troops and local soldiers on the fifth road of Shaanxi. It is the heart of the Central Plains. It will be difficult for Chen De to invade within a few years. When the war in the east is calmed down and the imperial soldiers turn to the west, they will still be able to We must spare the time for Privy Councilor Cao to dispatch troops and generals." After finishing speaking, he; Laughed twice and twirled his beard.
"Shuofang Jiedushi," Zhao Jiong pondered, "the former Shuofang Jiedushi was stationed in Lingzhou. Does the Prime Minister want to abandon Lingzhou and give it to Chen De?"
Zhao Pu said in a deep voice: "Lingzhou is isolated outside the vast sea, surrounded by Fan tribe barbarians. It is difficult for reinforcements to arrive, and it is extremely inconvenient to transport grain and grass from Shaanxi. Although Chen De received a title from the imperial court and entered the imperial court, his subordinates were the imperial court. In the northwest vassal town, why not build a festival with Shuofang? If he does not enter the court, Lingzhou will be surrounded by him from all sides, and he can attack it day and night. Whether it is given or not is just a formality."
At this time, the power of the Han people in the Central Plains had greatly shrunk inland after the wars of the late Tang and Five Dynasties. Although there were still a large number of Han people living near Lingzhou, the desert Gobi between the Central Plains and the Central Plains was already a place for tribes of various ethnic groups to graze cattle and sheep. As the prime minister, Zhao Pu secretly had trouble supplying the Lingzhou garrison many times, and he had already complained about it. Taking advantage of Chen De's opportunity to besiege Lingzhou, he simply raised it together. According to his theory, if the imperial army maintains its eastward momentum, those towns in the west that are inconvenient to supply will have to take the initiative to shrink back, lest they be inexplicably dragged into a fight like this time. Nor in the war. If the imperial imperial army turns westward, with the continuous support of the Central Plains' human, financial and military resources, these lost towns can naturally be easily recaptured.
Zhao Jiong nodded slowly when he heard this. If only based on the territory Chen De currently occupies, he should be granted the title of Shuofang Jiedu Envoy and Hexi Jiedushi Envoy, and he can observe the four states of Guasha, Gansu. The weight of authority cannot be increased. Zhao Pu only Ti Shuofang's Jiedu Envoy was given to him with the lowest foundation. Many tribes in Hexi had already had various Jiedu Envoys, Tuan Lian Enshi, and Observation Envoys. Their titles were not removed, and they were also given to Chen De. Ruling Hexi means planting nails.
"In this case, we will follow the Prime Minister's proposal." Zhao Jiong nodded and said, "If he is willing to surrender and join the court, how can I be stingy with the false reputation of being the Jiedushi of Shuofang." He said"Relaxed, but he was still worried about the title of the vassal town. He waved his hand and ordered Zhao Pu to draft the edict.
In Lanzhou, Xiao Jiu has been staying in the city tower for a month. At night, the surrounding area is brightly illuminated by lanterns and torches. Extra personnel are posted on the four walls to prevent the Song army from stealing the city at night. He patrolled with his sword to guard against rebellion among the residents of the city.
After the Song army besieged the city, Xiao Jiu immediately selected 5,000 households in the city who were good at archery. A sergeant from the baggage camp led ten households to climb the city to defend the city. The war continued for this month, and the strong men were replenished after they were lost. The city walls There are still three thousand soldiers, and there are still more than three hundred sergeants in the baggage camp. Each sergeant has been beaten into a real captain of ten. Xiao Jiu, the 300 sergeant in the Craftsman Battalion, did not dare to dispatch any of them unless absolutely necessary. Thousands of workers and slaves had heard the news from nowhere, and they were feeling a little unstable in recent days. Li Jian kept suggesting that these barbarians should be dispatched. Get armed and go out of the city to kill the Song army.
"According to our eyes and ears among the workers and slaves, many of these Hu people used to ride horses and shoot arrows, but after staying in the craftsman camp for a long time, most of their rebellious temper has been worn away. As long as we promise them that they will only do this. After the war, give them the status of Lanzhou Yinhu or even sergeant, and most of them will still be willing to fight for us." Li Jian suggested. Although the number of Song troops besieging the city was small, the bows and crossbows they carried were very powerful. In recent days, the number of available men in the city had been greatly depleted, and some of them could no longer be replenished.
Note: The territory and military strength under the jurisdiction of the five major military governors in the northwest during the Tang Dynasty are as follows:
Shuofang Jiedushi, defended the Turks, governed Lingzhou (Lingwu County, southwest of today's Lingwu, Ningxia), and commanded the Jinglue Army, Feng'an Army, Dingyuan Army, Dongshoujiang City, Zhongshoujiang City, West Shoujiang City, and Anbei Capital The Protectorate and the Chanyu Protectorate were in charge of 64,700 soldiers. During the Tianbao period, the envoys were Wang Zhongsi, Zhang Qiqiu and An Sishun.
The governor of Hexi Province cut off the separation between Tubo and Turks, and governed Liangzhou (Wuwei County, now Gansu Province)32899; Wuwei), commanded Chishui Army, Da Dou Army, Jiankang Army, Ning Kou Army, Yumen Army, Moli Army, Doulu Army, Xinquan Army, Zhangye Shouchuo, Jiaocheng Shouchuo, Baiting Shouchuo, There are 73,000 soldiers in charge. During the Tianbao period, the envoys were Wang Zhui, Huangfu Weiming, Wang Zhongsi, An Sishun and Ge Shuhan.
The Jiedushi of Anxi, also known as the Jiedushi of the Four Towns, the Jiedushi of the Four Towns of Anxi, Puning the Western Regions of Ning, governed the city of Kucha (now Kuqa, Xinjiang), and governed the four towns of Kucha, Yanqi, Khotan, and Shule. Twenty-four thousand soldiers. During the Tianbao period, the envoys were Meng Ling, Gao Xianzhi, Wang Zhengjian and Feng Changqing.
Beiting Jiedushi, guarding against sudden cavalry and Jiankun, governing Beiting Protectorate (Zhiting Prefecture, today's Beipochengzi of Jimusar, Xinjiang), commanding Han Haijun, Tianshan Army, Yiwu Army, and managing two soldiers Thousands of people. During the Tianbao period, the envoys were Laiyao, Wang Anjian, Cheng Qianli, and Feng Changqing.
The governor of Longyou prepared to defend Tubo, governed Shanzhou (Xiping County, which governs today's Ledu in Qinghai), and commanded the Lintao Army, Heyuan Army, Baishui Army, Anren Army, Zhenwu Army, Weirong Army, Momen Army, The Ningsai Army, the Jishi Army, the Zhenxi Army, the Suihe Guards, the Hechuan Guards, and the Pingyi Guards commanded 75,000 troops. In the thirteenth year of Tianbao, eight additional armies were added to the west of Shan, Kuo, Tao, and Hezhou: Ningbian, Weisheng, Tiancheng, Zhenwei (Tubo Diaohu City), Shence, Jintian, Wuning, and Yaowu. During the Tianbao period, the envoys were Huangfu Weiming, Wang Zhongsi and Ge Shuhan.
,!
{PiaoTian Literature www.PiaoTian.com thanks all book friends for their support, your support is our greatest motivation}