In order to appease the people and deter those who harbor dissent. [This article comes from] After Chao Yong defeated the two armies of Cha Ge and Li Qianshun, he immediately flew to Tokyo and reported to Tokyo along the way, so that the people passing through the border no longer worried about the military situation in Xixia.
The imperial newspaper also publicized the prince's achievements, which not only appeased the people, but also shocked many people. After the prince killed Li Qianshun, all the state capitals on Lizhou Road and Huainan East and West Roads took the initiative to surrender to Daliang.
Although Daliang gathered the soldiers and horses that expanded the territory, the territory was still expanding westward and southward when only one army was deployed in the northwest.
After defeating the Liao Kingdom first and Xixia later, coupled with the continuous publicity in Di Bao, the image of Chao Yong as a god descending to earth has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the people are convinced of it.
"The great victory that had not been seen in more than a hundred years also made the people of the Central Plains no longer afraid of Xixia and Liao. Both officials and people were proud, and the domestic business people were much more honest. Especially the Khitans and Dangxiang people who used to show off their power at every turn are now living with their tail between their legs.
Everyone is speculating whether the prince will take advantage of the situation to invade Xixia and wipe out the Western thieves.
Whether it is Daliang, Tian Hu from Hebei, Wang Qing from Huaixi, or Tongguan from Jiangnan, all forces are staring at the northwest. If Chao Yong is the master, then there is no doubt that the next person to face the victorious prince will be one of them. If Chao Yong defeated the Liao Kingdom, they still had the slightest idea of ??being able to separate themselves. Then after Chao Yong defeated Xixia, Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Tong Guan all felt that Daliang's unification of the world was already unstoppable. No one thought they could withstand the military attack of Prince Daliang.
In particular, Tong Guan has been using troops in the northwest for more than 20 years. He is well aware of the power of Xixia. It took him more than 20 years to kill Xixia soldiers and horses, but the number did not exceed 50,000. However, the prince of Liang defeated 400,000 Xixia soldiers in just a few days. There were one hundred thousand soldiers, horses, and prisoners alone. It can be said that the results of this battle exceeded the total of his twenty years. Even though he is far away in Jiangnan. After hearing the news, I couldn't help but shudder.
When people all over the world were eagerly waiting for news from the northwest, after Chao Yong killed Li Qianshun, he did not continue to use troops and rested on the spot.
It wasn't until Zhong Shidao led his troops to attack Xixia territory, and at the same time that three troops from Yanyan Road, Yongxing Army, and Jingyuan Road attacked Huanqing Road, did the news begin to spread. The prince led five thousand troops to raid Xingqing Mansion. Word of the plan spread.
The whole world suddenly boiled, and the people of Daliang felt that the prince who descended from heaven would definitely be able to capture Xingqing Mansion.
Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Tong Guan heard the news. But he couldn't help but raise a glass to celebrate. In their opinion, Chao Yong was dazzled by the victory, so he led five thousand soldiers and horses deep into the hinterland of Xixia to attack Xingqing Mansion, the capital of Xixia.
While the people were looking forward to good news from the northwest, the three of them were looking forward to bad news. Chao Yong killed Xixia in battle, so that they would not have to worry about the sharp sword hanging over their heads, and the turbulent soldiers and horses under his command could also calm down.
While the whole world was debating over the outcome of the crown prince, there was also an undercurrent surging in the Daliang Palace.
When Chao Yong decided to raid Xixia, he sent someone to report it to Chao Gai.
When Chao Gai learned that Chao Yong was going to bring 5,000 troops to raid Xingqing Mansion, 10,000 troops naturally disagreed, so he immediately sent people to the northwest. Want to stop Chao Yong. In order to prevent Chao Yong from disobeying orders, it was the first time that Chao Yong was given an imperial edict instead of a usual letter. However, when the imperial edict was delivered to the northwest, Chao Yong had already led his troops into Xixia territory by waterway.
At first, this news was only spread among the top leaders of Daliang. But when Zhong Shidao led his army to invade Xixia, the news spread among the market.
Chao Gai was also worried that the Xixia people would know the identity of the prince and would round up Chao Yong with heavy troops, but the news had already spread. Can't cover it up. At Wu Yong's suggestion, he simply asked the Di newspaper to publicly publish the prince's plan to raid Xingqing Mansion. If Chao Yong really led five thousand troops to break through the Xixia capital. There is no doubt that the prince will become a real god. No matter who he uses troops against, he can get twice the result with half the effort, and the people's hearts will be completely conquered.
But as time went by, no news came back from Xixia, and rumors suddenly appeared in Tokyo that the prince had died in battle with Xixia.
In the Chongzheng Hall, Chao Gai sat on the dragon chair with a frown on his face. On the right stood Han Cunbao, Guan Sheng, Hua Rong, Shi Wengong, Hu Yanzhuo, Qin Ming, and Luan Tingyu, and on the left stood Wu Yong, Zhao Mingcheng, Zhang Shuye, and Jiang Jing, Chai Shao.
Shi Wengong, Hu Yanzhuo, Qin Ming, and Luan Tingyu have all returned to the court, and 70,000 troops have gathered in Tokyo.
The position of the Song Dynasty was that the military was on the left and the literary on the right, with the literati suppressing the generals. However, the position of Daliang is civilized on the left and martial on the right. The status of martial men exceeds that of literati. When Chao Yong went to court, he stood first on the right. It was clear that he regarded himself as a warrior. No one dared to question Chao Yong's status as one person below others and above ten thousand people. Therefore, the warriors also followed the example of the scholar.
Zhang Shuye said: "The prince led five thousand soldiers and horses to attack Xing."The government still underestimated the enemy. Today is already the seventh day after the prince entered Xixia, but no news has been sent back. I am afraid that the prince has not captured Xingqing Mansion, otherwise the news will be sent back. However, given the prince's martial arts skills, it would be difficult for the Xixia people to defeat the prince. I am afraid that Xixia will surround the prince with heavy troops and the prince will be unable to break out of the siege for a while. I think we should send troops into Xixia to reinforce the prince. "
Zhang Shuye has repeated his old tune. After the news that Chao Yong led troops into Xixia came back to the court, Zhang Shuye has been advocating sending troops to reinforce the prince.
However, they were all rejected by the generals. The civil and military administration of Daliang was divided and did not interfere with each other. Civil servants had no right to interfere in military affairs, so the military generals did not want Zhang Shuye to intervene in military affairs.
Qin Ming had been fed up with the anger of civil servants in the Song Dynasty. Seeing Zhang Shuye interfering in military affairs again, he immediately said: "Master Zhang, please respect yourself. If military matters are discussed, it should be discussed between the emperor and us, but you have no say. "
Wu Yong and Zhao Mingcheng were the prime ministers, but they had no right to interfere in military affairs. Naturally, they were dissatisfied. They just took advantage of the prince's power and did not dare to interfere in military affairs.
Only Zhang Shuye has been dissatisfied with the prince since he learned that the prince had labeled Li Gang as a traitor. He was even more dissatisfied with the prince's vague promotion of the status of warriors above literati, but the old men of Liangshan were all military generals, and Chao Gai was also generous and loyal. Unlike Zhao Kuangyin, who won the world by relying on military generals, he immediately began to suppress the generals. However, Chao Gai felt that the old man of Liangshan should be superior to others, and he had no objection to warriors being superior to literati, so Chao Gai also firmly stood on the side of the prince.
This time Chao Yong led his troops deep into enemy territory, but Zhang Shuye saw an opportunity and wanted to take the opportunity to intervene in military affairs and set a precedent for civil servants to intervene in military affairs.
When the generals protested several times before, Chao Gai ignored Zhang Shuye, but today Chao Gai hesitated for a moment and asked: "It will take more than half a month for the soldiers and horses from Tokyo to arrive in Xixia. By then, the war in Xixia will probably be over." Once the dust has settled, what¡¯s the use of sending reinforcements?¡±
Everyone heard Chao Gai¡¯s question and knew that Chao Gai was beginning to worry about Chao Yong¡¯s safety.
Zhang Shu looked at Chao Gai and asked about it at night, and immediately said: "We can send troops from the northwest to reinforce the prince."
Hu Yanzhuo said: "The northwest soldiers and horses are surrounding Renzhong's 200,000 soldiers and horses. Let them go to reinforce the prince. Renzhong's 200,000 soldiers and horses will also enter Xixia. The gains outweigh the losses."
However, Qin Ming was not polite and rebuked directly: "You are nothing more than a mere talk on paper. If you are allowed to command the troops, you will miss the important event. Letting Renzhong's 200,000 troops return to Xixia is exactly the same as letting the tiger return to the mountain. The prince wants to We will face more soldiers and horses, so why bother to reinforce the prince?"
Zhang Shuye, however, was not polite at all and said with a smile: "Don't move and surround Renzhong's three troops, and mobilize the 20,000 troops of Yao Gu and Li Congji who captured Xihe Road."
Chao Gai frowned and said, "They have recaptured Lanzhou and are marching towards Huangzhou. It will take them ten days to go to Xingqing Mansion."
Hua Rong said: "Zhongshi Dao has led 50,000 troops into Xixia. Even if the prince does not capture Xingqing Mansion, the 50,000 soldiers and horses of Zhongshi Dao can be enough to turn Xixia upside down. There is no need to send reinforcements. "
Shi Wengong also said: "With the prince's martial arts skills, no one in the world can trap him. Even if he cannot capture Xingqing Mansion, there will definitely be no loss. Zhong Shidao's advance went smoothly. The news came back yesterday that Mingsha has been captured. I must have We have already been in contact with the prince, and news about the prince should be sent back in the next few days. I think it is not too late to wait until there is news, otherwise the prince will win and we will mess up the prince's plan. "
Zhang Shuye said: "I was an official in the northwest in my early years, and had many interactions with Xixia soldiers and horses. The Xixia soldiers and horses were brave and good at fighting. The prince defeated Cha Ge and Li Qianshun, but the Xixia people had never seen fire and thunder. Suddenly Being attacked by fire and thunder, the situation was disrupted. Nowadays, most of the troops in Xixia were defeated by Chage and Li Qianshun. They had already seen the fire and thunder, and their fear of fire and thunder was much less. They were facing the disaster of national subjugation, and they would definitely resist with their lives. , I am afraid that Zhongshidao's 50,000 troops may not be able to withstand the attack of Xixia soldiers and horses. Let Yao Gu and Li Congji attack Zhuo Luo and Nanjunsi with 20,000 troops. At least they can contain Zhuoluo, Nanjunsi and nearby military divisions. The soldiers and horses prevent them from attacking the prince. Even if the prince's soldiers and horses win, there will be no harm if Yao and Gu capture Zhuoluo and Nanjunsi."
Guan Sheng said: "The Han people in the northwest states are still waiting for our army to rescue them. Sooner or later, Zhuoluo and Nanjunsi will be captured by the prince's troops. Instead of rushing to capture the Xixia city, it is better to capture Xihe Road first to avoid harassment by the people from the states." Harm the Han people. As for the victory of the prince¡¯s troops, I don¡¯t think we have anything to worry about.¡±
Chao Gai also felt that what Guan Sheng said was true, but he only had Chao Yong as his only son. There was no news for many days, so he was inevitably worried and wanted to send troops for reinforcements.
When Chao Gai was hesitating, he suddenly heard a commotion outside the palace, as if the people in the entire city were in chaos.
"The prince captured Xingqing"?. "
"The prince has captured Xingqing Mansion."
Everyone also heard the noise outside, and when they were about to send someone to check, a voice came from far away and soon arrived outside Chongzheng Hall.
Qin Ming immediately shouted: "He is the messenger of victory. The prince has indeed broken Xingqing Mansion."
Zhang Shuye also knew that there was no chance, so he quietly retreated behind Zhao Mingcheng.