An error occurred while processing s private files

Huang She wanted to see the emperor as soon as possible, and Zhao Liangsi spared no effort to help, but when the words came from the palace, the emperor would not summon Huang She for the time being.

The emperor's attitude had already made it all. Just when Huang She was anxious, the Left Chief of the Shangshu Wang Anzhong suddenly made an appointment with Huang She. Huang She was full of hope and brought out all the prepared speeches. Wang Anzhong was very patient. After listening to them all, he asked some questions and finally gave Huang She a sentence, "We will consider it seriously, please wait patiently."

Huang She complained, but he had no choice but to wait patiently.

After Huang She left, Zheng Juzhong and Zhang Bangchang walked out of the inner room. The three prime ministers looked at each other speechlessly, and there were many worries between their eyebrows.

"The Jurchens' strength is far beyond our imagination." Zheng Juzhong sighed, "Huang She's words make sense. The Jurchens and the Xixia people must form an alliance, which is inevitable. Both of them have common interests and needs. After dividing the Dianbei, they will go south to the Central Plains next."

Wang Anzhong and Zhang Bangchang remained silent. The situation in Daibei continued to develop, obviously moving forward according to this trajectory. There were too many such precedents in history, and countless.

"If we can take down Datong first..." Wang Anzhong sighed, "Li Hu repeatedly suggested that we attack Yunshuo in the north, but because of Fang La's rebellion, it was delayed, and the situation is now out of control.

"But Li Hu won Datong, which is very lucky for the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, Datong would be the Jurchens now, and the alliance between Jin and Xia would give the Song Dynasty a fatal blow. Even if we took Youyan, it would have no effect. It would just add a battlefield." Zhang Bangchang sighed, "The northern enemy went south, and the Song Dynasty would fight in the three battlefields of northwest, Hedong and Youyan at the same time. The result was self-evident."

"Jurchins, like the Khitans in the past, unified the north, and had to covet the Central Plains and invade south. This is a common sense question. Why do the officials ignore it? Don't he know?" Wang Anzhong smiled bitterly, "Two years ago, when the sea alliance was signed, there was only one Tokyo in the Jurchens, and the Khitans also owned four capitals. The strength comparison was self-evident. Now? The Jurchens owned the three capitals. If they took over the Xijing, they could basically replace the Khitans. The foundation of the sea alliance has changed. How could the Jurchens still follow the covenant? If we occupied the three capitals of the Great Liao Dynasty, we would not follow the covenant. This is obvious."

"Don't say this nonsense." Zheng Juzhong shook his hand, "Yanjing rejected our peace agreement. This battle will definitely be fought, but we have no chance of winning, because Yanjing will not sit and wait for death. They will ask the Jin Kingdom for help. Once the Jurchens enter Youyan, we have no advantage in military strength. If 100,000 troops do not say that they can siege cities and plunder land, it would be good to be able to safely withdraw. Therefore, the most urgent task is how to rescue Li Hu. Let Li Hu defend Datong. We defend Datong and get Juyong Pass, we have the advantage of attacking Youyan. We still have hope of recapturing Youyan."

"If this battle is defeated, the officials and the ministers of the war-first party should be able to be more aware and face the reality." Zhang Bangchang said, "As long as we make changes in strategy, we are still confident of regaining Yan Yun."

"So whether Li Hu can defend Datong is crucial," said Wang Anzhong. "At present, before the victory or defeat is decided on the Youyan battlefield, the official will not issue an order to help Li Hu, so the only thing we can do is to call all the power of Hedong Road within the scope of authority to give Li Hu the greatest help."

"Do your best." Zheng Juzhong said, "As long as Tong Guan is defeated in Youyan, the strategy of the Northern Expedition will inevitably change."

Zheng Juzhong led the Privy Council. He knew the matter of the Northern Expedition Army best. This sentence came from his mouth. Wang Anzhong and Zhang Bangchang couldn't help but feel numb. If Tong Guan was really defeated and the Liao and Jin coalition forces rushed over, what should Hebei do? What army should be used to guard? Compared with the Hebei battlefield and the Northwest battlefield, it was completely different. The Northern Barbarians might have been able to fight to the Yellow River and force Kyoto.

On Hebei Road, there are four strategic and pacifying envoys (i.e., the Commander's Office), namely Damingfu Road, Gaoyangguan Road, Dingzhou Road and Chengde Jun Road. These four commanders commanded the Hebei imperial guards. However, more than a hundred years of peace caused the destruction of various armies in Hebei, and there were only one or two of the imperial guards. Although the list of Hebei imperial guards in the court was full, from the Privy Council, the Three Yamen, and the Commander's Office, they were tacit and ate from top to bottom to get the shortage. The Imperial Guards were the main army of the Song Dynasty. The four imperial guards in Hebei were astonishing. It was no big deal to deceive the whole country during peacetime, but once the war came, things would be troublesome.

After Tong Guan arrived in Hebei, he was in charge of Gaoyang, and he was specifically responsible for solving this problem.

This matter cannot be resolved. According to the imperial court's will, the Northern Expedition Army was composed of Shaanxi Fourth Routes and Hebei Fourth Routes, with a total of 100,000 imperial guards. Shaanxi Fourth Routes and Hebei Fourth Routes and 50,000. Now the 50,000 troops of Shaanxi Fourth Routes are in place, while the 50,000 troops of Hebei Fourth Routes are only a little over 10,000, and the rest are all shortfalls.

What to do if there is a shortage? Hurry up and recruit soldiers. The money for recruitment was transferred to Hebei Fourth Routes as early as last autumn, but the commander of the Fourth Route only carries money and is perfunctory about recruiting troops. The soldiers of the imperial guards are generally selected from the Xiang army, but the shortage of the Xiang army is even more terrifying, with no 40,000 people at all. The imperial guards in Hebei are 50,000 and the Xiang army 50,000. Now the imperial guards and the Xiang army have less than 20,000 people in total, so there are only emergency recruitment to fill the gap, but the shortage is too large and cannot be filled at all.

Nowadays, people are unwilling to join the army. The treatment of the army is poor and the salary is low. This is nothing. The most unacceptable thing is that once you join the army, it will become a tool for Shangguan to make money. You have to work for Shangguans for free, and you still have nothing to do with cattle and horses. Who can do it? Idiots have idiots, so all the soldiers find ways to go home. Those who are affected by disasters and bankrupts are desperate and would rather be bandits or beggars than join the army. There are too many ways to make money these days. Is it necessary to join the army, cattle and horses?

Recruiting troops is difficult. No one is willing to do it except for some passionate young people who are determined to defend their country and make achievements.

Tong Guan was angry, and Thunder was furious. He wanted to sanction the fourth road of Hebei. When the boss was angry, he quickly found someone to go. There were only twenty-six strategic and pacifying envoys in the Song Dynasty. You can imagine how hard these people were in the backstage. Everyone gave gifts, asked someone to talk about their relationship, and sat together for dinner. After a romantic relationship, the matter was left unresolved.^

A few months have passed, and the Fourth Hebei Imperial Army, with the efforts of the whole country, finally gathered 25,000 people. With half of the shortage, they finally arrived at Baigou. However, in the mouths of Tong Guan and Xuanfusi, the army was full, with 50,000 people.

The Master of the Seeds is the commander of the battlefield, and he was furious at a glance. You are a dead eunuch, are you a fool who is a man from the northwest?

The Northwest Army has been pitiful in recent years. The officials and the imperial court drove from one battlefield to another like a cattle, exhausted and injured, and almost ended up to the Northwest Army.

The Northwest Army was 400,000, the Imperial Army was 200,000, and the Fang Army was 200,000, and the Xiang Army was affiliated with the Sixth Route in Shaanxi. We are used to talking about the Fourth Route in Shaanxi. It mainly refers to the Fourth Route in the face of the Xixia battlefield. In the past few years, the Northwest General Liu Fa and 100,000 soldiers were killed. Last year, the imperial court conquered 100,000 Northwest Army to fight Fang La, and lost more than 30,000 people. In particular, the Linyan Road Strategy and Pacification Envoy Liu Yanqing's troops suffered heavy losses, and more than 10,000 elite troops died in Jiangnan.

The Northwest Army had finished fighting in Jiangnan. Just after returning to the northwest, the court issued an order to transfer the main force of the four imperial guards in Shaanxi to Hebei. Isn’t this a troublemaker? I just came back from Jiangnan, and you asked me to go to Hebei again. Are you damn unwitting? Can’t you directly transfer the army from Jiangnan to Hebei? Although the Northwest Army was full of resentment, the generals were probably going to fight the Northern Expedition and had the opportunity to make meritorious service, so with great enthusiasm, braved the cold, he walked thousands of miles and arrived in Hebei.

After a few months in Hebei, I slept by Baigou every day, without any movement of the Northern Expedition. Some officers could not stand it. I sent people across the river to Liao to investigate military information. When you go to other people's territory, you either die or I live, and of course you will kill people. As a result, the Northwest Army was furious that Tong Guan actually ordered all the scouts who crossed the border and killed people, and also informed the entire army that who dared to cross the border and killed Liao soldiers and beheaded. Tong Guan had his reasons. I was negotiating with the Khitans. What trouble did you guys make? You are looking for death.

The Northwest was so popular that Tong Guan was the old commander of their land and had always taken good care of the Northwest Army. Many Northwest generals were promoted by him, but this incident still angered the Northwest soldiers. Everyone scolded Tong Guan’s ancestors for eight generations. What’s more serious is that this hit the morale of the Northwest Army. Originally, the Northwest Army was full of anger, but now, a scoop of cold water was poured down, the fire of enthusiasm was extinguished, and the fire of anger became even higher.

After one wave of defeat, another wave of up. Tong Guan played his old tricks on the battlefield of the Northern Expedition. The old master of the army could not bear it anymore. Is my Northwest Army a human or a livestock? This is the Northern Expedition, which is related to the safety of the Song Dynasty and cannot tolerate a slight mistake. At this time, you dare to use 75,000 people to pretend to be 100,000. What do you want to do? You want to defeat a war. If you have an emperor as your backer, you can lie about the victory even if you are defeated. Even if you can't hide it, you will only be punished slightly. However, my Northwest Army soldiers died in vain and died worthless. I will never fight such a war. I would rather be defeated and go to jail than let my soldiers die in vain.

Tong Guan announced the order in the Xuanfu Department and was preparing to attack on a date. The following group of generals were expressionless and had no missing points.

There is no way to fight this battle. The Northern Expedition Army was 75,000, and the 25,000 people from the Fourth Hebei Routes were just enough to make up the number of people, so only 50,000 Northwest Army actually fought on the battlefield. But what is terrible is that the 50,000 Northwest Army also had a vacancies, and more than 30% of the land was vacancies. Liu Yanqing's Lin Yanqing's army had no time to replenish, and even half of the vacancies were reached.

Zhong Shidao nominally brought 50,000 Northwest Army, but in fact only 32,000 people. In the Northwest Army, 30% of the vacancies are considered routine, because the Northwest is too poor, some officers want to make some money privately, some want to improve the food of the soldiers, etc. In short, making money in the army is the most convenient, direct and easy way to eat the vacancies.
Chapter completed!