Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 483 Policy needs to be adjusted

Bianjing Imperial City, Imperial Study Room.

Zhao Kuangyin, the Ninth Five-Year Master of the Great Song Dynasty, slammed the intelligence booklet from the land of Bashu on the table, his face ugly.

The 3 elite Imperial Guards, but the tiger and wolf divisions of the Southern and Northern Wars, were formed by warriors selected from many ranks. These [-] people can break through [-] ordinary soldiers.

But this time the attack on Shu started like a broken bamboo, but after more than half a month, it suddenly stagnated, and suffered repeated defeats, and lost more than half of its troops, which made Zhao Kuangyin annoyed.

"Look at it too!"

In addition to Zhao Pu, Wang Jien, and Zhao Guangyi's three confidantes, he was facing Zhang Yongde, the servant of the Huangmen, Shi Shouxin, who was also the governor of the Tianping Army, and Xue Juzheng, the servant of the Ministry of War and a political advisor. They are also ministers of the humerus that Zhao Kuangyin trusts very much, and they have very close personal relationships.

After the six people looked at it in turn, they already understood why the officials were angry.

The defeat of Shu failed, and the losses were heavy. When the next cold winter came, they would face the problem of sending additional reinforcements and supplying food and grass, which was a headache.

"In my opinion, should we continue to conquer the Kingdom of Shu, or should we take a long-term plan?" Zhao Kuangyin asked.

Zhao Pu was a little embarrassed. After all, he was the one who put forward the policy of first going south and then going north, and formulated a detailed plan, breaking the Northern Zhou's national policy of "first going north and then going south".

Frankly speaking, it was a bit risky, because many military generals who had transitioned from the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the Song Dynasty had to be convinced. They had firmly believed in Zhou Shizong Chai Rong's national policy before, because Chai Rong was also a wise and mighty emperor.

However, Zhao Pu is a man who is capable of governing the country. In addition to the "Chenqiao Mutiny" and "Release of Military Power with a Cup of Wine", he directly participated in and proposed strategies. , Receive its elite soldiers" to help Zhao Kuangyin take back the military power in the hands of the major generals, which won Zhao Kuangyin's trust.

Zhao Kuangyin firmly infiltrated Zhao Pu's twelve-character policy into the establishment of court and local officials, changing the independence of the power structure so that it must operate dependent on the monarchy.

Under Zhao Pu's counselor, this set of mutually restrictive functions and powers system was perfected.That is, the central government set up a deputy prime minister, a privy envoy, a deputy, and three ministers to divide the power of the prime minister and achieve the effect of mutual restraint.The privy envoys are directly under the command of the emperor, while the horse guards and infantry commanders of the imperial guards and the front of the palace are all in charge of training and guarding.

In the first year of Qiande (963), Zhao Kuangyin adopted Zhao Pu's strategy, dismissed Wang Yanchao and other local governors, cut off the power of dozens of kings with different surnames, arranged other vacant posts, and replaced military posts with civil servants, so the military officials lost their support for military power. Base.

On the other hand, the imperial court recruited the bravest soldiers and recruited the best and strongest men into the forbidden army in famine years, so all the best soldiers in the world were under the command of the Privy Council.Although there are no elite soldiers in the local area, the combination of local troops can still restrain the imperial army.This has formed a system of strong stems and weak branches, and mutual restraint between inside and outside.

In the local area, the imperial court appointed literati Ren Zhizhou and deputy general judges as administrative officials. Important documents or important events required joint signatures to be valid.

These strategies are quite recognized by Zhao Kuangyin. Therefore, at the beginning of this year, Zhao Kuangyin dismissed the three prime ministers of Fan Zhi, Wang Pu, and Wei Renpu who were in the Song Dynasty in the Later Zhou Dynasty, and appointed Zhao Pu as the servant, Pingzhangshi, and Jixian Palace. A bachelor who monopolizes the power of the imperial court.

Zhao Pu replied: "I think there is no problem with the strategy of first going south and then going north. However, something happened in the middle of Shu Kingdom, which probably has something to do with Shu Kingdom's strategy of dispatching troops and the people who lead them. The second prince of Shu Kingdom, Meng Xuanyu , It exceeded our expectations, and we never thought that there were still people in Shu who knew how to use soldiers, which led to the obstruction of the attack on Shu."

Zhao Guangyi was also very concerned about the affairs of the Shu Kingdom. At this time, he said suspiciously: "This second prince, Meng Xuanyu, has never heard of him before. He has such a strong ability to lead troops."

Zhao Kuangyin glanced at Wang Jien and asked, "Have you found any clues about Wu De's secret agents?"

Wang Jien said in a soft voice: "The secret spies in the Kingdom of Shu found that the second prince has a good reputation in the Kingdom of Shu, but they did not find out that this person is proficient in leading troops. However, there is one detail, that is, among the staff around the second prince , there is a Mr. Chen, it is said that Meng Xuanyu always asks this person before formulating a strategy and issuing orders."

Zhao Kuangyin was a little surprised: "Mr. Chen? Do you know what his name is? Is there any detailed information about this person?"

Wang Jien shook his head and said: "This. Not yet, because the secret spy can't get close to the second prince, and that Mr. Chen is almost inseparable from Meng Xuanyu. He obeys his advice and treats him as the honored guest. Therefore, the old slave suspects that this Mr. Chen , perhaps it was the key to defeating Shu, every time the enemy took the lead, he disrupted General Wang Quanbin's actions, carried out targeted ambushes, and blocked them, which led to General Wang's failure."

"Send more Wu De Division's secret spies to infiltrate. We must find out who this Mr. Chen is, and whether he has the talent of crouching dragon and phoenix? It would be good if he could steal it away and use it for my Great Song. If he couldn't Let's go, then assassinate, we can't let Shu country have someone who is proficient in strategy and art of war, and ruin my great cause of unification." Zhao Kuangyin said coldly, not angry.

"Old slave understands!" Wang Jien nodded.

Zhao Kuangyin glanced at the others again, and asked: "If the Kingdom of Shu cannot be conquered quickly, then it will be difficult to mobilize the army to enter the Shu Road, and it will be difficult to transport food and grass. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Xue Juzheng, the servant of the Ministry of War, cupped his hands and said, "The officials and ministers think that if the Kingdom of Shu cannot be destroyed quickly, they can concentrate their forces to attack the Kingdom of Tang. Because the Kingdom of Shu has natural dangers, but Li Tang in Jiangdong has only one natural danger of the Yangtze River, and there are many places to land. Not solid."

"If we unite with the Wuyue Kingdom to send troops behind us, and attack from the north and the south, the Tang Kingdom may be destroyed more easily. When the Tang Kingdom is destroyed and Wu Yue surrenders, only the Southern Han Dynasty will be left to attack. Turn around and use the Tang Army Navy to attack the Shu Kingdom from the south. It may be much easier to conquer it."

"Fight the Jiangnan Tang Kingdom first?"

Zhao Kuangyin thought of Li Yu and Jiangnan, and fell into thinking for a while, making it difficult to make a decision.

Because according to Zhao Pu's strategy of dispatching troops, first the Shu Kingdom, then the Southern Han Dynasty, and then surround the Tang Kingdom and destroy it in one fell swoop. This is the first plan.

It is not impossible to abandon Shu first and attack Tang directly, but the national strength of Tang is stronger than that of Shu, Wuyue, and Southern Han, and the attack will not be completed overnight.

"The terrain of Bashu is complicated. At present, there are capable people and strange people there to make suggestions. It is not easy to quickly destroy it. Change the attack target and choose to fight with Tang. Set up troops on the north and south of Shu to block the pass. The Shu army will definitely shrink back and dare not go out. It will not affect my Song's combat layout."

Xue Juzheng, as a political adviser and minister of the Ministry of War, is also a prime minister with some real power. Zhao Kuangyin also paid attention to this idea.

"Prime Minister Zhao, what do you think?" Zhao Kuangyin asked Zhao Pu.

Zhao Pu frowned. Although he wanted to stick to his point of view and still attack Shu first, the terrain of Bashu was really complicated and it was not suitable for a large army to enter, which made it impossible for the Song army to make full use of it.But once it is effectively blocked by the Shu army, it will feel helpless.

"It's not impossible to attack the Tang country first," Zhao Pu's insistence was a little loose.But how to adjust the strategy and prepare before the war requires a new plan.

(End of this chapter)