Prime Minister

Hezhou City.

The city walls were rebuilt.

The Baita Temple was also renovated.

The temple is built with earthen walls, showing a bit of vicissitudes, but it is already a first-class building in Hezhou.

Zhiyuan, an eminent monk from Bianjing, was preaching scriptures, attracting countless believers to listen.

Zhiyuan was wearing a purple robe and monk's clothes bestowed by the emperor, and sat on the altar. In front of him were hundreds of monks, and behind the monks were good men and women.

The hall was full of people sitting inside and outside, and everyone put their hands together, showing a pious expression.

The eminent monks in Bianjing sit on lions and preach, but the monks in Hehuang do not need to do this, and there are still countless believers.

This time, Zhiyuan accompanied Zhang Yue to Beijing to receive the award. He was already the first seat on the right street. He was old and fell ill on the way back to Beijing. He should have had a good rest in Bianjing.

But this time when Zhang Yue returned to Xihe Road, Zhi Yuan followed without hesitation with a dozen or so disciples from thousands of miles away.

These dozen or so disciples were all Tibetans recruited by Zhiyuan when he was in the Qingtang Dynasty. This time he went to Beijing with him, and all of them received a degree.

Since Zhiyuan came to Baita Temple to preach, thousands of believers in Hezhou have come to listen to the lectures of this eminent monk from Bianjing every day.

Zhiyuan is also quite good at medical theory, and he diagnoses and treats the sick believers. His disciples also speak the Dharma to the confused and confused Tibetans, and save the dead.

After Zhiyuan finished his lecture, he walked among the believers and talked, his face was full of compassion.Many Tibetans were moved by Zhiyuan's kindness and listened piously.

Soon Zhiyuan heard the report that Zhang Yue, the envoy of Jinglue, had arrived, and immediately led his disciples to meet him.

Zhang Yue didn't go through the main entrance, but brought Tang Jiu and a few others here pretending to be simple, and they met in the back room of the temple.

Zhang Yue looked at Zhiyuan, and the other person's face was a little pale, which was obviously due to his unhealed illness.

Seeing Zhang Yue, Zhi Yuan put his palms together and bowed deeply.

Zhang Yue also folded his palms together and said, "Master, take care of your health and don't overwork yourself."

Zhiyuan said: "What the poor monk cultivates in this life is to completely cut off afflictions, possess all merits and virtues, transcend all samsara, and enter immortality. What is the suffering of the mere body?"

After a pause, Zhiyuan said: "Mr. Jinglue, the old monk has an unfeeling request."

Zhang Yue asked: "Master's unfeeling invitation is for the foreigners here, right?"

Zhiyuan Heshi said: "Sure enough, you can't hide anything from Mr. Jinglue. Although the people in Xihe are reckless and straightforward, their nature is closer to simplicity, and they are more close to the Buddha's heart than us Song people."

"It's a pity that many aboriginal people were displaced during the attack on Hezhou this time. The poor monk implored Zhang Longtu to take in these people and help those who have no food and clothing."

Hezhou's military rations have to be transferred from Qinzhou, and the Song army only has enough to eat, and they still need to use it to support these displaced Tibetan believers?
But Zhang Yue did not refuse and said: "Since the master opened Jinkou, I will set up a porridge factory in Baita Temple to help."

Zhiyuan was already overjoyed, and said with palms together: "Thank you, poor monk, Mr. Jinglue."

Zhi Yuan paused and said: "When the poor monk was in Guwei, Wang Zichun didn't tolerate the poor monk. It's strange that the poor monk has higher trust among the Tibetans than him."

What Zhiyuan said was the truth, he came from Dong Zhan when he entered the Qingtang Dynasty, everyone under Mu Zheng respected him.

Zhiyuan said with emotion: "Prince Chun can't tolerate people, but Mr. Jinglue can tolerate others. This is where he is not as good as Mr. Jinglue. Therefore, Wang Zichun can be powerful for a while, but to make Xihe long-term stability still depends on Jinglue." Your husband."

Zhang Yue hesitated for a moment and said: "Master, I don't dare to take it seriously. It's just that I've heard that not only the locals obey the master, but even Mu Zheng also obeys the master. Now he refuses to surrender, which is a big problem. It's easy for me to kill Mu Zheng, but it's easy to kill him." In the future, it will not be easy for the Xihe tribe to return to their hearts."

Zhiyuan smiled lightly and said: "What's the difficulty? The poor monk went to Tabai City to persuade Mu Zheng."

"Grandmaster?"

The disciples on the side all said one after another: "Master, Gui Zhang, Mu Zheng is now hostile to us, this trip is extremely dangerous!"

Zhi Yuan said: "Saving someone's life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. As long as it can save the people of Hezhou from war disasters, what's the point of a poor monk going there? At worst, I will bury this old bone in a foreign land."

There is compassion in Zhiyuan's words.

The disciples were all moved by it, and expressed their willingness to go with them.

Many of Zhiyuan's disciples were nobles in the Qingtang and Tibetan tribes. They worshiped Zhiyuan's sect because of their admiration for Buddhism and his character.

However, Zhiyuan did not agree to the disciples' request, and only wanted to take the risk alone.

Zhang Yue was silent for a moment when he heard the words, and finally clasped his hands together and said, "Master Zhang has such great wisdom and courage, and Zhang thanked him here."

Zhiyuan also put together the ten words: "It's serious, the poor monk hopes that after acquiring Hezhou, Mr. Jinglue can treat the people kindly, treat the Han family well, and return peace to the land of Xihe. Such a poor monk will be grateful gone."

Zhang Yue wanted to speak, but suddenly felt a little choked up and finally said: "Master, don't worry, what Zhang promises to you will definitely be done."

After Zhiyuan got Zhang Yue's consent, he set off alone the next day. He only brought loyal believers with him, and did not let any disciples accompany him.

Seven days later, Zhiyuan died in the Fan camp in Tabai City.

Guizhang suspected that Muzheng was in collusion with him, so one day while Muzheng was on a tour, Guizhang led his men into Muzheng's camp and killed Zhiyuan.

……

And when Zhiyuan went to Tabai City, Zhang Yue learned that the newly appointed Xihe Lu Zong Mashou Wang Zhongzheng had arrived in Xizhou from Qinzhou, and was on his way from Xizhou to Hezhou.

Knowing that Wang Zhongzheng was here, Zhang Yue knew that the officials were in a hurry again.

The officials could no longer tolerate their own delay.

Zhang Yue discussed with Zhang Shen and Cai Yanqing, Zhang Shen was very indignant, but Cai Yanqing didn't speak, he was the transfer envoy of Qin Feng Road, so he knew his own affairs, Qin Feng Road is indeed very difficult to supply the army with food.

Cai Yanqing told Zhang Yue that he was going back to Qinzhou to supervise the grain, and Zhang Yue felt that Cai Yanqing was a chicken thief.

In this way, he avoided the conflict between the border officials and Wang Zhongzheng.

Relatively speaking, Zhang Shen is more loyal.

Unexpectedly, the next day, Zhang Yue received a report from the border that Xixia was regrouping in Lanzhou, Tiandu Mountain, and stationed heavy troops. It was even rumored that Xia Guoguo's prime minister, Liang Yibu, had arrived at the Wadanghui at the foot of Tiandu Mountain, and could go south to Xizhou at any time, threatening Huizhou. Zhang Shen took the initiative to ask Ying to lead some troops back to Xizhou to prevent Xixia from intercepting the rear.

Zhang Shen and Cai Yanqing left one after another, leaving only Zhang Yue to face Wang Zhongzheng.

Zhang Yue scolded these two people for their lack of 'loyalty' behavior. It was clear that the plan to gather heavy troops in Hezhou City was the unanimous decision of the three of them, but when they heard that the officials sent people to supervise the battle, they all ran away in a hurry.

Zhang Yue went out of the city to meet Wang Zhongzheng, showing full sincerity.

After Wang Zhongzheng received the order, he hesitated to set off from Qinzhou City to Hezhou, but the king's order cannot be violated, so he rushed to the city day and night.

Before he came, he repeatedly inquired about the situation in Beijing, and he also carefully pondered the imperial decree of the emperor. He clearly saw that the imperial court was also very repetitive in making decisions about the war ahead.

A piece of inconspicuous news can overturn all the decisions Yuqian made yesterday, and Wang Zhongzheng expected this.

Therefore, the officials emphasized the word "camera" while urging Zhang Yue to enter the army.

This is very embarrassing for Wang Zhongzheng. He doesn't want to offend Zhang Yue, but he is even more afraid of offending the officials. Moreover, he dare not expect to win such a strategic decisive battle related to the fate of the country, but if he loses, Zhang Yue will be a civil servant. It's still good, but his life is definitely in danger.

When Wang Zhongzheng saw Zhang Yue's expression was tense, he showed Zhang Yue the imperial edict in his hand.

Of course Zhang Yue would not suspect that the imperial edict was false, but he still read the details, and he also saw the word 'camera' in the imperial edict.

This shows that the officials have not lost their trust in him, otherwise, as long as the officials issue an edict that "all the generals along the border obey Wang Zhongzheng's order", Zhang Yue's military power will be emptied, unless he wants to rebel.

Of course, this move is inappropriate, and there are many hidden dangers. Because of the Tang Dynasty's reasons and natural interests, civil servants have always opposed eunuchs in charge of the army.

But it's not impossible, Wang Zhongzheng and Li Xian in front of him, and even later Tong Guan are representatives of eunuchs in charge of the army.And in all fairness, these people played pretty well (after all, they would be exaggerated by civil officials if they were defeated).

Therefore, whether Wang Zhongzheng can be persuaded to go on, the relationship between the two is very important.

Zhang Yue said: "I have seen Fangshi, and a banquet has been set up in the city to welcome you."

Wang Zhongzheng said: "Emissary Jing Lue is welcome, our family is here on the orders of the emperor, before the matter is settled, our family can't eat a single bite!"

Wang Zhongzheng put on a businesslike look.

Zhang Yue nodded and said, "Then follow Fangshi's wishes."

Immediately Zhang Yue went to Daying and explained the current situation to Wang Zhongzheng in front of the map. Although Wang Zhongzheng was an eunuch, he came on behalf of the official family.

Zhang Yueyan said: "Look at Fangshi, this is the Yellow River, Hebei is the land of Xia, and Henan is under our feet. It seems that Hezhou, Minzhou, Taozhou, Jishijun, Kuozhou, etc. are all in Henan. .”

Wang Zhongzheng looked at the map, Xia Guo originally refused to have Lanzhou and Huizhou in Henan, but in the third year of Xining, Huizhou was lost, and half of Lanzhou was lost.

Today, most of Henan is shared by the Song army and the Qing and Tang tribes.

Zhang Yue said again: "Fang Envoy will look at the land of Henan again. Let's use Nanshan and Xishan to divide the land of Henan. Nanshan refers to the boundary between Mintao and Xihe, and Xishan refers to Jishi Mountain."

"Also known as Xishan and Nanshan, the Min, Tao, Die, and Dang areas outside the mountains are outside the mountains, and Xizhou and Hezhou are inside the mountains."

What Zhang Yue said generally people at that time would be a little confused.

But if you change the traveler, you will understand it at a glance. Lugu Mountain is also called Taizi Mountain. It is said that Fusu was here to guard the border.

Lugu Mountain is the remaining line of Kunlun Mountains, which is the boundary between the first and second steps in China.

The average altitude in the west of Lugu Mountain is over 4000 meters, while that in the east of Lugu Mountain is only over 2000 meters.

In other words, the first step and the second step are roughly the dividing line between farming peoples and nomadic peoples. Considering the national strength of the Song Dynasty at that time, it was very difficult to cross this place.

As far as the situation of Xihe River is concerned, Xizhou Hezhou is within the mountain, which is the range of the second step.

And Minzhou, Taozhou, Diezhou, and Dangzhou are in the east of Lugu Mountain, which is between the junction of the first and second steps.

"It seems that there are Huangshui Valley, Yellow River Valley, and Taohe Valley in the mountains, all of which are suitable for our army to cultivate."

"As for the west of Nanshan and Xishan (close to the first step), it is not suitable for farming, and it can be cured by the policy of restraining."

As soon as Wang Zhongzheng heard Zhang Yue's words, he understood that he was looking at the patterns with his palms upside down.

Others can't understand what they said for a long time, but Zhang Yue understands it as soon as he speaks.

Some people say that although the territory of the Song Dynasty is large, there is no inch to lose, and every inch of land must be fought for.

Others said that all the land west of Qinzhou must be given up to the Fan tribe.

These two statements are too absolute, and must be analyzed in detail on specific issues. Farming peoples are limited by the problem of supply lines, and it is almost the same if they advance to the first and second steps. For the time being, the strategy of confinement is the way to deal with it.

But being on the second rung is a must.

"So Xizhou and Hezhou must be taken! And Minzhou, Taozhou, Diezhou, and Dangzhou outside the mountains should be taken as much as possible." Wang Zhongzheng easily came to this conclusion.

The Xihe River and Hezhou in the mountains are relatively low-lying and extend in all directions, so they are easy to be attacked. Therefore, to defend the Xihe River, the mountains and rivers must be complete.

It's like the reason that those who guard the Yangtze River must first guard the Huai River since ancient times.

Minzhou, Taozhou, Diezhou, and Dangzhou guard the access channels, which is similar to the role of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River.

Zhang Yue said: "Fangshi Mingjian, that's exactly the case. Xizhou and Hezhou have a large area and people, and they can form a country of their own. If I don't take it, it will be taken by Xia State sooner or later. Minzhou, Taozhou, Diezhou, Dangzhou It is an external force, if it is not guarded, then Xihe will not have a day to sleep, this was what Wang Zichun said in Ping Rong Ce."

Wang Zhongzheng was very familiar with the Ping Rong policy that Wang Shao implemented in the first year of Xining.

Wang Zhongzheng immediately recited: "The Xia people attacked Qingtang every year, and they could not overcome them. If they conquered them, they would join their troops to the south... To break the border of the ancient Wei, to conquer the southern mountains to grow Qiang, and to build Wusheng in the west (Xizhou), When sending troops to plunder Tao, He, Zelong, and all the prefectures of Shu, they should make a fuss..."

Wang Zhongzheng knew Wang Shao's strategy of Ping Rong fluently by heart, and he was obviously quite knowledgeable.

Zhang Yuedao: "What the envoy said is very true. The Pingrong policy's 'full obedience to Nanshan Shengqiang' is the two commanders of Dong Zhan's men, Ji Pu Leng and Qing Yijie Guizhang..."

Wang Zhongzheng was stunned.

The Song Dynasty divided the Qiang people into raw Qiang and cooked Qiang.

Like Zhao Zhong, Bao Shun, Xi Qi and others are familiar with Qiang, have dealt with the Han people for a long time, and followed the Song army on expeditions.

As for Sheng Qiang, he refused to accept Wang Hua.

As for the Qiang people in Nanshan, we are talking about the Qiang people in Minzhou, Taozhou, Diezhou, and Dangzhou. The leaders are Jipu Leng and Guizhang.

But it was Wang Shao who was even more powerful, and Wang Shao seemed to have anticipated today's battle in the first year of Xining.

If Xixia wanted to attack the Song Dynasty, it was necessary to recover the Shengqiang in the Nanshan Mountains. On the contrary, when the Song Dynasty recovered the Qingtang, it was also crucial to recover the Shengqiang in the Nanshan Mountains.

Zhang Yue said: "Guizhang is the general of Wenbaxi, the leader of Shannan. Later, he expelled Wenbaxi and made himself the leader. Nowadays, most of the tribes in Shannan are at his disposal."

"If you want to take the four prefectures in the south of Shanshan, or attack Xishan, take over the power of Hehuang, and subdue all the tribes of the Qing and Tang Dynasties, you must base yourself in Hezhou! Therefore, this battle can only be won and not defeated."

Zhang Yue thought of the history of another time and space. The history continued until the first year of Xuanhe, Tong Guan led the army westward, and the Song Dynasty completely captured Hengshan and Qingtang.

In the second year of Xuanhe, the Fangla uprising broke out, and Tong Guan was transferred back to counter the rebellion.

In the seventh year of Xuanhe, Jurchen went south to attack Bianjing for the first time, and Xixia came back from the dead, completely reversing.

Reading history so far, it is really sad.

If Xixia can be pacified before Jingkang, or even Xuanhe, Song will at least be able to fight Khitan and Jurchen with all their strength.

But it's just a little bit worse. If Pingxia had been ten years earlier, would history have been different?
Thinking of this, Zhang Yue suddenly felt a little dazed.

He is already standing on the cusp of history at this moment, and the country's road has also embarked on two completely different paths because of his choice.

And Wang Zhongzheng had vaguely grasped Zhang Yue's overall strategy.

Wang Zhongzheng said: "Our family understands Zhang Longtu's strategic planning. This time when our family traveled westward, the official gave us a policy saying that 'the picture is bigger than the fine, and it is difficult to be easy'. Now that Mu Zheng is weak, Dong Zhan If the power is strong, we should take the Wooden Zheng, Qingtang is weak, and Xia Guo is strong, so we should take Qingtang first."

"Now in Muzheng, Guizhang has been trapped in Tabai City. Maybe Zhang Longtu wants to wait until the soldiers and horses are ready before attacking, but there is a saying in the art of war. It is better to use fewer troops. If you have more soldiers, you will compete with food, and if you have few soldiers, you will compete with the enemy. .”

Zhang Yuedao: "It's just like what the Fang envoy said, but when Mr. Fan Wenzheng was in the Northwest, he admired the strategy of shallow attack, and the same is true for Mr. Zhang who is not talented."

What Zhang Yue said is shallow attack and advanced construction, which was proposed by Fan Zhongyan.

It is actually similar to the "strengthen the stronghold and fight dumbly" thousands of years later.

Carry out active defense on the inside line, and implement a "shallow attack" on the outside line, only advancing a little at a time, and then relying on defense.

In fact, the results of the Song Dynasty's offensive against Xixia in history were based on the "shallow attack and construction" mentioned by Fan Zhongyan at the beginning. However, if the advance was farther or deeper, it often failed.

For example, they went sixty miles deep to build Luowu City at once, and the battle of Yongle City all failed.

At the same time, the person who most resolutely implemented shallow attack and construction in history was Zhang Yi himself.Zhang Yi used his troops to prepare only six or seven days of military rations for each attack, and rarely engaged in large-scale and deep interspersed attacks. After laying down the territory, he stopped to build the city.

It took Zhang Yue a month to capture Hezhou City, and another month to confront the enemy in Tabai City.

The biggest advantage of the shallow attack strategy is that it solves the problem of the long logistics supply line of the Song army, but this kind of tactics seems very cowardly, and it consumes a lot of national strength.

Zhang Yue continued: "Before I was stationed in Ninghe Village, I sent Zhong Dao, Wang Junwan and others to sweep up the Hezhou Fan tribe, and sent troops to the line between Nanchuan Village and Huaiqiang City, in order to break the army of the Shannan Fan tribe led by Guizhang. On the way back, many of the Fan tribes have left their strongholds."

"At present, more than seven of the ten tribes in Hezhou belong to the dynasty. I ordered them not to supply food to the city of Tabai. Once the food for the Fan army is exhausted, Guizhangmuzheng will not fight."

"Now it's just a matter of waiting for a good time."

Wang Zhongzheng asked: "The timing Zhang Longtu said is to wait for Master Zhiyuan to turn Mu Zhengguizhang against him? If it doesn't work, wouldn't it be a waste of military rations?"

Zhang Yue smiled and said: "Mu Zheng and Gui Zhang share the same bed and different dreams, even if there is no wisdom for this trip, sooner or later they will fight among themselves."

……

After a long talk, Wang Zhongzheng was convinced by Zhang Yue.

That night, he immediately wrote a letter to the emperor saying that the general is leading the army outside, and only if he does not infringe on his position on weekdays, can he be successful in the future.

And Zhang Yue continued to send generals to plunder as far as the Yellow River in the north and Nanshan in the south, and the cavalry of the Song Army plundered all over the place.

In March of the sixth year of Xining.

Rumor has it that Mu Zheng and Gui Zhang are at odds with each other.

After being stationed in Hezhou City for nearly two months, the Song Army finally made a move.