Fu Song

Chapter 713 Full-scale war

The Yellow River is finally frozen!
The torrential yellow water in the past has become a flat channel. Countless vehicles, livestock and troops crossed the Yellow River on the thick ice.

At the end of October in the sixth year of the Tiansong Dynasty, the Liao Kingdom issued the Southern Expedition Order.

With Zhennan Wang Yeluzhen as the commander-in-chief, a 30 army started the southern expedition, vowing to completely complete the great cause of unifying the world that the former emperor Yelujun had not completed.

The Liao army was divided into three groups, one led by Yeluhuan, the governor of Xijing Road, led the troops of the Xijing Road headquarters, and joined Liu Quanyi, the state of Jin, to attack Shaanxi Road. At the same time, they paid close attention to the movements of the Western Army. It is necessary to block the Western Army in Hexi and Shaanxi, and prevent it from intervening in the Central Plains war.

The second route, led by Yelu Longxu, took Tokyo City, Kaifeng Prefecture as the base camp, and attacked Nanyang and Shangqiu.

The third route, led by Yeluzhen himself, launched a fierce attack from the east of Beijing to the Jianghuai River Basin. This route was also the focus of the Liao army's attack.Once the Huaihe River Basin is lost, the south of the Yangtze River will inevitably be lost. Although the Yangtze River is dangerous, it has nothing to rely on, and it is impossible to stop the Liao army.Knowing this well, the Jiangning Xinsong court also deployed heavy troops in the Jianghuai River Basin.

If it is said that on the Shaanxi Road and the central battlefield, the Song Army was purely defensive, but in the Jianghuai River Basin, it was defensive and offensive, and put on a posture to fight the Liao Army here. .

There are rumors that Xiao Chuo, Empress Dowager Chengtian of the Liao Kingdom, has left Zhongjing and moved to Daoxijin Mansion in Nanjing. There are also rumors that Xiao Chuo has secretly gone to Daming Mansion in Hebei to personally sit in town and supervise the entire Liao Army's southern expedition.

And it was the empress dowager Chengtian's father, Xiao Wen, who was in charge of transshipment logistics for hundreds of thousands of Liao troops.

"Stop it!"

No matter what you want to do, the first step is always to fill the stomachs of those who follow you.

"Officials, of course they can win!" Xiao Cheng said with a smile, "Thanks to the excellent seeds cultivated by the official family over the years with Sinong Temple, our Great Song Dynasty has slowly accumulated several years of food over the years, Even if there is no harvest from this year, our Dasong can last for two years without going hungry."

The two wolves were fighting each other, and the fierce tiger himself was watching from the sidelines, and he would strike at the right time to wipe out those unsightly places in one fell swoop.

There are too many factors affecting the war, and the number of people has never been the decisive factor affecting the final outcome.

"No, in order to launch this Southern Expedition, the Liao people turned almost all their steel into weapons. Their agricultural production has remained at the level of many years ago. The materials they need to prepare for the war are almost It is obtained by squeezing the people. In this way, although a large amount of wealth can be accumulated in a short period of time, it cannot be sustained.”

"Your Majesty only remembers his grain production per mu and total production, but he doesn't care much about steel!" Si Junchao laughed.

"Naturally, we are in the same boat now." Si Junchao said, "We will wait until the time of the counterattack."

"Really?" A happy smile appeared on Zhao An's face.

The final battle for the top, which has been brewing and preparing for several years, finally kicked off.

Sometimes the master's words sound very vulgar, not at all like the words of a two-ranked Jinshi, but the master at this time is Zhao An's favorite.

"Of course we hope so, but first of all, our army needs to be able to withstand the onslaught of the Liao people on the front line. The officials, the Empress Dowager Chengtian of the Liao Kingdom put everything on the table. Next, we will Above the military, it is inevitable to bear great pressure. And once the front line loses, the rear may not be able to maintain the current unity." Xiao Cheng said.

"Master is right, Taibao, there is no need to mention the matter of sending the supervising army to the front line. Besides, Zhiqiuyuan and the Imperial City Secretary also reported all the situation among the generals at the first time. It's still pretty clear."

"Since the officials have made a decision, the ministers will naturally obey!" Si Junchao bowed his body, and said: "The officials, the chief and the assistants streamlined the administration, and a large number of troops were abolished. Of course, the combat effectiveness of our Song army has been greatly improved. But the military strength is really too small. Xiangfan has less than 5 people. Shangqiu line has less than 3 people. The most important Jianghuai River Basin has only 8 people. All naval divisions add up to less than 5 people, of which two More than [-] people are still fighting at sea, compared to the Liao army, their strength is far from enough!"

"Guys, do you know how many catties our annual steel output is now?" Xiao Cheng asked with a smile.

"Can the front line really be stopped?"

So a prince Taibao plus the title of King Han fell on Si Junchao's head.

People eat for food.

"There is no distinction between the north and the south, and there is no distinction between people, old or young. Everyone has the responsibility to fight against the Tartars!"

"The Taibao wrongly blamed me. Over the years, has Xiao ever eliminated dissidents for no reason? What I want is the rules, the system. The Taibao has been studying me for the past two years, and I think I should get something."

"Master, can we win this battle?" Zhao An looked at Xiao Cheng with some apprehension.

Well, it is also possible to let the Liao people help me clean up these guys, so as not to cause some new conflicts by doing it myself in the future.

Those guys from the Pioneering Group might have fought well, but if they were to return to the country, they might immediately become rats that ruined a good pot of soup.

Zhao An tilted his head and thought for a moment: "I seem to have seen it in some booklet, the household department should have done statistics, but I forgot."

"There are not many troops, so what is the best strategy for the Taibao?" Zhao An asked.

The 30 Liao army marched south. If you count the servants in Jingdong, Hexi, and Hebei, 60 to 20 people are more than enough.The last time the Liao army defeated Tokyo, there were only [-] people in total.

Zhao An excitedly said: "So the plan you made, master, is to continue with the Liao Kingdom first. It only takes two years, and the Liao Kingdom will inevitably lose its strength."

"On the other hand, our Great Song army has been successfully reorganized in the past few years, with strict military discipline, while the Southern Exploration Corps has a very loose military discipline because of its particularity. To be honest, I don't worry about letting them fight in their own country! Over the years, The friendship between the common people and the army that we have created with great difficulty cannot be lost overnight because of them. It is difficult for officials to establish trust, and it will take several years or even longer, but losing this kind of trust is only a matter of time. Just one thing is needed."

More than [-] copies of this issue of Jiangning Weekly were printed and distributed and posted throughout the country for free.

"Naturally! But now..."

On the square in front of the palace, the carriages of the two people were on the left and the right, clearly distinguishing each other.

"People from the Liao Kingdom all use iron farm tools now?" Zhao An asked.

But this time the Liao army was even bigger.

If you ask people who are hungry to show righteousness and etiquette, this is playing hooligans.

Of course, unlike these vain things, Si Junchao can discuss affairs with the court, and this is the real thing.

"In the past few years, under the rule of Empress Dowager Chengtian, the Liao Kingdom has gradually changed the current situation of insufficient steel production, but their steel production last year was only more than [-] million catties, which is only one-fifth of ours." Xiao Xiao Cheng said: "More steel production means that we can produce more swords, guns, swords and halberds, and more armor can form a stronger fighting force. And more steel can also produce more agricultural tools. , can make our agricultural production more efficient. Officials, a few years ago, farmers in many places didn’t even have an iron hoe, but now, such things are basically invisible.”

This is to his credit.

Chief Assistant Xiao Cheng made a statement on the Jiangning Weekly.

The two bid farewell to Zhao An and walked out of the palace.

The Pioneering Group did all kinds of bad things in those small countries in the south, and some things could be called God's Wrath. Zhao An could also know from the reports of Zhiqiu Yuan and Huangcheng Division that Xiao Cheng was so As soon as he said that, he immediately changed his mind.

"Officials, Shoufu, I think, the front line still needs to send a supervising army!" Si Junchao said: "The supervising army can effectively supervise the generals in command to fight hard, and at the same time ensure their loyalty. You can know immediately."

"Absolutely not!" Xiao Cheng resolutely objected: "The general is outside, and the emperor's order is not acceptable. The imperial court has formulated an overall strategy, and how to fight is the responsibility of the generals, as long as their strategy is within the general framework formulated by the imperial court. And steadily move towards the goal that the imperial court wants to achieve. The so-called supervising army will only make the frontline generals suspicious and look forward and backward, but it will be very detrimental to combat. Officials should not be suspicious of employing people, and doubting people will not be used.”

If you lose, China will be gone.

"But admiration is nothing but admiration, what should be fought, I must still fight."

Hearing Si Junchao's words, Xiao Cheng couldn't help but twitch his mouth. This guy has always been thinking about gaining military power and commanding an army.I used to despise the army, but in the past few years, I finally realized the bias in the past, and understood the truth that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, but I only realized it now, and it was too late.

"Officials, the Southern Pioneering Group cannot be moved." Xiao Cheng said: "Over the years, the Pioneering Group's actions in the south have forged a lot of enmity with the locals. Now we are fighting with the Liao people. Those small countries, I'm afraid that one by one is trying to make trouble with us, so at this time, not only can the pioneer group not return, but also increase their strength in these places to suppress these small southern countries and prevent them from having other ideas. "

If you are not allowed to go to the court, and you are not allowed to participate in the governance of the court, no matter how powerful you are, you will not be able to use it. Your agent in the court, without your influence, will naturally not be able to perform as it should. effect.

Si Junchao said: "Officials, our pioneering regiments in the south have been fighting all these years. While grabbing countless wealth for Song Dynasty, their combat effectiveness is also steadily improving. As far as I know, the pioneering regiments' The total number of combatants exceeds 5. If they can be called back, it will be a tiger and wolf army!"

"Expel the Tartars and restore China!"

The characters of these pioneers are not good, but their combat effectiveness has been honed over the years, as Si Junchao said, and they will definitely be able to compete with the Liao army.

After several years of deliberation, propaganda, and agitation, after this mobilization order was issued, it finally saw its effect. The whole country, within a short period of time, the public was furious, from officials to civilians, all were mobilized.

Sinong Temple is now undoubtedly the largest department in the Song Dynasty.

"That's the truth!" Zhao An said.

In this way, the mountains and rivers are clear, and everyone is happy.

Food is just one of them.

The Jiangning Xinsong court issued a national mobilization order on their Jiangning Weekly.

In the past two years, under Xiao Cheng's despotic power, the traditional southern forces have been suppressed silently, almost completely defeated.

"In this way, Xiao can feel at ease."

"I hope so!" Si Junchao took a deep breath: "Before the counterattack, we will never block what you want and use. But if you want to take this opportunity to further eliminate dissidents, Then you can’t blame me for turning my face and denying people.”

"More than one billion catties." Xiao Cheng said in a deep voice. "Officials, the steel output of the Song Dynasty in its heyday was only 5000 million catties. Last year, our output was more than six times that of that time."

"Thank you, Stapo, for the affirmation!"

Now that Sijun Chao Neng has once again stood on top of the court, even though he only has the right to discuss matters but not the right to make decisions, it is enough to cheer up the traditional southern forces.

Although this man has been at home for a long time, it is different now. With the large-scale invasion of the Liao Kingdom, Song Dynasty needs to be more united internally, and appeasing Si Junchao is tantamount to appeasing the entire southern traditional forces.

Liao is not a small country in the south. When Song Dynasty starts to counterattack, these pioneering groups will inevitably hit the iron plate if they want to squeeze the persimmons.

"so much?"

"Shoufu has managed the government well in recent years, and Si admires it very much." Si Junchao said.

This is a battle of life and death for the Han people, and there is no way out.

Know the honor and disgrace if you have enough food and clothing, and know the etiquette when you are honest.

However, fighting is not a gang fight. One thousand people against one hundred people has an absolute and irreversible advantage, but ten thousand people against one hundred thousand people, the outcome is very difficult to say.

Variety improvement of various other crops and vegetables has been on the right track.

Seeing Zhao An's eyes looking at him, Xiao Cheng knew that Zhao An was young, because he was frightened by Si Junchao's comparison of the number of Liao army and Song army.

"Of course, officials, it's not that they can't be used, but it's not now." Xiao Cheng glanced at Si Junchao who was a little disappointed, and said with a smile: "When we turn to the counterattack and enter the Liao territory, these pioneering groups have With rich experience in fighting in the enemy's territory, you can send them as the vanguard, Si Taibao, when the time comes, these people will have as much military exploits as they want!"

From Anmin No. [-] to Anmin No. [-], from the early [-] per mu yield to over [-] catties per mu now, he spent almost all of his time in the fields.Although there is still a long way to go from what the master said about Qian Jin, Zhao An has already accumulated considerable confidence. As long as he gives himself enough time, maybe Qian Jin is not the end.

He killed Si Junchao's plan to make the Southern Exploration Group into an army, but immediately gave hope to the other party. Seeing Si Junchao nod helplessly, Xiao Cheng couldn't help but chuckled in his heart.

Si Junchao nodded: "I like the rules and systems, so we will all do things within the rules and systems, right?"

"I think Taibao has seen it, will Taibao abide by it?"

"If anyone doesn't obey, let him go to Lingnan, no, let him go fishing on Haimen Island!" Si Junchao said.

Today's Lingnan is no longer a place for officials to fear. There, it is very good now.

(End of this chapter)