Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 29
Sun Qi ordered Nuershan to be taken down, because Nuershan was willing to help trick open the gate of Lingzhou City, so Sun Qi asked someone to tidy up a clean house for him and put him under house arrest.

"Wen Shao, I originally wanted to support you after the soldiers and horses were mobilized, but now I have to leave. After the soldiers and horses arrive, I can only look at your own." Sun Qi said.

Although he didn't think Xixia could capture Dingzhou City, he still had to rush back as soon as possible.

Yuan Wenshao had low qualifications and it was difficult to convince the public. According to his original plan, after the soldiers and horses mobilized from various cities arrived, he would publicly announce the appointment of Yuan Wenshao as the general. In this way, even if some people were dissatisfied, they would not dare to mess around. .

But now he doesn't have that time, so he can only look at Yuan Wenshao's ability.

"Don't worry, Duke, my subordinates will definitely capture Lingzhou City." Yuan Wenshao said firmly.

In the beginning, he joined the army to win a title for meritorious service, but now he has the desire to make meritorious service, but he doesn't just think about meritorious service.

"Okay, I'm relieved with your words. Once Lingzhou City is captured, you just need to hold on and wait for the reinforcements to arrive." Sun Qi patted Yuan Wenshao on the shoulder and said.

After Sun Qi left, Cheng Deyuan left a thousand troops and horses for Yuan Wenshao and returned to Wuning City with the remaining troops and horses.

Yuan Wenshao has some of these thousand soldiers and horses, and he has more confidence in his heart.

There are only more than 30 soldiers and horses under him who can fight. If he only relies on this number of people, it will be difficult for him to control the soldiers and horses mobilized from various cities when they arrive.

The soldiers and horses of Wuning City had fought alongside him before, and Cheng Deyuan specifically explained that they were very cooperative.

Yuan Wenshao simply organized the remaining dozens of people in Minshan Fort into personal soldiers, with Zhang An as the commander of the personal guards.

Then while training these thousand soldiers, they waited for the arrival of troops from various cities.

On the third day after Sun Qi left, soldiers and horses mobilized from various cities arrived one after another.

This time Sun Qi mobilized a total of 6000 soldiers and horses from each of the five cities. Adding the [-] soldiers and horses from Wuning City, there were a total of [-] people.

The leader of the troops in each city is a captain from the sixth rank.

When these people arrived, they also inquired about Yuan Wenshao's identity.

Although Yuan Wenshao had the post of lieutenant on behalf of Zhaowu, these captains didn't really buy it.

Yuan Wenshao was originally just an eighth-grade captain, but now he suddenly climbed over them, so naturally he was unwilling to accept it.

Fortunately, because Sun Qi's order was there, they did not dare to disobey. They just wanted to show off Yuan Wenshao at the reception banquet.

Yuan Wenshao simply cleaned up several people by asking for advice on martial arts.

Only then did the captains become more honest.

Although it was only oral, Yuan Wenshao didn't have time to convince them.

After training the troops and horses, they set off with the troops.

It has been four or five days since the end of the last battle. Many Xixia soldiers have escaped. If it continues to drag on, the defenders of Lingzhou City are not fools. It is basically useless for Nuershan to trick the city gate into opening.

……

When Yuan Wenshao led his troops to march towards Lingzhou City, a group of soldiers and horses sent by Sun Qi to report to Bianjing changed horses without changing people along the way. They felt outside Bianjing City covered with dust.

The guard of the west gate of Bianjing saw a group of soldiers coming on horseback from a distance on the tower, and they didn't slow down at all until they approached the gate of the city, and they were furious.

This is Bianjing City, the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, no princes and nobles dared to gallop their horses into the city.

Just as I was about to send someone to intercept it, I heard someone shouting: "Northwest Daxie! Great victory in the Northwest!"

The guard's face changed, and he shouted: "Quickly get out of the way and clear the way for the messenger."

Even if the city gate is closed at night and the palace gate is locked, the messenger delivering military information must be opened as soon as possible without any obstruction.

The gatekeepers knew this very well and did not need the general's orders. When they heard the shouts, they immediately drove away the pedestrians entering and exiting the city gate and made way for them.

The soldiers who reported the news roared past on horseback, and the people who were driven to both sides talked about it.

"I don't know where the victory came from. I remember that the last time a good news came to Beijing, it was the British who repelled the Bei Liao attack. It has been many years."

"The messenger came from the west, either from the southwest or the northwest." A wise person guessed.

"I guess it's the northwest. Xixia invades the border every year."

"Haha, it's really satisfying."

While the people were talking about it, the messenger had already arrived at the palace gate.

The guard at the gate of the palace heard the shouting of victory from a distance, and immediately sent someone into the palace to report. When the messenger came to the gate of the palace, checked the tokens, and the leader was brought into the palace.

When we arrived at the gate of the inner city, there were already internal officials waiting here. They received the good news and passed it on level by level. Finally, the chief internal servant presented it to Ruisi Hall and handed it over to the officials.

After reading the good news, the officials were overjoyed and said: "Go, call the Grand Minister and all the ministers here."

These years Xixia invaded the border every year, and every time the Great Zhou suffered a loss. Although the result of this battle was not rich, it was still a rare victory, so it is natural to publicize it.

Moreover, there is Sun Qi's memorial after the victory report, and he also needs to discuss it with the ministers.

Not long after, officials from three provinces and six ministries were summoned to Ruisi Hall.

After the ceremony, the official passed the good news to the chamberlain.

It was first passed to the hands of the Grand Prime Minister Han Zhang. After Han Zhang read it, he passed it to others and looked thoughtful.

After all the ministers had read it, the official said indifferently: "What do you think of Duke Ding's proposal?"

"Your Majesty, I think that the treasury is empty now, and it is inappropriate to initiate a war. You should stop Ding Guogong immediately." The Minister of the Household Department first objected.

"Your Majesty, I also feel that we should not take the initiative to start a war, and even if Lingzhou City is captured, Xixia will definitely not give up, and the war will not stop at that time."

"Your Majesty, I think..."

At one time, seven or eight people stood up to oppose it, but no one supported it.

The reason for this situation is related to the fact that there are all civil servants in the palace.

The Great Zhou Dynasty valued literature over military affairs. The Minister of War and the Privy Council chief who managed the mobilization of soldiers and horses in the world were all civilian officials. It is strange that they agreed.

Since ancient times, civil and military relatives have been neglected, and the status of military generals is low. When wars are launched, military generals must be re-used. This is what civil officials do not want to see.

In addition, since the official family was in charge, they have been in charge of guarding. In order to reach an armistice agreement with Beiliao, they even gave Beiliao 30 taels of old coins every year.

Sui coins are nominally a reward, but in fact they are tribute.

Whether it is to suppress military generals or cater to officials' ideas, they will object.

Han Zhang looked at these people's objections and sneered in his heart.

These people also thought that the government and Beiliao reached an armistice agreement because they were afraid of war.

In fact, the reason why the officials are like this is because the first emperor waged wars many times, the treasury was empty, and he was unable to fight at all.

Although giving Beiliao 30 two-year-old coins every year seems humiliating, but if it is not given, the war will continue, and the annual military expenditure will exceed this, and the treasury will hardly be able to bear it.

What the officials did was just a delaying tactic to buy time to restore national strength.

If you attack other cities, the officials will definitely object.

But Lingzhou City is the main road to the Western Regions. Once captured, not only can they obtain war horses from the Western Regions, but they can also trade with the Western Regions. No matter whether it is immediate benefits or long-term benefits, the officials cannot refuse.

(End of this chapter)