Song Gexing

Chapter 182 Don’t be afraid of Liao Kingdom
Sima Guang looked at Zhao Fang with a look of displeasure on his face. His Highness the Crown Prince spoke again, which made him feel upset.

But Zhao Fang didn't care what he thought, and continued seriously: "Everyone knows the importance of the strategic location of Hengshan. Whether it is us, Xixia, or even the Liao Kingdom, they are all staring at it. Although the Fanbu voluntarily surrendered this time, our Xixia The officers and soldiers reacted quickly. After they expressed their intentions, they immediately took over the fortresses in Hengshan and stopped Xixia's desire to take them back. This is also a great achievement."

"Okay, you're right."

Sima Guang lamented in his heart, but did not immediately retreat, but asked cautiously: "Your Highness should understand that after the Western Army takes over the fortress, the Song Dynasty will soon face a counterattack from the Xixia, and the Liao Kingdom will not be able to take advantage of it. They want to annex the fortress." Xixia, but I absolutely don’t want to be preempted by us.”

Zhao Fang solemnly nodded: "Yes, it is true that we will soon face a two-sided attack, but don't forget, Hengshan Fortress is in our hands. To deal with Xixia's counterattack, we only need to hold on, not seeking merit but seeking no fault. On the other hand, Xixia It is absolutely impossible to counterattack for a long time. After the news comes out, the Gaochang Uighurs will not let go of this opportunity, and the Tibetan Alliance will not let it go. They only have one chance to fight, and if they fail, they will have to retreat immediately to defend everywhere."

"Your Highness's words hit the mark. The Yellow-headed Uighur will not miss this opportunity. Xixia has nothing to worry about!"

The person who spoke was Fan Zhongyan, the prime minister who had guarded Yanzhou back then. He was very clear about the grievances of the various ethnic groups in the northwest. He could only blame Li Yuanhao for making grudges everywhere back then.

Han Qi, who is also proficient in military affairs, smiled and said: "Although it is a two-sided battle, in fact we only need to deal with the Liao Kingdom. And the Liao Kingdom today is not what it used to be. The battle of Qu Yehe also shocked them. Do you dare to fight? The two said, you don't have to worry about this, just order the Hebei border troops to be ready."

Han Qi is really not afraid of the Liao Kingdom. This old man is very proud, which must have something to do with his origin. He is from Xiangzhou, Henan, and is a fellow villager in the next county with Yue Fei.

Xiangzhou belongs to Henan in name, but in fact it spans the north and south of the Yellow River. Before the Song Dynasty, it was under the jurisdiction of Yecheng. It properly belonged to the Hebei Administrative Region, and it was not far from the Song-Liao border.

Everyone is familiar with the name Yecheng. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. From Yuan Shao's headquarters to Cao Cao's headquarters, it has since been the capital of several regimes in the Northern Dynasties.

It's a pity that the city of Ye in the Song Dynasty had long been destroyed in the flames of war, and the Tongque Terrace where Cao Mengde's beautiful women were hidden was no longer seen.

Han Qi, who was born and raised here, is no stranger to war. I am afraid this is the reason why he is a civil servant who is full of poems and books, but he is also familiar with military books and strategies.

Now the national strength of the Great Song Dynasty is booming, and the forbidden army has also been reorganized, and the old, weak and young forbidden troops have been eliminated. It can't be said that the combat effectiveness is comparable to those of the founding of the country, but it will not be much worse.

Especially the emergence of the artillery army made him, who was proficient in military affairs, look down on the Liao Kingdom even more.

"I am willing to lead troops to garrison in Hebei. I will never let the Liao Kingdom ruin the enthronement ceremony of His Highness. Please give me your decree."

Di Qing, who didn't know how to be obedient, marched out boldly and volunteered to guard Hebei. Zhao Fang shook his head and said: "The Liao Kingdom will not go to war. You should prepare for a war of words with them."

Zhao Zhen asked in confusion: "Why is the prince so sure that Liao will not go to war?"

Zhao Fang smiled and said: "Four years ago, Xingzong of Liao Dynasty passed away. After Daozong succeeded to the throne, he committed a big taboo. He followed Xingzong's edict and appointed Xiao A'la as the prime minister of the Northern Palace, but did not remove him from his position as the privy envoy of the southern courtyard. , causing dissatisfaction in the clan, he himself has to guard against his uncle and others, how dare he start a war."

Indeed, I really don’t know what Yelu Hongji is thinking. Xiao Ala is the Northwest Recruitment Envoy and the Prince of Xiping County of Liao Kingdom. His status is indeed noble.

But the problem is that he himself is the privy envoy of Zhinan Yuan, and he holds the military power of the Southern Yuan of the Liao Kingdom. Even after he was appointed as the Prime Minister of the Northern Palace, he still retained the authority of the Southern Yuan.

No matter how noble you are, you can't be more noble than the royal family of the Liao Kingdom. Now Yelu Hongji's uncle Yelu Chongyuan quit his job and began to bribe members of the clan.

Liao's succession to the throne was not as smooth as that of the Song Dynasty. Except for the doubts between Taizu and Taizong when the country was founded, the succession of the Song Dynasty was extremely stable.No royal family's coveting of the throne has caused chaos at all, but in the Liao Kingdom, since the death of Yelu Abaoji, each generation of successors has to fight through the siege among brothers and uncles to ascend to the throne.

The key to the problem is that many members of the Liao clan have military power, and even if they do not have military power, the Khitan nobles can have their own servants.

This is also a big disaster. These slaves don't just farm and serve people. They can fight as soon as they mount a horse. Many of them were once soldiers and became slaves after being captured.

This is a characteristic of the nomads, and it is also the reason why the nomad regime is prone to internal strife, because the force in the hands of the nobles is too strong.

This was true for the Liao Kingdom, and it was also true for the later Jin Kingdom, and it was also true for the later Yuan Dynasty and Qing Dynasty.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty monitored their subordinates so closely, but they still could not stop the princes from seizing the heirs. In the final analysis, these princes had money and people.

Zhao Fang's reasoning was successful, and as expected, what the Song Dynasty ushered not long after was not the army of the Liao State, but the envoys of the Liao State.

The Liao Kingdom did send out troops, but it was just a show of force and stopped dozens of miles away from the border.

Di Qing failed to go to Northern Xinjiang to guard the Northern Xinjiang. The Song army came to the Northern Xinjiang with Cheng Kan. This civil servant who had just been transferred back to Beijing from the military envoy of Fuyan Road was sent to Northern Xinjiang.

This decision was made by Zhao Fang, with the purpose of telling Liao that he did not want to fight.

This is not a sign of weakness, but Zhao Fang understands Cheng Kan's talents. He can serve as a pacifier in the northwest and stabilize the Yanyan Road. How can he be a waste.

Cheng Kan served as deputy privy envoy, and when he was young, he served as a general magistrate in Jingzhou, Gansu Province. During the chaos in Sichuan, he was sent by Zhao Zhen to serve as the prefect of Chengdu Prefecture.

He has delivered good results in everything. He has always been known for his stability, so going to Northern Xinjiang is the best choice now.

Zhao Fang did not want to start a war with the Liao Kingdom now, so he naturally had to send a stable minister to guard it. At the same time, in order to guard against possible conflicts, he was not unprepared.

Di Qing is now too famous to go. Going there will arouse the suspicion of the Liao Kingdom, but the Song Dynasty is not without famous generals, two brothers, Yang Wenguang, Hu Yanshouyong, and Huyan Shouxin.

In order to give young people an opportunity to exercise, he also asked the Political Affairs Hall to issue an order to transfer Wang Shao, the manager of the Jianchang Army to join the army, to serve as a military clerk for Cheng Kan.

Of course, he didn't forget to show some personal favor by giving Guo Zhongyong's two sons and his younger uncle to Yang Wenguang to defeat monsters and gain experience points.

Among these people, Wang Shao is the key point. He was a Jinshi in the second year of Jiayou's reign. He was in the same class as Su Shi and others, but his literary talent was far behind.

But this man was the Optimus Prime of the Song Dynasty in the future. In history, Xihe opened the border and conquered more than 2000 miles of Xixia. It was this civil servant who was a Jinshi.

This was the most glorious record of the Song Dynasty since Taizu in the original history, and then came the decisive battle of Hengshan between Li Xian and Tong Guan.

(End of this chapter)