I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 529: Liao's Pig-Killing Scheme! The only way to completely destroy Liao is to fight quickly
October 19th, almost five o'clock in the morning.

Inside the Hebei Imperial Army camp.

The wind was slightly chilly, and a few remaining stars were twinkling in the sky.

Pang Ji, Han Qi and several generals under their command came to the tent where Su Liang, Zeng Gongliang and others lived.

According to Su Liang, the rating results of the Hebei Imperial Guards will be announced this morning.

Pang Ji and Han Qi were both very excited.

The last rating was Grade C+.

It is far inferior to the Upper Four Armies and the Northwest Imperial Guards, which are of the B grade, and there is an even greater gap between them and the Dragon Feather Army, which is of the A grade.

This time.

The psychological expectation of the two people is: medium grade B.

If they were only one level lower than the Northwestern Imperial Guards, relying on the terrain and experience, they would have a full chance of winning the mission of launching the main attack on the Liao Kingdom.

After a while, the sky gradually brightened.

Liu Sandao strode out and shouted, "Vice Envoy Pang, Envoy Han, and military officers above the rank of military commander, please enter the tents. The rest of you may disperse. No one is allowed to stay within a hundred steps."

Suddenly.

More than twenty people followed Liu Sandao into the camp in front.

Within a hundred steps of the tent, only the guards led by Su Liang were left patrolling and on duty.

Inside the tent.

When Su Liang and Zeng Gongliang saw Pang Ji and Han Qi striding towards them, they immediately stood up.

Su Liang smiled and said, "You two, the rating documents are on the table. Please read them by yourselves. If there is anything wrong, please tell me everything."

Pang Ji and Han Qi nodded.

Then he walked to the desk and began to look through the documents carefully.

The two were as serious as the first time, but much faster.

It also means being more confident than the first time.

The generals behind were also feeling nervous and carefully observed the expressions of the two men.

Swish!Swish!Swish!
The pages of the book turned and the tent was silent.

Not long after.

When they were almost at the end of the document, smiles appeared on Pang Ji and Han Qi's faces.

The generals in the rear were also excited.

The two of them became happier and happier as they watched, as it was obvious that this rating was going to be much better than the last one.

After a while.

Pang Ji pointed his finger at his tongue and then turned to the last page.

The result of the last page will determine whether the Hebei Imperial Army can fight against the Liao in the future.

this moment.

All the generals held their breath and looked at Pang Ji and Han Qi.

Pang Ji and Han Qi took a closer look and frowned almost at the same time, then looked at each other with confusion.

This expression puzzled the generals.

If it is good, you should be excited; if it is bad, you should be frustrated.

This puzzled expression seems to indicate that he cannot understand the results on the document.

Pang Ji said to Han Qi: "Zhigui, you go ahead and tell me!"

Han Qi looked at Su Liang and Zeng Gongliang, and said with a bow, "Central Prime Minister Su, Deputy Envoy Zeng, is it... is it a mistake? According to the detailed rules on the front of the rating document, the Hebei Imperial Guards can barely be rated as a B-middle, but now they are rated as a B-upper."

"Although we both know that the training in recent months has had significant effects, our Hebei Imperial Army is still not worthy of the same B-level as the Upper Four Armies and the Northwest Imperial Army. We both know this clearly."

As soon as these words came out.

The generals behind were all stunned. They didn't expect that he would be given a rating above B.

Has this rating.

The main offensive against Liao must have been led by the Hebei Imperial Army.

But they also know it.

A few months of training is indeed not as good as the Northwest Imperial Army's years of hard training. There is still a certain gap between the two sides and it is difficult to be on the same level.

Su Liang smiled and said, "According to the document rating rules, it is indeed very difficult for the Hebei Imperial Guards to get the B-grade upper grade, but this rating was not decided by me and Deputy Envoy Zeng. The one who decided this grade moved us with his words, so he made an exception and rated it the B-grade upper grade."

"If it's not decided by you, then who else?"

Pang Ji was a little confused. Su Liang and Zeng Gongliang were the main officials in charge of the rating this time, and they had an official edict.

Even if Prime Minister Wen Yanbo and Vice Prime Minister Fu Bi came, they would not be qualified to determine the grades for the two, let alone force them to change their grades.

"Could it be...could it be that the emperor has come?" Han Qi said as he looked around.

At this time.

Zhao Zhen, dressed in a purple robe, strode over from behind.

"Sir... Sir, when... when did you come to Hebei?" Pang Ji was very surprised.

Han Qi also stood there in a daze.

After being stunned for a moment, he quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Pang Ji and the generals behind him also hurriedly bowed and saluted, shouting in unison: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Zhen sat in the main seat and waved to both sides.

Suddenly.

Su Liang, Zeng Gongliang, Pang Ji and Han Qi sat on both sides.

The other generals stood on both sides.

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "I am traveling incognito with Su Qing and Zeng Qing. During this time, I am pretending to be a camp commander to investigate the details of the Hebei military camp."

"I did this not to pick on you or find fault with you, but to get a clearer understanding of the current situation of the Hebei Imperial Army. I have gained a lot!"

"As for why I promoted the Hebei Imperial Guards to Grade B-Upper, it is because I was impressed by their fighting spirit. Everyone is not afraid of death, and everyone is willing to fight to the death. This is my blessing, the blessing of the court, and the blessing of all the people. The Hebei Imperial Guards have such fighting spirit, which is enough to double their combat effectiveness and deserve the grade B-Upper."

"I have only come forward at this moment because I want to see whether you two commanders have sufficient understanding of the Hebei Imperial Army. Now it seems that you have the ability to govern the Hebei Imperial Army for a long time. I am very happy!"

Zhao Zhen paused and coughed dryly.

"At this moment, I can promise you that the main force in attacking Liao will be the Hebei Imperial Army!"

Hear this.

Pang Ji, Han Qi and the generals behind them were all excited, and some even had tears in their eyes.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. We will continue to train hard and the Hebei Imperial Army will live up to its mission and destroy the Liao Kingdom!" Han Qi and Pang Ji bowed at the same time.

"We will fulfill our mission and destroy the Liao Kingdom!" the generals and soldiers behind shouted in unison.

Zhao Zhen looked at Pang Ji and Han Qi.

"Mr. Pang, Mr. Han, you may train hard, but please do not torture the soldiers too much. I was a little angry when I went deep into the military camp to investigate two days ago."

"You two are too strict and harsh. Soldiers attack each other, almost risking their lives. You train until late at night every day. The intensity is too high. You can take a break occasionally. You need to proceed step by step."

"Han Qing, especially you. When the Dizi Battalion was training the army formation, there was only one flaw. After you scolded them, you even had yourself beaten with ten sticks. You also said that if they make the same mistake again, you will be beaten with ten sticks again. If you beat yourself up and cripple yourself, you still lead the troops to fight like this. You must not do this again."

"I know I am wrong, I will obey your command!" Han Qi bowed.

Su Liang and Zeng Gongliang were both stunned.

They didn't expect that such a thing would happen. No one in the army talked about it, but it was discovered by Zhao Zhen.

Han Qi's tactic of "beating himself with a stick if the soldiers made mistakes" was a clever one. If the soldiers did not have enough desire to strive for excellence, then even beating himself to death would probably be useless.

Zhao Zhen paused, then continued: "I rated Hebei's Imperial Army as Grade B, in fact, there is another reason, the court also owes Hebei's Imperial Army something." "Because there is no war in the north and there are often wars in the northwest, Hebei's military rations, military pay, armor, weapons, and even food are not as good as those in the northwest. This is my fault."

"I have decided that after I return to the court, I will allocate 300,000 strings of cash from the royal treasury to improve the food of the Hebei Imperial Guards. This money does not go through the national treasury, and I have the final say. In addition, the armor and weapons of the Hebei Imperial Guards will also be gradually improved, and the marriage problems of some veterans after retirement will also be gradually solved by the court..."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Pang Ji, Han Qi and the soldiers behind them all smiled brightly.

Su Liang and Zeng Gongliang also smiled at each other.

This is the value of the officials coming here.

If these rewards were requested by Su Liang or Zeng Gongliang, the court might not approve them, but if the emperor promised, it would be a done deal and would greatly enhance the cohesion of the Hebei Imperial Guards.

Zhao Zhen thought for a moment, and then said, "This time I am going on a secret tour to the north, you only need to know about it, but don't spread it to others."

"I obey your command!" All the officials bowed at the same time.

Everyone knows it very well.

The Northwestern Imperial Army conquered the Xia Dynasty, and although the imperial court offered a generous reward, the emperor did not personally come to commend them.

Although the Northwestern Imperial Guards were dispersed and stationed in various places in Western Xia.

However, it would still seem a bit unfair if the Northwest Imperial Guards knew that the emperor came to the Hebei military camp and praised him.

That is why the emperor would go on a private visit in disguise and only reveal his identity in front of high-ranking generals.

At this time, Zhao Zhen stood up.

"Mr. Pang, Mr. Han, you can immediately announce the ranks of the Hebei Imperial Guard to the entire army. Tonight, the entire army will improve their food. I will be in this tent and eat and drink with you. We are not allowed to drink alcohol, but we can eat more meat!"

"I obey your orders!"

Once Pang Ji and Han Qi announced to the entire army that the rank of the Hebei Imperial Guards was Class B+, it meant that the Hebei Imperial Guards would be the main force in the battle against Liao.

……

At night, inside the camp, the bonfire was bright, the smell of meat was everywhere, and the soldiers sang happily.

Class B, top.

It means that they can achieve great success and accomplish unprecedented achievements.

Inside the tent.

Zhao Zhen, Su Liang, Zeng Gongliang, Pang Ji, Han Qi, officials and generals from the three yamen and the Privy Council, and more than 20 senior generals of the Hebei Imperial Guards gathered together.

Drink tea, eat meat, and chat and laugh.

An hour later.

As the banquet was coming to an end, a soldier walked quickly to Han Qi's side and handed him a secret letter in a bamboo tube.

Han Qi opened the secret letter and his face suddenly changed. He then walked to the center of the tent and said loudly, "Sir, the spies ahead have sent us information that has a lot to do with Liao's reinforcement and strengthening of its army. There is also news about the Jurchens."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire tent fell silent.

Zhao Zhen took the secret letter and started reading it. After reading it, he passed the secret letter to the people around him.

In a moment, everyone knew the contents of the letter.

There are two contents.

First, a few days ago, some Jurchens attempted to cross the Baigou River and come to the Song Dynasty to discuss an alliance with the Song Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty, but they were captured by the Liao army.

Second, the Liao court had recently been frequently raiding the homes of Liao merchants, and had jointly opened several military factories with Japan and begun recruiting a large number of soldiers.

After all the officials had read the secret letter, Zhao Zhen said, "We will solve the two problems one by one. First, do you think we should unite with the Jurchens to destroy Liao?"

Pang Ji was the first to speak: "The Jurchens are savage and bloodthirsty, with bestial natures, more vicious than the Xiongnu of the Han and Tang dynasties. Once they gain power, they may be a greater threat to us than the Khitans. We must not ally with them. We must either destroy them or drive them into the deep mountains and forests. We must not let them gain power!"

"I second the proposal. The Liao people once said that Jurchens over ten thousand are invincible. Although this is a bit exaggerated, the Jurchens are indeed cruel. Instead of uniting with them, it would be tantamount to inviting in wolves and tigers. It would be better for us to let the Khitans and Jurchens fight among themselves, and we will set our sights on Yanyun first." Han Qi said.

"I second your opinion. The Jurchens are brutal and savage. We cannot make friends with them, and it is difficult to make friends with them..."

……

Afterwards, Su Liang, Zeng Gongliang and officials from the Three Yamen and the Privy Council also expressed that they should not unite with the Jurchens.

The Jurchens were notorious for their viciousness, and everyone's opinion was surprisingly unanimous.

"Okay. If all of you agree, we will never join forces with the Jurchens. At the same time, we must guard against them making unauthorized moves when we attack Liao."

Zhao Zhen sat up straight and asked, "What do you think about the second question?"

Su Liang had heard of the second question and called it the pig-killing trick.

Zhu is a merchant from Liao State.

The Liao Dynasty court first fattened the people, allowing the merchants to exploit the people's wealth, and then deprived the merchants of their wealth in exchange for winning the hearts of the people.

A general said excitedly: "Your Majesty, the Liao court confiscated the merchants' property, which shows that the Liao treasury is out of money and is already at the end of its strength. Their exploitation of merchants is bound to cause dissatisfaction among private merchants. If this continues, civil unrest will occur frequently, and the Liao will become poorer and more chaotic."

"I second your proposal. However, the Japanese weapon-making technology has been improved since the Tang Dynasty. This move will help improve the Liao Kingdom's combat power. We need to be cautious."

At this time, Pang Ji shook his head.

"It is true that the Liao Kingdom's plundering of merchants' wealth will cause the country to become more and more chaotic, which is not good for the people and merchants, but it is also good for the army. They want to focus the money in the country on one place, that is, to increase the number of troops. For Liao, it is indeed a good strategy. This Yelu Hongji is more difficult to deal with than his father."

"A good strategy? This is a short-sighted strategy. It harms merchants with innocent crimes and destroys the order of the country. The trade and taxation of the Liao Kingdom will be in chaos. If this continues, the Liao Kingdom will collapse without a fight!" A general said loudly.

At this time, Zeng Gongliang said: "No, the Liao Kingdom is different from our Song Dynasty. They don't care whether domestic trade will collapse or whether the people will lose their hearts. In the minds of the Liao court, controlling the soldiers means controlling everything."

"Indeed! They are doing this because they are pinning their national destiny on one goal, which is to seize the Song Dynasty." Han Qi raised his voice and said, "Once the Song Dynasty is seized, they will use the old trick again and rule the Han people with the Han people. The trade of our Great Song Dynasty can feed the Liao Kingdom, and it doesn't matter if the Liao Kingdom becomes a livestock farm!"

"Then... can this situation be solved?" Zeng Gongliang looked at Han Qi and others.

"I suggest that we spread the news in Liao territory, publicize the fact that Liao is harming merchants to make money, confuse the people of Liao, and then we can abolish their plan."

"I suggest that our army also increase its manpower and improve its armor and weapons. If we fight them head-on, we can definitely suppress them."

"I suggest that we stir up the Jurchens' rebellion, let them continue to cause chaos in Liao, destroy Liao's army, and break their momentum to increase their military strength!"

……

A group of officials and generals each talked about their own ideas on how to destroy Liao and strengthen the army.

After a while, the discussion gradually died down.

Su Liang stood up and said, "My fellow generals, it seems that everyone is Zhuge Liang tonight, with endless good ideas. But forgive me for being blunt, these ideas are all inappropriate."

"It is useless to publicize the fact that Liao harmed merchants to make money. In the current Liao Kingdom, the people have little influence and have no say, let alone chaos. As for stirring up civil strife among the Jurchens, it would also take a lot of effort, but the Jurchens are also thinking about our war with Liao, so they can reap the benefits and it is difficult for them to start a full-scale war..."

After Su Liang exposed the shortcomings of everyone's strategies, he amplified his voice.

"I think that if we want to destroy Liao, we have to fight quickly. It would be best if we could start a full-scale war with Liao in the early spring of next year, before the grain harvest in Liao is ready!"

The only solution is to fight quickly.

Hearing these four words, the eyes of all the officials and generals lit up.

This idea may seem crude and direct, but if you think about it carefully, it is the best solution.

If a major battle is fought in the early spring of next year, the Liao Kingdom's plan to increase its military strength will not be successful, its combat effectiveness will not be formed, and the grain will not be harvested and food and fodder will be scarce. This will be the best time for the Song Dynasty to attack.

The key point is that the Song Dynasty had enough money and manpower to attack Liao.

on the contrary.

The longer they waited, the richer the Liao Kingdom became, and the more soldiers it had and the stronger it became.

Yelu Hongji was quite capable in gathering troops.

"The only way to completely destroy Liao is to fight quickly!" All the soldiers bowed their hands in unison.

After Su Liang proposed this strategy, all the generals and soldiers quickly agreed to it.

They have wanted to fight for a long time.

Zhao Zhen was also very excited and slammed the table hard.

"Okay, we will go into full-scale war with Liao in the early spring of next year, no later than March. The Hebei Imperial Guards can be prepared now!" Zhao Zhen said loudly.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Everyone was excited and couldn't wait to fight.

(End of this chapter)