Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 573: Zhezong's Advance Planning

Zhao Mu still planned to "play it safe". It would be best if he could get rid of Prince Duan's party at the lowest cost and then rule the world by issuing an edict.

Although he had already made a plan in his mind, he still had to ask for the opinions of his ministers.

After all, no matter how strong he is, he can fight against thousands of people on the battlefield, but he is only one person, and he cannot occupy a county or city.

If none of his ministers clearly supported him, Zhao Mu would not dare to make a move easily.

After all, if a war really breaks out, it will affect the entire body. Not to mention the unstable factor of the Liao Kingdom, whether it will take the opportunity to interfere.

Just talking about the few troops under his command, how many prefectures and counties can they occupy in the Song Dynasty while protecting the Western Regions and defending the homeland?

Now the fake emperor usurping the throne is not a big deal. What is scary is that once the war starts, society will completely lose order. That will be the real chaos in the world.

At that time, not only will the government troops under Zhao Ji be in battle, but also the Qi troops under Zhao Mu will be in battle. Those local people with ulterior motives and those bandits who have become bandits will also take advantage of the chaos to fish in troubled waters. If they just take advantage of the chaos, kill the people, and rob some property, it is still a small matter. What we are afraid of is that these people will take advantage of the chaos to occupy the prefectures and counties and set up their own banners.

Once the war started, I wonder how many people would claim to be emperors, how many would claim to be kings, and how many self-proclaimed kings would emerge.

Therefore, for the sake of justice in the world, this matter must be handled in a safe way.

Zhao Mu had been planning in his mind these days. He only had tens of thousands of soldiers under his command. It was not realistic to completely occupy the entire territory of the Song Dynasty. What he wanted now was to fight a surprise attack. The best way was to quickly occupy Chang'an, Tongguan, Hangu Pass, and Luoyang, and directly surround Bianjing City to end the battle.

After winning the war, he eliminated the party of Prince Dan. If King Cheoljong was still alive, he supported him to restore the throne. If King Cheoljong was not alive, he would rule the country on his own.

But to accomplish this, the governors of various provinces and regions had to stand aside and watch. Otherwise, once these tens of thousands of soldiers were dispersed, they would be surrounded by the army of the Song Dynasty. By then, no matter how strong he was, it would be impossible for him to rescue Luoyang and Chang'an in one day and one night.

Therefore, the help of ministers is indispensable for this pre-war planning.

Especially the help from the military generals, although cliques are not a good thing. But most of the high-ranking officials in the Song Dynasty army are relatives.

Zhao Mu wanted to have his ministers and the officers of the Song Dynasty go and reminisce about the past. It would be great if his former subordinates could turn against him. But if not, at least they should remain neutral for at least half a year.

Therefore, Zhao Mu must now find out what his ministers are thinking. Do they want to stay in a corner and really let Zhao Mu become a "Western Emperor", or do they support him in fighting back?

After all, the current national strength of Qi is here. He only has tens of thousands of soldiers to mobilize, and although the treasury is replenished with the Gaochang Uighurs, it is only full of money, equipment and other things.

However, there is now a huge gap in the most important food and fodder.

After all, the source of Qi's food was largely imported from the Song Dynasty. If the war broke out and the Song Dynasty stopped selling food, he couldn't let his people live on gold and silver.

It is understandable that everyone is afraid of fighting.

Afterwards, all the ministers expressed their opinions. Zhao Mu roughly understood everyone's views. Now everyone's views are very consistent, that is, it is necessary to become emperor. Prince Duan has already become emperor. If he does not establish the orthodoxy on his side, he will have no reason to be a teacher in the future.

The second point is that they can accept Huizong's condition of co-governance between the East and the West, but they do not accept his recognition and enthronement, and they do not recognize the legitimacy of Zhao Ji's imperial power.

Because Zhao Mu held the imperial seal, the emperor's seal, the imperial edict of Zhezong, and even the golden box of the highest legal system of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Mu, as the true emperor, naturally did not have to accept Huizong's canonization of a "blank emperor".

The most important point is that the imperial seal and the emperor's seal, the two symbols of legitimacy, must never be handed over.

Zhao Mu was very pleased to hear everyone's opinions. Although his men were always seeking personal gain, at least they were not stupid.

After hearing this, Zhao Mu said, "So everyone agrees to go to war with Prince Duan?"

Hu Yanrui replied, "Of course. We are the legitimate rulers of the Song Dynasty. How can we be subservient to a traitor? But I ask Your Majesty to keep a low profile and endure the humiliation for a while. We do not have enough troops and food supplies right now. It is better not to make enemies with Bianjing for the time being."

At this time, Taiwei Wang Xian pinched his chin, thought for a while and said, "The issue of food and soldiers is easy to solve."

Hearing what he said, everyone looked at him.

Zhao Mu asked, "Why do you say that, my dear?"

Wang Xian replied, "Your Majesty, although we don't have soldiers and food, the Song Dynasty does. I was one of your former subordinates who followed your Majesty in the northern expedition against the Liao Kingdom, and then I followed your Majesty in the western expedition to achieve today's achievements. And I am not the only one who has been promoted in the Song Dynasty army because of this. I don't know if it was intentional by the Emperor Retired, but most of your former subordinates are in Qinfeng Road and Yongxing Army Road."

"Moreover, most of the Northwest Army's food and grass are in Chang'an City, Jingzhao Prefecture. And I also have an old relationship with the Minister of War of Yan'an Prefecture, Zhong Yan. We can launch a surprise attack, pass through Yan'an Prefecture, and lead the troops south to attack Jingzhao Prefecture. As long as we take Jingzhao Prefecture, we will get more than tens of millions of food and grass. Not to mention that the soldiers in Qinfeng Road all admire your majesty's martial arts and are all your majesty's old subordinates. If we occupy Jingzhao Prefecture and cut off the food and grass of the troops, they will have to surrender with courtesy."

Hu Yanrui heard this and then said, "What the Grand Commandant said makes sense. Moreover, Guanzhong has been the place where the dragon rose since ancient times. If we occupy Guanzhong, we can attack or defend. Now it seems that the retired emperor placed all of your majesty's old subordinates around us. Did he foresee what happened today?"

Zhao Mu was a little surprised by Wang Xian's answer. He, as the ruler, didn't know that his subordinates were secretly colluding with other countries. However, Zhao Mu didn't mean to pursue it. After all, if it was "collaborating with the enemy", he, as the king, was the biggest collaborator.

Others were just catching up with old comrades, but he was a loyal minister of King Cheoljong.

Zhao Mu heard this and said, "Oh? There is such a thing? It seems that His Majesty did leave a backup plan on purpose, but there is one thing I don't understand. The officials in Bianjing are not stupid. Can't they just dismiss all of my old subordinates?"

Hu Yanrui replied, "I'm afraid they are powerless. The official system of the Song Dynasty is different from that of our Qi State. Our Qi State is small and has few people. The appointment and dismissal of local officials only needs to be approved by the Ministry of Personnel, the Censorate, and the Secretariat, and then reported to His Majesty for review. If there is any mistake, it can be changed within three to five days."

"But the Song Dynasty has a vast territory and a thriving population, so it is also a mixed bag. In order to prevent people with ulterior motives from mixing up the good with the bad, the transfer of local officials requires not only the approval of the Secretariat, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Personnel, but also the seal of the emperor. The seal of the emperor of the Song Dynasty has now been thrown into the golden box by the retired emperor and presented to your majesty. Without the seal, Bianjing has no way to appoint or dismiss officials."

Finally, Hu Yanrui sneered and said, "Haha, if the world knew that Prince Duan and his party were a 'white-collar' emperor without a jade seal or an imperial edict, wouldn't they be laughed at?"

(End of this chapter)