The struggle of the reborn prince

In the eyes of the Central Plains people, the nomads north of the Great Wall are barbarians who drink blood, even the Khitan who have almost completed Sinicization are no exception.And the invasion of the Jurchens, who were in a semi-primitive and semi-slave society, made the Central Plains people see what barbarism is. In their imagination, the nomads living in Mobei are no different from savages, they are simply two-legged walking beast.

The difficult environment outside the Great Wall, and the differences in civilization and customs not only caused great fear among the people in the Central Plains, but also made officials fearful of going to the Great Wall to serve. It's all earned when you come back.Therefore, in the years of reconnaissance, officials of all sizes who catch up with the transfer will rely on their connections to go through the back door to avoid being "assigned" to Saibei. The selection of officials for the Northwest has become the most troublesome thing for the officials. People are willing to go.

Now that the Western Expeditionary Army captured Zhenzhou in Mobei, the emperor quickly approved the memorial of the Western Expeditionary Army commander Gao Chong to manage Mobei, and ordered Shangshu Province to follow it.While rejoicing up and down, thinking about traveling thousands of miles across the Gobi desert, facing the brutal Tatars, many officials in the court trembled with fear, especially those who stood on the wrong team and held the wrong foot not long ago. People, worried about being "exiled" to Mobei as a criminal officer, will really have to return the shroud of horse leather.

As soon as the imperial decree was issued, some people in the court guessed who would be pushed to death by the emperor, and the emperor looked at who was wrong, and if the chief executives asked who they asked a few more words, they would arouse everyone's infinite reverie.Facing the severe situation, everyone began to show their magical powers across the sea. Some officials who estimated that they might die, started to inquire about the news and dredge the relationship if they had connections.Seeing that those who reached the retirement age quickly proposed to become an official, and those with parents were looking forward to dying as soon as possible to write a letter and go home Ding You.But the flaws do not conceal the virtues.There is no shortage of hot-blooded men in the Song Dynasty, and some people also volunteered to go to Mobei to make contributions...

Gao Chong's letter and the emperor's vision actually coincided with each other.So it was approved very quickly.Zhao Tang understands that if he wants to keep the Central Plains safe, he must stabilize the Northwest, but it is difficult to do so only by purely military strikes. History has proved that this is only a stopgap measure, and it will not last long. It won't be long before it will grow up like a tenacious weed and become the new enemy of the Central Plains Dynasty.Therefore, in addition to military strikes and deterrence, a soft hand is also needed to establish a peaceful and stable living space.Everyone is full and full, and few people are willing to play with knives and try their best to be robbers!

Now that he has decided to conquer the northwest, Zhao Tun's "ambition" is not limited to Zhenzhou, but a large area including Shangjing Road of the former Liao Kingdom and Gaochang Kingdom, whose area is not inferior to the current territory of the Song Dynasty.It is not easy to establish a new political system in a barren land, so the selection of people becomes the key.Don't say that those mediocre officials don't want to go, even if they want to go, Zhao Tang is not at ease!

To accomplish this great thing must have a character of perseverance.A person who can abide by his duties, has a strong enthusiasm for work, is proficient in the art of governing the army and the people, and has a loyal heart of seeking benefits for the country and the people, and solving worries for the king.Otherwise, this daunting task cannot be accomplished.People like Li Gang, Xu Jingheng and others in the court have such abilities.It can also reassure Zhao Tun, but these people are either in high positions and difficult to leave, or they are too old.I can't bear the wind, knife, frost and sword in the northwest at all, I'm afraid that people haven't arrived yet.There will be a funeral for him.

At such a moment, Chen Dong was once again pushed into Zhao Tun's sight.No one will doubt his heart of serving the country and the people, and he has always done things fairly and honestly, even those who have prejudices against him have to admire him.What's even more rare is that he has the experience of working at the grassroots level in Northwest China, and he also has the experience of holding important positions in the central government. He has faded away from the youthfulness and fanaticism of his early years, and has become a calm and wise middle-aged senior leader. The achievements he has made are obvious to all.

But the problem is that Chen Dong is now the censor Zhongcheng, among the prime ministers of the current dynasty, and with his age and deeds, anyone would think that he will become the prime minister of the current court and reach the pinnacle of power within ten years.But if you go to Mobei, it will be full of variables, not to mention making great achievements, you may even lose your life there.Besides, the situation over there is complicated, people from all sides are staring at each other, and the people's customs are tough and uneducated. It is not easy to stand firm, and it is even more difficult to achieve results.On the contrary, if something goes wrong, half a lifetime of fame will be ruined, let alone a bright future.

Zhao Tong has always trained Chen Dong as the second echelon. It would indeed be a good experience to send him to Mobei. If he can serve the full term, regardless of success or failure, it will be of great benefit to his future career.But then again, anything could happen in that place, and it might destroy him there.But just when Zhao Tun was hesitating and thinking about how to deal with it, Chen Dong took the initiative to send him to his door, asking to be released to Mobei to work in the Northwest to do something for the country and the people.

After listening to Chen Dong's statement, Zhao Tun was of course very happy, but he still explained to him the pros and cons and the risks he faced. Governing the different conquests in the Northwest is not something that can be accomplished overnight, and it may take years or even decades. effort.But Chen Dong said that even if there are many difficulties ahead, it is not as difficult as when the emperor started his business. He is willing to devote his whole life to governing the Northwest for the country and His Majesty. The three big characters of "true husband" mentioned by Yubi came out of the palace gate.

A few days later, under the imperial decree, the Northwest Road was established to govern the states in Mobei. Zhenzhou was temporarily used as the road rule, and Chen Dong was appointed as the envoy of the Northwest Road, and Shaobao was added; Add the title of Shangshu; with Yue Fei, the general manager of the Hebei Prefecture Army, as the appeasement envoy and the general manager of the army and horses on the Northwest Road, he led [-] soldiers and horses out of the fortress.At the same time, all the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Army and the State Army who retired this year went to the northwest to be incorporated into the Tuntian Army.At the same time, the salaries of officials and soldiers going out of the fortress will be increased by two levels, and those who bring their family members will be given resettlement allowances and properly resettled.

Two days later, an imperial edict was issued, ordering the Ministry of Household Affairs to recruit people to go to the northwest to farm, and to subsidize travel expenses, provide land, and distribute agricultural materials. Of course, it also called on wealthy merchants to go to the northwest to do business and purchase land; Moved to the northwest for reclamation; then recruited [-] tents of herdsmen from Hedong, Xiazhou, and Lingzhou to move to the northwest to strengthen the frontier defense.

As soon as the imperial decree was issued, all the ministries were busy, and there was no waiting for anyone in an emergency, so Chen Dong went to Zhenzhou to deliver the decree and went to the post together.He was also very courageous. In order to hurry, he only brought a dozen bodyguards and a few staff members and set off from the capital. After arriving in Datong, he found two guides to prepare some supplies and plunged into the desert.Needless to say, the hardships on the way, fortunately, there were no horse bandits or remnant soldiers who fled along the way and arrived in Zhenzhou smoothly, but the food and drinking water were almost exhausted. If it was delayed for two days, it would be left in the vast sand sea... …

…………

Gao Chong and Zhao Li didn't dare to neglect after receiving the imperial decree, and immediately ordered the whole army to prepare the required supplies, and at the same time, handover work with Chen Dong.Considering that it will take time for the follow-up troops to arrive, and once the army leaves, it is very likely that someone will come to fight for it.Therefore, after the discussion, the Western Expeditionary Army left a brigade here, so that it could raise and receive supplies, and secondly, it could also be responsible for defending the city.

Three days later, the Western Expeditionary Army set foot on the road to the west again. They crossed the Hang'ai Mountains and walked along the Zabulun River. Although they were still walking through the Gobi Desert, there were many oases and water pools on both sides of the river, so they did not need to be used as water sources. Worrying, but at this time the weather in the northwest is already late autumn, and I missed the best time to march.If it is an oasis on the way to march in summer, it can provide sufficient forage for the horses to eat, reducing the pressure on logistics supply.But now the vegetation is withered and yellow, and the river has dried up in some seasons, so that the army has to carry some extra horse fodder in case it is needed from time to time.

Since it was a large group of people and horses marching, and they carried the prestige of a big victory to block the victory of the divination department, those horse bandits dared not come forward, and those nomadic tribes here also avoided early to avoid suffering from military disasters.Therefore, the road went very smoothly, and no one dared to come forward to test whether Song Jun's blade was sharp.After more than [-] days of rapid marching, the army entered the western part of the Mongolian plateau, and Altai Mountain was already in sight. As long as they turned over the mountain in front of them, they would enter the boundary of Gaochang, but they did not expect to encounter robbers here.

The ones who dared to challenge the Western Expeditionary Army of the Song Dynasty were the Naiman tribe living here. They belonged to the ancient Turkic tribes. They first lived in the Qianhe area, and then gradually moved south, scattered in the Altai Mountains.It is adjacent to Kelei in the east, Shihe in Yeer in the west, Jilijisi in the north, and Uighur in the south.Believers in Shamanism, Nestorianism, and Buddhism were the most civilized tribes on the Mongolian grasslands at that time. They had their own characters and had broken away from the primitive tribal stage. They had simple state institutions, and their monarch was called Taiyang Khan.

The Khitan perished and the Jurchens gradually declined. The Naiman people became the largest and most powerful tribe in China on the Mongolian plateau. They had excellent and huge troops. They often fought wars with the surrounding Kret tribes to compete for land and pastures. They can also be regarded as Western Regions One party overlord.When they learned that Song's army was coming, they immediately mobilized tens of thousands of troops to block their way.

The main opponents of this Western Expedition are the Gaochang people, and they are also ready to fight the nomadic peoples in Mobei, but due to the delay, Gao Chong does not want to conflict with the Naiman people, so as not to get entangled here and affect the march.Since the Naiman tribe had a close relationship with another Uyghur tribe who also belonged to the Turkic tribe, and the ancestor of the Uyghur Bugu Khan was also the ancestor of the Wangu people, the Wangu tribe had a special alliance with the Naiman tribe.

The acquaintances were easy to talk, so Gao Chong sent the Wang Gu people in the army to negotiate with him, telling them that the Song army was going to attack Gaochang, and they were just passing by by way of passage, and had no intention of robbing their territory, nor did they want to conflict with them... continued..)