Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

Huang Ninghui was stunned for a moment, because Defang was the supervisor of the Ministry of War, and all generals who returned to Beijing had to know about their garrison conditions. Usually, they would start with the generals' self-submissions, but Huang Ninghui, a general, would not be able to write such a booklet, obviously he Not ready yet, so he said with some embarrassment, "The last general. The last general forgot to bring it, so I will go back and get it, and I will send it to the prince's mansion in a while."

"It's better to be like this. The lonely king still needs to know a lot of things. General Huang, hurry up and prepare."

"Yes!" Huang Ninghui looked at Zhang Qixian, a little dissatisfied, but had no choice but to back down.

After Huang Ninghui and Wei Zhaozhong left, Defang said, "It seems that His Majesty and all the adults are unwilling to accept Mr. Zhang's proposal. Think about it, the party Xiang Li Jiqian has repeatedly turned back on his promises, constantly harassing the border towns, and taking advantage of the fishermen between Song and Liao. To be honest, the lonely king also wants to extinguish the arrogance of Li Jiqian, but Mr. Zhang, you are the Minister of the Ministry of War, and you can't understand these things very well. The lonely king wants to know, why is Mr. Zhang so persistent?"

Zhang Qixian sighed and said, "Your Majesty, Dangxiang is located in the northwest of our Great Song Dynasty, and our army's heavy guards are all in the northern border town. If heavy troops are mobilized to conquer Dangxiang, the Liao people will definitely take the opportunity to invade the south. What's more, Li Jiqian's current morale Gao Gao, if we can’t do a heavy blow once, the military situation in the north will be in a hurry, and the battle situation in the northwest will be difficult to deal with, and I’m afraid there will be even more trouble in the future.”

"What Mr. Zhang said is reasonable, how can Mr. Zhang respond?" Defang asked

"Returning to your lord, the situation in the Youyan area in the north is currently calm, and it is not a cause for concern. The only best strategy for now is to connect with the Fanbang tribes around Li Jiqian, and the imperial court will confer titles on them so that they can compete with the party, so as to break down Li Jiqian's troops. As a result, Li Jiqian must be too busy to take care of himself, so it is impossible to frequently go east to attack and harass, and our Great Song Dynasty does not have to go on an expedition. In this way, our soldiers can temporarily rest and rectify, which can not only prevent the party from going east. Do your best to resist the Liao people."

Defang nodded, "Master Zhang has thought very far, but the matter of sending troops may be difficult to discuss again."

"Why?" Zhang Qixian was puzzled

"When His Majesty sent you, Mr. Zhang, to the border town, he had already decided to send troops to conquer the party. What's more, with the current situation in the border town, not only the ministers are the main battlers, but also the guards of the states and counties. "

"My lord, is there no way to stop it?"

Defang shook her head, "The arrow has been wound, and it has to be fired. Now it may be difficult to end."

Zhang Qixian sighed and shook his head helplessly.

In mid-October, due to the intrusion of the Party, the Liao people found an opportunity and began to invade from the northwestern part of the Song Dynasty. Zhang Bin, the general of the Song border town, led his troops to fight the Liao soldiers at the entrance of the Great Wall. They fought hard for several days, and the two sides fought hard. However, at a critical moment, it began to rain in the area around the Great Wall. The bowstrings used by the Liao soldiers were made of leather, which made it difficult to use them in case of rain. The Liao soldiers lost their important weapons and could not cope with long-distance attacks. At the right time, he led his troops to launch a fierce attack, and the Liao army suffered heavy casualties, and was finally defeated and retreated north.

Zhenzong was very happy when the news of the Great Wall Pass came back to the capital. He issued an order to reward Zhang Bin and sent special envoys to reward the soldiers. Eliminate Li Jiqian immediately, so Zhenzong ordered to send troops, but without complete preparations, he rashly sent troops to conquer. As a result, he was defeated in successive battles, and important towns such as Lingzhou and Wuzhou fell one after another.