King of Song

Chapter 545
The Hezhou incident happened very suddenly, and Wang Shao completely killed it first and played it later.

However, Zhao Xu was the first to speak, whenever he had the opportunity, he would launch it immediately, so Wang Shao was not at fault.

When the news reached Bianjing, there was a sudden shock in the court.

There were also constant disputes at the court meeting, and the core focus was how to resolve this matter?Make a trivial matter, let it go away?Or go to war and meet swordsmen?
The debate this time is definitely not as neat as the one that ousted Wang Anshi before.Hundreds of officials hold their own opinions, and even the old party has its own differences, and each has its own rhetoric for a while.

Some people think that the Song Dynasty has just experienced a drought. Although some crops with a short growth cycle were replanted in time after the rain, the harvest failure this autumn is an indisputable fact. Under such circumstances, it is not appropriate to start a war.After all, this time the initiative is in the hands of Da Song, and there is room for choice.

There are also people who believe that Tubo in Xiaohe Prefecture looted the caravans of the Great Song Dynasty and harmed the people of the Great Song Dynasty. They must be taught a lesson, otherwise what is the power of God?The most important reason is that it will be much easier to deal with Xixia in the future by capturing Hezhou and marching into Hehuang, thereby encircling Xixia from both wings and laying the foundation for relieving the border troubles in the northwest.

As soon as the remarks were made, some people jumped out to object. Hehuang Tubo was an ally of the Song Dynasty. Zanpu Dong Zhan and Mrs. Qiao's wife both accepted the canonization of the Song Dynasty, and they were the vassals of the Song Dynasty.Two years ago, Lin Zhaocai, Marquis of Weiyuan, had just been sent to Qingtang City to deepen friendly relations with it.Now if we brazenly send troops, it is against morality and may cause many vassal states to shake.He also emphasized that the Great Song Dynasty is a state of etiquette, and it cannot be so unreasonable.

All in all, there are opinions from all sides.

In this case, no one can convince anyone. There is only one way, and that is to respectfully ask the emperor to make a decision.

Zhao Xu himself agreed to send troops to fight.

He himself has such a grand idea, to expand the territory and pursue frontier achievements.The first target he chose was Hehuang Tubo. On the one hand, it was in line with the strategy and tactics, and on the other hand, it meant to soften the persimmon.With the current strength of the Song Dynasty, it is easy to dare not go to war with Liao and Xixia.

Wang Shao has been in the Northwest for a long time and has been preparing for it.To train the army, prepare military equipment, food and grass, and inquire about intelligence, before Shen Kuo left the northwest, he also helped him make a sand table in the Hehuang area.The preparations in all aspects are sufficient, and the conditions for war are fully met.

This is in the interests of Da Song!
At the same time, going to war is also in line with Zhao Xu's personal needs and interests!

The drought and the turmoil of Wang Anshi's resignation had dealt a huge blow to his prestige. At this time, there was a need to divert the attention of the courtiers and the people.

Since Taizu and Taizong unified the Central Plains, the Great Song Dynasty has never had a grand opening.If Hezhou can open up the situation this time, there is no doubt that his own emperor's achievements can be greatly enhanced, directly comparable to Taizu and Taizong.For an emperor, this has a great attraction.

As long as it succeeds, who cares about lightning strikes Funing Hall?Who would say that the emperor was at fault for his administration?It is a common practice to use achievements to cover up mistakes.Zhao Xu wanted to prove himself too much. The method he used in the past was reform, but now he has a soft spot for Bian Gong!

The diversion of attention is not limited to this aspect. Although Wang Anshi has left, the new law has not been abolished.Officials of the old party have recently been chasing after the new party and the new law.Zhao Xu has been tireless, but he can't break with the old party officials, which is why he has a big headache.

If there is a war at this time, will the court still argue about it?

It is precisely because of such many considerations that Zhao Xu's own opinion is to start a war!
However, the courtiers still objected. Even though Zhao Xu publicly expressed his decision, some people still wrote to persuade him.

Officials from the three divisions said that due to the drought, the grain harvest was poor, and if war broke out, the grain and grass would probably be unsustainable.Zhao Xu didn't take this seriously at all, saying that the military grain reserves in the northwest were sufficient, and it would not be a problem to supply them for a year or two, and there was no need to transport grain and grass from the interior.

At the same time, Zhao Xu also said that Wang Shao had already made a move, and the situation at this time was already imminent.What if you stop now?

Da Song dare not go to war?After this situation spreads, what consequences will it cause?
Others would think that Song Dynasty was weak and deceitful, and lacked the courage to go to war, so how did the hostile countries, as well as many tribes and vassal states on the frontier react?
The prestige and deterrent power of the Great Song Dynasty will be greatly reduced. If the dynasty loses all its face, how will it gain a foothold in the future?

The reason for this is real, the key is that Wang Shao has already made a move, and the price of cancellation is really too high.When it comes to Song's prestige and deterrence, the problem becomes serious.

If we stop this time, and more vassal states will come out to make trouble in the future, wouldn't the minister who opposed today be guilty?No one wants to bear such a crime.

As long as you are sure about one thing, you can always find more reasons to support yourself.

Zhao Xu also said that now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.It was the looting behavior of the Tubo people that created the pretext, and the master of the Song Dynasty was famous for avenging the people and punishing the murderers.

At the same time, after the battle of Suizhou last year, Xixia was seriously injured, and the domestic political situation is unstable, so they will not easily intervene.The envoys of the Song Dynasty went to Korea and effectively contained the Liao Kingdom.

If the Liao Kingdom and Xixia did not participate, the Song Dynasty undoubtedly lost a lot of constraints. It has the energy and strength to deal with Tubo, and the possibility of success is greatly increased.Such an opportunity to be satisfied in all aspects is really rare. How can I let it go when I finally come across one?

But some ministers said, what would be the consequences if the war is defeated, and how should we deal with it?
Zhao Xu didn't punish him by making others' ambitions destroy his prestige, but expressed great self-confidence.Wang Shao as the coach, with Jing Sili, Liu Changzuo and many other generals to cooperate, is he afraid that he will not be able to win?If the Song army could defeat Xixia by the Wuding River, couldn't they still defeat the Tubo people?

In this way, the decision is finalized, and war will be launched against Tubo in Hezhou!
Although the target is only Hezhou, everyone knows that if the battle goes well, Wang Shao's army will definitely point directly at Qingtang City!
The next step is to dispatch troops and generals. Wang Shao and others alone are not enough. The scale of the battle in Hehuang this time will definitely not be small.It is inevitable to send additional manpower to prepare for a rainy day, and the Privy Council quickly responded by sending relevant generals to the northwest.

Since it is the choice of manpower, for the Northwest, it is best to choose a general who is familiar with Hehuang.But in the city of Bianjing, when it comes to understanding Hehuang, who can compare with Lin Zhao, Marquis of Weiyuan?

Two years ago, Lin Zhao was sent as an envoy to Hehuang Tubo and went to Qingtang City.Coincidentally, because of the rain and avoiding the Xixia people, they did not go to Lanzhou, but Hezhou.

There are definitely not many Song Dynasty generals who have walked this road, and Lin Zhao is one of them, and he is a caring person.Back then, he had expected this battle, so he knew a lot about the mountains and rivers along the way.The terrain is only one aspect, the most important thing is the understanding of the Tubo people and generals.

In recent years, it seems that only Lin Zhao has had close contact with Tibetans.If it was someone else, they would definitely not pay attention to Qing Yijie Guizhang and Mu Zheng, but Lin Zhao knew that these young people were currently the best generals in Tubo.In the original history, they were the ones who made Jing Sili suffer a great loss, leading to the disastrous defeat of Tabai City.

The Privy Council knew about Lin Zhao's experience, so Wei Yuanhou's name was prominently displayed in the memorandum for dispatching generals.Not only the Privy Council, but Lin Zhao's name was also on the other memorials.

Wang Shao had a postscript in the memorial to Zhao Xu's military report, if the court decides to go to war, please transfer Lin Zhao to the front line.The coach named important people, which is naturally extraordinary.

The understanding of Hehuang is one aspect, and Weiyuan Hou is also unambiguous in marching and fighting.Whether Liang Yibu was captured in the Battle of Qingzhou, or Wudinghe caused the Empress Dowager Liang to return in a big defeat, Lin Zhao's military talent is really not covered.

At this time, many talents discovered that Wei Yuanhou was truly all-rounder in civil and military affairs, and even made outstanding contributions in governing the Yellow River.In the Song Dynasty, simple military generals may often be looked down upon, such as Di Qing, even if he has made great achievements, he is still not accepted by the scholar-bureaucrat class!

But military generals with civilian backgrounds are different, such as Wang Shao, a Jinshi in the second year of Jiayou.Although Marquis Weiyuan had never taken an imperial examination, he was a Jinshi bestowed by the emperor at any rate, and he also developed from the grassroots level of civil servants.As far as the current poetry works are concerned, Lin Shilang's talent and learning are also extraordinary.

Because of the start of the Hezhou War, Weiyuan Marquis Lin Zhao's name has once again received widespread attention!

As for Lin Zhao himself, he was not surprised by this. As soon as the news came back that Wang Shao sent troops to Hezhou, he expected such a result.This is also the situation he has been looking forward to for a long time, and the opening of Xihe has finally kicked off!
"It's just as you expected!" Di Qing admired this, and what Lin Zhao was sure of happened as scheduled.

"Huh, sooner or later, this time is very suitable for my appetite!" Lin Zhao smiled. He only roughly remembered that there was a war between Xining and Tubo during the years, but the exact time is hard to determine.

"My lord is going to take the initiative to invite you, or?"

Lin Zhao said with a smile: "Whatever, I heard that Wang Shao called the roll call. Regardless of whether I take the initiative or not, I will definitely go to Hezhou. If I take the initiative, I may be suspected of my motives. Otherwise, it will appear that I don't want to serve the country, which is not good! Think about it. I want to go, I plan to write a memorial to put forward my suggestions for the Battle of Hezhou!"

"It's so good, it's the best of both worlds!" Di Qing said: "As long as you win this battle, you will undoubtedly be the hero of the Great Song Dynasty, and your prestige will increase unprecedentedly!"

Lin Zhaodao: "The most important thing is military power. Zhao Xu's strength has been weakened a lot. It is time for us to increase our weight. The Western Army is too important to us!"

"Yes!" Di Qing said: "This matter still needs to be planned in detail!"

"Don't worry about that much, my memorial has already been handed in, and now I'm waiting for the imperial edict!"

(End of this chapter)