King of Song

Chapter 591 Cross the river and demolish the bridge
The spring of the sixth year of Xining came, a little earlier than usual.

The Yellow River is thawing, and the ice and snow are beginning to melt. Before long, the spring breeze will come!

Lin Zhao stayed in Lanzhou City for more than half a month before leaving. The war ended and the situation gradually stabilized.

Jing Sili stayed, he is a general who is good at defending, with him in Lanzhou, there is absolutely no problem.The city wall is being renovated and strengthened, and new materials such as cement will be used when necessary.Lin Zhao had a request that Lanzhou must be built into a solid military fortress.

Lanzhou is not only a springboard to threaten Xixia's flanks, nor is it only a fortress to control Hehuang. Going west through the Hexi Corridor is the vast land of the Western Regions.

This is a starting point, a starting point for the great Song Zhongxing and the rise of the East.

Since the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, the Western Regions have been away from the embrace of the Central Plains Dynasty for a long time, and the children who left home will return home sooner or later.And Lanzhou is the only way to go home.

Lin Zhao left, taking only 3 blade fighters with him, and the remaining [-] troops were stationed with Jing Sili.After Qingtang City and Lanzhou were garrisoned with heavy troops, the troops in the northwest were suddenly stretched.

The 30 Western troops were stationed in various cities along the long border. On the contrary, Guanzhong, which is located in the hinterland, was short of troops, and the guards in Chang'an were only 2.There are even fewer mobile troops that can be mobilized. It is considered good that Lin Zhao can carry three thousand personal guards with him.

After leaving Lanzhou, Lin Zhao passed through Qinzhou, Huanzhou and Qingzhou all the way, and finally went to Yanzhou to inspect the defense.The more important purpose is to adjust the personnel again, inadvertently replacing all the generals in various places with cronies, or people with close relationships. It is no exaggeration to say that [-]% of the Western Army is firmly in the hands of Lin Zhao.If his special identity is made public, the remaining [-]% ​​will surely pledge their allegiance.

The land of Guanlong to the west of Tongguan has fallen into the control of Lin Zhao, although it is only less than a quarter of the territory of the Great Song Dynasty.But since ancient times, the core of the struggle for the world has been in the Yellow River Basin, especially the Guanluo area.From the perspective of terrain, military strength and influence, Lin Zhao can be said to have already occupied half of the country.

As long as Tongguan and Wuguan are blocked, it is impossible for outsiders to enter Guanzhong, and the land of the four fortresses is not for nothing.The only threat is the Xixia people, and the Tubo people have been beaten to the ground.There will definitely be a battle between Dong Zhan in Li Jingcheng and Mo Zhanjiao in Miaochuan. It will take a long time for the Tubo people to unify and stabilize the upper reaches of Huangshui River and the area around Qinghai Lake, and they will not be able to threaten the safety of Hehuang for the time being.

Xixia suffered a lot of defeat this time. Li Bingchang's defeat in the Eastern Front was at best a return of no success, but it was not serious.The fall of Lanzhou is a bolt from the blue, and Xixia is hurt this time.

Along the way, Lin Zhao heard a lot of news!
What Lanzhou defender Ma Qige crossed the river by chance and fled back to Zhuoluo Army Commander, but was ordered to be beheaded by the enraged Li Bingchang, and none of the 27 members of his family were spared.He wanted to use iron and blood methods to tell all the Xixia generals that they must fight to the death and live and die with the city. For a while, the situation in Xixia was turbulent, and the generals were afraid and kept silent.

What else is there: Li Bingchang was so angry that he couldn't afford to get sick; Liang Yibu was shocked by the bad news, and his hair became gray by one-fifth overnight;Lin Zhao didn't even care about it. It was the time when the south wind was blowing and the spring was in full bloom. It was really pitiful for Xixia to suffer from the cold spring.

However, Lin Zhao didn't have the slightest sympathy for each other's enemies, and even closed all Yanbian markets unceremoniously, cutting off the trade between Song and Xia.The border guards also need to conduct regular patrols to crack down on smuggling.If anyone from Guanlong Song Dynasty dared to smuggle a needle or thread to Xixia, he would be killed on the spot.

Strict and iron-blooded methods made Guanlong traders panic and tremble for a while.At first, some people secretly transported cloth and medicinal materials to Xixia with a fluke mentality, but the goods were inspected by the frontier army. 130 seven people were all beheaded along the Jing River, and the blood flowed into the Jing River and then into the Wei River.

All the merchants in Guanzhong understood the facts for a while, the envoy Xuanfu was not joking, and the order was executed more thoroughly than ever before.

Lin Zhao couldn't help sighing, why do some people who don't know how to live or die always want to test their bottom line?I don't take life seriously, why bother?

In fact, he also wants to pass this incident to test the ability of the Western Army to execute his orders. So far, the effect is not bad.

Of course, if the water is clear, there will be no fish. Blindly toughness will only make these traders dissatisfied, and even alienated and resentful.Guan Long was his foundation, how could Lin Zhao do the thing of self-destructing the Great Wall?
After the ban on Song and Xia trade, the Hehuang trade route was resumed.Lin Zhao said that as long as he abides by the law and obeys orders, he will reopen the Silk Road from Guanzhong, Qinzhou, Hezhou, passing through Qingtang, Lijingcheng, and finally to the Western Regions.

The merchants in Guanlong were very excited when they heard about it. They knew the value of this trade route, and such compensation made everyone satisfied. They were grateful to Zheng Guogong Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao smiled slightly, a prosperous Guanzhong would be of great benefit to him.At the same time, this can be regarded as fulfilling the promise to Dong Zhan, so as to stabilize the Tubo people.Enemies should be resolved rather than knotted. At least at this time, it is beneficial to have one more ally and one less enemy.

At the same time, part of the people were also relocated to the Hehuang area to farm and farm.The main purpose is to ensure the rations of the Hehuang army. The most important function of the Hehuang and Longyou areas is to use them as pastures.The production area of ​​the Hequ horse has fallen into the hands of the Song Dynasty. From then on, it can provide a large number of horses for the Song army, improve the quantity and quality of the Song cavalry, and change the disadvantageous position in the battle against Liao and Xixia.

Military affairs are basically arranged properly, but government affairs, the Northwest has been war-torn for a long time, and local officials need to manage it well.Lin Zhao had already applied to Bianjing to send experienced civil servants to work in the Northwest.

Under the ingenious operation, a group of officials began to take office one after another.Fengzhou (Fengxiang) Zhizhou Su Shi was the first to take office. Su Zhe and Cai Jing returned from their missions to Korea and made great contributions. They were respectively promoted to Jingyuan Road (Jingyang) Transshipment Envoy and Tongzhou (Dali) Tongjuan, the third son of Wen Yanbo He was exceptionally appointed as Chang'an's Changping Department, in charge of Chang'an's grain storage, river transportation, labor and many other affairs; Zeng Gong's younger brother Zeng Bu served as the prefect of Huazhou (Weinan)...

Throughout the Northwest, righteous Lin Zhao skillfully wove a big net for the river core.Although some nodes on the Internet did not realize the significance of their existence, they will play a greater role in the near future and expand this large network to the entire Great Song Dynasty.

After everything was settled properly, it was already mid-March when Lin Zhao returned to Chang'an.Since the fall of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an is no longer the capital, and its prosperity has long been inferior to that of the past.

But in this spring, catkins are flying by the Qujiang Pool, and peach blossoms are in full bloom. It is so beautiful!Chang'an, which has withered for a long time, has a little more vitality!

The willows in Quchi are new, and there must be weeping willows on both sides of the Bianhe River. If there is another hazy speech, it must be too beautiful.

It's time to go back to Bianjing!
It has been more than eight months since I left Bianjing in July last year. Emperor Renzong's birthday ceremony is coming soon, and we must catch up.

At the same time, Lin Zhao really missed his family, including his four children.

Qiu Ning should already be able to walk, Hong Er and Xiu Ning are almost one year old, and the youngest Jun Er has not been seen by himself, Lin Zhao really misses it.

Before returning from Yanzhou, Lin Zhao had already written to Emperor Zhao Xu, requesting to return to Bianjing to visit relatives.

Zhao Xu quickly agreed!

When Lin Zhao's victory memorial was sent to Bianjing, it could be said that the court cheered.Taking down Qingtang City, although the entire Hehuang was not included in the territory, this is already a great harvest.After all, the situation on the front line is compelling, and it must be understood.Zhao Xu didn't care about Lin Zhao's extortionate exchange method.

The method is not important, the result is the most important.

What's more, Lin Zhao captured Lanzhou in one fell swoop on his way back to the army. This was something that the Song Dynasty had dreamed of for nearly 50 years. Naturally, the significance of military strategy needless to say. From then on, the Song Dynasty also had the confidence to fight against Xixia.

Zhao Xu was very excited, and it was even more meaningful to him personally.With Lanzhou, the Song Dynasty's army can expand further to destroy Xixia, and the army can cross the Hexi Corridor and reach the Western Regions directly.It is possible to realize the desire to restore the old environment of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and substantial progress has been made.

What's more, Lanzhou was lost during the reign of Emperor Renzong, and he regained the lost land of his ancestors, which is of extraordinary significance, and will definitely be left in the history books.This year is the tenth year since the death of Emperor Renzong, and the Empress Dowager Cao requested a grand sacrifice.

Zhao Xu agreed, and didn't take it seriously at first, but now it's different.At that time, you can use the Lanzhou victory to comfort Emperor Renzong, and at the same time show your imperial achievements, and you will have extra face in front of the officials.Such a good opportunity should not be missed, Zhao Xu made up his mind and must make a big deal of it.

The good news from the Northwest is like timely rain, sweeping away all the bad luck of the recent period.After the fall of Yongzhou and the massacre of Jiaozhi City, Zhao Xu has been disgraced and humiliated in front of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and the people of the whole country.With the victories in Qingtang City and Lanzhou, he can finally stand up and feel proud.

Lin Zhao is really a lucky general!

Although he was relieved and even grateful, Zhao Xu had other ideas about how to arrange Lin Zhao this time.

Rewards for meritorious deeds are inevitable, but Lin Zhao is already Zheng Guogong, General Yunhui, Xuanfu envoy of Shaanxi Road, how else can he be rewarded?King?That's impossible. There are only a handful of kings with different surnames in the Song Dynasty, and they all existed in the early years of the dynasty. It seems that all the princes today are surnamed Zhao.

Or add the title of prime minister?Lin Zhao is not yet 30 years old, and the prime minister in his 20s seems to be talking about the past.He can only be promoted to the position of military general, directly surpassing the Huaihua and Champion Generals of the third rank of Congzheng, and being named the General of the Fuguo of the Second Rank of Congzheng.

Naturally, the General Fuguo is not suitable to continue to serve as the Xuan Fu envoy, and Lin Zhao will become a rich and idle person.

It's a pity, Lin Zhao is such an excellent talent, it's a pity that he doesn't need it.However, any signs of meritorious and high-level shock masters must not be let go.He negotiated with the Tibetans in Hehuang, traded Qingtang City, and raided to seize Lanzhou, all of which were executed first.Although the opportunity is fleeting, reporting to Bianjing is a waste of time, but it is always bad to make up your own mind, and Zhao Xu has a thorn in his heart.

The war in the northwest has been suspended, and the river has already been crossed, so the bridge has no value in existence, so demolish it!

(End of this chapter)