Song Dynasty

Chapter 35 The Lobbyist
Wang Shen asked back: "Heavenly King, in this world, how many troops can we fight in the Great Song Dynasty?"

Li Cheng: "I don't know very well, I still ask for advice."

"There are three in total." Wang Shen: "Before Jingkang, the only field army that dared to fight in the Great Song Dynasty was the Western Army. After that, the main force of the Western Army came out of the Sanqin to challenge Fangla, conquer Khitan, and fight against Jurchen. The entire army was wiped out. .The routs wandered in the Central Plains and joined different camps. Even the Heavenly King Army had many old men from the Western Army."

Li Cheng nodded: "There are quite a few old Western soldiers in our army." Not only that, it can be said that Li Chengjun's skeleton was supported by his confidants brought from Hebei and the soldiers of the Western Army who joined later.In the whole army, all the senior and first-level officers speak Shaanxi dialect, and the middle and lower-level officers are the most precious wealth of an army and the guarantee of combat effectiveness.

Wang Shen: Put up a finger, "When the main force of Tong Guanshuai's Western Army came out of Tongguan, some people were left in Guanzhong. After Jingkang, the Western Army was destroyed. This army is one of the best fighters in the Song Dynasty. However, compared with The main force brought out by Tong Guan is still far behind."

He raised his second finger, and continued: "The second branch is the Lianghe righteous soldiers and rout soldiers recruited when the government opened the Grand Marshal's Mansion. They have the most soldiers and horses, but they can't fight, so they should be sent at the end. "

"Indeed." Li Cheng nodded: "Then, what about the third branch?"

"That's the soldiers and horses of the left-behind division in Tokyo." Wang Shen raised his third finger: "This army has a complex composition. The rebel army from Hebei, after being trained by Zong Ze Zong Rulin, is strong and strong, so it should be ranked first."

Li Cheng expressed admiration on his face: "Zong Rulin is a peerless national soldier, I really admire it very much. The soldiers and horses of the Tokyo Left Guard Division are really strong, but I can't compare them."

Wang Shen: "That's right, it is precisely because of the soldiers and horses of the left-behind division in Tokyo that Du Chong can be powerful and blessed. In order to stabilize the situation, the imperial court has reliance on him. The defense will be entrusted, and this is probably what the king of heaven is worried about. From Wang Shen's point of view, this Du Chong has violated the taboo of many people, and it will not be long. The king of heaven doesn't have to worry too much."

Li Cheng came to the spirit: "You continue to talk."

Wang Shen: "Actually, the left-behind division in Tokyo is complex in composition and has many problems in it. Among the soldiers, you don't accept me, and I don't accept you. The reason why it was the first army capable of fighting in the Song Dynasty at the beginning was because there was a clan Ze Zai, with his prestige and means, was able to suppress the arrogant soldiers under him. Once Zong Rulin died, the army was in chaos. In addition, Du Chong was greedy, easy to kill, mediocre and incompetent, which caused civil strife and abandoned Kaifeng Yangzhou collapsed in the south. The surname Du also knew that he caused a big mess, and he refused to say that it was because of him that he lost Kaifeng. He only said that it was the Jurchens who committed crimes in the south, so they were not allowed to retreat. Because the imperial court wanted to win over this powerful army, they could only acquiesce Now, I will also hand over Jiangbei's defense to Du Liushou."

"However, he was able to hide the secret from the officials and the princes of the court, but he could not hide it from the military leaders in Jiangbei. Now, after the left-behind army and horses have fallen apart, they have no power. Who will take him seriously? He Du Why do you have to order the Jiangbei army? Let’s not talk about it, let’s take Uncle Liu Ping of the Huaixi Army as an example. If you are the king of heaven, you are him, and you are willing to let such a waste ride on your head? The so-called power makes people fight, and Jiangbei will With such a big chassis, so many troops are stationed at once. If you have what you can eat, there will be no mine. I guess, all court officials and soldiers will definitely be dissatisfied with Du Chong, who came to grab food. If a person provokes After being outraged by the public and being seen through by everyone as a paper tiger, I'm afraid it will end badly."

"Indeed, it seems that Du is really a paper tiger?" Li Cheng muttered to himself, thoughtful.

Seeing how he moved Li Cheng with his words, Wang Shen was invigorated, and continued: "As far as I know, Uncle Liu Ping is dissatisfied with Du Chong. Heavenly King, if you are recruited by the court's decree this time, the troops will be controlled by Liu Guangshi ...Of course, this is just a name. Liu Guangshi can't do anything to the king, but he is still very happy to take the opportunity of Zhao'an to make Du Chong unhappy."

"Si!" Li Cheng took a deep breath: "Dao Si, you mean that Liu Guangshi said that there is something wrong with being filled?"

Wang Shen laughed loudly, nodded, and said: "It's the one who can't be six. Therefore, it's fine for the king of heaven to be an official of the court. As long as Uncle Liu Ping recruits you, he can tacitly allow you to raise troops in Sizhou."

The so-called "Six Impossible" is recorded in "Continued Zizhi Tongjian", which says that after Du Chong was beaten to shame by Zhang Yong, Wang Shan, Cao Cheng and others from Kaifeng, and fled all the way to the territory of Yangzhou Prefecture, Zhao Gou and I didn't know that the soldiers and horses of Kaifeng's left behind division had fallen apart, and they made great use of it. He was appointed as the highest military officer in the Jianghuai region, which caused Liu Guangshi's great dissatisfaction.

Liu Guangshi was originally one of the elders who joined Zhao Gou's Grand Marshal's Mansion. Moreover, the three thousand elite troops of the Western Army in his hands were the most reliable military force of Zhao Jiu's team, and he was also the emperor's confidant.

This year, this Uncle Liu Ping had the merit of supporting the heavens during the Miao and Liu mutinies. He was appointed as Jiangdong Xuanfu Envoy and Taiwei.

No matter who you are, Du Chong, you will ride on my head, Liu Guangshi, as soon as you come. It is unbearable.Besides, you suffered such a miserable defeat in Kaifeng, so why do you govern my army?
Therefore, Liu Guangshi wrote to Zhao Gou, opposing the matter, and said six more reasons.However, the Jianghuai area is really too big, and it is not appropriate to divide the troops at various points, and the military forces are also divided; now that the place is corrupt and the information is not clear, each army should fight on its own. If you lose Kaifeng, you are deeply indebted to the holy grace, and you should be punished if you are guilty; Du Chong is greedy for ink, drinks the blood of soldiers, and cannot be a general; Du Chong is fond of killing, but he has lost the morale of the army, so he cannot be a general; How important is defense, you can't be a general; Du is lustful, and you can't be a general if you entrain women in the army.

As he spoke, he began to attack personally.

The soldiers and horses of Kaifeng's left-behind division were the strongest in the past. However, when they were in Tokyo, they were a bit of an independent unit. This time, they came to Yangzhou to guard the imperial army, which was exactly what Zhao Gou wanted, and they had the heart to win over them right now.

Therefore, the emperor was furious, and invited Liu Guangshi into the palace, cursed him, and drove him to Chuzhou.

Liu Guangshi failed to overthrow Du Chong, and after being reprimanded by the emperor, he was so depressed that he died, and since then he and Du Chong have formed a relationship.

If he was recruited, he would nominally be controlled by Liu Guangshi, and there would be no need to be afraid of Du Chong if there was such a person in the emperor's heart to take care of him.

Considering that there is no good way out for his own army now, after thinking through this joint, Li Cheng felt relieved and said, "One word from Dao Si awakened the dreamer, let's just accept this call for safety. According to the report from the spies, Uncle Liu Ping's Zhongjun Xingyuan is coming to an end, so I'll send someone over to make contact."

After finishing speaking, he held Wang Shen's hand and said, "Daosi, Daosi, I never thought that you have a good command of the army, and you are also good at eloquence. After being recruited, I will ask Mr. Zhang for your talent. Arrive At that time, you must not agree."

Wang Shen nodded: "If Mr. Zhang wants to be sent to serve in the Heavenly King's army, he dare not obey." But he smiled wryly in his heart, I know Zhang Jun, but I'm afraid Zhang Jun doesn't know me.

Being able to persuade Li Cheng to be recruited, he still heaved a long sigh of relief, and at the same time felt a sense of pride in his heart: From the current point of view, the lives of me, Anniang, and the two hundred brothers have been saved.In the long run, Da Song has obtained an army capable of fighting.You know, this Li Cheng is not inferior to Yue Fei's strongman. After he voted for the puppet Qi, he put tremendous pressure on the Southern Song Dynasty.Now that I have been recruited, my Han family has lost a powerful enemy.

Suddenly, there was a faint sound of horns coming from the east.

Wang Shen and Li Cheng closed their mouths at the same time and listened attentively.

A man dressed as a scribe rushed in, with a serious expression on his face: "Heavenly King, there is an urgent military situation."

Li Cheng: "Tao Zisi, what happened?"

Tao Zisi: "Report to the King of Heaven, according to reports from detectives, the entire Tianchang Huaixi Army has moved, including Liu Guangshi's banner, according to Pingyuan Town for fifteen miles."

Li Cheng laughed coldly: "This fellow Li Qiong doesn't come early or late, it's only at this time, I want to know that I have occupied Pingyuan Town, and I know the problem is serious. ?”

Tao Zisi nodded: "Li Yu's Jinan Army is not worth mentioning, and Li Qiong is also careless. But I don't want to, the king of heaven suddenly appeared on this table, and Li Guobao panicked."

"Haha, haha, cleverness is misunderstood by cleverness." Li Cheng laughed and shook Wang Shen's hand: "Daosi, I heard that you beheaded a capital who was retreating, and that capital happened to be Li Joan's nephew. The reason why Li Guobao didn't send reinforcements for so long was because he wanted to use the Jinan Army to get rid of you. Unfortunately, he calculated for a long time, but he took advantage of me, Li Cheng. This time, let's see how he will explain to Uncle Liu Ping. It doesn't matter if Liu Guangshi is here, let's talk about the conditions with him. He wants Pingyuan Town, that's fine. First, make up the military salary owed to me by the imperial court, and give Sizhou to me to raise soldiers. Also, Bingjia also Gotta give me some."

Wang Shen: "The king of heaven is right, you need some military supplies. However, Taiwei Liu will be your boss in the future after all, so don't tear yourself apart."

"Don't worry, Taiwei Liu is very rich, he is a local rich man. Let's go upstairs and have a look. When the time comes, you go to Uncle Liu Ping and issue an imperial edict. Let's talk about it. If it works out, I'll invite you If the soldiers return to Sizhou, if it is not good, we will see you on the battlefield."

Ordinarily, as soon as he received the imperial edict, Li Chengcheng would become an officer of the Song Dynasty.Both he and the Huaixi army belonged to him, so there was no need to fight this battle again.

However, when the small court of the Southern Song Dynasty was first established, it was very chaotic.Military leaders from all over the country are fighting for power and profit, whether you are an officer or a bandit, you grab my territory, I annex your troops, and fight with each other lively, so I can't control so much.For example, when Yue Fei led the army independently, he almost died several times at the hands of other generals of the Song Army who coveted his soldiers, including his uncle.And he also killed several Song army generals, annexed other people's troops, and strengthened his own strength.

This time Liu Guangshi's brigade came, and he was an old rival with Li Cheng again, so it was hard to guarantee that he would not have the idea of ​​revenge.

In Tsunaki Collapse, with sinister thoughts in people's hearts, anything can happen.

Wang Shen's heart moved: "Heavenly King, someone can invite Lu Can and Lu Yuhou here. He is an old friend of Uncle Liu Ping. With him, there will be someone who can talk to me later in the negotiation."

(End of this chapter)