Chapter 266 Although the captives are cunning, what are they afraid of

On November 20 of the third year of the Great Song Dynasty, the wind was cold.

Qin Dashi climbed the watchtower and took a clairie mirror to the western border to observe, in the north of Xuzhou, the loyal and righteous army had been gathered with great fanfare, saying that it was to prevent Menghu from harassing the south in winter, so for Xuzhou, the biggest possible opponent was the Jin State from the west.

The Loyal and Righteous Army resisted the Mengyuan in the north, and the Guards defeated the Jin State from the west, and took advantage of the gap to attack the Central Plains, which was the plan proposed to Zhao Youju by the Military Counselor's Office composed of Li Ye and other generals who stayed in Lin'an. An important part of Zhao Heju's military reform was the establishment of a military counselor's office under the Central Privy Council, which was equivalent to the privy deputy envoy, and there was no quota for the staff, but it must be a military general who had made military exploits in the frontier. The reason for setting up the Military Counselor's Office was very clear to the ministers at that time: first, the Son of Heaven, that is, the scholar, may not be familiar with military affairs, and must be planned by the military counselor, so as not to be disadvantaged by the "formation map" of the border generals; The second is that the frontier military ministers have meritorious service, and they should be honored in Beijing, and they can be transferred to civilian positions or are not suitable, and they can enter the Privy Council as military counselors, which is also the meaning of the preservation of the generals. To put it simply, Zhao Heju himself admits that commanding the war is a layman, so he must have an internal consultant, and at the same time, in order to prevent the military general's high achievements from shocking the master, he uses the position of counselor of the military counselor's office, which is important but has no actual military power, to protect the wealth and wealth of the meritorious general.

Although this did not fundamentally solve the problem of suspicion of martial artists since the Song Dynasty, it generally excluded the matter of layman leadership and insiders, which led to the defeat of the front-line soldiers due to the indiscriminate command of the emperor and Wenchen in the court. This preparation for the big war with the Jin State is the first time that the Military Counselor's Office has planned for the Son of Heaven, and those generals in the army who originally lost the opportunity to personally lead the troops because of the reform of the military system will naturally not waste this opportunity to show their talents in front of the Son of Heaven. After arguing for three days, he came up with this limited counterattack strategy and handed it over to Qin Dashi on the border to implement.

Of course, after this limited counterattack strategy, there are several change plans formulated to deal with the unexpected situation of the war, and Zhao Heju's secret decree to Qin Dashi clearly stated that these coping plans are the direction that Qin Dashi should prepare.

One of the key is how to counterattack into the territory of Jin after defeating the Jin State, judging from this plan, the determination of the Son of Heaven to restore the Central Plains has been made.

In the northwest sky, a pig's liver-colored cloud hung down in the wilderness, according to the ancient Wangqi, this kind of cloud was a war cloud, which meant that a great war was about to break out.

Qin Dashi shifted his perspective to the pig's liver-colored cloud, where was the earthen wall erected by the Jin people, the earthen wall separated the Song and Jin, the earthen wall was neat and tidy on this side, and there was a large area of wasteland. On the opposite side of the watchtower, the watchtower of the Jin Kingdom also exists, and I think there are also the generals of the Jin Kingdom watching this side at this time.

Now Qin Dashi is not in Xuzhou, under him is the closest to the border between the two countries of a new city "Qinglong Fort", this was originally a market town, since the Song State captured Xuzhou was abandoned, the city wall began to be built before the previous year, with the help of concrete, the progress is quite fast, although compared to the earth ramming city, this city may not be more solid, but do not use siege equipment, it is still difficult to break through with manpower.

When the city was built, there was a dispute between the two countries, and Jin thought that since the two countries had an alliance, the construction of the city was a sign of lack of goodwill. Song Guo said that Jin Guo was the first to build an earthen wall on the border, and Song Guo naturally had to take corresponding measures, and the final result of this kind of verbal dispute was always unresolved. Whether the Jin State wants to or not, if it still wants to attack Xuzhou, this Qinglong Fort is a city that must be contested.

Otherwise, the Jin soldiers bypassed Qinglong Fort and approached Xuzhou City, so the Song army in Qinglong Fort could threaten the supply line of Jinhou at any time, forcing Jin soldiers to advance and retreat under Xuzhou City, unless Jin Guo could take Xuzhou in one go. However, the city of Xuzhou is far stronger and taller than Qinglong Fort, and the preparation measures are more sufficient, if you can't take Qinglong Fort, how can you take Xuzhou!

Because it is a military town, there are almost no civilians in Qinglong Fort, even a small number of civilians who serve the army, and they have quietly moved away a few days ago.

"No movement today......

After watching for a long time, Qin Dashi put down the clairvoyant mirror and thought with some concern.

What he is afraid of now is not that the Jin people will attack, but that the Jin people will not attack, if the Jin people can endure this breath and really not attack, then the Song State will only take the initiative to attack the Jin State, and the alliance between the two sides is that the Song State will take the initiative to tear it up - although this is not a problem in the relationship between the countries, but Zhao and Ju still hope that their side can stand on the moral side, and it is justifiable to fight against the unjust.

It must be admitted that the people rejoiced in the days of peace, and even with the current prestige of Zhao and Ju, it was impossible to make the people of the Great Song Dynasty belligerent and aggressive in just a few years. If the Jin State reneges on the alliance and abandons the letter to fight the Song State, it means that the peace of the people of the Great Song Dynasty will be destroyed by the Jin State. On the contrary, if Zhao and Ju had taken the initiative to provoke a war, this support would not have been so resolute. After all, the people are realistic, they are worried that the war will cause their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons to be killed or injured, that the post-war reconstruction will make their tax burden heavier, and that their jobs and livelihoods will be replaced by cheaper labor in the Central Plains after the liberation.

Zhao and Ju could feel how timely Pearl Harbor was for him in the history he had traveled back into, when US President Franklin D. Roosevelt faced domestic isolationism.

The harbinger of war is not just the cloud in the sky, in fact, since three days ago, Qin Dashi has not received any news from the Jin State, and even the generals along the border of the Jin State who Zhao Ziyue bought have lost their traces overnight, and they have been replaced by a group of new generals, who are said to have learned the rules of the Great Song Dynasty, and the frontier has changed defenses, and they have exchanged defense areas with the army led by the monk Wanyan Chen on Hebei West Road.

How can such a trick be concealed from those who are prepared!

But at the same time, Qin Dashi had a vague sense of crisis, and he always felt that he and the Military Counselor's Office in Lin'an seemed to have missed something. His initial suspicion was that the Loyal and Righteous Army Department, compared to the Guards, the combat effectiveness of the Loyal and Righteous Army was indeed not very reassuring, but now Menghu is not the Menghu that made people change when Temujin was in time, and it may be impossible for hundreds of thousands of loyal and righteous troops to win, but it is still possible to hold on for a while, waiting for reinforcements after sweeping the Jin State.

Since the variables do not come from the Zhongyi Army Defense Area in the north, could it be the Zhendexiu Defense Area in Huaixi? Or is it Jingxiang's Zhao Kui Defense Zone? Or is it the Hanzhong Defense Zone?

When Qin Dashi was full of anxiety, in a private house in Xiangyang City, a young Confucian student gently tapped on the table, and opposite him, Zhao Jingyun poured himself tea.

"If the war breaks out, I'm only afraid of ......" The young Confucian who was banging on the table sighed and pointed to the north: "Brother Manqing, do you really want to go and see?" ”

"Naturally I want to go, a few years ago, I have been to Chuzhou and Xuzhou, and last year I went to Sichuan, Shu, Lizhou, only this Jingxiang land, although I have always wanted to come and see, but there is always no time. Now Brother Yifu is here as a staff member of Governor Zhao, and he can make it convenient with me. Zhao Jingyun poured another cup of tea for the Confucian scholar, and then said with a smile: "Try this dragon well cooked by Xinxue, this dragon well is not a mortal thing, but a must in the West Lake, the tribute tea named by the Son of Heaven, the blessing of Master Wei, I got these, and it can be regarded as the blessing of the righteous husband and brother." ”

The young Confucian who was called Yifu knocked on the table again, although he took the tea, he looked at Zhao Jingyun's gaze a little embarrassed: "Manqing, you didn't come at the right time, and now you are in the second class of war preparations." ”

Referring to this second-class combat preparation, Zhao Jingyun's expression also became serious, he leaned forward, and said in a low voice: "Brother Yifu, I know that this second-class combat preparation has lasted for almost four months, could it be that the situation on the border is really so tense?" ”

This righteous brother's surname is Yu, his single name is Yu, the word Yifu, is a native of Qizhou, and now he is serving as a staff member under Zhao Kui, the military governor of Jingxiang, he is still very young, and he is only slightly younger than Zhao Jingyun, but because of his poor family in his early years, he studied in Bailu Academy, and he is very calm. Hearing what Zhao Jingyun asked, he shook his head and said cautiously: "This matter is beyond the knowledge of Brother Manqing, the military secret decree promulgated by His Majesty last year, Governor Zhao made me memorize it well. ”

Zhao Jingyun was slightly embarrassed, he and Yu Jue had known each other for a long time, although they couldn't talk about a deep friendship, but they could be regarded as friends who could talk to each other, and Yu Jue couldn't believe him when he said this.

"Brother Manqing, I naturally don't believe you, but the system is the system, if you follow it and do it, then nothing can be done, if it is destroyed lightly and slowly, nothing can be done. I don't know if you have read these words of Your Majesty in the "Treatise on Rules". ”

In the past two years, Zhao Heju himself has published several books, including this "Treatise on Rules", which talks about the rule of saints and the rule of mortals. When it comes to the rule of the saints, especially when it comes to the three generations, the ground is drawn as a prison, why the criminals do not escape, and although the current world is punished with prison cages, the offenders are going to follow-up, an important reason is that the laws and regulations lack seriousness, not only the small people do not know anything, that is, from the Son of Heaven to the ministers, all of them "play to make mistakes", therefore, if you want the people to abide by the laws and regulations, you must confirm the authority of the laws and regulations, that is, "the Son of Heaven is guilty of the same crime as the common people", which cannot be different according to the status and wealth of the peopleThe phrase "the punishment is not the doctor, and the courtesy is not the people" is a misunderstanding of the "Zhou Rites" by later generations of Confucianism, in fact, it should mean "the punishment does not respect the doctor, and the courtesy is not humble".

If it weren't for the fact that Zhao Heju's authority has become increasingly important in recent years, and his prestige is far greater than that of the previous kings of the Song Dynasty, this other article would have set off a monstrous wave. Even so, after the publication of this "Treatise on Rules", it still caused widespread controversy, but the result of the controversy ended in agreeing with Zhao and Ju's interpretation.

Therefore, Zhao Jingyun heard Yu Jue talk about the "Treatise on Rules", and his heart was a chill, in recent years, he has been a cloth cloth, and has repeatedly counseled in national affairs, the Son of Heaven, Cui Xiang, and Wei Shi all looked at him differently, making him quite conceited, and Yu Jue woke him up with a word, so that he did not feel creepy.

"Thank you, Brother Liv." He left his seat to give a salute, and respectfully added tea to Yu Jue's cup.

Yu Jue shook his head and returned the salute, the two looked at each other silently, and after a while, Zhao Jingyun said again: "I look at Brother Lifu and frowned, it seems that there is some hidden worry, I don't know why?" ”

"I've been wondering what kind of strategy Jin Guo and Menghu will use to provoke a war." This is his personal speculation, not a secret, so Yu Jue was able to speak, and he laid out the situation with snacks on the table: "My Fifth Military Region and the Second Army Corps of the Great Song Dynasty, except for the Lin'an Military Region, which is a mobile force, and the Guangzhou Military Region, which guards the southwest, the rest of the places are bordered by the enemy country, and may become the enemy's attack place. Although the number of loyal and righteous troops is large, the combat strength is average, and if Menghu attacks it, it should be more than enough to defend. Although the troops of Xuzhou are small, the combat power is extremely strong, whether it is Menghu or Jin Yu have suffered a big loss here, Huaixi Zhengong is the literati in charge of the army, although the soldiers are more and the food is sufficient, but there is little actual combat experience, Jingxiang Zhao supervised the famous generals of a hundred battles, but the troops are slightly insufficient, Hanzhong is self-contained, there is the danger of terrain. If I am a northern captive, how should I attack it? ”

"If in the past, if I was strong and I was weak, I would have divided my troops into three ways and marched together, but now I am strong and weak, and the northern captives should be concentrated in one place, and the rest of the places are just harassing and peeping. So which way exactly? ”

Hearing him say this, Zhao Jingyun immediately looked at Zhen Dexiu, although Zhen Dexiu has a lot of troops, but they are all Taiping soldiers who have not experienced a vicious battle for several years, and he himself cannot be regarded as proficient in military affairs, whether it is from the perspective of a soldier or a general, attacking Zhen Dexiu can be regarded as the weakest attack on the enemy. But since Yu Jue mentioned this matter, it is not so simple to think about it.

"The possibility of attacking Huaixi is extremely small." Realizing what Zhao Jingyun meant, Yu Jue shook his head and pointed to the two sides representing Huaixi: "If it is to attack Huaixi, although Zhengong is not good at military affairs, he will also retire to protect the Jinghua of Chuzhou, and my army of Jingxiang and the army of Xuzhou led by Qin will encircle and cut off its retreat, and the Lin'an Army will transfer troops to the north to help, and it will form a trend of closing the door to catch thieves. ”

"The Sichuan land is remote, even if the Jin people take it away, there is no gain, and the terrain is dangerous, and it is impossible to open it if you are a husband, and it is not possible to attack the Sichuan land." Zhao Jingyun also said.

"The rest is my Jingxiang and Xuzhou, if I can defeat the strong army of Xuzhou, my Great Song Dynasty will shake the whole country, after all, the Guards Army is known as the First Iron Army of the Great Song Dynasty. And took Xuzhou, in recent years, the achievements of Xuzhou and Jingdong construction have been put into the hands of the captive, and the iron and cloth of Xuzhou are available for the army armor and clothing. ”

"If you can defeat my Jingxiang army, you can drive the hinterland of the Great Song Dynasty for a long time, go south down the river, and go directly to Lin'an, although there is still a Lin'an army, if you can fight and win again, you can shake the ...... of my Great Song Kingdom" Analyzing this, Yu Jue's complexion changed a little: "Therefore, although Jingxiang and Xuzhou are strong in battle, they are also the most likely to be attacked by the Jin State." ”

Zhao Jingyun nodded, although Yu Jue could not disclose the border situation due to the system, but this analysis was clearly to tell him about the serious situation that Jingxiang was facing without violating the system.

"But what I'm worried about is not this, if the whole country of Jin is attacked, I Jingxiang can't hold it, and how can Xuzhou and Huaixi sit idly by? Competing and Zhao Governor is good at military affairs, and it is difficult to predict the outcome of the battle. ”

"I'm worried about ......" Speaking of this, Yu Jue hesitated slightly, and then said: "What if it's not just the Jin Kingdom that comes to attack Jingxiang?" ”

"What are you?" Zhao Jingyun said in horror.

When Yu Jue said this, he suddenly felt that his eyes lit up, and his confused things seemed to have been solved, he immediately stood up, did not say goodbye to Zhao Jingyun, and ran out: "Manqing, I want to see Governor Zhao!" ”

Zhao Jingyun was stunned to see his figure disappear outside the door, and then looked at the snacks on the table, and didn't figure it out for a while. Although he personally experienced a war in Huating Mansion, he could not be regarded as a person who knew the soldiers, at most he could only talk about the troops on paper, and it was not his forte to really conduct this kind of strategic analysis.

Just when Yu Jue was startled and ran away, in Lin'an City, Zhao Heju also slapped the table in shock: "Red Thunder has made another great contribution!" ”

On the table in front of Zhao and Ju, there was the latest secret music sent by Li Yunrui, which was also the latest news sent by the "Red Thunder" lurking inside Meng Yuan.