"The matter of the Liao Kingdom and the Sailor Division, let's put it aside for a while. In recent years, the center of gravity of the imperial court's military use will not be in the north. ”

Zong Ze responded: "As long as the imperial court mobilizes elite soldiers and strong generals, the southwest will be determined in the near future." ”

Han Gang smiled and ordered someone to come in and put away the map.

In a conversation just now, Zong Ze's answer was not perfect, but at that time, because his position was still too low, it was normal to see not far and not be comprehensive enough.

Looking to the future, Zong Ze should be able to play a greater role in northern affairs.

However, compared with the control of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea by water divisions, Hangang now pays more attention to the preservation of the Nanyang transportation line. The output of the two provinces, especially the grain output that is increasing year by year, is the key to stabilizing grain prices in the country. And countless Nanyang specialties have also made domestic commerce more prosperous.

On the Nanyang transportation line, there have been more than a dozen large sea ships with a carrying capacity of more than 10,000 stones, and hundreds of small and medium-sized sea ships.

Every year, so many seagoing ships bring local grain, spices, seafood and other special products from Liangguang to Yangzhou, and then return silk and porcelain and other special products from Yangzhou to Liangguang to trade with Guangzhou's big food merchants. Within a year, there were many trips, and it was easy to transport two or three million stone of grain.

This is the current focus of the sailors, before attacking the Liao, first take the pirate experience at sea - competitors, naturally the fewer the better.

Han Gang asked Zong Ze to sit down and continued the previous topic: "It's not so easy to pacify the southwest. You also heard Luoyang's old minister Wen say that Taizu Jade Axe demarcated the boundary...... It is not easy to cross the river. ”

Huang Sheng has been in the southwest for a few years, and he can't talk about it, but the situation on his side is indeed very smooth. In the early stage, he probed the situation, distinguished the enemy from me, and made reserves, and then Zhao Long, who had experience in fighting in the southwest, led the army to directly exterminate the tribes that refused to obey.

In the hands of the soldiers of the Western Army, who have been in the smoke for a long time, there are armor and weapons made of fine iron, as well as powerful bows and crossbows, and there are tiger squat cannons, a ten-man squad with two cannons, which can defeat hundreds of enemies with scattered bullets.

With the presence of sulfuric acid, it is not only hot air balloons that appear in the sky, but also hydrogen balloons. Although hydrogen balloons are dangerous, sulfuric acid is also dangerous, but gunpowder is also dangerous, and as long as it is useful and effective for the military, this danger is nothing. Relying on the eyes of the heavens, many times the enemy's ambushes have come to naught.

More importantly, there are a lot of ethnic groups in the central part of the Southwest Yi, and they have deep resentments against each other.

The training is better, the weapons are better, there are many leading parties, and even the biggest enemy, the epidemic, has been alleviated a lot, and the rebellious Southwest Yi certainly can't be the enemy of the official army.

But next, the enemy that the officials and troops had to face was not the cave master who only had tens of thousands of people under his command, but Dali, a large country in the south.

Half a year ago, Dali Duan's secret letter to Beijing, complained bitterly to the minister, and begged the Empress Dowager of the Great Song Dynasty to make the decision for him. When the news came out, there was an uproar in the DPRK. Since the imperial court denounced Yelu Yixin's usurpation and broke off relations with him, it is impossible to sit idly by and watch the usurpation of Dali's domestic behavior, especially the lord of Dali humbly begged, so that Shilin and the people began to call for troops.

Dali may not have the same brilliant record as the Western Xia, but the Nanzhao of the Tang Dynasty clashed with the Tang Dynasty army several times and won many victories.

Wen Yanbo used the story of Taizu's jade axe to demarcate the boundary to obstruct the conquest of Dali, and many people were worried that the war against Dali would be protracted and the imperial court would not be able to support it. Such a countercurrent is quite difficult to suppress.

Zong Ze said angrily: "Taizu said that the boundary should be demarcated by the Dadu River, but the powerful ministers in Dali State bully the master, how can I, the Great Song Dynasty, sit idly by?" It is China's duty to set things right for the vassal state. ”

In Dali, the Duan generation is the king, and the Gao generation is the phase. However, in recent years, the Duan family has weakened, the Gao family has become stronger, and there have been rumors several times that the Gao family in Dali has replaced Duan and claimed to be the king of himself.

As the orthodox of China, the Great Song Dynasty certainly can't tolerate this incident, Yelu Yixin of the Liao State can't deal with it, and the Gao clan of Dali can't deal with it? After the battle is down, let the Duan family present the Yutu Tian book, which is justified.

In fact, there are quite a few officials in the DPRK and China who have high enthusiasm for the suppression of Dali.

There are two main advantages of conquering Dali, one is Dali's resources based on population, land and silver mines, and the other is military merit.

The strategy of attacking Dali has long been agreed, the imperial court will not levy a large army, nor does it intend to invest tens of thousands of troops in the mountains and mountains in the southwest, but will use the method of attacking Jiaozhi, select about 10,000 elites, and at the same time mobilize the southwest Yi that can be used to participate in the war.

With the official army as the blade and the barbarian soldiers as the blade, they joined forces to destroy Dali. After taking Dali, most of the land was divided out of Lang, and a part of the southwest Yi was moved to settle here, and the imperial court only took part of the land around Erhai Lake and Dianchi Lake to settle the Han people.

The credit for destroying the country, just looking at the top few people in the court, you can know how rich the road is. Ask yourself the courtiers who are qualified to participate, and they have been intensively planning for themselves for the past two months to find a position that can earn credit.

"Rulin, do you want to go?" Han Gang asked, "Counselor for military affairs." ”

Zong Ze's heart jumped, but his face was silent, "Of course, Zong Ze has made meritorious contributions to the outside world to repay the court's kindness, but isn't it already overcrowded?" ”

Han Gang narrowed his eyes slightly, "Don't want to?" ”

"No, instead of letting those who want to be lucky to make it corrupt state affairs, it is better to let the lower officials go. It's hard to say how to strategize, but it's a good thing for the counselor to do military affairs, pick up the missing and fill in the gaps, and ask the subordinate to ask himself that he is better than those people, and it is good for the country and the army. ”

Han Gang looked at Zong Ze silently for a moment, and Ha Luha laughed, "Well said, you should have such a spirit!" ”

"Don't dare."

"But they can't be shut out of the crowd either. It's not bad, it's not to rob people of credit, and it's harmless for such a person to come. ”

Wang Zhongzheng is the best example.

Although he is mixed with credit many times, Wang Zhongzheng is not greedy for merit, does not cause trouble, abides by his duty, can help say good things in front of the Son of Heaven, and can also help the handle when it is critical.

This time, Wang Zhongzheng also has the heart to get a piece of the pie in the southern expedition. But it's not that he wants to go to the southwest again, but he wants to run a position for his son.

Wang Zhongzheng is not young, but he is in good spirits, he has prestige in the army, and the queen mother also trusts him very much. Last year, the Queen Mother intended to make him a festival envoy, but she resigned to Wang Zhongzheng. But everyone knows that as long as he is a servant, the festival is captured, and he doesn't have to be like other eunuchs, he has to die of illness to get posthumously.

But his son was not as lucky as he was.

It was customary for high-ranking eunuchs to adopt adopted sons, but in order to prevent the big mink in the palace from expanding their power through this means, the imperial court also imposed restrictions on the age, official position, and number of adoptees. But for the adopted son outside the palace, there are not so many rules, which are used to inherit incense.

Wang Zhongzheng's two adopted sons in the palace in his early years died early, and he did not adopt a righteous son in the palace after that, and his adopted son Wang Qi outside the palace obtained the qualification of the eldest son of the queen with the qualification of the eldest son, and after the official appointment, he was soon promoted to the inner temple Chongban. But that's about it.

If he is a military attaché, if he achieves a position like Wang Zhongzheng, he can pave another road for his son through marriage. But the eunuch's son wanted to get married, but he couldn't find a good candidate, and the help of the Yue family didn't have to be counted on.

After that, it depends on his own ability, and Wang Zhongzheng can't help him much. So Wang Zhongzheng begged Han Gang the day before yesterday, hoping to give his son a chance.

There are many cases of Wang Zhongzheng in the past, and there are many eunuchs who want to go to the frontier to make meritorious contributions. Including Li Xian, but also Tong Guan.

Tong Guan has been favored in the past two years, but because of his lack of military merits, although he is still serving in the Imperial Medicine Academy. But he definitely wants to go out, and now he is moving up and down, striving for a chance to go to the southwest.

"Xia Guan understands."

Zong Ze also knew how Han Gang had been harassed recently, and how many times he had come to ask him for a place, as if Dali's military exploits were stones on the side of the road, and they could be picked up.

"Actually, it's ridiculous." Han Gang smiled, "The imperial court hasn't even chosen a commander yet, so it's time to start fighting." If you really want to fight, except for three or two, the rest has to be chosen by the coach. ”

"That's what Xianggong said."

"Ru Lin, soldiers out of Dali, who do you think is suitable to be the commander?"

"This matter is not for Zong Ze to say."

"But it doesn't hurt to say that. This matter is not a one-person decision, and needs to be discussed in the court. If you say it, I will listen to it, and it will not hinder the affairs of the state. ”

Han Gang said calmly, and Zong Ze no longer shirked, "When Xiong Longtu is the main one, Huang Zhige is the secondary." The military generals under him should also be the generals who have served in the southwest. ”

Kumamoto, a bachelor of Longtu Pavilion, and Huangshang of Longtu Pavilion, are all Wenchen who have achieved something in the southwest.

Especially Kumamoto, he is an expert in the southwest, and since Xining, the imperial court's war against the southwest has always been carried out under his leadership, and he is also one of the few civil servants in the court who can serve as the commander.

After Zong Ze finished speaking, he quietly waited for Han Gang's response. He was worried that Han Gang would propose to make Wang Zhongzheng the commander. has experience in leading troops in the southwest, and Wang Zhongzheng is also one of the candidates for the coach, but after all, he is a eunuch. The road to Dali is not easy. If you want to capture Dali, you must go through a period of arduous marching, and there is no general's command of the army, and after walking this section of the road, there is no need to fight. It's just that Kumamoto is a new party, otherwise there will be no controversy about his choice as the head coach.

"Xiong Botong is indeed suitable." Han Gang nodded, "Huang Mianzhong is inferior to him for ten years of ordinary experience. ”

No matter how the two parties compete, Han Gang has no intention of breaking the bottom line. If there are two suitable candidates, he will choose to be close to him, but if there is only one candidate, then he will not interfere with the other person because they are not members of his faction.

However, this is mainly due to the fact that there is still harmony between the two parties, otherwise Han Gang will directly prevent the outbreak of this war, and there will be no chance for people to compete for credit at all.

Attacking Dali is not a matter of urgency, and Duan's secret book is just a starting point. Maintain the combat effectiveness of the forbidden army, and at the same time experiment with the use of firearms in the army, and find out the appropriate tactics - it is always impossible to face the Liao people, and artillery is still on the battlefield for the first time. Around the Great Song Dynasty, there is only one Dali left, which can be used for military training. Moreover, breaking through Emperor Taizu's jade axe demarcation, the significance behind this battle is a little greater.

But the benefits of going to war are nothing more than that.

Recognized by Han Gang, Zong Ze became more calm, "If Xiong Duanming is handsome, and Huang Zhige praises him, he may not dare to say that he will win this battle, but he will not be defeated." ”

Han Gang was silent, and only after Zong Ze was uneasy did Han Gang speak again, "If Kumamoto is here, we can guarantee that we will not be defeated, then we will already be defeated." Why? ”

Zong Ze didn't know why, and Han Gang had no intention of explaining. Let the changes in the future explain, people in this era cannot understand.

The biggest advantage of firearms is that the physical requirements for soldiers are not so high, even if they can't hold knives or guns, can't carry armor, and can't pull bows and crossbows because they are tired from marching, as long as they can set up the tiger squat cannon, load the ammunition, and then ignite it.

Rumor has it that crossbows were once banned in Europe because they allowed peasants to shoot knights to death in the mud. But it's a heavy crossbow, because it takes a lot of effort to pull it apart. And a small child, as long as he holds the musket steadily, can also have the opportunity to beat the head of the invincible general into tofu scum.

As long as a little training, you will be able to defeat a strong enemy, which allows the Han people to give full play to their advantages in manpower and national strength, and it will not be like the era of cold weapons, where tens of thousands of barbarians can also bully them.

How can leading an elite army that has been in battle for a long time and is equipped with artillery only guarantee a big defeat?! So why go to war?

What Han Gang needs is victory.

Use your own strengths, attack the enemy's shortcomings, and pull the enemy to your own area to defeat them. Today, artillery is equipped in the army, and in the firearms bureau, more steel and bronze are cast every day. There can be no further delay, and the Great Song Dynasty Forbidden Army must adapt to gunpowder weapons as soon as possible, and enter the era of thermal weapons first.

A long time ago, Han Gang hoped that the victory of the Great Song Dynasty would be a victory of production and organization, not a flash of inspiration from a famous general, let alone relying on the bravery and fearlessness of the soldiers. That kind of victory is the real victory. He has worked hard for a long time for this, not because he will not be defeated.

"Dali." Han Gang said softly.

Whether the goal can be achieved or not, use Dali to do a test.