Volume 3 Chapter 64: Hiding the Newspaper
"Let's not talk about that for now." After shooting down the crow, Zhao Jiu finally put away the arrows and took the handkerchief from Concubine Wu, who was in military uniform. Then he asked about the main business. "With the three routes in Guanxi and the original troops in Chang'an, do you have an idea of the combat power of the four families?"
"I can only try to explain it." Yang Yizhong replied earnestly.
"Tell me."
"Xihe Road is the best, Xingyuan Prefecture (Hanzhong) is second, Jingzhao is third, and Qinfeng Road is the worst." Yang Yizhong said without hesitation.
"Xihe Road is next to Qingtang, and has a large number of cavalry. Since the Jingkang period, it has not suffered any losses in the battles with the Jin army, but has defeated the Western Xia many times. I know that the troops along this route are in the best condition." Zhao Jiu wiped his sweat while talking seriously. "I also know that the militias gathered in Jingzhao in a hurry are almost useless, but why is Qinfeng Road not as good as Xingyuan Prefecture? Isn't Xingyuan Prefecture Hanzhong? It belongs to Shuzhong? How can that place compare to the real Guanxi troops? Moreover, Qinfeng Road has always been the second only to Jingzhao, and it is the foundation of Guanxi?"
"I think it was caused by Wang Xie's rebellion," Yang Yizhong answered seriously. "After Jingkang, Qinfeng Road was used to settle Wang Xie, and Wang Xie was indeed a man who brought disaster to the country. His troops were in disarray and fled at the first sign of trouble. They were almost useless... After Zhang Yunshi (Zhang Jun) dealt with Wang Xie, Yuwen Xianggong issued an order to transfer Zhao Zhe from Zhang Yunshi's Caosi to the position of Bingma Dujian, and it was only half a year later."
After wiping the sweat off his face, Zhao Jiu nodded, motioned Concubine Wu to go back, then turned around and wanted to speak, but sighed again.
By the way, the reason why Qu Duan was able to survive and the reason why Wang Shu, the theoretically perfect victim, could not overthrow Qu Duan in Tokyo and vent his anger was more or less due to Wang Xie, another one of the so-called "Old Three" in Guanxi at that time...Looking back now, this person is basically the same as Liu Guangshi and Fan Qiong, or even worse than these two people. Liu Guangshi was able to win over his subordinates with his family background and power, and Fan Qiong had the courage to fight against the Jin people in the early stage, so what did Wang Xie have?
The existence of this person perfectly highlights Qu Duan's ability and his contribution to maintaining northern Shaanxi. It also makes Wang Shu, who had always used Wang Xie to deal with Qu Duan, unable to raise his head in Tokyo, a place that only cares about the benefits of resisting the Jin army, even though he has become a powerful minister after returning. However, when it comes to old accounts, he can't even hold his head up.
When Zhao Jiu could no longer bear it and instructed Yuwen Xuzhong, Zhang Jun and Hu Yin to kill Wang Xie and nail Wang Xie as a "traitor who brought misfortune to the country", the relationship between Wang Shu and Qu Duan became even more chaotic.
But regardless of these old grudges, the problem now is that at this critical moment, the entire country has to pay for a series of internal struggles among these three people - taking the risk to release Qu Duan is like this, allowing Wu Jie to be defeated again and again is like this, and accepting a Qin Fenglu whose combat power has collapsed is also like this.
Otherwise, is there any other way?
"How do these troops compare to the troops in the imperial camp?" After watching Wu Yu go to another courtyard, Emperor Zhao still asked this question.
Although Yang Yizhong had anticipated this question and had prepared a draft, for some reason, he became cautious in his words: "The military appearance, equipment, military discipline, and combat troops are all inferior to those of the Imperial Camp. It's just that there are more war horses in Xihe Road, and they are newly acquired..."
Yang Yizhong was talking behind him, and Zhao Jiu was listening as he walked up the corridor and met Scholar Xiaolin who was waiting there. He was going to the back hall to meet Yuwen Xuzhong and others. But when he heard the words behind him suddenly stop, the official of the Song Dynasty was startled, and then turned around to look at the person behind him.
There is no other reason. Yang Yizhong said many things that were "not as good as" and they were all "not as good as" that could be easily verified, but there was no conclusion. That is, he did not say that the combat power was "not as good as" or the final general "not as good as" .
This is very interesting.
"I was ordered to lead the Imperial City Department, so I should only speak of what I see." Yang Yizhong bowed and said seriously when he saw the emperor stop to look at him. "But I am also the commander of the imperial guards, and military affairs are a rare place for me to express my opinions..."
"Then just tell me frankly, why are you still so cautious?" Zhao Jiu said with his hands behind his back.
"Because I am from Guanxi and have important responsibilities..." Yang Yizhong answered earnestly.
"So what you mean is that although the troops in Guanxi suffered two raids by Loushi and one civil strife, they have been at peace and have received money and food supplies from Bashu and reorganized for only a year. They still have their merits and are even no less capable than the imperial camp when facing a battle?" Zhao Jiu frowned.
"yes."
"What's the reason?"
"First, they defend their hometowns and their soldiers are brave; second, they fight on their home ground and adapt to the terrain and climate." Yang Yizhong became more earnest. "So I think that if it is a specific battlefield, the Western Army may not be inferior to the Imperial Camp... Of course, many soldiers in the Imperial Camp are originally from the Western Army, so there is no comparison."
Zhao Jiu thought for a moment, nodded slowly, and turned around to continue to follow Scholar Xiao Lin to the back hall, but after walking two steps, he stopped and looked back again: "Have you found your grandfather's body?"
Yang Yizhong was stunned for a moment, then shook his head sadly.
Zhao Jiu stopped talking and finally walked quickly into the back hall. At this time, Yuwen Xuzhong, Zhang Jun, Liu Ziyu, the three generals, as well as the messengers Hu Yin, Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Luoyang, and Tokyo, and even the messengers Yue Fei, Zhang Rong, Lu Xing, Zhang Jun and others were all here.
This is not a coincidence, but a routine notification.
Long before Zhao Jiu left, when he reappointed court ministers as military supervisors of various armies, he privately conveyed the decree that no matter how far or near, all military matters in various places, the commander-in-chief, the garrison commander, and the minister should report here every day. Those from Guanxi would be sent directly, while those from Guandong would take the Nanluo River trail... Daily reporting has almost become a custom.
In fact, Zhao Jiu, who was wearing a cotton tight-sleeved dress, entered the hall and sat down directly under the lamp. He did not speak to Yuwen Xuzhong and others, but took the daily reports from the messengers and opened them directly. After reading all the reports and letting the messengers go down to rest for a while, he discussed the situation.
"The Jin army in Hedong has gathered. The entire Hezhong Prefecture is dotted with Jin army flags. Baishui City has also fallen. The Jin army may march south in large numbers soon. Han Shizhong is under too much pressure. I hope Li Yanxian will not withdraw the troops to Pinglu on the north bank of the Yellow River and try to delay it for a while." Zhao Jiu looked calm, and as he spoke as usual, he casually handed several reports to Liu Yan beside him.
The latter distributed these things to Yuwen Xuzhong and others.
"I wonder what Commandant Li has to say?" Zhang Jun was given a daily newspaper, but before he could read it, he hurried over to the other side.
"Li Yanxian didn't mention this in his report." Zhao Jiu replied calmly. "He just suddenly asked for an official rank and favor for his wife for Pinglu garrison commander Shao Yun..."
"Then it's agreed." Yuwen Xuzhong sighed while holding the newspaper in his hand. "Although Pinglu City may not be impossible to defend, even if it is impossible to defend it, it may not be impossible to escape back or enter Zhongtiao Mountain in the north, but hundreds of thousands of Jin troops have gathered in Hedong, and it will be difficult to do so under the pressure of Mount Tai."
Zhao Jiu did not respond, and the other people in the hall were also silent.
In fact, there are some things that everyone knows in their hearts and should not necessarily be said out loud, especially in the current situation, when the war is about to begin and matters of life and death are often taken lightly. Being sentimental and sad will only damage morale...Write them down, keep them in your heart, and then wait until you can survive, then you will be qualified to feel sentimental and repay.
Of course, the best thing for Zhao Jiu would be a reward.
As for what Yuwen Xuzhong said, there is nothing we can do about it. You must know that this person was a romantic person in his early years. He responded to the call of the emperor and rushed to the emperor early. It was mostly because he had served as an envoy during the Jingkang Incident and felt guilty towards the country and the emperor... From his more emotional temperament, he was not a qualified envoy. However, his qualifications and status were there. He was the Grand Secretary of the Zizheng Palace and the Prime Minister when the Jin people invaded, and he had the merit of rushing to the emperor, so it was not easy to care about his previous appointment or his current words.
"Hu Jinglue said... Wu Jie of Fangzhou won a small victory?" The matter of Anlu passed just like that, and after a moment of silence, Liu Ziyu, the chief secretary of the Privy Council, quickly noticed something strange in the daily newspaper in his hand. "The date of the letter was the day before yesterday, the small victory news was the day before yesterday, and when was Baishui City captured?"
"Yesterday."
Zhang Jun glanced at Han Shizhong's daily report in his hand and quickly gave an answer.
And this is the trouble with war. There are so many complicated things and the dates are all different. They need to be sorted out after being summarized. This is also one of the reasons why Zhao Jiu had to share information to a certain extent.
"Baishui City is quite far from Fangzhou City. The Jin army's vanguard is not as fast as the messenger." Liu Ziyu blurted out the problem after hearing the news. "If Fangzhou City was still a small victory the day before yesterday, and Baishui City was captured yesterday, it can only mean that Wanyan Loushi directly divided his troops and marched south without taking Fangzhou City... This is a bit unreasonable."
"What does Zi Yu mean?" Zhang Jun was immediately alerted and reminded him seriously. "Although Hu Mingzhong is a bit pedantic, he will never lie!"
"But the soldiers of the Western Army are all ruffians, and Wu Jie is a native of the Western Army, having been trained in the Western Army for nearly twenty years." Liu Ziyu remained calm, first looking at Zhang Jun, then glancing at the Liu brothers across from him, without any mercy. "In my opinion, Wu Jie knew that he would definitely lose Fangzhou, and it is even possible that Fangzhou was lost the day before yesterday... But he had been defeated in succession before, but was promoted to the position of General by the government, so he must have been panicked. So this time, in order to cover up and whitewash, he first falsely reported some military exploits, then said that the defense of the city was tragic, and finally said that he had no choice but to withdraw. It is possible."
The summer night was hot, but Zhao Jiu kept his hands in his stuffy sleeves, looking thoughtful the whole time, without saying a word and without any expression.
As for the rest of the people, their reactions were different... Yuwen Xuzhong and Zhang Jun each sighed. Zhao Zhe, who was promoted by Yuwen Xuzhong but was actually Zhang Jun's personal personal, turned a deaf ear to him. Liu Qi wanted to defend Wu Jie but was stopped by his brother Liu Xi.
Obviously, most of the people staying in the back hall of the Prime Minister's Mansion agreed with Liu Ziyu's words and judgment, because it was too common for the Western Army soldiers to do such things... These bastards had killed innocent people and claimed credit for their achievements before, and watching people dying without helping and vying for credit and fame were even more commonplace for them, not to mention falsely reporting military merits or just deliberately getting the date wrong by one or two days?
He really did kill innocent people and take credit for it. Wang Shunchen, who was promoted by Li Gang, was the one who triggered the Southeast Rebellion. He was demoted ten levels for killing innocent people and taking credit for it. But later, his daughter married well, and he was promoted to a military governor again.
In short, to put it bluntly, now that they are being oppressed by the Jin people, if the day comes when they can live a peaceful life, Zhao Jiu will be a shame for a time traveler if he does not reorganize the Western Army like the previous bandit rebels.
But then again, isn't it true that the Jin army is suffocating everyone right now? Isn't it true that all the atrocities, all the infighting, all the collusion and stupidity seem so pathetic and ridiculous in the face of the Jin army's systematic massacres and systematic enslavement of the people of Mesopotamia?
What's more, there is no evidence at the moment.
Therefore, although he mostly believed it in his heart, reason told Zhao Jiu that he could not make malicious speculations about a general who was likely still killing enemies on the front line without evidence, and he could not allow civil officials like Yuwen Xuzhong, Zhang Jun, and Liu Ziyu to collectively convey some inappropriate signals to several military generals.
"Military affairs are serious. Don't slander your colleagues without evidence." After a while, Zhao Jiu came to his senses and rarely scolded Liu Ziyu. "But military affairs should also be lenient... It's better to take into account the gains and losses of Fangzhou City."
"I made a mistake." Liu Ziyu struggled to stand up and apologized, then quickly returned to the main topic. "In fact, at this point, with the Baishui River falling, Lou Shi's intentions are clear. He will either turn southeast at the Baishui River and head to Tongzhou to attack Han Taiwei with the Hedong troops; or turn southwest at the Baishui River and head south from Pucheng or Fuping to Jingzhao..."
"Then how should we deal with it?" Zhao Jiu said calmly.
"I think we should remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing situations, continue to defend the city, and resist layer by layer." Liu Ziyu's military strategy remained the same. "Of course, Tongzhou, Weishui, and Chang'an City are three major nodes, and we should focus on managing and deploying them carefully to preserve our troops as much as possible. In this way, no matter the victory or defeat, as long as we can drag it out until the autumn rain and mud, the Jin people will be unable to hold on from logistics to morale, and Guanxi will naturally be saved."
Yuwen Xuzhong nodded directly, and Liu Xi and Zhao Zhe also nodded. However, Zhang Jun and Liu Qi stared at Emperor Zhao under the candlelight without saying a word. It was obvious that the two confidants of the emperor, one new and one old, were waiting for the emperor to express his opinion.
"Let me ask Yan Xiu (Liu Ziyu's pen name), if the Jin army in Hedong cannot cross the river in a short time, just talking about Loushi, how many soldiers can he lead south?" Zhao Jiu suddenly asked a strange question.
The reason why it is puzzling is that the Privy Council has already discussed this issue many times, and Zhao Jiu and many ministers and generals have also asked it many times, but they don't know why they are asking it again.
"Forty thousand!" Liu Ziyu repeated patiently. "Among them, thirty thousand are the elite troops under the command of Meng'an and Mouke, and ten thousand are auxiliary troops...but this does not include Wanyan Huonu's ten thousand troops."
"So that's 50,000 at most...right?" Zhao Jiu took a deep breath, attracting the attention of many people present. "How many soldiers would be needed to stop all 50,000 people at Baihe and prevent them from entering the plain?"
Liu Ziyu stared at the emperor above him, then stood up and solemnly advised: "Emperor, it is not advisable to take risks at this time. There are more than 100,000 Jin troops in Hedong. Although there are more Han troops among them, they are still more than 100,000 Jin troops. Under such pressure, Pinglu will definitely not be able to be defended, and the Yellow River will definitely be crossed... Since ancient times, it has never been heard that someone controlled Hedong but could not enter Guanzhong!"
"I'm just asking." Zhao Jiu also became serious. "If the Jin troops in Hedong cannot cross the river, how many soldiers will it take to block these 50,000 Jin troops in the northern plateau and the river mouth?"
"This question is unreasonable. I have been ordered to lead the Privy Council's Personal Affairs Department, and I should plan state affairs for Your Majesty. I am sorry that I cannot answer such fictitious questions." Liu Ziyu bowed deeply, and his expression became more serious when he stood up.
"No problem." Zhao Jiu nodded, and then directly called Liu Xi's name: "Mr. Liu, you are the commander-in-chief of the three armies. How much do you want?"
"The Baihe area has hills and plateaus on one side, and rivers and swamps on the other side." Liu Xi stood up. Unlike Liu Ziyu, he did not dare to hesitate at all. "It is reasonable to say that there are some geographical advantages, but the Jin army is really brave. If we really want to stop the enemy in the wild, we must be prepared for a field battle. Once a decisive battle in the wild, the plateau can still charge on horseback. So I think we need three times as many soldiers to use..."
"That's just 150,000." Zhao Jiu frowned.
"We don't need that many." Liu Xi added hastily. "One hundred and thirty thousand will be enough. Among the fifty thousand, only forty thousand are real captives. The ten thousand or so soldiers are either surrendered soldiers from Yan'an Prefecture or soldiers from the three states outside the Yellow River. They are no different from the soldiers of our army in terms of fighting power. Besides, doesn't the emperor have an extra backup? The guards in front of the emperor and the elite soldiers dispatched from various places in the imperial camp are so powerful that they are not comparable to the subordinates of our army."
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly, but then looked at Zhang Jun: "If we gather so many troops, will the logistics be sufficient?"
"Good instructor, you know that the transportation in Shu has not stopped yet, so it must be sufficient..." Zhang Jun answered quickly.
"Your Majesty!" Liu Ziyu, who had not returned to his seat, was angry and could no longer bear it, so he interrupted his friend's words. "Don't rely on luck in military affairs. How could the Jin army in Hedong not be able to cross the river? Don't think of fighting in the field. The situation in Yanling is different now! There was no way out at that time!"
Zhao Jiu laughed again when he saw this: "Since you know that the Jin army in Hedong will definitely cross the river, why do you worry that I will take it seriously? Moreover, even if the Jin army in Hedong cannot come to help, according to what Liu Jinglüe said, how can we gather 120,000 or 30,000 soldiers? Han Shizhong has to guard the river and cannot move at all. There are only 30,000 or 40,000 troops in the imperial camp, and the five routes of the western army plus Xingyuan Prefecture can only barely make up 50,000 or 60,000 people. If Fangzhou is lost, it will be reduced again... What can I use to fight in the field?"
"I lost my composure." Liu Ziyu took a deep breath and apologized again. "I saw that the elite troops in Chang'an were gathering day by day, and I was afraid that the emperor would kill with a sharp knife in his hand, but he forgot that Lou Shi was not an ordinary Jin general, and the Western Route Army had never been afraid of a hard battle!"
Zhao Jiu nodded and changed the subject: "Qu Duan disappeared without a trace. Hu Mingzhong said that he passed through Ningzhou. After a quick meeting, he went west and north to Jingyuan to gather troops... Although the main purpose is to harass Loushi, we still need to find a messenger to inquire about the situation as soon as possible."
This statement seemed appropriate, and Liu Ziyu and others nodded in agreement.
From then on, Emperor Zhao never mentioned any nonsense about field battles and blocking Loushi again. The emperor and his ministers discussed the military situation for a long time, and determined the plan for Han Shizhong's troops to retreat safely when necessary, as well as the layout of the Wei River defense line, etc. Just like the previous few days, the discussion ended late at night.
After the meeting, the emperor left first, followed by Yuwen Xuzhong and others.
However, Yuwen Xuzhong, the envoy who was half the owner of this place and had been delivering messages on behalf of the emperor for several days, was stopped by Yang Yizhong when he was about to leave... The others saw this and quickened their pace to leave, as they did not want to overhear the conversation between the prime minister and the emperor's confidants... Of course, Yang Yizhong's stopping Yuwen Xuzhong was just a trivial matter.
"The number in the daily report is wrong?" Yuwen Xuzhong was puzzled for a moment. "The messengers gathered and handed it to the emperor in person. We saw it with our own eyes. Even the messenger from Huaidong Zhang Boying came. The emperor even specifically asked about Qu Duan's loss of information. How could it be wrong?"
Yang Yizhong was stunned for a moment, and he laughed while holding a few newspapers in his hand: "Maybe one copy was dropped, or someone took one away. It doesn't matter, I'll look for it tomorrow..."
Seeing this, Yuwen Xianggong smiled again: "The message has been verified. In fact, as long as it is not from Hu Mingzhong, Han Taiwei, and Li Taiwei, it doesn't matter if someone just took a copy and forgot to return it... It won't affect the military intelligence."
Yang Yizhong nodded repeatedly, saluted, and then walked out of the back hall carefully holding the newspaper in his hand. As soon as he left the back hall, he saw Emperor Zhao and his attendant Liu Yan waiting in the slightly dark backyard corridor.
What’s interesting is that Yang Yizhong didn’t show any surprise at all.
"Yang Qing, tell me, if we want to fight in the field, how many people are needed to trap the 50,000 people in Loushi?" Zhao Jiu put his hands behind his back. "Tell the truth."
"One hundred thousand!" In the twilight, Yang Yizhong raised his head and said sternly. "Even if we take into account the backup force that the emperor has prepared, we still need one hundred thousand! Otherwise, we can't contain them... Your Majesty, Lou Shi's trip is obviously well calculated. Even if Zhang Yunshi has done his best and brought 20,000 more soldiers, with northern Shaanxi in ruins and the two generals Han and Li holding back Hedong, our forces are still insufficient."
Zhao Jiu sighed softly...How could he not know?
Wang De and Wang Yan have a total of 40,000 troops. There are more than 30,000 soldiers and horses from Jingzhao, Xihe, Qinfeng, and Xingyuan Prefectures gathered here in Jingzhao. By drawing on the best troops from various departments, he has assembled an 'elite collection' of five or six thousand people along the way. Together with the imperial guards, there are barely 80,000 people. Even if there are still some soldiers and horses left in the three routes of northern Shaanxi, that is, Yanfu Road, Jingyuan Road, and Huanqing Road, it is really less than 100,000!
Not to mention, this is just paper talk, a theoretical ratio of troops and horses.
Of course, Zhao Jiu, who had fought in two battles, knew very well that if he was really determined to fight a war of annihilation, he could let Han Shizhong abandon the Jin army in Hedong before the battle and buy time for reinforcements... But this was too idealistic, and he was just a gambler.
"Please forgive me for speaking frankly." In silence, Yang Yizhong raised his head, his eyes shining slightly in the darkness. "Your Majesty, Liu Chengzhi's words are from the bottom of his heart, and he is serving the public wholeheartedly, unless Your Majesty has other information..."
Zhao Jiu nodded: "Of course I know that what Liu Ziyu said is absolutely right, but today is not a sudden whim of mine... Yue Peng mentioned in his report that he intends to cross the river and leave Xiangzhou in the early next month to connect with Ma Kuo and involve the Jin army in Hedong! And since I have already granted him the power to do so, there is no reason to stop him."
"It may have miraculous effects." Yang Yizhong suddenly realized, but soon shook his head again. "But sir, this can only be a temporary distraction. As long as Hedong and Damingfu send troops to attack, General Yue will be doomed to be unable to stay in Hebei. And it is unknown how many people can be involved."
"I know," Zhao Jiu replied calmly. "It's just that I couldn't help it for a moment..."
After saying that, Zhao Jiu turned around and held a daily newspaper in his hands behind his back. It was indeed the one that Yang Yizhong had not found, and also the one that Yue Fei had found. However, this official had no intention of handing the newspaper over to Yang Yizhong. Instead, he held the newspaper and walked away into the twilight.
Yang Yizhong wanted to speak, but gave up in the end.
