Volume 4 Chapter 66: Famous Envoy (Part 2)
After a moderate spring rain, the sunny weather in March continued to dominate the middle reaches of the Yellow River. At this time, Emperor Zhao began to dig a pit at the easternmost end of the Guanzhong Plain, that is, on the Pujin Tongzhou side.
It's really a pit.
There are five people in a group, two for digging holes, one for loading soil, and two for carrying soil. They are very efficient.
In addition to digging pits, there are also people piling up soil, tamping earth, and driving piles... On the west bank of the Yellow River, not only Puzhen, but the most dangerous section of the Yellow River around Puzhen is under construction.
And Emperor Zhao was one of the people responsible for digging the pit.
To be fair, Zhao Jiu's move was not necessarily right. Because from a utilitarian point of view, the exemplary role played by the emperor in working in the fields may not be as effective as maintaining a sense of mystery to encourage all the people, and what he did also brought inconvenience to many officials... The government has dug a hole, so what can you do?
If the bureaucratic system is out of order, its efficiency will be greatly reduced.
Of course, it was thanks to Hu Yin, who was in charge, that he was used to Emperor Zhao and knew that the emperor might be doing this just out of boredom... so he asked for a clear decree early on, asking everyone to follow the procedure and not to imitate without permission.
Of course, the scholars accompanying the army would certainly record this behavior, and in a few days the imperial gazette would certainly publish in Tokyo how Emperor Zhao "inspired the fighting spirit in the hearts of his subjects."
But back to the present, after Zhao Jiu had been digging holes for several days, Hu Yin thought about it and finally decided to persuade the official again.
"It's not that I have nothing to do, but after thinking over and over, I always feel that all I, the emperor, can do now is to dig holes and pile up piles." Zhao Jiu held a shovel and stood in the pit facing Hu Yin, the Guanxi Five Route Transport Envoy who had tried to dissuade him. Hu Yin was standing by the pit and bowed to him.
This move did not cause much chaos, because at the same time, the one who partnered with Emperor Zhao to dig the pit was Yang Yi Zhong, the one who filled the pit was Liu Yan, and the ones who carried the soil were Zhai Biao and Wang Zhongfu... The working groups arranged around were also members of the Imperial Guard.
Hu Yin turned his head to look at the Guanque Tower on the opposite bank. He wanted to use the embarrassment of civil officials such as Lu Benzhong and Zheng Zhichang to persuade them, but for some reason, he once again chose to remain silent and bowed and retreated.
The reason is very simple. Hu Mingzhong knew very well that what the official said was absolutely right.
The first step in this plan was to come up with a surprising strategy... The Jurchens and Dangxiang people were unaware of the existence of Yelu Dashi, so no matter how smart, cautious, and serious they were, they would have fallen into the trap dug by Emperor Zhao.
It's a bit of an unfair victory, but it can also be called a more brilliant strategy, which is even more frustrating than an open conspiracy.
Secondly, in this plan, most people have only played certain roles and assumed certain functions until now . Unless the situation changes suddenly, it is difficult to have a breakthrough performance... Emperor Zhao Guanjia and the 100,000 strong men recruited from both sides of the Wei River after the spring ploughing were responsible for bluffing; Wu Jie and his imperial camp rear army, and Han Shizhong, were responsible for capturing Hengshan and Yan'an; Li Yanxian needless to say... In theory, these people can play freely, but in order to ensure the stability of the plan, most people still remain restrained in accordance with the requirements of Emperor Zhao.
Even Zhao Jiu himself is the same.
After the official successfully intimidated the Jin army on the opposite side with 100,000 civilian laborers and several thousand imperial guards, the only practical measure was to dig pits here... and keep digging pits... This was a necessary measure just in case, and it was also the most powerful supplement for Tongzhou, which only had 20,000 imperial camp left troops and several thousand imperial guards. Others were all united soldiers, archers, and civilian laborers.
Even Zhao Jiu and Hu Yin knew it all, including the previous plan of Jiang Gan's anti-book theft by Zheng Zhichang, which was a bit superfluous. There was no way, when the real front-line information was restricted by geography, they were anxiously waiting for the results and always felt a little uneasy if they didn't do something.
It was as if Emperor Zhao felt uncomfortable if he didn't dig a hole, and Hu Yin was obviously aware of this.
Moreover, they all knew that at this moment, the only one who could truly decide the overall situation was Yue Fei... Everyone is a tool, but tools are different. Yue Fei and the 30,000 troops on the westernmost front have the widest range of choices and the greatest right to choose, and they are the most important role in deciding the direction of the overall situation.
In comparison, even though Pinglu, the strategic town of Shanzhou isolated to the north of the Yellow River, was something Zhao Jiu was prepared to give up, he gave Li Yanxian clear instructions when he passed through Shanzhou when entering the pass.
"Officials."
Just a moment later, Hu Yin returned. "There is an urgent military report to the central army..."
Zhao Jiu stopped digging the pit and looked at Hu Mingzhong who was standing by the pit again, puzzled for a moment.
Even Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan stopped their actions... because it was very strange. As for military intelligence, whether internal or external, the Imperial Camp channel should be faster.
Unless it is impossible to conceal the results of a large-scale war, there is no need to avoid or cover up.
"Li Jiedu of Shanzhou announced the victory." Hu Yin certainly would not do anything mysterious. "His commanders Niu Gao and Dong Xian, together with the subordinates of Ma Kuo, the governor of the northern route, set up an ambush between Zhongtiao Mountain and Wulong Mountain, and defeated Wanyan Tuhesu, the commander of the Jin army, beheading more than a thousand people...Tuhesu fled to Jie County."
Zhao Jiu was slightly moved. Of course, beheading more than a thousand people was not a great victory. As the only imperial army that had not been completely reorganized, and with the participation of the more complex Taihang Yi Army, there must be a lot of beheadings in this battle. But no matter what, it was true that the advance of Tuhesu was blocked.
And this also means... Zhao Jiu probably has nothing else to do except digging holes.
"Send a commendation." Zhao Jiu thought for a while while leaning on his shovel. "Praise with great fanfare, write a letter to the other side, mock Wanyan Wushu... Tomorrow morning, hang Qu Duan's flag at the back of the camp. He is a cavalryman, and should have arrived by now. Ten days later, hang Yue Fei's flag."
Hu Yin immediately bowed, then said goodbye again and left.
Ultimately, things will depend on the Western Front.
Speaking of which, considering the speed of information transmission, considering the distance from Tongzhou to Yue Fei's actual garrison at this time, Deshun Army, considering the 2,000-mile-long Hexi Corridor, and the feedback from the Khitan envoys that had been launched as early as the end of February and the beginning of March, some things, although still unknown, have obviously become a foregone conclusion.
But there is no doubt that Emperor Zhao would definitely not be the one to know it first.
"Yue Jiedu."
In the territory of Deshun Army, south of Haoshuichuan, in Zhong'an Fort, after being urged by several generals present, Liu Qi, the deputy commander of the Imperial Cavalry, finally spoke to the general with big and small eyes on the first seat. "I think it's time to move!"
"What do you mean?" Yue Fei sat upright in the first seat, his expression unchanged and his body motionless, and asked directly.
"Judging from the time, Yelu Dashi should have been sending out troops for at least half a month."
Liu Qi responded seriously, and his plan was well organized: "The Hexi Passage has six counties, Shazhou, Guazhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Liangzhou, as well as Zhuolu and Nanjunsi (northern Lanzhou, where Song and Xixia are separated by the Yellow River), and is two thousand miles long. According to intelligence, most of Yelu Dashi's 30,000 troops are cavalry, and even the logistics have a large number of camels. If the progress is good... there is no reason not to be good... At this time, it is enough to travel 900 to 1,000 miles, and then at least take Suzhou and approach Ganzhou."
"Ganzhou is the military headquarters set up by Xixia in Hexi, and it is also where the main Xixia troops in Hexi are stationed... I would like to speculate that Yelu Dashi should be in Ganzhou at this time... He may have won the battle, or he is still fighting. But how could the troops in Ganzhou be a match for the 30,000-strong Khitan army when they were suddenly attacked? In all likelihood, Yelu Dashi is about to succeed."
"Once we take Ganzhou, we will reach Liangzhou after crossing Yanzhi Mountain... Yue Jiedu, only half of our 30,000 soldiers are cavalry, and our speed is no match for the Khitans. If we don't move now, I'm afraid we won't be able to take Zhuoluo City and Lanzhou. If we can't take Lanzhou, how can we ensure that the Khitans will go north instead of east? You must know that the Khitans are ambitious and they are not easy to deal with."
Yue Fei finally nodded slightly, but still said nothing.
"We should not only guard against the Khitans, but also lend a helping hand to them." Zhang Jing, a veteran general of the Western Army and commander of the Imperial Army, also spoke at the right time. "According to the secret decree passed down by the Jiedu and General Qu, Deputy General Liu, and Deputy General Wang five days ago, our first priority is to open up Hexi and connect with the Khitans... In any case, we can only consider other matters after helping Yelu Dashi win Hexi... Going to fight and attacking Zhuoluo City at this time also means blocking the Xixia reinforcements from going west."
Judging from their words, Yue, Qu, Wang and Liu did not convey their combat intentions to the commanding officers until five days ago.
After listening to Zhang Jing's words, Yue Fei turned his head and looked at the man standing by the window, and finally said, "What do you think, General Qu?"
Qu Duan, who was looking out the window with his hands behind his back, turned back and sneered, "What does Yue Jiedu want me to see?"
"Of course, it depends on whether the words of Generals Liu and Zhang are reasonable." Yue Fei responded sincerely. "Although I am the commander-in-chief of this battle, I am not from Guanxi. I am not as familiar with the geography, customs and people here as you are. I need to listen to the judgment of General Qu."
"There's nothing to judge." Qu Duan still sneered with his hands behind his back. "What Liu Er and Lao Zhang said makes sense, of course, but the Guanxi soldiers are eager for merit and are full of selfishness. Liu Er wants to get his boss back, and Lao Zhang has a large family and wants to accumulate merit to support the younger generation so that his family can have two more commanders... How can these things be hidden from the governor? In the final analysis, the situation is like this now. If the governor wants to send troops, he can send troops. There is no need for me to encourage him. If he has his own plan and does not want to send troops, just say it directly, and I will scold him for him."
Liu Qi and Zhang Jing looked at each other and fell silent out of habit.
Yue Fei was also silent for a while, and then asked again: "If we start from here and march our entire army to Zhuoluo City (north of Lanzhou), how long will it take?"
"With the cavalry as the vanguard and bypassing the Qinzhou Road, we can reach Lanzhou in seven days..." Qu Duan blurted out.
"I'm talking about the entire army." Yue Fei reminded the other party.
"If the cavalry and infantry are separated, the cavalry can go around the Qinzhou road, and the infantry can cross Quwu Mountain to Huizhou. Naturally, the slower infantry will be used as the standard... In about ten days, we can attack Zhuoluo City." Qu Duan answered seriously.
"The cavalry and the infantry cannot be separated." Yue Fei reminded the other party again. "If the cavalry and the infantry are united, how long will it take?"
"Of course it will take ten days." Qu Duan finally said embarrassedly. "Cross Quwu Mountain and go to Huizhou."
"What if we go directly north from Huizhou?" Yue Fei asked again.
"Take the Xishou Baotai Army Headquarters?" Qu Da became completely serious, and the other generals in the castle also became solemn.
"good."
"Seven or eight days will do." Qu Duan replied seriously. "But Yue Jiedu, I have to tell you the truth. Xishou Baotai Military Headquarters is in a special location... This place is the southwest gate of Xingqing Prefecture, but the geography is complex. The Yellow River is to the north and west, and the military headquarters is surrounded by mountains on all four sides, including Lingbo Mountain in the northwest, Roulang Mountain in the southwest, Weijing Mountain in the northeast, and Shaniu Ridge in the southeast. You are not from Guanxi, so you don't know the benefits and disadvantages of this place... The Xixia people can put 3,000 people here, which is enough to stop our 30,000 elite troops. This is why the Xixia people set up a military headquarters here."
"But if we can seize this opportunity," Yue Fei said, narrowing his eyes. "We can control a gateway to Xingqing Prefecture. When Yelu Dashi arrives in Hexi, we can leave here and join the Khitans to the north along the river. Then Xingqing Prefecture will be gone..."
"That's right." Qu Duan nodded frankly. "But what if we can't take it right away? Yue Jiedu, I'm not saying we can't go and take it. It's not just that. To be honest with you, I've had this thought for a few days, but I'm afraid I can't take it quickly, and instead I'll be doing nothing for the Khitans... If I were Yelu Dashi, and I came to this Hexi area, and saw that Jiedu was working hard on the other side of the Yellow River, what if I took the opportunity to attack Xingqing Prefecture along the Hexi? We can't let the Khitans take advantage of this battle. So, it's better to take Zhuoluo City and occupy a piece of Hexi."
Yue Fei shook his head slowly: "General Qu, let me ask you, if we arrive at Zhuoluo City in ten days, and the flag on the top of the city wall is the Khitan flag, what should we do?"
Qu Duan was finally stunned.
Besides, in the entire military meeting, there were actually only two people who had real power to discuss matters...one was Yue Fei, and the other was Qu Duan.
Yue Fei's authority comes from his official position and status, from the central government and the government; Qu Duan's authority comes from his twenty years of experience in the Western Army and his status as commander-in-chief... All the others, including Wang De, Liu Qi, and Li Shifu, are no match for these two.
So, once Yue Fei had questioned Qu Duan, things finally became simple.
"Is Yelu Dashi so powerful?" Qu Duan was stunned for a long time before asking. "He reached Lanzhou in ten days? In less than thirty days, he penetrated two thousand miles?"
"I don't know." Yue Fei answered frankly. "But as Qu Dutong said before, whatever we say now makes sense... fast, slow, good, bad, we must keep it in mind... The government entrusted the situation here to us, allowing us to make decisions on the spot, so we must always keep it in mind."
Yue Fei finally stood up and said, "To be honest, I have made up my mind to send troops immediately. But I have three theories for this battle, which you should keep in mind... First, cavalry and infantry cannot be separated, the whole army must be united, and obey orders and not be afraid of sacrifice. Only in this way can we avoid revealing military flaws when facing the Tanguts and even the Khitans, so as to prevent being taken advantage of and losing the overall situation, and also to seize the military opportunity and strike with one blow; second, we should go to Huizhou and send out scouts continuously. If Yelu Dashi's advance is frustrated, we should attack from Zhuolu City and even Liangzhou to ensure that the Hexi passage is opened and live up to the original intention of the government; third, if Yelu Dashi advances very quickly, we must have the courage to seize the initiative without fear of difficulties... Commander Qu, do you have anything else to say?"
Qu Duan and the other generals were silent for a long time, but in the end Qu Duan nodded heavily: "Just follow what Yue Jiedu said!"
This time Yue Fei just nodded but said nothing more.
Now that this was agreed upon, the Song army had no more doubts. At noon that day, at Deshengzhai in the north of Haoshuichuan, Li Shifu, deputy commander of the Imperial Camp Cavalry, led 3,000 foreign cavalry to go ahead, and they were almost completely deployed to serve as guides and scouts. In the afternoon, Qu Duan and Liu Qi led the remaining Imperial Camp Cavalry to the north. Yue Fei personally raised the imperial flag of "Serving the Country with Loyalty and Devotion", and supervised the central army to advance to the northwest under the cover of cavalry. There were about 18,000 soldiers and 6,000 civilians here. At the same time, Wang De, deputy commander of the Imperial Camp Central Army, also set off with 6,000 infantry, but they set out from Jingbianzhai in the south, deliberately deviating from the central army by nearly 40 miles to provide backup.
However, the army had been marching westward for three days and had not yet gotten out of the Quwushan Pass. Suddenly one day, the foreign cavalry of Li Shifu captured a man, who claimed to be a subordinate of Hu Hongxiu, the Minister of War of the Song Dynasty, and had important military intelligence to pass on.
The army did not dare to be negligent, and sent the man to Li Shifu in the evening of the same day. When Li Shifu saw this man, he was shocked and did not dare to be negligent, but personally escorted the man to the nearest Qu Duan's tent that night.
When Qu Duan saw this man, he was still shocked. He brought several personal guards overnight and personally brought this man to the central army headquarters to meet the commander-in-chief Yue Fei.
Even Yue Fei was equally serious when he saw this man. He bowed in the tent and addressed him as the Minister:
"Minister Hu! Why is Minister Hu here?"
"I guessed that the imperial army would definitely come here, so I climbed over the mountains to come here." Hu Hongxiu, who was covered in dust, had his hair shaved, and even smeared with smelly sheep oil on his head, did not hesitate to speak directly to Yue Fei when he saw him. "Jiedu Yue, don't go to Zhuoluo City, and don't go to Xishou Baotai Military Headquarters in the north..."
"What do you mean?" Yue Fei asked solemnly.
"Yelu Dashi is really good. When I returned to the east, he sent his general Yelu Yanshan back to Khatun City as quickly as possible. He used Khatun City as collateral and promised a lot of treasures. He contacted the Mongolian tribes in the south of the desert and sent them from Yinshan Mountain to act as a decoy. Li Qianshun didn't worry about the Mongolians at first, but Yelu Dashi's army went east from Shazhou as if they were in an empty land. Yelu Yanshan also raised his flag in the north, and Li Qianshun finally lost his composure..."
"Minister Hu means that he is afraid that Yelu Dashi will advance too quickly and it will be too late for us to go to Zhuolu City now?" Qu Duan asked hurriedly.
"It's not just that." Hu Hongxiu quickly told the most crucial military information. "After the Khitans spread the news, I hid in the gorge, which is the only way for the Xixia people to send troops to Hexi. Then I saw with my own eyes that about 20,000 Xixia troops crossed the gorge and hurried west. I followed them all the way, but found that five days ago, this army was divided into two, several thousand people went to Xishou Baotai Military Headquarters, and the remaining more than 10,000 people hurried west to support Liangzhou."
Qu Duan slammed the table in anger: "Li Qianshun's behavior has completely blocked us! If the Xishou Baotai Army has added a few thousand more defenders, how can we take it?"
"If that's the case." Yue Fei narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this. "Why did Minister Hu say that Li Qianshun had lost his composure? Isn't this the right way to deal with it?"
"Because when I went to Xingqing Prefecture with the Khitans, I persuaded them to bribe the witch in the city with the treasures from the Western Regions, and then I got a piece of news... The Xixia people happened to have 20,000 field troops, but they were stationed in Lingzhou!" Hu Hongxiu, who smelled like sheep oil, said earnestly. "I watched the troops passing through the gorge for an entire afternoon, and there were exactly 20,000 of them. It can't be such a coincidence."
Qu Duan and Yue Fei both changed color. They had been studying the military situation of Western Xia all day long in the past few months and were already familiar with the geography of Western Xia. When they heard Hu Hongxiu's words, they obviously understood what he meant immediately.
"Since the troops of Lingzhou have been dispatched, whether they are dispatched from Yinshan in the north, recalled from Hengshan, or temporarily recruited locally... there is a huge flaw!" Hu Hongxiu urged. "Yue Jiedu, Qu Dutong, while the Xixia people haven't discovered us yet, turn east immediately! Go back to Quwu Mountain, return to Pingxia City, and then go all the way north. While Lingzhou is empty, go directly to Xingqing Prefecture along the Hulu River! I will be your guide !"
Qu Duan opened his mouth to speak, but he felt his chest pounding and was unable to make a decision.
Yue Fei thought for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and ordered his generals to gather.
That night, the central army gathered hastily and argued for only two quarters of an hour before Yue and Qu made up their minds. Then, the Song army turned back from Quwu Mountain and passed Xi'an Prefecture the next day without entering it, and headed straight for Hulu River... On the last day of March, the army gathered again on the banks of Hulu River and turned north.
On the second day of April, Li Shifu, deputy commander-in-chief of the Imperial Cavalry, personally led 300 foreign cavalrymen to seize Douling Shangyikou and officially entered the territory of Western Xia... So far, Yue Fei, the man who had the most influence on the direction of the war, finally rolled the dice!
"What's the matter?" On the same day, Emperor Zhao continued to dig the pit as usual, but that night, he received military intelligence again. However, this time, it was Liu Yan who finally woke him up.
"General Wu sent a fast horse from Hengshan... saying that the General of Xiazhou in Western Xia, Weiming Heda, took the initiative to contact him and offered to be an insider." Liu Yan half-knelt in front of the couch and bowed his head to hand over the secret letter.
"Weiming Heda asked for it?" Zhao Jiu frowned and turned over. He took the secret letter and asked directly without reading it. "Is Yelu Dashi so quick? Isn't it easy for Xingqing Prefecture to block the news of the war in Hexi? Could it be that Wu Jie took the initiative and came to scare me again?"
"It's not Hexi, it's Yinshan." Liu Yan said solemnly. "According to Wu Jiedu's retelling of Weiming Heda, the Mongols had long been harassing the north of Xixia. We originally thought they were just taking advantage of the situation, but ten days ago, they suddenly raised the banner of Yelu Dashi and spread the news that Yelu Dashi had formed an alliance with us and was marching from Hexi. He was in Xiazhou, so he naturally knew about it quickly."
Zhao Jiu was stunned on the spot, for a moment astonished at Yelu Dashi's methods, but only a moment later, his heart began to beat wildly... Besides, although the Zhao Song official was a waste, he had fought for several years after all, so how could he not know? With Yelu Dashi's feint to the east and attack in the west, coupled with the special geographical conditions of Western Xia, at this moment, everyone was caught in an information gap.
From the Song Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty, from Western Xia to Western Liao, from within Western Xia to within the Song army and then to within the Jin Dynasty, and even the two armies of Western Liao, the information obtained was completely different.
The so-called overall chaos is happening right now, and it is also the right time to take advantage of the chaos.
"Write back to Wu Jinqing immediately, and take it to him personally!" After reading the secret letter, Zhao Jiu, who was still sitting on the couch, thought for about an incense stick of time and finally made up his mind. "Tell him that I still don't know how to fight, so today I can only imitate the story of Yaoshan again and give him the power to make decisions...Here on the eastern front, he still gives orders, and I still listen to him, so please let him do it!"
