Volume 4 Chapter 75: Memorial
After Zhao Jiu entered Jintang City, he basically kept collecting military reports, memorials, and notes.
With the reunion of Yue Fei and Hu Hongxiu, and the subsequent fatal attack, the battle that was originally intended to bluff and divert troops to control the Hexi Corridor has now developed beyond everyone's expectations. Most of the participants in the war have fallen into confusion, doubt and choice due to the time difference, information gap and distance gap.
This is due to the special and complex geographical conditions in the Northwest region, especially in the Western Xia territory and its surrounding areas where the battlefield was located.
The Yellow River forms a "J" shape here, dividing the battlefield repeatedly; and on the battlefield there are Hengshan Mountain, Quwu Mountain, Liupan Mountain, Helan Mountain, Yin Mountain... These are all large mountain ranges that are enough to isolate the battlefield or play a huge deterrent role in the war. In comparison, the hilly landforms and loess landforms in northern Shaanxi are simply too lazy to be taken into account.
In addition, there are deserts. The Mu Us Desert, Tengger Desert, Ulan Buh Desert, and Kubuqi Desert in later generations were also within the scope of this battle. Although the 700-mile vast sea to the east and south of Lingzhou is insignificant compared to the other large deserts, it is also stuck in a real strategic point.
Rivers, mountains, deserts, a battlefield stretching thousands of miles from east to west and nearly a thousand miles from north to south, as well as the complex battle lines between the five families of Song, Khitan, Jin, Menggu, and Western Xia, are enough to make everyone dizzy.
But in this case, there is still a question that cannot be avoided, that is, how could the Western Xia in the past be able to use its troops so effectively in these desert mountains?
The answer is simple. Western Xia controlled the Xingling area, which is the Yinchuan Plain.
Although the population of Western Xia was small, its land area was still very large. The four core blocks, namely the Hexi Corridor, Xingling, the Seven Prefectures of Hengshan, and the Houtao area under the Yinshan Mountains, formed an inverted T, and Xingling was the connecting point in the middle... From here, go east to Hengshan, connect to Hexi in the west, and go up the river to the Houtao of Yinshan Mountains. The transportation is very convenient.
In contrast, the other three places are separated from each other by deserts, mountains and rivers, making it difficult to pass through them.
In fact, this is an important reason why, although Xixia started from Hengshan in history, it quickly migrated here after acquiring the Xingling land.
And now, the force that controls Xingling, or to be more specific, controls the main part of Xingling except Lingzhou, is none other than the Song army.
It was precisely because Yue Fei 'might' have controlled the Xingling area and divided Xixia into three parts, making it difficult to connect, that Wu Jie and other high-ranking officials of the Song Dynasty made up their minds so quickly to fight this battle at all costs.
Because even Hu Yin, after looking at the map for half a day, could realize that the advantage in this battle was mine.
This became even more obvious after Yue Fei sent a battle report from Xingqing Prefecture and informed them of the capture of Tanliang City. Thanks to the accumulation of one million acres of fertile land in Tangqu, the Song army's logistics were greatly eased this time.
This further strengthened the determination of the Song army's top brass to continue fighting.
However, fighting is one thing, but how to fight next is also a problem.
At this moment, while the Song army was firmly in Xingqing, it also had its own blind spot, which was the movements of the Jin army.
Therefore, Wu Jie took advantage of the loss of Xingqing Prefecture and the disappearance of Li Qianshun, which caused the entire Hengshan line to be shaken, and joined forces with Xiao...Zhao Heda. After easily attacking the hinterland of Hengshan, they stopped in Yanzhou. Then they immediately sent a letter to Zhao Guanjia in Bao'an Army, requesting to return to the east to seize Yinzhou and Shizhou (the same name as Shizhou controlled by the Jin Kingdom on the other side of the river) at the eastern end of Hengshan, so as to encircle Suide Army and Yan'an from the rear.
The memorial was delivered on the morning of the second day after Zhao Heda left, that is, one day after Wu Jie took Youzhou without a fight. It was timely. However, it was somewhat unexpected that Emperor Zhao took the memorial and read it carefully, and then fell into some doubts.
"What does Wu Jinqing mean by this?" After thinking for a while, Zhao Jiu actually handed the memorial to Hu Yin... He actually consulted Hu Yin about the war. "He has the power to make decisions, and he can fight however he wants. He was the one who seized the opportunity to attack Hengshan before. Why is he asking me for instructions now, and then wasting time in Yanzhou?"
Hu Yin, who was also unexpected and recognized as ignorant of military affairs, was confident after reading the memorial handed over by Emperor Zhao, and immediately explained: "Let the emperor know that I think this is Wu Jinqing playing tricks... He should not be willing to go to the east to help fight Yan'an, but he can't say it out loud. Otherwise, why would he gather the army in Yanzhou and not move, but look for the emperor behind him to make the decision?"
"I thought so too." Zhao Jiu immediately laughed. "So he wanted to attack Yanzhou to the west and then pursue to Lingzhou?"
"That should be the case." Hu Yin answered seriously. "But I am not familiar with military affairs, so I don't know what Wu Jinqing's specific military plans are. I can only guess at some of his other ideas about the two routes of advancing west and taking the east..."
"Tell me in detail."
"If we attack Yanzhou and Lingzhou to the west, we will face the main force of Xixia gathered in Lingzhou. Although the main force of Xixia is at the end of its rope, it is not the end of the road yet. It is a tough nut to crack. Moreover, if we advance, it will inevitably involve the problem of cooperation with Yue Fei, Qu Duan and other troops... Yue Fei is of higher rank than him, and Qu Duan is his old superior... These are all things we should consider. In addition, there is a vast sea between Yanzhou and Lingzhou, so it is not easy to advance."
"good."
"As written in the memorial, it is quite natural to turn around and advance to Yan'an. First, Yinzhou, Shizhou, Youxiangjunsi and other places have already been like frightened birds, and it is easy to take them; second, we can use these three places to encircle Yan'an and Suide Army, resist the Jinning Army, and almost surround Huo Nu; third, we can also prevent possible reinforcements from the Jin Army. But he..."
"But instead of leaving quickly, he sent me such a grand memorial, wasting time in vain. Doesn't this mean that he thinks the Jurchens won't come? And Han Shizhong's proposal to attack Yan'an is not worth it?"
"I think so." Hu Yin replied seriously. "Although Wu Jinqing was authorized by the government because of his position on the front line, he was still a little afraid of Han Shizhong... He didn't dare to refute Han Liangchen openly... I would venture to guess that Wu Jie sent a letter this afternoon."
Memorials were public, but letters were secret letters sent directly to the emperor through the imperial camp system.
In fact, it was precisely because there was only a memorial and not a secret letter that Zhao Jiu was confused.
Thinking of this, Zhao Jiu nodded slowly.
Instead of waiting until the afternoon, Wu Jie's letter arrived as promised at noon. Liu Yan presented the letter to Zhao Jiu, who was mentally prepared. After taking a quick look at it, he completely came to his senses.
It turned out that Wu Jie had considered the overall situation.
First of all, Wu Jie believed that the living woman in Yan'an would not be supported by Wanyan Wushu's main force. At least, if there was no big movement now, they would not come.
Secondly, he hoped to encircle but not attack the Huo Nu in Yan'an, because the fighting power of the Jurchens was still the strongest among all parties on the battlefield. Even if Wuzhu only sent one Wan Hu for support, together with the two Wan Hu of Huo Nu, they would still be a very powerful group on the battlefield... They could fight, but there was no need, because there was only such a lone Jurchen army inside the entire "J" shape of the Yellow River, and they could be forced to retreat by the general trend.
Especially this time, Emperor Zhao left Fuzhou and went directly to the Bao'an Army, passing right under Huo Nu's nose. This was like rubbing salt into the wound for Huo Nu, who had a grudge against her father for murder, and it triggered Huo Nu's desperate initiative to attack again.
But in fact, this attack not only exposed the fact that Huo Nu would not receive any reinforcements, but also further consumed the fighting spirit and strength of Huo Nu's troops... Once this counterattack failed, Huo Nu could only succumb to the overall situation and evacuate northern Shaanxi.
Thirdly, Wu Jie hoped that the main target of the next stage, whether it was the main target of the battle group led by him, including the Imperial Camp Rear Army and the Hengshan Barbarians, or the main target of the entire situation, would be Weiming Chage from Lingzhou.
Fourthly, even for Cha Ge, Wu Jinqing had his own considerations, which was to pressure him and force him to fight... Specifically, he wanted to quickly control the key points in Yanzhou and completely isolate Cha Ge, but the main force of Wu Jie's imperial camp's rear army could not cross the Hanhai, so as to force Cha Ge to leave Lingzhou and launch an active attack on Yue Fei and Qu Duan on the other side of the Yellow River. It would be best to lure Cha Ge to cross the river, and then he would send a light division to take Lingzhou from behind, so that Cha Ge would lose his base and be defeated without a fight.
However, such planning and actions meant that he offended Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, Qu Duan, and Wang De at the same time.
The reason for offending Han Shizhong was Yan'an. The Yan'an Prince, who was born in Yan'an, was facing the Yan'an front at this time. In the past few days, he had clearly advocated the use of troops against Yan'an. The plan against Cha Ge was undoubtedly to make Yue Fei and Qu Duan bear the pressure of the war in Xingqing Prefecture, and give the credit to the rear army of the imperial camp in vain.
In the secret letter, Wu Jie clearly raised these concerns, hoping that Emperor Zhao would continue to approve the military plan and continue to give him power and responsibilities and support him.
Finally, Wu Jinqing also made appropriate inferences about the missing main force of the Jurchens. He believed that Li Qianshun and Cha Ge, the two political and military leaders of the Xixia people, had no reason not to grasp the life-saving straw of the Jurchens from the moment they learned that Yue Fei appeared at the gorge... The Jurchens may have known the possibility of the fall of Xingqing Prefecture earlier than the Dangxiang people of various tribes in Hengshan, but they certainly did not know that Yelu Dashi had gone to Houtao. Therefore, the main force of the Jurchens at this time may have already gone to Houtao, which was of great strategic significance.
At this time, the Song army should change its strategy to a slow one and sit back and watch the fight between the two tigers.
This overall strategy also echoed Wu Jie's two strategies for the living woman in Yan'an and Cha Ge in Lingzhou.
Honestly speaking, after reading this note, Zhao Jiu had two feelings. One was that the overall situation suddenly became clear, and the other was that it was indeed the case.
The former was aimed at the war situation. Wu Jie's analysis was appropriate, and he described the three parties of Dangxiang, Khitan and Jurchen clearly. He also analyzed the two troubles that the Song army had to deal with face to face... This made Emperor Zhao, who had a commander value of only 5 and had been patient, suddenly cheerful.
At the same time, today's two reports, one open and one secret, have once again revealed the strengths and weaknesses that Wu Jie has always shown... This man's organization, arrangement, and summary of the battlefield are all first-rate, but there is no doubt that he is smooth in his dealings, sometimes hesitant, and it is also clear that he is unwilling to take responsibility unless he is forced into a corner.
This time, Zhao Jiu did not discuss it with Hu Yin, nor did he show the secret letter to Hu Yin... because the secret letter was an open secret between him and senior military officers, and it was like a contract between the monarch and his subjects. Showing it to a civil official, even if it was an absolutely trustworthy civil official, would be a violation of the rules.
In fact, it was precisely because of the existence of the secret letters that the originally chaotic high-level military system of the Song Dynasty (the class law was no longer applicable above the commander level, making it easier for the upper level to control military power) was transformed into a more scientific and reasonable class division in the military. The commander-in-chief level clearly stood out, forming a stable level between the commander and the generals.
Nowadays, even children on the street know that the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Camp is a real high-ranking official, and this is the reason.
For example, Dong Xian, who arrived at Diaoyin Mountain these two days, was originally a subordinate of Da Zhai and Da Zhai. He was always greedy for money and had always been known as two bastards together with Niu Gao, who loved wine, under Li Yanxian, or in the Da Zhai, the largest mountain under Li Yanxian. But this man, after making great contributions this time, Li Yanxian asked him for a reward, but he didn't want money, but only asked for a commanding officer. Li Yanxian did not hesitate and promised him to be sent directly to Emperor Zhao after his official position. This is why.
After returning to the front, Zhao Jiu thought for a moment, and then directly issued an order, reprimanding Wu Jie, asking him to completely take over Yanzhou and then concentrate on Lingzhou. At the same time, he also issued an order to Han Shizhong and Wu Lin, asking them to carefully resist Huo Nu, and if Huo Nu retreated, they should move forward properly, but not to launch an attack on Yan'an itself without authorization.
Finally, he also issued an edict to Yue Fei... The northern passage of the old Great Wall in the Yanzhou area, south of Lingzhou, has been opened, and it is possible to go directly from Hengshan to Xingqing Prefecture... It was to let the latter cooperate properly with Wu Jie.
In other words, Zhao Jiu directly agreed to Wu Jie's plan in its entirety.
This needs no further explanation , and it has nothing to do with which of Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, or Wu Jie he trusts more. Rather, Zhao Jiu had promised Wu Jie exclusive authority as early as when they were in Tongzhou. As a self-aware man, he had no reason to go back on his word.
Following Emperor Zhao's order, the war quickly entered a new stage.
In the next few days, the Song army entered a sit-in war mode... Among the three army groups on the front line, Yue Fei recruited soldiers and horses in Xingqing Prefecture and distributed grain to win people's hearts; Wu Jie also recruited soldiers and horses after quickly controlling Yanzhou, and distributed salt to win people's hearts... The salt pond in Yanzhou is one of the largest salt producing areas in the northwest; Han Shizhong and Wu Lin also began to cautiously defend and counterattack after receiving reinforcements from Dong Xian and other troops and the order of Emperor Zhao.
Of course, Emperor Zhao was also recruiting soldiers and buying horses... Yue Fei had food, Wu Jie had salt, but Emperor Zhao had a face... In the last few days of April, he summoned countless leaders of the Hengshan Dangxiang tribe and surrendered officials from various states in Hengshan every day in Jintang City of Bao'an Army.
Then all kinds of consolation, comfort, and assignments are inevitable.
It can only be said that the title of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty was still somewhat useful, especially since he had defeated Wanyan Loushi at Yaoshan and almost destroyed the Western Xia. On the last two days of April, although they were not attacked, with the continued chain of Western Xia's collapse, Wu Jie's military presence, and Emperor Zhao's personal visit to Hengshan, the remaining Western Xia Hengshan tribes of Shizhou (with the same name as Shizhou controlled by the Jin Kingdom on the other side of the river), Yinzhou, and Youxiangjunsi finally chose to unite together, and then sent a surrender document to Emperor Zhao.
Up to this point, although there has been no statement on the entire Western Xia, the Hengshan states that had rebelled against the Central Plains dynasty for more than a hundred years were the first to surrender, becoming the most stable and huge gain in this war so far.
Thanks to this, Zhao Jiu finally confirmed a fact, or verified Wu Jie's judgment - the Jurchens did retreat, and only Wanyan Salihe led his troops into Suide, but he carefully guarded the retreat passage at the intersection of Suide and Jinning, and had no intention of taking the initiative to attack. It was obvious that he received strict requirements from Wanyan Wushu before sending troops.
Moreover, with the fall of Xixia's Xingqing Prefecture and the further spread of the news of Li Qianshun and his son's disappearance, an unexpected but reasonable "memorial" was suddenly placed on Zhao Jiu's desk - Zhe Keqiu, a prefecture bordering the Song army-controlled area, pleaded guilty and asked to return, and hoped to go south to encircle the Jurchens in order to atone for his crime.
In this regard, Zhao Jiu chose to remain silent.
The reason is very simple. There are political factors that must be considered behind Zhe Keqiu's surrender and return. Politics is more important than military in this matter.
Secondly, he had already decided on the strategic arrangement of completely destroying Western Xia first and letting the Jurchens cross the river. There was no reason to change his plan... Especially on this day, when an urgent military report was sent to the front line, Weiming Chage, Weiming Yunge, Weiming Renli, and Weiming Renzhong (Renli's elder brother, formerly the Western Xia Henan Transport Commissioner and the highest-ranking civil servant in Lingzhou) of Lingzhou, after seeing that the other side of the river was guarded like an iron barrel by the Song army, fell into hesitation. As Yanzhou was completely controlled by the Song army, they knew that they were trapped in a dead end in terms of military strategy, but they finally made a joint decision and decided to send troops to cross the river in an attempt to retake Xingqing Prefecture.
The most crucial battle in Xixia was finally about to break out, and it was exactly as Wu Jie had predicted. Wu Jie did not hesitate, but followed the predetermined plan, with Yang Zheng, the governor of Huanzhou, as the vanguard, first crossing the Hengshan Pass in the vast sea to take Lingzhou, and he led the army to follow, ready to join forces with Yue Fei to annihilate the main force of Xixia on the banks of the Yellow River.
In order to ensure that nothing would happen to the newly conquered Hengshan, Zhao Jiu chose to leave Hu Yin and Yang Yizhong in the Baoan Army, while he led Jie Yuan, Yue Chao, Liu Yan, and many affiliated Dangxiang tribes, and headed north, crossing Hengshan from the relatively safe Hongzhou area, preparing to go to Youzhou. Zhai Cong and Dong Xian simply went ahead, leaving Longzhou from Pingrong Village and bypassing Yinzhou, to serve as a flank barrier for Zhao Guanjia, and together with Han, Wu, Huyang and others, formed an encirclement, continued to besiege Yan'an, and forced Huo Nu to withdraw.
Under this situation, Zhe Keqiu's concerns were naturally put aside for the time being.
This day was April 28th, the sixth year of Jianyan.
When Emperor Zhao passed through Hengshan, he saw dense flags on both sides and the winding mountain road, which made him feel emotional. Countless Tangut tribes who had once been a scourge on the border were now closely guarding the border, so he stopped his horse and remained silent for a moment.
"Is the emperor feeling poetic?" Lu Benzhong asked curiously.
"That's not the case." Zhao Jiu retracted his gaze from the red flag on the top of the mountain, shook his head and laughed. "I was just wondering, have Yelu Dashi and Wanyan Wushu met in Houtao? Where is Li Qianshun? As for the rise and fall of the country, the magnificence of the mountains and rivers, and the great mood, just bear with it for a while, and wait until the overall situation is settled, then it's okay to express your feelings."
Lu Benzhong and his international friend Zheng Zhichang who was accompanying him recited the poems they had prepared in their hearts and naturally praised him repeatedly.
However, Zhao Jiufu laughed again: "However, I have already thought of another thing... If we pacify Xixia this time, we will inevitably set up a new route in Xingling, and it must be named Ningxia!"
Upon hearing this, Lü Benzhong, Zheng Zhichang and others looked at each other in confusion... because the name was too simple and crude, and lacked elegance... But since the government had personally bestowed the name of the road, of course they would look at each other, twirl their beards and nod, and praise it for a while.
But when Emperor Zhao heard the compliment, he just smiled slightly, and rode his horse forward, carrying the dragon flag out of the mountain to the north, heading to Youzhou.
