Gyeongju Castle, inside the official office.
Fan Zhongyan, Di Qing, and Su Liang all frowned and thought about the arrangement of these nearly 8,000 veterans.
After a while.
Fan Zhongyan said slowly: "Eight thousand veterans gathered on the banks of the Xi River. If there is no one to control them, there will be chaos. They have been deprived of their military status and will never be able to become soldiers again!"
"If it really doesn't work, I'll go there myself and talk to them. If they really can't be persuaded to come back, I'll have to be tough first, and then let the local chief persuade them."
This is the safest method that Fan Zhongyan can think of.
Di Qing said: "Mr. Fan, let me go! You have a hidden illness and you shouldn't travel long distances. Besides, these veterans don't listen to reason at all. I think I still have to scold them!"
Fan Zhongyan smiled helplessly.
"Are you going to scold them? You feel sorry for them more than anyone else. I'm afraid that if you go there, you will turn around and complain for them, hoping to restore their military status!"
Di Qing giggled and scratched the back of his head.
Fan Zhongyan knew him very well.
Di Qing was very protective of the soldiers and could not listen to the soldiers' true feelings.
at this time.
Su Liang, who had been silent all this time, picked up the map of northwest China and started searching carefully. Then he pointed at a place and said, "I have an idea!"
Fan Zhongyan and Di Qing looked at Su Liang at the same time.
Su Liangdao: "Set up a town on the spot and let these veterans stay on the banks of the Xihe River as border residents. The name of the town will be Xihe Town."
Di Qing shook his head.
"These veterans are all rushing to kill the Xixia thieves. Living by the Xihe River is too dangerous, and the place they chose is extremely desolate and cannot be governed at all. Maybe a few leaders will get excited and go there with simple knives. Beating Xixia thieves, no way, no way!"
"Build a walled city, store up soldiers, and build a market. The soldiers in the walled city can protect them, and building the market can allow some veterans to act as guards for our merchants in the Song Dynasty. If a war really breaks out, put them at the end as carriers of armaments. Use it hard." Su Liang said seriously.
"Jingming, you are joking. Building a walled city and building a market consumes a lot of money. Not to mention that the court does not allow it. Even if it is allowed, it is not cost-effective!"
"Do you know how much it costs to build a walled city? These are 8,000 veterans. Assuming that 3,000 people are cultivating wasteland and 2,000 people are hunting, there are still 3,000 people idle. Do you know how big the market is that needs 3,000 people to protect it? ?”
"What's more, the Qiang and Tubo people on the border are poorer than the Xixia people, and they are reluctant to sell their horses. The development of the market there is just like giving alms, and it is purely a loss-making business!"
this moment.
Di Qing felt that Su Liang was a bit amateurish in talking about military matters on paper.
In order to accommodate eight thousand veterans, cities and markets were built in deserted areas on the border.
Just to drink vinegar, I made a meal of meat dumplings.
The court would not approve it at all.
This money is more than enough to support 80,000 soldiers.
Su Liang smiled slightly.
"My ultimate goal is not to provide a home for eight thousand veterans, but to add a new city to our Song Dynasty. If we can eventually turn Xihe Town into our Xizhou of the Song Dynasty, then we can build a walled city on the banks of the Xihe River. , is it cost-effective to build a market?”
Fan Zhongyan stood up suddenly, his eyes shining.
"Jingming, what do you mean...mean, you want to...Takubian?"
Su Liang nodded and placed the northwest map in the center of the table.
"If you want to capture Yanyun, you must first destroy Xixia. If you want to capture Xixia, you must first restore Hehuang. It's time for us to take a step forward!"
Su Liang placed his finger on a place in front of Xihe.
This place is Hehuang.
Two valleys formed by the impact of Huangshui River and Yellow River.
"Fan Gong, General Di, look at it, the Hehuang area is mainly owned by the Tubo tribe. In the past few years, Yuan Hao and Tubo's largest tribe, the Tubo tribe, fought for Hehuang. In fact, they intended to plunder our territory. Qinzhou.”
"Although Zusiluo won, the Tibetan tribes have been seriously divided recently and have been fighting continuously. They may be destroyed by Xixia at any time. If Xixia captures Hehuang, then our land in Qinzhou will be in danger. Although there are castles to defend, But it’s hard to stop them from looting people and caravans.”
"If we take the lead in occupying the land of Hehuang, it will be equivalent to penetrating into the hinterland of Xixia, causing worries for both its front and rear. Moreover, Hehuang is a good place rich in war horses!"
"The establishment of Xihe Town is our first step."
"Then, we first expanded the borders with literature, established a market on the banks of the Xi River, and prospered commerce. We transferred all our writing, goods, food, and customs. After the Tubo and Qiang people were assimilated by us, we then recruited them. They must be willing to surrender!"
"As for those who don't want to surrender, we will conquer them by force."
"How many miles can we expand the border in the future? When to expand the border with literature and when to expand the border with force? It all depends on how you choose your generals!"
"For this purpose, we ask the court for money, soldiers, and caravans. Will the officials give it to us?" Su Liang looked at Di Qing.
"Here, I'll definitely give it!" Di Qing said excitedly.
Exploring territory is an unparalleled achievement.
If the Song Dynasty could occupy the Hehuang area, the official family would almost be called the King of ZTE.
Who can refuse this title?
In addition, if Hehuang can be captured, the coach responsible for this will definitely be regarded as the first military merit of the dynasty.
It will definitely go down in history!
Even if you don’t talk about extending the border.
Just the war horses in the Hehuang area are enough to tempt officials.
The past.
The Song Dynasty mainly focused on appeasing the Tubo tribes and always adopted a soft policy.
But that group of Tubo soldiers were simply feeding unfamiliar white-eyed wolves.
For the sake of interests, they may turn against each other and surrender to Xixia at any time.
The Song Dynasty occupied Hehuang to restore the old land of the Tang Dynasty and save the suffering people there.
Su Liang continued: "Besides, how can those eight thousand veterans not be moved when they see the imperial court building cities and markets for them and finding things to do for them? Can they still disobey orders in the future? If they know that they are They are the first aborigines in Xizhou, so there will be no trouble!"
"Wonderful! Jing Ming, still... you are still great scholars!" Di Qing praised sincerely.
Su Liang's words.
This directly paved the way for the all-out war between the Song Dynasty and Western Xia Dynasty, and the placement of these 8,000 veterans became completely incidental.
This kind of foresight, this kind of understanding of war, especially this kind of courage, made Di Qing admire him with admiration.
Fan Zhongyan also looked excited.
"Jing Ming, over the years, I have only defended but not attacked, and have always adopted a conservative policy. In fact, I still have not emerged from the shadow of the New Deal. Now, we are indeed capable of taking a big step forward!"
"However, this matter must not be made public. The three of us plus the officials only need to know about it."
Su Liang nodded in approval.
If the Xixia people knew about this layout, they would definitely try their best to deploy troops in the Hehuang area, and even join forces with some tribes from Tubo to attack the Song Dynasty. That would be terrible.
At this moment, Di Qing looked at Su Liang and couldn't help but praise: "Jing Ming, what kind of admonishing officer are you doing? You are so handsome!"
Fan Zhongyan smiled faintly.
After these few days of getting along, he discovered that Su Liang could become a famous commander or a wise prime minister in the future.
But now, he feels that Su Liang is most suitable to be a Taiwan admonishment officer.
Because he plays a greater role in the position of admonishing officer, he can make the officials wise, the ministers virtuous, and the treacherous people have no way to hide.
Xihe opened the door and was about to kick off in advance.
Thanks to the book friend for the tip of “What else can I do in the future?” Thank you very much!
(End of chapter)
