The Tao River flows from Didao to Longzhong.
Thousands of miles of Taohe River has the beauty of clear water and clear waves in summer, and hundreds of miles of rich harvests in autumn. Since the loss of the Hexi Corridor in the Tang Dynasty, this fertile land has been owned by the Qiang people for hundreds of years.
Nowadays, there are many tribes and tribes here, such as the Lengjipu tribe with one hundred and seventy thousand tents, and the smaller tribes like Eteling and Longbo with hundreds or thousands of tents.
There were many feuds among the Tibetan tribes in the Qing and Tang Dynasties, and the Tibetan people attached great importance to revenge. There were grievances among all the tribes, so it is not an exaggeration to say that there was a loose sand.
Only sons of noble family like Dong Fei and Mu Zheng had considerable appeal.
Nowadays, many Tibetan people have begun to cultivate land near the Tao River, such as wheat, barley, highland barley and other crops. However, the level of farming is very extensive, and they just rely on the weather to eat.
At this moment, the people of the Fan tribe in Taohe watched a dozen cavalrymen galloping past. The leader of the group was decorated with a silver falcon pattern on his chest and held an iron arrow in his hand.
The people of the Tibetan tribe knew immediately that this was a signal to raise troops, but they didn't know who gave the order? Who are you going to attack?
Inside Tuoshuo's tribe, its leader was talking to a man wearing silk clothes and a sese armband on his right arm.
Sese is a first-class blue gemstone. The person who can wear this gemstone is the highest status person in the tribe.
This person is Dong Yu, Dong Fe's nephew and Mu Zheng's brother.
The Qing Tang and Tibetan tribes value precious species. Xi Siluo was the co-leader of the Qing Tang and Fan tribes in the previous generation, and Dong Felt was his third son and inherited his father's position. As for Mu Zheng, he was the son of Dong Felt's elder brother, Blind Felt. In name, he was still the eldest grandson of Xisiluo, and therefore gained the support of the tribes in Xihe and other states.
As the younger brother of Mu Zheng, Dong Yu is also a descendant of Zunsiluo, so he can wear Sese armbands. Just like the leader of the Tuoshuo tribe on the side, although he has more soldiers and horses than Dong Yu, he can only wear gold and silver armbands, ranking second to Dong Yu. Down.
Immediately, the ministry received an order from Mu Zheng, asking them to gather troops and horses to Mobang Mountain to prepare to attack the Song Army's Weiyuan and Qingping Second Forts.
Because although the Fan tribe has writing, most of its news is transmitted orally.
The Tibetan envoy with the silver falcon pattern on his chest is called the Golden Bird Envoy.
The other party heard Mu Zheng's original words: "I, Mu Zheng, swore an oath with the Han people not to take the land around Weiyuan City, cultivate it and plot my Qingtang Salt Well. As a result, the Han people not only refused to obey, but also used official positions to seduce the leaders of my subordinates. Trying to take my land."
"Although I was named the governor of Hezhou by the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, the officials of the Song Dynasty could not stop what they did. I asked the Song general Guo Kui to stop this, but he was repeatedly pushed back. He also refused to report it to the Emperor of the Song Dynasty for me."
"Now that I, Mu Zheng, have reached the end of my endurance, for the sake of us and our descendants, who can live in the Qingtang for generations and drink the water of the Tao River, I ask you loyal men to join me in raising troops to attack these treacherous Han people! Beat us until all our blood is gone!"
After speaking, the Golden Bird Envoy handed the iron arrow to the leader of the Tibetan tribe and left.
The leader of the Tibetan tribe said to Dong Yu: "Dong Yu, do you want to regain your position as leader now?"
Dong Yu said: "It depends on whether the two masters persuade any Song Dynasty civil servant?"
The leader of the Tibetan tribe said: "Dong Yu, let me remind you that if you want to use the power of the Song Dynasty people to regain the position of leader, you are undoubtedly planning with a sinister enemy. The emperor of the Song Dynasty wants to seize our two states of Xihe."
Dong Yu said: "I don't know what the emperor of the Song Dynasty was thinking, but Mu Zheng is weak and unable to resist the two-sided attack of the Dangxiang and the Han people. We in Qingtang must have a hero, and that person is me!"
The leader of the Tibetan tribe said: "So you have to use the power of the people of the Song Dynasty to defeat Mu Zheng and seize the position of leader before defeating the Song Dynasty. However, this is undoubtedly a rebellion. It is one of your own people fighting your own people. Back then, we made an alliance together. Yes, I will not support you."
Dong Yu smiled and said: "That's right, I will not break my oath. I will first surrender to the Han people and serve as Mu Zheng's internal agent. After defeating the Han people and gaining Mu Zheng's trust, I will take advantage of the opportunity to seize his position. You see How about this?"
The leader of the Tibetan tribe said: "So... it makes sense. You must remember that the Han people and the Dangxiang people are our real enemies. If our Qingtang Tibetan tribe is not united, sooner or later we will be defeated by them individually."
Dong Yu nodded humbly
Said: "I understand."
On that day, the Tuoshuo Ministry received the iron arrow order from Mu Zheng and sent people to various ministries to gather people.
The Qing Tang tribe, like the Dangxiang tribe, usually live scattered in the mountains and grasslands. Once they fight, they gather from their respective tribes and can pull out a large army out of thin air in one day.
The young and strong serve in the army, while the old, weak, women and children are responsible for the logistics. The family's horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts are the baggage. Wherever they go, their homes are settled.
Although the Tuoshuo tribe's warriors are few in number, they are very brave.
Before setting off to fight, the men in the tribe painted their faces red to make them look like evil ghosts. With this fierce appearance, they can also gain a bit of momentum.
Zhang Yue, who was in Weiyuan Fort, was also explaining the matter to Shang Shuguan's house.
As a minister of Song Dynasty, Mu Zheng sent troops to attack him this time. Zhang Yue must have an explanation.
At the same time, Zhang Yue must have a plan to conquer the Xizhou Tibetan tribe.
This is different from the two states of Lanhui, which were originally the territory of the Dangxiang people. Dangxiang and the Song Dynasty were originally hostile, so Zhang Yue and Wang Shao could just push them past with their troops. The court would not ask much about the final outcome of the fight.
But Mu Zheng was nominally a minister of the Song Dynasty, and Zhang Yue had just become the magistrate of Xizhou, and he forced the Fan ministers who surrendered to our Song Dynasty to rebel. If this news spread, he would definitely be impeached by the censor.
Of course, Zhang Yue and Wang Shao's strategic plan is to seize Xizhou, the entire Hezhou, and go deep into Hehuang. Therefore, sooner or later, there is a battle with Mu Zheng as planned.
However, although this strategic plan had the tacit approval of the officials, it was not supported by the Privy Council because Wen Yanbo had always opposed the use of troops against Hehuang.
A war is not a confrontation between two armies. You shout to charge, I shout to kill, and everyone gives up.
The political significance behind this must be considered, and it may even rise to the ideological level.
Zhang Yue still didn't know that Mu Zheng was sending troops to attack him, but he was secretly sending people to Bianjing to file an imperial complaint. As a result, Zhang Yue and Wang Shao betrayed their trust.
If Zhang Yue is blamed for this, is Wang Shao at fault? It's true, the truth is really on Mu Zheng's side.
However, Zhang Yue was prepared to explain the matter to the officials first, otherwise even if he won the battle, it would be tragic if there was a fire in the backyard.
How can you say that you have to be dismissed even after winning a battle?
This is the advantage of being the official in charge of imperial edicts. You can focus on matters, and you can explain many things clearly to the officials.
Nowadays, although Zhang Yue, Wang Shao, and Gao Zunyu are jointly in charge of the Qinfeng Luyanbian Appeasement Division, the officials have not given them the power to make trouble. Only Zhang Yue has this right. This is the trust of the officials.
Zhang Yue said in his memorial that the measures taken by his ministers in Xizhou were not faulty, but the imperial court's response was not timely. I am worried that I will be frustrated by my strategy in Xizhou, and my success will be ruined in the end.
…
Every emperor has read the story of three people becoming tigers in the Warring States Period. Wei Minister Pang Cong deliberately used the story of three people becoming tigers to inoculate King Wei so that he would not listen to slander when he was far away from Wei. King Wei He agreed immediately but in the end he still believed the slander after Pang Cong left.
What Zhang Yue means is that I am leading troops on the front line to fight, and there are many things that cannot be responded to in a timely manner by the officials. Therefore, there are some reasons why you should not accept one-sided words, not to mention that I feel that there is nothing wrong with my approach.
…
Whether this tree should be conquered or not depends on your Majesty's decision. How dare I make my own decision? Today, I am traveling hundreds of miles from Weiyuan to Qinzhou, and supplies are being transferred. If I leave Qinzhou with three stones of rice, I will lose at least one bucket on the way.
It was difficult for the soldiers to get food, so they camped in the fields. Because of the lack of civilian power, they had to recruit local Tibetan people. Mu Zheng thought I was trying to persuade him.
In addition, salt in the northwest is expensive, so I have no choice but to dig salt wells for my own use. All tribes in the Qing and Tang dynasties have large shallow wells, but I use the method of Sichuan and Sichuan to mine salt with a large tube well and a small, deep well. The cost is less than one-third of the salt well. one.
Because I can get salt, there are many talented people in Tibet...
Zhang Yueshangshu first wanted to express a meaning.
It is the emperor's right to crusade or not to conquer Mu Zheng. I personally will never make any decision without authorization.
Although Zhong'e secretly had the official's permission to attack Suide City, the matter was not authorized by the Privy Council. In the end, Zhonge was convicted of sending troops without permission and was demoted.
At that time, Zhong'e was attacking Dangxiang, but now Zhang Yue is attacking Mu Zheng, an official of the Song Dynasty. How can he make independent decisions?
Moreover, war is always the power of officials. If a minister sends troops without obeying orders, what will happen?
Later, Zhang Yue explained the reason for the conflict with Mu Zheng, and summarized it in one sentence: The responsibility for this conflict lies entirely with Mu Zheng, not me.
I was just farming and opening salt wells. Who knew Mu Zheng didn't like me, so he called me here.
But the above is actually all nonsense. The most important issue is whether we can win or not.
Zhang Yue went on to write that the original intention of Qin Feng's border pacification department was to recruit the Tibetan tribes, control the Qiang and barbarians at the same time, and use the barbarians to control the barbarians. Since I have been in charge of Xizhou, your majesty has allowed me to bear the bridle, and I have strong support from all the officials, so that my talents can be put into full play.
Now the people of Weiyuan are united and the soldiers are working hard. This is all the result of His Majesty's original temple construction.
From my perspective, the Qing, Tang, and Tibetan tribes were already torn apart, like a plate of scattered sand. The tribal soldiers of Mu Zheng were only 12,000 or 20,000, and their numbers were uneven. If I stood firm, I would not be afraid.
If Mu Zheng fails to win, the morale will be low. I will press and hold the leaders below Mu Zheng closely to make them secretly attached to Your Majesty. When Mu Zheng is alone, I will send troops to Lintao. If it is just like attacking a man, why is it so difficult? Dong Xiang knew that he was afraid after taking Mu Zheng. What is so difficult for Dong Xiang to take?
Although Mu Zheng was usually a minister of the Song Dynasty, in fact, the clan was in great difficulty. Between Dangxiang and the current Dynasty, there were snakes and rats. This time to attack Lan Hui, Mu Zheng also wanted to capture Weiyuan.
Now if I can completely conquer Mu Zheng, then all the tribes in Tao and Hezhou will die for the imperial court, and the power of the imperial court will be extended to all the Qiang!
After Zhang Yue finished writing the memorial, he immediately sent someone to hand it over to the officials.
At this time, Mu Zheng had already brought the lawsuit to the imperial court in advance. At this time, the officials received Zhang Yue's memorial.
After seeing this, the officials were overjoyed and said to the people around them: "Wang Anshi told me that Zhang Yue can be compared to Tao Shixing. I think it's more than that!"
