The trio of Cai Que, Huang Lu, and Zhang Zhi are indeed the new talents in today's political arena.
There are indeed many people in the temple who oppose the opening of the Hehuang border. In the history of another time and space, due to the leadership of Wang Anshi, Wang Yu and his son, all the pressure for the opening of the border was on the New Party.
But now he was taken over by Han Jiang. After Han Jiang left office, Wu Chong, the deputy privy envoy, took the lead. Even in order to support his son-in-law and Wen Yanbo, there was a rift between Feng Jing and Feng Jing.
After all, Wu Chong's energy was far different from Wang Anshi's, so the resistance in the court was also extremely large.
At this time, Cai Que and the others stood up to speak out for the matter, forming strong support for Wu Chong in the temple public opinion.
Among the three, Cai Que is the most shrewd and eloquent.
Huang Lu looked at Cai Que from the side. Zhang Yue had highly recommended Senior Brother Cai among his classmates, but now he didn't expect that the two of them would become irreconcilable.
Cai Que was indeed unscrupulous in his selection of officials, but he took great care of Zhang Yue, Huang Lu, and even Zhang Zhi, and was sincere in his treatment of his friends.
The most controversial issue in the court today is the conquest of Mu Zheng. Why did Mu Zheng rebel because he had always been submissive to the court? Did Zhang Yue and Wang Shao mismanage their strategy?
Or why must we capture Hehuang?
Cai Que said when the officials were chatting: "You asked me if I want to take Lintao, then I ask you, do you know if Xixia wants to take it?"
The officials said: "I have never heard of it."
An official said: "Now Lord Xia is young and weak, how can we talk about taking him?"
Cai Que said: "It's true that Lord Xia won't take it today, but in the past Li Liangzuo wanted it."
"How can I see it?"
Cai Quedao said: "Li Liangzuo is an extraordinary person. He planned to use large troops to intimidate the Qiang of the Qing and Tang Dynasties. He wanted to conquer the city with a victorious army to the west of Qinfeng Road. If he had not been killed, the Xia people would have succeeded today."
Zhang Zhi said: "I heard that Li Liangzuo is indeed a hero. He was able to kill powerful officials when he first came to the throne. This cannot be done without a powerful person. Moreover, this person also accepted people from this dynasty, went out and in with them, and lived on friendly terms. There is indeed a long-term vision.”
One person said: "What Li Liangzuo accepted is the abandoned person of this dynasty. How can it be ethical?"
Cai Que said: "Zhang Yuan also abandoned people in the past, but...it was this Jingwen who conspired with Li Liangzuo to approach Taocheng. If Xixia is allowed to take over this place, can you all sleep in peace?"
All the officials nodded.
It turned out that the Xixia people also planned to take Lintao, but because of Li Liangzuo's death, the matter was dropped, which gave the Song Dynasty an opportunity.
One person asked: "Won't Xia Kingdom come to fight today?"
Cai Que said with a smile: "Li Yuanhao and Li Liangzuo could compete in fashion, but now they can't!"
Cai Que's eloquent words could not convince everyone, but he had a guide to the public opinion in the temple. Official public opinion must not be underestimated, as it is also an important reference for the decisions of those in power.
On this day, all the ruling officials gathered together in the Chongzheng Hall, and Zhang Shouyue, the official in charge of the affairs of the family, went to the hall to report.
Zhang Shouyue once served as the governor of Qinfeng Road. At that time, he was in charge of the Goubo Department and was regarded as the predecessor of Wang Shao and Xiang Bao. The officials summoned him to ask how to deal with Mu Zheng and the follow-up to conquering Lintao City.
To be honest, the officials commissioned Zhang Yue to conduct military operations in Xizhou. When they first learned that Mu Zheng and Dangxiang were invading, the officials were still worried and ordered Guo Kui many times to keep Weiyuan Fort no matter what.
When the officials learned that Zhang Yue and Wang Shao had defeated Mu Zheng and even captured Lintao City, the base camp of Xizhou, they were overjoyed.
However, when the officials were waiting for definite news from the front line, they unexpectedly received a memorial from Guo Kui impeaching Wang Shao for taking Lintao City without asking for orders.
Then there are the two generals Wang Shao and Gao Zunyu, each showing his merits.
The officials and the ruling officials were not clear about the situation on the front line for a while. Is it a reward or a punishment?
Zhang Shouyue is a famous general, and he has guarded Qinfeng Road for six years. He is most familiar with border affairs. There is no further news on Qinfeng Road. Zhang Shouyue's judgment is a very important reference.
The officials were so worried that they repeatedly summoned Zhang Shouyue to go to the palace to inquire. This is the third time in a month that Zhang Shouyue has gone to the palace, and every time the emperor and his ministers play each other, it takes more than a quarter of an hour.
This treatment puts even the Prime Minister to shame.
The tall white-haired veteran Zhang Shouyue arrived at the Golden Palace. The official said to Zhang Shouyue: "Zhang Qing is alive! I asked you Zhang Yue yesterday, whether Wang Shao can handle the Hehuang incident? Tell the ministers your true words Let’s talk.”
Zhang Shouyue said: "Reporting to your majesty, yesterday your majesty's counselors said that your majesty came with the power of heaven and nothing was wrong. However, Mu Zheng and Dong Fei have always been loyal and obedient, and it is really not suitable for your majesty to invade..."
The big shots in the court were silent for a while. Wang Anshi was inclined to send troops to Hehuang, but he did not strongly support it. Wen Yanbo was inclined not to send troops to Hehuang, but because of Wu Chong, he did not actively oppose it.
Wang Gui's attitude can be ignored.
The person in the palace who had the most vehement objections to sending troops to Hehuang belonged to Feng Jing.
Feng Jing's attitude was originally quite tolerant, and his personal relationship with Wu Chong was okay, but he inherited the political legacy of his father-in-law Fu Bi in order to be in power. Fu Bi firmly opposed the use of troops.
So even though Feng Jing doesn't want to fight, he still must oppose it.
Zhang Shooyue continued to explain the reasons why he could not conquer, but Wu Chong had already spoken out: "Your Majesty, it seems to me that it is just the opposite. The wooden expedition is like Anlu Mountain, and people like Shi Siming may seem to be obedient, but it will be difficult to accept the orders of the imperial court. I heard that in the past, when the emperor was elected, he could allow the generals to take bribes, but he never allowed the generals to be arrogant. If the generals cannot be controlled, how can they be obedient to me?"
Zhang Shouyue did not dare to contradict Wu Chong and consciously stepped aside.
Feng Jing came out and said: "Your Majesty, even if Mu Zheng is disobedient, your Majesty must decide on the conquest. If you fail to ask for instructions when the opportunity arises, it will be Guo Kui's heavy responsibility. How can several border ministers do this so rashly?"
Wu Chong said: "Gao Zunyu, if Wang Shao wanted to take Lintao before, of course he had to communicate with Guo Kui first. But Guo Kui was at odds with Wang Shao, so he killed him first and then played!"
Feng Jing said: "But now that Lintao has been captured, Mu Zheng will not give in. He will fight hard, and he will raise troops under his hard work. How can the imperial court bear the burden?"
The official said: "I think there is nothing wrong with Kaiyuan, but troops are used every year. There are countries all over the world, and it is normal to use troops. But if there are no troops for a long time, it is strange to hear that troops are used."
At this time, Wen Yanbo came to an end and said: "Your Majesty, don't forget Han Jiang's lessons learned from the past."
Wang Anshi said: "Han Jiang had to retreat because the Khitan sent troops, otherwise our army would have taken Hengshan."
Wu Chong also said: "That's true. How can it be that just because Han Jiang acted inappropriately, he will never fight again for the rest of his life?"
Feng Jing said: "This is because the name is not right and the words are inconsistent. If the soldiers are unknown, things will not be accomplished. The imperial court uses soldiers as teachers to achieve fame."
Wu Chong said: "The so-called division is famous because of the discipline. The imperial court failed to control the Tibetan tribe before, so that although Mu Zheng was the governor of Hezhou, Zhang Yue recruited Qiang in Weiyuan and did not invade the territory, but he raised troops to fight. , and also colluded with Dang Xiang and Dong Fei, is this what the governor of this dynasty did?"
Feng Jingdao: "But I heard that Mu Zheng's theory was that Zhang Yue invaded his territory and took away his salt wells."
The official made this very clear: "Zhang Yue and Mu Zheng had an agreement about the salt well."
Feng Jing said: "Your Majesty, Mu Zheng is just afraid that Zhang Yue will gradually invade him."
…
After everyone argued for a while, Wang Anshi came out and concluded: "The debate on principles has been going on for several months, and now it is useless."
"The problem lies in whether Mu Zheng can be eliminated. If Mu Zheng can be eliminated, it will not be a foreign invasion. If Mu Zheng refuses to obey and repeatedly raises troops, then the capture of Lintao will be a failure."
Officials deeply believe that, in fact, in the end, any war must be justified or not to whether it can be won.
This is the principle of winning a king and losing a bandit, and it remains true in ancient and modern times.
Even if he could win for a while, Mu Zheng, with the support of Dong Xiang and Dang Xiang, had been fighting non-stop with the Song Dynasty in Xizhou. Due to the lack of money and food, the Song Dynasty still lost even if it kept winning.
Zhang Yue analyzed it very clearly with himself in the memorial.
Wu Chong said: "Your Majesty, now in Xizhou, all the money and food for the Tongyuan Army comes from Qinfeng Road, but before Guo Kui used Wang Shao to embezzle money from the market, and even smuggled green salt, and falsely reported the number of farmland, how could he succeed?"
"Your Majesty, why don't you appoint a confidant to take charge of the task and get rid of Guo Kui's system? This can be successful."
Wen Yanbo said: "But if it is an establishment, it will require more troops and more money and food."
Wu Chong said: "Zhang Yue and Wang Shao are both powerful. It should be noted that there are only nine people in the mountain, and the success will fall short. Now that we have set up Xizhou, Huizhou, and Tongyuan Army, why waste money and food?"
Feng Jing asked: "If Zhang Yue, Wang Shao and others have to hold office for a few more years, won't it become the system of Jiedu Fangzhen again after a long time?"
Wu Chong said: "How can things be accomplished when we have to employ people and also doubt them? I ask Your Majesty to think about it early and make some mistakes. In the years of Wang Shao, let him make great achievements!"
The official said: "I have thought before that the Appeasement Department on the edge of Qinfeng Road belongs to the Secretary of Economic Affairs and should be dealt with separately. However, Guo Kui is a veteran general and it is not easy to transfer. I don't think it is better to set up Xihe Road as the Secretary of Economic Affairs and Appeasement. , what do you think, sir?"
Don't set up a strategy to appease the road?
Shaanxi Road currently has four Jinglue appeasement envoy roads, Qinfeng, Fuyan, Huanqing and Jingyuan. If there is another Xihe appeasement envoy road, there will be five Jinglue appeasement envoy roads.
Wu Chong was overjoyed and said: "This decision belongs to your Majesty. Your Majesty has dedicated two people to this matter, and they will do their best. He will also control the Xia Kingdom and restore the old realm of the Han and Tang Dynasties. This is fundamental, and it will not harm the people or money."
The officials consulted Wang Anshi, and Wang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, the wooden levy must be removed as soon as possible. The new defeat of the wooden levy can break the bamboo in one fell swoop. As long as there are generous gold and silk and official positions, Zhang Yue and Wang Shao can do everything. If you are restrained by the elbow, you will not dare to draw broadly, and you will lose the square inch."
"Once the wooden levy can be launched, Dong Fei and Xia will be under my control. The rest of Shaanxi will be able to make peace with their strategy and appeasement."
The officials were very happy after hearing Wang Anshi's performance.
But at this time, Wen Yanbo and Feng Jing also said that setting up the pacification envoy Luzi would be a big deal. Once the Xihe Economic Strategy pacification envoy was actually established, Xixia and Dong Fei would know the Song Dynasty's intention to embezzle Hehuang, and a war would definitely be inevitable. Great war.
This is something that the current financial and material resources of the Song Dynasty cannot support.
When it comes to money, the officials are at a loss.
It is still necessary to recruit Mu Zheng again and then return the captured Lintao City to the opponent. This is the true way of Rouyuan.
When the officials heard this, they sighed and said: "I want to control Di Yi at the same time to fulfill the ambition of my ancestors, but now the court affairs have not been completed. There are not enough soldiers, not enough food, and there are no generals in the court!"
Hearing what the official said, the ministers were speechless.
At this moment, the horse came to accept Li Xian's report, and at the same time he attached a good report.
Mu Zheng was unwilling to be defeated and wanted to capture Lintao City again, but Wang Shao defeated him. Mu Zheng killed Li Duke and his son to vent his anger. All his troops rebelled, and his mastermind was blind. His younger brother Wu Yanzheng led his troops to surrender one after another. The Song army had conquered the entire territory of Xizhou!
