After the wounds caused by the war in the city were cleared, the many dead heroes were comforted. Although Liang Chuan wanted to tell Xia Song about Shi Changwei's rebellion, according to Liang Chuan's estimation, Xia Song had known about it for a long time. Yelv Chongguang also mentioned it afterward, which shows that Xia Song clearly wanted to cover up the fact. The truth is, it would be pointless to uncover it yourself.
Naturally, Liang Chuan hates these supporting troops. There is still a part of the city wall that has not been repaired. This responsibility falls entirely on these supporting troops. They can no longer be counted on to fight. The lesson of defection before the battle is still vivid in his mind. It was originally for them to do it. What are you doing now? You can’t rely on these people anymore.
Not only Liangchuan, most of the people in the city are now Guanzhong children. Even the soldiers guarding the city are mostly men from Guanzhong. They are more or less neighbors. Those who come from the same state are all fellow villagers. The fellow villagers say privately. The scandal of these side troops was spread from one to another, and more or less everyone had friends and relatives who died in this battle. Now everyone looked at these side troops with eyes full of hatred, wishing they could eat these scum of the world alive.
In order to prevent these people from rebelling again, Liang Chuan improved the structure of the team. Each team has ten people, and the team leader must be one of these Guanzhong disciples. All qualifications for team leaders are cancelled, and the point-and-mao system is strictly implemented. As long as the team takes half a day If the person who is killed does not return to the team, he should report it immediately to prevent deserters. The team leader will not punish him, but the entire team will be killed immediately!
All the troops are placed under the close supervision of the Guanzhong disciples!
After building the city wall, it was time to dig for water. The last time the water source was cut off was a terrible lesson. All the defenses in Dingchuan Village are good, but the water source is a huge problem. After digging more than ten feet into the loess in the city, a water well was finally dug out. With this well, we won’t be afraid of the partisans sieging the city in the future!
After being plundered by Li Yuanhao, the northwest came back again. This time, he built higher walls and dug deeper trenches. Water from the nearby Qingshui River was introduced to form a protective river. A safe water source was ensured in the city. The burned fortress was rebuilt again. .
After careful consideration, Xia Song finally considered the impact that this sealed envelope would have on his career after being handed over. It would do more good than harm to him. Now that the matter was over, he gave it a go. If the bet was right, the position would still be his. If the bet was wrong, he would have to retire. yes.
In the secret book, Xia Song took the information about Li Yuanhao's possible peace talks as his own and fully analyzed various possibilities. In short, people felt that Li Yuanhao would definitely come to the peace talks.
Before going to Mizhe, he had written a report on the battle at Dingchuan Village, and he attributed all the reasons for the unfavorable battle to Ge Huaimin. According to regulations, he rushed to support Dingchuan Village. Before leaving, Ge Huaimin himself warned him many times not to advance rashly. Han Qi can also testify to this. At the same time, he also wrote about Dingchuan Village's meritorious service in fending off the enemy, and suggested that the imperial court commend Yang Qi, the governor of Dingchuan Village. As for him, he voluntarily demoted his official rank to three levels and stayed behind to suppress the enemy and exterminate the enemy to atone for his crime.
Xia Song reported to the court the number of killed in the battle, which was approximately 16, and the number of soldiers was 9,400. There is a lot of content in this. Many soldiers also sacrificed their lives in this battle, and there were many Tibetan soldiers. The soldiers and the Northwest Territory Army were not as powerful as the Forbidden Army, and their organization was not as decent as the Forbidden Army. After their deaths, they were only given a few coins to burn and bury, and no one's name was left behind.
The total may be in the tens of thousands.
The imperial court would not record such a large number of casualties in the history books. This was a great shame and humiliation. The whole court scolded Xia Song for being shameless and incompetent, and for wasting the lives of the Song Dynasty soldiers. If he couldn't do it, he would be replaced. If he couldn't do it, he would be demoted. The Song Dynasty lacked the most. Talent, the court was discussing how to manage Xia Song, and Zhao Zhen received a secret message from Xia Song.
The Yushitai scolded him the most. Xia Song's official reputation was like that of Ding Wei, and he was easily despised in the Qing Dynasty. In addition, the lives of soldiers were wasted this time, and the admonishers were all sharpening their swords and preparing to attack him.
War was not the wish of the people of the Song Dynasty. The thirty years of peace with the Khitan made everyone feel the beauty of peace.
Although the Song Dynasty looked down on Xixia, a barbaric and backward country, a defeat could be said to be a mistake. Three consecutive defeats clearly showed the problem. Xixia already had the capital to negotiate with the Song Dynasty.
Just when Chao Wenwu was scolding Xia Song for being despicable, shameless and without integrity, Zhao Zhen secretly met with the main officials of the Sixth Department of the Privy Council of the Third Department in Wende Hall. This matter is too important. If it is handled well, a truce will end the war, but if it is not handled well, it will be a truce. It left a bad and ugly mark in the history books. Those personal officials at the Yushitai could only criticize everywhere and had no outstanding ability in doing things.
Suing for peace like the Khitan would be a major humiliation and humiliation for the country. If the officials get wind of it, they will only scold him bloody, and nothing serious will be done.
This war cannot be fought no matter what. The imperial court has been fighting with them for several years. They have built mausoleums and palaces, and now they are covered in donkey dung. They are so poor that they can hardly take the blame. Coupled with the disloyalty of civil and military officials, a defeat in the northwest battlefield is worse than a defeat. If the war continues, it will only harm the country's strength and will not benefit the country or the people at all.
Because of this, Zhao Zhen held this secret meeting despite the fierce public sentiment. If all this is true, then the information sent by Xia Song is so crucial!
Zhao Zhen ordered Huangmen to read out the secret message sent by Xia Song.
Those on the list were all heavyweights from key departments of the imperial court. I was originally wondering why they didn't explain things clearly in person at the court meeting, so they deliberately kept these important ministers behind and held a small meeting in private. It is indeed a major event related to the fate of the imperial court!
"My lords, please make a statement!"
Zhao Zhen didn't need to say it, but everyone knew it. What did he think of the peace talks?
Now is the time to make a statement. Since ancient times, at this time, there have been two factions, either fighting or making peace. In order to avoid having no support in the court in the future, officials often privately test the attitude of the officials.
A group of people split into two factions without communicating in advance. The civil servants of the Sixth Ministry strongly opposed the peace talks, while the chiefs of the Privy Council and the Third Department all clearly supported the peace talks.
Sure enough, the quarrel started again.
Before Zhao Zhen could speak, the two groups started arguing in private.
The main war faction said: "There were peace talks with Khitan before, and now there are peace talks with Xixia. If there is another illegal regime in the future that cannot be defeated, how can we continue the peace talks? Where will the dignity of the Song Dynasty be placed? Who will care about the prestige of the imperial court? convince?"
The peace faction also said: "In the face of Xixia's three consecutive defeats, which consumed countless amounts of money and grain from the treasury, the government's fiscal revenue was unsustainable. The war was fought with money and grain. Now that the treasury is empty, there is nothing to use to fight the war. We must save face and suffer, instead of continuing to fight for a long time." Go down, why not spend a little money and send these Western thieves away like the Khitan!"
The majority of the Zhuhe faction were civil servants from the six tribes. Most of these people were Jinshi. The scholar's loyalty to the emperor was at work, and they could not tolerate the wolfish ambitions of Li Yuanhao, a rebellious minister and traitor. And who are the Lord Harmony faction, people from the Privy Council and the Third Division?
Of these two departments, one is responsible for fighting, and the other is responsible for providing logistics. The front line of the war is in a tight situation, and the logistics cannot raise money. They all break their teeth and swallow it in their stomachs. If they win, it is their duty, and if they lose, they will be held accountable. No one can escape! This war can be stopped now, and they can laugh from their dreams!
The key now is to look at Zhao Zhen's attitude. They can't figure out Zhao Zhen's attitude. If he wants to fight, the Third Division and the Privy Council will have to fight hard. Whoever stands in the right position will be appreciated by the officials. Again A gamble!
The officials were furious and couldn't come to a conclusion.
Seeing that they couldn't come up with an idea, Zhao Zhen asked, "Can our Song Dynasty win this battle?"
Everyone lowered their heads in unison.
The only thing that matters is winning. Li Yuanhao only has one hundred thousand cavalry. It is said that even the Khitans can't do anything to them, and they suffered heavy losses. The Song Dynasty is even weaker than the Khitans!
"How authentic is this secret book?"
Yes, where did this news come from? Is it just Xia Song's mouth?
Lu Yijian told the old man that Zhang Zhibai, the official secretary, was promoted to the prime minister. Zhang Zhibai was cautious and guarded against arrogance. He was the leader of the group of people who spoke. If he did not express his position, no one dared to speak. This was the rule in the officialdom.
Zhang Zhibai was not confused. He first analyzed the current military and financial resources of the Song Dynasty and then analyzed the national strength of Xixia. He said a pertinent sentence: "The Xixia victory in three battles is now at the end of the war. Peace talks may not be impossible. The defeat of the Song Dynasty in three battles may not necessarily lead to another defeat." Fight, even if you don’t talk about it, you still have the strength to fight again!”
"What does Aiqing mean?"
"In my opinion, Xia Song's analysis is extremely accurate!" Zhang Zhibai said loudly!
"Although Li Thief's victory is a small victory, it is impossible for the whole country to maintain a long-term stalemate with the Song Dynasty. Peace talks must be the only way out! But now our court has been defeated. Even if Li Thief really wants to negotiate, the current situation will not be the same for our court. Unfavorable, our army is in urgent need of a victory, and we will not let others dictate to us during the negotiations. The immediate priority is to hold on to the front, find opportunities to win the battle, and gain some confidence for our country. As long as Li Thief surrenders. , the initiative in major matters has returned to our hands! After that, it will be much easier to handle. The three companies will discuss and negotiate the price, and give an appropriate amount. If it doesn’t work, they will start a war again! But the first thing right now is to wait and confirm the authenticity of this news. reliability!"
Jiang Sure enough is still old and spicy. He has never seen any monsters in these old worlds. Zhang Zhibai listened for a long time without saying a word. As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone knelt down. His analysis was very clear!
Although Zhao Zhen is young, he has an excellent advantage, that is, he is good at listening to opinions, and he is lucky and can often adopt the best plan.
"Please keep today's events in mind, and don't make any comments when you go out. As Zhang Qing said, we in the Song Dynasty need to calm down first. If Li Thief is serious about peace talks, we need to come up with a feasible plan!"
In the battle at Dingchuan Village, there must be a dead ghost who takes the blame.
Although he has said a lot about Ge Huaimin's defeat analysis, he is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces after all, and he still has to take the final responsibility!
The court's punishment was inevitable, and Xia Song wanted to take a chance now. He had all the cards in his hand and put the money on the one with the highest stakes, hoping to make a comeback.
Xia Song handed over the secret document, expecting that it would be a huge stone thrown into Pinghu Lake, and the criticism would be more intense than the military report he handed over. Unexpectedly, there was no news at all in the court, and no one mentioned it. Punish him!
Something's wrong, it's so wrong!
Xia Song had an informant in Bianjing, so his defeat would have been a big deal and he should have died!
In case the court was angry, he planned to hand over a confession of guilt, but many days passed, as if the court had never received his secret document, and there was no news at all.
It's over, it's really over this time.
Xia Song gave up hope after waiting for a few days. Killing with a blunt knife is the most painful. He took off his official robe and put on his official hat. He didn't go anywhere or see any guests for the past few days. He just waited for the court to reprimand him. The edict arrived, and his official career was almost over. .
Zhao Zhen discussed with the people from the Privy Council of the Three Divisions and Six Ministries for several days and came to the conclusion to wait and see what happens. At the same time, he sent a military report to the Zhenrong Western Army: Keep the current situation unchanged for the time being. Xia Song deserves to die for his defeat. Stay ready for the country with all your heart!
Xia Song finally cried when he received the order from the court. Damn it, grandma, this turn of events was all due to a few gossips from Liang Chuan. He was not afraid of being embarrassed by telling it, so he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Here comes someone. Bring me Liang Chuan, the governor of Dingchuan Village, no, invite him here!"
