"Great victory in Qingtang!"
When Fan Zheng and the others heard this, their blood boiled with excitement!
For a long time, the Song Dynasty suffered repeated defeats in foreign wars. Not to mention the successive losses to the Liao Kingdom and Xixia, even the small surrounding countries wanted to step on the Song Dynasty. Qingtang was the biggest white-eyed wolf.
Now the Song Dynasty not only occupied Qingtang City, but also wiped out the entire Qingtang army. The Song Dynasty finally destroyed a country and regained its national prestige.
"The Great Song Dynasty is mighty!"
In Kaifeng City, everyone cheered.
Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, the country has been on the defensive. Qingtang has been the first country to be destroyed since the Song Dynasty unified the world. How can the people of Kaifeng not be proud and proud?
"Zhong Pu has cracked the air plague!"
Fan Zheng and Su Dun looked at each other and understood.
Sure enough, when Fan Zheng returned to the court, more detailed military reports came over.
"Reporting to the officials, Ali Gu deliberately lured the Song army to the hinterland of Tubo in an attempt to use air plague to defeat the Song army! General Zhongpu used his plan to lure Ali Gu into a decisive battle!"
"Our army officers took Rhodiola rosea and took turns adapting to the air epidemic in the highlands many times. Taking advantage of it, they defeated the Qingtang coalition forces in the first battle. The entire Aligu army was wiped out, and our army captured countless cattle and sheep."
……………………
In Chui Gong Hall, Zeng Bu reported excitedly.
Although there were only a few words in the military report, everyone knew how much preparation the Song Dynasty had made for this battle.
"good!"
Zhao Xu stood up in response to the case, filled with great pride in his heart.
What the previous emperors had failed to do was finally accomplished in his hands.
Once the Song Dynasty occupied Qingtang, it would have an excellent horse breeding land, and with the help of doctors' artificial breeding methods, it would be enough for the Song Dynasty to never be in danger of shortage of horses.
More importantly, defeating Qingtang was the first step in Fan Zhengda's roundabout strategy. With Qingtang as a base, the situation in the Song Dynasty became more proactive.
The next step can be to directly threaten the Hexi Corridor, so that Xixia, a long and narrow country, will be under the attack of the Song army, and it will definitely lose sight of one thing.
"Congratulations to the official family. From now on, the offensive and defensive momentum of the Song Dynasty and Xixia will be different." Zhang Dun said excitedly. The Song Dynasty's ability to achieve such a record was naturally the result of the reform strategy of opening up borders, which greatly increased the voice of the new party.
For a moment, the new party was proud and proud.
The old party couldn't help but frown. It was a good thing that the Song Dynasty won a great victory, but wouldn't it prove that the conservative policy that the old party had always pursued was wrong.
At the moment, Lu Dafang gave a slight signal, and saw Yang Wei, the censor, bite the bullet and said: "I am reporting to the officials. I impeached Zhong Pu and Yao Xiong for massacre of the city without any reason. They expropriated and extorted money from various tribes in Qingtang. People in various tribes in Qingtang are constantly complaining."
As soon as Yang Wei said this, the entire court fell silent.
You must know that Zhong Pu and Yao Xiong had just destroyed Qingtang, and the news of success had just come. There was actually a memorial to impeach the two men in the court.
As soon as Yang Wei's memorial came out, even the New Party, which had previously taken credit for the Qingtang victory, fell silent.
Fan Zheng frowned and stepped forward to defend the two men: "The Western Expedition army killed the soldiers guarding the city for the sake of stability in the rear. As for General Zhong's impeachment of the Qingtang ministries, it was because the army went deep into Qingtang. It is difficult to supply logistical supplies. Only by collecting food and grass on the spot can we ensure the army's food and grass. Otherwise, there would be no such victory."
Lu Dafang refuted: "Fan Taicheng was too biased towards the second general. The Western Expedition army had already captured the city, and the soldiers defending the city had put down their weapons to resist. Killing prisoners has been unlucky since ancient times, and our Song Dynasty is a country of etiquette. Zhong Pu’s move brought shame to the Song Dynasty.”
"Yes, for the Qingtang tribes, the main thing is to appease them. How to make the generals return to their hearts through extortionate expropriation and extortion, the Qingtang tribes will definitely rebel in the future."
At that moment, officials from the old party also petitioned for a strict investigation into the matter, and even many officials from the new party joined in.
"Praise literature over martial arts!"
Fan Zheng was suddenly shocked when he saw this scene.
All the princes in the Manchu Dynasty were all human beings, so how could they not understand that Zhong Pu's decision at that time was correct. Now all they do is to suppress the military generals. This has been the tradition of the Song Dynasty.
Su Song came forward to mediate and said: "I would like to inform the officials that the Western Expedition has just achieved a great victory. If we suppress the heroes at this moment, I am afraid it will chill the hearts of the soldiers. Moreover, General Zhong Pu's move is understandable. Please think twice."
Zhao Xu borrowed the donkey down the slope and said, "What Mr. Su said is true. We will discuss this matter later."
Although Zhao Xu put the matter aside for the time being, he would discuss it later. This shows that the thought of guarding against generals has been deeply engraved in the royal bones.
Fan Zheng frowned when he saw this. He didn't expect that everyone in the court would be so wary of the generals. They had just conquered a small green pond and were already suppressing the generals.
If the Great Roundabout strategy is implemented in the future, the Song Dynasty will also destroy Xixia, destroy the Liao Kingdom, and the upcoming Jin Kingdom, and fight against the Mongolia that dominates the world. The Song Dynasty will face such a powerful enemy, but it will also have to deal with military generals. Heavily guarded and suppressed, Fan Zheng couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.
After going to court, Fan Zheng returned to Fan Mansion, looking extremely embarrassed.
Seeing this, Li Qingzhao asked: "Now that Qingtang has won a great victory and everyone in Kaifeng is celebrating, why is my husband so frowning?
"A great victory in Qingtang?"
Fan Zheng sneered and told the court about the suppression of military commanders.
Li Qingzhao frowned, not surprised by this and said: "The court has a long history of emphasizing civility over military affairs. Your Majesty knows General Di's old affairs."
"Di Qing, the Army God of the Great Song Dynasty!"
Fan Zheng nodded slightly. Di Qing was the military god of the Song Dynasty. During the Renzong Dynasty, Di Qing fought in the north and south and made great achievements. However, the more powerful his achievements were, the more he was feared by civil servants.
At that time, Di Qing won the hearts of the military, and the more he did so, the more he was feared by the court. As long as Di Qing's subordinates made mistakes, they would be immediately caught by civil officials and sentenced to harsh sentences. In the end, Di Qing was dismissed from the post of Privy Councilor and went out of the country. Not long after, Di Qing died of depression. .
"My husband wants to keep General Zhongpu and others, and he must learn a lesson, otherwise it will only lead to greater suppression by the civilian officials. It is not because the generals are guilty, but because they have the ability to rebel." Li Qingzhao suggested.
"Unfounded crime!"
Fan Zheng said word by word.
The experiences of Di Qing in Renzong's dynasty, Zhong Pu and others in that dynasty, and what happened to Yue Fei in the future cannot be said to be exactly the same, but they can be said to be completely consistent.
When Li Qingzhao heard this, his eyes lit up and he said, "It's an unwarranted crime. My husband hit the mark."
This unfounded crime can be said to sum up the royal family's move of emphasizing civil servants over military commanders.
"My husband knows how to do it!"
Fan Zheng's heart moved and he thought of a way to break the situation.
……………………
On the second day, there were more and more memorials in the court regarding the impeachment of Zhong Pu and others. On this point, both the new party and the old party reached an agreement. Only Su Song insisted on speaking justice for Zhong Pu and others.
"We are not jealous of the virtuous and capable, but we have clear rewards and punishments. Now we should give some warning to those arrogant and powerful generals to prevent them from causing catastrophe in the future." Lu Dafang said firmly.
All officials naturally understood what disaster Lu Dafang was talking about! At the moment, all the officials acted as if they were taking it for granted and had no psychological burden for suppressing the generals.
This time, even Zhao Xu also favored civilian officials. After all, the Song Dynasty had been pursuing a national policy of emphasizing civility over military affairs for hundreds of years since its founding.
Even Su Song couldn't help but sigh. This was the case in all dynasties of the Song Dynasty, and he could not stop the general trend with his own strength.
"To emphasize literature over military affairs and suppress military generals is nothing more than destroying the Great Wall!"
Suddenly a voice resounded through the court, completely shocking all the officials in the court.
Everyone looked back and saw that it was Fan Zhengyu who made a surprising statement.
"Destroy the Great Wall? Fan Taicheng dares to question the Song Dynasty's policy of founding the country. I will impeach Fan Zheng for his arrogance." Yang Wei heard Fan Zheng's voice and immediately attacked again and again.
Emphasizing literature over military affairs and suppressing military generals was a national policy formulated by the Song Dynasty after learning from the lessons of the Tang Dynasty's feudal rule and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. In addition, the Taizu Zhao Kuangyin was also a military general and rebelled, so he was naturally particularly wary of military generals.
Therefore, suppressing the military generals was the political correctness of the Song Dynasty. When the old and new parties saw Fan Zheng speaking out for the military generals, they jointly attacked him.
They believed that the emperor was wary of generals from the bottom of his heart, and perhaps this could make Fan Zheng lose the trust of the officials.
Fan Zheng said without fear: "Since ancient times, the Qin and Han Dynasties were to the Xiongnu, the Sui and Tang Dynasties were to the Turks, and the grassland tribes may be able to flourish for a while, but they will eventually be defeated by the Central Plains dynasty. However, the Song Dynasty was defeated repeatedly in Liao and Xia. , isn’t there an element of emphasizing civility over martial arts?”
There was a sudden silence in the court. They naturally knew that the military force of the Song Dynasty was weak and there was a big reason for emphasizing culture over military affairs. However, emphasizing culture over military affairs was the national policy of the Song Dynasty, and secondly, it was to protect the interests of civil servants. Naturally, they would not admit.
"That's nonsense! Emphasizing literature over military force, strengthening the trunk and weak branches, is a good strategy that Taizu Taizong came up with to solve the problems accumulated in the past dynasties. How can you allow your slander?" Lu Dafang shouted angrily.
"Now the Song Dynasty has just defeated Qingtang, and there are two powerful enemies, Liao and Xia, eyeing it. Before all the birds are gone, good bows are hidden. What else is this if it is not self-destruction of the Great Wall?" Fan Zheng asked rhetorically.
Zhang Dun said coldly: "It is important to resist foreign enemies, but it is also a top priority to prevent disasters in feudal towns. Merits must be rewarded, and mistakes must be punished. This is recognized by the Manchu Dynasty."
Although Zhang Dun was a reformer, he actually belonged to the civil service. It was in the interests of the civil service to emphasize literature over military affairs, so Zhang Dun naturally sided with the civil service.
Fan Zheng sneered and said: "So what happened today has nothing to do with justice, it is just a repeat of General Di's old story!"
"Di Qing!"
All the officials in the dynasty couldn't help but know that they were well aware of what happened to Wu Quxing in the Song Dynasty. Di Qing finally died of depression, which was inseparable from the exclusion and suppression of the civil servants at that time.
Fan Zheng said respectfully to Zhao Xu: "I would like to inform the officials, if the government does not change the status quo of emphasizing civility over military affairs, let alone Zhongpu, even if General Di is still alive, I am afraid it will be difficult to fight against Liao Xia. The so-called grand detour strategy is nothing more than It’s just empty talk!”
Zhao Xu was shocked. His desire to unify the world was entangled with the Song Dynasty's core national policy.
"I ask the officials to punish Fan Zheng for his evil words and deceiving the public. Using culture to control military force is the national policy of the Song Dynasty, and it must not be changed. Otherwise, the disaster of the vassal town will be repeated, and then the Song Dynasty will be the end." Zeng Bu solemnly said road.
This time, almost all the officials collectively impeached Fan Zheng. Without him, the impact of the disaster in the feudal town in the late Tang Dynasty was so great that it made all literati feel scared.
Moreover, although the Song Dynasty was weak and lacked offense, it had more than enough defense. Coupled with the vast land and abundant resources, it was natural that Liao Xia did not believe that it could destroy the Song Dynasty. On the contrary, the generals with weapons in their hands who could rebel were the key points that the Song Dynasty needed to guard against.
"Why!"
Su Song couldn't help but sigh. On this point, he couldn't agree with Fan Zheng.
Seeing the collective opposition of all the officials, Zhao Xu's heart slowly turned to favoring civility over military force, and he couldn't help but look at Fan Zheng apologetically.
Seeing this, Fan Zheng sneered and said: "Fan's intention is not to abolish the use of civility to control force, but since there is such a big problem in using civility to control force, it is like a disease in the human body. It only needs treatment, but Didn’t you expect that the princes of the Manchu Dynasty would hide their illnesses and avoid medical treatment?”
"Are we going to hide our illnesses and avoid medical treatment?"
All the officials were in an uproar and looked at Fan Zheng with frowns.
They naturally knew that using culture to control military force made the Song Dynasty's military force weak. However, compared with the harm of the disaster of the feudal town, it was worth sacrificing this little force.
"Does Fan Taicheng have any evil prescription?" Zhao Xu was so excited that he blurted out the word "evil prescription".
All the officials in the court were full of black lines, but they did not pay attention to these. Instead, they stared at Fan Zheng, wanting to know how Fan Zheng could solve the shortcomings of using civil power to control military power.
Fan Zheng looked around the entire court and said solemnly: "Wei ministers have three strategies: upper, middle and lower, which are enough to solve the shortcomings of the Song Dynasty's use of culture to control military force."
"Three strategies: upper, middle and lower!"
The officials couldn't help but twitch the corners of their mouths. Fan Zheng actually had three strategies for treating the stubborn disease that was helpless in their hands: upper, middle and lower.
"But please tell me!" Zhao Xu said impatiently.
"The next best option is for the Song Dynasty to maintain the current status quo of using civil society to control military forces, and to use various advanced weapons as a supplement to monitor military weapons. Although it is not enough to complete the grand detour strategy, it is still enough to protect itself." Fan Zheng said seriously.
"Just self-preservation!" Zhao Xu frowned. Although he preferred to use civility to control military force, he was naturally eager to give it a try when faced with the great temptation of unifying the world.
Fan Zheng smiled bitterly and said: "Even Di Qing, the martial arts star of the Song Dynasty, can't destroy Liao Xia when he is alive, let alone these military generals at the border now. And even if another martial arts star appears, I'm afraid he won't be able to escape Di Qing's fate!"
All the officials in the court couldn't help but look flattering. Although what Fan Zheng said was unpleasant, it was true. The higher the status of a general, the more he would be feared by civilian officials and the more severely he would be suppressed.
"What about Zhongce?" Zhao Xu shook his head and asked.
The reason why this was a bad policy was that it could not change the shortcomings of using culture to control military force. At most, it could increase the Song Dynasty's ability to protect itself.
"The central strategy is to imitate the generals of the Yang family, appoint loyal ministers and good generals of the Song Dynasty, and form family-style generals. They have made a living in the military for generations and dedicated themselves to the Song Dynasty. Countless sons and daughters have died on the battlefield. Their loyalty and force are recognized by the world." Fan Zhengzheng said. .
"General Yang!"
"Family-style general!"
………………
All the officials immediately started talking. There were not many such aristocratic families in the Song Dynasty. For example, the Zhong Family and the Zhe Family in the northwest were like this.
One of the reasons why the imperial court was able to accommodate them was that they had been fighting foreign wars for generations and had long been feuding with Xixia. It was impossible for them to rebel, otherwise there would be no place for them in the world.
Fan Zheng continued: "Of course, although these kind of family-style generals are reused, they cannot entrust all military power. They can only be generals, not commanders. In this way, several elite troops can be formed for the Song Dynasty, and the vassal town can be avoided. disaster."
Zhao Xu nodded slightly. This was indeed a good idea. Coupled with the example of the Yang family generals, the Song Dynasty was more tolerant of family-style generals. After all, they had been loyal to the country for generations, and it was unjustifiable to doubt their loyalty.
All the officials in the court also nodded slightly. This method can also be tried.
"However, although this method is good, it only has a few elite soldiers. If you want to use this method to complete the grand detour strategy, it is simply impossible." Fan Zheng shook his head and sighed.
Zhao Xu frowned and nodded slightly. Both Liao and Xia had hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers. The Yang family army, Zhong family army, and Zhe family army could not be used on a large scale. They could only be used as sharp knives. It was impossible to fight against the elite soldiers of Liao and Xia.
"There is only one way to solve the shortcomings of using civil society to control military power, and to ensure that the Song Dynasty civil servants have absolute control over the army while ensuring the army's combat effectiveness." Fan Zheng said solemnly.
Baiguan's heart trembled, and he suddenly understood that Fan Zheng was about to come up with the best strategy.
"That is when literati practice martial arts and combine civility and martial arts. In this way, there is naturally no disadvantage of using culture to control military force!"
Fan Zheng spread his hands and said.
(End of chapter)
