This time the Legislative Council did not dare to procrastinate any longer. Even with the participation of the procrastinator Sima Guang, under the guidance of the Grand President, they quickly drafted a mobilization law.

After the draft of this law was completed, Fu Bi, Sima Guang and others felt satisfied and surprised, because they did not expect that this small mobilization law would take up more than 30 pages. If it continued to be written, it would almost catch up with the previous "Song Dynasty Criminal Code".

Because during the whole process, Zhang Fei asked questions and they answered them, and they wrote more and more.

These include wartime traffic control regulations, food control regulations, production control regulations, and wartime contract regulations.

It also includes requisition, conscription, use, repair, storage, consumption, migration, transfer, etc.

The most important feature is the contract.

Everything must be based on a contract, and the contracts are well-regulated.

Suppose you want to requisition people's houses, you must take the compulsory contract, ask the people to sign it, and then requisition it directly.

The wartime contract regulations do not require compliance with contract principles.

There is no freedom, no voluntariness.

...

...

However, you have a receipt, which includes compensation, and you can take it to the government to ask for money.

Although this was actually a war mobilization bill, it was ultimately named the "National Defense Mobilization Act," which also took into account the feelings of the people.

Because most people think that war has nothing to do with me, I just want to live a good life.

The word "national defense" is very crucial. With these two words, it can be interpreted that we are protecting the country and protecting ourselves. On this basis, the concept of legal system is quoted to explain why the country and the monarch are in the forefront. Therefore, at the beginning of this part of the bill, Fu Bi also wrote a paragraph in his own handwriting to explain the ultimate purpose of the entire bill.

This is the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.

You have to have a legitimate reason for everything, no matter what the actual situation is, but in name your personal rights and interests should be the priority.

Only in this way can the advantages of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs be reflected, and the rights, obligations and responsibilities can be clearly divided so that they can be enforced.

Why didn’t you do this before?

Very simple.

This is extremely complex to implement and there was no way to do it before.

And this requires the Royal Police.

Zhang Fei could only ask the police station’s iron triangle to go there in person, namely Cao Dongdong, Fu Shichun, and Ma Xiaoyi.

If these three people are separated, they are nothing and will definitely cause trouble. Their shortcomings are very obvious. But once the three of them are combined, Zhang Fei has never been disappointed. The Cao family's status as in-laws, Fu Shichun's strategy, and Ma Xiaoyi's execution ability, this is simply a perfect match.

At this moment of mobilization, it is necessary to deal with the military, and Cao Dongdong has a unique advantage.

After all, Empress Dowager Cao was still sitting in the palace.

Internal control is mainly carried out by the Royal Police. The army cannot interfere in these matters and is only responsible for fighting.

......

Baifan Building.

Bang!

"Zhang San, being your brother is truly the biggest mistake I, Fu Shichun, have ever made in my life."

Fu Shichun, who had just returned to Beijing from Yangzhou, just drank a glass of wine and couldn't help but slam the table and glare at Zhang Fei in anger.

Zhang Fei said innocently, "Brother Xiaochun, what are you talking about? I am doing this for your own good!"

"for...!"

"Yes! Xiaochun, Zhang San is thinking about us!"

Cao Dongdong suddenly said.

Fu Shichun was a little confused, looking at Cao Dongdong in horror, "Yanei, what kind of magic potion did he pour into you? This is not good for us at all, he is simply using us like cattle and horses, letting us go wherever there is danger or where there are a lot of things. We just got a foothold in Yangzhou, and he wants us to go to Hebei. You...you wake up!"

"You can't say that."

Cao Dongdong said: "You should think like this, he wants us to make achievements, we really didn't dare to think about it before. Let me ask you, have you ever thought that you can be the first chief clerk of the Song Dynasty Police Department today?"

The first chief clerk? Zhang Fei almost laughed out loud.

Fu Shichun almost vomited blood. Do I care?

Ma Xiaoyi chimed in, "Brother, what you said makes sense. A man should be ambitious and fight on the battlefield. What's the point of staying in Yangzhou? If we go to Hebei now, maybe we can have a fight with the Khitans and let them know that we Song men are not all cowards."

“Ahem!”

Zhang Fei said: "Xiao Ma, be careful with your words, you are not just a coward, this is quite lethal."

"Yeah?"

Ma Xiaoyi said: "This is what my father said."

Zhang Fei said: "That's even more unspeakable."

"oh."

Ma Xiaoyi nodded.

Cao Dongdong exclaimed, "Xiaochun, this opportunity is rare. If I hadn't been waiting for you, I would have left long ago."

Fu Shichun glanced at Cao Dongdong, then at Ma Xiaoyi, and then sat down with a look of despair.

The reason why he gets along well with Cao Dongdong and Ma Xiaoyi is that they used to be playboys, but now they have all changed.

Two to one, he could only accept it with tears.

Fu Shichun really didn't want to go, because his family had instilled in him the idea of ​​lying down and enjoying wealth and glory since he was a child, but he still valued these brothers very much. He knew that if he didn't go, he might feel guilty for the rest of his life.

......

As soon as Fu Shichun and Ma Xiaoyi arrived, the three of them set out immediately, taking with them the capable men of the Royal Police and Zhang Fei's instructions, and headed for Daming Prefecture.

Whether from the perspective of mobilization or the flow of funds, where was the focus of the Song Dynasty?

north.

Khitan people.

Instead of Xixia.

But the strange thing is that the Western Xia is now fighting fiercely and there is constant news of victory.

Within the first month of Empress Dowager Liang's house arrest of Li Bingchang, the Lanzhou defender Yu Zanghuama immediately surrendered to the Song Dynasty and also presented the Lanzhou he was guarding to Wang Shao.

Lanzhou is a salient in the southeast corner of Western Xia, bordering Hezhou to the south and Xizhou to the east. It is the most severely infiltrated state and the base camp of smugglers. The surrender of Lanzhou was very easy.

At the same time, some towns bordering the Song Dynasty, such as Yinzhou, Longzhou, and Yanzhou in the north, also surrendered to the Song Dynasty one after another.

These states said they surrendered, but in fact they were conquered by the main force of the Song army, Western Xia merchants, and village chiefs, who worked together from inside and outside. It just didn't take much effort, because of the large amount of infiltration before, which led to many people being bound to the Song Dynasty.

When these good news reached Tokyo Bianliang, the emperor and his ministers began a new round of struggle. This was really a good start. Should they seize this opportunity?

You should know that the main force of the Song army that has entered the territory of Western Xia is less than 80,000, and this is the entire front line.

Should we increase the stakes and destroy Xixia in one fell swoop?

However, Wang Shao's letter forced the emperor and his ministers of the Song Dynasty to suppress their inner restlessness.

In the letter, Wang Shao believed that taking over these states and counties did not prove anything, because they did not annihilate the main force of Western Xia, and these territories had already been in their pockets.

There are still 400,000 to 500,000 troops in the entire Western Xia country. If we move further in, the logistical pressure will increase exponentially. We will have to mobilize a large number of people from the northwest to transport food and grass, which will inevitably destroy the system of defending against the southward advance of the Liao Kingdom. Now we should focus on defense.

Western Xia was not like the Song Dynasty, where there were prosperous counties and prefectures everywhere. Going forward, there were large amounts of Gobi and desert, and the logistical pressure could be imagined.

Zhao Xu wrote back to Wang Shao, asking him to make his own decision.

At the same time, there was no movement in the north, but a secret letter came from the sea.

The Imperial Palace.

"You said that our plan in Liao might have been discovered?"

Zhao Xu looked at Zhang Fei in astonishment.

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "According to the news from Dengzhou, this is indeed possible, because someone in their country is using maritime smuggling to purchase a large number of our newspapers and magazines, and they also hope that we can print a version in Khitan language."

Zhao Xu said: "This may be because the people of the Northern Dynasty like to watch it."

Zhang Fei said: "It is indeed possible, but if the people like to watch it, all Liao merchants should choose to buy in large quantities, but in fact many smugglers did not buy in large quantities, and only one company had such a request.

And according to the intelligence from within the Liao Kingdom, the Liao ruler just abolished the crown prince last year, and all this was most likely done by their Southern Court Privy Councilor Yelu Yixin."

Zhao Xu frowned and said, "So you suspect that Yelu Yixin is behind this?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "It is possible. It is not yet certain whether Yelu Yixin saw through our plan and wanted to take advantage of it, or whether he saw these newspapers and magazines and thought of using them to incite public resentment."

Zhao Xu said: "If so, how can we take advantage of this?"

Zhang Fei said: "Yelü Yixin is the most powerful minister in Liao, and his position in Liao is also very important. We can package all of this into a complete piece of evidence and secretly present it to the Liao Lord at the critical moment."

Zhao Xu asked: "What critical moment?"

Zhang Fei said: "When the Liao Kingdom was preparing to march south, if the Liao Lord received this evidence at this critical moment, he would definitely first deal with the internal forces, which would certainly force him to stop his plan to march south. This would give us a chance to catch our breath."

Zhao Xu frowned and asked, "But will this ruin our plans in the Northern Dynasty?"

"Won't."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "On the contrary, it will intensify."

"Why?"

"If the Liao ruler knew about this, he would definitely clear these newspaper stories on a large scale. Now these newspapers have already infiltrated in large numbers and many people have read them. There will definitely be a bloody storm in the Liao Kingdom, and this will make the Liao people yearn for the stories in the newspapers even more."

"It is more difficult to guard against the people's mouths than to guard against rivers." Zhao Xu said with emotion.

As they are both emperors, it is inevitable that they will empathize with each other at this time.

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "That's exactly what's going on."

Zhao Xu asked, "What do you think the Liao ruler should do to break this situation?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I guess it can't be broken."

"Why?"

"The essence of guarding against the people's mouths is not the speech, but the fact that the world is prosperous and everyone is pursuing profit. The key lies in the lives of the people. It is precisely because the people of Liao are deeply oppressed that they are interested in the stories in the newspapers."

Zhang Fei further explained: "For example, if the Liao Kingdom uses the same trick to deal with us, Your Majesty does not need to pay attention to it. No matter how they make up stories, the people of the Song Dynasty will only find it ridiculous. The reason is that the lives of the people of the Song Dynasty are getting better and better. Even if there are traitors who want to do something wrong, it is impossible to succeed.

Even if we take a step back, there are still public security, procuratorate and courts. If the people are dissatisfied, they can appeal to the imperial court, and His Majesty will be able to learn about it quickly and then make policy adjustments.

The most correct thing for the Liao ruler to do is to see the people's dissatisfaction and then reform accordingly, but the Liao ruler is incompetent and cannot be compared with Your Majesty. He will definitely not do so, so his failure is also doomed. "

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "You are still so eloquent."

Zhang Fei said: "The results will give your majesty an answer."

......

There is no fixed river.

But in a canyon, there were corpses everywhere, which was so shocking that even Zhong Yan and his son Zhong Pu were shocked to see it.

Fortunately, they are all enemies.

"Father, these are all the most elite heavy-armored cavalrymen of Xixia, the Iron Harriers."

Zhong Pu took a heavy armor from a corpse and brought it to Zhong Yan.

Zhong Yan looked at the bullet holes on the heavy armor and couldn't help but sigh: "In the future battlefield, firearms will definitely be respected!"

This main force of the Western Army that set out from Yanzhou was also the only team fully equipped with sophisticated firearms, including thirty cannons, because they would face the most elite border defense soldiers of Western Xia along the way. In the past ten years, the two sides had been fighting repeatedly on this line.

After easily taking Yinzhou, Zhong Yan continued to move northward, facing the main force of Liang Yimai stationed in Mizhizhai, south of Xiazhou.

The battle that just took place in the Wudingchuan Valley was a battle between the main force of the Western Army and the elite heavy armored cavalry of Western Xia led by Liang Yimei.

Before this, the Western Xia had seen the power of muskets, but this was not enough to frighten the Western Xia. It was just a slightly enhanced version of the crossbow. However, they had not seen the power of artillery, and they thought that the best long-range attack of the Song army was the crossbow, so they did not change their tactics and continued to charge with heavy armor.

The result is predictable. They were dizzy after being bombarded by thirty artillery pieces.

What the hell.

I've never seen it before!

Moreover, Zhong Yan had an elite cavalry. The strength of the Western Army lies in their cavalry. Zhong Yan's tactics were actually very practical. He bombarded the middle with artillery fire, and then two cavalry units encircled the left and right, cutting off the 80,000 elite troops buried by Liang Yi.

It must be mentioned that firearms were only secondary. The main reason for the victory was that after this reform, the combat effectiveness of the Song army was significantly improved, and it was not weaker than the main force of Western Xia. Liang Yimai was forced to flee in embarrassment.

To make matters worse for Xixia, when the news of the main force's defeat reached its base camp, Mizhizhai, some of the guides and royal family members hiding in Mizhizhai directly rebelled and occupied Mizhizhai.

Once Mizhi Village was lost, Xiazhou in the west also fell into chaos. The Xiazhou defender was very direct and led his troops to surrender without hesitation. The main defensive force was almost completely lost, and they could not defend themselves, and their own people also demanded surrender.

At this moment, an order from the general commander of the army suddenly came from the rear, asking them to immediately build up the defense of Xiazhou and not to advance westward any further.

At this time, Wang Shao had already rushed from Xihe to Yanzhou and set up the central army camp there. Because at the beginning of the war, Wang Shao led his troops to capture Lanzhou, severely damaged the 20,000 main forces of the Western Xia who came to attack, and occupied more advantageous terrain. He now ordered Zhong Shidao to lead his troops to defend the local area, while he rushed to the north line to take charge of the overall situation.

In the central army tent.

Whether it was Wang Shao or generals like Zhong Yan, they were all dressed like businessmen. After all, the Song Dynasty had not declared war, so they could not enter in the name of the Song army. We are all businessmen.

"Who cut off my food supply?"

Suddenly, an old general who looked energetic, with white hair and a youthful face, strode into the tent with a furious look on his face.

This man's name was Gao Zunyu. He was the cousin of Empress Dowager Gao Taotao and the commander of Huanqing Road. It was he who captured Yanzhou.

The military commanders including Zhong Yan, Zhe Jishi, Yao Si, and the eunuch Li Xian all kept silent.

Who can afford to offend this?

Wang Shao asked with a smile: "Has the old general received the order to garrison Yanzhou?"

Gao Zunyu said: "Now our army is unstoppable and the Xixia army is in disarray. We should seize the opportunity to pursue and capture Xiping Prefecture in one fell swoop. If we don't attack now, it will be too late when they have reorganized their troops. Opportunities are fleeting. Do you understand?"

Zhong Yan and the others also nodded silently.

Well said!

They were all called back by Wang Shao, but now the Song army was in high spirits and they missed the opportunity to fight.

And they also looked down on Wang Shao.

After all, he is a man of letters.

Wang Shao asked again: "The old general has not answered my question yet. Can you receive the order to station in Yanzhou?"

Gao Zunyu said: "I received it, but I don't understand why you did this."

Wang Shao said: "Since the old general has received it, he should wait for me to come over and make a decision like the other generals, instead of sending troops on his own.

Now that the old general has disobeyed military orders, I have decided to temporarily take back his command of the army."

Gao Zunyu was stunned for a moment.

Li Xian hurriedly said: "General Manager, please calm down. Changing generals before a battle is a taboo in military operations. Moreover, General Gao has just made a great contribution. If he does this...!"

"Disobeying orders is the biggest taboo in military operations."

Wang Shao glanced at them and said, "I don't know what orders you received, but the orders I received never mentioned marching into Xiping Prefecture and destroying Xixia. The orders I received only mentioned one thing, which is to protect the trade routes, protect the interests of our allies, and protect the interests of the people on the border.

Now that our mission has been completed, the next step is to build a defensive fortress, establish public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, restore the people's livelihood and trade here, so I also specially invited Minister Cao to come here on this trip."

All the generals were stunned.

What?

Finished?

this......!

We haven't even started yet!

In fact, there were only two major battles in Xihe and Xiazhou. In other areas, it was all done by smugglers. We have just rolled up our sleeves and haven't even started yet.

Moreover, it was just a step forward, occupying only one thirtieth of the territory of Western Xia, but they were all relatively prosperous prefectures and counties.

Wang Shao ignored their shock and looked at Gao Zunyu and said, "General, please hand over the military seal."

Gao Zunyu suddenly came to his senses and pointed at Wang Shao angrily, "How dare you do this, you nerd? I want to report you."

Wang Shao said casually: "If the old general has any dissatisfaction, he can raise it in the military court. Someone come."

Two soldiers came in immediately.

"Please ask General Gao to leave."

"yes."

After seeing this, Gao Zunyu went berserk, making violent gestures and swearing at Wang Shao, but it was useless until he was dragged out by two soldiers.

The commander-in-chief present immediately re-evaluated the power of the generalissimo in his mind.

In terms of status and identity, even Cao Ping is not as good as Gao Zunyu.

And now, just because he took a few more steps forward, he was stripped of his military power.

From a historical perspective, Wang Shao was a complete traitor. Even the official Li Xian was not as rude as him.

Wang Shao ignored them and continued to assign tasks, which were to provide comprehensive defense, build forts, and manage these territories.

After the meeting, Cao Ping found Wang Shao and said, "General Gao is the cousin of Empress Dowager Gao. Isn't it a bit too rash to use him to establish your authority?"

The two were old partners in Xihe, and Wang Shao did not hide it from him, saying: "I have no choice, he is the only one who sent troops without authorization, and facing these military merits that are within reach, if I don't use extraordinary means, I can't suppress these generals.

Judging from the current situation, we don't need to send troops at all. We can destroy Western Xia by relying on defense alone. Now many prosperous commercial towns along the border have been captured by us, including Yanzhou. Soon Western Xia will be caught in internal and external difficulties, and we can use this as a basis for further infiltration. Continuing to send troops will instead trigger the Dangxiang people's hatred of the enemy.

If we stop the action and take good care of the local people's livelihood, it will aggravate the internal conflicts in Western Xia. At the same time, we will win the hearts of the local people, which is the key to our victory, not to mention that our army also has to defend against the possible southward advance of the Liao Kingdom.

As for General Gao, the imperial court will make the final decision, and I am just following orders."

......

Having said that, if we want to fight, there will be a shortage of food and fodder. Since the Song Dynasty has not declared war on Western Xia, there is no way to mobilize a large number of people to transport food and fodder. Currently, the food and fodder for the front army are all provided by merchants, and the person in charge is not an official, but Fan Zheng.

At Wang Shao's request, Fan Zheng and his men, acting as merchants, hired Xixia people who had lost their livelihoods due to the war. Because they were hired, the wages were not small.

In addition, there is salt. That is why Wang Shao set up the central military camp in Yanzhou. It is because salt is produced here and it is an economic hub.

In the past, the salt here was good and cheap. The reason for its cheapness was that the prices in Western Xia were relatively low. But now that this place belongs to the Song Dynasty, prices are naturally unified, and the local salt price has directly increased tenfold.

Although Wang Shao still retained the local interests of the surrendered nobles in accordance with the contract, since I have raised the price of salt, you must also increase the remuneration of the salt households.

The local salt households really covered their mouths and laughed. There is such a good thing. Am I being occupied?

Oh my god.

All the interests that originally belonged to great nobles such as Liang Yimei were confiscated and auctioned off to private merchants who had made military achievements.

At the same time, the contract law was implemented locally, which actually weakened the influence of those nobles.

Many local people also completely put aside their fears and actively engaged in production.

However, the Song army won a series of victories and was unstoppable, which to a certain extent caused panic in Western Xia. But they suddenly found that the Song army stopped fighting.

This made Empress Dowager Liang confused.

What's going on?

It is totally incomprehensible that the Song army stopped moving forward despite having such an advantageous position.

Don’t they understand the principle of doing a good job at the beginning and then taking a break and then declining?

final.

They blamed the Song army's missed opportunity on the fact that the troops were led by literati.

They have already learned that the commander-in-chief is Wang Shao, a scholar, and the current movements of the Song army are completely in line with the temperament of a scholar.

Empress Dowager Liang and others were ecstatic.

This is really God’s help.

Immediately reorganize the troops and prepare for counterattack.

But she was not stupid. She knew that she needed to rally people's hearts, so she announced to the outside world that the reason the Song army did not dare to advance was because they were afraid of the Liao Kingdom, and she did not have any good intentions.

Wang Shao was also waging a verbal war against Western Xia. He personally wrote a letter to Queen Mother Liang, saying that you are a Han woman and you should understand Confucian etiquette. How can you keep the king under house arrest? This is a Confucian taboo. You should release the king immediately.

Empress Dowager Liang was so angry that she was fuming. She said, "I did this just because I am a Han woman. And you keep bringing this up. Aren't you deliberately trying to sabotage me?"

However, she also used Wang Shao's remarks to promote herself. We have abolished Han rituals, so why can't I be in charge of the government? Moreover, most of those who support Li Bingchang are Han surrendered ministers, and they are all traitors.