Zhao Huan sat in the main hall, while ministers such as Li Gang, Zhong Shidao, and Xu Churen stood below.
"I wish to annihilate the Dangxiang! What brilliant plans do you gentlemen have?"
Xu Churen said, "Your Majesty, the military situation is urgent. We should immediately order the generals in the Northwest to divide their forces and attack them!"
How to strike?
"With Wu Jie as the right wing and Yue Fei as the left wing, and the Jingzhao Prefecture to allocate provisions, I am willing to go to the northwest front to share Your Majesty's burdens! If the Dangxiang are not expelled, I will offer my head as a reward!"
Perhaps influenced by the current emperor, even Xu Churen, who is almost seventy years old, speaks with the vigor of a young man.
"I am very pleased that Minister Xu has such a wish. Minister Xu is getting old, and there are many state affairs in the central government that require his assistance. I cannot bear to let Minister Xu go."
Li Gang immediately stepped forward, his voice strong and resonant: "Your Majesty, I will go; I am willing to be shattered to pieces!"
"Minister Li, the military and political reforms still need you; you cannot leave!"
Zhao Huan was aware of Li Gang's abilities. He preferred Li Gang's talent as an official and considered him a capable minister who could strongly promote the development of many things.
But if he were to go to the battlefield, he wouldn't be able to handle it.
Zhong Shidao stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I know that Your Majesty’s anger is hard to quell. I believe that we should proceed in two stages: First, expel Richard from the country and quell the rebellion; second, gather troops and march north to take Xingqing Prefecture!”
"Does Zhong Qing have a detailed plan?"
“The Tangut barbarians are mere thieves; they can strike with full force once, but their strength will wane on the second attempt and be exhausted on the third.”
Although Zhong Shidao's hair was completely white, he stood tall and spoke with a booming voice, giving people a sense of power.
He truly is an old horse in its stall, still eager to gallop a thousand miles; he is worthy of being called the Imperial Marshal.
"What do you mean by that, my dear minister?"
"The total population of the Tangut people is only three million, but in the past, when they fought against our dynasty, the number of people involved was in the hundreds of thousands, all because the Tangut people have a tradition of universal conscription."
"This tradition has a characteristic: it starts strong, then weakens, and finally collapses!"
Zhao Huan nodded in agreement, and the surrounding ministers also nodded in agreement.
Zhong Shidao's analysis of military warfare is more thorough.
Xu Churen, Li Gang, and others were thinking about how to fight back, while Zhong Shidao had already seen the third, fourth, and fifth steps, and his understanding of them was even more thorough and profound.
"Your Majesty only needs to implement a scorched-earth policy, and Richard will undoubtedly retreat! This is the first phase of expulsion and pacification of the Northwest!"
"And what about the second stage?"
Zhao Huan now wishes he could immediately raise a million troops and charge over to tear Richard to pieces.
But he knew it was impossible now.
In ancient times, victory was never simply a matter of having more people.
Disunity, supply problems, and a lack of battlefield intelligence are all fatal.
Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, how many battles have been lost due to impatience and haste?
Every campaign started strong but ended weakly. From the Yongxi Northern Expedition to the Five-Route Campaign against Xia, the initial battles were successful, but the later ones were a complete mess.
Zhao Huan's goal was to completely wipe the Tanguts out of the northwest, exterminate their royal family members, leaving none alive!
Suppressing the internal rebellion was not difficult. Zhao Huan's central army was now as fighting as the border troops in the Yan-Yun region, and its military equipment was the best and most expensive in the Song Dynasty.
Therefore, Zhao Huan easily quelled the internal strife.
To deal with the Tanguts, Zhao Huan would certainly adopt a strategy of sweeping them away, but he needed to make thorough preparations before doing so!
Zhong Shidao continued, "Once Richard's morale is dampened by the prolonged siege from all sides, our army can press our advantage and pursue him!"
Zhao Huan, with his persistent and inquisitive spirit, asked: "How can we press our advantage?"
"Use the strength of five armies to attack Xia and achieve victory in one battle!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Huan's spirits lifted completely: "I originally planned to launch a five-pronged attack on Xia the year after next. Do you think it's feasible now, my dear minister?"
"Now, under the Emperor's might and virtue, the soldiers of our Great Song Dynasty are ready to conquer the four seas and sweep across the eight wastelands. As long as the people of the Northwest are united and the generals are in harmony, the Great Song Dynasty will be invincible in every battle!"
Zhong Shidao's words were a veiled reminder to Zhao Huan that while it was possible to attack the Dangxiang, the mistakes of the Shenzong era should be avoided.
During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, the Song Dynasty launched a five-pronged attack on the Xia Dynasty. All the famous generals of the Song Dynasty came out in force. At first, they were unstoppable, but they were defeated because of problems with the supply of food and the fact that the generals of each route were not on good terms.
The main reason was the discord between its generals and commanders.
The Northwest should be under the command of a supreme commander.
Tong Guan was the supreme commander of the Northwest at that time, and Zhong Shidao was once under Tong Guan.
Unfortunately, Tong Guan's military talent was mediocre, and his mind, vision, and perspective were extremely narrow, making him completely unfit for the position!
Zhao Huan said, "Very good! Minister Zhong is right! I also think it should be so!"
Zhao Huan's expression remained unchanged, but he was inwardly excited.
"Li Gang, Xu Churen!"
"Your subject is here!"
"I will mobilize 200,000 laborers to prepare provisions and gather 400,000 elite troops. I intend to lead five armies to attack Xia! I swear I will not return to the capital until the Dangxiang are destroyed!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Churen's expression immediately changed, and he cried out, "Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
Why not?
"The Emperor's body is of utmost importance, concerning the fate of the nation and the well-being of all people. The battlefield is extremely dangerous!" Xu Churen said excitedly. "I know Your Majesty's anger is hard to quell. I am willing to go to the Northwest in Your Majesty's stead. Even if I lose my head, I will relieve Your Majesty's worries!"
Zhao Huan felt that Xu Churen had the potential to be a good wife, but he also knew that Xu Churen was genuinely sincere.
Zhao Huan laughed loudly, "Minister Xu, you are overthinking it. I fought my way out of the Jin army. These mere Dangxiang bandits are nothing to worry about! Minister Zhong, didn't you say that the Northwest lacks a general to command the entire army? I can go there myself!"
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
