In June of the sixth year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, after the first piece of intelligence was delivered, there was a steady stream of replies.
Yang Xie, the transport envoy of Qinfeng Road, wrote seven official documents within five days, describing what happened in Qingtang and the deployment situation in Qinfeng Road.
Li Yuanhao occupied Qingtang and looted for three days. He then went south to Huangzhou and launched a fierce attack on Huangzhou City, which was in danger.
Zuo Siluo was still seriously injured and his troops were mostly scattered and morale was low, so he had to retreat to Lanzhou.
Yang Xie sent Jia Kui to lead 5,000 people to Lanzhou first. After discussing with Jingtai, the deputy transport envoy and general manager of the army, he began to gather troops in his area and was ready to enter Lanzhou and start a war with Li Yuanhao at any time.
This is the power granted to the Qinfeng Road Transport Commissioner by the imperial court.
The Constitutional Court also sent a reply to Yang Kai, and then officially appointed Han Qi as the General Manager of Shaanxi Road, Zhang Fangping as the Deputy General Manager of Shaanxi Road, and Zhang Kang as the General Manager of the Army of Shaanxi Road.
Before the Qingli Reform, the Jinglüeshi was a temporary official position and was at the same level as the Yunyunshi, both of whom were of the fourth rank. The only difference was that the Jinglüeshi was nominally the superior, but the local Yunyunshi and the Jinglüefu had greater sovereignty.
For example, in history, when Xia Song was the governor of Shaanxi Province, Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan both disagreed with him, and the local transport envoys also disobeyed orders.
Obviously, this is still the tradition of the Song Dynasty. For the provincial governors with military power, there must be someone to restrain and guard against them.
However, after the reform, the General Manager was a second-rank official, while the Deputy General Manager and the Military Commander were second-rank officials. Basically, the General Manager was already in charge of the military and political power of a region, which was very powerful.
Zhao Zhen was actually a little worried, as the Emperor of the Song Dynasty attached too much importance to military power.
However, Zhao Jun told him that it was impossible for a provincial governor to rebel under the existing system. First, Han Qi had been transferred there at short notice and lacked prestige, so even if he wanted to rebel, he wouldn't be able to gain public support. Second, Zhang Kang was also there, so what could he use to rebel?
Unless Zhang Kang rebelled, his rebellion would have some significance because Zhang Kang had made many achievements in the wars with the Western Xia and Liao during the Jingyou period, and his prestige in the army was second only to Fan Zhongyan and Wang Deyong.
But the soldiers' families are all in Bianliang, and if Fan Zhongyan and Wang Deyong take action, do you believe that the soldiers following Zhang Kang will surrender soon?
Therefore, as an emperor, you should sometimes relax and not worry too much.
After Zhao Jun's persuasion, Zhao Zhen dispelled his concerns and ordered Han Qi and Zhang Kang to lead 30,000 Bianliang imperial guards to the northwest. Together with the approximately 120,000 troops in Shaanxi, it was enough to fight against the Western Xia.
After Qinfenglu sent people to Lanzhou, they immediately sent people to condemn Li Yuanhao, saying that he attacked the allies of the Song Dynasty and was wantonly provoking a war with the Song Dynasty.
Li Yuanhao responded that this was an old grudge between them and Qingtang and had nothing to do with the Song Dynasty.
If the Song Dynasty sent troops, then the Song Dynasty would be the party responsible for tearing up the peace talks between the two sides, and the blame would all be on the Song Dynasty's side.
The two sides started a war of words.
This war of words may seem meaningless on the surface, but it actually has a big purpose, which is to fight for the righteous cause.
The Song Dynasty accused the Western Xia of provoking the war first, and they were in the right.
The Western Xia said that they did not attack the Song Dynasty, but Qingtang and the Western Xia were sworn enemies, and it was reasonable for them to fight their enemy. If the Song Dynasty sent troops, it would be the Song Dynasty that provoked the war first.
Don’t think that this kind of righteous cause seems to be useless. After all, war is fought with stronger soldiers and horses, not with whoever is right.
However, it seems to be the case, but in fact sometimes, justice is the crucial factor in achieving victory.
Because the soldiers' mentality will be different depending on who is right.
Cao Cao had a righteous cause, so he could keep claiming that he was following the emperor's orders to fight against the rebels everywhere. The soldiers under him would be willing to obey, feel at ease, and have high morale, allowing him to win battles again and again.
Nurhaci's "Seven Great Hates" fully aroused the resentment of the soldiers. The Manchus fought fiercely and treated the Han people like enemies, fighting them desperately.
After all, for the lower-level soldiers, no one wants to fight, and no one wants to die on the battlefield, so they may retreat when fighting.
But if we give them a reason, tell them how the enemy bullies us, or that we are the one who is right, we are fighting in accordance with the will of heaven, and God is on our side.
In this way, the soldiers' morale will definitely be boosted, and they will fight to the death, thus making the war go smoothly.
Therefore, in ancient times, righteousness and status were definitely important conditions.
This is not only true in ancient times, but also in later generations. Just like the anti-Japanese war, the Sichuan Army was like a worm in the civil war and a dragon in the foreign war.
National hatred and family feuds are the greatest righteous cause, which makes them fearless and brave enough to fight the Japanese pirates to the death, carrying a banner with the word "death" and holding the simplest and worst weapons.
The Song Dynasty and the Western Xia were competing with each other for this kind of righteous cause, in order to give their soldiers a reason to go to war.
Both sides blamed each other, but neither side stopped mobilizing for war.
Han Qi, Zhang Fangping and Zhang Kang soon arrived in Shaanxi and began to mobilize troops from the entire Shaanxi Road.
Since the Qinfeng Road army was stationed in Lanzhou, after Li Yuanhao captured Huangzhou, he occupied the river mouth, which is the junction of the Huangshui River and the Yellow River, and watched the reaction of the Song Dynasty.
Because Li Yuanhao knew that there were only two paths before the Song Dynasty. One was to advance westward to attack Huangzhou, and the other was to advance northward to play the strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao.
No matter which path he took, he would fall into Li Yuanhao's traps and snares, so he was not worried.
Just as both sides were making intensive preparations to start a war, the situation in the Liao Kingdom, far away in the northeast, was quite different.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
