RNP Chapter 242 My life is like walking on thin ice
Chapter 242 My life is like walking on thin ice
Except for Gu Tingye and a few generals, the others are stationed in Yanbian all year round, and conflicts with Xixia are not just once or twice.
Logically speaking, Yang Huairen had never fought against the Xixia Army or the Liao Army, so why could those border generals obey him?
The reason is simple. He was the general appointed by Wei Yuan himself.
If others don't obey Yang Huairen, why don't they still obey Wei Yuan?
Who doesn't know Wei Yuan's deeds of killing five generals, defending Yanmen, and shocking Liao Xia?
Even the generals of Liao and Xia now regarded Wei Yuan as a serious problem.
No one dared to underestimate the generals he recommended.
In the end, the method given by Yang Huairen was also very simple, that is, to burn Geeta Village and detour to Weizhou to attack Kangle City.
Although the strategic position of Kangle City is not as good as that of Geeta Village, it is like a throat. It can be attacked, retreated or defended. If the city is captured, it will be like driving a nail into Xixia, making it difficult for Xixia to sit or sleep.
Moreover, the defensive strength of Leisure City is far inferior to that of Geota Village.
When raging fires broke out in the mountains surrounding the Cuta stronghold, the defenders thought that the Zhou army was about to attack.
However, apart from the spreading mountain fire, no soldiers from the Zhou army came to attack the stronghold.
The Cuta Village was built between the mountain cols. It was a dangerous place to guard the mountain road. The surrounding fires would hardly affect the village.
But around the mountains, there are countless grasslands and sheep farms.
Once this fire breaks out, the people in nearby Xixia will suffer.
When the fire was difficult to control, Yang Huairen ordered the Zhou soldiers to shoot rockets into the stockade.
In an instant, looking from a distance, it looked like a fire dragon lying on the hillside together with the Cuta Village.
At this moment, the fire attack was effective.
When the Xixia soldiers in the village had nothing to do, Yang Huairen had already led the army to march eastward.
It is true that attacking the stronghold at this time is more effective with less effort, but the stronghold has been destroyed by a fire.
Yang Huairen did not have time to rebuild the defenses after capturing the stronghold.
When leading the army to Leisure City, Gu Tingye couldn't help but said worriedly:
"In this fire, the people of Xixia were more damaged. They are also our subjects of the Celestial Empire. Will the general's actions be followed in the future?"
Yang Huairen said: "When Duke Fan Wenzheng marched through Yanbian to attack Xixia, he did not do any harm to the people of Xixia, but so what?"
"Commander Wei once said that we are fighting in the field and have always regarded ourselves as the king's army. Wherever we go, we love the people. This is not wrong. What is wrong is that this will make us marching with our hands tied."
"If we wait for Xixia and Liao to go south one day, I am afraid that our people in the Zhou Dynasty will suffer more casualties."
During Emperor Taizong's Northern Expedition, he did take back a lot of his hometown and old land, and he also showed kindness to the local people. Not only did he not violate the rule of law, he even exempted and exempted taxes.
But in that war, he lost, and the entire Zhou Dynasty lost.
All the elite founding troops were lost, and the Zhou Dynasty did not raise its head for decades.
If Taizong didn't care about the reputation of the so-called King's Master or the people in certain areas, and went all the way to the north, burning, killing and looting, would he still need to worry about the problem of food and grass?
But if we don't do this, the losses may be even greater. After all, we will lose the support of the people.
How could the people's hearts and minds be truly controlled by Emperor Taizong?
As long as it is a war, nothing will happen without harming civilians. No one can avoid it. The Liao Kingdom does not care about this. Every time they capture a city, they will burn, kill and loot. Therefore, they can come and go without a trace, allowing the Zhou army to Always passive.
Therefore, when Wei Yuan taught generals at all levels how to use troops, he made it clear that as long as he won the battle, he could pay any price, as long as he won.
If Yang Huairen did not set fire to the mountain today, the strategic significance of Cuta Village would still be there. It would be difficult for them to put pressure on Xixia with their visit.
But once the mountain fire ignites and affects the lives of tens of thousands of people, it will be enough to give Xixia a headache for a while.
After all, the biggest purpose of Zhou's use of troops this time was to make Xixia feel the pressure.
——
In early April of the sixth year of Jiayou's reign, Zhong E led his army to attack Helan Mountain.
This mountain is one of the famous arsenals of Xixia and is heavily guarded. About 6,000 Xixia army officers and soldiers are stationed here.
At the beginning of last month, everyone, including Wei Yuan, thought that Zhong E would march on the Great Wall and then attack a certain city in Xiazhou.
Therefore, the Xixia army gathered its forces in Xiazhou in advance and planned to fight the Zhou army decisively.
As the saying goes, troops are impermanent, power and water are impermanent. If Zhonge marched according to the established strategy and did not listen to Wei Yuan's opinions, he tried his best to avoid the main force of Xiazhou.
So now the Zhong family army will be tightly entangled.
It's okay to win the decisive battle, but what if you lose?
The overall strategic plan drawn up by Wei Yuan himself will fall apart in an instant.
At this moment, the battle in Helan Mountain has begun.
Thirty thousand soldiers of various clans are besieging this mountain.
On a small hill.
Zhong E, who is in his thirties, is here watching the battle unfold in Helan Mountain.
When the information about the Xiazhou area came, Zhong E couldn't help but exclaimed:
"The loyal and brave Marquis Weiyuan is in charge of the capital. He is still able to deduce the situation here. He is really a talented general. I am not as good as him."
Zhong E’s younger brother Zhong Yi said in a deep voice:
"Everyone can see that Xiazhou has gathered its forces to fight our army. Why do you think, brother, that Marquis Zhongyong only inferred some situations and you are inferior to him?"
Zhong Yi is also a side general. The thing that these side generals are most worried about is that when they are on an expedition, those people who are high up in the temple will keep pointing fingers.
Obviously, he felt that Wei Yuan was also gesticulating.
Zhong E said: "We are at the border, and we have only recently become aware of the movement in Xiazhou, but before our army entered the Xixia territory, Lord Wei had already thought of this."
"Even before our army informed Marquis Wei of the march route, he had already guessed it and advised me not to cross the Wuding River and march into Xiazhou, but to try to avoid the main force of Xiazhou."
"If you put yourself in his shoes, it would be very difficult for me to do what he does."
"Besides, if Lord Wei is not in the capital, I'm afraid the scholar-bureaucrats in the court will act even more mischievously."
He was right. If Wei Yuan was not in charge of the Yanbian war in the capital, but Zhang Fu and others were replaced, I am afraid everyone would think that attacking Xiazhou would be more in line with the interests of the Zhou Dynasty.
As for Helan Mountain.
It's just a place to hide troops. Even if we cross the Helan Mountains and have no successors, what's the use?
But they have no idea that once Helan Mountain is captured, Hongzhou, Yanzhou and other places bordering Helan Mountain will send troops to attack.
At that time, according to Wei Yuan's established strategy, the Zhong family army can withdraw from Helan Mountain at any time and burn all the weapons hidden in the mountain.
With this loss, it is uncertain whether Xixia can continue to fight to the death with the Zhou army.
"It's not like you haven't read the military training method written by Marquis Wei. He can have a marquis who is convinced by his brother."
"Having such a good commander in Da Zhou gives brother Wei hope."
Zhong E stared at the war going on in the Helan Mountain area, and suddenly had the idea in his heart that he wanted to follow Wei Yuan in his conquests.
He knows what his abilities are.
The garrison can't be disturbed in one place, which is the limit.
As for Wei Yuan, who was far away in the capital, he already knew the situation clearly and had a rough idea of the final outcome of this battle.
The so-called strategizing and decisive victory thousands of miles away is nothing more than that.
It is for this reason that Zhong E has admiration for Wei Yuan, whom he has never met.
Let’s not talk about anything else, let’s just talk about the record.
In the battle of Yanmen, a remnant army could withstand the main force of the Liao vanguard for several days. Who could do it?
Wei Yuan did it.
Including this person's strategy in the southeast and the establishment of the navy, it can be said to be a stroke of genius.
If Zhong E were to do it, he wouldn't be able to do it to this extent.
——
Still not what Wei Yuan expected.
Brother Li Ningling had no idea of dividing his army to resist the Zhou army.
Instead, they took advantage of the emptiness inside Weizhou and drove straight in to attack Weizhou.
It just so happened that at this time, the intentions of the Palace Chief and Zhongshu's disciples had also reached Fengxiang.
Dingbian Army, Huaide Army and many other armies rushed to Weizhou and Qingzhou to launch a critical battle against Li Ningling.
At this time, Beijing.
Every day eight hundred miles of urgent military reports are sent to the Dianqian Division.
Wei Yuan is not too worried about the situation at Yang Huairen and Zhong E's side.
Only the situation in Weizhou has become increasingly serious.
"Report! At three quarters on April 10th, Li Ningling ordered the attack on Weizhou!"
"Report! At two o'clock in the morning on April 10th, the Xixia Army's first attack on the city ended. Our army suffered more than a thousand casualties."
"Report! Reinforcements from the Huaide Army have arrived in Weizhou!"
"."
One day, several military reports reached the front office of the palace, making the Ministry of War and the military commanders worried.
If the war situation is even slightly out of control, it may lead to a national war.
The national war was something that neither Zhou Xia nor Zhou wanted to happen.
At this moment, Han Zhang, Wen Yanbo, and Wei Yuan were sitting in a row, motionless as a mountain.
They are all waiting for the latest news about Weizhou in recent days.
At this time, the Qingtian bosses like them must not panic.
I don’t know how long it took, but when the office was about to leave, Han Zhang slowly said:
"I will write a note to consolidate these military reports and submit them to the officials."
"The next step is to watch the battle of Weizhou. If Weizhou is captured by the Xixia Army, General Wei, neither you nor I can bear this sin."
"."
Before he could finish his words, suddenly another veteran scout came hurriedly,
"Military situation in Weizhou! Military situation in Weizhou!"
Hearing him say these four words repeatedly, Wei Yuan quickly stood up, stepped forward to meet him, held the scout's arm, and asked impatiently:
"Have Fengxiang's reinforcements arrived in Weizhou? How many troops are there?"
The scout nodded solemnly and said, "We're here!"
"Chen Xiliang, the magistrate of Fengxiang Prefecture, and Su Shi, the general magistrate of Fengxiang Prefecture, personally led 30,000 troops!"
"Among them, there are three thousand cavalry."
Thirty thousand!
Hearing this, Wei Yuan quickly came to the sand table, planted Fengxiang's flag near Weizhou, and laughed:
"Prime Minister Han, Prime Minister Wen, the overall situation has been decided!"
The two of them said one after another:
"Weizhou is fine. When Brother Li Ning returns without success, Yang Huairen and the Zhong'e tribe will surely be able to end the war as soon as possible."
"If General Wei hadn't guessed that the Xixia Army intended to invade Weizhou, the situation in Weizhou would have been critical."
Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Without the help of these two gentlemen, I'm afraid Fengxiang's soldiers would not dare to move without permission."
The highest officer of Dazhou Prefecture County only has the power to train troops and has no power to mobilize troops.
If they mobilize troops to Weizhou against the imperial decree, even if they solve the problem in Weizhou, they will still be in trouble.
If you meet a commander who is afraid of taking on trouble, you won't even go.
By then, Weizhou will really be in danger.
After a pause, Wei Yuan asked again: "The prefect of Fengxiang Prefecture has always been Han Xiliang. I know this. What happened to the great poet Su Shi?"
Nowadays, Su Shi's poetry has gained a greater reputation, so it is not wrong to call him a great poet.
Han Zhang said: "This person wrote to the emperor, saying that the reform of the Ministry of Personnel was inappropriate. Last year, when the emperor was seriously ill, this person also wrote several letters." "The emperor was furious and wanted to dismiss him and put him in prison. Su Che wrote a letter to plead for mercy, and Wen Xianggong fanned the flames and sent this guy to Fengxiang Prefecture as a judge." Wen Yanbo said: "What do you mean by fanning the flames? Su Shi is a talented person and should be used." Han Zhang said: "Li Bai is also talented, but what's the use of talent? Just because Su Shi wrote a few poems? After all, poems are just minor works. . "
"Besides, Zhang Huaimin is also a promising talent. These two people submitted the petition together. Why did you only protect Su Shi? Is it because Su Xun has a good relationship with you?"
Wen Yanbo frowned and said, "Nonsense, how can Zhang Huaimin be a promising talent? During the grand court meeting, this person could even fall asleep while standing outside the Purple Palace. How can he be a promising talent?"
Zhang Huaimin explained this to his superiors, saying that the night before the grand court meeting, Su Shi came to knock on his door and woke him up. He opened the door, and Su Shi said that you didn't sleep either, so he took him to enjoy the moon.
Wei Yuan said, "The two gentlemen will argue first. I will go to the palace to see the emperor and inform him of the military situation in Weizhou."
After saying that, he left here.
Han and Wen blew their beards and glared at each other, neither of them would give in.
——
Two days later, the battle in Weizhou was tense, but with the troops from Fengxiang, Wei Yuan was no longer worried about the loss of Weizhou.
In the past two days, Wang Anshi expressed to Wei Yuan that he wanted to accept Sheng Changbai as his student.
Wei Yuan was very confused and asked: "There are so many talented new Jinshi candidates, why did you choose Changbai? Because he is my nephew?"
Wang Anshi said: "On the first day of the examination, there were countless candidates who wrote better answers than Sheng Changbai's. Why did you rank his answer first?"
Wei Yuan said: "I didn't know that the answer was written by Sheng Changbai. Besides, I just gave a suggestion. You still need to make the final decision."
Wang Anshi said: "Then I took him as a disciple, and it was also my decision. What does it have to do with you?"
Wei Yuan was speechless.
Finally, on April 16th.
Witnessed by Wei Yuan and Sheng Hong, Sheng Changbai paid homage to Wang Anshi.
Sheng Hong was so happy.
Wang Anshi is the Minister of Personnel and the Prince's Junior Tutor. When the Prince ascends the throne in the future, the Sheng family will have Wang Anshi and Wei Yuan as their supporters. Will they still have to worry about not prospering?
After the apprenticeship ceremony, Wei Yuan went home with the Sheng family.
On the way, Wei Yuan deliberately asked Sheng Changbai to get on his carriage and asked, "Why did Minister Wang accept you as his apprentice?"
Sheng Changbai shook his head, "My nephew doesn't know, but my uncle doesn't know?"
Wei Yuan couldn't say.
He thought to himself.
Since Wang Anshi knew about Sheng Changbai's answer on the first day, he should know that he wanted to cultivate Sheng Changbai.
Now, he accepted Sheng Changbai as his apprentice again, for what? To snatch his chess piece away?
Or did he want Sheng Changbai to become a link between the two?
Or did Wang Anshi want to use Sheng Changbai?
No matter which possibility it is, it is not a good thing!
"Changbai, you are tough and steady, and you are a good official who can do practical things."
"You just need to do your job well, and don't get involved in the muddy water of the court too early."
Wei Yuan could only stand on the standpoint of an elder to give more advice to Sheng Changbai.
As for the future, no one can say for sure.
Those shrewd people in the court can split a thought into countless pieces.
Wei Yuan went to see Sheng Changbai off first. From Wang Anshi's house to Jiying Lane, you have to pass Hongqiao, which is the Bianhe Bridge.
When crossing the bridge, Wei Yuan lifted the curtain of the car, looked at the endless stream of people coming and going, and suddenly murmured:
"Changbai, you say, I have been walking on thin ice all my life, can I reach the other side?"
Sheng Changbai was stunned, "What else does uncle say?"
Wei Yuan shook his head, "Nothing."
Since coming to the capital and holding a high position, which one of his actions is not walking on thin ice?
Like Ouyang Yongshu and others, who can really gain a foothold in the capital?
Isn't it still you singing and I taking the stage?
But what Wei Yuan wanted was to always be able to appear on the scene.
After a pause, Sheng Changbai smiled and responded:
"Isn't uncle sitting on the carriage given by the emperor now? To get to the other side of the bridge, why does uncle need to walk there in person?"