novelonline Chapter 1260 Xiaoguan
Chapter 1260 Xiaoguan
Chapter 1260 Xiaoguan
The war and defense strategies planned by Shen Kuo were drafted jointly by Zhang Gen and Xu Xi.
It was then reported to the Privy Council and finally sent down to the three routes.
Shen Kuo was good at summarizing experience and issuing everything in the form of articles.
There are also specific regulations and details.
Although some of the generals had poor literacy skills and could not understand much, they were all supervised by former Imperial College students, so they would be able to make good plans after returning to the camp.
Finally, Shen Kuo said, "The military situation on the front line is changing rapidly. We have not prepared any accommodation for you. You can leave after you have eaten."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, but they were used to Shen Kuo's unkindness.
……
A few days later, the Xingyuan Marshal's Mansion moved back to Pingxia City.
Xu Xi and Zhang Gen talked about military books while eating.
On the table for the two of them was stewed mutton, some beans, and millet rice. Because it was the front line, even the food in the general's mansion was very simple.
Xu Xi knew that Zhang Gen was a son of a noble family and lived a life of luxury on weekdays, but after entering the imperial court, he also ate such meals every day, traveled with the soldiers, and did all the work personally, such as scouting the terrain and drawing maps.
Because Xu Xi liked Zhang Gen very much, not just because he was Zhang Yue's son.
The last time Han Zhen was defeated in Weizhou, Xu Xi, as a councilor of the Xingshuyuan, also suffered a fall. Fortunately, Zhang Gen spoke directly to the court, so Xu Xi was absolved of the blame and now assists Shen Kuo as a councilor of the Xingshuyuan.
Xu Xi had a wealth of experience and was very insightful, so he shared his many years of experience in the shogunate with Zhang Gen.
Xu Xi said to Zhang Gen: "Now the Western bandits have lost Lanzhou and Liangzhou, and our Jingyuan Road is pressing on Tiandu Mountain. Judging from the Western bandits' military strength, they are already in a state of collapse."
"If the Liao Kingdom does not intervene, the Western bandits will only have a few more years to live."
"But if we fail to destroy the Western bandits this time, they will be able to recuperate and expand northwards. We don't know when this will happen. Fortunately, our army has gained a lot of land this time and has consolidated it carefully. We don't know what will happen in the future."
Zhang Gen said: "I hope the imperial court doesn't destroy the Western bandits so quickly!"
Xu Xi asked: "Why?"
Zhang Gen said with a smile: "If I destroy the Western bandits and take over Youyan, then what will be my achievements?"
Xu Xi laughed and said, "Besides Lingwu and Youyan, there are still many places that the court can expand."
"But other achievements are not as good as these two!"
Xu Xi was silent for a moment after hearing this and then said, "Yes! If we negotiate peace with Liao this time, I'm afraid I won't be able to see it in this lifetime, so it will all depend on you."
Zhang Gen then said: "Although I have this wish, it is better for the achievement to be accomplished by you, Uncle Xu."
Xu Xi asked: "What do you mean? Do you have a good plan to defeat the enemy?"
Zhang Gen smiled, then moved the food on the table aside, and spread out the sheepskin map and said:
"Uncle Xu, you see, the Western bandits have not come out yet. One reason is that they are waiting for the Liao Kingdom to send troops in the fall and then join forces with them. However, the Western bandits are stubbornly defending themselves, and the Liao people are looking down on them. They will never have a seat in front of the Song and Liao countries in the future."
"Secondly, although we have been making great progress over the past few months, and have been encroaching on Tiandu Mountain and Hengshan, we have not yet truly reached the vital points of the Western Bandits!"
Xu Xi asked: "Where do you think the real key point is?"
Zhang Gen said: "From Pingxia City, go north along Huluchuan, and you will reach Tongxia Village, Shengqiang Village, and Xiaoguan. Xiaoguan was built in February. Because the city had been defeated for a long time and because of the fear of attacks from the western bandits, they only built a few garrisons and a 300-step fortress and left!"
"As for Xiaoguan, further north is the reward point!"
Xu Xi and Zhang Gen could see it if they looked carefully.
Han Xiaoguan, also known as Beixiaoguan, was one of the four passes in Guanzhong in ancient times and the northern gate of Chang'an.
Now Han Xiaoguan is within the territory of Huanzhou. Originally, Fan Zhongyan built Han Xiaoguan to defend against Li Yuanhao who led his army to the south to capture Han Xiaoguan.
However, after years of construction by the Song army, Han Xiaoguan has become the hinterland of Jingyuan Road.
Although Xiaoguan of the Han Dynasty was known as the hinterland, the function of the pass was only to guard the passage between mountains and rivers. The most important thing was the road rather than the pass.
The Xiaoguan Passage has been an important route for nomadic peoples to invade Guanzhong since ancient times, and it was also the route for the Central Plains peoples to subdue the nomadic peoples in the northwest. In history, Genghis Khan took the Xiaoguan Passage to destroy the Dangxiang.
Further north from Han Xiaoguan is Zhenrong Army. Further north from Zhenrong Army's Xining Village is Huaide Army, the result of the Song Army's expansion of territory after the second year of Yuanfeng.
The famous Pingxia City is the military city of Huaide Army.
There were many major battles between the Song Dynasty and the Dangxiang over this passage.
Further north of Pingxia City is Tangxiaoguan. The distance from Tangxiaoguan to Zhenrongjun is a total of 236 miles, which is just over 200 miles away from Lingzhou.
Xu Xi still remembered the scene of Zhang Yue calculating with the emperor in the temple. He said, "The prime minister said that we could go out of the Zhenrong Army Xining Camp and go down along Huluchuan, through Xiaoguan, to Mingsha City on the south bank of the Yellow River. It is more than 400 miles to Lingzhou. Although this road is a little far, the river is wide and flat, with abundant grass and beautiful water."
"If we can build more than ten cities along the way, we can attack Lingzhou directly. This is the middle strategy that the Prime Minister originally proposed!"
Xu Xi immediately said, "But Tang Xiaoguan is already in ruins, and the Westerners have filled in the wells and cut off our water supply. It is no longer enough to station troops and build a city."
Zhang Gen said, "Uncle Xu, do you remember that I sent Zhao Long to the north to recruit the Tibetan tribes last month? He found a place where there is a river fifteen miles north of Xiaoguan, which is enough for three to five thousand people to draw water."
"If we can successfully build a city here, we will be able to force the Tanguts to attack us!"
Xu Xi's breathing paused when he heard this.
He took a closer look at the sheepskin map that Zhang Gen had taken out, and immediately said, "What you said is indeed very bold, but the further north we build the city, the greater the risk for me, and the easier it will be for the enemy to attack."
"What if the Tanguts see that I have built a city and surround it without attacking it, and attack Pingxia along the river valley? What should I do?"
Zhang Gen said: "Uncle Xu needs to take some risks if he wants to achieve great things."
"This time Zhao Long came back to report that after years of invasion, the local people hated the Tanguts so much that they were willing to surrender to our dynasty. Uncle Xu, please make a decision for me!"
Xu Xi said: "This is too risky! But if we don't take risks, we won't be able to force the Western bandits to fight!"
"I will go with you to report to the commander!"
Zhang Gen was overjoyed when he heard this.
The two of them immediately went to see Shen Kuo.
At this moment, Shen Kuo was wearing the jacket worn by herdsmen and was dealing with official documents. There was a pot of tea beside him and he was sipping the tea while reading the documents.
The two of them told each other their purpose, and Shen Kuo was also interested after hearing it.
This plan is bold and risky, but the benefits are also expected.
Shen Kuo immediately decided to take Zhang Gen, Xu Xi and others with him to lead a group of light cavalry to investigate the place the next day.
To be honest, this move was very risky. Although there were Song troops stationed in the Tang Xiaoguan area, Tangut cavalry still appeared from time to time. As a general, Shen Kuo was willing to take this risk.
Shen Kuo, Zhang Gen, and Xu Xi led hundreds of light cavalry and marched quickly along the Huluchuan River Valley. When Peng Sun learned of this, he brought more than 3,000 cavalry to support them.
The troops passed through Pingxia City and Shengqiang Village.
Shengqiang Village has been the focus of Shen Kuo's management for more than a year. The south has been used for land reclamation by Han and non-Han people hired by Shen Kuo, and the harvest will begin in autumn. Beyond Shengqiang Village, the area to the north is inhabited by non-Han people.
Although the foreign people here are currently friendly to the Song Dynasty, they are not registered as citizens and are only governed by the local government. However, they are still considered part of the territory of the Song Dynasty.
Shen Kuo and Zhang Gen, Xu Xi said: "In fact, although the territory of Han and Tang was large, many places were also governed by vassal states."
"To truly calculate the territory under the unified population, we still have to look to this dynasty!"
Shen Kuo sounded full of confidence after he finished speaking, and Zhang Gen and Xu Xi were too lazy to refute him.
After passing Shengqiang Village, we passed Moqi Pass on the way.
This is the place where Liu Changzuo fought a fierce battle with the Dangxiang troops when he attacked Lingzhou in the second year of Yuanfeng.
Today, the place is still littered with bones, and the weapons, armor, and arrowheads have long been taken away.
The Song army won a great victory in this battle, but who would have thought that Wang Zhongzheng would randomly select the troops and finally be forced to retreat under the city of Lingzhou. The Dangxiang flooded the Song army, so that the victory was in vain.
Shen Kuo and others paid tribute to their fallen comrades and continued to move forward. After passing the Moqi Pass, they walked for another half a day before reaching Tangxiao Pass.
A Song army commander was stationed here. A few days ago, the Tangut cavalry had just attacked here. This was an important mountain pass at the eastern foot of Liupan Mountain. In fact, Zhang Gen had seen countless such dangerous places as he traveled north.
In fact, this is also true in history. The location of Xiaoguan in the Qin and Han dynasties often changed. Later, people generally referred to the place that roughly guarded the Xiaoguan Road as Xiaoguan.
This was also the case during the Tang Dynasty. The Tang people called the northernmost part of the Xiaoguan Road Xiaoguan, which was also acceptable.
Even if the Song people were willing, they would be allowed to call Pingxia City on this road Xiaoguan.
This is the northernmost stronghold of the Song army on Jingyuan Road. Further north to Yishangkou is the current border between Song and Xia.
This is where the two armies frequently hunt for scouts.
After Shen Kuo personally inspected the situation, he decided to agree with the proposals of Xu Xi and Zhang Gen, and submitted a plan to the Privy Council to build Xiaoguan to the north!
(End of this chapter)