novelhk Chapter 199: The Hasty Northern Expedition
Chapter 199: The Hasty Northern Expedition
Just as Luo Li and Prince of Qin Zhao Defang were working together to change their fate and reverse the wheel of history, bad news came from the palace!
The eldest prince Zhao Yuanzuo, who lived in the Eastern Palace, could not accept the bloody cruelty of the royal family's fratricide after his uncle Zhao Tingmei was executed, and finally suffered a mental breakdown.
He acted crazy and drunk every day, lost his mind in anger, and burned down the bedroom!
The emperor is furious!
He hated his own son's lack of ambition and ignorance, and did not understand why his father, the emperor, had gone to so much trouble to eliminate hidden dangers for his sons in order to pass the throne down through his lineage from generation to generation.
By the way, he also hated Empress Mingde for raising his eldest son Yuanzuo to be too soft-hearted and ruthless, not understanding the art of being an emperor.
He issued an order to depose the insane eldest prince Zhao Yuanzuo as a commoner, expelling him from the Eastern Palace and confining him in the Chu Palace. He also confined Empress Mingde, who was incompetent in educating her children, to the cold palace and deprived her of the power to manage the six palaces.
Empress Li Xianfei finally regained the emperor's favor. Although she was not crowned as queen, she regained the power to manage the six palaces and the supreme honor of being the mother of the country.
The third prince Zhao Heng, who used to be inconspicuous, became the most advantageous heir to the throne. This made Concubine Li Xian not care about her eldest son. While she was smiling happily in her dream, she was thinking about how to ensure that her son, the third prince, could ascend to the throne?
Two of the four sons who were made kings died and one went mad. In order to stabilize and balance the imperial power, the emperor conferred the title of king on two older sons.
The fifth prince Zhao Yuanjie was named King of Han, and the sixth prince Zhao Yuanwo was named King of Xiang.
This series of events caused a great deal of unrest in the Song Dynasty court. More than 20 officials implicated in the Qi Wang treason case were dismissed from office and thrown into prison. Not having their entire clans implicated was already a great leniency.
The ministers were in a panic, and the emperor became even more suspicious!
Except for a few confidants, everyone seemed to have two minds. As for the only worry in his heart, the remaining Qin Wang Zhao Defang, he was even more wary and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible!
But the King of Qin is not as easy to deal with as the King of Wei and the King of Qi.
Although he no longer had military power, in addition to the 3,000 loyal Mo Yunqi elite guards, he also had close relationships with many of the border generals.
Most of the important officials in the court were old ministers who had fought with Emperor Taizu to establish the empire. Although they did not have much connection with the King of Qin on the surface, many of them were loyal to him.
In the eyes of the people, the King of Qin is one of the Eight Wise Kings who is deeply loved by the people. In the eyes of the generals at the border, the King of Qin is a god-like general who is invincible in all battles. In the court, the King of Qin is a pillar of the Song Dynasty who is talented, wise and brave.
It is not an easy task to get rid of this big worry.
When he was not sure of destroying the King of Qin by force, the emperor, who cherished his reputation and wanted to leave an image of a wise ruler in history books, thought of using an open and cunning trick to get rid of the King of Qin.
The emperor secretly planned in his mind for several days, summoned a few trusted ministers to discuss it in detail, and finally decided on a brilliant plan to kill two birds with one stone!
Therefore, at the small court meeting on the second day, the emperor proposed the plan of mobilizing the army again to launch a northern expedition against the Liao Kingdom!
Unexpectedly, most of the dozen or so court officials were against it. Even the chief military commanders who always advocated war, Privy Councilor Chu Zhaofu and Deputy Privy Councilor Cao Bin, were against such a hasty Northern Expedition.
Luo Zhongxu, the Minister of Finance, was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead: "Your Majesty, the treasury seems to be full, but right now it really can't withstand a war that requires the whole country's strength!
If we can rest and recuperate for a few more years, we will have a better chance of winning the Northern Expedition. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"
The emperor's trusted minister, Cheng Yu, argued: "Lord Luo is wrong! In the wars with the powerful northern enemy in recent years, we have won more than we have lost, and the military might of the Song Dynasty is as powerful as a rainbow!
While we recuperate, the enemy also recuperates. How can the odds of victory be greater in a few years than they are today?"
Xue Juzheng, who was promoted to the position of left prime minister after Zhao Pu stepped down, said worriedly, "We were defeated in the Gaoliang River battle and suffered heavy losses. The one-year-plus period of rest and recuperation is too short.
The treasury is not yet full, and the people in the north who suffered from the war have just settled down and resumed production. People's hearts are not stable enough. It is not a good time to march north at this moment! Your Majesty, please think twice. "
Hearing the words "the battle of Gaoliang River was defeated", the emperor became extremely angry and humiliated. He waved his sleeves and smashed the tea bowl in his hand to the ground with a "bang"!
Lu Duoxuan, who had been promoted from Vice Prime Minister to Right Prime Minister of the Cabinet, jumped out!
He started off by trying to sow discord in an aggressive manner: "Prime Minister Xue, please stop bringing up the Battle of Gaoliang River. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, we have fought countless battles with the Tanguts and Khitans. How many times did we not win a great victory?
The emperor is wise and brave, and has great talent and strategy to expand the territory. Under the emperor's wise command and dispatch, in the battle of Yanmen Pass a few months ago, our soldiers defeated the 100,000 invading Liao troops.
Now is the best time to launch a northern expedition while the Liao army is defeated and badly weakened, the Liao ruler is young and ignorant, and the situation is unstable with Empress Dowager Xiao in power."
Xue Juzheng was so frightened that he was immediately soaked in cold sweat.
[Why did I bring up the defeat in Lianghe just now? That is the Emperor's taboo! ]
Seeing the emperor's gloomy face from the corner of his eye, Xue Juzheng closed his mouth and dared not say anything.
Several military generals and important officials secretly complained that the emperor was ambitious but lacked the courage to lead by example like Emperor Taizu, nor did he have Emperor Taizu's outstanding military command ability.
The emperor was afraid of death and fled in a donkey cart, which led to the disastrous defeat of the Gaoliang River Campaign. This incident became a taboo for the emperor, and he could not even mention it.
The important ministers who opposed the Northern Expedition could only find other reasons to try to stop the emperor from making this brainless and adventurous plan on a whim.
Cao Bin calmly advised, "Your Majesty, even if we send troops to the north, it is now the cold winter season. Compared with the Liao army that has lived in a cold place for many years, our Song soldiers have lost the advantage of time and place.
Moreover, the Northern Expedition, which required the entire country's efforts, required too much planning and preparation.
It would be best to wait until next spring, when we have sufficient strategic supplies and the weather is getting warmer, before launching the Northern Expedition."
Cao Bin's words were strongly agreed by everyone who had a little knowledge of military theory. As a result, the timing of sending troops to the Northern Expedition became almost one-sided.
The emperor had a gloomy face and swept his eyes over everyone like ice. An imperial aura of oppression enveloped the imperial study.
"By the spring of next year, the horses of the powerful northern enemies who make their living by grazing will be fat again, and they will be more threatening to our Song Dynasty infantry.
Taking advantage of the winter when the grass is dry and the horses are thin in the north, it is the best time to send troops to the north to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.
What you need to discuss next is to quickly gather weapons and food, mobilize the army, and march north in a month!"
One month? All the court officials took a deep breath!
A war of such a large scale has never been heard of before. From the proposal to the preparation time for sending troops, there is only one month before!
The emperor was furious, and the ministers did not dare to object to him. They just exchanged glances with each other in secret to see how to delay the time of sending troops to the north.
After the small court meeting was over, more than a dozen important officials of the court split into two groups with different opinions, and each went to find a place to discuss countermeasures. …
After receiving the secret report from the palace, Prince of Qin Zhao Defang sat in silence and thought.
He had already anticipated that among the generals of this Northern Expedition, there would definitely be one of them, Prince of Qin Zhao Defang.
In this battle where victory is uncertain, how can we save the lives of Mo Yunqi's personal soldiers and other generals who are about to be framed?
Luo Li went to the farm outside the city to inspect the training of the Big Foot Women's Corps, but found that the morale and combat skills of the female soldiers were no longer what they used to be.
The Big Foot Women's Army, whose number has reached 606, and the 300 elite Mo Cloud Cavalry soldiers who helped with the training were evenly matched, and neither showed any sign of weakness!
In the infantry combat and cavalry charge drills, although the Big Foot Women's Corps was still the defeated party, the female soldiers' spirit of fighting to the death appeared tragic, heroic and fearless!
In particular, Pang Ying, with a dozen powerful female soldiers around him, raided into the enemy's hinterland like a sharp blade, and finally cut down the flag and captured the general, achieving a brilliant victory of a narrow victory.
This made the other young general feel a little ashamed, but it made the female soldiers cheer for victory excitedly, with great momentum!
Luo Li saw Mulan'er following closely behind Pang Ying's brave and invincible figure. She couldn't help but happily said to the two deputy commanders watching the battle beside her: "I had expected Pang Ying to be a fierce general, but I didn't expect Mulan'er to be so brave!"
Yang Yanqi introduced with a smile: "Mulan'er has been training hard. Not only has her combat skills improved rapidly, but she is also a commander who can use her brain to fight. If she has the opportunity to go to the battlefield in the future, she will definitely be a brave and resourceful general!"
Gao Ruoying also said excitedly: "Pang Ying seems to be a brave and extraordinary general, but when he commands a battle, he is rough but meticulous. He can often use unexpected tricks to turn the tide of the battle at a critical moment."
"Okay! Yanqi, Ruoying. Now that the logistics department of our Big Foot Women's Army has been established, we will select a few smart, courageous and strategic people to form a combat staff. I will personally teach and train them."
Yang Yanqi and Gao Ruoying admired and worshipped the amazing skills in Luo's brain, and trusted him immensely. They agreed without hesitation.
Luo Li thought about the famous sixteen-character mobile warfare tactical policy of the great man in the later liberation war. If the enemy advances, we retreat; if the enemy stays, we harass; if the enemy is tired, we attack; if the enemy retreats, we pursue!
There are also those tactics of besieging points and attacking reinforcements, mushroom warfare, peeling bamboo shoots, luring the enemy deep into the battlefield and destroying them, etc., which are definitely invincible on the battlefield of this era! The political and military wisdom of great men is absolutely invincible in any era.
Thinking of this, Luo Li felt a surge of heat in her heart!
She wanted to tell those amazing strategies and tactics to the outstanding commanders in the Big Foot Women's Army. Although this lady had no talent in military affairs, perhaps there would be a few in the Big Foot Women's Army who could comprehend the true meaning of those amazing tactics, apply them flexibly, and become some brilliant generals?
"Pick out a dozen people with potential. I will start teaching you in three days!" Luo Li's tone was a little urgent...
When she returned to the Prince of Qin's mansion in the city, Luo Li saw the Prince of Qin sitting in the main hall of Ning Xinyuan waiting for her. She paused as she stepped through the threshold and asked curiously, "Zhao Defang, we agreed to work hard every minute. Why don't you be busy with work and come to my place for tea?"
King Qin smiled gently and poured Luo Li a cup of hot tea himself.
"Princess, there was news from the palace today. The Emperor decided on the Northern Expedition at a small court meeting, and he will hastily send troops in a month."
Luo Li was shocked by this sudden news!
Didn't the history books and storytelling say that the Northern Expedition should be launched in the spring of next year? It was in this battle that Yang Ye, the Golden Sword Master, was murdered by the chief commander Pan Mei and the military supervisor Wang Quan.
"Is Pan Mei the commander-in-chief and Wang Quan the military supervisor?..."
The King of Qin was stunned!
Then he smiled and shook his head, "The candidates for the commander-in-chief and the military supervisor have not yet been decided. However, I can't escape his plan to send me to the front line and die unjustly."
[Damn it! I'm talking nonsense again! It seems that the wheel of history has really reversed its direction.]
Luo Li touched her nose and said, "Ah... that was just my guess. The dog emperor wants you to be a cannon fodder and die. We must make more plans and preparations to make his conspiracy fail.
If you are really one of the generals in the Northern Expedition, I will go with you!"
The King of Qin was deeply moved!
The princess, who was extremely lazy and afraid of death, actually had to follow him to that extremely difficult and dangerous battlefield.
He walked forward and hugged his beloved, his voice hoarse: "Li'er, it is a bitterly cold winter in the north, and the battlefield is even more dangerous. I won't let you go with me.
Li'er, you stay in the capital to support me, and I will definitely return victoriously and unscathed!"