Prime Minister

Chapter 1198 Liangzhou Strategy

Chapter 1198 Liangzhou Strategy

Zhenwu military city.

It is located at a strategic point from Hehuang River to the Hexi Corridor in the north.

The Song Dynasty first seized Huangzhou and then Lanzhou. Before that, the Song Dynasty's layout in Huangzhou was just farming. After seizing Lanzhou, soldiers and laborers were continuously imported.

When Zhang Yu was the governor of Xihe, he personally led a dozen riders to inspect the entire Huangzhou and survey the entire terrain.

After returning to the court, he submitted a memorial stating that there were three most critical places in Huangzhou.

The first is called Yidang, located in the south of the prefecture. The second is called Shengzhang, located in the west of the prefecture, and is an important place on the way to Qingtang. The third is called Nanzongzhai, located in the north of the prefecture, and is a hundred miles away from the Zhuoluo Guxiang Military Supervisory Office of the Xia State. The Xia people have made alliances with the Qiang people, which is likely to cause border troubles. If we build a city now, we can control it.

Moreover, these three cities are located at the waist and back of Shan and Huang, and can control the advantage of the enemy, thus cutting off the danger from both ends.

After Zhang Yue received Zhang Yu's report, he gave instructions to build a strong camp and fight a static battle. The Song army in Xihe Road built 15 strongholds in Huangzhou in a row within a few years, and also implemented the policy of registering all the people.

They persuaded the aboriginals to come down the mountain and be registered as households, gave them good farmland and tools, and let them grow crops and cotton. They also recruited a large number of them as archers.

At the end of March in the fourth year of Yuanfeng, the Song army, with Miao Shou as the general, Cai Bian as the military supervisor, Wang Shan and Liu Zhongwu as deputy generals, led the army out of Huangzhou, conquered the Wujun city, overlooked Liangzhou to the north, and overpowered Shuofang.

He Guan was the governor of Huangzhou and was in charge of dispatching troops, money and food in the rear.

Zhenwu Military City, also known as Gugulong City, is an extension of the Nanzong Village mentioned above.

Following the transfer order to Xihe Road, countless weapons and military rations were transported from Taoshui to Lanzhou via water, then transferred from the Yellow River to Huangshui, and finally gathered in Miaochuan City, the capital of Huangzhou.

When the war broke out, supplies were transported from Miaochuan City to Nanzong Village, and then from Nanzong Village to Gugulong City. Song army regular soldiers, archers, and conscripted civilians continued to arrive along the way.

Such a long-distance transport would be a huge burden and a serious financial challenge for any country, but the Song Dynasty did it easily.

At the foot of the rolling Zhaobi Mountain, in the Datong River valley, tens of thousands of Han civilians and nearly 10,000 Song army soldiers built a city here.

In another time and space in history, this was also the farthest distance in the northwest of the Northern Song Dynasty before its demise.

One step further is Liangzhou.

At that time, the emperor, ministers and generals of the Song Dynasty were all full of confidence, believing that they were only one step away from recovering the homeland of the Han and Tang dynasties and opening up to the Western Regions again.

But it is often the case that when people are at their peak, they often mistakenly believe that they are standing at a new starting point.

What is coming next is a higher peak, but I don't know that the rest is downhill.

The same is true of the Empire.

After the Song Dynasty conquered Zhenwujun City, it made no further progress.

At this moment in time, the tentacles of the Song Dynasty reached this place decades ahead of schedule. With the ambition to recover the former territories of the Han and Tang Dynasties and rebuild the country, the emperor, ministers, and generals in Bianliang were full of confidence. They took the vast land as their map and wrote the history books themselves.

Tens of thousands of civilians rammed the earth and transported large logs to build the city. The Song Dynasty continued the city-building method of the Tang Dynasty, adding wooden beams to the walls to make them stronger.

Cai Bian, Miao Shou, Wang Shan and others stood on a high earth slope and looked at the map. Facing the entire river valley, they planned and corrected where to build on the map.

This place was originally a Xixia fortress, but after being invaded by Aligu, the Xixia Right Supervisor arbitrarily withdrew the defense line and abandoned this key place.

The Song army took action upon hearing the news, giving the Dangxiang people no chance to react.

Cai Bian and his men frowned as the early spring sun shone on them. They were so absorbed in building the city that beads of sweat dripped from their foreheads due to their nervousness.

Cai Bian said to the crowd: "Look again, everyone. From here, we build a city and cross the Haomen River Valley, and then follow the Shuimogou Road, and we can reach Liangzhou or Zhuanglang River Valley."

"Should we move three miles east and stand by the river, or move two miles west and defend by the terrain, or move one mile south to block the road? You all have to make the final decision."

The generals hesitated for a moment, and Miao Shou said, "Since we are going to attack Liangzhou from Huangzhou, we should not be afraid to build it here. We must make it as strong as an iron barrel."

"I think we should build three more forts outside Zhenwu Army City. This will make the situation more secure. It will not only control the main roads, but also not block the river. Moreover, it can support and aid each other."

Cai Bian thought to himself that Miao Shou was really good at making decisions and didn't feel bad at all for the court spending money. But he was also inclined to this in his heart.

Wang Shan, who was standing by, said, "I think it's possible. This year, He Guan's farming in Huangzhou was very successful. He obtained more than 50,000 mu of good farmland and recruited 15,000 aborigines."

"Since we have money, food, and strong soldiers and horses, we will not be afraid of being isolated outside Huangzhou. At the same time, we can also prevent the Dangxiang from invading Qingtang again along this road."

"The most important thing is that the Tanguts are hesitant about fighting or peace. We can take this opportunity to drive a nail here. Otherwise, if the Tangut army comes to fight, an isolated fortress may not be able to hold out for a few days."

Miao Shou said: "That's exactly what I meant. Once the Tanguts wake up, they will fight with me for this place with all their strength. Then there will be a decisive battle!"

"Since we know this, we should take the initiative."

Cai Bian asked, "What does General Liu mean?"

Miao and Wang looked at Liu Zhongwu who was supervising the construction of the city. Miao said with a smile: "This man is a fighter, so there is no need to ask him."

Wang Shan also agreed with this statement, but added: "But this man's sons are all extraordinary."

Cai Bian finally said: "I also advocate this. We were planning to send troops to Liangzhou in September, but the court suddenly asked us to build this city. The situation must have changed."

"I speculate that the Khitan may want to intervene in this matter, so the court wants to seize Liangzhou before the Khitan makes any move."

Miao and Wang did not know the movements of the top officials in the imperial court, and they believed everything Cai Bian said.

Cai Bian's eyes sharpened and he said, "Please sign your names on this picture!"

Miao Shou and Wang Shan signed their names on the painting without saying a word.

Finally, after Cai Bian marked everything on it, he rolled up the map and put it into a bamboo tube, then covered it with wax and said to the soldier beside him: "Send it to Bianjing as soon as possible with a gold medal!"

"Yes." Upon hearing this, the soldier immediately carried the city map with the details and location of the city on his back, held the gold medal in his hand and went to the capital immediately to present the map to the emperor for his review.

Cai Bian and others couldn't help but sigh as they watched the soldiers leave, feeling that the rise and fall of the empire was reflected in this picture.

The sense of participation in this historical event is actually greater than the reward brought by promotion to a higher position for those present.

What they don’t know is whether they are already standing at the highest peak or the starting point of the next peak.

Cai Bian watched all this and slowly walked down the slope. After successfully handling the corruption case of hundreds of officials in Xihe Road, Cai Bian gained respect from people at all levels in Xihe Road and gained high prestige. Moreover, Cai Bian also reformed and formulated the financial policy of Xihe Road.

Zhang Yue did not immediately transfer Cai Bian back to Bianliang, despite his great contributions, but instead let him stay in Xihe Road.

Now that a great war is about to begin, he serves as a military supervisor to oversee the construction of the military city.

This may be a further training for Zhang Yue.

But this is just Cai Bian’s guess. Who knows what the truth is?