Prime Minister

Chapter 1126: Lanzhou Victory (2 updates in 1)

Chapter 1126: Lanzhou Victory (two chapters combined into one)

Inside the Baota Temple in Bianjing.

There are many memorial tablets for the deceased enshrined in one hall.

Zhang Yue, Huang Haoyi, Huang Lu and others stood in front of the memorial tablet, clasped their hands in silence, and prayed for the deceased.

"My dear brother, you should rest well. We will offer sacrifices to you at all times. I have found your uncle and asked him to adopt a grandson to continue your family line."

"You always said that everything is over when one dies, and that it's useless. You must think I'm troublesome, saying that life is free from worries and that wine is enough. But at least let me do something for you after you die, and do my best."

"Okay, when the government troops capture Lingzhou City, I will personally bring good wine to your grave to pay my respects."

After saying that, Zhang Yue bowed to Tang Jiu's tablet. Huang Haoyi and Huang Lu also bowed their heads beside him.

All three of them were dejected.

Zhang Yue recalled the days when Tang Jiu took him all the way north from Fujian Road to Beijing.

After paying respects to Tang Jiu, the temple prepared a table of vegetarian dishes, and Zhang Yue and the other two ate a few bites. Huang Lu asked Huang Haoyi to go out and buy some paper money, and then said to Zhang Yue: "Zhang Zihou recently criticized Lu Gongzhu and Sun Gu for negotiating peace in the Hanyuan, and also implied that the prime minister had no opinions since he took office, and was lukewarm about the attack on Xia, and even did nothing."

Zhang Yue picked up a piece of vegetarian food with chopsticks and asked, "What next?"

Huang Lu said: "No, it is well known that Zhang Zihou advocated the attack on Xia. I think he was just speaking based on the facts, not his own intention."

Zhang Yue understood Huang Lu's implication. Zhang Dun was not targeting him on purpose. He chewed the vegetarian food and thought to himself that Zhang Dun was arrogant and arbitrary, and would never compromise on something he had decided on.

After pacifying the Meishan barbarians, Cai Que and Zhang Dun both entered the Secretariat. They both strongly advocated an attack on Xia and were extremely dissatisfied with this peace talk.

Cai did have an element of trying to guess his superiors' intentions, but Zhang Dun was truly sincere, so it's no wonder that he was called the "Iron-Blooded Prime Minister" by later netizens.

Zhang Yue thought of this, picked up an eggplant from the table with chopsticks and said, "An Zhong, try this cooking skill."

Huang Lu said: "Duzhi, if you don't come up with your proposal, what if His Majesty loses patience with you? Or is there something else he is planning in secret?"

Zhang Yue said: "Anzhong, I have no other arrangements. For now, we should stabilize the country and rally the troops. Leave the affairs of Shaanxi to the Executive Privy Council. For domestic affairs, you and I will slowly expand the financial resources. Our army has just been defeated. It is not appropriate to act rashly at this time. We should defeat the enemy with stillness and keep our retreat in check."

Huang Lu said: "To defeat the enemy with stillness? To defend and hide your strength? I'm afraid others don't understand. There have been many rumors in the court, accusing you of ignoring the overall situation. They are holding you back and dare not speak. But I have heard a lot."

Zhang Yue said, "Haven't I heard that the opinions of the world on me are just like floating clouds in the world, gathering and dispersing from time to time. I have stepped down from office several times, and today I no longer care about the opinions of the court."

Huang Lu nodded and said, "You have always done things according to procedures, but Your Majesty lacks patience. So, what are your plans when Zizhan arrives in Beijing?"

Zhang Yue asked, "Have you heard about it?"

Huang Lu said: "Zizhan is a good man, but he always satirizes current affairs, and he is also very famous, so Your Majesty may find it difficult to tolerate him."

Zhang Yue said: "Where the Tao is, we have to save it."

Huang Lu said: "You need to be careful about the degree of this matter. I am worried that you and His Majesty may have different opinions on this matter and a dispute may arise."

"During the palace discussion, His Majesty was not happy with your plans to set up the Anjifang and Ciyoufang, and to dredge the Bianhe and Luohe rivers, and to open a medical school at the Imperial College. You and I have worked so hard to save up some money, and you have spent it all."

Zhang Yue laughed when he heard this and said, "I understand, An Zhong. I know you are worried about me."

"I have been entrusted with the task of conquering Xia. How can I not do my best? As for Zizhan's affairs, I know how to handle them."

At this time Huang Haoyi came back, and Huang Lu said a few more words to him before leaving.

After Huang Lu left, Huang Haoyi sat down and said carelessly: "Prime Minister, I have done everything."

Zhang Yue ignored it.

Huang Haoyi didn't care when Zhang Yue ignored him. He continued to pick up food with his chopsticks and chat with him about what he had seen and heard.

Zhang Yue smiled after hearing this.

He remembered that there are two kinds of friends. The first kind provides you with emotional value, and they may not be able to help you too much. Huang Haoyi is the kind of friend who is like "brother in heart, even if you can't get through on the phone when you have something to do". The other kind is those who can help you, but even if they can help you, they are great people, but it is difficult for them to provide you with any emotional value.

As Huang Haoyi's stories became more and more outrageous, Zhang Yue laughed and cursed a few times.

After laughing, Zhang Yue took out a few banknotes (jiaoyin) from his pocket and put them in Huang Haoyi's hand: "I didn't go to congratulate your Wulang on his 100th day the other day, so these are my gifts."

Huang Haoyi looked at the banknotes and suddenly said with emotion: "Prime Minister, these few days I have been thinking about our past. If we had not met Tang Jiu and Yu Lian when we went to Fujian... Prime Minister, Prime Minister, why didn't you just listen to what I said and left."

Zhang Yue sat down again. Huang Haoyi smiled and said, "Prime Minister, you were just joking. Now I know what 'an ugly wife is a treasure at home' means. It is good to marry a wife as long as she is virtuous. I used to laugh at Zhuge Kongming for marrying an ugly wife. Now I know how shallow I was."

After finishing his vegetarian meal, Zhang Yue immediately took the carriage back to the Zhang Mansion.

All the monks in the temple came out to see him off.

Zhang Yue happened to pass by Zhang Qie's house on the way.

Zhang Yue remembered that Zhang Qie and Zhang Dun had been close recently.

Zhang Yu's friendship with Zhang Dun was better than his own, and they had similar personalities. In addition, they had a close relationship because of their advocacy of war against Xia. After he returned to the court, Zhang Yu saw his determination to use military force against Xia, and took the initiative to surrender.

But after the fall of Mingsha City, Zhang Yue's offensive against Xia gradually slowed down, which made Zhang Qie dissatisfied.

Zhang Yu was not appreciated by the government, so he was unhappy even though he was promoted to the position of prime minister. He repeatedly requested to go to the northwest to lead troops, but was rejected by Zhang Yue every time.

Zhang Yue knew that Zhang Yu had great ambitions and sufficient ability. However, when Zhang Yu was appointed as the governor of Xihe Road, he repeatedly asked him to focus on farming first and then on fighting and defending.

But Zhang Qie focused on fighting and defending, and paid less attention to farming.

This made Zhang Yue feel unhappy, and the closer he got to Zhang Dun, the less Zhang Yue needed him.

After Zhang Yu pacified Qingtang, he was also granted a house by the emperor, which was also in Xingdaofang, only a few miles away from Zhang Yuefu.

When Zhang Yue passed by Zhang Qie's house, he saw Zhang Qie's father Zhang Fang and more than a dozen family members waiting for him on the roadside.

Zhang Yue ordered the carriage to stop, got off the carriage and said to Zhang Fang, "Uncle."

Zhang Fang had always been in contact with Zhang Shi and himself. After the two of them greeted each other, Zhang Fang said, "Prime Minister, since you are passing by here, why don't you come to my house to have a chat and rest for a while?"

Zhang Yue said: "I have been busy with government affairs recently. I will visit my uncle another day."

Zhang Fang stepped back and said, "The Prime Minister is very busy, please forgive me for my intrusion."

Zhang Yue asked, "Has Brother Qi recovered recently?"

Because Zhang Qie was not favored by the government, he had no chance to display his talents under Zhang Yue, and recently he claimed to be ill and stayed at home.

Zhang Fang sighed upon hearing this and said, "Prime Minister, it's really hard to put it into words!"

Zhang Yue looked at Zhang Fang's earnest expression and said, "Then I'll go see Brother Qie."

Zhang Fang was overjoyed when he heard this. His original intention was to ease the relationship between Zhang Qie and Zhang Yue.

When Zhang Yue entered the mansion, he saw Zhang Qie standing up from the bed and said, "I didn't know the Prime Minister was coming. I'm sorry for not coming to greet you!"

Zhang Yue sat next to Zhang Qie and said, "Mr. Zhi, there's no need to be so polite. Are you feeling better these days?"

Zhang Yu said: "The Prime Minister also knows that Yu Nai's heart disease is difficult to cure."

Zhang Yue said: "Why bother doing this?"

Zhang Yu said with great sorrow: "Prime Minister, every inch of the land that our army has gained was gained through hundreds of battles, and we must not abandon it. Lu Gong proposed to abandon the land in order to negotiate peace. Did the Secretariat know nothing about it?"

Zhang Yue remained silent after hearing this.

Zhang Yu added: "I know that some people in the court will say that Lan Hui will not abandon Pingxia City in Tiandu Mountain. Those that are abandoned are places that cannot be defended. If we do not negotiate peace with the Western Rong, we will never be able to rest easy."

"But abandoning the territory will not only weaken the prestige of the country, but also open the way for us to be humiliated by the four barbarians. Those who advocated abandoning the territory, such as Lu Gongzhu, Sun Gu, and Han Wei, were all Confucian officials who did not know the mistakes of border affairs. But could it be that the Prime Minister also did not know?"

Zhang Yue said perfunctorily: "Now we have the problem of gaining land and supporting the people at the same time. It is hard to know whether to guard against bandits or thieves. It is not a bad idea to give up some land and exchange it with Xixia for some captives from the two expeditions against Xia."

Zhang Yue and Zhang Qie were not having a pleasant chat.

Zhang Yu again pleaded, "Prime Minister, I would rather be a military governor than sit in the capital and do nothing."

Zhang Yue said: "I'm afraid the governor can't do it. Only the governor of a defense state or a training state can do it."

Zhang Yu's face turned pale. He obviously felt that he had already compromised enough by being demoted from the Secretary of the Privy Council to the General Manager. He did not expect that Zhang Yue would only give him the title of Governor, not even the Governor of a Jiedushi Prefecture.

Zhang Qi was very disappointed and simply closed his eyes to rest.

Zhang Yue thought about how they were loyal to each other when Zhang Qie was the governor. Now their interests are different, so they may have parted ways because of this.

Zhang Yue immediately left Zhang Qie's house, and then instructed Huang Haoyi to ask his brother Huang Haoqian and his son Huang Shi to visit Zhang Qie.

Huang Haoqian is the brother-in-law of Zhang Dun and Zhang Qie. He is also promoted by Cai Que and is good friends with Su Shi and Su Zhe. His son Huang Shi works under Zhang Yue and is now promoted by Zhang Yue to be the Censor-in-Chief.

Zhang Yuexian's disciples also have many factions. After all, he came from a poor family, so it is inevitable that he lacks foundation.

When Zhang Yue returned home, it happened to be snowing lightly.

Zhang Yue looked at the gray sky. Although the emperor had been very open with him and granted him full power these days, he would frown and criticize him from time to time, being hot and cold at times, in order to make himself seem unfathomable and difficult to predict.

Zhang Yue is a smart man. How could he not know the tactics and schemes of these emperors?

If it were feasible, I would have appointed Zhang Qixing as the Privy Councilor earlier. Wouldn't he be ten times better than Han Zhen in this position? Unfortunately, it was all because of the suspicion of the government and the limitations of the ancestral system, so he had to be on guard against this and that.

The attacks and accusations in the officialdom continued frequently, forcing him to be distracted and deal with them.

Zhang Yue sat in the courtyard, leisurely thinking about the affairs of the court, which were surging in his heart like waves.

At this time, Shiqi Niang came walking on the snow in the courtyard with two maids. Zhang Yue was overjoyed to see Shiqi Niang and stood up immediately.

Shiqi Niang said to Zhang Yue, "Sir, your brows are furrowed. Are you worried about the affairs of the court?"

Zhang Yue said: "I'm sorry to have made you worried."

Shiqi Niang smiled and said, "You and I are husband and wife, so why worry about anything? Yes, isn't the master looking for a famous doctor recently?"

Zhang Yue nodded and said, "Yes."

Shiqi Niang smiled and said, "If that's the case, I can help."

Zhang Yue asked, "Does my wife know any famous doctors?"

Shiqi Niang said, "I found one for you, sir."

"Where is the famous doctor?" Zhang Yue asked immediately.

Shiqi Niang said with a smile: "Sir, please listen to me and tell you where this person came from."

"This person's surname is Qian and his given name is Yi..."

"Zhao's money, Sun's money, and Li's money?"

Shiqi Niang smiled and said, "Indeed, I heard that he is related to Wu Yue King Qian Chu. However, although this man learned medicine from a doctor named Lu, he did not name a teacher, did not privately talk, and wrote his own books."

Zhang Yue was delighted when he heard this and said, "That's the kind of talent I want."

Shiqi Niang smiled and said, "My lord, you haven't heard me finish yet. This man is good at adapting ancient prescriptions and creating new ones. He adapted Cui's Eight-Flavor Pills from Zhang Zhongjing's Synopsis of the Golden Chamber and made six-flavor Rehmannia Pills..."

As soon as Zhang Yue heard the word Liuwei Dihuang Pills, he knew who Qian Yi was.

Who in later generations hasn't heard of this Liuwei Dihuang Pill?

It turned out to be invented by Qian Yi in the Song Dynasty. Zhang Yue had made up his mind that he must invite such a person with great merit to worship him.

Zhang Yue happily held Shiqi Niang's hand and said, "Madam, you have helped me a lot this time.

……

At this moment, someone knocked on the door and shouted, "Prime Minister, Prime Minister, great victory in Lanzhou!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yue took the letter and read it first.

It turned out that the Western Xia had resorted to the same old tricks again. Liang Yimai used the cover of peace talks to paralyze the Song troops, while he personally led an army of 200,000 to attack Lanzhou City.

The Western Xia army took advantage of the solid ice on the Yellow River, crossed the river and reached Lanzhou, and surrounded the city.

Li Xian was not in Lanzhou at the time, but was garrisoned by General Li Hao.

Li Hao made great contributions to Zhang Dun's pacification of the Southern Barbarians, and was later recommended to the emperor, and then transferred to Xihe Road. Zhang Yu valued Li Hao, an old general of Zhang Dun, very much, and Li Hao made great contributions in the capture of Lanzhou this time, and was appointed as the deputy general manager of the Xihe Road Army, the third most important person in Xihe Road after Li Xian and Wang Hou.

Although Li Hao had listened to Zhang Yue and Li Xian's strict orders and built Lanzhou City as strong as iron, with sufficient food and fodder for soldiers and horses, he had no choice but to defend the city and ask for help from Li Xian of Xizhou when he saw the large number of Xixia soldiers and horses.

However, General Wang Wenyu requested to go into battle.

At that time, the Western Xia army was at its strongest, and several Song army strongholds built near Lanzhou were destroyed. Li Hao refused to let Wang Wenyu go to fight, asking, "There are only a few hundred cavalry in the city, how can we fight?"

Wang Wenyu said, "The enemy is numerous and we are few, so we should weaken their strength and calm their hearts, so that we can defend the city. This is Zhang Liao's strategy for defending Hefei."

The military supervisor Yan Renwu said: "We are ordered to defend the city and not allow fighting. If anyone insists on opening the gates, I will impeach him."

Wang Wenyu heard this and said, "I am going out of the city to fight one against a thousand. I am afraid of death. Why should I be afraid of you impeaching me?"

"We are not sure of winning by defending the city now, so we can only take advantage of the opportunity by going out to fight."

Seeing Wang Wenyu's determination, Li Hao agreed.

So Wang Wenyu recruited 700 men as a suicide squad, who descended from the city walls at night and broke into the enemy camp with short knives. The Xixia soldiers were unaware of the situation and were terrified and fled, scrambling to cross the river.

When Li Xian learned that Lanzhou was under siege, he led his elite troops from Xizhou overnight. When he saw the Western Xia army bombing its camp, he immediately took advantage of the situation to kill them. The two attacks caused nearly 10,000 casualties to the Western Xia army.

This battle was another great victory after the Battle of Taoshui.

Zhang Yue was overjoyed when he saw the good news. He paced for a while and said excitedly: "This Wang Wenyu's courage is comparable to Yuchi Jingde."

Shiqi Niang couldn't help laughing at Zhang Yue's childish actions, but in her heart she was also happy for Zhang Yue from the bottom of her heart.

Zhang Yue hadn't frowned these days, but today all those emotions were swept away.

……

At this moment, in Zhang Qie's mansion, Zhang Qie and Zhang Dun were drinking one cup after another.

Halfway through the drink, Zhang Qie said indignantly: "It is true that Feng Tang is easy to grow old, but Li Guang is hard to be promoted!"

Zhang Dun raised his cup and said, "Don't worry, my friend. The country is in trouble right now, and you will surely be re-employed someday."

Zhang Yu said: "I am now the prime minister. I am not upset about my position, but the anger of the country. First, Fuyan Road defeated Hanhai, then Jingyuan Road defeated Lingzhou, and even Xihe Road also defeated Mingsha. Axi was seriously injured and has been bedridden ever since."

"At this point, Prime Minister Zhang ignored it and said something about using stillness to control movement."

"What he said in front of the emperor was that we should not attack, because Xixia would attack on its own. As long as our army defends Lanzhou, Huizhou, Xi'anzhou and Huaide Army, Xixia will come to us on their own. What kind of strategy is this? If this is not just waiting for the rabbit to come to us, what is it?"

"Since ancient times, only famous generals have commanded others, and no one else has commanded us. How could the Tanguts listen to him?"

"When the Tanguts attack, they take the initiative. When we defend, we are passive everywhere. Prime Minister Zhang even calls it 'building a strong camp and fighting a stupid battle'. It is so naive. How could the Tanguts do as he expected?"

Zhang Dun heard this and poured himself a glass of wine, saying, "I don't understand it either."

"But your majesty said that the Empress Dowager praised this man, but she only knew the depth of his praise and not the shallowness of his praise."

After a pause, Zhang Dun stood up and said, "I said he has no great virtue but is good at doing small favors. Everyone has to die, and no one can escape it, but I hope to die for Your Majesty and the Song Dynasty, rather than die in such a cowardly way."

"Pacifying Xia is your majesty's long-cherished wish, and it is also my long-cherished wish. Even if Zhang Shouyue and his men died, they died with honor and lived on. After the failure of the two expeditions against Xia, the only way to save the situation is to fight Xixia to the end. But your majesty issued an edict of self-blame, and Zhang Yue even demoted himself. Isn't this admitting to the world that the attack on Xia was wrong? Isn't this showing weakness to others?"

"This person is always long-winded when he talks about principles, and he is incomprehensible when he does things. At this time, we must not use the ancestral system of 'interfering with different opinions'. We must overcome all difficulties, just like Duke Shu did in the past, and 'one morality' from top to bottom, excluding all ministers who advocate peace talks, and implementing heavy rewards and heavy punishments. In this way, everyone is united, and then with the power of the whole country, we can suppress Xixia step by step, step by step, and win! Otherwise, once the peace talks succeed, the national prestige will be lost, and then even Qingtang will not be able to be saved!"

Zhang Qie stood up and said, "Brother Dun, what you said is so good and thought-provoking. It would be great if you could be the prime minister."

Zhang Dun shook his head. He was always so decisive and resolute in his work.

Therefore, between the two brothers, Zhang Qie and Zhang Dun have more similar personalities. On the contrary, Zhang Yue is considered to be inflexible and only knows how to accept setbacks.

Just at this time, the Privy Council sent the victory report of Lanzhou to Zhang Qie's residence.

Looking at the victory report, Zhang Dun and Zhang Qi were both surprised. They just wanted to ask, why did Western Xia really attack Lanzhou?

Zhang Yue is so lucky.

The most important thing was that this great victory reversed the Song army's losing streak in Hanhai, Lingzhou and Mingsha.