Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 340: Brave and Radical

The seventy-first year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

It is said that the Western Region Uighurs have not fought a war for many years, but is it the same for the Song Dynasty?

Thirteen years ago, after returning from defeating the Pagan Dynasty, some generals, such as Han Shizhong and Yue Fei, submitted a memorial stating that their imperial guards, including the Li Yuan Army, were now quite unfamiliar with their performance on the battlefield.

If the Song Dynasty had not had the advantage of weapons, it would have been unknown whether it could have captured the capital of the Pagan Dynasty at that time.

He also said, "Even if the world is at peace, forgetting war will lead to danger."

Be reasonable!
The current Song Dynasty does have some military expenditure.

But even if there is some military spending left over, they have no war to fight.

and so……

When these generals all expressed that if possible, the imperial guards should be given more opportunities to train themselves.

can only say……

The imperial court had no way to deal with this.

At most, only people like Han Shizhong and Yue Fei can receive more training.

and……

We also need to pick out the old and weak.

obviously!
So many years have passed, and the Song Dynasty now naturally has to face the same problems that Zhao Xin faced when he first came to the Song Dynasty.

only……

What is better than Zhao Xin's situation now is that with the current financial situation and number of troops in the Song Dynasty, it can still support the next expedition.

"What do you think?"

Zhao Li sat on top and asked the people below.

Almost all the people below are civil servants, and civil servants like to fight economic battles the most.

The first person said, "I am not opposed to sending troops to the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, but... the cost of this journey will be quite high."

Someone immediately responded: "Who does your highness plan to send? And... after conquering, how are you going to manage the area?"

"By then...will we have to station troops there?"

"If this is the case...I am afraid that our Song Dynasty will become like the Tang Dynasty in the past."

Zhao Li said, "The Eastern Karakhanid Khanate is a little far away, but...it is still our vassal state after all, and it used to pay tribute to us almost every year."

"If we just ignore it, it would be a little unreasonable."

"Speaking of which...why didn't my royal grandfather take over the Western Region?"

Almost no one here has had any contact with Zhao Xin, so naturally, it is impossible for them to know what Zhao Xin is thinking.

Zhao Li glanced at everyone, and then continued: "I do know that my royal grandfather liked to read Tang history and he also liked the Tang Dynasty very much. According to my great-grandmother, when he was a child, he often mentioned 'my Emperor Taizong Wen'."

"Therefore, I think he should have thought about taking back the Western Regions and the Suiye City that once belonged to the Tang Dynasty. However... after all, the Western Region Uighurs and the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate were originally subject to us, and they have always lived in peace with us."

"Grandfather Emperor has no reason to send out troops at random."

"As for now..."

"Let's not talk about whether or not to recover the lost territory of the Tang Dynasty. I think that since it is our vassal state that has been attacked, we as the suzerain should still provide assistance, even though the Western Regions are so far away from us."

"So...you can discuss this next."

"Send someone."

"Also, how should we fight?"

The great achievements that Zhao Xin had made naturally became the confidence of everyone in the court.

Then...

Some people enthusiastically expressed their opinions.

What they lack nowadays is actually information about the Western Regions.

It can be said that outside the territory of Western Xia, they knew almost nothing about the Western Regions.

Even the Western Region Uighurs knew little about it, let alone the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate.

The most important thing in fighting a war is still intelligence.

In addition...

The soldiers also had no experience fighting in the Western Regions.

By the time……

There will inevitably be great losses.

For example, when they fought against the Pagan Dynasty before, many of them encountered many accidents because they were unfamiliar with the local area.

"I think Han Shizhong and Yue Fei can take on this task."

"I think it is better to let the people on the grassland solve the battle on the grassland."

After hearing this, Zhao Li also said, "Then we will divide them into two groups. One for each group, and let these two lead the troops together. Han Shizhong will lead the troops of Xixia and Tubo, and Yue Fei will lead the troops of Liao, Zhubu, and Ugundile."

After the discussion, the two received the news quickly.

The reason why they were chosen is that they had both been to Dali together and fought against the Pagan Dynasty together.

and……

It is said that his performance on the battlefield is quite good.

Another very important reason is...

Although the two have little experience, if you ask who in the current Song Dynasty really has much experience in marching and fighting, then I can tell you very clearly that there is no one.

The old ones are already old, and the young ones have little experience.

It can be seen that sometimes... peace in the world for too long is not necessarily a good thing.

As for the size of the army.

Too much is not good, and too little is certainly not good either.

But to be honest, it's just a simple rebellion suppression. I think it shouldn't take many soldiers, right?

Giving Han Shizhong and Yue Fei 20,000 each, plus some auxiliary troops, should be enough.

As for what to do after the rebellion is put down.

Zhao Li’s idea was to at least establish a protectorate in the local area.

It doesn't matter whether there are one thousand people stationed there or two thousand people stationed there.

At least you have to make a statement there.

then……

We should also appropriately arrange some of our own people to serve as officials there.

Open up all the local post stations and so on.

From now on, even if there is no need for the other party to report, I can still find out what happened in the Western Region in a timely manner.

of course!

There is one thing Zhao Li didn't say.

in fact……

He also hopes to expand his territory.

only……

As a person who values ​​etiquette and morality, Zhao Li was embarrassed to say directly, "Give me your land."

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei started out as ordinary soldiers, but after a battle with the Pagan Dynasty, they were promoted to mid-level officers.

nowadays……

There was no one available in the Song Dynasty, and he was directly upgraded to the commander-in-chief level.

only……

Say so.

Both of them were just deputy generals.

The real commander must be selected from the Li Yuan army.

A war like this one certainly cannot be without the Li Yuan Army.

The Li Yuan army will also send out 5,000 people.

The two were led by a respected veteran.

In fact...

Originally, I only wanted to send out 20,000 people plus the 5,000 people of Li Yuan’s army.

after all……

The more people go on the expedition, the greater the cost will be along the way.

But considering that they finally have a chance to train their soldiers, they should send more people and try to train them all.

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei were naturally very excited after receiving the imperial edict.

Although, in fact, things like war should not be so exciting.

As the saying goes, one general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers. I don't know how many people will die this time.

In the blink of an eye, the grain was transported to Fengxiang Prefecture via the railway system.

As for Yue Fei, he started from the northern grasslands, eating mutton and drinking goat's milk along the way.

Yelu Dashi was also in the army, but he was just a civilian.

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei set out first because they were both cavalry and could run fast.

As for the Li Yuan army, since they had to pull artillery, their speed was naturally much slower.

It took the vanguard of the army a little more than a month from mobilization to reaching Gaochang.

can only say……

This speed can be said to be extremely fast.

When Han Shizhong arrived in Gaochang first, there were still many scattered troops of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate staying there.

This is mainly because they never thought that although the Western Region Uighurs looked very strong, they were actually just made of paper.

Then they must keep picking on the Xizhou Uighurs, right?
As a result, the capital of the Western Region Uighurs had been besieged for at least three months.

therefore……

It is also conceivable that when Han Shizhong and a vanguard of 1,000 people suddenly appeared in front of the rebels of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, the excitement in the hearts of the people in Gaochang City.

as well as……

The panic in the hearts of the Eastern Karakhanid rebels.

Before this, 80% of the soldiers of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate had gone to attack other cities.

There are no more than 5,000 people left here.

Among these 5,000 people, there are still quite a few who still have little fighting capacity and like to run away as soon as they see the situation is not good.

Then, with the appearance of Han Shizhong and his thousand soldiers fully armed to the teeth wearing Xixia Iron Harrier armor, naturally...

It only took a charge to disperse those who stayed here to guard the house.

And in Gaochang City.

After seeing this scene, the Uighur soldiers on the city wall also shouted that they were finally saved.

When the soldiers and civilians in the city saw the reinforcements coming, they all hugged each other and cried with joy.

The Khan of the Western Region Uighurs, or Yidu Hulu, came forward and held Han Shizhong's hand tightly.

He said excitedly: "Finally it's here!"

Then...

Han Shizhong then learned about the situation in the city and other places.

Since Gaochang City put up a resolute resistance, the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate could not break through it for the time being. Since they could not break through it, they left some people behind and the others went to attack other cities.

only……

I'm afraid even the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate would not have thought that the Song army would arrive so quickly.

Because if it were a normal march, it would take at least half a year to reach such a long distance.

Even if Han Shizhong could transfer troops directly from Xixia, he would still have to travel at full speed day and night.

This day's march would have to be at least one hundred and fifty or sixty miles.

"How did you get here?"

The Uighur Khan of Xizhou asked.

Han Shizhong said, "Each of them rode two dead horses."

of course!

This is an exaggeration.

but……

It's almost there.

Because basically all the bubbles are vomited.

These words left all the people in the city speechless.

Han Shizhong also said: "His Royal Highness said that the journey is long. Normally, it will take at least half a year to get there. However, after half a year, I am afraid that all the Uighurs in Western Province will be gone. Therefore, he ordered us to travel day and night and make sure to get there as quickly as possible."

What Han Shizhong didn't expect was that the situation had become so bad.

but……

Now that he has one thousand more men, at least the city can be held out for a while longer.

Then...

Han Shizhong took over the city defense affairs, selected able-bodied men, boosted morale, and told the people in the city that the Song Dynasty would not abandon them and China would not abandon them.

The Eastern Karakhanid Khanate naturally learned the news later.

To be honest, they were not surprised at all that the Song Dynasty arrived so quickly.

after all……

Immediately to the east of the Xizhou Uighurs was the Western Xia.

Coming directly from Xixia would be much faster.

However, the rebels of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate were a little surprised that the Song Dynasty would react so quickly.

It is obvious that the Western Region Uighurs were just a vassal state of the Song Dynasty.

What are you working so hard for!
This made the rebels of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate realize that the Song Dynasty was determined to protect the Western Region Uighurs.

of course!

It is also possible that the Xixia garrison took the initiative to cross the border and come here?

This is also possible.

After learning that the Song Dynasty had already responded...

The rebels of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate were not stupid either. They announced their withdrawal that night.

After all, fighting on someone else's territory is not good for them.

Then on the second and third nights, after learning that all the rebels of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate had retreated, the people of all the cities of the Western Region Uighurs could only breathe a sigh of relief.

however……

There were still some cities that were tricked by the rebels into opening their gates, and then the people and property in the city were massacred and looted.

Seeing these scenes, Han Shizhong naturally became more hateful towards the rebels of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate.

soon……

Han Shizhong came up with another plan.

Although he only had a thousand men, if he could follow them and chase them for thousands of miles, he might be able to rescue some of the kidnapped women.

And he actually did it!
At last……

He actually rescued more than 300 women.

The Eastern Karakhanid Khanate was also frightened by Han Shizhong's performance.

This person must be a lunatic!

This is also chasing! ?

The rebels of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate were so frightened that they ran even faster, and those at the back did not dare to stay for too long.

And it was almost three months later.

Yue Fei had just arrived in Gaochang and met up with Han Shizhong.

of course!

The artillery of Li Yuan’s army arrived even slower.

However, part of the vanguard of Li Yuan’s army could arrive earlier with Yue Fei.

In the Western Regions...

All we can say is that there are some cities.

If you don't have artillery, it might be difficult to attack.

of course!

All nomadic peoples are the same. Sometimes, even if there are cities, they may not necessarily live there.

therefore……

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei decided not to wait for the artillery. Anyway, 1,500 musketeers had already arrived in Gaochang.

It would be better to just fight the other party directly and get it over with sooner.

If everything goes well, the battle might be resolved right away.

"But wouldn't this be a bad idea?"

"After all, the commander hasn't arrived yet."

Yue Fei just said.

can only say……

Yue Fei felt that he was a relatively brave and radical person.

Unexpectedly, Han Shizhong was even more courageous and radical than him.

Han Shizhong replied: "If the commander didn't want us to advance rashly, why did he send 1,500 musketeers? You have 750, I have 750, and we are invincible!"

The commander of the Li Yuan army was also looking at the two of them.

"You think our Li Yuan army is cake!"

(End of this chapter)