Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 292 This battle will break the backbone of Western Xia!
What Liang Yimai said was not wrong. When there was profit to be made, the tribes responded enthusiastically.

This is normal. Originally, the things that Xixia exported to the Song Dynasty were only various medicinal herbs and furs, and these things were limited, so there were also very few exquisite goods that could be bought from the Song Dynasty.

However, the wealth earned from the blue and white salt produced in Yanzhou belonged to the imperial court, or in other words, to the Liang family and the Dangxiang nobles. Most of the tribes still lived a miserable life.

Now that they have an opportunity to participate in the salt profits, the tribe is not only happy, it is actually a little crazy. In just two days, an army of 200,000 was assembled and immediately headed for Yinzhou.

Attracted by wealth and goods, the army soon arrived at the border between Song and Xia.

The movements of Western Xia naturally attracted the attention of the Song Dynasty's border troops, and the troops along Qinfeng Road, Huanqing Road and other routes immediately stood on full alert.

Su Yun was not only on high alert, but also immediately ordered Qi Keyong, Zhe Keshi and others to prepare for battle as soon as he heard the news.

"Western Xia is coming for the Mizhi rock salt. We must fight this battle. After this battle, the offensive and defensive positions will change!"

This is Su Yun’s judgment on this battle.

Generals such as Qi Keyong and Zhe Keshi were quite convinced of Su Yun's judgment, and immediately took their troops to garrison in various places.

Su Yun and Zhang Qie were stationed in Yanzhou.

Zhang Qie was very interested in Su Yun's judgment, because he was also a strategist, so he specifically sought out Su Yun to discuss the matter. Of course, as he was the governor of Fuyan Road, he naturally had to have a grasp of the overall situation.

"The general said that this battle must be fought. What is the basis of his judgment?" Zhang Yu asked.

Su Yun smiled and said, "I deliberately designed this battle to force Xixia to fight."

Zhang Yu was not surprised to hear this. Instead, he smiled and said, "I have some guesses. From what you have done, cutting off Xixia's salt revenue and forcing salt merchants to take risks, I think you must have other purposes. However, Xixia is strong after all, and we have only been training for a short time. Fighting at this time is also very risky for us, so I dare not think too much."

It is easy to talk to a smart person. Su Yun smiled and said, "Uncle, there are only two of us here, so you don't have to be so polite. Just call me Ju Zheng.

This matter was indeed planned by me deliberately. I just wanted to force Xixia to fight this battle.

Rock salt can certainly make a lot of money for the Fuyan Road Army, but my uncle knows me well. There are thousands of ways for me to make money, and it doesn’t necessarily have to rely on the salt administration.”

Zhang Yu looked somewhat admiring and nodded, "Why must we fight this battle?"

Su Yun said: "We, the Song Dynasty, have been fighting against the Western Xia in recent years. Although we are exhausted, we are a big and rich country after all. The government has worked hard for more than ten years and has accumulated a lot of wealth. Although it is a little difficult, it is much better than the Western Xia.

Today, Xixia is in extreme distress. Now is a good opportunity to completely break the backbone of Xixia. If we miss this opportunity, Xixia will be able to recuperate and make a comeback in a few years.

But cutting off their salt revenue is an open conspiracy.

Qingbai salt is the main source of Xixia's fiscal revenue. If Xixia doesn't come this time, Xixia will definitely be unstable. If they come, I will break their backs!"

After listening to Su Yun's analysis, Zhang Yu was immediately moved and said, "Ju Zheng, at your age, you have such a far-sighted vision, no one in the court can compare with you!

Haha, I have heard of your reputation of being 'talented than Duke Zhongxian' in the early years, but now it seems that Duke Zhongxian is not as good as you in terms of strategy. "Su Yun just smiled when he heard this. In fact, this was only one of the reasons. The most important reason was not this. If he had enough time, he would actually be willing to prepare for another year or two, but he was afraid that the time was not enough.

Because it is now the spring of the seventh year of Yuanfeng!

Su Yun didn't know how Zhao Xu's health was now, but in history, Zhao Xu died in March of the eighth year of Yuanfeng, which means that at most he only had one year left.

If Zhao Xu died, when Empress Dowager Gao came to power, Sima Guang would have to make his debut. At that time, Zhao Xu's positive attitude towards foreign countries since he ascended the throne might have turned into a policy of appeasement.

Sima Guang and others were weak towards the Western Xia and Liao. Not to mention launching a war against them, they might even cede territory.

Therefore, before that, it is necessary to break the backbone of Western Xia, or even lay the fuse for the country's demise, so as to buy enough time.

Zhang Yu understood Su Yun's strategic plan, but he was also concerned about the specific details and asked, "What specific strategic goals do we want to achieve?"

Su Yun took out the map of Xixia territory, pointed to a point on the map, and said, "We will fight here!"

Zhang Yu took a look and was a little surprised. He asked, "Take over Yanzhou?"

Su Yun nodded.

Zhang Yu frowned and said, "To take Yanzhou, we must take Yinzhou, Xiazhou, Youzhou, Longzhou, and Hongzhou. Not only must we defeat the 200,000-strong army that is coming in aggressively this time, but we must also drive out the Xiangyou Army, the Zuoxiang Shenyong Army, and the Jianing Army. Otherwise, we won't be able to hold on!"

Su Yun smiled and said, "I only need to control Yanzhou for a short period of time. What we really need to take is Yinzhou and Shenduiyi."

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Taking Yinzhou will be the forward station for attacking Xixia, and Shenduiyi is the checkpoint of the Xixia Great Wall. After taking these two places, we can attack Xixia at any time.

But what is the reason for temporarily controlling Yanzhou?"

"Strong branches, weak trunks!"

Su Yun said expressionlessly.

Zhang Yu was surprised when he heard this and said, "After occupying Yanzhou, we should find a way to distribute Yanzhou to the various tribes of Xixia, so that each tribe can participate in the salt profits and thrive, thus achieving the goal of weakening the Xixia court?"

Su Yun looked at Zhang Qie with admiration. He was indeed worthy of being the great man with the title of "No. 1 in Western Achievements". His reaction was indeed incredibly fast!
However, Zhang Qie was even more surprised than him. This fantastic strategic idea was truly jaw-dropping.

Zhang Qie felt his head buzzing. He calmed down for a while, but still felt that there were many difficulties. He thought about it and said, "This is a good idea, but it is difficult to implement."

No wonder he was so pessimistic, the momentum of Western Xia this time was truly astonishing.

The army coming out of Xingqing Prefecture alone was as large as 200,000. Together with the three major military divisions and the garrisons of various states, it was at least an army of 300,000!
The Fuyan Route, together with the garrison troops, archers, foreign soldiers, native soldiers, etc. with average combat effectiveness, could not even gather 100,000 people at most. How could they defeat the 300,000-strong army of Western Xia?

(End of this chapter)