Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 437: Huanqing Road changes its flag!
Rouyuan Village.

The war was not imminent.

Zhang Yu had been dealing with the Xixia people for several years. In recent years, the Xixia people wanted to open a gap from Huanqing Road to invade the territory of the Song Dynasty. However, after several battles, they not only failed to conquer the country, but were repeatedly frustrated.

The 30,000-strong army came this time because they heard that Chang'an had fallen. They wanted to use the army to test whether Zhang Yu would lead the army to rescue Chang'an. Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived at Rouyuan Village, they saw that Zhang Yu was already on high alert. They did not dare to attack, but stayed on the spot to confront the Song army.

Although the war did not break out, Zhang Yu still did not relax. He still had a lot of work to do. Not only did he study the invading enemies every day, but he also had to follow Wang Shunchen to survey the enemy situation on the spot from time to time.

One day, a personal soldier came in to report that someone outside wanted to see him. Zhang Qie asked who it was, and the personal soldier said that the person claimed to be an old friend from Pucheng.

Zhang Yu was a little surprised. An old friend from Pucheng? Could it be that a member of the clan came to seek refuge?

That's not necessary. The clan members can just come and give their names. There's no need to address them as "old friends from Pucheng". He thought to himself and told his personal soldiers, "How did you get here?"

"He came in a carriage, but did not show up. It was his attendant who spoke to him."

Zhang Yu immediately reacted after hearing this and said, "Bring him into the village quietly and place him in my house. Don't let anyone else know."

The personal soldiers were Zhang Qie's confidants, so they naturally knew how to arrange things and immediately ran over like the wind.

At night, Zhang Yu returned to his house in Rouyuan Village and saw the so-called old friend from Pucheng. This sight made Zhang Yu suddenly frightened.

"Brother?! Aren't you in the south? Why are you here?!"

The visitor was a thin, middle-aged scholar with a long beard fluttering in the cold northwest wind, making him look very immortal.

Seeing Zhang Yu's shock, the man laughed and said, "My daughter, son-in-law, and nephew have all rebelled against the Song Dynasty. As a father-in-law, it is useless for me to defend myself as a loyal minister.

My son-in-law happened to send someone to pick me up, so I took the opportunity to escape and become a rebel. "

This person was Su Yun’s father-in-law Zhang Dun.

Hearing Zhang Dun's nonchalant words, Zhang Yu immediately smiled bitterly and said, "Brother, since you came to the northwest, the imperial court must know that you have defected. Then the life of our Zhangpu Zhang family and the Zhang family's descendants will be difficult."

Zhang Dun snorted and said, "Why, was it easier before?
Ever since Sima Guang came to power and I was exiled, the court has been targeting the Zhang family for a long time.

After Ju Zheng was persecuted and forced to rebel, the descendants of the Zhang family were constantly marginalized.

You have been the governor of Qingzhou for several years. With your achievements, you could have entered the Privy Council long ago, but in the past few years you have only been able to eat the northwest wind and sand here!"

Zhang Qi sighed when he heard this.

After Zhang Dun finished speaking, he pulled out a crumpled document from his sleeve and slammed it on the table, "Take a look at this secret report! Now, all the ministers in the court are discussing handing over Lanzhou and Xizhou to the West to Xixia in order to overthrow Su Yun!
That was the territory that countless soldiers had exchanged their lives for, but in their eyes it was just a bargaining chip in exchange for Xixia to send troops!"

Zhang Qie's pupils suddenly contracted and he unfolded the document with trembling fingers.

As the candlelight flickered, the words "cede three states in the western border" made his eyes hurt.

He recalled the late autumn of that year, on the top of the Lanzhou city wall, the cold wind blew the blood foam of the soldiers on his face. In order to defend a beacon tower, a total of 800 men were buried in the yellow sand.

"Since the reign of Emperor Renzong, during the Qingli Peace Agreement and the Treaty of Chanyuan, the imperial court used gold, silver, and silk to exchange for peace, but what it got in return was the increasingly greedy fangs of Liaoxia!"

Zhang Dun stood up suddenly, his long beard shaking violently, "Now in the court, the new and old parties are arguing endlessly, and the literati's empty talk is harming the country. Those self-proclaimed scholars have never even read military books, but they are meddling in border affairs!

You and I fought for the Song Dynasty. You fought bloody battles in the northwest, and I assisted the late emperor in his reforms. But all we got in return was a sentence like "warmongering" and "causing chaos in the world" in their memorials!"

Zhang Qie tightly grasped the sword at his waist; the dragon pattern on the scabbard hurt his palm.

He recalled that some days ago, the military supervisor sent by the court forced him to go to Chang'an, and he immediately understood that they did not ask him to rescue Chang'an, but to send him away so that they could negotiate peace with Western Xia!
"Brother!" Zhang Yu suddenly stood up. "Even if the imperial court has a thousand faults, this Song Dynasty is the home of countless people! We are the ones who receive the emperor's salary, so we should defend the land and protect the people!"

"Protecting the land and protecting the people?" Zhang Dun sneered, his eyes bloodshot, "Do you know how many Han men are now accomplices to the evil in the Xixia army?
They are all people who have been forced into desperation by the heavy taxes imposed by the imperial court! Su Yun opened a granary in Yanzhou and promoted industry and commerce, and the people under his rule lived and worked in peace and contentment, while the imperial court was still fighting for factions, and was not hesitating to push thousands of people into danger! "

The night wind whistled and broke open the half-closed window frame, and the candle flame "popped" into a flower.

Zhang Qie looked at the bloodshot in his brother's eyes and suddenly remembered when they were young, they read military books together in the old house in Pucheng and were determined to expand the territory for the Song Dynasty.

But today...

Although Zhang Qie had thought about these things a long time ago, he still found it difficult to accept his brother Zhang Dun's attitude.

Zhang Dun sighed and said, "I have also seen clearly that the Song Dynasty is a hopeless case. The late emperor worked hard to govern the country. In the past, he had the assistance of Prime Minister Wang, and Lu Huiqing, Cai Que, Zeng Bu, etc., all of whom were the best choices at the time. However, with so many talented people working together on this matter, it still ended up in failure!

Is it that the late emperor was not wise enough, that we are too stupid, or that the new law is truly bringing disaster to the country and the people... I'm afraid none of them are true.

I finally understand that this is the root of the problem!

The Song Dynasty had entered a dead end since Emperor Taizu. Unless it was overthrown, it would be basically impossible to restore the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties under this system.

At that time, Ju Zheng once told me these things in private. At that time, I thought Ju Zheng was exaggerating. However, over the years, things that happened in the court have proved Ju Zheng's foresight.

Ha, if it weren’t for Ju Zheng, I might still be a loyal minister of the Song Dynasty, but Ju Zheng has already taken this step and done a good job, so I’m going to let out some youthful enthusiasm!
Brother Xi, don't hesitate. Unless you capture me now and hand me over to the court for punishment, you will no longer be trusted by the court officials. Believe it or not, once the imperial envoy signs an alliance with Xixia, the first thing he will do is send someone to take away your military power!"

Zhang Qie smiled bitterly and said, "What are you talking about, brother? How could I hand you over to the court..."

At this point, Zhang Qie took a deep breath and said, "...Brother, please let Ju Zheng take over Huanqing Road. I also need to make some plans here, and clean up some people who need to be cleaned up."

Zhang Dun was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "Good brother! You did the right thing!"

Zhang Yu was a man of firm will. Now that he had made the decision, his mindset naturally changed. He smiled and said, "Ju Zheng has done a good job. Once I have cleaned up Huanqing Road and surrendered to Ju Zheng, he will be the true King of the Northwest!
Haha, Guanzhong has been taken, which is the key to conquering the world. Once we stabilize the northwest and try to take over Bashu, it will be time to accomplish great things!"

Zhang Qie was a man of swift and decisive actions. When the cold wind wrapped in fine sand was beating against the walls of Rouyuan Village, the candles in Zhang Qie's tent were brightly lit.

Zhang Dun unfolded a map of the defenses of Huanqing Road. Zhang Yu didn't need to look at it for long before pressing his finger heavily on the location of Qingzhou City marked on the map: "Capture the military supervisor first. Wang Shunchen, you lead the elite troops of Jingsai Army, in the name of discussing matters, to capture Zhang An and his personal soldiers in one fell swoop."

He paused, and glanced at the generals in the tent, "Remember, be quick, don't let the news leak out."

In the deep night, the Jingsai Army sneaked into the military supervisory headquarters like ghosts.

Zhang An was conspiring with his staff when he suddenly saw the candle flame go out, a cold light flashed, and a sharp blade was at his throat.

"Zhang Zhizhou has issued an order, asking the military supervisor to move."

Wang Shunchen's voice was as cold as ice.

Zhang An was shocked and angry when he heard this. He said, "The emperor is right. It turns out that the bastard Zhang Yu had colluded with Su Yun a long time ago! I only regret that I didn't obey the emperor's orders and took the initiative!"

Wang Shunchen was shocked when he heard this, but at the same time he felt relieved. He smiled coldly and said, "So that's the case. Then you deserve to die!"

Zhang An wet his pants when he heard this and trembled, "General Wang! General Wang! Show mercy, I surrender!"

Wang Shunchen smelled the urine smell and immediately frowned, saying: "Who wants a eunuch like you! Normally, you are the eunuch who drinks the blood of soldiers the most rampantly. Today, I will avenge my brothers in the army!"

As Wang Shunchen said this, he slashed with his sharp blade, and Zhang An's eyes widened immediately, and then he fell to the ground. At the same time, the secret guards of the Su Society blocked the surroundings and took all the insiders into the dungeon.

Zhang Yu convened a military meeting at random, then ordered his personal soldiers to seal off the general's tent, and then quickly took control of all the small military leaders and seized their military power. At this point, the Qingzhou army, which occupied 60% of Huanqing Road, was under the control of Zhang Yu.

After taking control of the Gyeongju Army, Zhang Yu immediately turned to look at the Transportation Department.

The Huanqing Road Transport Office is the source of finance for Huanqing Road. After controlling the army, one must also control the source of finance. Only in this way can one truly control Huanqing Road.

However, controlling the Transportation Department requires more wisdom.

Zhang Dun sent his confidants to disguise themselves as special envoys of the imperial court, holding a forged imperial edict, and broke into the Transportation Bureau's office under the pretext of checking the accounts.

Just as the transport envoy Zhou Ke was about to explain himself, he was pinned to the desk by the secret guards.

"Zhou Ke, the evidence of your withholding military pay and collaborating with the enemy and selling out your country is all in this box."

The special envoy sneered and opened the wooden box filled with secret letters. "Cooperate obediently, and you may still be able to survive."

Zhou Ke was horrified and said, "It may be possible that they withheld military pay, but they have never colluded with the enemy and sold out their country!"

The special envoy snorted and said, "You have used your duties as a transport envoy to smuggle a large amount of pig iron to Xixia in recent years. Pig iron is something that the court has expressly prohibited from exporting. You have exported tens of thousands of kilograms of it in recent years, and you still dare to say that you have not collaborated with the enemy and sold out your country!"

Zhou Ke collapsed immediately after hearing this.

The envoy said, "Zhou Ke, the emperor said that even though you have not made any contributions in the past few years, you have worked hard. If you help the envoy to take charge of the Transportation Department, you will be exempted from the death penalty when you return!"

Zhou Ke came alive immediately after hearing this, and quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, saying: "I am willing, I am willing, I am willing to hand over all the accounts of the Transportation Department to you.

Also, I have accumulated a lot of wealth in the past few years, most of which I used to build relationships, and a lot of it is still left.

I have specially sent you to take it, and I also ask you to help me put in a few good words with the government, so that I can be spared some of my punishment!"

The envoy smiled and nodded upon hearing this, saying, "Okay, okay."

Zhou Ke hurriedly called someone to hand over the account books, and summoned officials from the transportation departments at all levels to hand over many confidential account books.

Zhou Ke was also a smart person. Although he fully cooperated with the handover, the more he looked, the more confused he became, because most of the accountants brought by the special envoy were young people, full of vitality and energy. They didn't look like people from the court, but rather like... Su Xuehui!

Zhou Ke's expression suddenly changed, and he said, "You are Su Ni!"

The envoy grinned upon hearing this and said, "I just realized it, but it's too late!"

Zhou Ke collapsed to the ground again, muttering, "It's over! It's over! It's really over this time!"

At the same time as this special envoy took control of the Transportation Bureau, Zhang Qie recalled all the officials from the prefectures and counties back to Gyeongju on the pretext of convening an emergency military meeting.

When everyone arrived, the Jingsai Army suddenly surrounded the venue.

"Everyone, the court is foolish and wants to cede the northwestern territory!" Zhang Qie pointed his sword to the north, "How can we sit idly by? From today on, Huanqing Road will be under the control of the Su Society!"

When some officials tried to resist, they were dragged out and beheaded by the secret guards of the Su Society.

Under the bloody shock, the other officials surrendered one after another.

In just three days, the situation on Huanqing Road changed drastically.

Zhang Dun was stationed in Qingzhou and commanded the secret guards of the Su Xuehui to place spies in various places to firmly control the military, political, and financial affairs of the entire Huanqing Road.

Under Zhang Qie's arrangement, the Qingzhou Army was reorganized into the Jingsai Army, and then trained every day with high morale. However, other forces in Huanqing Road had already been eliminated silently.

Zhang Dun stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the reorganized army, thinking to himself: "Ju Zheng, I have paved the way for you in this northwest!"

The sudden change of flag on Huanqing Road had an even greater impact on Bianliang than the fall of Chang'an!
When Chang'an fell, the rulers and ministers of the Song Dynasty could still comfort themselves: although Guanzhong was lost, there were still strong cities and important towns in the northwest that could be defended, and the defense line in Longyou was impregnable.

However, the change of flag on Huanqing Road was like a heavy hammer, completely shattering the court's last fantasy.

From a military strategic perspective, Huanqing Road controls the throat of the Song Dynasty's northwest defense line. It is the frontier position against the Western Xia and a barrier to protect Guanzhong and Sichuan.

Prior to this, the Song army relied on the fortress group on Huanqing Road to repeatedly defeat the attacks of Western Xia and built a solid line of defense.

Now, Zhang Yu led the elite Qingzhou army to defect, which not only caused this line of defense to collapse instantly, but also allowed the forces of Xixia and Su Yun to be connected.

The 30,000-strong Western Xia army is eyeing the situation covetously, and Su Yun's power is taking advantage of this opportunity to expand. If the two form a pincer attack, the entire northwest situation will be completely out of control, and the Song Dynasty will be in danger of being attacked from both sides at any time.

In comparison, although Chang'an was an ancient capital, losing Chang'an was just losing a city, while the change of flag of Huanqing Road directly changed the entire military structure of the northwest, making the Song Dynasty's strategic advantage in the northwest disappear.

The impact on the political level is even more difficult to estimate.

As the governor of Gyeongju, Zhang Yu had a large army under his command and was an important pillar of the imperial court in the northwest. His defection meant that the foundation of the imperial court's rule in the northwest was shaken.

As Zhang Dun was once a core figure in the reform, his defection and participation in instigating Zhang Qie's rebellion brought enormous public pressure to the court.

The party struggles in the court are already fierce, and the actions of the Zhang brothers will undoubtedly be used by their political enemies as a weapon to attack them. The court will inevitably fall into a new round of power struggles and mutual attacks, and the political situation will become increasingly chaotic.

At the same time, generals who held military power in various places would inevitably be affected, and their loyalty to the court would be shaken, and the ruling order within the Song Dynasty faced serious challenges.

Economically, the Huanqing Road Transport Bureau controls important financial resources in the northwest.

After Zhang Yu took control of the Transportation Bureau, he not only cut off the court's financial revenue in the northwest, but also allowed Su Yun to obtain important economic support.

Su Yun can use this wealth to expand his armaments, develop people's livelihood, and further enhance his own strength.

If the Song Dynasty lost this source of funds, it would not only be difficult to maintain military spending on the northwest defense line, but it might also trigger a financial crisis, affecting economic stability and people's livelihood construction in other regions.

The change in people's support is a fatal blow.

The people could still view the fall of Chang'an as an accidental defeat caused by foreign invasion; but the change of flag of Huanqing Road made the people see the corruption and incompetence within the court, as well as the officials' disappointment and betrayal of the court.

This will greatly shake the people's confidence in the court and intensify their dissatisfaction with the court.

People from all over the country may begin to seek new support. Su Yun's good governance in Yanzhou and other places has long been famous. The change of flag in Huanqing Road may cause people in more areas to yearn for Su Yun's power, and may even cause other areas to follow suit, further weakening the ruling foundation of the Song Dynasty.

In the court of Bian Jing, Zhao Xu looked at the urgently sent battle report, his hands shaking uncontrollably, and suddenly he burst into tears in front of all the civil and military officials in the court. All the civil and military officials looked at each other in deathly silence, and only the sound of Zhao Xu's crying echoed through the hall!

After crying for a long time, Zhao Xu finally calmed down and asked the civil and military officials in the court what to do, but no one dared to speak.

When the news of the fall of Chang'an came, they were still able to make impassioned speeches and plan to recapture it.

But now the changes in Huanqing Road have made everyone realize that the foundation of the Song Dynasty is crumbling, and a greater crisis is imminent!
(End of this chapter)