After getting Li Xian's countersignature, Han Gang's request to send troops to the old Fengzhou was sent out.

But Han Gang did not sit down and wait for the reply from the Tokyo City, when he was appointed as the envoy of the Hedong Road, he got the power to act cheaply from the Son of Heaven Zhao Xu, and military actions did not need to be reported to the Son of Heaven and the imperial court in advance, and it was no problem to be recognized afterwards.

Finalized the details of the dispatch with Han Gang, and Li Xian returned to the Jinning Army on the same day. Han Gang himself, after taking office in Hedong, Taiyuan, Yanmen, and Jinning ran everywhere, and he was about to go to Linzhou again. And under Han Gang's command, Li Xian is basically a hard worker, far from being able to compare with Wang Zhongzheng, who is high-spirited, high-spirited, and fulfills his wishes, anyway, as long as he is auspicious. It is also stronger than Gao Zunyu and Miao Zhi, who are extremely unlucky.

…… Actually, it's enough. did not experience any fiasco, the army in hand did not suffer many losses, and there were two or three plausible victories, which can be said to live up to the trust of the Son of Heaven. In this way, Li Xian didn't dare to ask for too much. If you can take the old Fengzhou before the Liao people, and earn some credit to go back, at least you won't be inferior to him in front of Wang Zhongzheng.

Li Xian returned to the Jinning Army to reorganize the soldiers and horses, and the troops in his hands were basically infantry. Some time ago, he sent troops to Yinxia, and after retreating, he guarded the Jinning army, and then fought with the divination people in Jialuchuan. Although he did not experience a major war, he had to rest for a period of time before he could go on the expedition.

When Li Xian left Taiyuan yesterday, he said frankly to Han Gang that it was best to get the merit of the victory of Jialuchuan before letting the main force of the Hedong Army in his hands go into battle, so as to ensure that there was enough morale.

Han Gang did not force Li Xian to send troops immediately, but just smiled bitterly. Then as soon as the edict of the imperial court arrived, he would send the meritorious reward - before Han Gang had prepared a sufficient amount of money and grain from the treasury of Taiyuan, and did not wait for the allocation of the imperial court - the problems and shortcomings in the army, Han Gang knew very well, and it was useless to force Li Xian.

In that year, Emperor Taizong led the army to capture Taiyuan and destroy the Northern Han Dynasty, and he went out of Taiyuan to Yanjing without rewarding the soldiers, and wanted to hit the Liao people by surprise, but unfortunately the siege was unsuccessful and he returned in a fiasco. The fiasco of the Gaoliang River was, on the one hand, due to the fact that the reinforcements of the Liao army came too quickly, which was unexpected by the monarchs and ministers of the Great Song Dynasty, and on the other hand, the morale of the army was depressed due to the untimely reward.

The tradition of the Song army was inherited from the five generations, and all of them had to be paid for their promotion and battle, and after they made meritorious contributions, they had to be rewarded in time. Han Gang is quite prestigious in the army, but no matter how famous he is, he does not have the face of Brother Kong Fang.

Han Gang was very unaccustomed to this at first, and he also wanted to change. It was only with the understanding of this army that it was found that it was possible to solve it by tearing it down and starting over. No matter how good the seedlings are, they will be dyed black when they reach the sewage—the roots are all black.

This is not a matter that can be dealt with by building a martial arts school or a military academy, skills and tactics can be taught, but the roots and temperament of an army are almost impossible to change. Maybe a saint or a great man can do it, but Han Gang is not so arrogant.

Fortunately, the surrounding army is also this virtue, or even worse, a group of robbers. So you don't have to aspire to be on par with the next generation, as long as you are stronger than the surrounding armies.

Aren't the armies of the countries in the Age of Discovery also a group of bandits? But it doesn't affect them to grab. rob the whole world.

In addition to rewards such as silver silk, there is not much to worry about when it comes to transporting military rations. In order to ensure the supply of grain to the front-line soldiers, many of the grain in Hedong were hoarded in the Jinning army on the west bank of the Yellow River for transshipment, and it was more convenient to transport it north to Linzhou.

However, it is impossible to eat for long, and Taiyuan has to replenish them in time. Because it's not just Li Xian's foot soldiers in his hands now, but also cavalry.

The 5,000 cavalry seconded to Yanyan Road to inspect the road, Han Gang had already sent someone to transfer it back. But the situation of the war horses is very worrying, and if you want them to go into battle, it will probably be a little troublesome.

There are still 20,000 horse infantry forbidden troops in Taiyuan, which is the only remaining reserve on the Hedong Road, whether it is Xiao Shisan's provocation outside the Yanmen Pass, or the obstruction of people harassing along the Jialu River, this part of the force has not moved. However, Han Gang had already ordered five thousand of them, including the three cavalry under his command, and was ready to take them on the journey.

The scheduled armies have their own problems, and the main force of the early siege and seizure of land is still the strength of the broken family for the time being. After half a month, the whole army can begin to officially enter Linzhou and attack the upper reaches of Quye River. At that time, the opponent should be the Khitan who came to their senses.

According to the latest information from the Zhe family, the soldiers and horses of the Xijing Road of the Liao State are suppressing the remaining resistance in the lower Hejian Land of the Black Mountain - the Liao army that had previously moved south through the Hejian Land only defeated the defenders who had fled most of them, but did not completely suppress them - and could not distract the old Fengzhou for a while. However, with the strength of the Liao State, it is not difficult to clean the Hetao up and down, and it will take half a month at most. After the troops of Xijing Province retreated, they would definitely turn their attention to the south.

When the time comes, it is not difficult to guess what kind of reaction they will have.

Han Gang was busy under the lamp, waiting for today and tomorrow to settle down in Taiyuan Mansion, and then set off for Linzhou.

He only hopes that the news from the city of Tokyo will come sooner and give a definite recovery, so that it will not be delayed for too long.

……………………

Yanzhou has been recovered, and the land of Yinxia must be held safely in his hands. And the Western Xia also perished, and all the damned ones died.

But none of the Great Song monarchs and ministers in the Chongzheng Hall who received these news could laugh out loud about this.

Picked up a bargain for the Khitans. It took him many years of hard work to weaken the national strength of the Western Xia, and he was engaged in the most decisive battle with the Western thieves, but the Khitans took this opportunity to swallow the land they had always wanted but failed to fight without much effort.

After Zhao Ji heard the news, he kept his face blue and didn't smile for many days.

However, the fall of Yanzhou City, and the change in the situation a day later, in turn, can be said to be Xu Xi's insistence is correct. At least Lu Huiqing defended himself in front of the emperor: "If Yanzhou City can stay for one more day...... As long as one day, the western thief will collapse without a fight. However, the defenders in the city were not able to defend the city, and the reinforcements from outside the city could not arrive in time, so it was such a day. Below Xu Xi, tens of thousands of soldiers died in the king's affairs, and everyone who heard it sighed. ”

Even Zhao Ji can hear that this is pushing the responsibility to Chong Ge, Gao Zunyu and Qu Zhen who escaped.

After the destruction of Yanzhou City, the Western Thieves immediately broke out due to the Khitan invasion. The brothers and sisters of Bingchang and Liang all died in the civil strife, and Chong Ge took advantage of the situation to attack with his army. After a great chaos, tens of thousands of beheadings were taken. War and chaos ensued, and the Weiming clan had nothing left after that. Ren Duo Lingding, Ye Po Ma and Li Qing, the party clans and the Han army that were not famous for Wei Ming, all surrendered, and then helped clear the fleeing troops of Wei Ming's family.

In this battle, even if he picked up a bargain, he was meritorious. More than 30,000 beheadings, even though they may be due to killing and surrendering, are the largest number of battles since the founding of the country. In the face of the interception of the western thief, Gao Zunyu and the Huanqing army collapsed at the touch of a button, and the seed of the man rushed over, and it was a day away, which really made people regret it, and their hearts were blocked, but it was a little unreasonable to say that they had made a meritorious contribution to the crime.

Moreover, if according to the strategy of Han Gang, Chong Ge and others to retreat to Yinzhou and Xiazhou, because the distance is more than 300 miles, more grain and grass need to be mobilized, and the speed of Western Xia's troops will not be fast. After a long time, the chances of the Khitan fishermen making profits are smaller. Even if they can still pick up a bargain, but on the side of the Great Song Dynasty official army, the loss will never be as big as that of Yanzhou City.

Because of the insistence on garrisoning Yanzhou, the Jingying forbidden army sent to Lu suffered heavy casualties, and these days, there are people in the city who are funeral every day. In the daily report of the Imperial City Division, there are many mentions.

There was a sad brow on the thin face that had not disappeared, and Zhao Ji sighed: "Now, the Western Xia is dead. Han Gang requested that troops be sent to recover the old Fengzhou and Quyechuan all the way, in order to prevent the Liao from occupying it. I don't know what your opinion is? ”

"As Han Gang said." Lu Huiqing preemptively said, "Quye River is the key in the clouds, once it occupies Quye River, the east and west borders of the river can be extended to the desert. As long as the enemy from the north is prevented, Hedong Road can live in peace and worry. ”

Wang Qi didn't speak, and now in the political hall, his sense of existence is getting weaker and weaker, and he is completely integrated into the role of the Three Decrees, and he completely gives up himself. figured out Zhao Ji's thoughts and fully supported him. is not as high-profile as Lu Huiqing.

Although the battle in the northwest that he advocated could not be said to be fruitless, the harvest was far less than expected, and the losses and losses were far beyond expectations, especially after comparing with the gains and efforts of the Liao State, it made people feel aggrieved. After that, the battle of Yanzhou advocated by Lu Huiqing also suffered heavy losses, and if there was no Liao people to help, it would also be the result of a fiasco.

After two fiascos, there will definitely be a change in the political hall. But when it will be changed, it has not yet been determined, and the speculation outside is that the situation in the northwest has been decided, and the faces in the political hall will change greatly at that time.

"In case it angers the Liao people...... Yuan Jiang hesitated.

"Then the Liao people are not worried about angering me?!" Zhao Xuan's sudden outburst made Yuan Jiang dare not say more.

In Yuan Jiang's view, it doesn't matter whether there is a piece of land west of the Yellow River and east of the desert. It's not how rich and fertile, it's just the wasteland on the west side of the Yellow River, so that the west side of the east side of the river can get a buffer and save a little face. Compared with the competition for Xingling and Yinxia, the strategic significance is far behind.

In fact, the Yellow River was originally used as a barrier in the east of the river, and the land west of the Yellow River was barren and barren, but it was just an addition. But in the current situation, it is a little bit to save a little face. It's better than taking advantage of the Liao people, but they have no power to fight back.

"Han Yukun is patient and has a good vision, so he can wait for such a good opportunity." After coming out of the Chongzheng Palace, Yuan Jiang softly praised Han Gang for being accustomed to picking up cheap.

"Perhaps, there will soon be a new person in the Xifu." Lu Huiqing looked back with a smile, "Right?" Sub thick. ”

"Well, most likely." Zhang's words are concise and to the point.