Physician of the Song Dynasty: Zhang Kai and Li Qingzhao have a private life-long contract

Fan Zheng suddenly stopped and said: "I object, Qingtang has just been defeated, and we must be more careful with the Song Dynasty now. If we attack by force, the Song Dynasty will win miserably. From Fan's point of view, if we attack Qingtang in winter, we should first take the best part of it." The Hehuang land will then be used as a foundation to slowly expand. After adapting to the plateau climate, we will then go all out to destroy the Qingtang."

"Winter attack? Do you know how cold it is in Qingtang in winter? Besides, marching in winter is a taboo for military strategists?" Zeng Bu objected hastily. The Song Dynasty always followed the rules when it came to war. Even when going out for an expedition, they had to fight according to the formation map. There was no precedent for sending out troops in winter.

Fan Zheng smiled confidently and said: "Winter operations are indeed taboo, but with the protection of cotton armor, winter operations will be our army's greatest advantage!"

"Cotton armor?"

Zeng Bu couldn't help but be startled. After Fan Zheng led the weapons supervisor to create cotton armor, this lightest armor was used only on kidnapping horses and was rejected by other soldiers. Winter was coming, and iron armor could not be worn at all. Armor is probably the most suitable armor for winter combat.

"In addition to making cotton armor, the Ordnance Inspector also produced cotton gloves and masks, which were enough to ensure the normal march of the Song army in winter. In addition, Li Jingbei of the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Turks by marching in winter and suddenly attacked the Turks' tents, and finally destroyed them. Turks. And now my Song Dynasty cotton armor is enough to keep out the cold and enemies, isn't it inferior to the Tang army wearing iron armor?" Fan Zheng asked rhetorically.

All the officials couldn't help but pause. They were familiar with history books and naturally knew that the Tang Dynasty's battle to destroy the Eastern Turks relied on Li Jing to brave the cold snow and suddenly attack the Turks, causing the Turkic tentacles that were once prosperous to fall apart overnight.

But now that the Song Dynasty has the help of cotton armor, the conditions are much better than those of the Tang army back then. Coupled with the sudden attack on Qingtang, the Song Dynasty's chances of victory will be greatly increased.

"Every tribe in the grassland is dormant in winter and unable to assist each other. I agree with Fan Taicheng's proposal to follow the example of Li Tang in the war when the Turks were destroyed, and attack Qingtang in winter. As long as they take the lead in occupying the Hehuang Valley, the Song Dynasty will be in an invincible position." Zhang Dun echoed.

The Hehuang Valley is the most important area of ​​​​Qingtang. It can be cultivated and grazed. As long as the Song Dynasty built a fortress again and established the second Pingxia City, it could retreat, defend or attack. It only takes a few days to destroy the green pond.

Moreover, the Hehuang Valley has the largest tribe in Qingtang. If the Hehuang land is conquered, Qingtang's strength will be reduced by another three points, and the Song Dynasty's chance of victory will be increased by another three points.

Under this situation, if the Song Dynasty can no longer attack Qingtang, it can only blame its own incompetence.

"Then now all the envoys from the three countries have come to the Song Dynasty to request peace talks! How should the Song Dynasty respond!"

Seeing that the court had decided to attack Qingtang first, Cai Bian couldn't help but frown and asked.

Zhang Dun showed a sly smile and said: "Of course it's a normal response. Qingtang must be punished for his crimes, and then he will be rewarded as before, so he can't see any flaws."

"We need to have a tougher attitude towards Xixia. We are determined not to give up until Xixia is destroyed. In the end, for the sake of the Liao Kingdom, do we reluctantly agree to peace talks?" Lu Dafang said.

"Not only that, after destroying Qingtang, the Song Dynasty's next plan is to attack Xixia. Xixia must take the opportunity to surrender and become famous in order to attack the Song Dynasty in the future!" Su Song added.

The three prime ministers were the top figures in the world, and they quickly formulated a complete strategy.

"allow!"

When Zhao Xu heard this, he nodded solemnly.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Fan Zheng and Cai Bian bowed and accepted the order.

..............................

In the Ministry of Rites.

As expected, the Song Dynasty treated Qingtang lightly. First, he severely reprimanded Qingtang for provoking border provocations for no reason, betraying trust and other crimes. Later, he greatly appeased Qingtang and promoted him to a noble position. Knowing that Qingtang lacked iron tools, he made an exception and granted him Copper, iron and other military supplies.

The Qingtang envoy was overjoyed and immediately proclaimed himself a minister to the Song court. He made a literary agreement with the Song Dynasty and vowed never to violate each other.

After appeasing Qingtang, Fan Zheng and Cai Bian immediately targeted Xixia. In front of the Liao envoys, they recounted the first battle of Pingxia City, Xixia's begging memorial, and listed Xixia's treacherous behavior. Xixia has great potential to never give up.

The Liao envoy looked embarrassed. He and Yelu Nanyin had witnessed the peace talks between Song and Xia with their own eyes, but now Xixia had betrayed their trust, turned around, reneged on the contract, and continued to attack Pingxia City.

"Your Majesty, don't listen to the Song people confusing right and wrong. After the peace talks between Song and Xia, the Song people were the first to break the treaty. Pingxia City repeatedly sent troops to harass our Xixia people, causing us Xixia to lose the place to sing and have fun. Xixia is just a passive counterattack!" Wu said angrily.

The second battle of Pingxia City was certainly due to Xixia's intention to pull out the nail in Pingxia City. The Song people were also not innocent. They repeatedly sent troops to harass Xixia farming, which Xixia could not endure.

"In this case, let's stop the peace talks. Song and Xia will continue to fight and each will settle down to his destiny." Fan Zheng said with a strong attitude.

Weiming Awu was immediately discouraged. Now Pingxia City is like a nail. If it continues to invade Xixia, it will only make Xixia continue to be weak.

"Fan Taicheng, don't be angry. The three kingdoms of Song, Xia and Liao have always valued peace. War between the two countries will only make the people of the two countries miserable. This time, our country, Liao, will serve as a guarantee and the two countries will re-enter the contract. Whoever dares to violate the contract again will arbitrarily Don’t blame the Liao Kingdom for being unkind in provoking a war,” the Liao Kingdom’s envoy threatened.

The Liao envoy seemed to be fair, but Xixia was at a disadvantage at this moment, and the peace talks at this moment naturally favored Xixia.

"Xixia is willing to accept the mediation of the Liao Kingdom?" Weiming Awu said impatiently.

Fan Zheng frowned and said helplessly: "The Song Dynasty can accept peace talks, but the border between Song and Xia needs to be redrawn from Tiandu Mountain to the desert, so that both sides have a buffer."

Wu, whose name is Wei, is naturally unwilling. With such a division, Xixia not only loses a large area of ​​territory, but also loses the strategic initiative, and can only be passively defended.

"Yes!" However, the Liao envoy said without hesitation, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. This is the principle of the grassland. Since Xixia has been defeated, it can only accept the reality of defeat.

"In addition, the Liao Kingdom and the Song Dynasty are brotherly countries, but Xixia is not the same. Its leader Li Yuanhao was originally a subject of the Song Dynasty. He could only profess his vassal status to the Song Dynasty like Qingtang and became a vassal state of the Song Dynasty! "Cai Bian now reviewed the history of Xixia and forced Xixia to surrender to the Song Dynasty.

"It is simply wishful thinking to ask Xixia to profess tribulation to the Song Dynasty!" Weiming Awu flatly refused.

Fan Zheng had already predicted: "Since Xixia doesn't want to become a vassal, it doesn't matter. Before the Song Dynasty was defeated, it sent a lot of coins to Xixia. Now that Xixia has been defeated and wants peace talks, it needs to send coins to the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty Don’t ask for too much, Xixia will give you the same amount as the Song Dynasty gave you back then.”

"Xixia gave Song Dynasty coins?"

Weiming Awu opened his eyes wide. He must know that the Song Dynasty gave Xixia 300,000 guan of annual coins every year. Now that Xixia's finances are tight, how can he have the money to give the Song Dynasty 300,000 guan of annual coins.

"According to this envoy, it is better for Xixia to become a vassal." The Liao envoy naturally knew the situation of Xixia, so he gave Xixia a step down. Moreover, it was just a matter of becoming a vassal, and nothing would be lost. At that time, Xixia did not become a vassal year after year, and finally Still continued to attack the Song Dynasty.

Weiming Awu nodded helplessly.

At this point, under the witness of the Liao Kingdom, Song and Xia resumed peace talks, and Xixia declared vassalage to the Song Dynasty. The two sides used the desert as their boundary and were not allowed to start wars again.