Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 818 The east wind is coming
Yang Yuan had just finished his breakfast and was about to start his official duties when Ren Degong came to visit him again.

When he saw Yang Yuan, an elusive light flashed in his eyes.

When Yang Yuan saw him coming, he couldn't help but hold his forehead: "Master Ren, you are too bold."

When Ren Degong heard this, he knew that last night's arrangement had been successful.

Ren Degong breathed a sigh of relief and said with a low smile, "The Queen Mother and the Empress are both stunning beauties, and only a hero like Lord Xuanfu is worthy of their service.

Being able to serve you is their blessing. I will make arrangements to pick them up in the morning and bring them back to the palace, and send them back quietly in the evening. I will never delay your official duties, and I will never make it public."

"You... the court was able to successfully recover Xixia, and the Ren family has made great contributions. Neither the court nor I will do anything to the Ren family. Lord Ren, you don't have to do this."

Yang Yuan was helpless and could only sigh.

Ren Degong smiled, thinking that Yang Yuan was just farting.

My eldest brother died in unclear circumstances. If I don't tie you and my Ren family up completely, who knows if you will continue to deal with us?
It is still good to put the weapons into storage and let the horses go to the mountains.

It's a pity that when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked.

Now that you have a huge handle in our Ren family's hands, you can no longer stop protecting us.

Seeing that Ren Degong didn't believe his sincere words, Yang Yuan could only smile bitterly: "Forget it, take them away. You still have to concentrate on your work and don't make any mistakes."

Ren Degong bowed and smiled, "Yes, I know, Master Xuanfu, just rest assured."

In the following days, the Queen Mother and the Empress of Western Xia were often quietly sent to the Kaifeng government office by Ren Degong at night, and then quietly taken away the next morning.

Li Renxiao probably had some health problems as he had no children in all these years. The Queen Wang of the Great Xia Kingdom had been lonely for a long time.

As for Empress Dowager Ren, there is no need to say more. The emperor died in the third year after she entered the palace, and she has been a widow ever since.

When they first served Yang Yuan, the two women did it for the sake of their respective families and their own destinies. But within two days, all the humiliation and grievances in their hearts disappeared, and they regarded Yang Yuan as their real husband and a good man.

She was so obsessed with Yang Yuan that even the Ji Xiang trio and the Er Mi trio felt a little jealous.

Today, Xingqing Prefecture is entirely under the control of Yang Yuan and the Ren family, and the Ren family is deeply rooted in Xingqing Prefecture and has many followers.

If you want to conceal the whereabouts of one or two people, even if they are entering or leaving the palace, no one will notice.

At least, the military supervisor Han knew nothing about this.

However, for Yang Yuan, such romantic affairs were just a means of comfort.

His energy was still focused on planning against the Jin Dynasty.

The pleasure of conquering cities and expanding territory is more enjoyable and gives people a happier feeling than conquering women one by one.

Yang Yuan's strategy for attacking Shaanxi was determined after repeated simulations on the sand table with generals such as Shi Han and Guo Di.

Yang Yuan decided to attack Shaanxi in three routes.

One route was the Northern Army, led by Shi Han, which entered Shaanxi from Fuyan Road.

This route goes eastward along the Yellow River. The terrain of the marching route is relatively flat, which is suitable for large armies, especially cavalry.

By entering Shaanxi from here, as long as they can quickly break through the Jin Kingdom's defense lines in Huanzhou and Qingyang Prefecture and penetrate directly into the hinterland of Shaanxi, they will be able to shake the Jin Kingdom's ruling core in the entire Shaanxi.

So Yang Yuan decided to equip all the troops in this group as cavalry.

The second route was led by Yang Yuan himself, passing through Xiazhou, Suide, Yanzhou, and Chang'an.

This route runs along the Wuding River basin, where the terrain is relatively complex and changeable, but it can avoid the main defense line of the Jin Dynasty and have an unexpected effect.

Yang Yuan's firearms troops and the Crazy Demon Army, which are good at fighting in complex terrains, will enter Shaanxi through this route under his leadership.

As long as they successfully enter Shaanxi through this route, they can cut off the Jin Kingdom's north-south connections in Shaanxi and form a pincer attack with the northern army.

You must know that further south, Tianshui and Baoji are already under the control of the Song Dynasty. If Yang Yuan takes the middle route, he can safely deal with the enemies to the north.

Shi Han, the commander of the Northern Army, took advantage of the mobility of the cavalry to quickly break through the Jin defense line and shake the entire Shaanxi region.

Yang Yuan advanced steadily along the way, gradually advancing to the center and dividing Shaanxi into two.

On the Western Xia side, Liu Qi's troops were temporarily left to garrison, while Wu Gong's troops retreated to Lanzhou.

Wu Gong will enter Shaanxi through Longdao, take the Tianshui route, and attack southeastern Shaanxi.

In this way, if all goes well, the Northern Army, the Central Army, and the Southern Army can meet at the foot of Chang'an City.

By then, the Jin army's garrison in Shaanxi had been fragmented, leaving Chang'an isolated and helpless.

Yang Yuan could use cannons to blast open the gates of Chang'an and complete the great cause of recovering Shaanxi in one fell swoop.

Of course, the Jin Kingdom could also transfer troops from the north across the Yellow River to fight in Shaanxi.

The Jin Kingdom could also dispatch troops from the east and enter Shaanxi through Hangu Pass to provide reinforcements.

Therefore, after gaining control of Western Xia, Yang Yuan sent people from the "Tongzhou Society" to convey his rough strategic plan to Xinjin.

Yang Yuan created a huge upheaval in Shaanxi, which would tie down a large number of Jin troops. At this time, the New Jin could move south and take Yanjing directly.

Since the loss of the Northeast, Yanjing, as the capital of the Jin Dynasty, has been too close to the enemy.

Wanyan Liang did not have the idea of ​​"the emperor guarding the national border". He had always been planning to move the capital to Luoyang or Bianliang. However, this was a huge project, and the current Jin Kingdom had not been able to put this matter on the agenda.

Therefore, if Xinjin gathers its elite troops and marches south, then...

Yang Yuan was helping the New Jin to contain the Jin army in Shaanxi, and the New Jin was helping Yang Yuan to contain the Jin army from the Yan army. The two countries could help each other.

By then, the New Jin might be able to capture Yanjing in one fell swoop and capture Wanyan Liang alive. In that case, a large area of ​​Jin territory would be within easy reach.

Yang Yuan believes that Xinjin will never miss this opportunity.

The bait thrown by Yang Yuan is like Lintao to Western Xia.

Wanyan Liang gave it to Western Xia. Although Western Xia knew it was a trap, they still had to jump into it.

Because Xixia was confined to a corner, it needed to expand its living space. The same was true for the New Jin Empire.

At the same time, Yang Yuan also sent a large number of scouts from the Tongzhouhui, Quezifang and the army into the Jin Kingdom.

As the Jin Dynasty began to decline in recent years, especially after losing the northeast, it was unable to recruit Jurchen soldiers and began to recruit a large number of Han soldiers.

Therefore, Yang Yuan sent out a large number of spies in advance to incite local Han generals and soldiers to defect and attract the Jin army to defect.

With the example of Pucha Alibu, the defender of Jianxunling, who voluntarily surrendered and enjoyed wealth and glory, and the threat of an approaching army, Yang Yuan believed that a large number of Jin generals would defect.

As for logistical support, Sichuan spent a whole year raising war supplies.

Now, with the logistical supplies provided by Western Xia, the needs of this major battle can be fully guaranteed.

Measures such as surveying the marching routes, setting up temporary post stations, ensuring information transmission and treating the wounded are also being carried out in full swing.

It can be said that everything is ready, only the east wind is missing.

At this time, the east wind came.

The imperial edict has arrived.

When the imperial court received the peace proposal from Western Xia and wanted to establish a vassal relationship with the Song Dynasty, it was extremely proud.

After all, before this, the pessimistic news circulating in Lin'an was that the armies of Wu Gong and Liu Qi were going to be destroyed by the Western Xia.

But in the blink of an eye, Yang Yuan successfully crossed the Great Snow Mountain and caught the Western Xia army off guard.

He not only successfully rescued Liu Qi's army, but also inflicted a heavy blow to the Western Xia army.

As a result, just as the good news reached Lin'an and the joyful atmosphere had not yet dissipated, another piece of news came that the Western Xia Prime Minister Ren Dejing had surrendered.

The young emperor was overjoyed and hurried to the Taimiao to report the good news to his ancestors. He was then given a series of rewards.

Ren Degong was granted the title of Duke and appointed as the Protector General of Longyou, and the rest of the people were also given titles and rewards.

Most of Yang Yuan and his generals were promoted to higher positions and titles. Yang Yuan himself was given the title of Shao Bao, Kaifeng Yitong Sansi, and the title of Duke.

The titles of nobility in the Song Dynasty include Prince, Prince of a County, Duke of the State, Founding Duke of a County, and so on.

In the entire history of the Song Dynasty, there were no more than five people of different surnames who were crowned kings during their lifetime.

They are Fu Yanqing, Prince of Wei, Wang Jing, Prince of Taiyuan, Tong Guan, Prince of Guangyang, Yang Cunzhong, Prince of Tongan, and Zhang Jun, Prince of Qinghe.

Yang Yuan’s contributions are enough to make him a king.

It’s just that he has too little experience and is too young. If he is crowned king now, there will be no more titles or rewards he can receive in the future.

The Shaanxi Campaign is about to begin. What if I am crowned king now and then make military achievements?
So the court discussed for a long time and finally conferred him the title of Duke.

From now on, even if he does not make any achievements, he just relies on his merits to gain experience. After another twenty years, he will surely have the throne in his lifetime.

When the news reached Xixia, the members of the Ren family felt relieved.

Several major clans of Xixia, including the Wang, Liu, and Wang clans, which were won over and supported by Yang Yuan, also gained something and were satisfied.

The Tuoba clan must be suppressed now, but in order to contain these newly rising clans, the court also rewarded Tuoba Hou and Tuoba Heiyi in accordance with Yang Yuan's memorial request.

This move also prevented the Tuoba tribes from going to extremes.

In this way, the various forces in Western Xia reached a delicate balance.

The imperial edict also ordered that the Western Xia Emperor Li Renxiao, three princes, and their families be sent to Lin'an.

Li Renxiao was granted the title of Marquis of Anshun and from then on he lived as a retired official in Chang'an.

"Don't worry, Shao Bao. All the attendants and guards around Li Renxiao are arranged by our people. Mu Yan and Yun Mei are already Shao Bao's men. No one can touch them."

At the banquet celebrating Yang Yuan's promotion to the title, Ren Degong spoke with a thick tongue.

Ren Muyan and Wang Yunmei were the maiden names of the Queen Mother and Empress of Western Xia.

……

Lin'an, Zongyang Palace.

The young emperor Zhao Qi held the pen, but his young brows were furrowed and he didn't write for a long time.

Suddenly, he raised his head and asked, "Teacher, will Yang Yuan send troops to Shaanxi?"

Zhao Chen smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, this is the military strategy that Yang Yuan presented to you, and the court just approved it according to the rules. What reason does he have not to follow it?"

Zhao Qi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "I am just a little worried. After all, the situation is different now and the situation in Xixia is changing rapidly. I am afraid that he will be reluctant to leave."

Zhao Chen said calmly: "Although Yang Yuan has great power, even more than Wu Jie at the beginning, he has too little experience and lacks prestige, so he should not have any intention of rebelling at the moment.

The emperor does not need to worry. He only needs to take some precautions in advance to prevent his power from increasing and his ambitions from growing. This will also fulfill the duty of the emperor and his subjects. "

Zhao Qi nodded: "Yes, I will first agree to his request and let him leave Xixia. Otherwise, once he realizes my intentions, even if he has no ambitions at the moment, if his subordinates instigate him to proclaim himself emperor in Xixia, I will be very troubled."

Zhao Qi put down his pen and said, "So, I will keep my composure and agree to his request first, allowing him to lead his troops to leave Xixia. Once he leaves, I will immediately remove the firewood from under my feet and send people to win over the Ren family and control the entire territory of Xixia."

Zhao Chen smiled and said, "By then, Yang Yuan will be in Shaanxi, trapped in the Jin army. No matter how the government wants to control him, he will have no choice. Otherwise, if the supply is cut off, he will be destroyed."

Zhao Qi nodded happily: "Thanks to the teacher's brilliant plan, when he is isolated and helpless, I will reduce his military power and transfer him back to the capital. In this way, the world will be stable."

Zhao Qi sighed and said, "Yang Yuan is young, but he has too much power. He will become ambitious in the long run. I don't want the emperor and his subjects to turn against each other in the future.

As long as he returns to the capital, I will not treat him unfairly. I will give him a throne, so that he can live a life of luxury and wealth from now on."

Zhao Chen said happily: "Your Majesty is kind and generous. This is a blessing for Yang Yuan, a blessing for our Song Dynasty, and even more so for our Zhao family."

Zhao Qi smiled slightly, picked up his pen and wrote: "A gentleman serves his superiors. When he advances, he will be loyal to them. When he retreats, he will make amends for his mistakes. He will follow their good and correct their evil. Therefore, the superiors and subordinates can get along well with each other."

A single stroke of thin gold has fully captured the charm of Huizong.

(End of this chapter)