Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

Jiang Zhao was appointed Minister of War, undoubtedly for military command, similar to a Pacification Commissioner.

In addition, Marquis Ningyuan Gu Tingye was forced to leave his post due to illness and went to the border. Wang Shao, a scholar of the Privy Council, Zhang Ding, the son of the Duke of Yingguo, Zheng Xiao, the deputy commander of the Divine Guard Army, and Bao Shun, the Western Head Attendant, were all sent to the border to fight.

The new emperor ordered that Jiang Zhao be permitted to mobilize all soldiers from Xihe and Shaanxi.

All military and political affairs on the frontier are entrusted to one person!

Chapter 188 The Frontier, the Grand Secretary!

The fourth year of the Zhiping era, the ninth month.

The wind is strong, the sky is overcast, and the air is getting colder.

The Huangshui River was clear, the hillsides were covered with lush autumn grass, a light mist hung in the air, and occasionally the unique sound of the Qiang flute could be heard, adding to the desolate and sorrowful atmosphere.

The thunderous sound of hooves rang out, and there were about a thousand men, all riding warhorses, holding weapons, and wearing armor, exuding an aura of elite troops.

Jiang Zhao tugged on the reins and looked up into the distance.

The further they went, the smoother the official road became, wide enough for four or five warhorses to travel side by side.

At the end of the official road, there was only a "small black dot".

It was blurry, yet undeniably real; it wasn't an illusion.

"It's been two years!"

The chestnut horse lagged a few steps behind, while Gu Tingye and Wang Shao rode side by side.

Both of them spotted the "small black dot" and were quite excited, though not without a hint of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection).

The Hehuang region was definitely the starting point for their "leap over the dragon gate" (a metaphor for achieving great success).

During the expansion of Xihe, two previously unknown soldiers suddenly became famous, rising rapidly to prominence and achieving great success.

Jiang Zhaoping and Han Xiao understood the feelings of the two.

The opening of the Xihe border has brought about a considerable number of beneficiaries.

Whether it was pioneers like Zhang Heng, Wang Shao, Gu Tingye, Zhong E, Xue Xiang, and Shen Kuo, or the first administrators like Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zhang Dun, and Zeng Bu, or even Zhang Fangping, the Pacification Commissioner of Xihe Road, they were all undoubtedly beneficiaries.

Xihe expanded the borders, opening up the territory of seven prefectures and encompassing two thousand miles of mountains and rivers.

This is a typical example of "expanding the pie," with the newly established military and political institutions being the fruits of victory.

However, if we're talking about who truly turned their fortunes around, it's undoubtedly Wang Shao and Gu Tingye.

Besides these two, Jiang Zhao, Zhang Heng, Zhang Dun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, and others were all either top scholars or junior scholars.

As the top ten or so people selected every three years, even if they just waited for seniority, they could still reach the third rank.

The bottom line for these people has already been set!

The expansion of Xihe is more about raising the bar.

Wang Shao and Gu Tingye are different.

They didn't have a guaranteed minimum income.

Wang Shao considered himself merely a third-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) with no special background.

If nothing unexpected happens, one will have to slowly build up seniority throughout their life, hoping to one day make it big.

boil!

Such days are undoubtedly hopeless, and no one knows whether they can get through them.

Or rather, it's highly likely that they'll struggle to make it through.

Fortunately, Heaven took pity on him, and the young Grand Secretary, in his selection of generals and soldiers, chose him.

An unknown person became famous overnight, held great power, and was appointed as a scholar of the Privy Council!

Admittedly, there's nothing wrong with gaining experience; you might even get a chance to succeed.

But for him, expanding his territory would certainly be a much wider and more promising prospect!

This was especially true for Gu Tingye.

A spoiled brat with a notorious reputation, he even suffers from the schemes of his wicked stepmother.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will definitely be schemed against by his stepmother and live a life of despair.

Fortunately, with the strong recommendation of the young Grand Secretary, Xihe Kaibian became famous overnight and became a representative figure of the younger generation of noble sons.

It cannot be summarized as simply defying fate.

As successful individuals, the two undoubtedly often reminisce about the past and their journey of struggle.

Now, entering the border once again, I am naturally filled with a sense of nostalgia.

Jiang Zhao glanced back, raising his eyebrows slightly.

It's not a good thing to be in a high position at a young age and have no ambition.

"To achieve success and fame is certainly a wonderful thing."

"A true man's goal is nothing more than to achieve great deeds and leave his mark on history."

"Even worse, that is..."

Jiang Zhao paused for a moment as he spoke.

"Then what is it?" Gu Tingye asked curiously, surprised.

He and Wang Shao have already achieved great success, made outstanding contributions, and left their mark on history!

Jiang Zhao took a deep breath and slowly said, "Tell me, did the ancient sages fear me?"

The pie is drawn, and the reins are pulled.

"drive!"

He held the reins and brandished the whip.

The wind blew his clothes, and his purple robes fluttered in the wind; how spirited and dashing he was!

"drive!"

Influenced by this, Gu Tingye and Wang Shao felt very open-minded and suddenly felt a desire to compete with the ancient sages.

With a flick of his whip, he followed.

Xizhou, the office of the Pacification Commissioner.

Jiang Zhao sat upright in the main seat, his hands resting on his knees, looking down straight ahead.

From left to right, there were dozens of people, all standing ready.

On the left is Zhang Fangping, the Pacification Commissioner, and on the right is Xu Zhi, the Deputy Pacification Commissioner.

The second seat on the left was held by Zhang Heng, the transport commissioner.

After that, Wang Shao and Gu Tingye took their seats one after the other.

The rest of the attendees sat down in order of their official rank.

Many people looked at each other, their faces filled with joy.

Two years later, the old leader finally went to serve as an official in the border region, visiting the eight prefectures of Xihe who were loyal to him!

Jiang Zhao glanced at it.

Of the dozens of key officials, eight or nine out of ten were his people.

These people are all part of his team.

"Lord Zhang, how is the battle going?" Jiang Zhao asked the pacification envoy in a calm manner.

The Pacification Commissioner was a powerful second-rank official who controlled major military and political affairs in his region.

Theoretically speaking, there are only about a dozen or so people whose official rank is higher than that of the Pacification Commissioner.

Even the Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Six Ministries had lower ranks than the Pacification Commissioner.

High-ranking officials who governed vast territories, like feudal lords in ancient times, never lacked prestige!

Unfortunately, Jiang Zhao was one of the few people in the world who could control the pacification envoy.

He was originally the Minister of Rites, a high-ranking official of the second rank, and also held the title of Minister of War, overseeing all military and political affairs in Xihe and Shaanxi.

In terms of real power, he is already the number one person after the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet!

Even a pacification envoy was clearly a subordinate to him.

Zhang Fangping waved his hand, and a minor official brought over a geomantic map.

Holding a vermilion brush, he pointed to Lezhou, marked in red, and continued down through Lanzhou and Hezhou, marking the boundary to the Qinghai-Tibetan region.

(Attached image: This is roughly the route of the advance)

"Li Liangzuo of Western Xia led about 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers, claiming to have 100,000 troops."

"With great momentum, they launched an attack on Lezhou and captured the three major cities of Miaochuan, Longzhuhei, and Xunhua in succession."

"More than 60,000 border troops are scattered across eight prefectures. The strength of a single prefecture is less than 5,000, and the garrison of a single city is only about 1,000. It is really difficult to launch a counterattack."

"The situation was urgent, and Zhang immediately ordered his soldiers to defend the city at all costs and not to leave the city."

Zhang Fangping said solemnly, "In that case, the offensive will be slightly slowed down."

"Unable to capture the city, Li Liangzuo simply ordered his generals to travel down the Lanzhou and Hezhou routes, bypassing the city."

As he spoke, Zhang Fangping couldn't help but sigh.

It must be admitted that there are indeed differences between people.

Compared to Jiang Zhao, he was practically "ignorant of military affairs".

In fact, he was not alone; the vast majority of civil officials were not knowledgeable about military affairs.

The Pacification Commissioner held significant military and political power over a region, but his primary authority lay in politics rather than military affairs.

When tens of thousands of people invade at once, even military generals and nobles are rarely able to truly cope with it, let alone civil officials.

Given the compatibility, staying in the city and not venturing out is already a very good choice.

And as it turned out, the defense was very effective.

If a thousand soldiers were to defend the city, it would take at least five or six thousand Western Xia soldiers to take it down.

The cost-effectiveness was not high, so Li Liangzuo focused on surprise attacks and naturally abandoned the idea of ​​besieging the city.

Jiang Zhao understood and nodded.

This kind of decision-making is conventional and at least not prone to errors.

Zhang Fangping continued, "Recently, an imperial edict arrived, saying that Minister Jiang was to enter the border to guard the area. So I ordered Zhong E, the deputy commander of the army, to lead more than 10,000 soldiers from Xizhou to try to resist the harassment."

"Unexpectedly, they discovered that more than a thousand Western Xia soldiers had appeared in Qinghai. General Zhong E led his troops to besiege and annihilate them all, only then did they learn that the commander was a subordinate general under Li Liangzuo."

"The land of Qinghai?"

Jiang Zhao raised his eyebrows.

That's Mu Zheng's territory.

Chapter 189 Since that's how it is, I'll check and balance Jiang Zichuan!

"The land of Qinghai?"

Jiang Zhao raised his eyebrows.

That's Mu Zheng's territory.

After Gusiluo passed away, the family business was given to his youngest son, Dongzhan, while Muzheng was the son of Gusiluo's eldest son, that is, Gusiluo's grandson.

The two were locked in a fierce confrontation, and each was clearly the most powerful force in Tibet.

Among them, Dong Zhan is closer to Da Zhou and is somewhat caught in a pincer movement.

Last time, Dong Zhan's envoy met with Jiang Zhao and the two sides signed an agreement.

Dong Zhan offered many benefits, hoping to coexist peacefully with the Great Zhou.