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

Jiang Zhao then reduced the army by 120,000 to show his sincerity.

Now that the Western Xia and Mu Zheng have made contact, it's likely that they intend to form an alliance.

If we unite from top to bottom, and once we open up the road connecting Lezhou, Lanzhou, and Hezhou, then Diezhou will also be lost.

I must say, this strategy is not bad.

Since the Hehuang region was annexed by the Great Zhou, the Western Xia was caught in the middle of several major regimes, undoubtedly a lamb to the slaughter.

Building a road through Lezhou, Lanzhou, and Hezhou is definitely one of the few ways to break through the predicament.

Another method is to open up the Uyghur route, which would be equivalent to circling half of East Asia.

This method isn't very reliable, but ultimately it's a way out.

(Attached image: Theoretically, this is another possible route)

"Did you get any answers?" Jiang Zhao asked.

"No," Zhang Fangping shook his head and said, "The lieutenant committed suicide, so we couldn't capture him alive."

In such important matters involving negotiations between two forces, apart from the deputy general in charge of the troops who knew the inside story, everyone else was just cannon fodder.

The presence of over a thousand soldiers was solely for the purpose of escorting the lieutenant general to Qing Tang, enabling Li Liangzuo and Mu Zheng to successfully converse.

Jiang Zhao understood and then asked, "Where is Dong Zhan?"

Mu Zheng is Dong Zhan's biggest rival, and Dong Zhan must be keeping a close eye on Qing Tang's every move.

There may even be quite a few undercover agents and spies.

A war involving the annihilation of a thousand people would require at least three to five thousand people to besiege it, and it would be a protracted and fierce battle, so the scale is definitely not small.

Therefore, Dong Zhan would definitely know about Mu Zheng's communication with the Western Xia.

At the far right, a man quickly stood up, cupped his hands respectfully, and said, "This humble official had someone find Dong Zhan, and he said he would keep his promise."

Jiang Zhao frowned and exchanged glances with Wang Shao and Gu Tingye.

"We approached him first, instead of him approaching us first?" Gu Tingye realized the problem.

At this time, Dong Zhan should be the one who is more anxious!

Logically speaking, it should be Dong Zhan who rushed over in a panic, begging the Xihe Border Army to keep their promise!

The green-robed general was taken aback, unsure how to respond.

Jiang Zhao gestured for him to sit down and not to be nervous.

"An agreement is, in the end, just an agreement."

Dong Zhan allowed Xihe to establish a tea-horse trade market and a border market, and to win over small Tibetan tribes. He also allowed the construction of border fortresses and the handover of the Yellow River and Tao River to the Great Zhou fortress.

On the Xihe side, the main measure was to reduce the number of troops by more than 100,000, thereby reducing the number of permanent troops and giving Dongzhan a certain sense of security.

This is essentially what the oath requires.

Given that the border army has nearly 200,000 soldiers, the oath is certainly a deterrent.

However, having deterrent power does not mean it cannot be violated.

It should be noted that even with the "Qingli Peace Treaty" agreement, the Western Xia side still failed to "effectively restrain" its subordinates, resulting in the need for a large number of troops to be stationed in Shaanxi Road year-round.

When the Zhou dynasty had a chance to counterattack, it did not hesitate to violate the "Qingli Peace Treaty".

The alliance between the regimes, apart from a brief "honeymoon period" in the first few years, was purely a matter of mutual distrust afterward.

"We still need to be wary of Dong Zhan," Jiang Zhao said.

Dong Zhan is no pushover.

Such people can turn on you in an instant; a mere oath means nothing to them.

If there's real profit to be made, Dong Zhan will show no mercy.

The two or three thousand soldiers stationed along the Yellow River and the Tao River were merely there to supervise and prevent direct communication between the Western Xia and Dongzhan.

If a war were to break out, those two or three thousand men would have no deterrent effect whatsoever.

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Zhao slowly said:

"How about this."

"Zichun and Bao Gongfeng went to recruit soldiers."

"Conscript 100,000."

As he spoke, Jiang Zhao looked at Zhang Heng and said, "Transfer one portion of the relevant grain supplies from Xihe Road and another portion from the capital."

"Yes, sir." Zhang Heng bowed respectfully.

Jiang Zhao glanced at the geomantic map, only glancing at Western Xia before turning to Liao.

Finally, our gaze returned to the border region of Shaanxi.

"Zhonghuai, take my token and enter Shaanxi to command 30,000 troops, waiting for the opportune moment to act," Jiang Zhao instructed.

Xihe Road is the main battlefield, but that doesn't mean it's only targeting the Xihe area.

Both Wang Shao and Gu Tingye were brilliant military commanders.

This is an opportunity for the two of them to train.

Ten thousand, thirty thousand, fifty thousand, one hundred thousand, gradually increasing, you'll eventually master it.

The reason why Gu Tingye was sent to Shaanxi instead of Wang Shao was mainly because Gu Tingye was a military nobleman, while the one in charge of military power in Shaanxi was the Marquis of Zhongjing.

If Gu Tingye were to take over military power, it wouldn't be too difficult for him.

"Yes, sir." Gu Tingye quickly bowed.

"Go down."

"Everyone should just do their job."

Jiang Zhao waved his hand, then glanced at the Liao Kingdom on the map again.

Defeating Li Liangzuo is not difficult!

The difficulty lies in maintaining a balance of power.

The Western Xia must not be killed!

Bianjing, Pang Mansion.

The wind sways the green bamboo, and the pines rustle softly.

A stone table, a pot of tea, two people sitting opposite each other, each holding a coin.

The man was dressed in a magnificent brocade robe, with slightly graying temples, and appeared to be around fifty years old.

"The lineage of Grand Chancellor Han is truly flourishing!" the scholar in brocade robes said expressionlessly.

In short, there is a hidden meaning.

Opposite him stood a scholar in a blue robe, about thirty years old, with a relatively youthful face and lacking the air of someone with a weathered appearance.

"The Grand Chancellor gained power and ruled the realm for ten years—"

The scholar in the blue robe knew what the Confucian scholar was about to say, and couldn't help but sigh: "Even if my father were alive, he would definitely be no match for the Grand Master. Let alone the two of us?"

This scholar in blue robes was none other than Pang Yuanying, the eldest son of the late "Zhuang Min" Sikong Pang Ji.

The remaining person was none other than a former student and official of Pang Ji.

Lu Gongzhu remained expressionless as he placed a piece on the board: "There are six chairs in the cabinet, and each chair is passed down through a lineage. But the Grand Chancellor is too strong-willed, and he managed to have Wang Yaochen snatch one of those chairs away."

"Ah!"

Lu Gongzhu said with a sneer, "The lineage of the Grand Chancellor is indeed full of talented people!"

“Zhang Fangping, the Pacification Commissioner of Xihe, is highly qualified and respected; the young Grand Secretary is young, yet he has expanded the territory and gained the new emperor’s favor.”

"Generally speaking, Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet are required to retire after three years."

"Once the new year is over, Wang Yaochen will definitely retire in glory."

"If we don't get our cabinet chairs back soon, things might change."

Pang Yuanying's expression was solemn.

He understood what Lü Gongzhu meant.

If the chairs keep falling into the hands of the Koreans, they might actually become theirs eventually.

“In the past, when my father retired, the core figures of the older generation were also around the age of retirement. Among the younger ones, my elder brother was the leader, and Sima Guang was also one of the candidates.”

"However, their official positions are all too low to qualify them for the position of Grand Secretary."

"A few years later, Sima Guang was demoted to Danzhou, and my elder brother was appointed as the third-rank deputy pacification commissioner and entered the capital as a third-rank official."

Pang Yuanying frowned slightly, his expression grave: "But even a third-rank official isn't enough to enter the cabinet!"

Ever since my father acquired the reputation of being a "lucky one," he has always been despised by scholars and has never even presided over a special imperial examination.

Thus, there was a brief break in the lineage of his students and former officials.

Several years have passed, and some of his former students and associates have grown up, but their growth has been limited.

A third-rank official is simply not enough to enter the cabinet.

Lu Gongzhu shook his head and said, "One doesn't necessarily have to join the cabinet to accomplish great things."

"What do you mean, Brother?" Pang Yuanying asked, looking puzzled.

"Jiang Zichuan commanded troops in Xihe and Shaanxi, totaling nearly 300,000 soldiers."

Lu Gongzhu shook his head and said, "I don't believe that the new emperor doesn't suspect him at all!"

"Where in the world can there be a ruler and his ministers who can be absolutely trusted?"

"Doesn't the new emperor want to check and balance Jiang Zichuan?"

Lu Gongzhu's gaze narrowed slightly, and he slowly said, "In that case, I will be the one to act as a check and balance!"

Pang Yuanying was taken aback and didn't know what to say.

Chapter 190: On Jiang Zhao's Ten Deadly Sins! (2-in-1 4k)

Royal study room.

At the head of the table, Zhao Ceying held a vermilion brush and occasionally picked up some memorials that had already been covered in red ink to give his comments.

The advantages and disadvantages of secretly building up a reserve force are obvious.

The key to this method lies in the word "secret".

The name of the crown prince is written in a specially made will, and is not made public to the world except on his deathbed.

On the one hand, the secret designation of an heir undoubtedly gave the emperor the power to "abolish" the heir at any time.

If one harbors dissatisfaction, a single stroke of the vermilion brush can replace the crown prince.

At the same time, the prospective crown prince dared not make any moves, or even form a faction, for fear of being deposed.

Once this law is implemented, the emperor's power will be as stable as Mount Tai.

Like the late emperor, he was an old emperor without children, yet he still held considerable prestige, and his imperial might remained.

Conversely, this method also means that the crown prince cannot continuously accumulate power, thus resulting in the crown prince not having a real inner circle.

This is equivalent to benefiting the emperor while weakening the crown prince.

As the new emperor, Zhao Ceying faced the problem of insufficient support.

There's no way to build a foundation when one is the heir apparent; one can only build it up little by little after ascending the throne.

Therefore, one must be diligent in one's duties at all times and dare not be negligent in the slightest.

"Your Majesty."

Li Xian, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, stepped closer and respectfully announced, "Lord Lü, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, requests an audience."

"Lu Gongzhu?"

Zhao Ceying was surprised and looked up.