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

In the agricultural era, how terrifying it was for ten people to feed one mouth.

Such consumption is terrifying.

This explains why the Western Xia often moved south.

If they hadn't marched south to seize some supplies, the Western Xia might not have been able to sustain its domestic consumption.

Now, in order to conquer Xihe Road, Li Liangzuo personally led the expedition, which will add another 100,000 troops to the army.

In wartime emergency transport, it would be considered very good if even 10% of the supplies could be transported to the border.

Given the strength of the Western Xia, it was simply not capable of sustaining the long-term expenditure of a 100,000-strong army on a distant expedition. It was insufficient to support the Western Xia's prolonged warfare.

On the contrary, the Hehuang region is sufficient to supply 60-70% of the Xihe border army's consumption and replenishment.

Li Liangzuo's invasion was based on a strategy of "quick victory".

If things drag on for too long, Li Liangzuo himself will be the most anxious.

When you're in a rush, you're more likely to make mistakes.

On the Shaanxi front, Marquis Gu Tingye of Ningyuan was also ready to head north at any moment.

Delaying it a little is not a bad thing.

Without objection, Jiang Zhao stopped, and the group retreated together.

"Ziping, when the army swears an oath, remember to have someone specially cook a few meals of meat," Jiang Zhao said to Zhang Heng, the transport commissioner of Xihe.

The army's oath-taking ceremony signifies their imminent departure for the battlefield, during which they will slaughter sheep and pigs and enjoy a few good meals.

"promise."

Zhang Heng bowed and nodded.

He glanced at the geomantic map and ordered, "Zihou, lead 30,000 Han soldiers to enter Diezhou and garrison it."

Diezhou is located north of Kuozhou and south of Qingtang.

Kuozhou was Dongzhan's territory, and Qingtang was Muzheng's territory.

No matter what unusual events occur in these two places, Diezhou can react quickly.

With someone stationed in Diezhou, the main force fighting Li Liangzuo head-on can be prevented from being attacked from two sides.

"Yes, sir," Wang Shao replied quickly.

Thirty thousand troops—that's no small number.

Commanding 30,000 troops already qualifies one as a "commander-in-chief".

Jiang Zhaoping nodded.

With the army marching north, there is a very high probability that Dong Zhan and Mu Zheng will seize the opportunity to launch an attack.

Since the peace talks between Xihe and Dongzhan tribes, the eight prefectures of Xihe, Dongzhan tribe, and Muzheng tribe have been in a difficult-to-describe stalemate of peace.

This stalemate and peace is undoubtedly the outcome that the Great Zhou Dynasty wanted to see.

New territories are inevitably needed for recuperation and development.

For the Dongzhan tribe, the peace negotiations initially had a considerable effect.

At that time, Dongzhan had just been established and his foundation was unstable. Unfortunately, he was located south of Qinghai and Tanghai, and the two sides were in a standoff.

What is even more alarming is undoubtedly the Xihe border army, which numbers a full 200,000.

Dong Zhan was unprepared to deal with the Xihe border army and naturally hoped to negotiate peace.

Several years have passed, and Dong Zhan's power base has become solid. He's bound to have some crooked ideas.

For Mu Zheng, the thought was to deal with Xihe Road and the Dongzhan tribe at all times.

This time, taking advantage of the Western Xia invasion, there is at least a 90% chance that Dong Zhan and Mu Zheng will make some unusual moves.

Entrusting the 30,000 troops to Wang Shao to stabilize the rear is quite appropriate.

The emphasis on "Han soldiers" was purely out of caution against the soldiers of Yu Longke's tribe.

Admittedly, Tibet existed in the form of tribes and did not have the concept of a "nation".

It's not unreasonable to let the Tibetans kill the Tibetans.

However, if you are not afraid of 10,000, just be afraid of the unexpected.

If something really goes wrong, no one can withstand the consequences.

Given their compatibility, it was natural for the Han people to fight the Tibetans, and for the Tibetans to fight the Western Xia.

"The remaining 70,000."

Jiang Zhao looked down and focused on Zhong E: "General Zhong E is leading 10,000 soldiers northward along Hezhou, clearing out the territory along the way."

"Yes, sir." Zhong E bowed solemnly.

"Zhang Ding and Bao Shun each led 10,000 troops, one as the left wing and the other as the right wing. Zheng Xiao, Yao Si, Yang Wenguang, and Guo Kui each led 5,000 troops, with Zheng Xiao as the vanguard."

Of the 70,000 troops, 50,000 were immediately divided up.

“Zhang Heng leads 5,000 troops and is in charge of supply transportation,” Jiang Zhao continued.

Generally speaking, there are two types of head coaches.

One type is the one who personally leads the charge.

One type is the one who sits in the center and coordinates the overall command.

Jiang Zhao is undoubtedly the second type, the one who sits in the central command.

Theoretically speaking, there is no clear distinction between the two types of commanders.

However, it would be somewhat "lacking in vision" for a commander-in-chief who has to lead an army of 100,000 to charge into battle.

With the commander-in-chief dead, where will the 100,000-strong army be placed?

Commanding the central army, with 15,000 soldiers protecting him, is enough!

"Gather 70,000 troops and march north to Lezhou," Jiang Zhao said in a deep voice.

The six men bowed in succession and said "yes".

With the arrangements largely complete, Jiang Zhao looked at the Pacification Commissioner Zhang Fangping and instructed him, "Ziping is to guard Diezhou, so the manufacture of the 'Breaking Hawk Crossbow' will be entrusted to Lord Zhang."

"Try to be as fast as possible," Jiang Zhao said solemnly.

Lezhou, located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, has many tributaries, which are very effective against the Western Xia cavalry.

If we had the crossbow, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.

Historically, during the peak of the Northern Song Dynasty, the production efficiency of the hawk-breaking crossbow was approximately 30,000 pieces per year.

That is, about three thousand per month.

The technology is newly acquired, so production may be a bit slower.

Even if you can only get a thousand a month, you can accumulate enough for an army of broken crossbows over several months.

That's enough!

Zhang Fangping cupped his hands and nodded solemnly.

Bianjing, the Imperial Study.

Dozens of memorials concerning "recommending relatives of the empress to enter the border" were placed in a corner of the desk, and Zhao Ceying's face darkened slightly.

Those people actually dared to coerce him by submitting a memorial to the emperor!

He even got his maternal relatives to persuade him!

Coercing the new emperor!

If it were an ordinary emperor, he probably would have succumbed to the pressure and chosen to compromise long ago.

After all, he's just a new emperor; there's no need for him to confront his courtiers head-on.

But who is he?

He is Zhao Ceying, the future emperor of all time!

How could they be coerced by dozens of useless bamboo papers?

"Humph!"

With a cold snort, Zhao Ceying simply pulled out a sheet of Xuan paper and wrote down the name of the person who was going to submit the memorial.

Coercion, is it?

At worst, I'll just stop attending court!

If you're so capable, then depose me from my imperial throne.

If you can't be crippled, I'll cripple you all!

Hold on until Jiang Qing returns with great power, without crippling a group of people.

His name isn't Zhao Ceying!

……

Chapter 195 The Emperor Suspends Court!

End of October.

In the Wende Hall, officials stood in rows, holding their tablets and standing solemnly.

Standing on the steps of the imperial palace, Zhao Ceying looked down and couldn't help but feel a sense of annoyance.

During the border campaigns, some people not only failed to fulfill their duties, but also desperately sabotaged the efforts.

He submitted a memorial to the emperor every day without fail.

He's a complete traitor, it's chilling!

After about ten breaths, Zhao Ceying lowered his hands to his knees and slowly said:

"All internal and external departments may immediately submit their reports."

As he spoke, Zhao Ceying turned his attention to some censors and officials from the Ministry of War.

Following the example set by their superiors, Lü Gongzhu and Ouyang Xiu made their choices, and their students and former officials naturally followed suit.

Once the officials were in court discussing the matter, their protégés and former subordinates would flock to submit memorials.

The fact that dozens of people submitted memorials has already affected the operation of the regular court to some extent.

Generally speaking, a morning audience usually lasts about an hour.

Recently, it has become common for court meetings to last for three hours at a stretch.

Zhao Ceying glanced at them indifferently, then focused his attention on some of the "regulars" who submitted memorials.

Recommending relatives of the empress to join the border and pulling them into the game is undoubtedly a disgusting tactic.

Are there any benefits?

Perhaps the only benefit was that it allowed him, who had only recently ascended the throne, to understand who belonged to the Pang Ji lineage and the Ouyang Xiu lineage.

"Your subject, Yuan Zheng, a senior official in the Ministry of War, has something to report."

At the end of the left column, an elderly man in a red robe of the fifth rank stepped forward and respectfully said, "In all matters of war, there must be a military supervisor."

On the steps of the imperial palace, Zhao Ceying glanced down.

"vomit!"

"vomit!"

"If relatives of the empress enter the border region, they can share the burden."

Halfway through his sentence, Yuan Zheng, the Vice Minister of War, was startled and immediately stopped talking, looking up.

On the steps of the imperial palace, Zhao Ceying pretended to vomit, his face turning red from vomiting.

This is?

All the civil and military officials turned their gazes in that direction.