Prime Minister

Chapter 669

The first month of the fourth year of Xining.

Huizhou.

This is the time when it is freezing cold.

After Wang Shao defeated Yuzang Huama, he sent troops to sweep Huizhou and Lanzhou.

Wang Shao's method of gathering the Tibetan tribe is very simple and rude, that is, the army will go to your door, and then let the envoy bring a large stack of salt money to your tent.

First it was coerced by force, and then bought with salt money.

After six or seven years of Wang Shao's promotion in Guwei, the Qingtang and Tibetan tribes have a high degree of recognition for the salt banknotes of the Song Dynasty.

Over the past six or seven years, the Tibetans who have used salt notes have tasted the sweetness of salt notes.

The Qingtang and Tibetan people did not know how to make copper coins and iron coins, so they traded with the people of the Song Dynasty by bartering, exchanging grains, frankincense, sand, blankets, horses and cattle with the people of the Song Dynasty.

Later, the Song Dynasty had a stable market at the border, and gradually began to use money and silk.

But salt money is easier to carry than gold, silver, copper and iron money, and the second is that salt money does not depreciate compared to Jiaozi, and it actually appreciates.

Therefore, in the eyes of many Tibetans, salt money has even become a symbol of the Song Dynasty.

And Wang Shao had such a reputation in the ancient Wei and Fan tribes, and the salt notes gave him a great bonus. No wonder he was so thoughtful that he wanted to print his face on the salt notes.

Salt banknotes are hard currency among the Fan tribes, and only salt banknotes are recognized in the exchange in Guwei.

With the effect of cashing at sight, no merchant is allowed to trade without accepting cash.

At the beginning of Li Shizhong, Dou Shunqin heard that Wang Shao set up a trading house in Guweizhai and told the officials that this place is far away from Qinzhou, Yongning and other hinterlands, and it is easy to be robbed by Westerners. Chen Shengzhi also said that so many goods will be destroyed The peeping heart of Qiang.

The envoy sent by the government asked, Wang Shao put all the tens of thousands of salt bills from the Municipal Exchange in a box, and then lit a torch and said to the envoy, have you seen this box?
If the Tibetans dare to snatch it, I will burn this box on fire.

The envoy was dumbfounded, and Li Shizhong and Dou Shunqing were speechless.

In fact, Li Shizhong and Dou Shunqing opposed opening borders, because setting up the market in Guwei made it impossible for Qinzhou to trade with the Fan people, which made it impossible for many Qinzhou clans and Fan tribes to smuggle.

With such a card from Wang Shao, these people will not be able to make any money.

Now Wang Shao sent carrots and sticks, Lanzhou and Huizhou Fan tribes descended one after another, including the Wang family in Huizhou, the Yusi clan, and the Balingye clan in Lanzhou, all of them surrendered.

After Baling Yexin was attached, Wang Shao ordered his troops to attack Sabuzong City.Taking advantage of the unpreparedness of the Xixia army, the three tribes of Balingye raided the city. In the end, they won a complete victory and beheaded 13 ranks, capturing [-] Xixia officers.

At the same time, knowing the news of the Song army's victory in Huizhou, Lanzhou, the fan monk Wu Chiwa led the Fan tribe near Lintao to the Song Dynasty, bringing more than 1 tents.

And Mu Zheng, who was planning to copy the Song Army's back route and attack Weiyuan Fort, cursed a lot when he heard about it, but finally had no choice.

Dong Zhan, who was in Qingtang City, was also very surprised when he learned of the victory of the Song army. He sent a letter to Wang Shao to congratulate him, and at the same time asked for an official position.

Wang Shao was busy attacking the city and conquering the land, wooing the Fan tribe, while Zhang Yue appeased the rear.

Among them, Liu Xixi was the happiest. As a walking horse Chengshou, although he was on the job of supervising the army in front of him, he also had credit for fighting beautifully.

Now he has received a letter from the palace, saying that the officials already know Liu Xishi, and his name is Shang Datian.

Let Liu Xishi assist Zhang Yue and Wang Shao make contributions.

The joy in Liu Xishi's heart was really indescribable, as soon as he left the palace, he met a good errand, and Zhang Yue and Wang Shao were two great people.

This credit is simply effortless.

Liu Xishi thought excitedly, it was the right time for him to venture to Lanzhou this time.

At this time, Han Tong and Lu Guang kept reminding Zhang Yue that he must cross the Yellow River north and cooperate with the main force of the Song army to capture Luowu City.

Zhang Yue understood that this was the established goal, and he also discussed with Wang Shao, but on this matter, the two had disagreements.

According to Wang Shao's intention, Huizhou and Lanzhou were newly established, and many Fan tribes were newly attached, and the foundation was still unstable. Instead of crossing the north, it would be better to eat the meat.

Now Ren Duo Baozhong is guarding Lanzhou City, and Yu Zang Huama is still guarding Dingxi City. As long as Dingxi City and Lanzhou City are not captured, the Song Army will not really occupy Lanzhou Huizhou. All the victories are lost.

Zhang Yue knew that what Wang Shao said was reasonable, and this battle has been very beneficial to the two of them.

Without the cooperation of Dong Zhan, except for Dingxi City and Lanzhou City, which were still in the hands of Xixia, the Song Army almost captured Lanzhou and Huizhou.

It cost the court several million pennies to dispatch troops to Suide City before.

But when it comes to regaining the land, it is far inferior to Zhang Yue. Wang Shao sent troops this time.

For many years in the Song Dynasty, there has not been such a large-scale border opening, and this is also a big victory for the official family after they ascended the throne.

If you are not satisfied and continue to cross the Yellow River to attack north, then the probability of encountering the main force of Xixia is very high.Once you lose, you lose everything.

As the proponent of the Hehuang side attack strategy, Zhang Yue is also full of worries about gains and losses just like Wang Shao at the moment.

Zhang Yue talked to Wang Shao several times, but Wang Shao always rejected the plan to cross the Yellow River.

Han Tong and Lu Guang suggested that Zhang Yue forcibly deprive Wang Shao of his commanding power and let Gao Zunyu lead the army instead.

Zhang Yue did not agree, and asked Wang Shao to continue to attack the Huizhou area and instigate rebellion against Yuzang Huama's tribe.But Yuzang Huama went out of the city and fought a few battles with the Song army, but he was defeated, and then he retreated into Dingxi city and couldn't get out.

On this day in late January, what should have come still came.

After Zhang Yue received the imperial decree from the emperor, he immediately summoned Gao Zunyu, Yu Longke, Wang Shao, Wang Hou, and Liu Xishi for a military meeting.

First of all, all the rewards for Yu Longke and other leaders of the Fan tribe have come down, and Zhang Yue has fulfilled all the promises he made to the leaders of the Fan tribe in advance.

In addition to official positions, he also obtained the right to trade with the Song Dynasty.

If you are an official of our Great Song Dynasty, you have the right to go to the ancient Weizhai market for trading. You can buy our tea bricks and satin, and we will also buy your horses, cattle and sheep.

The Qing, Tang and Tibetan tribes are obsessed with tea, because there are no vegetables and fruits in the area, but meat is the staple food, so there must be tea to relieve the greasy taste of meat, heat the barley, and supplement some trace elements at the same time.

At the same time, the nobles of the Qing, Tang and Tibetan tribes all wore silk instead of leather clothes.

But tea and satin are not given as much as you want, there is a quota. For example, how much you can buy and sell as a tribe depends mainly on your official position.

Taozhou Assassin like Dong Zhan, even though the Song Dynasty knew that this person was vacillating, he still appointed a high-ranking official to win him over. He could get a lot of trading rights, which was also the foundation of his stable rule.

So why is there a tributary system that does not allow border residents to trade privately, and the imperial court uses trade as a big killer to distinguish barbarians and make relatives distant and close.

As soon as Zhang Yue's official wish was fulfilled, the leaders of the Fan tribe were all happy, thinking that Zhang Yue was a reliable person and kept his word.

As for the newly attached chiefs of the Fan tribe, Zhang Yue hadn't invited them yet, and they all had weird faces.After Zhang Yue promised them that the reward would definitely come down, these people immediately had smiles on their faces.

After sending them away, Wang Shao and Gao Zunyu's faces were both ugly.

Because all the rewards from Fanbu have been fulfilled, but what about them?

Zhang Yue said: "The imperial decree said that after our army crosses the Yellow River and approaches Xingling, we will discuss rewards!"

As soon as these words came out, Wang Shao immediately became very unhappy.

Why did I look for a Marquis three thousand miles away?It has been operating in Qingtang for six or seven years, what is the purpose of the painstaking planning?Isn't it for the purpose of being a marquis and a prime minister for one day, so that his name will last forever?
However, Wang Shao knew how to hold back, but Gao Zunyu didn't hold back, and said directly: "At the beginning, Emperor Taizong Ping Beihan, originally said that after defeating the Northern Han Dynasty, he would give rewards to the soldiers. What happened? The Northern Han Dynasty was defeated. He also said that he wanted to fight Khitan, but he didn't come down with the reward for fighting the Northern Han Dynasty, and finally... hehehe!"

Zhang Yue heard it funny from the bottom of his heart.

Wang Shao saw that Gao Zunyu was talking in the yamen, what was he afraid of, so he said: "Yes, our army has been fighting hundreds of miles away, and now it is exhausted. If we continue to march, I am afraid that the successor will be weak and will repeat the sorghum... "

Wang Shao's words were stopped, it was not easy to bring up the matter of exposing scars.

Zhang Yue coughed after hearing this, and Gao Zunyu is qualified to say, do you have Wang Shao?
Gao Zunyu's grandfather, Gao Qiong, was the first to rush up to escort him when he was defeated in the battle of Gaolianghe. He is qualified to say, what qualifications do you, Wang Shao, have.

Everyone glanced at Liu Xishi, and Liu Xishi said very alertly: "You guys continue to say, our family didn't hear anything."

Wang Shao and Gao Zunyu were full of murmurs.

After Song Taizong's defeat at Gaolianghe, even the reward for the crusade against the Northern Han Dynasty was lost.His nephew said a few words of justice, but was forced to commit suicide.

Now they are also worried that if the attack across the Yellow River fails, the credit for Pinglanzhou and Huizhou will not be preserved.

As for Wang Shao's resolute opposition to crossing the Yellow River, it is self-evident, and even faced the imperial decree of the officials to send troops to the Yellow River, he shouted that the orders of the generals outside the country would not be accepted.

It made Liu Xishi want to pretend that he didn't hear it, and he couldn't continue to perfunctory, so he just sat there and laughed.

After the accounts were disbanded, Zhang Yue chatted with Wang Shao and said, "Zichun! Do you still remember the first time we met?"

Wang Shao said: "Of course I remember, Wang will never forget the kindness of his recommendation in his life."

Zhang Yue smiled and said: "I'm not talking about this with Zichun, I was thinking that Zichun was a hero at that time, when the dragon was swimming in the shallows, a few rogues dared to shout in front of the house."

"Thinking that Zichun now has tens of thousands of powerful soldiers, and the leaders of the Tibetan tribes in the Qing and Tang Dynasties are cautious and cautious in front of Zichun, they dare not even show their pride. This situation can be described as very different."

Wang Shao listened and smiled.

Zhang Yue said: "Let's talk about me again. A few months ago, I went in and out of temples and saw all the prosperity of Bianjing. But now... I have come to this cold, remote and sparsely populated place."

"Zichun, I am the minister of the two systems. There are only 50 or [-] civil servants above me in the official position. But I have traveled thousands of miles to this place for the sake of the imperial court. If I lose this battle, the official will be the first to question me. I am Zhang Yue."

"But I know this, and I dare to take risks here, but Zichun, why are you not as good as me? Why is that strange man who said to follow Huo Wei back then, so timid today?"

When Wang Shao heard what Zhang Yue said, he was furious.

(End of this chapter)