Fu Song

Chapter 595 Two Governors
Kedun City, the ruling center of the Liao Kingdom in Mobei.

Historically, only three armies have penetrated deep into Mobei and defeated the nomads here.

One is during the Han Dynasty. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing went straight in and defeated the Xiongnu here. Later in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Dou Xian went straight to Yanran Mountain and defeated the Northern Xiongnu. However, the Han Dynasty did not station troops here, but carved stones to record their achievements. Then he withdrew his troops and returned.

The second to send troops to Mobei was Tuoba Tao, the emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The third branch was Xu Ji of the Tang Dynasty. After destroying the Xue Yantuo tribe, he established the Anbei Protectorate, but it had no name and did not realize real governance and rule.

The first army stationed in Mobei was the Liao Kingdom.After Liao Taizu conquered Mobei, he set up the Northwest Road recruiting envoys, and established Kedun City, where he stationed his troops. In the surrounding area, there are three military fortresses in Zhenzhou, Fangzhou, and Weizhou. With these fortresses as the core, the entire Mobei was brought under governance.

Khitan originally developed from nomadic peoples, so he naturally has his unique experience on how to govern these nomadic peoples in Mobei.

Ke Guocheng stationed [-] Liao cavalry.

Compared with the fact that most of the local army of the Liao Kingdom has gradually corrupted and fallen over the years, greedy for leisure and hard work, and their combat effectiveness has dropped sharply, the [-] cavalry have been suppressing the surrounding rebellion and surrendering again and again, surrendering and rebelling again For the nomads, the combat effectiveness is still considerable.

Kedun City is a standard military fortress. Apart from the large army stationed there, only criminals and prisoners are left. These people are mainly responsible for farming, engineering and other matters here.

Yelujun led [-] cavalry and escorted tens of thousands of prisoners from the Eight Divisions of Dilie to this place, which made the place lively all of a sudden.

Yelu Xianshi, the governor of Northwest Road recruiting envoy, looks like an old shepherd, with gray hair, wrinkles on his face like knives and axes, and a pair of big hands with blue veins, which is completely different from those Liao nobles in the five capitals of the Great Liao Dynasty. Same.

"How is the queen mother going to punish me?" Yelu Xianshi, who looked a bit sad, poured a bowl of steaming kumiss for Yelujun.

Yelumin smiled and looked at the governor who sat cross-legged across from him and had been guarding the town of Kedun for [-] years, "What is the governor talking about? No matter what happened in Daliao, the [-] cavalry in Guocheng would not allow it." Leaving this is an iron law, the governor has done nothing wrong in guarding Mobei, and the empress dowager is wise, how could she punish you?"

Yeluxian was silent for a moment, and said: "The queen mother ordered me to sweep the rear of the enemy's army, but I did not."

"If you want to come to the governor, you will naturally have your own considerations, but it doesn't matter, isn't all the remnants of the enemy's lieutenant department bound up now?" Yelumin pointed out with a smile.

Tens of thousands of old and weak women and children of the enemy army and the young and strong who had their thumbs cut off are busy building tents on the wilderness at this moment. They must complete these tasks before dark, otherwise the temperature will drop suddenly when the night comes , but people will freeze to death.

The wrinkles on Yelu Xianshi's face trembled a few times, as if he was a little uncomfortable: "The eight tribes of Wugu Dilie are also the core tribes of our Daliao, so they are gone?"

"A rebellious tribe is worse than nothing!" Yelumin drank the kumiss in the bowl in one breath, and said, "Now that there has been no major change in a hundred years, the Queen Mother is planning to bring the new Song Dynasty, which is dying in the south, to the south. The political regime was completely wiped out, and naturally such traitors could not be allowed to exist behind them. Now, the Northeast Jurchens have basically surrendered, and some of the Jurchens who were disobedient to Wang Hua were driven into the deep mountains and old forests and never had a bright future. Reduced to our vassal, the old governor, it is very different now!"

Hearing Yelumin's meaningful words, Yeluxian nodded. "That's right. Over the years, Daliao has indeed enjoyed a prosperous national fortune, and now is the best time for Daliao to complete the unification of the world. It's a pity that I am old and can no longer serve the Queen Mother and Your Majesty."

"The old governor is overthinking!" Yelumin said: "You have guarded the town of Kedun for nearly [-] years, and you have kept silent like a cicada in the north of Mobei. The credit lies in the country, and the empress dowager is wise. Naturally, an old minister like you can't be allowed to suffer here again. Suffering from the cold, Zhongjing has already built a good mansion for you, and the position of Minister of the Ministry of War is vacant. When the Empress Dowager depends on you, there are many times!"

Ye Luxian shook his head and said: "I'm old, I'm useless, even if I have some military experience, it's still for dealing with the barbarians in the north, but it's useless for the soldiers of the Song Dynasty."

"One method is good, ten thousand methods are good!" Yelumin said: "The old governor is too modest."

Looking at Yelu Min who was pouring wine for himself with a copper pot, Yelu Xianshi asked: "King Zhenbei, don't worry, this old man will not make things difficult for you. When you say handover, you can hand over at any time, and then this old man can relax all over his body." departed."

"Thank you Governor."

"It's just that I don't understand something, so please ask King Zhenbei to explain it to me in detail."

"If the governor asks, he will naturally know everything and say everything."

"Since the empress dowager's focus is to use troops to the south and rule the world, why did she send a hero like you to go west? Isn't this the opposite?" Yelu Xianshi said: "Except for replacing me, who is not worried Is there any other purpose besides the old man? If it's just to let the old man go back to Zhongjing, there are still people in the court to replace me, so I won't let you come!"

Yelumin raised his eyebrows, and said with a laugh: "Speaking of which, there are several reasons. The first one is because of myself. The old governor knows my background. Now that I have avenged my revenge, I have nothing to worry about. , but I don’t want to fight against my former friends and subordinates on the battlefield again, and kill you to the death, so, the queen mother is considerate of me, and let me leave the battlefield of the Central Plains far away.”

"The king of Zhenbei admits it frankly." Yeluxian chuckled, and admired Yelumin in his heart. Such words are not something ordinary people can say.Even if this is the case, it will be covered up.

"There's nothing to hide." Yelumin said indifferently: "It's just a matter of deception."

"I heard that King Zhenbei is now at the top of the most wanted list in the Song Dynasty in the south, worth ten thousand gold plus one waiting!"

Yelumin laughed loudly: "I don't want to be thousands of miles away, and the old governor also knows about this matter. It seems that the old governor still cares about world affairs!"

Yeluxian smiled, but didn't answer.

"The second reason is that the Empress Dowager wants to defeat or weaken the Western Army as much as possible before launching the Southern Expedition!" Yelumin said: "The old governor certainly doesn't want to get involved in this muddy water, right? ?”

"The western army is brave and brave, and should not be insulted. The battle at Zilei Village is a clear proof. Once the Northwest Road recruiting envoy's [-] troops lose too much, Mobei will be troubled again!" Ye Luxian said.

"The imperial court appointed Xiao Ding as the king of Zhenxi. If he accepted this title, the world would be peaceful, but he abandoned the king of Zhenxi. This is to show that the chariots and horses are going to be our enemies. So this An encirclement and suppression campaign against the Western Army was not only recruiting envoys on the Northwest Road, but also the garrison outside Xuanlei Village, and Governor Yeluhuan of Xijing Road." Yelumin said.

Yeluxian was startled: "Does the queen mother want to go down at once? I'm afraid it will be difficult!"

"No, no, no!" Yelumin said: "How can I say that the Western Army is now a party force. If the whole people mobilize, hundreds of thousands of people are no problem, and they are not as stupid as the emperors and ministers of the Song Dynasty. Xiao Ding ruled the army and Zhang Yuan ruled the government. They are really Junming Chen Xian, how could it be possible to go down with a drum?"

"What does the queen mean?"

Yelumin laughed: "The Western Army has its fatal weakness. Although it has a large territory, it has a small number of people. Although its combat power is strong, its potential is low, and it is difficult to last. So this time, the Queen Mother's strategy is to keep going. Bloodletting the Western Army. Always maintain a moderate level of war intensity with the Western Army. For us, we only need to mobilize the Xijing Road and Northwest Road to enlist the envoys and the Liu Quanyi Department of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The army must be mobilized, because if one is not careful, such a low-intensity war will turn into a real war of annihilation."

Yeluxian couldn't help being moved.

To deal with the Western Army, this is indeed the most correct strategy.

Empress Dowager Chengtian of the Liao Kingdom is indeed impeccable in terms of grand strategy.

Just like how she had planned to destroy the Song Dynasty in the past ten years, she put the noose around the opponent's neck step by step, and slowly tightened it bit by bit. When the opponent finally noticed it, she had already been tied to the beam in the air , It is impossible to escape.

"Siege the Western Army on three sides, and slowly tighten the encirclement to make it difficult for them to breathe!" Yelumin said: "The Western Army has a complex composition, and they can share wealth and wealth, but it is absolutely difficult to share adversity. Some people think of another way out. After a few years, the Western Army will inevitably be exhausted, eccentric, and struggling. At that time, even if they don’t surrender, they will be powerless to threaten our rear when we go south. Or the bloodletting has reached a certain point. To a certain extent, you can go down with a drum.”

It is not uncommon for the battle to destroy the country to be completed for several years or even more than ten years.The imperial court was so cautious, but Ye Luxian felt that it should be so.

"Is there a third reason?"

"Of course there is!" Yelumin sat up straight and said, "Wealth. The Western Army has an important source of income, which is the commercial route to the west. The Empress Dowager called it the Silk Road, and the Western Army trafficked a large amount of goods to the west to obtain For high profits, first of all, we must control this chokepoint and cut off the source of finance and taxation of the Western Army."

"But we don't have any goods to sell to the northwest." Yelu Xianshi spread his hands and said, "Compared to the people of Song Dynasty, we have no porcelain, no silk, and no tea."

"Daliao broke Tokyo and captured countless artisans." Yelumin smiled and said, "The Empress Dowager Chengtian began to lay out in Zhongjing Road, Nanjing Road and other places a few years ago, and we have been able to make some daily things such as porcelain. Now, as for silk and tea, the old governor must not forget that most of the Song land is still in our hands, and the goods can always be obtained, but the profits are in our hands."

"That's all?"

"Of course not!" Yelu Xianshi said: "Although the money is endless, it is still too slow. So, after our side completes the siege of the Western Army, I will continue to go west. Rob, no Is it coming sooner? I heard that both the Black Khanate and Huacizimo in the west are very rich!"

Yelu Xianshi suddenly realized.

"No wonder you want to demote tens of thousands of people from Dilie Babu to slaves. Are you planning to build Ketun City into a reliable rear base, and then rely on Ketun City to keep sending troops west?"

"The old governor is clever!" Yelumin laughed: "That's exactly the case. Without a reliable rear, it will make people feel uneasy. But the scale of Duncheng is too small now, and I need him to become a collective." The rear area where agriculture, animal husbandry, and commerce are integrated, I can get sufficient supplies and enough soldiers here, and when my soldiers are tired, they have a very comfortable place to rest."

Yelumin stood up, walked to the window, opened the window, and the strong wind brought snowflakes in. He looked at the prisoners who were working hard outside the window, and said: "These people are the founders of the new Ketun City. By."

"The fortune-telling people are not easy-going lamps. They are rebellious and will bring you a lot of trouble!" Yelu Xianshi reminded.

"I know!" Yelumin closed the window and walked back, "So, this time I will conscript soldiers, mainly those who resist divination, those who don't respond to the conscription or those who evade military service, hehe, I think Ketun City still needs a lot. A prisoner who gave two thumbs up!"

"It's not okay to treat it too harshly! This degree must be grasped!"

"The barbarians are afraid of power but not virtuous, and forget righteousness when they see benefits." Yelumin laughed: "So I took them to the west and let them show their specialties. At the same time, it is also a kind of constant consumption. I I will let them send back the robbed wealth safely, so as to attract more people to join my western expedition team, old governor, you said that these barbarians have traveled a lot, this Mobei, is it true? Much more secure."

"Sure enough, talented people come out from generation to generation, and the new generation is better than the old ones!" Yelu Xianshi sighed, "I'm old, and I can't do the things you said. I only want to be safe, and I only want everyone to live in peace. No wonder the Queen Mother wants to invite me back. King Zhenbei, I will bring a few people back, please agree."

"It's all right. No matter who the old governor wants to take, there is no problem."

"The few people I took away are all warriors in the army, but if they don't leave, it will be difficult for you to fully control the army. Their tempers are not very good. Once they anger you, they will definitely become ghosts under the knife, so I'll take them away and let them go to the south to make contributions!" Yelu Xianshi said.

Yelumin laughed loudly: "The old governor is wise, please accept my salute. To be honest, I was thinking about how to gain authority. In this way, I will save a lot of trouble!"

A few days later, Yelu Xianshi, who had guarded Mobei for nearly [-] years, led more than a thousand personal guards and headed south all the way to Daliao Zhongjing.

Northwest Road recruited envoys, ushered in a new governor, and a brand new situation.

The general calm for many years will also become history with Yelumin's settlement.

The drums of war have sounded.

(End of this chapter)