Chapter 351: Surrendering the country to life and death
Outside Qinzhou City, Wuxiong Army Camp
Inside the central military tent, Gu Tingye was holding a military book in his hand, but he seemed a little absent-minded.
At this moment, Shitou came in and saluted, "Commander-in-chief, Lord Wang is here!"
"Please come in quickly!"
Gu Tingye's face lit up with joy. He put down the military book and stood up.
Shitou walked out upon hearing that, and soon Wang Shao walked in.
"Zichun, how is it?" Gu Tingye asked hurriedly.
Wang Shao said with a serious expression: "Hehuang Tubo has agreed to our conditions, but..."
"Great!" Gu Tingye said happily, "I'll have someone beat the drums to gather the troops!"
"Zhong Huai, listen to me first." Wang Shao stopped Gu Tingye and sighed, "Xixia is defeated!"
"Xixia lost?" Gu Tingye said in disbelief, "Didn't they say Xixia won battle after battle? How come they suddenly lost?"
"Western Xia did win battles one after another, and that was why they became a little careless. Zuo Siluo personally led his troops in a surprise attack and defeated Western Xia, causing them to suffer heavy losses. This news was just reported back." Wang Shao said with a wry smile.
Gu Tingye and Wang Shao were very excited when they received Zhao Xing's secret order.
The imperial court has always used military operations, and even when civil officials were leading the troops, their autonomy was greatly restricted.
Zhao Xing not only gave them great autonomy, but also gave them all of Qinzhou's three armies, totaling nearly 50,000 soldiers and horses.
He even said that if they did not have enough soldiers, they could write to the Duke of England, who would then transfer some soldiers to them.
After careful discussion, the two worked out a preliminary plan.
That is to send troops to Hehuang in the name of helping Tubo, assist Hehuang Tubo in defeating the Qiang, then persuade the Qiang to surrender, and finally persuade Tubo to surrender.
The reason for doing this was that the Qiang tribe was so powerful at that time that there was no possibility of surrendering them.
Although the Hehuang Tubo tribe united under the attack of the Qiang tribe, they had suffered a surprise attack by the Qiang tribe before that, and each of them had their own ulterior motives from the beginning, resulting in heavy losses. Now they only have more than ten cities and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.
Before this, Hehuang Tubo also asked the Song Dynasty for help, but Wang Shao kept dragging his feet and did not agree.
Now that Zhao Xing has given them autonomy, the strength of Hehuang Tubo has been weakened to the lowest level. This is a good opportunity for the Song Dynasty to intervene in the situation in Hehuang.
In the past few days, Wang Shao has been negotiating the conditions for sending troops with Tubo.
The Hehuang Tubo also built strong cities for defense on the border connecting with the Song Dynasty.
Wang Shao’s condition was that fortified city. Only in this way, after helping Hehuang Tubo defeat the Qiang, could he force Tubo to surrender.
Although it is also possible to use the tactic of pretending to be another State to destroy Guo, that would damage the reputation of the Song Dynasty. It would naturally be best to obtain it through normal means.
After some negotiations and with the Qiang tribe pressing forward, the Hehuang Tubo finally agreed to Wang Shao's conditions.
Wang Shao was overjoyed and came to report the good news to Gu Tingye, but he received the news that Western Xia was defeated.
"Didn't they say that Zuo Siluo was seriously ill and was about to die?" Gu Tingye frowned when he heard that.
Zuo Siluo was the largest Tibetan tribe in the plateau. The reason why the Western Xia retreated was because he united the Tibetan tribes and blocked the Western Xia's offensive.
This man is very capable in commanding troops. The reason why Western Xia retreated last time was because they suffered a great loss at the hands of this man.
However, Zuo Siluo was already old. Although he repelled the attack of Western Xia last time, he also fell seriously ill due to the poor conditions in the army.
The Xixia's withdrawal of troops not only caused chaos in the Tibetans on the plateau, but also may have been intended to wait for Zuo Silu to die of illness.
Rumor has it that after the Western Xia withdrew its troops, Zuo Siluo's illness not only did not improve, but became increasingly serious, and he was already in a terminal state.
This is also one of the reasons why the Tibetans on the plateau became chaotic.
"It's possible that he is just pretending to be sick." Wang Shao shook his head and said, "Now that Xixia has suffered a defeat, although they haven't retreated yet, they have retreated. They must be trying to find out the situation of Zuosiluo. If Zuosiluo is pretending to be sick, Xixia will have no choice but to retreat. With this person, it is impossible for Xixia to capture the plateau before the heavy snow."
"So, we can't send troops either?" Gu Tingye said with a grim expression.
"That's right. If Western Xia withdraws its troops and the Song Dynasty sends troops to intervene in the Hehuang battle, Western Xia will also have enough ability to intervene. At that time, it will turn into a war between the Song Dynasty and Western Xia." Wang Shao nodded.
Upon hearing this, Gu Tingye paced back and forth in the tent in annoyance.
After a while, Gu Tingye stopped and said with a firm look: "No matter what, we can only gamble. I have decided to send troops to Hehuang!"
"Zhong Huai, you have to think it over carefully!" Wang Shao advised: "Once you send out troops, if Xixia intervenes later, the best outcome is to withdraw. But if you do so, you will waste a lot of manpower and resources, and someone in the court will definitely impeach you, and even the government may not be able to protect you."
"Zichun, Zuo Siluo is already old, I don't think it is likely that he is faking illness. Even if he is faking illness, at his age, how long can he live if he leads the troops in a surprise attack? I don't believe that Western Xia will give up the plateau that is about to be obtained for the sake of Hehuang." Gu Tingye said.
"But…"
"No buts!"
Gu Tingye waved his hand and said, "The chaos in Hehuang is related to the Song Dynasty, and it is impossible to hide it from Xixia. After Xixia occupies the plateau, it will be difficult to have such a good opportunity in the future. You should know this better than me!"
"What are the consequences?" Wang Shao asked Gu Tingye.
He heard about some of the things the emperor did in the court.
They are also the confidants of the government. Once they are given a handle by others, they will inevitably be impeached by all the civil and military officials in the court.
Although Zhao Xing allowed them the right to act at their discretion, this decree was not issued through the Secretariat.
In other words, this was Zhao Xing's private intention. If it succeeded, it would be fine, but if it did, it would result in casualties and failure to gain any advantage, and it might even lead to a war between the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia.
At that time, even Zhao Xing might not be able to protect them.
Gu Tingye looked at Wang Shao and said, "I used to be with His Majesty. His Majesty once told me that if it is beneficial to the country, life and death are of no concern. Why should I avoid it because of good or bad luck? The Hehuang area is of great importance. How can I not have the courage to fight for my own personal gain and loss?"
If sending troops would result in the loss of cities and territory, or even the possibility of the entire army being annihilated, he would hesitate again and again.
If the Western Xia really withdrew its troops, at most they would just withdraw from Hehuang, and these consequences would not occur.
The only possibility is that he will be held accountable, and Gu Tingye feels that he can give it a try.
"Gou Li's country lives and dies, how can it be avoided because of misfortune and good fortune!"
Wang Shao savored these words carefully, and then bowed after a while.
"Brother Zichun, what are you doing?" Gu Tingye quickly dodged.
"Zhong Huai, I am not as good as you." Wang Shao said self-deprecatingly: "After I heard the news, I thought about waiting and watching the situation. In addition to worrying about triggering a war with Xixia, I also wanted to cherish my life."
In fact, this is the difference between civil officials and military generals. Civil officials will subconsciously consider the pros and cons of all aspects when doing anything.
It’s not that military generals won’t consider it, but civil officials will try to find ways to avoid risks from the beginning.
Military commanders are considered only after the fact.
Just like some military generals who, when their achievements are so great that they threaten their lord, would choose to defile themselves.
However, civil officials would never allow themselves to become so successful that they could threaten their ruler.
"Brother Zichun, this is serious." Gu Tingye smiled and said, "Don't you also support sending troops now?"
"Haha." Wang Shao was stunned when he heard this, then laughed and said, "You're right!"
"Since Zhong Huai has decided to send troops, the sooner the better. You gather the soldiers of the three armies to discuss the dispatch of troops. I will go and write a letter to report our plan to His Majesty!" Wang Shao said.
(End of this chapter)