sbdcsierra Chapter 346: Kill the donkey after it has done its job?
Chapter 346: Kill the donkey after it has done its job?
Emperor Shenzong insisted on his own way and, against all odds, decided on a strategy to launch a northern expedition against the Khitan and recapture Yanyun in the early spring of the following year.
When the news spread, the government and the opposition were shocked, and then supporters and opponents were clearly divided into two factions.
Most of the supporters were new nobles in the court, that is, a group of court officials who earned merits and were promoted to central government officials with the help of the implementation of the "First Five-Year Plan" after the fourth year of Xining.
In their perception, the Song Dynasty is now a strong country with a prosperous people and its army is the best in the world. If they don’t launch a northern expedition now, when will they?
Most of the opponents were old officials who had served in the reigns of Renzong and Yingzong, and most of them had participated in the war against Liao during that period.
They had a very clear understanding of the enemy and themselves, and the comparison of strengths and weaknesses. They knew that although the Song Dynasty had surpassed the Liao Dynasty in all aspects, if there was no one with enough weight to unite all parties, the final result would be like Taizong's "Yongxi Northern Expedition", where everyone fought on their own and ended in failure.
They did not oppose the Northern Expedition next year, but they hoped that Emperor Shenzong would change his mind and let Han Ming personally lead the Northern Expedition.
Unfortunately, Emperor Shenzong was upset by the so-called "reasonable" explanations of his old ministers. Although he agreed verbally, he was somewhat indifferent in his heart.
Han Ming is strong and capable, but that doesn't mean things can't be done without him.
For example, in the "First Five-Year Plan", although there was no Han at the center to control the direction in the middle and late stages, it was still completed smoothly.
Just as Han Ming said, the world can develop without everyone, and no one is indispensable.
As the emperor of the Song Dynasty, he was rich and had countless civil and military officials under his command, including many historical talents.
I can't let Han Ming take care of everything by himself. I have to show off the emperor's power now.
So, with this and that mentality, Emperor Shenzong decided to do something big while Han was away from the court.
Northern Expedition!
This is the sudden blow that the now somewhat proud Emperor Shenzong gave to the civil and military officials in the court, as well as the people of the world.
As soon as the court meeting ended, people from all walks of life took action. Without any coordination, they collectively sent a letter to a man named Han who was in mourning.
Han, who was originally staying well in his hometown Anyang and was just beginning to learn how to "cultivate his mind and cultivate his character", was immediately broken down when he received letters from Chen Shengzhi, his old father, Wang Jiefu, and his immediate superior Fu Yaoyu.
He really didn't expect that Emperor Shenzong, who had been a quiet and good boy, would actually become rebellious and want to prove his political and military talents and launch a northern expedition ahead of schedule.
You know, in Han's expectation, only after the "25-year Plan" was completely completed, the Song Dynasty would have the ability to completely recover Yanyun in a one-on-one battle with the Liao Kingdom.
It can be said that with the ability to make waves, we will not lose confidence in the end like in the Taizong period.
In other words, Han Ming was very afraid that if the Song Dynasty lost the direct confrontation with the Liao Kingdom, it would be completely defeated by its northern neighbor and would never be able to get up again.
This is also because the Song Dynasty has been developing in a rather ostentatious manner in recent years, which has aroused the envy of many countries. However, relying on the Song Dynasty's terrifying defensive record, they dare not move.
However, if the Song Dynasty becomes slightly exhausted during the war between Song and Liao, it may trigger a chain reaction, and the good situation that has been hard-won is in danger of collapse.
After much deliberation, Han Ming decided to write a letter to the emperor, urging him to suspend the Northern Expedition.
But after picking up the pen, Han finally realized how much sincerity and how much of a test was in Emperor Shenzong's decision to launch a northern expedition?
In the past, when they were in the palace, the two of them were very close and got along well, but now that he is the emperor, his mind is unpredictable, so they have to strike the right balance.
The thick ink on the pen continued to accumulate, and as Han Ming's thoughts continued to diverge, it slowly dripped onto the paper and rubbed into it...
"I won't write the letter anymore. Yong Zeng, please take the trouble to go to Bianjing City in person to deliver the message."
"Tell my father that the government is going to launch a northern expedition. Once words are spoken, they are hard to take back."
"The most urgent task now is to have General Guo and Zhong Huai stabilize the morale of the Northern Army as soon as possible and march north as ordered."
"Be steady when you hit. It's better to hit slowly than quickly."
"At the same time, have Zhang Yu pay attention to the logistics and food supply routes. The Song army is heading north, and the Liao army will definitely focus on the rear route to cut off food supplies."
"Don't even think about a quick victory. Yelu Hongji is waiting for a decisive battle."
"Fight slowly, drag it out longer. The Liao Kingdom's logistics and food supplies cannot outlast the Song Dynasty!"
Han Ming immediately found an opportunity in this hasty war.
If you can’t play fast, then try to “drag it out”.
The Liao Kingdom was now superficially re-suppressed by Yelu Hongji, and peace and stability were maintained.
In fact, the internal situation had already been chaotic, and various forces were constantly fighting for power and profit, trying to get a share of the upper echelons of the Liao Kingdom.
The Song Dynasty's northern expedition at this time would likely give Yelu Hongji a good excuse to unite all parties and launch a strategic confrontation with the Song Dynasty.
If the attack is fast, Yelu Hongji will find an opportunity to integrate the strength of the whole country and defeat the Song Dynasty in one fell swoop.
On the contrary, if the Song Dynasty drags on for too long, the internal forces of the Liao Kingdom will definitely quarrel for their own interests.
In this way, it is really possible to recapture Yanyun in one battle, rebuild the entire Great Wall border, and completely expel the northern forces.
The more Han Ming thought about it, the more he felt that this battle was not impossible to fight, so he revealed his strategic intentions and asked Yong Zeng to take them to Bianjing City.
Unfortunately, no matter how good the idea was, it could not withstand the Emperor Shenzong's wild imagination and misconduct.
Han Ming's Northern Expedition speech could not convince the already powerful Emperor Shenzong.
In his eyes, Han was deliberately delaying the opportunity to fight, waiting for him to finish mourning and return to the battlefield.
Han Ming simply didn't guess what Emperor Shenzong was thinking, so he cried out for injustice.
In the end, everyone saw that they could not defeat the government and could only do nothing but sigh.
After receiving the completely opposite strategic plans from Guan Jia and Han Ming, Guo, Gu and Zhang's faces were extremely excited.
"You two, we are caught in the middle of this Northern Expedition, which is not going to be easy..."
Guo Kui is no longer the political novice he once was. Years of military career and court politics have made his political sense more refined.
This Northern Expedition was probably just an excuse for the government to test the direction of the imperial court.
Since the end of Emperor Renzong's reign, the Han Party has become increasingly powerful in the court, forming a huge network of relationships from the central government to the local level, from the civil service group to the military generals group.
The central connector, or the person who built the Han Party Group, is Han Ming.
Both Renzong and Yingzong had left it alone, mainly because the country was in danger and needed to rely on these outstanding talents of the Han Party to manage the government.
As the Song Dynasty grew stronger and more talented people emerged, Emperor Shenzong had different ideas.
The existence of any faction cannot affect the overall situation of the Song Dynasty and the authority of the emperor.
It is obvious that the Han Party now has the intention of transcending and checking the imperial power.
Especially the entire central government. Even though Han Zhang and Ouyang Wenzhong passed away, and Fu Yanguo, Wen Kuanfu, Zeng Mingzhong and others retired and returned to their hometowns, the remaining Chen Shengzhi, Han Shipu, Wang Jiefu and Fu Yaoyu were also people who had close ties with the Han Party.
When Emperor Shenzong thought of this, he felt dizzy and couldn't sleep all day or all night.
It is good that the court officials are united and working together, but it makes the emperor, who is used to playing the imperial game and balancing acts, very uncomfortable.
Emperor Shenzong mentioned the Northern Expedition this time to test the reaction of the entire court. He knew Han Ming's grand strategy to recover Yanyun, but he just wanted to see if he could do it without the other party.
You can say that Emperor Shenzong was suspected of abandoning Han after he had served his purpose, but he did not intend to kill Han. He just wanted to make some political achievements for himself while Han was in mourning.
But he never expected that just one such willful act would almost cause him to fall from the ranks of wise rulers to the ranks of mediocre rulers.
So much so that when later generations gave him his temple name and posthumous title, this incident became one of the reasons why Emperor Shenzong was repeatedly whipped, and it was passed down for a thousand years...