sbdcsierra Chapter 331: Everyone Unveils
Chapter 331: Everyone Unveils
In August of the third year of Xining in the Song Dynasty, the commander-in-chief of the cavalry and infantry of the Annan Road camp and the Jinglüe Zhaotaosi swore an oath to heaven outside the city of Bianjing.
Emperor Shenzong personally granted Gu Tingye and others the seal for the southern expedition, as well as a pre-war speech.
You read that right. At the specific request of a certain Han, Emperor Shenzong gave a swearing-in speech, clearly explaining the history of Jiaozhi and the years of grievances between the Central Plains dynasties.
To this end, Han Ming also added many famous speech movements and postures to Emperor Shenzong in later generations, so that this oath-taking speech could greatly increase the aggressiveness and excitement of the soldiers.
As for the results, it was quite satisfactory. Looking at the surging shouts of the entire southern expeditionary force, Emperor Shenzong simply felt that it was a very good feeling.
"I was wondering why you always like to hold pre-war meetings or discussions. It turns out public speaking is really addictive."
After Emperor Shenzong stepped down, he was full of enthusiasm and looked at Han Ming with a slightly red face, who had a faint smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, you should know that sometimes appropriate pie-in-the-sky and pep talk can satisfy people's spiritual needs."
Han's words made Emperor Shenzong start to think about whether he could incorporate this trick into the art of being an emperor.
Han Ming saw through his thoughts and said, "But if you use it too much, it will make you tired and your efficiency will drop."
"So we have to wait and see how the timing and the overall situation develop before we can proceed."
For the first time, Emperor Shenzong realized how beneficial these little tricks were for doing things. It seemed that he had a lot to learn.
After the oath-taking ceremony, the southern expeditionary force embarked on another foreign expedition.
This time, everyone was looking forward to it with full confidence, expecting the Southern Army to achieve an unstoppable and overwhelming victory.
. . . . . .
At the end of October, the Southern Army barely crossed the Nanling Mountains that stretched across the border between Hubei and Hunan, and entered the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.
Afterwards, they moved secretly along the mountainous area. In mid-November, the army officially arrived in Yongzhou and joined Su Yan, the governor of Yongzhou who was in charge of the front-line garrison.
At the same time, the 20,000 soldiers recruited from Guangnan West Road were also incorporated into the Southern Army.
At the end of November, the Guizhou navy fleet entered the Qinzhou Bay area and stationed there.
At this point, the entire southern expeditionary force had gathered together, and Gu Tingye immediately summoned Shen Qi and Liu Yi from the navy to Yongzhou for a combat meeting.
There was also a man named Xu Baixiang traveling with them. He was tall and had the face of a scholar, but he often had a smile on his lips, which gave people a sinister feeling.
"Two commanders, why are we suddenly heading north to Yongzhou? Didn't we say we were going to conduct naval exercises in Qinzhou Bay?"
As the new lieutenant general of the navy fleet, Xu Baixiang looked at Shen Qi and Liu Yi in front of him with some curiosity.
"Does Lord Su Yansu, the governor of Yongzhou, know about this?"
Shen Qi ignored the other party, and Liu Yi took the initiative to ask a question in return.
Liu Yi (1017-1086), courtesy name Zhizhong, was a native of Changle, Fuzhou (present-day Erliu Village, Tantou Town, Changle District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province). He was a renowned water conservancy expert in the Northern Song Dynasty and the son of Liu Ruosi.
He himself is a water conservancy expert, so with Shen Qi's special support, he participated in this southern expedition plan.
Originally, these two people were employed by Emperor Shenzong successively to build warships, recruit local tribal people as soldiers, and teach them war skills.
As a result, their carelessness allowed Xu Baixiang, a local Lingnan man, to leak the news to Vietnam. The rulers and ministers of the Ly Dynasty thought it would be better to strike first and subsequently sent troops to invade the Song Dynasty.
This triggered a series of subsequent wars, including the Battle of Yongzhou and the Battle of Fuliang River.
However, this time Han Ming almost had his brains blown out before he thought of Xu Baixiang. He set up a plan in advance and asked Shen and Liu to keep him by his side to look after him.
Xu Baixiang was a scholar from the Lingnan area. He had studied hard for ten years and was well-versed in books and history. He was quite talented.
Who knew that his fate was so bad that he took the imperial examinations many times but failed every time. As he grew old, he had achieved nothing. His knowledge was useless and he gradually blamed everyone and became full of resentment.
He believed that the emperor and officials of the Song Dynasty were blind and failed to recognize talented people, thus ruining his bright future.
Upon hearing that relations between the Song Dynasty and Jiaozhi were strained, he secretly wrote a letter to the Emperor of the Ly Dynasty, saying, "Your Majesty, your ancestors also came from central Fujian, and many of your civil and military officials also came from the Central Plains."
"I have outstanding talents, but the Emperor of the Central Plains does not want me. I am willing to serve under you."
"The situation between the two countries is tense now. Your Majesty, why don't you strike first? I can act as an insider."
In this way, Xu Baixiang colluded with the Jiaozhi regime and began his career of selling out his country for personal gain.
However, compared with Zhang Yuan, who once dominated the Song Dynasty, Xu Baixiang was obviously far inferior.
Not only did he not become a prime minister like Zhang Yuan, but when the Ly Dynasty fell into decline in the later stages of the war, he was pushed out by the Ly Dynasty Emperor Ly Nhan Tong as a shield and became the subject of negotiations for a ceasefire between the two countries.
However, this time it was probably because Han acted too early. Although Xu Baixiang was dissatisfied with the court, with the great power of the Song Dynasty after it destroyed the Xia Dynasty, Jiaozhi did not dare to show its teeth on the border, and he no longer had the means to stir up trouble.
However, for such a "talent", how can we let him go? We must give him a decent treatment.
"I know that Magistrate Su is a role model for scholars like me!"
Xu Baixiang immediately flattered him from a distance.
"Zhizhou Su has a cousin named Su Song. You should have heard of him!"
Liu Yi continued to ask calmly with a smile on his face.
"I know. He is currently the deputy director of the imperial examination."
Xu Baixiang's body suddenly stiffened, and he bowed towards the direction of Bianjing City.
"Su Gongju is currently conducting research in astronomy, astronomical machinery manufacturing, and medicine at the research institute under the Marquis of Han."
"I just heard a while ago that Su Gongju improved the 'Sinan' so that it can be installed on the hull and used for sea navigation."
"Let's go ask Magistrate Su for advice. I think we can get some good stuff from the research institute later."
Liu Yi's words were subtle and answered Xu Baixiang's question perfectly.
This made him feel a little relieved, as he had been feeling nervous. However, he didn't know that when he tilted his head to catch his breath, Shen Qi and Liu Yi looked at each other and sneered.
. . . . . .
Soon, the three of them arrived at Yongzhou City. The prefect Su Yan came out to greet them in person, and talked to Xu Baixiang, who was dressed in white, for a long time.
This made Xu Baixiang feel that he was valued, and the resentment in his heart was reduced a lot. He thought that at worst he could reserve a high position for Su Zhizhou when he went to Nantou in the future.
Little did he know that since he entered Yongzhou City, many people have been eyeing him.
Three days later, the pre-war meeting began. It was not until this moment that Xu Baixiang knew the purpose of Shen Qi and Liu Yi, and he was shocked on the spot.
The entire combat meeting lasted for about an hour, including how the navy and army could effectively cooperate in the southern expedition to eliminate Jiaozhi in one fell swoop.
Also among the participants were envoys from Champa and Zhenla. Their role was to convey to the three kingdoms on the front line how to effectively cooperate with the Song Dynasty's advance.
Since its establishment, the Vietnamese Ly Dynasty has been engaged in wars in the east and west, and has basically offended all the surrounding countries.
This time, the Song Dynasty is willing to take the lead and eliminate the other party. It is really a very good opportunity.
Therefore, in the city of Bianjing, after Emperor Shenzong summoned the envoys of the two countries, the two countries were eager to serve as the advance army and vassal army, and took the lead in fighting with Jiaozhi.
After listening to the entire pre-war meeting, Xu Baixiang was completely confused and had no idea what to do next.
The Song Dynasty is actually going to attack Jiaozhi?!
The main force of Jiaozhi is currently fighting Champa and Chenla further south and cannot spare any troops to move north.
If I spread the news, Jiaozhi might not have enough time to return and might still be destroyed by the Song Dynasty.
Xu Baixiang suddenly felt that his life was hopeless, and he sighed with some pain.
The next second, a sinister voice came from above.
"It just so happens that there is a brother in our meeting today who is well-informed about Jiaozhi's situation. I also heard that he has a good relationship with Li Changjie, the Grand Tutor of the Li Dynasty, and they often exchange letters."
"Right, Lieutenant General Xu..."