The owner of the mansion must be a wealthy family. The house is well-built and well-equipped, but it still lacks momentum. The living room is a bit small, and it was soon crowded with 20 to 30 civil and military officials. People of Zuo You's rank could only stand. After Wei Renpu explained the terrain to everyone in front of the map, he found that he could only stand.
There were two tables on the left and right, with two chairs on each, and four people were sitting on the chairs: Li Chuyun, Han Tong, Shi Yanchao, and Yang Biao.
Wei Renpu walked over gracefully, with a bit of embarrassment on his face, because he couldn't stand in the middle of the room after he finished speaking. Looking at the situation, he could only stand near the door with a bunch of middle-level civil and military officials.
At this time Li Chuyun stood up and said: Deputy Envoy Wei, come and sit over here.
Li Chuyun was the highest-ranking general and had made great contributions in the Northern Expedition, but he had always been very humble and had never behaved arrogantly. But his position was there, and everyone knew it. As long as there were ministers who had seats, it would be bad for him to stand.
Guo Shao was immediately attracted by this brief awkward scene, and he sat there without saying a word.
Everyone looked over sideways. The Great Zhou was still known as a country of etiquette, and such matters were still taken very seriously.
Wei Renpu walked over and actually bowed and said: Thank you, General Li, I will respectfully obey your command.
Li Chuyun's face turned pale and blue, and he sat there with no dignity. Heaven and earth can testify, even Guo Shao knew that Li Chuyun was just being polite, and probably didn't really intend to give up his seat
The atmosphere became very tense.
At this time, Shi Yanchao sneered: Going forward to fight and recover the lost territory, we are the ones who risk our lives with swords and guns. The civil officials sit in the back all day and talk, and they are not satisfied with sitting enough, so they even fight for the chairs. Haha
Wei Renpu smiled and looked directly at Shi Yanchao: "General Shi, I don't think what you said makes sense. Your Majesty's country and people cannot be ruled by warriors with swords and guns. If warriors were the only thing needed, how could the world not be governed for so many years from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Later Han Dynasty?"
Shi Yanchao was furious.
At this time Guo Shao spoke up: Although General Yang is a general of the Palace Front Division, his rank is slightly lower than those present. You stand up and let Deputy Envoy Wei sit down.
Yang Biao then stood up and said: "I will obey your order. Deputy Envoy Wei, please."
Because Guo Shao had spoken, Shi Yanchao swallowed the words he was about to say to Wei Renpu and snorted, "General Yang, isn't it because of his inconvenience in walking?"
Yang Biao pulled a horse face and glared at Shi Yanchao and said: Everyone gets injured in the battle. I have recovered a lot, so there is no need for you to worry about me, General Shi.
Guo Shao ignored them and immediately deployed his troops.
Taking advantage of the civil strife in Liao, the Northern Expedition Army dispatched two routes to attack Pingzhou and Wuzhou respectively; and ordered Yang Ye, the commander of the surrendered soldiers of the Northern Han Dynasty in Hedong Army, to go north through Yanmen and attack Yunzhou and Datong.
The goal of this campaign is to seize all the land south of the Great Wall, all the land of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun except Yingzhou.
After the meeting, the ministers left the palace, and the civil and military officials were separated when they went out.
Seeing that Wei Renpu looked unhappy, Zuo You advised: Shi Yanchao is ignorant of etiquette and is really a disgrace to society. Deputy Envoy Wei does not need to bother with him.
Wei Renpu said coldly: "Your Majesty, I don't want to argue with him over a small matter, but I am the highest-ranking civil official in the Front Camp Military Office. I cannot lose face at this time. Otherwise, several military generals will sit, and I, as the highest-ranking civil official, will have to stand. Where will the status of the world's scholars be placed? How will others view me in the literati world in the future?"
Zuo You nodded and said: Deputy Envoy Wei is right. What we are fighting for is not a seat, but face.
Wei Renpu was still a little unhappy, and said in a deep voice: "The warriors can't be so arrogant for a few days. In the past, there were wars everywhere, and the world was divided into two parts. Only strong soldiers and horses could survive. Now the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun will be settled soon, and the unification of the world is irreversible. Your Majesty, why do you still let so many warriors hold heavy troops
Zuo You seemed to be thinking about something after hearing this.
Wei Renpu said: After this war, the court should focus on recuperation and a peaceful and prosperous era is not far away.
Zuo You couldn't help but whispered: The Great Zhou stood firm in front of the mountain. I don't know whether to turn defense into offense and continue to attack the Liao Kingdom.
Wei Renpu shook his head and said: "It is useless to rush to go out of the border to fight against the Liao Kingdom. The northern grasslands and Liaodong are all inhabited by barbarians. If our population cannot stand firm and take root, even if the Great Zhou can destroy the Liao Kingdom for a while, it is difficult to avoid the growth of other tribes. In the past, the Xiongnu and Turks were chased by the Central Plains and had almost nowhere to stay. Soon, the Khitan rose in the northeast.
Governing the barbarians in the Northern Expedition is not a task that can be accomplished overnight, nor is it the result of a single victory or defeat. It requires a long-term strategy.
A few days later, with the support of Wei Renpu and other officials, Guo Shao issued an edict. I rule the country with benevolence. Youyun Prefectures have just experienced war and chaos. I pity the suffering of the people. This autumn and next summer and autumn, Youyun Prefectures will be exempted from paying taxes and labor service. All prisoners in prefectures and counties, except those with extremely serious crimes, will be pardoned and released to their hometowns. The lost land in Hebei will be recovered. Officials will be prohibited from oppressing soldiers and disturbing the people. Officials and generals who break the law will be punished the same as the people. All people are children.
In the counties and villages of Hebei Province, people beat drums and gongs to sing praises, and were happier than during the Spring Festival. Guo Shao's prestige and influence in the provinces far exceeded that of the Great Zhou Taizu, and his reputation was surprisingly good for a while.
In the few states that Liao still controlled temporarily, the Han generals and Han troops had no intention of fighting and were only waiting for the arrival of the royal army to surrender.
Memorials of congratulations from all over the world poured into the Imperial City of Tokyo like snowflakes.
Yang Ye gathered his troops at Yanmen Pass and announced the emperor's decree, mobilizing the soldiers to march north to Yunzhou. Without any encouragement, the soldiers were eager to fight, thinking that they could finally go out of the border.
The Zhou army defeated the Liao army head-on and recaptured Youzhou by force. The power of the country has long been recognized by the soldiers of Hedong. In the past, the Northern Han Kingdom called the Liao Kingdom a nephew and a minister. Many people were dissatisfied at the time, but they were forced by the situation. Today, with the trend of unification, almost everyone recognizes the reality, and the influence of the Northern Han regime is quickly abandoned by people. When a country is strong, it is easy to gather people's hearts.
Yang Ye was also very fortunate at this time, fortunately he had waited for the last chance to make meritorious service.
Your Majesty has not forgotten me. Yang Ye said in a deep voice, and several generals were fighting for the chance to be the vanguard. He thought to himself that he was a surrendered general, and if he did not make military achievements that could be shown to the court, he would not even have the right to speak in the future.
The general said: "North of Yanmen Pass, the Han generals of Shuo, Ying and Huan heard that Youzhou has been occupied by the Great Zhou and Shangjing is in chaos. They have already made a secret agreement with us. Once the Hedong Army leaves Yanmen Pass, we will open the city gates and kill all the Liao Army defenders together. We will first capture the three states, and then march north to besiege Yunzhou. Sooner or later, we will break the city."
Yang Ye said: The Hedong Army has tens of thousands of troops and is closest to Yunzhou, so of course we have to capture Yunzhou; not only that, after quickly capturing Yunzhou, we can also request an imperial decree to transfer troops eastward to support the Imperial Army in attacking Wuzhou
The generals discussed it and felt that it was difficult. It was easy to quickly capture the three states of Shuo, Ying and Huan, but Yunzhou was an important city of the Liao State. There were fertile grasslands in the south of Yinshan Mountain, and the naturalization of Hohhot and other places could mobilize a large number of Liao cavalry. The Liao army in Yunzhou might fight hard when reinforcements were waiting.
Yang Ye said calmly: After the Hedong army captured Shuozhou and other three states, they marched northward with great fanfare; then they sent a small cavalry force to bypass Yunwu, Xuanhua and Zhangjiakou, and went westward along the upper reaches of the Sanggan River to confuse the Yunzhou Liao army. At the beginning of the year, the imperial court's military equipment supervisory transferred a batch of new armor to the Hedong army, and the cavalry put on the new armor, and then raised the flag of the imperial army's vanguard, with gongs and drums beating, making a great momentum, making the Yunzhou Liao army think that the main force of the imperial army and the large-scale siege of the Hedong army were coming to scare them.
The generals all praised the idea as a good one. Someone suggested preparing Shi Yanchao's flag, because the Emperor of the Great Zhou often used Shi Yanchao as the vanguard when he led his troops to war, and that guy was also a relatively famous figure.
Yang Ye recalled the unpleasant experience he had with Shi Yanchao in Tokyo. He thought that if he borrowed his name, he would be laughed at by that guy in the future. Shi Yanchao might even make Yang Ye sick with anger.
Yang Ye said: We don't need Shi Yanchao's banner, Dong Zunhui will do, and it will not seem so contrived. Although Dong Zunhui is not so famous, there must be someone in the Liao army who knows that he is also one of the Zhou army's vanguards, and they will believe it more after understanding it.
A month later, the Khitan nobles in Yunzhou heard that the Zhou army of hundreds of thousands of troops was approaching from two directions, and that the upper reaches of the Sanggan River were covered with dust and fog, and that the mountains and plains were filled with people and horses. They wanted to raze Yunzhou to the ground and build a Jingguan with the heads of all the Liao people. They hurriedly sent people to Fengzhou in the south of Yinshan Mountain for help, but they did not receive a response soon, and they were already very worried.
At that time, a Han official in Yunzhou gave advice to the Khitan nobles, suggesting that he abandon the city and flee.
The Khitan nobles were afraid of being punished, but their staff said: Now that the masters of Shangjing have been killed, the new emperor is busy entering Shangjing to secure the throne, who has time to care about Yunzhou
The new emperor of the Liao Dynasty was only thirteen or fourteen years old. Those in power were Xiao Siwen and Yelu Xizhen, and he urgently needed support from various local tribes.
The general was a Khitan nobleman, and abandoning Yunzhou was a small matter at this time. He quickly sent people to contact Xiao Siwen and Yelu Xizhen, saying that the general had long hated the tyrant emperor, who made it impossible for people to speak out about the affairs of the Liao Dynasty. Now Yunzhou was an isolated city, and no one in the capital would pay attention to him. The general was willing to obey the orders of the new emperor and assist him in rebuilding his army on the grassland.
The Khitan nobles were already very tempted and began to hesitate.
The staff members urged him urgently: "If you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. All the states in Hebei have been lost. The Zhou army is approaching the city. How can Yunzhou be defended for a long time? The most important thing for Xiao Siwen and others at this time is to deal with those who oppose them. The general supports the new emperor with both hands and feet. If he is still punished, how can Xiao Siwen win over the various tribes?"
The Khitan nobles were finally persuaded and quickly gathered their men and horses to pack up their belongings, then abandoned the city and fled.
When Yang Ye arrived in Yunzhou, the staff member brought a group of Han officials and Yunzhou people to welcome him. Yang Ye took over this important city that divided the north and the south without bloodshed and without firing a single arrow.
Yang Ye had no time to celebrate, but hurriedly wrote a memorial and sent an order to rush 600 miles to Youzhou to report the victory, claiming that he had successively conquered Shuo, Ying, Huan, Wei, Yun and other states and regions, and captured all the important areas northeast of Hedong.