Listening to Zhang Que's introduction, Gao Chong and Zhao Li sighed that good fortune and misfortune were unpredictable. Although this heavy snow delayed their itinerary and caused considerable losses to personnel and materials, it also avoided the ambush of the Western Liao army.

. They knew that although the Western Expedition Army, mainly cavalry, was equipped with advanced firearms, it was still limited by the terrain in the mountains and was difficult to exert all combat power. The Western Liao army was backward in weapons and equipment, but they occupied the time.

The geographical location and people are harmonious, and they are determined and unintentional. Therefore, even if the Western Expedition Army has the advantage of weapons, it will inevitably suffer major losses.

It was precisely the arrival of the blizzard that made the Western Liao army convinced based on past experience that the Song army could not successfully cross the Altai Mountains, and would even retreat halfway, and return to the army, waiting for the ice and snow melting in May next year, which could reappear their

The second time was the Eastern Expedition that died halfway through the road because of insufficient amount of grass. Based on the above judgment, the Western Liao army withdrew its troops and returned to China, making this area a demilitarized area without troops, allowing the Western Expedition Army to take advantage of loopholes and be the weakest

At the time, I was able to escape.

"You can easily enter Gaochang, which can only be said that God blesses me, the Song Dynasty. Although I suffered some hardships on the road, I avoided the danger of being wiped out!" Gao Chong sighed. He understood that even with the current national strength of the Song Dynasty, he completed this Western Conference.

The expedition also requires great determination. If the failure of this Western Expedition is too heavy, the government and the opposition will definitely oppose the Western Expedition again. Instantly, with the emperor's strength, they have to temporarily compromise and make a long-term plan, thus losing the power of the northern tribes and conquering Gaochang.

A good opportunity.

"Yes, after the peace talks with the Jin Kingdom, after the former emperor returned to the country, some people in the court thought that the grand occasion of a century of peace with the Khitan would repeat. Without spending huge sums of money to support soldiers and prepare for war, they all praised drums and swear to cultivate literature and abandon martial arts.

Reduce military expenditure. If the Western Conquest is defeated this time, you can imagine how much pressure your Majesty will bear. In order to calm public opinion, I am afraid you will have to do it!" Zhang Que sighed, the luck of the Western Conquest Army is also the luck of the Emperor.

It can also be said that the luck of these emperors' confidants is.

"After Your Majesty ascended the throne, although the ministers in the court supported the emperor to consolidate their arms and set up military campaigns to attack the Jurchens, it was mainly based on the reality of the Jurchens' invasion of our Song Dynasty. They just felt that the capital was broken. It was a great shame for the two emperors to be forced to hunt north.

.In order to avenge the shame and maintain the face of the great power of the Celestial Kingdom, and to eliminate the threat from the Jin Kingdom to the Song Dynasty, we had to support the emperor and maintain a certain degree of tolerance for the improvement of our military status." Zhao Li said, "Now the Jin Kingdom takes the initiative to seek peace,

After releasing the former emperor, they felt that the threat had been eliminated and could rest assured. They would reiterate the old tune of ancestral family law to continue to implement the old tune of governing military affairs with civility. Once successful, the next step is to gradually ask the emperor to give up power and enhance the power of the prime minister, thereby weakening

The purpose of imperial power!”

"Well, Li Ge'er's words have been thoroughly analyzed! Some court officials are short-sighted and just want to fight for power. But they don't know that there are still crises around our Song Dynasty. Although the Jurchens are in decline, other tribes allow them to develop and expand, and it will not take long to go

Do you want to re-enact the Jingkang disaster as a new Jurchen?" Gao Chong nodded and said, "The emperor is far-sighted. He hopes to eliminate potential forces that are potentially threatening to the Song Dynasty through wars and alliances. At the same time, he uses this to intimidate the countries.

Lay the foundation for long-term stability. If we reduce our military preparations and implement the policy of empathy, we will not be able to return to the old path of Jingsui. When those people find that the Song Dynasty is just a tiger without minions, how can they be content with oneself!"

"So the battle of the Western Expedition is related to state affairs and to the status of our military men. Therefore, we must win and win a big victory!" Zhao Li said with his fists clenched.

"I, a man in business, don't understand the two generals. When fighting, I just take the words and deliver the things to you. You will be considered completing the task!" Zhang Que waved his hand and said impatiently,

In fact, he knew that he could gain current status and wealth, and the emperor could not do without the support of the emperor, and the emperor could not do without everyone's help. They had already formed an unbreakable interest group. But he also understood that he could not get involved in politics too

Deep, otherwise I would have lived to the end, so I interrupted their topic.

"Haha, I'm sorry for being too far away. Don't blame Manager Zhang!" Zhao Ligong bowed and smiled, "We have been in the mountains for more than two months, and the news has been cut off. Please give me some advice!"

"Haha, Brother Li is polite!" Zhang Que also turned to the topic with haha, "We Shenghetang were ordered to raise food and money for the Western Expedition Army, and set up bases in Xixia and Gaochang to prepare for the army's needs. Last year, Gaochang

The alliance led to the feud between the two countries, so they sent troops to block the transit of our Song Dynasty caravan, so it was very difficult to transport and raise materials. Based on this, Xixia initially agreed to attack Gaochang with us, and for convenience and safety, the Xixia base was used to take advantage of the Xixia base.

The main thing is to prepare for the caravan to enter Gaochang after they sent troops, but the Xixia king Li Qianshun changed his mind and refused to fulfill his contract when he accepted Gaochang's heavy bribes. The Western Liao army arranged heavy troops in Gaochang to block the border, resulting in the severance of the trade route.

Deliver out!”

"Shopkeeper Zhang, don't we have any accumulation of Gaochang?" Gao Chong asked anxiously after hearing this. Now the Western Expedition Army urgently needs replenishment, and they also hope to get replenishment here. If it is lost, wouldn't it be a blind eye?

"Super Gao, don't be anxious. I just said it was mainly Xixia, but I gave up Gaochang without saying it." Zhang Que said, "Shenghetang has been operating in the northwest for many years, of course it has its own channels, and it will not be banned because of them.

The thing that passes without any help is just a few twists and turns.”

"Oh, how did Manager Zhang escape from Gaochang's obstruction and inspection?" Gao Chong asked curiously.

"As the saying goes, "Cats have cats, and dogs have dogs." Although the Gaochang border is full of deserts and Gobi, it is not impossible to pass. They can only guard the main roads. Even if they know other routes, they are unable to be on duty all day. We

It is very important to transport materials to Gaochang through some small caravans. In addition, there is not much land that can be cultivated in Gaochang, and the grain output is not high, so it is very difficult to purchase on-site, so we can only transfer it from outside, so we can accumulate it through foreign merchants.

In their hands!”

"Oh, Shopkeeper Zhang is really troubled!" Gao Chong understood that they used smuggling methods to transport military supplies into Gaochang, and the food was brought in with merchants from other countries, of course, the price was much higher.

"Shopkeeper Zhang, I don't know where to hoard supplies. Now our army urgently needs to replenish them!" Zhao Li asked.

"Hmph, of course we will not exist in the big city, it will attract attention, and war will be requisitioned, so we can only place it on the periphery of the army, otherwise how could you obtain it in this small land?

So much food and grass!" Zhang Que rolled his eyes and snorted coldly.

"Ah... Could it be that the food in Yanbo City is one of the hoarding points set up by Manager Zhang?" Gao Chong and Zhao Li looked at each other and asked in surprise.

"Of course, because the army came north, this is the only place where the army can rest after crossing Mount Altai. We have hoarded a lot of food here, but they are all in the hands of those merchants. Their supplies are forced by you

The campaign hurriedly reported to me, and then I realized that the army had escaped here, so I rushed over!" Zhang Que said, he collected a large amount of food and grass, and if it was placed in one place, it would inevitably arouse suspicion, so they were all divided into various merchants

In my hand, I didn't expect that the Western Expedition Army would buy it here.

"This... we really don't know that this is owned by Manager Zhang, otherwise we wouldn't have done this!" Zhao Li hurriedly apologized.

"This was originally prepared for you. I took it as soon as I took it. Anyway, it was not in the hands of others. It was just that the merchants were cheaper and they had to collect a double portion. They had to work hard to get it back!" Zhang Que said with a wry smile.

.

"Haha... It's okay for Zhang Manager Zhang. The money was also obtained from the Nai Barbarians. We did not use the money from the public!" Gao Chong laughed at the hearing.

"That's right, but that's 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. It hurts so much that I have to find it back!" Zhang Que couldn't accept Gao Chong's statement and must find something to make up for it.

"Shopkeeper Zhang, the accumulation here has almost fallen into our hands, but it is not enough to support our Western Expedition Army for one month. Are there any available things nearby?" Gao Chong no matter how Zhang Que thinks about collecting debts, he is concerned about it.

How much material can be provided to them? Two hundred thousand stones may seem to be a lot, but they are many people, and there are also a large number of war horses that need to be fed, so on average it is not much.

"I came for this matter. Although there are still some nearby, most of them are ammunition and equipment, and there is not much food and grass. Therefore, we must go south to Beiting as soon as possible to fundamentally solve the problem of insufficient supplies!" Zhang Que said seriously.

At that time, the Western Expedition Army only took one month to reach here, and there should be a lot of accumulation in hand. After a little replenishment, it can be supported for use. However, a lot of time wasted on the way, resulting in increased supply pressure and hoarding.

The supplies are insufficient.

"Shopkeeper Zhang, how is the defense situation in Beiting?" Gao Chong nodded and asked again. But he learned that there were ammunition nearby, and at least he didn't have to fight with the enemy with a fire stick.

"Beiting is the capital of summer. Every year, the king of the country escapes the summer heat. When the weather turns cooler, he will return to Gaochang for winter. Now Bilege has returned, and they think our army cannot cross the Altai Mountains, so they only have a small number of troops left.

The troops defended the city, and the defense was not tight. I was just worried that the Western Liao Dynasty was very close to this place. After hearing the news, I would definitely send troops to stop it!" Zhang Que said.

"As long as there are bullets in the gun and food in the stomach, why should our 100,000 troops be afraid of the Western Liao Dynasty? The Jurchens could beat them away from this, and the Jurchens had never been cheap in our hands.

They are not as powerful as the Jurchens!" Gao Chong said proudly.
Chapter completed!