In the partial village, Du Zhongxiao said to Wang Kai and Zhang Qi: "The Khitans have arrived, and we are going to greet them, which is also hospitable." ”

Wang Kai said: "It was the Khitan officials who came to pacify the envoys, or the Zhijun who went to greet them." We belong to the Military Horse Division, so it's not good to get involved in this. The left and right people are here, and if there is something to know, the army will inform them, and we will discuss it together. ”

"It's fine." Du Zhongxiao was not reluctant, got up and went out of the city to meet Yelu Gao's slaves.

In the border conflict, negotiate with the pacification envoys of the two countries on a reciprocal basis, which is also the intention of Zheng Jian to play Du Zhongxiao as the judge of the pacification department. The name of the yamen is pacification, which means that peace is the main thing, and the purpose is to maintain the status quo. The Economic Strategy Division, as the name suggests, is mainly pioneering and enterprising. Although the border of the Song Dynasty is now two yamen in one, hanging two signs, but in the face of different things, different identities must be used.

Border conflicts, usually a joint negotiation between the pacification envoy and the magistrate, now Du Zhongxiao is two identities in one. Du Zhongxiao noticed that among the Khitan people, there were no officials from Shuozhou, only the pacification envoy and Xijing Dao, who were mainly based on peace.

Out of the walled city, Du Zhongxiao took his entourage all the way north, and when he arrived ten miles away, he received Yelu Gao's slave and Yelu Buhua. After saluting, they checked each other's official documents and returned to the Walled City together.

Seeing that it was approaching evening, Du Zhongxiao said to Yelu Gao's slaves: "It's getting late, I have prepared a wine feast in the city to catch the wind for the envoys." Wait until tomorrow to talk about this misunderstanding at the border. The envoy came from afar, and stayed in the city a few more days. ”

Gao Jianu said: "This time the matter is not small, and the appeasement envoy is waiting for me to go back and hand over my life, so it is not good to delay for too long." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's not a few days. It is precisely because the matter is not small that we should discuss it carefully. ”

As he spoke, he entered the city, and the officials in the walled area were already outside the walled hall.

After entering the village hall and sitting down, and serving tea, Du Zhongxiao said his hard work, politely asked Gao Jianu about the scene along the way, and sat and chatted.

In the room next to him, Wang Kai and Zhang Qi sat opposite each other, sitting and drinking with a plate of mutton. Looking out the window, nearly 100 Khitan people were busy, and Wang Kai said: "There are a lot of Khitan people. It seems that they really attach importance to the defeat of the northern times. ”

Zhang Qi said with a smile: "Nearly a thousand people were killed in the First World War, and there was not even a splash, how can you not pay attention to it!" ”

Wang Kai smiled and nodded: "If this kind of thing happens to me, I really don't know how to deal with it." It's okay to be in the Tibetan department, the three hundred Khitan soldiers are not easy to explain. Speaking of which, Du Zhijun ordered the Khitans who were freezing and starving to death along the road to let them be there, and we would not clean them up. After these days, I don't know how much is left after being eaten by tigers and wolves. ”

Zhang Qi said: "The meaning of the Zhijun is to let the Khitan people see for themselves, and their people are starving to death on the road, and it is none of our business." They have seen this kind of scene, and it is beneficial for the dynasty to talk about it. ”

Wang Kai felt that Du Zhongxiao's aftermath of this matter was quite interesting. When the Khitans penetrated deep into the Song realm, the Song army did not take the initiative to attack, and always left them a way back, so that they would not jump off the wall in a hurry. And the routes that could get supplies were all blocked, leaving them to fend for themselves. After the whole army was annihilated, the Song army only did not know and let the Khitans remain as they were. Now the Khitans who are negotiating are coming, just collecting the corpses, and I don't know how much time it will take. I don't know if Du Zhongxiao will receive a sum of money to burn and bury, Wang Kai shook his head.

After the government prepared a wine feast, Du Zhongxiao invited Yelu Gao's slave and Yelu Buhua to the banquet.

The guest and the host sat down, and Du Zhongxiao raised his glass: "The envoy has come from afar to work hard, and drink a cup." ”

Putting down the wine glass, Gao Jianu's face softened a little, and said: "It's cold, drink a glass of spirits, and your body will immediately be much warmer." In the past two years, spirits have also been sold in this dynasty, but they are always not as mellow and delicious as those from the Southern Dynasty. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In this case, the envoy will drink two more cups." ”

The technology of steaming liquor in distiller's grains is not complicated, and it cannot be kept secret at all, and it was transmitted to the Khitan two years ago. However, Khitan rice is rare, mainly millet and millet, and it is not easy to steam liquor, which limits their production.

After three rounds of drinking, Gao Jianu couldn't help but ask about the looting incident in Tanglong Town in Ningbian Prefecture two months ago. Due to the annihilation of this army, the intelligence of the Khitans is very messy, and they have not yet completely figured things out.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Since this official to the Volcano Army, there have been rumors from the Xiaofan Department that the soldiers and horses of your country nearby will cross the river and plunder after the Yellow River is frozen. Because the two countries have a good relationship, they are about to be brothers, and at that time they did not take this seriously, but only regarded it as a rumor. Unexpectedly, after the Yellow River froze, more than 1,000 people came from nowhere to attack Tanglong Town. The soldiers and horses stationed in Tanglong Town of this dynasty did not know what was going on, and the soldiers and horses besieging the city were repulsed. These people left Tanglong Town and came all the way south. Because they found that it seemed to be your country's soldiers and horses, our army has been cautious, and only escorted them from a distance, and did not attack them. It's just that it's freezing cold, and these people have lost a lot on the way back to the north, and they don't know what to do in the end. ”

Gao Jianu listened, and his face was cloudy. What Du Zhongxiao said Song Jun didn't know, and he never took the initiative to attack, and he didn't believe a word. But the defeat of the army and the destruction of the army and horses in the Song realm is the truth, and it can only be said by the Song people. From Du Zhongxiao's words, plus the previous information, Gao Jianu roughly outlined what happened. It's nothing more than that Shi Jianu, as in previous years, plundered in winter, but did not find out the enemy's situation, and was frustrated when attacking Tanglong Town. Since then, he has been out of control and finally died.

After being silent for a while, Gao Jianu said: "So many northerners have died in the south, I don't know where the corpses are now?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Because of this incident, the weather is strict, and there is a shortage of manpower, except for the corpses near the walled city, we have been properly buried, and the rest are still on the way." But I don't want to bury them, but I don't have manpower, so let the ministers forgive me. ”

Gao Jianu was stunned for a moment, and said hurriedly: "What does the judge mean, these people still haven't been buried?" ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "They are all walking on mountain paths, this season, where are the people to bury them?" When the envoy comes, everything will be easy. You can take your men and men along the way to take care of their affairs. If there's anything I can do to help, just ask. ”

Gao Jianu looked at Du Zhongxiao and didn't know what to say for a while. From the setback of Shijianu's attack on Tanglong Town, the Song army has been watching from the side, and they have walked into the ghost gate step by step. When they die, they don't even touch the corpses. With this concentration, Gao Jianu felt a chill in his heart.

After being silent for a long time, the Gao family slave nodded slowly: "What the judge said is right, death is the greatest, and collecting the dead is the first priority." ”

Du Zhongxiao said yes again and again, this is the effect he wants. On the one hand, the Khitans took the initiative to attack, and on the other hand, the alliance that neither country wanted to break, and those Khitans who entered the Song Realm felt troublesome when they touched Du Zhongxiao. Don't think that burying those people is a trivial matter, hundreds of miles along the way, all of them are deserted places, and it costs a lot of money and food. And he also wants the Khitans to see what the consequences of attacking the Song Realm are.

Speaking of this, Gao Jianu didn't have the heart to talk about other things, but just thought about taking care of those people's affairs first. He also had to take a look at what was going on so that he could set the tone for the negotiations in the future. This matter was too unusual and made Gao Jianu feel extremely tricky.