It's February, the weather is getting warmer, and the ice in the Yellow River is starting to melt.

The Yellow River goes north in Lanzhou, all the way to the bottom of Yinshan Mountain, and then turns south when it reaches Shengzhou, forming a big "several" shape. In the western Xingling Prefecture, the ice in the upper reaches melts first, and the river rushes, which is prone to the formation of floods. Here in Katsushu is the opposite, there is no such thing.

Du Zhongxiao left the military city of Wudu and returned to Shengzhou, and as soon as he entered the official office, he was stopped by Fu Bi. After reading the official document handed over, Du Zhongxiao said to Fu Bi: "Yizhou City is mainly going to enter the capital in person? It is not less than 10,000 miles away from the capital, and this way is not easy. ”

Fu Bi said: "The railway has been repaired to a place less than seven hundred miles away from Juyan County, and the city lord of Yizhou can take the train there." There is a train to take, and the journey is not hard and does not take much time. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "Deputy envoy, this matter is not a matter of how much time it takes, and whether it is hard or not on the road. Thousands of miles away, the city lord of Yizhou is willing to give up his foundation and personally bring people into Beijing, what does this mean? ”

Fu Bi nodded: "What the marshal said is right, the meaning of the city lord of Yizhou is that he is willing to merge into the Central Plains." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This is a big deal. Since Hue Dui fought the first war, the party has conceded Juyan County, and if Yizhou surrenders without a fight, it will gain thousands of miles of land without a fight. Here in Shengzhou, you can't manage that far away. ”

Shengzhou is the easternmost part of the Hequ Road, adjacent to the Volcano Army, and is the gateway to the Central Plains from the north. Zhao Zizhan Juyan, more than 3,000 miles away from Shengzhou, is actually out of control. If you go more than 1,000 miles to the west and enter Yizhou, you will be completely independent.

After thinking about it, Du Zhongxiao said: "This is reported to the imperial court in advance. How we deal with it still needs to be discussed by several officials. ”

Fu Bi promised and returned to the yamen with an official document. Du Zhongxiao thought about it, hurriedly went back to his residence to change his clothes, and went to the official office in front.

Zhang Sheng, Li Fugui and Tian Jing, together with Fu Bi, were all studying the official documents, and when they saw Du Zhongxiao coming in, they saluted together.

Sitting down, Du Zhongxiao said: "The city lord of Yizhou is willing to enter Beijing, which is really unexpected. Yizhou is the eastern gate of the Western Regions, and if you want to enter the Western Regions, you must pass through Yizhou. A few days ago, I have been thinking about how to deal with things in Yizhou if the railway is repaired to Juyan County. Now it's okay, Chen Ximing is willing to go to the capital by himself, saving a lot of trouble. You have a discussion, he left Illinois, what should we do? ”

Li Fugui said: "Now that the Western Regions are still Gaochang, as soon as Chen Ximing leaves Yizhou, it is difficult to guarantee that Gaochang will not send troops." ”

Tian Jing said: "Isn't that just right?" Gaochang sent troops to Yizhou, and we asked Zhao Zi to lead his troops westward to recover Yizhou in the name of driving Gaochang. ”

Du Zhongxiao waved his hand: "The imperial army is in Juyan, Yizhou knows about this, and Gao Chang should naturally know about it." Chen Ximing dared to leave Yizhou because Zhao Zi's army was thousands of miles away. Unless he went against the imperial court, how could Gao Chang enter Yizhou at this time? ”

Zhang Sheng said: "It's February, the Yellow River is thawing, and Zhao Zi's army in Juyan must be faced squarely. In two or three months, the railway from Hezhou to Juyan will be completed, and they will not be able to do it at that time. It is a wise move for the city lord of Yizhou to make a plan early, enter Beijing in time to pay tribute, and listen to the orders of the imperial court. No matter what the follow-up is, Zhao Zi's army must enter the Western Regions, otherwise what is the use of Juyan? ”

Fu Bi nodded: "Exactly." Before the year, the marshal asked the party to let go of Juyan, and the army was stationed in Tun, and he had already made the appearance of marching into the Western Regions. The Lord of Yizhou understands that the other Western Regions forces should also understand, it's just a matter of how to deal with it. I thought that when the city lord of Yizhou entered Beijing, Zhao Zi should immediately send a large army into the Western Regions to calm the situation. With Gaochang's forces, it should not be Zhao Zi's opponent. ”

Zhang Sheng shook his head: "If Zhao Zi is too anxious to enter the army, it will make people suspicious. As long as Gao Chang does not dare to attack Yizhou, they will be there, and everything will wait for the city lord of Yizhou to enter the capital. In the end, we still have to listen to the orders of the imperial court. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "What Deputy Envoy Zhang said makes sense. What the Western Regions want is to listen to the will of the imperial court. ”

Fu Bi said: "Juyan is a small county in the desert, and more than 10,000 troops of Zhao Zi are stationed, and everyone has already understood the meaning. The matter of the Western Regions, which was not mentioned earlier, was not intended by the imperial court, but because the railway did not reach Juyan. Once the railway is built to Juyan, it will inevitably move westward. This is a major event to restore the homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and there is no large number of enemy troops on the road, how can it be spared? ”

Tian Jing said: "Even so, without an explicit order from the imperial court, it is always difficult to march directly." ”

Fu Bi shook his head again and again: "Last year, this road sent Zhao Ziqian to live in Yan, and the imperial court never objected, and the attitude was clear. The question now is whether the city lord of Yizhou should immediately send troops to enter Beijing. ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said, "This matter is not in a hurry. If Chen Ximing enters Beijing, he will send troops to station, even if he is given a high position, it will be difficult to settle the matter. I think it's better to properly arrange for Chen Ximing to enter Beijing and let Zhao Zi wait. These days, Zhao Zi was ordered to investigate the way into Yizhou. How many miles are there, where do you have to pass on the road, and what are the important places? Moreover, one winter, Zhao Zi's reserves there, I'm afraid there are not many left, and they still need to be replenished. In this way, let Chen Ximing leave early, preferably in March, and go to Shengzhou. ”

Fu Bi said: "Jieshuai, the north is cold, as long as you miss those months, in winter, there is no way." If you want to occupy Yizhou, it is best to decide whether Zhao Zi's army will move west before October. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's just February, and it's too early to say this." Deputy envoy, this kind of thing, at the last moment, you have to be willing to wait and endure it, so that there will be no chaos. As long as the railway arrives in Juyan, the Western Regions will be the meat of the imperial court, just see when you get it. ”

Zhang Sheng said: "What the festival marshal said makes sense. As soon as the railway is passed, Juyan can send tens of thousands of troops, what can the Western Regions use to resist? ”

The battle of 100,000 people is not a few places in the world that can be fought, and although the Western Regions are large, there is no such strong force. As long as there are 350,000 people in his hands, there will be no power in the Western Regions. When the railway arrives in Juyan, the Western Regions will become the meat of the imperial court's mouth, just look at when and in what posture to eat.

The biggest difficulty in entering the Western Regions is Yizhou. There are only a few thousand households there, and in Du Zhongxiao's eyes, it is a big village. This era is different, it is the right road, and it is a necessary place for East and West to communicate. Although the party closed the trade routes, many merchants still passed through there every year, and the taxes they received were considerable. The most important thing is that the attitude is wavering, and there is no deep enmity with the forces around him, which makes it impossible for people to start.

Chen Ximing's entry into the capital is so eye-catching because Yizhou has made it clear that it will not block the Central Plains from entering the Western Regions. It's just that it's hard to say when and by what means.

Fu Bi came to Hequ Road at the latest, and he was determined to make meritorious contributions, and he was most enthusiastic about entering the Western Regions. Du Zhongxiao said that he had to endure it, so he couldn't help but stop talking. Zhang Sheng is a strategic envoy of Qin Fenglu, who has been in the northwest for many years, but he has not made any achievements, but he is not as urgent as Fubi.

After weighing it again and again, Du Zhongxiao said: "The railway is repaired to Yizhou, which is considered a node, and the follow-up things should be done by the people behind." It can be told that the party prisoners of war who are building the road can all be released as good citizens as long as the railway is built to Yizhou. The Western Regions are vast and lack population, so arrangements can be made for them to farm. In addition, it is also possible to let the mainland organize a battalion of field troops to go to the Western Regions to cultivate fertile land. ”

Zhang Sheng shook his head when he heard this: "Last year, it was a training army, and many people were not suitable for the forbidden army, so they were transferred to the battalion field army. This year, I'm afraid there won't be so many people. This matter relies on private recruitment, and it is not a matter of a short period of time. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This is a matter of the imperial court, we just put it forward, and how to do it depends on the arrangement of the imperial court." For more than a year, more than 200,000 people have come to Hequlu and the army, and everything is not good? ”

Fu Bi and Chen Sheng nodded, not to say anything more. Hequ Road is because of its important status, one side of the Khitan, one side of the party, and one end tied to the Western Regions, so the imperial court sent so many people. In fact, if you really want to talk about people, there are really not many people in the Central Plains now.