"The day before yesterday, the envoy of the Xia Kingdom said that he was willing to borrow troops to deal with our court, what does the prime minister think?"

In the past few days, Zhao Ke has read the national letter countless times, but it is still difficult to decide. The Song Kingdom and Kansai have been intriguing for hundreds of years, and now the country is declining, and Kansai is good luck if it does not fall into the well. However, the embarrassed Feng Lan stood at the foot of the jade steps. Outside the White Jade Palace, the red sun was slanting westward, and the dim sunlight shone into the carved beams and paintings, which made Zhao Ke feel a chill in his heart.

"The old minister thinks that he might as well borrow troops from the Xia State, and the Xia State army will pass through Xijing, which is just the right time for Cao Di not to delay the matter of going to help." The privy envoy Shao Wu seemed to have scruples, and explained somewhat superfluously, "During the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty also borrowed troops from the Uighurs. But when the Xia army comes west, it must obey the dispatch of our court, otherwise it is tantamount to opening the door and stealing. ”

"The minister seconded the proposal, and the matter of borrowing troops should be carried out as soon as possible." Feng Lu also immediately agreed, "The old minister has seen with his own eyes that the Liao army is like a tiger and a horse, like a dragon, immobile like a mountain, and an invasion like fire, and the Beijing Camp Forbidden Army is really difficult to match. ”

Prime Minister Zhao Zhifu frowned and said: "But Xia Guozhi is in the middle of the world, once the switch is released into the Central Plains, I am afraid that it will be difficult to send it away." It can be said that the front door goes to the tiger and the back door enters the wolf. It's not the first time that the Khitan has gone south, but it's just a matter of looting goods. As long as the peace negotiation is successful, the Khitan will return north. Among the old ministers, the matter of borrowing troops from the Xia State must be carried out with seriousness, but when negotiating peace, you might as well bluff and let the Liao army retreat in the face of difficulties. ”

The ministers and bureaucrats discussed a lot, and they were inconsistent. Zhao Ke sat on the dragon chair and hesitated. At this time, a minister came up to report, King Jing Zhao Qi received an errand to envoy Liao Ying, and immediately fainted, the imperial doctor in the palace hurriedly woke up, King Jing burst into tears again, said that he was weak and weak, and it was difficult to get up, I am afraid that time is running out, and he can not take on this heavy responsibility, so please choose another meritorious.

"Hmph, pass on the imperial doctor, diagnose and treat King Jing," Zhao Ke sneered, "King Jing is both civil and military, when the emperor was there, but he was full of energy every day, could it be that in the past two years, his body has collapsed?" Spread the message to the imperial doctor, heal King Jing's illness within three days, and never delay the envoy's trip. This categorical tone made the ministers in the vertical arch hall silent, and no one dared to persuade them. As soon as this matter was interrupted, there was no decision on whether to accept Xia Guo's borrowing of troops. Zhao Keshen was tired, so he got up and retreated, and Tong Guan, the chief lieutenant in front of the palace, followed behind the official.

"The matter of borrowing troops," Zhao Ke asked casually while walking slowly, "What does Captain Tong think?" ”

Tong Guan said cautiously: "The old slave hasn't read a few books either. Your Majesty's question, the old slave is like a fold of drama that he watched the day before yesterday. At the time of the Three Kingdoms mentioned in it, Cao Mengde's army went south, and the officials in Jiangdong wanted to surrender to Cao Cao, but Lu Su persuaded Sun Quan that this matter of Jiangdong's submission can be done as an official, but only His Majesty. After Jiangdong surrendered to Cao Cao, those who were officials were still his officials, and His Majesty wanted to return to today's position, but it would be extremely difficult. Although the old slave has little knowledge, he feels that it is like Xia Guo borrowing troops, which is somewhat similar to this scene. ”

Zhao Ke was stunned for a long time, patted Tong Guan's bowed back, and said in a low voice: "Captain Tong is planning for me, but these words must not be mentioned to others." Let's take a long-term view of borrowing troops. He sighed, and at this moment, a feeling of being alone came to his heart, and even gave birth to a trace of remorse, it was better to be a prince than to be too peaceful and happy.

............

The White Feather Army camp is now the camp of the Chinese army of the Xia Eastern Expeditionary Army for the time being. Wu Jie sat in the hall, and the newly arrived marching commander Shi stood under the hall. Zhao Xingde was wearing chain mail, with a round belt between his chest and abdomen, and a wolf skin coat. The full military uniform is lined with a burly figure, and he is full of energy and calm practice, like a battle-hardened general. The Liao army was under the city of Bianliang, the military situation was like fire, he was worried that he was afraid of missing the army, so he first galloped to the front of the Wu Jie, and the carriage of his family was still on the way from Dunhuang to Chang'an.

Wu Jie looked Zhao Xingde up and down, nodded secretly, and tasted excited: "Zhao Changshi is a talent, no wonder the Liaodong Han girl sent two beautiful girls to serve, it's really a good blessing." He looked at it with a smile, and Zhao Xingde only felt that his scalp was numb, and explained: "Miss Han was worried that Neiko was overworked, so she sent two maidservants to take care of the housework. For some reason, he blushed as he explained, and he didn't want to continue the conversation.

Wu Jie rubbed his palms and said with a lewd smile: "Yes, yes, if it weren't for the previous commander, General Zhang, who had the grace of knowing Wu, Wu would have been transferred to the Chengying Battalion a long time ago to see the flavors of the Quartet." Alas, I'm old, I'm old, and now I'm powerless. When he couldn't ride a horse, Wu went to Shuzhong to retire. He shook his head and sighed, and said, "It's a pity, it's a pity, Zhao Changshi, don't blame the old brother for not reminding you that these two beautiful maids should hurry up and get into the house." Otherwise, this group of brothers of my White Feather Army will probably be like a hungry wolf seeing a lamb and a fly smelling stinky meat, and they have nothing to do all day long, and they will buzz to your house to beg for tea. He looked like a hippie smile, without any pretensions, and he didn't talk to his subordinates at all.

Zhao Xingde arched his hand and smiled: "Thank you for the reminder, general." "When he was training the army in the training regiment earlier, he had heard of Wu Baiyu, who was famous in the Qinlou Chu Pavilion, but Wu Jie was recognized as the most popular general in the Guanguan for decades. Ordinary management of the army, in addition to the rules that must be followed, everything else is simple, but it can get the death force of soldiers.

Zhao Xingde hesitated for a moment and asked, "General Wu, according to the military report, Bianliang is in danger, when will the army send troops?" ”

"Send troops?" Wu Jie was stunned for a moment, waved his hand and smiled, "Don't worry." ”

"But?" Seeing Zhao Xingde's anxious face, Wu Jie said with a smile: "The Kwantung defense of us is like guarding against a tiger in a cage, and if we don't take a step to the end of the mountain, we will definitely not simply switch off and let our army advance eastward." Even if Bianliang fell into the hands of the Hu people, they would think that the Hu people would just loot some children's wealth and leave, and the land would never be taken away. If we are let go, this Kanto land will be renamed and surnamed. ”

Zhao Xingde's face was gloomy, and he said in a low voice: "Just let the Khitans burn, kill and loot, and then leave?" ”

"If it's just like that, it's too late for the Kwantung court to pray to God and worship Buddha." Wu Jie sneered twice, stretched out his hand and patted Zhao Xingde's shoulder and said, "And no matter what they do, we can only fight hard." If the idiots in Kanto insist on resisting, let's kill the past in one go, and even Song Dailiao will stew it with a spoonful. He paused, and then said, "In the future, the two armies will have a decisive battle, and artillery will be indispensable." If there is no artillery, the Liao army may not be able to eat Wang Yan's tens of thousands of elites, and the firearms battalion of our Eastern Expeditionary Army will require Zhao Changshi to work hard and worry a lot. At this time, although the smile on his face did not disappear, the expression in his eyes was extremely solemn. In the Xia Army, when it comes to the use of firearms, Zhao De can be said to be second to none. In the Liao and Song dynasties, the role of artillery was particularly eye-catching. When Wu Jie learned that Zhao De had asked for a transfer, he suddenly felt that he had picked up the treasure while walking, and he stumbled on the pillow while sleeping, and immediately decided to let him be responsible for forming the firearms battalion of the Eastern Expeditionary Army.

After Zhao Xingde retired, he rode straight to Chen Qianli's mansion. Chen Qianli had already received the news that he had returned to Chang'an, and specially set up a banquet in the mansion to wash his dust. At this time, the Eastern Expeditionary Army had not yet set a date for its departure, so the marching commander did not need to stay in the camp all the time. The two talked about the war in Kanto. The Song court hesitated on the matter of borrowing troops, seeing that the war situation was becoming more and more sinister, Zhao Xingde was powerless, and his indignation was overflowing.

"Forced through Hangu Pass?" Chen Qianli held the wine glass and said slowly, "General Wu's arrogance is good, but if you don't do it in the west now, you have to fight with the Rus rebels and the Romans Turks at the same time, and you have to fight with the Liao State and the Song State at the same time in the east, this is ...... Not only will the Protectorate not agree, but the most serious opponent will definitely be the Anton Military Division. General Qu Shang has always had a gap with Wu Jie, and this time the General's Mansion let Wu Jie's troops lead the eastward expedition, which has made him extremely dissatisfied, but he just can't find a chance to attack. ”

Zhao Xingde sighed, picked up the wine glass and touched it with Chen Qianli, and drank it all. The wine is sorrowful, and the depression in my heart is deeper. In his experience, it was absolutely impossible for the Protectorate to agree. However, if the Song court's borrowing of troops dragged on like this, the situation in the Kwantung War would only get worse and worse. For ordinary people, the war is extremely cruel, military disasters, famine, and plague often follow one after another, with his experience in Liaodong, whether it is the plundering of the army or the clearing of the wilderness, it is a great harm to the people, the population is halved, or even one in ten, is something that happened alive in front of Zhao Xingde's eyes. Henan and Hebei, thousands of miles of splendor, innocent Li people, tragically ravaged by the iron hooves of the Liao. The cold narrative in the military newspaper added a cruelty and tragedy in Zhao Xingde's heart that ordinary people could hardly understand.

"Brother Chen, if, I mean if," he said carefully, "if, if the Song court has not agreed to borrow troops, the army of the Eastern Expedition will not be able to pass through Hangu Pass." According to military law, after five years in the army, you can ask for retirement. I joined the Chengying Army in the thirteenth year of Yuande, and now it is the twenty-second year of Yuande, and I have served for almost ten years before and after Lumei and Liaodong. I can't just sit back and watch Sangzi sink into misery like this, according to military law, can I ask myself to retire and go to Kanto to fight the Liao people? ”

"Straight, your words come out of your mouth and into my ears, and you must never mention it to a third person again." Chen Qianli was silent for a while, and said in a low voice: "After serving for five years, you can ask for retirement, or you can even dart for the caravan, that's all for ordinary sergeants." You once served in the Chengying Army and the Dragon's Tooth Army, and you were in charge of such important places as the firearms battalion. It is impossible to ask for retirement. The matter of sending troops to Kanto can be thought of again and considered in the long run. You must never mention the matter of retirement again, if it falls into the ears of those who have a heart, I am afraid that the Military Intelligence Department and the Military Judge Advocate General's Department will come to you for trouble. ”